His Virgin Bride (Interstellar Brides: The Virgins Book 1)

by Grace Goodwin

  The second moon, Seladon, hung like a pale green orb, not dark like fresh grass, but like those little green mints served at a wedding. Pastel green. That moon had been colonized hundreds of years ago by people from Everis and was an active and vibrant farming colony. They supplied much of the planet with fresh food and took the rest to undeveloped worlds, worlds like Xerima…and Earth. Worlds too primitive and volatile to have achieved full admission into the Interstellar Coalition.

  The light of the two moons blotted out almost all the stars I could normally see on a clear night, not that it mattered. I did not recognize any of the constellations. The moons hung, large and strange over the horizon taunting me with their strangeness as the memory of those Hive soldiers made me shiver.

  For the first time since I’d begun this crazy adventure, I truly felt like I was on an alien world.

  Von wasn’t just wandering about the countryside like a sheriff’s deputy keeping everyone safe. He wasn’t a mall security guard. He was a Senior Hunter of an advanced race, a respected member of the Coalition Fleet. He was both honorable and feared. He saved people from harm. From danger. From a fate worse than death.

  He was like some kind of superhero, fast, brave and strong and…mine.

  Fixing the sheets, I settled back in bed and willed myself to sleep. I wanted to go to him in my dreams, knowing that was the only way I could be with him in this moment.

  He couldn’t come into our suite and while I could go to his, I remembered his words. I didn’t want him to claim me until there was no doubt in his mind as to my reason. When I made him mine forever, it wouldn’t be because I was worried about Major Cosmo. It would be because I wanted him to be mine. Forever.

  * * *

  Lexi

  “I can’t believe he doesn’t want you there,” Dani said. She was putting her long hair up into a ponytail, then twirling it into a bun. It seemed to be her morning routine. While her blonde hair was pretty down, she seemed to prefer it up.

  I shrugged, plopping down on the couch in my Everian pajamas—a long-sleeved, flowing pearl-colored nightgown that made me feel like a princess. I never wore stuff like this back home, usually sleeping in a pair of pajama shorts and a cami in summer, and leggings and a T-shirt in winter. The suite had one main room with a small kitchen, then three bedrooms with private bathrooms.

  She and Katie had been asleep when I came in the night before so this was the first they’d heard of the challenge and his wanting me to remain here, in our suite, when he fought Cosmo.

  I was late to get up, the dream Von had shared, most likely unintentionally, had me tossing and turning. He was very determined to keep me from seeing the underbelly of life out here, in space. The Hive, even Major Cosmo. While there was no similarity between the evilness of the two—the major was just a pest and nothing more—Von considered all threats to me unacceptable. I felt that conviction within him in the dream, the protective streak that was more than societal or logical. His need to shelter me from everything, even a frightening dream, was instinctive, hardwired into his genetic makeup and he took the whole thing to an extreme level of seriousness.

  But I understood him a bit better now. He had seen horrible things, used his gifts to fight and keep people safe. But that was people, in the abstract. I was his. I felt the difference every time he looked at me, in the way he touched me. He gave me a sense of safety I’d ever known in my entire life, and I was tempted to surrender to that comfort and just give him control. But then my stubborn padre’s voice would rise up. I came from a proud people, a people who were explorers and conquerors. That was part of my DNA too, and that independent streak wasn’t going to go away, especially when something was important to me. Like Von…and this stupid challenge.

  With the sun up and definite bags under my eyes, I sat and thought about him some more. I didn’t need to be sheltered from life. Yes, I was inexperienced, a virgin, but I wasn’t an idiot. I’d survived losing my parents and had the courage to transport across the universe to become an Interstellar Bride, give myself to an alien I’d never even met.

  I wasn’t a coward or a child to be sheltered. I wanted to know that the major would no longer be a threat. I wanted to see it with my own eyes. And I really wanted to be there if Von needed me. If I was truly his mate, then I could offer him support in ways no one else could.

  With the girls already up and eager to hear about my night, I shared.

  Not everything. But we talked about the dance and our dresses. Dani had fended off more than one interested suitor, determined to give her mate time to come to her. Katie looked like she’d had an adventurous night, but she was surprisingly tight-lipped about Bryn and what was going on between them.

  I told them about the marks on my arm and how Von had noticed them, how he’d taken the scent of Cosmo off my arm like a bloodhound and seemed to know exactly where Cosmo was standing in the ballroom.

  They were both extremely interested in that little bit of information. We had no idea what these men of ours were capable of, not really. We knew they were Hunters, respected and feared across the entire Coalition Fleet, but we didn’t understand why.

  And then I told them about the dream, about the way Von had moved so quickly I’d lost track of him. How he’d reappeared behind the Hive soldiers, their spinal columns severed before they even knew he’d moved.

  “So, maybe they’re like werewolves, but they just don’t change their shape.” Dani sat on the chair opposite me, her dainty legs tucked up under her body as she sipped her tea. Her nightgown was a navy that made her look like a dark angel with her halo of golden hair.

  Katie laughed at her. “You are such a weirdo.”

  Dani shrugged, but her grin was downright impish. “Come on. Admit it. You were totally on team Jacob like every reasonable woman on the planet.” She sipped her tea and leaned her head back with a very feminine groan of appreciation, her eyes closed. “Werewolves are totally hot. Or Michael, in Underworld. Do me, baby.”

  “They’re not werewolves.” I giggled a bit, remembering the way Von had lowered his face to my skin and taken my scent into his lungs.

  “No, they’re just aliens.” Katie lifted her feet to rest them on the small table in the center, her ankles crossed. “Horny aliens.”

  That got Dani’s attention. “Do tell, Katie. You’re like Fort Knox over there. I saw you with Bryn last night. How’s it going?”

  Katie shrugged. “I’m so not going there. Lexi?”

  I shook my head. No freaking way. I was not giving them details. I could barely believe the way I’d acted last night, the feel of Von’s cock filling my ass, stretching me open. I’d come all over him, more than once, barely able to breathe and begging for more. He made me crazy, like lose-my-freaking-mind and all self-control crazy. Nope. Not going there.

  I shifted on the couch, my bottom still a little tender. No, my private time with Von wasn’t something I was going to recount. I did tell them about Major Cosmo and the challenge that was scheduled for today. For once, I was glad for it because it completely distracted Katie and Dani from further inquiries into my sex life and me from that terrifying dream.

  “Why shouldn’t you go to the fight?” Katie asked, taking a sip of something close to coffee. She sat on the opposite end of the couch wearing a similar nightgown, but hers was a pale blue that matched her eyes. “He’s going to win. The major is a weakling in comparison to Von.”

  “He said he couldn’t protect me if I was there and he was busy fighting.”

  Katie shrugged. “That seems a little…possessive.”

  I snorted at that. Possessive? That word times ten.

  “Protect you? From what?” Katie asked. “We’ll be just outside the Touchstone and we’ll be with you. There are guards everywhere. It’s not like you’d be going off alone to a strange planet.”

  True, we’d yet to leave the building. We knew nothing of Everis other than what I could see from my window or read about in their books. I hoped onc
e Von claimed me, I’d see it. I wanted to see everything here. I wondered what the animals were like, and the trees? What did their flowers smell like? Was their grass green? Did they have orchards and farms on the planet or was it all grown on their moon? Did chefs here plant their own gardens? Did they even have chefs? Maybe they grew their food indoors, under grow lights like hydroponic farms back on Earth.

  “And she’s not going to go to the challenge to pick up another guy,” Dani added. “It’s not like she’s trolling.”

  I wasn’t. I didn’t want anyone else. I only wanted Von. I only wanted what he’d said he’d do to me after the challenge. Claim me, make me his completely. My nipples tightened and my pussy clenched in anticipation. I remembered how thick and big he was when he’d carefully slipped into my ass. I couldn’t wait to find out how fantastic he’d feel stretching me open and taking my virginity.

  “She’s going to see her man get all hot and sweaty, fighting another alien for her. It’s chest thumping and basic Neanderthal behavior. I, for one, don’t miss out on that kind of testosterone-fest,” Dani added.

  Dani did have a point. The idea of Von fighting someone else for me—me!—was actually pretty hot. Like ruined-panties hot.

  “Fine, Von going all caveman makes her ovaries jump for joy,” Katie said, getting up to go refill her mug. “But he’s a bossy alien and shouldn’t tell her what she can or can’t do. That’s the main reason we should go. Let him boss you now and he’ll think he can boss you forever. You have to set the tone for the whole relationship now.”

  I glanced at Dani, who looked elegant and perfect, even sprawled out on the couch next to me. She shrugged her dainty shoulders as she glanced my way. “She does have a point. I mean, if you’re to be with him forever and all that, you need to show him exactly who is going to be in charge of Alexa Lopez.”

  “Me,” I said.

  “You,” Katie added, settling back down and blowing on her hot drink before taking a sip. “My mother always said, start a relationship how you want it to go otherwise you’ll be picking dirty socks off the floor and falling into the toilet because the seat’s left up for the rest of your life.”

  Von and I hadn’t gotten to the dirty socks part of our relationship. No, only hot oral action in a restaurant and anal sex on the second date. I got their point though. If I let Von walk all over me now, he’d do it for the rest of our lives. Sure, I’d let him protect me from real threats, but just watching him beat up Major Cosmo? I didn’t see the danger.

  “You’ll both go with me, right? It’s not like I would go alone,” I said, glancing between them. They both nodded.

  “We wouldn’t miss it. That major? He’s a creep. I’d love to see him get punched in the nose,” Dani added. For someone so small, she was pretty ruthless.

  I stood up and both girls looked to me. “We’re going.”

  Katie and Dani also stood, grinning.

  “We’re going,” Katie repeated.

  “Hell, yeah.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Lexi

  I thought the fight would be like a boxing match, in a ring with a referee. Gloves. Maybe even something like the ridiculous wrestling shows on TV but without the men in tights. This? This was insane.

  It wasn’t within the walls of the Touchstone, but in an open courtyard below the hilltop. The three of us had followed the numbers of males who were headed to the fight. At first, we hadn’t known where to go, but we eavesdropped on multiple conversations so it wasn’t too tough to figure out that we were headed in the right direction.

  Everian males lined the outer edges of the large space, probably half the size of a football field. Most of the men wore uniforms I was by now very familiar with in brown and navy. Those who weren’t in the military wore various colored pants and white shirts. Simple clothes but they did not hide the fact that Everian males were big. So much bigger than most Earth men. Like football linebacker big. And tall.

  While we were waiting for Von and Major Cosmo to show up, the gathered men stared at us. Blatantly and openly, like we were the aliens and they couldn’t quite figure out what we were doing there.

  We made our way up to the perimeter, marked by odd sticks placed in the ground about every ten or fifteen paces. I reached out to touch one of them but my hand met solid resistance, and I realized there was a force field around the area, but I wasn’t sure if it was designed to keep the combatants in or the rest of the yelling men out.

  Katie lifted her hand to test the force field for herself before leaning in to me to whisper, “Have you noticed we are the only women here?”

  Um, yeah. Where were the other matched women? If this kind of a brawl was going on back home, there would be women everywhere, right next to the men.

  The male on our right was a large man in a brown uniform. He reached out and touched Dani on the shoulder, not roughly, just to get her attention. She jumped back and bumped into Katie, then me. We didn’t fall, but Katie stepped on my foot and she was wearing boots, with heels. Damn it.

  “Ow!” I shoved her away from me.

  “Sorry,” Kate mumbled, regaining her footing. We both scowled at the man who’d started the whole thing. Dani had her hands on her hips and glared up at him like a toy poodle staring down a Rottweiler.

  “Watch it, buster,” Dani said.

  “My name is not Buster, but you can call me anything you’d like,” the man said, clearly interested in Dani.

  “I don’t think so,” she countered.

  Before the conversation could get any worse, cheering broke out in the crowd. We looked up and even Buster forgot about Dani, at least for the moment, to watch as Von entered the courtyard from our left, Major Cosmo from the right, like gladiators walking toward each other from opposite ends of the arena. They wore nothing but their pants. No weapon holster on their thighs. Von’s pants were brown, Cosmo’s blue, and both men’s chests were bare.

  “Oh my God, they’re huge.” Dani sounded stunned, but I’d had my hands on my mate, danced with him, felt his massive chest and arms, his thick thighs.

  “Yes, they are,” Katie confirmed and looked at me, wiggling her eyebrows. I grinned back. I was pretty sure Katie wasn’t talking about their shoulders.

  The look on Von’s face was of a hardened warrior. I remembered the dream, the dangerous mission, the terror. He’d focused his mind on the task, blocked out everything else and went to work with a similar expression. Was he doing this now? Blocking out everything and getting his mission done? To take down Major Cosmo.

  He’d touched me, bruised my arm, expressed his interest in making me his mate. It went deeper than that though. This was a lifelong grudge that would come to a head now. Because of me.

  Von wouldn’t kill the major, but I knew he wanted to make sure Cosmo never touched me again. He wanted every other man on the planet to know I belonged to him, was under his protection. Von was a very possessive mate.

  He was here, fighting because of me. For me.

  One second they were twenty feet apart, fists clenched, and in the blink of an eye they were on each other.

  “Whoa,” Katie said. “Did you see that? How did they—”

  “How can they move so fast?” Dani asked, her voice laced with awe.

  Buster spoke up. “Earth aliens don’t move that quickly?” When Dani gave him a look that screamed, Duh he continued. “Hunters can move faster than your eyes can track. Most of us have learned to rein it in, to use our speed and strength only when riled. Like now. Those two are using all that energy, that speed, to win.”

  I didn’t like what he’d said. It was as if my eyes had hit the fast-forward button and the men moved with an unnatural speed. I heard fists connect with bone, but couldn’t see it, my eyes and brain not processing quickly enough.

  They came apart, circled. Breathing hard, their chests rose and fell. The major’s face was coated in sweat and there was a cut above his right eye. Von had bloody knuckles on his left hand.

 
They were going to beat the shit out of each other no matter how fast they moved. I just couldn’t see it happen.

  “He’s fighting for your honor, and yet you chose to be here. I wonder if perhaps he has made a mistake?” a deep voice beside me asked. A very large hand neared my head, his fingers trailing through a strand of my long black hair where it blew around my face in the slight breeze. “Or if you really are special?”

  I glanced up and I saw an Everian eyeing me with a very male, very interested grin on his face. His hand stroked down my arm and I stepped back. Von had caressed me like that and I’d loved his touch, but this felt like a complete violation of my personal space.

  He didn’t let me get far, his hand closed on my wrist.

  “Let me go,” I said, my voice slow and clear.

  He did, but my relief was short lived. His grip slid to my fingers and he bent low, kissing the back of my hand and my wrist with a little too much lingering, and tasting.

  Ew! Gross? Had he just licked me?

  “Stop that!” I said, yanking on my hand, trying to get away.

  A collective gasp came from the crowd and I looked up. Von had stilled and turned toward me. He’d heard me over the noise of the crowd, over everything. His eyes widened, then flared with anger at the sight of this guy touching me.

  Cosmo took advantage of the distraction to punch him. He drew his arm back slowly, so slowly that I saw the strike coming and tried to scream a warning. “Look out!”

  Von ignored Cosmo completely, his complete focus on me and the man touching me still. The major’s punch landed with a loud crack and both men went flying, Von from the punch, and Cosmo from the force of the strike behind it. I heard the crack, saw Von’s head rock to the side. Even then, his eyes remained trained on me.