“Then why do you care what they think?”
“Because if I were normal I would like them. They are the popular girls in my class.”
“I see. Is there anyone in your class you like?”
Her eyes got bright, and a smile lingered on her lips. “I like Miley. She’s squad. Miley likes electronic games like me and she has this cool diary that only she can open because it has a secret passcode that allows her to bring it to school and the others can’t see what she’s writing.” Her voice lowered. “The popular kids think she is writing bad things about them, but she isn’t. She’s writing adventures that she and I will go on one day.”
Tugging his hand, she took him down a different aisle until they were in front of the diary section. He examined it and decided she was right, it was the best diary ever.
“Can I tell you a secret, Kayla?”
Her head moved as she looked at him with big solemn eyes.
“If you live your life doing the things others think you should do, you’ll reach my age, and you won’t be happy. Be friends with who you want and do the things that make you happy.”
Her head tilted as she listened to his words. The same words he was sure her mom and dad told her.
“I want the diary and the VR game.”
He gave her a bright smile and a quick hug. “Well let’s grab them.”
The salesman was smiling like a damn Cheshire cat when he saw them coming to the counter with the purchases. Yeah, he could have called Hale, and he would have sent one over, but sometimes you needed to let children know they were loved. In his world, actions spoke louder than words.
“What do you think we should do next?” he asked as they walked out of the store.
“Arcade,” they both screamed before their bellies made rumbling noises.
“Hmm, I think someone needs to eat.” He flashed them a smile, “But first we need to take our purchases out to the car.”
He quickly found the group and ignored the smiles as they checked out the games in his hands.
“Car keys,” he said brusquely. He wasn’t upset or anything else, but they didn’t need to know that. He couldn’t afford them knowing how his heart was breaking. They would want to keep him at their side, watch him. That wasn’t happening.
“Stay with your parents,” he said to his diligent little soldiers. Picking up the toys, he headed towards the parking lot to stow them in the vehicle.
The walk to the SUV took no time at all. He closed the back and leaned his head against it. Once again he reminded himself that not everyone was supposed to be mated, and it was simply his luck that he had drawn the short straw. His boys were taken care of, and that’s all that mattered. Now he could turn his mind towards others who needed his help. With a slow shake of his head, he pushed himself up and returned to the mall.
That scent, the one he smelled in the toy store was tantalizing his sense of smell again. He should resist but how could he? It was like the Delia flower from his home world mixed with a unique scent of femininity. The smell was enough to drive him to his knees while making him harder than steel. There was no way he was leaving until he found the source of the scent.
He rode the escalator down to the lower level; the scent became stronger, calling to him. Walking down the corridor, he called himself a fool; this must be a new trick by the Sudir. How else could the scent appeal to him? Briefly, he thought about asking for backup, but he didn’t want to share the scent, not yet. He walked until he saw her.
She was standing in front of a store slightly bent over allowing her body to show off the perfect roundness of her rear. He licked his lips and felt one of his fangs. His fingers itched to touch her ass; he knew it would be soft. Swallowing hard, he tried to adjust himself. Forget about being hard as steel, right about now he could bend the stuff with his cock.
His eyes tried to travel up the alluring column of her back while taking in her legs at the same time. Colun had to give a small laugh. He definitely had to pick a direction. His eyes decided to climb up her lovely body first, appreciating the way her pants cinched around her waist, and the soft pink of the shirt tucked into the band giving him a surprising view of the small of her back. The desire to lick her there was overwhelming
With a slow shake of his head reality set in. Who wanted an old alien like him? It was time for the young ones to mate; his time had come and gone. His eyes continued to move up until he saw the strong column of her neck and the dark hair pushed to the side with a light sprinkling of silver in it.
He liked it. He had never mourned his youth, but at this moment he wished he was a young male so he could approach her.
*~*~*~*
Sara straightened up; the shoes she was looking at in the store window were a little too high for her. She wanted to embrace her youth not break her neck. Feeling eyes on her, she turned thinking it was probably some young girls laughing at her looking at the high heels.
It wasn’t!
Her body stopped, no air moved, her blood didn’t flow. She was certain she would have died at that moment if someone hadn’t knocked into her making her take a breath while her body started functioning again. She had never seen anyone like the male looking at her. He was over six feet tall with the prettiest gray eyes.
His hair was a dark brown with just a hint of silver at the temples. He wore a pair of jeans with a V-neck black tee. All of which she had seen before but his muscles were thick and hard. His shoulders were so broad; she saw herself lying on him or him picking her up without breaking into a sweat. That mouth, dear Lord help her, it was so sensual she wanted to walk up to him and beg for a kiss. How old was he? She couldn’t tell. His body made her swear he was thirty but his eyes looked older, and he did have silver at his temples.
Maybe he was like her, an older person in a younger body. Who was she kidding? Even if he was around her age, he could have someone half her age with a single smile of those perfect lips, but it didn’t stop her from wanting him.
Tonight when she read her romance she would fantasize about him. Her heartbeat increased as a single tear slid down her cheek, she longed for the one thing she never found in her life. She wanted the illusion of being loved one more time even if it was only for a night. A small, sad smile crept over her lips. Things didn’t happen like that in her world. For a moment she saw herself living well past one hundred, alone and lonely.
Chapter Three
Walk away. Those words swirled around Colun’s head. He was too old for this. Males his age never met their mates. How do you know? That insistent voice was back in his head again. He didn’t know. He had been young when he received the assignment of taking the young males from his planet and stashing them on Earth until they could go home.
That never happened. His planet, their planet had been destroyed. The sole survivors, as far as he knew, were the ones who came to Earth with him. He grew up quickly with his other soldiers as they learned how to take care of males who were barely out of the infancy stage.
It was by accident that they learned there were mates among the female population of this planet. Colun had been relieved that their race wouldn’t die out, but a small part of him also thought he would find a female. That didn’t happen, and he was content with his life. Maybe not content but familiar with the life he lived. He was strong enough not to bring a female into the war they fought with the Sudir.
He should walk away. He would have walked away if not for that single tear that made a track from her eye to her chin. It did him in. Before he could stop himself, he was standing in front of her with his finger collecting her tear.
“One as beautiful as you shouldn’t cry.” The look of astonishment she gave him was enough to make him happy he went to her.
“Thank you; it’s not every day I hear a compliment like that.”
“You do not know the right males. My name is Colun.”
“Hi Colun, I’m Sara.”
The brightness of her smile had him feeling slightly ligh
t headed. Maybe he needed to have Victor check him out to make sure there was nothing wrong with him. He should live for several more centuries before even beginning to feel the effects of age. It could be that the atmosphere of the Earth may shorten their lifespan.
“I did not mean to intrude on your solitude, but I couldn’t stand to watch you cry.”
“A moment of weakness, still I thank you for coming to my aid. You are a gentleman.”
“I saw you looking into this store. What caught your attention?”
She looked up at him through her lashes before she gave a sigh. “Don’t laugh, but I have a thing for shoes. I was looking at those high heeled sandals and wishing I was young enough to wear them.”
“I don’t understand. Why can’t you wear those shoes?”
“You need nice looking feet and legs for shoes like that.”
He peeked down at her feet. Her toenails shone with purple polish making them look cute. Her feet were beautiful. He was sure she would look nice in the sandals.
“You should try them on.”
Her eyes flew up to him in shock. “Why would you say that?”
He grabbed his hair with his hand. It was pulled back with a leather tie. The feel of it pulling against his scalp reminded him he didn’t know how to talk to women. Coming over here was a mistake. Her soft hand on his made him release his hair and look down at her.
“I just remembered something both Paige and Aviana said. They believe no woman should make snap judgments about what she could and couldn’t wear until she tried it on.
“Is that your wife and daughter?”
“I wasn’t fortunate to have a wife.” He tripped over the word when he wanted to say mate. “I also didn’t have any children, but I had the opportunity to raise a few males. Paige and Aviana are their mates.”
She nodded knowing the term mate meant wife although she rarely heard anyone use it outside of books.
“That’s why I think you should try on those shoes.” He crooked his arm for her and waited until she placed her hand on it before walking into the shoe store.
*~*~*~*
Earth to Sara, please come in for a landing. What the heck was she doing walking into a store with a male she didn’t know? A male who caught her tear, she reminded herself. If Annie could see her now she would be having a fit. What if he was a…a serial killer…a rapist…someone out to steal her life’s saving. Run now, she screamed at herself. Instead, she took a seat on the bench in the store and waited for one of the sales people to come over to help her.
“I’d like to see this shoe in a size eight.” She held the high heeled sandal up to the saleswoman.
The woman looked at her hair then dropped her eyes to her face before taking in her body.
“If you’re sure?”
“She’s sure.”
Colun’s voice interrupted the stare down that was about to happen with the saleslady. Sara knew what she was telling her with no words. Lady, you're old; we have some other shoes in the corner that will hide your feet and make sure you don’t fall or break an ankle. Was she saying this because of Sara’s age? Not really, the woman simply subscribed to the worldview that somehow the older you were, the less likely you were able to be sexy. Unless of course, you were an actress. They were able to get old and still be sexy and wear their heels.
Turning her head, she threw Colun a smile while the saleswoman went to retrieve the shoes.
“Do you see any others you like?”
“Lots of them, but the heels are the only ones I want to try on today.”
“Is that why you came to the mall to buy shoes?”
“That was part of it.” How could she tell him she was tired of hiding from the world in her house? She might be older, but she wasn’t dead. She still had life in her and wanted to enjoy it before the time came when she would have to leave this plane forever.
“Here you go, ma’am.”
The saleswoman handed her the box before walking away. Sara looked at the size eight on the box remembering a time when all she wanted to do was wear a six or a seven. To be feminine meant to have little feet. Now it didn’t matter much, like her age. She would always be a female no matter the size of her feet or the age of her body.
She slid on the little socks from the store before taking the shoes out of the box. They were gorgeous. They were only about three-inch heels. Really that wasn’t a big deal, but the colors seemed to twist and turn making them look almost magical. Bending over she put them on, and stood taking her time to get her balance. It had been a while since she wore a heel. Annie’s wedding was the last time. After that, she retired heels and went with flats…because she was getting old. She gave a nice laugh, already that thinking was receding, and she was beginning to feel younger.
Taking a deep breath, she walked up the aisle when she turned to come back she caught the appreciation in Colun’s eyes. Oh hell yeah, she was buying these shoes even if she never saw him again.
Sitting down she took the shoes off, before putting on the sandals she just bought.
“Are you going to get them?” His voice was quiet not giving away what he was thinking.
“Yes, I like them.”
“Put them on again.” His eyes met hers as he waited for her to make up her mind.
With a nod, she did as he asked leaving off the little socks this time. He stood and held out his hand to her. With a deceptive strength, he helped her up and walked her to a floor length mirror. She stood there looking at herself until he walked behind her and laid a hand on her waist.
They looked good together as if they were meant to be. Colun stood taller than she did but with the heels on she went from being five-five to five-eight. Her head was at his chest, and the smile on his face said he noticed it. All she had to do was lean back to be comfortable in his arms.
“You look good.”
It was official; she couldn’t help it. His voice had been making the lips to her honey pot twitch since she first heard it. This time, she twisted as a small spark of pleasure hit her down south, a voice never did that to her before. She leaned against him as her legs got rubbery and she tried to breathe out her mouth without making little sounds in her throat.
She failed epically if the indrawn breath and the thickening of his cock meant anything. It was long and hard, and she should know because her rear was up against it. Did she just wiggle so she could get a better feel of him? Yeah, she did and the indrawn breath along with the way his hand gripped her waist said he liked it.
She was going to burn; this was blatant hussy behavior. Darn it! It had been so long since she had seen any action that she couldn’t help herself. She was sure she could help herself, but why should she?
Meeting his eyes in the mirror, she stuck out her tongue to moisten her lower lip. A small growl reached her ears. There was no doubt she imagined it, but so help her she wanted to stay in this fantasy forever.
“I think I should take these off so I can buy them.” He backed away and led her back to the bench.
She was calling herself all kinds of names, at the top of her list was coward. She knew if she stared at Colun one more minute in that mirror she was going to turn around, fuse her lips against his, and sick her Tiger Lily on him.
Tiger Lily, she laughed at the old name she used to call her vagina. The girls in school…the ones she never fit in with…had taken to calling their vagina’s kitty kats. They thought it was cool and one day they started messing with her telling her that her kitty kat would never see any action.
Without a thought, she replied mine is Tiger Lily and warn your boyfriends because she bites.
Well, that got around the school and once again she’d been called scandalous as well as several other words that weren’t nice to repeat in polite society. Jim had been surprised that she was the virgin she said she was when they got married. Funny how that had made the rounds also.
She ignored the saleslady as she paid for the shoes. Her mind wrestled with a muc
h bigger question. How was she going to make herself feel as good as Colun’s voice made her feel? Getting herself off wasn’t like it used to be in the beginning. Most nights she wondered why bother.
“Ready?” He was looking at her like he hit the lottery. She didn’t know why but she was enjoying the feelings she was getting from him.
“I’m ready.” They walked out the store together and she tried to find the right words to say goodbye.
“Are you hungry?” He looked at her making her body heat up once again.
“Starving.”
“Let’s find the food court.” He placed his hand on her elbow as he took her bag and carried it for her.
“Have you ever tried Houlihan’s?” She stopped in front of a restaurant where she always wanted to eat, but something always warned her away. Today she was going to do all the things she never did.
“No, why don’t we give it a try?” He gave a smile of approval as they walked in through the door.
Chapter Four
She couldn’t wait to spend some time alone with him. True, the restaurant wasn’t exactly alone time but if they could get a booth, well it would be more than she had in a long time.
“Grandpa Colun,” a young voice screamed making all the patrons in the restaurant look at her, then at Colun. Not that she was the only one; a young boy also screamed not to be outdone by the little girl next to him.
Sara turned to look at him to see his cheeks covered in a red stain. He looked so cute she couldn’t help smiling.
“I take it you know them.”
“Remember I mentioned having a hand in raising some males.”
She nodded trying to hold the smile at bay.
“Seems they decided to spawn.”
That was it; she laughed so hard she got a stitch in her side.
It had taken a few minutes before she was able to gather her control again. “I take it we will not have a private booth.”
Colun's Passion (Alien Mates Book Four 4) Page 2