by Ivy McAdams
It hasn’t been weeks for me like it was for her. I feel like I just went to sleep and woke up after an hour’s nap. Not like I floated around where time stood still.
“He used it to swap our minds. Our consciousness, I guess.”
“But what are these bodies? Whose are they?”
“Females long gone. Destroyed by stagni.”
Staga-who?
I’ve been loaded down with so much information in the last few hours that it’s hard to process it all. I press a pair of fingers to the plastic-covered bridge of my nose.
“And those are the freaky as fuck aliens that tried to eat us?”
Gemma nods, the spark in her eyes growing brighter now that I’m following along. “Yes. They’re vicious, fight-dirty pieces of shit. They wiped out just about all the Kutarian women. A few bodies survived the onslaught, but their brains were destroyed.”
“So what? They just kept the bodies in the ice cooler for a rainy day? They’re not wedding cake toppers.”
“The Shaman kept them alive, healthy, ready. Just in case.”
“The warriors use the same herb to swap into animals sometimes,” Trinity adds in.
I wrinkle my nose. “What for?”
She shrugs. “Learn about the animals. To hunt them or something.”
“Sounds like cheating.”
“They’re not screen watching,” Gemma laughs. “They study the way of the animal so they can prepare for later.”
“Either way,” I say, “these guys knew how to switch bodies and used it to trap you in there?”
Gemma and Trinity exchange a glance again. I’m definitely missing something huge.
“Essentially,” Gemma murmurs. “But when there’s no human base left on the planet and we’re abandoned out here with no oxygen, these bodies are a Godsend.”
My eyes cross as I examine the strange primitive-looking addition to my oxygen mask. I’m not attached to a canister anymore, but the messy gourd protruding from my mouthpiece is doing something to filter the air for me. It’s not perfect—it’s actually hard to breathe sometimes—but at least I’m not dead.
“Sure, we’re all a little trapped,” Trinity says, “but there’s a lot to be thankful for here. I don’t feel trapped.”
A warm smile spreads over Gemma’s face, and it’s easy to see that she feels the same.
These chicks are crazy.
But when both their eyes light up, I see why.
The tent flap opens and a few hulking alien savages walk in. Most of them look familiar. They’re the ones who adopted us back at our attack site. Their huge bodies and thick muscles make me feel even smaller.
The first male is quite tall. He has purple feathers woven into the black mohawk of hair that trails down the center of his head and scales along his shoulders. His eyes scan us before settling on Gemma. It's odd to watch his hard face melt into a smile.
Totally wasn’t expecting that. I mean, I’ve seen month-old butter melt in the Tennessee sun in a matter of seconds, but that was a serious reaction.
Gemma perks up like an excited hen, ruffling her feathers and wiggling her ass discreetly. I’m not looking, but it’s hitting me in the hip.
I have an urge to shove the big loinclothed rump out of the way. Let her wiggle like a puppy over there.
What is with her anyway? That guy led the charge to steal us away and bring us, kidnapped, back to his camp, right? Hardly seems like anyone excited enough to—and they’re kissing.
I blink up at the giants as they embrace.
It’s like watching a couple makeout in a movie—their eyes closed, arms wrapped around one another, mouths moving as if they can’t get enough of one another.
Holy cow, get a tent.
The slight niggle of irritation that my welcome party slash Q and A has been crashed lasts only a moment as I look over the remaining men.
Half-naked in loincloths, still coming in the doorway. All the muscles and toned silver skin. The next in line has wide, strong shoulders and a chest that catches my eye and won’t let go. There’s something about the smooth curves and dips of his muscles that steals away all the rational thoughts from my brain.
What aliens? Who needs a new tent?
My gaze travels up the magnificent chest crossed with a leather strap that sheathes what looks like a bone knife. Up the hollow of a throat that’s just begging to be touched to a scarred face and a pair of eyes that are trained on me.
Green, dark, and intent. Locked on me like he intends to devour me.
Though not in a malicious way, and I’m surprised that no inkling of fear swells within me. Just a burning curiosity and a strange desire for him to keep looking.
Behind the warrior, another pushes through the flap and moves inside the tent. He has pecs like a wall and abs for days. His face is lit up with a smile and he rushes straight into our group and scoops Trinity up. She squeals in delight, kicking her feet over his arm, and he carts her back out of the tent without a word.
Gemma and her new friend laugh. When she glances at me, her eyebrows lift.
“Oh, yes,” she says. “Eva, these are some of the warriors of the Kutarian tribe. That one who just went running out with Trinity is Xjhun. They disappear a lot, don’t mind them.”
She chuckles again, but I’m torn between an engaging feeling of shock and intrigue. Is this a good thing or…?
“This is Kovak, Warrior Captain,” she continues.
I can tell by the way her eyebrows bounce and the red tint shifts into her cheeks when she smiles at him exactly who he is. He didn’t need to throw her over his shoulder and stomp out to make that relationship clear.
The makeout session before helped too.
The big guy seems reluctant to take his eyes away from her, but he at least looks at me with a polite nod and a few words I don’t understand.
Dammit. I forgot about that part.
I don’t have any issues talking with the human Kutarians, but the actual aliens? I have no idea what he said.
Gemma must realize it too because she pats his arm and translates. “He says it is an honor to meet the woman who got me here.”
I tilt my head and frown curiously.
The grin on her face is a bit sheepish. “He’s heard a lot of our stories. He knows who you are.”
My heart twinges.
“The good stories I hope.”
“Of course, they’re good stories. Great ones.”
Gemma was my rock at school while I was fighting to complete my double major. Everyone—including my advisor—laughed at the idea of me studying neo-paleontology at the same time I was in my first semester of veterinary medicine. Everyone but Gemma.
I owe her my sanity.
She owes me her degree, I suppose. Our all-night study sessions got her deep enough into the neo-paleontology program to get the Xion V internship.
She begins to giggle. “And maybe some of the bad stories.” Her voice lowers a fraction and she winks. “But none of the frat house ones.”
I laugh with her, and she sweeps her arm toward the other male aliens.
It only takes one look at the green-eyed brute to pull my full attention again. It’s like looking at one of those cobras. Wait, is that real? With the hypnotizing eyes? If not, he could pull it off. Scales, a tail, and eyes that nearly make me forget how to breathe.
Or that could be this stupid oxygen converter.
I adjust it on my face, feeling suddenly self-conscious.
“This is Drek,” Gemma says. “Kovak’s second in command of the warriors. His best friend.”
She gives me a playful elbow, meant for my ribs I assume, although it nearly takes off my head. Then she says a few strange words, including my name, to Drek and he nods with a low grunt of a greeting. He sounds like a beast. I don’t expect it to tickle my fancy, but there it is.
“Hey there,” I murmur, trying to keep the tremble from my voice.
He doesn’t say anything in return, but that’s ok
ay. He’s nice enough to look at. He doesn’t need to talk.
“It’s cool to have a dude with a best friend, don’t you think?” Gemma asks with a ridiculously melodious lilt in her voice.
She leans into me, or just enough not to knock me over, and I realize where she’s going. It’s not the first time she’s tried to set me up.
“Oh, sure. It’s great that your boyfriend has a friend who doesn’t have boobs.”
I may be a little biased against men having female best friends. Especially if they’re supposed to be your exclusive boyfriend.
But I digress.
“Not that. He has a friend. You know. Like a brother.” She swats at my arm playfully. “You know you want it,” she snickers.
A prickle of heat blooms in my cheeks as I look between her and the giant best friend standing against the wall.
We may have attempted dating brothers before, because who wouldn’t want to go on awesome double dates and have double weddings and all that fun best friend shit? I would.
Although I thought I’d be signing up to date humans.
This complicates things a little.
But it doesn’t keep the blush from burning my face. Especially as Drek’s eyes sear into me.
He may be a strong, silent type, but it’s like he’s saying all the right things just with those eyes.
Bless it, I can’t look away.
“Maybe this isn’t appropriate to talk about in front of him,” I murmur, unable to turn my gaze toward her.
“It’s okay. He doesn’t understand English.”
“Right. Wait. You can speak two languages?”
"Actually, I know some French too."
When I wrangle my gaze back to her, she winks.
"Otherwise, yes. I guess so. It's some weird mix in my brain. I can talk to you just fine, but I can talk to them too. It feels seamless, even though I know I'm not speaking the same to both of you."
I steal a peek at Mr. Second in Command again. A flutter of excitement ripples through my skin to find him still watching me.
“That’s fascinating,” I say, “but also good news. No need for him to think you’re as crazy as I do.”
Her eyes flash in excitement. “What’s wrong? Don’t want Drek to know I’m planning our double wedding?”
I blink at her as the blush in my face and neck flare, and I give her gigantic arm a shove. “What the fuck, Gem. Shut it.”
She giggles. “Come on, you know he’s hot. And wait until you see his—”
Kovak clears his throat, looking between us with an air of surprise. Has he not seen Gemma on one of her giggle fits yet? Though without me here, it’s not a shock. I smile at the thought, glad that if I have to be marooned on an alien planet, she’s at least still here with me.
She bites her lip, containing her mirth, and I lean into her, pretending I’ve done nothing wrong.
She speaks to her boyfriend and he answers, all in some foreign tongue that’s rough and song-like at the same time. When she looks at me with nearly uncontained laughter in her eyes, my curiosity spikes.
“Kovak says we should calm down,” she whispers, though not that softly. “We’re riling up his warriors.”
I don't even need the bounce in her eyebrows to tell me what that really means. My gaze shifts beyond her to Drek, still standing tall by the door. The scar that crosses over his nose and part of his cheek seems less pronounced now. Almost as if it fades into the handsome cheekbones and strong nose. Black braids spiral along his scalp and fall around his shoulders. Long hair on top of his head reaches into the air between pointed ears that lay back against his head like an agitated horse. His arms are crossed over his large chest. Those biceps look hard as a rock.
I want to touch one.
When my eyes meet his, one of his eyebrows tilts up slightly.
I’m a little mortified that Kovak said such a thing in front of him, but also thoroughly intrigued.
Drek can be disturbed all he wants because there's something fishy happening in my stomach too and I'm not altogether sure I don't like it.
Then his mouth opens and a deep, husky voice rolls out.
All eyes are on me again, and I wish to high heavens I knew what the hell he said.
When the intensity is just starting to become too much for a one-room tent, another alien pops his head in through the flap. The warriors turn to regard him and he speaks aloud.
Drek’s muscles tense and his brow furrows. His concentration face is rather attractive as he strides toward the doorway and disappears.
And I suppose that’s that.
He’s gone and taken all his interesting features I was still studying with him.
I don’t know what the hell just happened here, but I do know one thing.
I need to learn Alienese.
Click here to read more!
Also by Ivy McAdams
Sci-fi Romance
Kutarian Warriors
Abducted by an Alien Savage
Tamed by an Alien Savage
Craved by an Alien Savage
Western Romance
Emerald Falls Series
Kidnapped by an Outlaw
Seduced by a Wrangler
Captivated by a Gunslinger
Emerald Falls Novella
Rescued by a Desperado (prequel)
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Ivy McAdams’s Beauties and Beasties
About the Author
Ivy McAdams is all about the thrills, be it falling in love or action-packed adventure. The more heart-pounding the better.
Exotic worlds are her slice of pie. Undiscovered planets, enchanting fantasy realms, or even the more sinister side of the wild west frontier. Finding romance in these otherworlds is one of her favorite adventures.
When not writing, she’s taking care of two beautiful girls and teaching them to adore books as much as she did growing up. She can’t wait until they’re big enough to go on exciting adventures with her, both on the page and off.
https://ivymcadams.com