ALIEN SHIFTER ROMANCE: Alien Tigers - The Complete Series (Alien Invasion Abduction Shapeshifter Romance) (Paranormal Science Fiction Fantasy Anthologies & Short reads)

by Tanya Jolie

  “Why do you care so much, Hunter?” she asked sounding completely defeated.

  “Why do I care so much? Because I love, you Charlotte. I have loved you from the moment I met you. I can’t explain it. It doesn’t make sense. But it just is! I love you so much and I love our baby, too. I don’t want a life without the two of you in it. So you see, if something happens to you, there will be no reason for me to even care about living.”

  Tears filled Charlotte’s eyes again. But, this time they were happy tears. Hunter was never so happy to see someone smile. And she finally said, “I love you too, Hunter. I have loved you since the first night. Oh, I am so sorry that I have put you through all of this! I don’t want to die. I promise I will never try to hurt myself or our baby. But, what do we do now?”

  It only took Hunter a second to realize what he wanted. He got down on one knee and took both of Charlotte’s hands in his. “Charlotte Marie Sandusky, I love you more than I ever knew was possible. I want to spend the rest of my life taking care of you. Will you marry me?”

  Charlotte gasped and then grabbed Hunter and pulled him to her while yelling, “Yes, yes, yes! I will marry you! I love you so much, Hunter!” He picked her up and gave her a hug and kiss. Neither of them could stop smiling, nor could they keep their hands off of each other.

  When their excitement started to wear down a bit, they both remembered at the same time that Hunter was still going to be deployed. Charlotte spoke about it first, “How long will you be gone? Will you even be here when the baby is born? I’m scared, Hunter. This isn’t going to be easy.”

  “Well considering what the Commander knows now, I don’t even know if I will make it to deployment. He is either going to kill me or get me dishonorably discharged. Either way, it won’t be pretty. And honestly? I don’t even know if I want to go now. I know I made a promise and a commitment to my country. But, now I have made a commitment to you. I don’t know how I am going to be able to keep both promises. But I do know one thing- I am not willing to lose you. Just let me think about it for a little while. I will figure something out.”

  And just then Charlotte’s eyes got wide like she had just remembered something. “I think I just figured out a way to keep him off your back……. So, I am assuming that participating in drug activity is frowned upon when you are a Commander of the Navy SEALs, right?”

  “Of course,” Hunter replied. “Why in the world are you asking me that? Unless…….Wait! What do you know?”

  “It’s not just what I know. It’s what I have pictures of! Your high ranked Commander likes his white powder, if you know what I mean! One night when I was seriously considering breaking it off, I decided to take a few pictures of him taking it up his nose, just in case I needed it for blackmail. I did it carefully so he never knew. Do you think you can use this somehow?”

  Hunter though carefully before he spoke, “Well, I’m not usually the kind of person who blackmails people…..But under the circumstances, I don’t see any other way. Can I borrow the pictures?”

  “What are you going to do, Hunter?” Charlotte asked.

  “Don’t worry, Charlotte. I am going to do the right thing. I’m going to go back to base and in the morning, I’m going to have a little chat with the Commander. I will call you as soon as I’m done so I can come over and tell you all about it. No worries, my love. Everything is going to be ok.”

  Charlotte believed him because she trusted him and loved him so much. “Ok. I will wait for your call.”

  They said goodbye, hugging and kissing like they would never see each other again. They said “I love you”, and then Hunter was out the door. His mind was still spinning from everything that had happened tonight. He knew what he had to do in the morning, and he knew it was the right thing. He got little sleep as he mentally prepared for the meeting with Commander Munster.

  Hunter met up with Commander Munster early that morning and everything went exactly as planned. He spoke his part as the Commander listened with wide eyes. He couldn’t wait to see Charlotte and tell her everything. But, he had a stop to make first on his way to her apartment.

  She was watching for him so her door was open when he arrived. He gave her a big hug and kiss, then she ushered him onto the couch. “I’m dying here, Hunter! Tell me what happened!” she blurted out.

  “How badly do you want to know?” he teased.

  Charlotte squealed and hit him playfully on the arm. “Come on! Just tell me. I’m assuming it’s good news since you are in such a delightful mood. Don’t make me wait and guess any longer! Tell me what happened!”

  “Well, it worked. I showed him the pictures and I told him what I wanted in exchange for our silence. He didn’t even argue. He had no choice but to agree. He will be signing my discharge papers tomorrow. My honorable discharge papers!”

  Even as Hunter sat smiling, Charlotte felt guilty, “But, Hunter I feel so terrible about you giving up your dream. I don’t want you to resent me in the future because of this.”

  Hunter explained to her, “You see, I wanted to be a Navy SEAL from the time I was young. At first, it was going to be a way for me to escape my alcoholic mother as soon as I was out of high school. And then it turned into more. I imagined it would be a place where I could belong. I never felt right in my own home growing up. I love my sisters, but I was the black sheep in my family. I though by joining the Navy, I would find my family and finally fit in somewhere. I thought I would finally find happiness. But that’s not what happened. I met a few good friends, and I still love the crazy training we go through, but I never found a place to fit in. Now, I am going to have my very own family. I am in love with an amazing woman, and we are going to learn how to be parents together. This is my idea of fitting in somewhere. Maybe I was never meant to be a SEAL for very long. Maybe I was meant to be a loving husband and father. I love you, Charlotte. I will never resent you for this decision I made. I know it was the right one.”

  By the time he was done speaking, there were tears streaming down Charlotte’s face. “You don’t know how happy you make me, Hunter Smith! I am the luckiest woman in the world! I love you. And I love our baby. You’re right- we are going to be a family. Now you will always fit in. That is a promise I vow to keep to you. You will always be loved.”

  And before she could reach over to hug him, he was down on his knees again. He couldn’t help but laugh at her confused expression, wondering why he was down there again. Hadn’t he already proposed?

  Before she could question him, he spoke, “I know this looks like a repeat of last night, but this time I am going to do it right.” He reached into his pocket and produced a small jewelry box. When he opened it up, a gorgeous diamond ring sparkled up at her. “Charlotte Marie Sandusky, will you marry me?”

  As she got on the floor with him to give him a kiss, she said, “Yes! A thousand times, yes!”

  They were both laughing with pure joy when they tumbled flat onto the ground, which made them laugh even more. Hunter rolled over and sweetly kissed his beautiful, future bride thinking that he was the luckiest man alive!

  THE END

  Loved by the Mercenary

  Mysteries and Revenge

  A Military Romance

  Loved by the Mercenary:

  Mysteries and Revenge

  Chapter 1

  Chayla woke up suddenly. It was not from a dream or from something she heard. It was like something inside of her screamed to awaken. Her almond-shaped brown eyes flashed open and she instantly knew something was wrong. The light filtering in from the pulled back shade showed smoke and then her nostrils took in the smell. Panicked, she sat up and looked around. Her apartment was dark, but she knew that there was a fire somewhere. She was on the second floor and Chayla knew that she had to get downstairs as quickly as she could.

  It was not a house fire made from a sleeping tenant that forgot to blow out a candle. The fire was started from a rash of protest that had taken over the city. What started from one slight, turn
ed into a city upending itself and she caught a glimpse of an apartment building across the street also on fire. Her heart pounded in her chest and she made her way to the door. She didn’t think to grab her purse or anything really. Chayla just had to get out quickly.

  Covering her mouth with the top of her tanktop, Chayla opened the door and thicker smoke billowed in from the hallway. She started to race down the stairs, her knees weak and close to buckling as she went down the first of two sets of stairs. There was a bump from behind and Chayla was sent sprawling down the last six steps, hitting the landing hard. She saw feet continuing down, the person not even stopping to see if she was okay.

  She wasn’t. Chayla had a shooting pain going up her arm, but she got up and continued down the last flight. The smoke was getting thicker, burning her eyes. Chayla couldn’t see her own hand in front of her and she walked slower, not wanting to fall again with the numbing pain to remind her of the consequences.

  Holding her breath, Chayla was feeling desperate. Her brain was screaming for oxygen and she couldn’t seem to maneuver the last hundred yards out of the building. She ran into a wall twice and finally when she was giving up hope and starting to see spots behind her eyes, a hand gripped her and pulled her from the building.

  It was the sweetest breath that she had ever tasted and she turned to the tall, handsome soldier that had pulled her out. She threw her arms around him and then grimaced when she felt her arm again, reminding her that she was hurt. “Miss? Are you okay?”

  Chayla looked down at the gash in her arm. She wasn’t okay, but when she looked back up into his piercing slate eyes, it suddenly didn’t seem so bad. Her heart skipped a beat and everything stood still in that moment. It was fleeting though and he was looking at her like she may have had a concussion.

  “Miss?”

  “Sorry, yeah I think. Thank you Sir.” Her eyes went to the rectangular piece of cloth that had his name sewed into it. ‘Sampson.’

  “Why don’t you come over here and see a medic. It looks like you may need some stitches. Did you see anybody else in there?”

  She shrugged that she didn’t know and looked at the pale hand on her arm from his light touch. The tall, man walked her to the back of an Army truck and handed her off to another soldier with a medic’s badge. He helped cleaned the wound, but told her that she was going to have to go to the hospital for stitches. In a daze, Chayla used his phone to call a friend to take her so she didn’t have to go in one of the ambulances that had pulled up to help people. Most of the crowds were gone, leaving destruction in their wake.

  Shivering in the cold waiting, she watched the neighborhood she had lived in for many years, burn around her. It seemed like as soon as one fire was put out, another started. Her eyes searched for the man that had helped her, but she didn’t see him again. Getting into Anya’s car, they went down to the hospital and a few hours later, Chayla was released.

  “Why don’t you come stay over at my house tonight?”

  “I can’t. I got to go see what is left, if anything. I don’t even know if I will be able to get up there. I didn’t even grab my pictures, nothing. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

  “Calm down, it is just stuff. I am just glad you are safe.”

  Chayla wanted to agree, but the pictures of her parents that had passed where in that apartment, her whole life was there and she had to see if she could salvage any of it. Anya agreed reluctantly to take her back, though she made Chayla promise that she would call her if she needed anything. She didn’t want to leave, but Chayla was determined to get back in and see what was left of her twenty-two years of life. She had learned to let things go and accept things, but she didn’t want to let the picture go. It was just something she was not willing to do.

  She was still too far to see, but she started to feel relief as there didn’t seem to be any structural damage on the outside. Anya had to park several blocks away and all she could see at first was the streams of smoke floating into the air. Getting closer to her apartment building, even with what she was there to do, her mind went back to the tall man that had saved her. There were several National Guard patrolling around the area after the fires were put out. A curfew had been ordered and they were brought in to keep the peace and Chayla hoped that she could find him. If for no other reason than to thank him properly, she had to find him.

  “Miss, you can’t go in there.”

  Chayla had not even seen the older man walk up in dark fatigues, his eyes sharp. “I live here and I need to get a few things.”

  “I’m sorry but it will have to be cleared before anyone can go in. It is for your own safety.”

  “Please…you don’t understand.”

  Chayla was close to tears, her mouth unable to convey what she wanted to say. Not getting into the apartment was not an option for her.

  “Santino, I’ve got this.”

  Chayla turned to the voice and there he was. His blue eyes sparkled down at her and she smiled up at him a little breathless.

  ***

  Chapter 2

  “Did I thank you for saving me?”

  Charles nodded and smiled. “There is no need to Ma’am, but yes I think you did so earlier. How is your arm?”

  “It will be better in a few weeks. So can I really not go in there…?”

  “Charles Ma’am, Charles Sampson.”

  She took his offered hand and liked the way his hand engulfed hers. Chayla felt so tiny next to him, but undeniably safe. “Chayla Griffit.”

  “Well Chayla, it hasn’t been checked to see if it is safe yet. Fire Marshals will come through in the morning and check the structure. I wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”

  While his words touched her, she was not worried about getting hurt, but more about one photo album. If she could get that, she decided that she could walk away from the rest of it. “I understand, it’s just…well there is something in there that I really need. I don’t want to leave it in there, the rest I could care less about.”

  She piqued his interest and Charles wondered what the tiny woman wanted so badly. Her dark eyes and chocolate skin looked almost black against the night sky and she looked mysterious to him. “What is it that you need so bad Chayla?”

  Her smile was quick, knowing that she was going to get what she wanted. One way or another she usually did. “A silver-cased photo album that is underneath my bed. I would just be a moment if you let me just go pop up there real quick.”

  Chayla was already starting towards the entrance and he stopped her. “I didn’t say you were going to go. I can’t in good conscious allow it. I will go up there and get it for you, as long as you promise to wait here.”

  She nodded her head, agreeing. Chayla really didn’t care about all the rest of it, she just wanted the photos. It was funny how little money was worth in the face of a tragedy, all she cared about was preserving memories. The rest could be rebought, though she doubted she would want half of it again. She watched him go into the smoke-filled building and sent a little prayer up that he would be okay.

  When he came back down with her heart’s desire in his hands, she thanked him with another hug and a kiss on the cheek. As she settled against his hard uniformed body, she was tempted to kiss him on his lips. She moved to her tippy-toes to reach him and she mewled softly into his mouth when he kissed her back, his tongue swirling in her mouth.

  Charles got ahold of himself before Chayla did, pushing her back slightly with an arm. His face was tight and she blushed under her dark skin. “Sorry, I was just a tad too happy to see it. You don’t know how much it means to me. Do you get off soon or could you go for a coffee? I would love to thank you with a meal if you have time?”

  Chayla was babbling and she tried to stop the torrent of words, but she couldn’t. She ached to touch her lips and check to see if they had been scorched with the heat of their embrace. It had been a while since anyone had caught her off guard in such a way and she really did want to thank him properly. Chayla had
nothing to get back to and it only put off the inevitable search for a hotel.

  “Coffee would be good.”

  He offered her arm and they walked down to the 24-hour diner on the corner. It was still open and had only a small scorch mark in front of it. Chayla had to imagine that the owner Rajid, had made sure to protect his investment. It was just a reminder of the madness in the city and her need to get away from it. ‘No job is worth it’. Her friend’s words in head, reminding her how differently things could have turned out.

  She followed him in and picked her usual booth in the back. Always trying to get some work done, there were many morning she would go down there for a quick breakfast and a work session. “Hey Chay. I saw your building, are you okay? Damn crazies run around here at night, I swear.”

  Her brown shoulders shrugged and she told herself not to choke up. Ashlea seen the conflict and nodded. “The usual?”

  Chayla nodded. “What do you want Charles?”

  “Coffee would be great Ma’am.”

  Ashlea shot her a look over his head. It registered definite approval and she tried not to laugh. That was why she loved that place. It seemed to make even the worst days better.

  “So you come here a lot?”

  “Yeah, I do some of my work here. Email and all, it was always so convenient being right down the street. I think I will miss this place far more than my apartment and all the stuff.”

  “I can’t imagine. I am sorry.”

  “It’s okay. Stupid protesters are getting out of hand. They never seem to see the bigger picture of the destruction of their own neighborhoods. Are you from around here?”