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

by Tanya Jolie

  Her mother peered at her as if she was strange. “Suzie said she’d take me. You don’t have to bother.”

  Suzie eh? I’m going to have to meet you.

  Raine sat there and listened to her mother’s idle chat as she cut coupons out of various magazines. Suzie seemed to be the hot topic at the moment, and Raine listened for as long as she could stand it before making her excuses and leaving.

  Once she had changed out of the ridiculous dress she had been wearing, Raine thought about Antony.

  Where are you right now? You said you had a lot of meetings to go to. Who are you meeting? What about? Are you thinking about me? I wish I was with you right now.

  His absence was a palpable pain in her chest, and Raine laughed at herself even as she wiped tears from her eyes.

  Jesus Rainey, you only met him yesterday, get a grip!

  Making a decision, Raine got up and drove into town, heading for the office of her longtime friend, Lisa Gomez.

  Lisa’s office had not changed in the slightest since Raine had been there more than ten years ago. Precariously stacked mountains of files and assorted papers covered any horizontal surface, like the dying fingers of some massive paper beast. Lisa sat at the back, almost as if she was attempting to hide.

  “Raine?” Lisa asked as Raine tried to navigate to the back of the office without toppling one of the paper towers with a breast or buttock. “Shit, it is you!”

  “Hey Lisa. Still peddling lies in that rag of yours?”

  A feral smile crossed Lisa’s face. “You know it, baby.” Lisa had changed even if the office hadn’t. There were a few more lines around the edges of her eyes, her hair was a little grayer and she had filled out in the last few years, now sitting larger than Raine. “You coming back to work for me?” Lisa asked, trying to snag an answer as soon as possible. Raine made a face.

  “Don’t count on it. I only came home to look after mom.”

  “How is she?”

  “How you’d expect for someone who’s got dementia and terminal cancer,” Raine stated flatly.

  “Jesus, Raine. I’m sorry.”

  “She doesn’t know about the C. I thought it would be easier on her, you know?”

  “Yeah, but really hard for you, eh?” Tears started in Raine’s eyes, and Lisa jumped up to hug her. “Come on. Let it out, and you’ll feel better.” Raine cried for a while, grieving for the mother who had a death sentence hanging over her head. Eventually, Lisa suggested they go and grab some coffee and head for a diner a few blocks down.

  Coffee and Compassion looked a little more run down than when Raine had been there last. She and Lisa slid into a booth and ordered coffee. Their teenage waitress looked pitifully underfed and as bored as only a teenager could.

  “Talk to me,” Lisa said, and Raine poured her troubles onto her old friend, telling her about her break up with Sam in Chicago, losing her job at the Chicago Tribune and then finding out about her mother’s illness.

  Lisa listened, asking a few clarifying questions here and there – her journalistic idiosyncrasies as much a part of her as breathing – and making sure she interjected the occasional hum of agreement. When she had finished, Raine felt as if a weight had been lifted from her and grabbed Lisa’s hand, squeezing it in thanks.

  “So tell me about this Antony you’ve met,” Lisa said.

  Raine smiled shyly, a blush crawling up her neck.

  “Antony DuBesne,” Raine murmured and sighed like a schoolgirl with a crush on her teacher. “It’s hard to believe I only met him yesterday. I went to the Paradise, you know? Downtown and...” Raine trailed off when she saw the expression on Lisa’s face. “What’s wrong?”

  Ten minutes later they were back in Lisa’s office, staring at a series of articles involving the DuBesne Corporation and a number of its subsidiary companies.

  “Yeah, look here,” Lisa said, scrolling to one story. The headline read, “ADB Holdings to Acquire More Land.”

  Raine skimmed the text, picking out the salient points, which mainly involved this company buying up vast tracts of land in the middle of Texas.

  “So...?” She wondered.

  “So what does this company want with all that land?” She raised her eyes at Raine as if the answer was obvious. “It’s no good for farming. They can’t be intending to build on it, so that leaves?”

  Raine still had no answer.

  “Christ, no wonder they gave you the boot in Chicago. What else is Texas famous for? Oil and gas, right?”

  Raine nodded. “But if this land was any good for that kind of thing, it would have been bought up decades ago.” Raine said.

  “This company, ADB Holdings, is thinking about the future. Not the present. When the wells run dry and the gas is all pumped out, they have to start fracking to make it commercially viable again.”

  “And you think ADB is buying up most of Texas so they can frack it later?”

  “That’s what I fracking think, Raine,” Lisa said, “but I can’t prove anything.” She began typing, looking something else up. “Maybe you can though?” she asked, showing Raine the website she had called up.

  Raine looked at a slick, stylish and professionally built site, which depicted the management team of ADB Holdings, the CEO, who Raine had sipped coffee with that very morning, Celine Moreaux. Standing to one side was another person she had breakfasted with – and slept with – Antony DuBesne.

  “Why do you want proof? Are they doing anything illegal?” Her heart pounded when she asked this.

  “No, I don’t think so, but imagine what a story like this could do for my paper.” Lisa’s eyes were huge.

  “Your paper?” Raine said in shock.

  Lisa nodded. “I bought it about four years ago when the owners were going to close it down. I took it back from the coupon and advertisement paper it had become and started reporting again, featuring local things which affect local people. Like your new boyfriend.”

  “He’s not my boyfriend,” Raine moaned. “I only met him yesterday.”

  “Well, what if you just happen to see anything lying around? Could you let me know about it?” Lisa pressed.

  “Maybe, but I’m not going to do anything that’ll hurt Antony.”

  “I wouldn’t ask you to,” Lisa assured her friend, “but do the same rules apply to him?”

  ***

  Her Ford F-150 grunted its way back to her mother’s house, where Raine took a shower, sluicing the dust and sweat off. Drying her hair, she noticed she had a text from Antony, and her heart started to beat faster.

  Just from a text? You’re pitiful.

  I’ve been thinking about you all day. The message read.

  Me too. Raine sent back.

  You’ve been thinking about yourself? ;)

  His smiley face made her laugh.

  Of course, and about this guy I met.

  GUY? What guy?

  Where was the smiley face now?

  One I know. He’s sexy and funny and a little crazy. She replied.

  Is that it? I know someone much better.

  Who? Raine played along.

  This beautiful girl, she means a lot to me even though we only just met.

  Really?

  She’s beautiful and sweet with a smokin’ hot bod. I just want to worship every inch of her.

  Maybe you should go get her.

  I’m on my way.

  What? He’s coming here? NOW?

  Raine calculated the time it might take him to drive from the Paradise Hotel to her mother’s house. Figuring she might have about fifteen minutes before he arrived, she tried to make sure she looked as sexy as she could. She decided on a knee length skirt and iridescent, dark-green blouse with dark stockings and her frilliest lacy underwear.

  Just in case.

  She heard a knock at the door and her mother answered it.

  God, I hope that’s Carson.

  Slipping a pair of black heels on, Raine grabbed a sequined bag, stuffed her cards and phone i
nside and headed downstairs to see what carnage her mother was causing.

  “What you have to understand,” her mother was relating to Antony, “is Raine hasn’t had much experience with men. Oh, I know all about her little secrets. She thinks I don’t, but a mother knows...” Raine hit the floor running.

  “Hi, Antony!” she chirped, hoping to curb her mother’s tongue.

  “You certainly dress better than most of her high-school boyfriends.”

  “Thank you, mom,” Raine said, trying to guide her mother into the family room. Antony followed, a grin on his face, as he laid a warm hand in the small of her back. Raine felt a tingle jab up her spine and across her scalp.

  Just from a touch? How is it he’s got this control over the way my body reacts?

  Suzie – Raine presumed it was her anyway – was quite comfortable on her mother’s sofa, flicking through some of the magazines her mother had been clipping coupons from earlier.

  “Hi,” she greeted Raine in an over-friendly manner. Looking to be in her mid-thirties, she had on a vile, green tracksuit in some polyester blend with apparently-cheap running shoes and had a large, plastic necklace draped around her neck. Her hair had been forced into a ‘50s perm, and she wore so much makeup that it looked as if her face might actually have been bulletproof.

  “You must be Suzie,” Raine said offering her hand.

  Suzie took it with a grip as weak as damp paper. “Raine,” she said with a condescending tone. “Your mom’s told me so much about you.”

  “I’m sure she has,” Raine stated, knowing fully the kinds of things her mother had to say about her. She turned to Antony, “Are you ready?”

  He nodded and said goodbye to the two women.

  Raine slid into the pale interior of the gray car and waited for Antony to join her. Once he was in and Carson pulled away, she asked, “Who is Suzie, and where did you find her?”

  Antony looked at her with an amused expression. “Are you jealous, mon amore?”

  “Not at all, but she’s looking after my mother. I should know whether she’s some kind of head case.”

  Anton took her hand and stroked his thumb over the back of her fingers. “Suzie is a fully-qualified nurse, and she has years of experience caring for people with a multitude of illnesses, many of who have been family members close to me. Does this satisfy your curiosity?”

  Raine blushed. “I suppose so.” She slid across the seat, closing the small gap between them.

  Antony leaned over and pressed his lips against hers, taking her lower one between both of his. Raine kissed him back, and their mouths battled wetly, his tongue flicking in and out of her mouth, tasting and claiming it. They pulled apart, breathless and grinning.

  “I missed you today,” Antony said.

  I love the fact you can just say stuff like that.

  “I missed you as well,” Raine said. “What are we up to this evening?”

  “I have managed to find a drive-in movie theater not too far away.” He told her with a completely straight face.

  “Just the three of us or are we stopping to get a date for Carson?” Raine asked sarcastically. “I’ve got wise to your sense of humor, Mr. DuBesne.” Antony made a sad face and put his hand on her thigh. A thrill shivered up her leg, straight to her very core, and she bit her lower lip as he stroked her round flesh, squeezing gently.

  “I like this skirt,” he told her in a low, husky voice. The tone of his words sent more shivers up through Raine, and she felt her nipples harden inside the lacy bra she had on. Antony stared into her eyes as his hand slid further up her thigh, making her gasp.

  Jesus Christ! I’m getting wet for him, and he’s only touching my leg.

  Raine reached over and grabbed his tie, pulling her to him and shoving her tongue in his mouth. Never one to feel confident enough to express her sexual wants, she felt completely free with this near stranger and sucked his tongue into her mouth, moaning at the heat which built between them.

  “Raine,” Antony growled in a lust filled voice. “I want you. Here, now.” His need and want for her sent thrills through Raine’s body, and she shifted to straddle him, her skirt riding up to expose the tops of her milk-white thighs and her lacy panties. Antony pushed his hands up her legs as the silken stockings beneath his palms gave way to hot, smooth skin. She wanted him to kiss her there, taste her, make her quiver and squirm, but there was no room.

  Raine could feel the hardness of his erection straining through his trousers, and she grazed her fingers along its length, making him growl. He ran his hands up her back, pulled her closer to him and kissed her with a passion so strong it was overwhelming. Raine had never tried drugs but thought this might be something like the feeling of ecstasy an addict might crave. Gooseflesh crawled across her skin in the wake of his touch, traveling down to light fires deep inside her.

  Raine ached for him, needed to feel him inside her, and slid back to undo his pants, freeing his impressive member. Gently, almost reverently, she stroked her finger along the underside of his length from base to tip, circling the end a few times before gripping his shaft and pulling his foreskin back to reveal the bloated purple head. Raine licked her fingertip and rubbed tiny circles around his hole. She watched as his cock strained, and his eyes widened, smiling when his eyes raked down her body to her crotch.

  “Please,” Antony begged, and the feeling of power was like a second drug being injected into her. Raine had never been in control of a sexual situation with Sam. He always initiated, took what he wanted and left her wanting more. Antony was willing and able to let her have all the control she wanted, and she loved him for that. Raine reached down and pulled her panties aside, feeling how wet she was already, and then lifted her hips and impaled herself on him, gasping with every inch that slid inside her.

  Antony moaned, the feeling of being wrapped in and gripped by Raine’s slick wetness was almost more than he could take and it was an act of sheer willpower which stopped him from coming straight away. He rested his head against the back of the cream colored, leather seat and grabbed her hips, gripping tightly but letting her take charge.

  Raine’s hitching breath calmed a little once his thick length was inside her. She paused for a second, letting her body adjust to fit him then put her hands on his shoulders, feeling his muscles straining under his shirt, and started a gentle circular motion with her hips.

  Not caring in the slightest that Carson was driving just a few feet away, separated by only a sheet of glass, Raine slid her wet pussy up and down Antony’s burning member, feeling every inch pulling at her insides. She leaned forward, so his face was in her breasts, and he kissed his way up her ample cleavage, up her throat and to her ear.

  “Baise-moi, mon amour,” he whispered into her ear and even though she had no idea what he said, his intent was clear.

  Raine wrapped her arms around his head, feeling his hands gripping her hips. She bent down to graze his neck with her teeth, kissing and sucking his skin, smelling his expensive cologne.

  She knew Antony could not control himself when she heard his breathing getting ragged.

  “I’m going...to come!” he cried hoarsely in her ear, burying his face in her neck at the same time as his hips bucked upward, and his ejaculation exploded from him.

  The sight, sound and feel of him in her pussy and against her neck, gripping her hips and growling her name, sent Raine over the edge into her own orgasm. Her breath caught in her chest, all her muscles tensing as sheer delight coursed through her. It was as if she left her body for a moment, all sight, all sound washed away in a wave of sheer pleasure.

  Raine wanted to stay there forever, in a paradise of endorphin-fueled ecstasy, but reluctantly began to come back to the world. She laid her head on Antony’s shoulder and looked at his profile, eyes closed as if he was asleep.

  God, he’s beautiful! And I’ve fallen so hard and fast for him, it’s frightening.

  His green eyes fluttered open and found hers.

&
nbsp; “Hey,” he said with a smile. “That was fantastic.” Raine giggled then sighed as he ran his hands over her back. Unwillingly, she slid from his lap, smoothing her hair and fixing her clothes. Antony straightened himself up too, handing her a wad of tissue he grabbed from one of the walnut trimmed cupboards set into the partition before them.

  “Where are we going?” Raine wondered, looking out the window at the Texas desert flowing by.

  “An oasis,” he replied with a smile.

  Carson turned off the road, along a dusty track, which led to a wall of trees and vegetation. He brought the car to a stop and climbed out, opening the door for Raine and offering his hand. If he had any idea what they had been doing in the backseat, he gave no sign at all. Going to the rear, he opened the spacious boot and pulled out a large blanket and wicker picnic basket. Antony grabbed several large cushions and followed the driver towards a lake, grabbing Raine’s hand and leading her with him.

  The lake shore was a bleached sand strip around the edge of the dark green water, dotted with sharp pebbles and the occasional sprout of grass. The grass got thicker towards the top of the gently sloping side, and this is where Carson laid the blanket. Antony dropped the cushions, took the basket from Carson and thanked him before the driver strode off back towards the car.

  They sat in the shade of the few trees, which grew there, sipping champagne and eating chocolate covered strawberries. Antony laid his head in her lap, looking up into her eyes as the Texas heat drained from the air, and the evening sun dipped slowly towards the ground to the west.

  “Feed me a strawberry, woman,” he ordered her in a Texan accent. Raine laughed and held the stem of one of the bright-red fruits, dangling it just out of reach of his lips. Antony jumped up to grab it, but she pulled it away.

  “Beg for it,” Raine breathed, her thoughts running back to the events in the car earlier. In her mind, the strawberry had morphed into her nipple, and she was teasing him with it, trying to get him to beg to suck her heavy tits. Her concentration was so focused on this erotic image, she didn’t see when he snapped up and bit the fruit in half.

  “Ha! I win.” Antony celebrated, not knowing what Raine had been thinking about.