Stars Apart: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Celestial Mates)

by Trina Novak

  “We’ll have you there in no time, Miss,” the pilot said. “It’s just a couple of minutes to this sector’s wormhole, and then Azakia is right on the other side.”

  He wasn’t kidding. I had barely gotten comfortable in my seat before we plunged into the wormhole, traversing millions of miles in just under a minute. When we popped out on the other side of the wormhole, I saw a green planet looming before me.

  Azakia.

  Zarak was there, somewhere, on the planet’s surface. Waiting for me.

  My legs felt like jelly as I exited the ship, climbing down the steps into the harsh light of the Azakian afternoon. I looked up into the sky and saw two suns suspended in the air like giant grapefruits, and the realization finally hit me that I was on another planet. An alien planet. I wished my parents could have been alive to witness the moment. They had always wanted to travel to other planets, but had tragically died in a car accident before the price of intergalactic travel fell to a price that regular middle class people could afford. I felt, in many ways, like I was living out a dream for them.

  I knew also that they had another dream for me – a dream that so far I had not been able to fulfill. My parents had a deep connection, a real love, and they truly believed that they were soulmates, meant to be together. My mother used to tell me that one day I too would find the person I was fated to be with, and I would experience a happiness unlike anything I’d ever known.

  Maybe...

  Maybe by stepping foot on Azakia, I was inching closer to that dream.

  I turned my face away from the planet’s twin suns, and that’s when I saw him.

  He was standing underneath the portico of a gray building with impossibly high roof peaks jutting up like stalagmites. In the shadows under the portico I could barely make out his face, but I knew it was him. I could tell by his height, his posture, the outlines of his strong body underneath his clothes. Next to him stood two men, both much shorter and much thinner. I could tell by the shapes of their bodies that neither man was Rollox, thank goodness.

  I gripped the handle of my suitcase so hard it hurt, then I began to walk towards Zarak.

  He too began to walk towards me, and as his face moved out from underneath the shadows, I saw his eyes, even more gorgeous in person.

  In person. I still couldn’t believe that this man, whose hologram had already so thoroughly intoxicated me, was now mere yards from me.

  We closed the distance between us, rocks crunching under my feet. It was hot on Azakia, and I was incredibly nervous, and I could feel a light sheen of sweat forming on my brow. Zarak never broke eye contact, staring a white-hot hole through me as he made his way nearer. I felt like my legs might give out, that at any minute I might just collapse like a ragdoll in the Azakian dirt.

  What the hell was this man doing to me? I’d never felt anything like it.

  And then, we were feet apart. Inches. He was there, right there in front of me, in the flesh.

  “Cassandra,” he said, and my name had never sounded so good. In person his voice had lost the slight tinny quality that was a product of my cheap holophone speakers. It was even richer, deeper, like velvet, and I shivered slightly as he spoke my name aloud.

  “Hello,” I said, my voice quivering.

  I realized that the other two men were right next to him. In the dizzying haze of the moment, I’d blocked them out entirely. Damnit, why couldn’t we have had this first meeting alone?

  “It’s nice to finally meet you,” he said.

  Then he reached out, and he took my hand in his.

  Chapter Ten

  Cassandra’s skin was so unbelievably smooth, and Zarak wanted nothing more than to keep touching, moving from her palm to her arm, up the curve of her shoulders to her graceful, swanlike neck, then her cheek, flushed and pink, to her lips, perfectly plump and even pinker. But he had to make do with a handshake. That was all he could do in that moment, with Raftan and Tarzeg standing right next to him.

  Still, a hand was something. It was something warm, and real, and connected to Cassandra. He shook her hand slowly, letting his fingers linger, tracing along the smoothness of her skin, the delicate veins underneath.

  “Nice to meet you too,” she said, giving him a knowing smile that made him want to throw her to the ground and cover her with his body, push himself against her, into her, feel her hot breath on his face, her heart beating against his chest.

  With great reluctance, he slid his hand away from hers and took a polite step back. “May I carry your bag?”

  “Yes, please. That would be great,” she said. “I hope I didn’t over-pack. Or under-pack. I always do one or the other.”

  Zarak gave Cassandra a cursory introduction to Raftan and Tarzeg, two of his Lieutenants in the Azakian Legion. They were both young, and ambitious, and generally did anything in their power to gain favor with Rollox. Zarak’s secret, he knew, would not be safe with either man. He had to stay professional in front of them. He had to appear disinterested.

  Which was hard, because he realized that Cassandra was even more beautiful in person than in holographic form.

  When could he get her alone?

  His entire body buzzed with energy; energy that he couldn’t wait to release on Cassandra.

  The four of them made their way into the guest quarters, and as they traveled down the hallway Zarak found that even walking was difficult, his legs stiff as he fought to keep his composure. Also stiff was his cock, painfully so, pulsing with life and vigor and desire as he watched Cassandra’s delicious hips sway back and forth as she made her way down the corridor. The way her clothes clung to her body was maddening, outlining her gorgeous curves yet obscuring the smooth and sweet-tasting skin that he knew hid underneath.

  Fuck, he thought to himself. Fuck. It was as if he’d reverted to some early version of a man, able only to think in crude one-word bursts, obsessed with skin, with sex. Drunk on the promise of a beautiful woman.

  “Was your trip ok?” he managed to ask, though all he really wanted to say was I want to fuck you, here and now.

  “Amazing,” Cassandra said, turning her head to look at him. “Truly. I’d never been to space before. I think it changed me. It was profound.”

  As Cassandra explained the intense emotions she’d experienced on her first trip into space, a new feeling began to settle in Zarak. Yes, the lust was still there, overwhelmingly so, but he was also quite happy just to listen to her talk, to hear her thoughts and feelings. Her mind – it was interesting, unique. He appreciated how deeply she felt things, and how ready she was to share those feelings.

  He too had experienced similar feelings the first time he took a ship into the sky, so he understood very well the sense of absolute wonder that it inspired. At the time, his ship-mates felt it was nothing so special, just another thing that was happening to them that they would undoubtedly take for granted. But Zarak didn’t take it for granted. And he was glad to know that Cassandra’s wells of emotion ran deep. She had the capacity to understand and feel a great many things, as did he.

  “I know that feeling,” he told her. “I had a similar experience the first time I went to space. It really does change you.”

  They spoke of their shared experiences, and Zarak felt the connection between them grow and deepen. This definitely wasn’t just a physical attraction, he realized. They began to finish each other’s sentences as they spoke, intuitively understanding each other immediately, and it took a few minutes for Zarak to realize that they had stopped walking down the hall and were only standing, deep in conversation. Raftan and Tarzeg still hovered nearby.

  “Anyway,” he said, not quite ready for the conversation to end, “we should show you to your room.”

  They continued down the hallway, Raftan and Tarzeg still in tow, until they reached the large copper door at the end of the hall. Zarak opened the door and motioned for Cassandra to enter.

  “Oooh, nice,” she said, twirling around and taking in her surroundings. I
n the far corner of the room was a large bed – a bed Zarak immediately wanted to throw Cassandra down on.

  In time, he reminded himself. In time.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bed so high above the floor,” Cassandra observed. “And hung by ropes... how interesting.”

  “It’s just how we do it here,” Zarak replied.

  Cassandra leaped up and tried to jump on the bed, though she didn’t quite jump high enough. She slid back down, knocking the bed and sending it swinging from the ropes. “Ooops, that wasn’t very graceful,” she said.

  “Here, use this,” Zarak offered. He slid a large slab of wood next to the bed, and Cassandra climbed on top of it, then once again hopped on the bed, this time landing right in the middle. She scooted to the edge and sat, her dainty feet dangling over, and smiled.

  “Comfortable,” she murmured. It was clear she was teasing him, her green eyes twinkling with secret intentions that only he knew.

  The ache returned in Zarak, the lust, the wanting.

  When would Raftan and Tarzeg leave? He needed to be alone with her, if only for a minute.

  Then, as if on cue, Tarzeg spoke.

  “We need to get back,” he said. “Zarak, is it ok if we leave? You can take care of her, yes?”

  “Yes,” he said, trying his best to keep his voice sounding neutral, disinterested. “You both may leave. I’ll take care of Cassandra.”

  She gave him an enticing, knowing look when he said this, and it was all he could do not to roughly push the two Lieutenants out of the room immediately.

  Then, finally, Zarak and Cassandra were alone.

  He made his way to the other side of the room and gently closed the large copper door, careful not to make too much noise. Then he turned and faced Cassandra, who was still perched upon the bed.

  “Alone at last,” she said, cocking her head to the side.

  “Alone at last,” Zarak repeated as he closed the distance between them.

  He paused to savor the moment, to enjoy the time leading up to the inevitable kiss. He stood in front of Cassandra, close enough to touch her, but kept his hands at his sides. He could see that her breathing had increased – her chest heaved as she inhaled, and her lips parted as she exhaled. He watched as her tongue darted out for an instant and touched her lip.

  Slowly, he reached out his hand and gently trailed his fingers over her calf. She took in a sharp breath.

  “Kiss me, Zarak,” she whispered.

  He moved an inch closer, then another inch, taking in the sweet scent of her skin. Cassandra leaned forward to meet his mouth, but before he could have her, take her in his arms, he heard a sound beside him, like a snap, or a muffled pop.

  Zarak turned and saw that odd little man from the dating agency, Keptin, standing at the foot of the bed.

  Chapter Eleven

  Man, we were so close. Like, literally, seconds away from kissing. I could feel Zarak’s warm breath on my face, and it felt like my heart was about to beat right out of my chest. Then Keptin – fucking crazy little interdimensional Keptin – just popped into the room like the most unwanted guest in the universe.

  “Keptin!” I shouted. “Please, use a damn door!”

  “My apologies,” he said, in that smooth little voice of his. “I just wanted to check in quickly and make sure you made it safely to Azakia and that all is well.”

  “It’s fine, Keptin. Everything’s fine.” I looked at Zarak, his brow furrowed, and I knew he wanted to kick Keptin across the room just as much as I did.

  “Have you met Overlord Rollox yet?” Keptin asked.

  “No, I haven’t. I just got here.”

  “Ah, great, wonderful,” he said. “Wonderful timing. Would you mind terribly, Cassandra, if I sat in on your initial meeting? I think it would be very instructive for me, for training purposes. I’m really trying to get a handle on being a Celestial Mates agent, and being present for a bit, at least initially, may help me gain some important insights.”

  Great. Wonderful. It looked like Keptin was going to stick around for a bit. Oh boy.

  “Fine,” I said, giving up, temporarily at least, the idea that I’d get to kiss Zarak any time soon. “You wanna do it now? I mean, if Rollox is available,” I said, turning to Zarak.

  “He’s usually available,” Zarak said with a shrug. “He doesn’t do much.”

  “Okay then,” I said, hopping down off the bed. “Let’s do this thing.”

  I truly wasn’t looking forward to meeting Rollox in any way, shape or form, but I figured it was better to just get it over with. Rip off the band-aid, so to speak. The sooner I could get that unwanted task over with, the sooner Keptin would leave, and then maybe, finally, Zarak and I could manage to get a little time alone together.

  I followed Zarak down the long hallway, taking time to appreciate his broad shoulders, his straight back, and the way his clothes simply could not hide the obviously impressive body that was underneath. Keptin toddled behind me, the sound of his pitter-pattering feet turning my mood even more sour.

  Keptin. Always ruining everything.

  Zarak led us across a courtyard that was virtually alive with heaps of plants and flowers, most of which looked like nothing I’d ever seen before. Some looked more like collections of stones than flowers, while other plants looked so delicate it was as if they were made out of smoke. Then we passed through another large copper door, and I saw Rollox sitting at a large banquet table, eating some sort of black fruit that looked absolutely putrid.

  Yuck. I didn’t think it was possible, but the man looked even more vile in person. Was Keptin just completely, utterly insane? Why in the world would he choose that man for me?

  Rollox looked up and took us in, then spoke with a mouthful of food. “Ah, the Earth girl’s here,” he said as black juice dribbled down his chin.

  Keptin took the lead, pretending to be competent, and made some overly dramatic formal introductions. Rollox barely looked in my direction, which was fine by me. Then Keptin suggested we all share a bite to eat, which sounded like the worst possible idea. I hadn’t eaten since I’d left Earth, but watching Rollox eat had destroyed whatever appetite I had. Still, I reminded myself that it was best to just get it over with.

  Keptin, Zarak and I took our seats at the giant banquet table, and I tried the infamous zonberries I’d heard so much about. They were beyond horrible, like bitter licorice mixed with rotten cheese.

  “I want you to have a child as soon as possible,” Rollox said, apropos of nothing. My stomach, already slightly queasy, clenched with nausea. “A male child, obviously. I need an heir. How soon can you be pregnant?”

  “I assume you’re talking to me,” I replied, “and I think you’re getting way, way ahead of yourself. I have agreed to nothing yet, I’d like to remind you. This is just a polite visit, to see the planet and meet the person that Celestial Mates has matched me with. And I definitely won’t be getting pregnant while I’m here.”

  “Ugh,” Rollox groaned. “You’re not one of those silly women who must be formally married first are you? What a meaningless tradition.”

  “Yes, actually I am one of those women,” I said. This, of course, wasn’t true: I’d had sex with men before, and was planning on having sex with Zarak as soon as humanly possible. But what Rollox didn’t know could only help me. And it would also keep him far away from me. “I’m very serious about that,” I continued. “I won’t tolerate any sort of physical contact at all until I’m married. So I need to warn you, Rollox, if you try to make a move on me, I will leave immediately on the next ship out of here.”

  “Who are you to tell me what you will and won’t tolerate? You’re just a woman,” Rollox sneered, as if woman was a bad word.

  “Hey, I’m just telling you, buddy. If you’re interested in having a baby, you better not try anything with me,” I said.

  “Why would you thrust such a stubborn, willful woman on me?” he complained, turning to Keptin. “I have half a mi
nd to throw you both in the pit at Mount Azakia.”

  “You’re not throwing anyone in a pit,” Zarak growled, his eyes growing dark.

  “Overlord Rollox,” Keptin said, trying to play peacemaker, “Zarak is correct. Pit throwing really isn’t the way to go here. You know the immense power that Celestial Mates has. The organization can and will erase you and your entire planet from all timelines, and all dimensions, in perpetuity.”

  Damn. Keptin was a major fuck-up, but I had to admit, that was a masterfully delivered threat. I watched Rollox’s face go pale, and he only shrugged in response.

  “Now,” Keptin continued, “let’s not talk of such ugly matters. I do hate to have to resort to that sort of harshness. To the other matter at hand, the matchmaking process, I will only say this: love works in mysterious ways. And as an agent of Celestial Mates, I’m highly trained to work in similar ways.” I had to snicker at that. Highly trained, my ass. “Love takes many different forms. And sometimes you must struggle and fight in order to cement the deep bond that was always there, in your hearts. So who knows,” he said with a shrug. “Love is weird.”

  Yeah – and so was Keptin.

  Rollox gorged on more of those disgusting zonberries, then he got up and left, muttering some sexist comment about my weight on the way out. Once he was gone, it was like a dark cloud was lifted, and Keptin, Zarak and I had a perfectly enjoyable meal together. Of course, I ignored the disgusting zonberries, but was pleased to discover that there were many more appetizing options available on Azakia.

  While we ate, Keptin entertained us with stories of his interdimensional travels. He really could be a fun little guy, when he wasn’t creating havoc in his wake.

  “What is this?” I asked Zarak, picking up a delicious piece of food that looked a bit like a tiny pink potato.