Alien Romance: Astral Mates Complete Series (Book 1 - 4): Scifi Alien Abduction Romance (Alien Invasion Romance, Alien Romance)

by Chloe Joel

  She had been cleaning for over an hour when she heard a sound. Turning her head, she saw breakfast appear in a different opening. Much calmer and composed than the day before, she ate the breakfast and took the pill. As soon as she was done eating, she returned to cleaning up.

  Ashley was almost done putting it all back together when the door opened. Turning she expected to see Martin, but it was Samson.

  An honest smile appeared on her face, “Hi Samson. It’s so good to see you, both ears intact and everything.”

  “I got quite the scolding for that.” He looked at her bashfully, “Martin says that none of that stuff is allowed on his watch.”

  “You mean, he doesn’t believe in following his planet’s traditions? No surprise there.”

  “No madam. We don’t come from the same planet. He comes from a tiny place, even smaller than Earth. There wasn’t much there, but his species evolve incredibly quickly. They don’t hold traditions, and they won’t allow others to follow traditions that are harmful to others.”

  “So he was disrespecting your tradition and forcing his own way on you?”

  “It’s his right as the leader. I’ve never heard anyone find fault in anything he’s ever done. You excepted ma’am. But I know that you must be really tired today. Your mate has been waiting for this for a long time.”

  Ashley gave him an odd look, “It’s only been a few weeks.”

  “Oh no, it’s been much longer than that. I guess humans don’t have a full understanding of destiny. You see, once species reach a certain level of enlightenment-”

  “Oh please Samson, don’t go making my race sound like we are lower life forms.”

  “I don’t want to say anything against you,” he smiled at her, “because you have been so kind, but your species is. All you have to do is watch the news to see it. Look, I’m not going to go into it because I can see that it bothers you, but it’s true. And I have to say I’m very glad that you aren’t like many of us had feared.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, it seems so unfair. Martin is…” Samson’s eyes shone, “he’s like the hero you never expect to show up, but when you really need him, there he is. He’s saved so many lives.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m sure he exaggerates how many lives he’s saved.”

  “No, it’s true. His leadership has saved an uncountable number of planets, each with their own delicate ecosystems, like Earth.”

  “What do you mean like Earth? There are other planets like Earth out there?”

  Samson gave her a sad look before shaking his head, “He’s actually saved Earth. A couple of times now. But yes, there are many planets, some like Earth, but they don’t have to be like earth to have intricate and varied life forms.”

  “There are almost 7 billion people on Earth. Wouldn’t we know if he saved us?” She looked at him skeptically.

  “That’s the whole point. He’s doing research here…”

  “I thought he was a military leader.”

  “He is. Research is an integral part of that. But please, no more interruptions, or this will take days.” Ashley nodded. “Your mate never wanted to be in the military. He wanted…other things, but it looked like that was not his destiny.

  And believe me, everyone was hoping that he would find his mate because we desperately need more of him in this universe. You’ve no idea how many times he’s changed the tide of progress.” Samson tentatively reached a hand out and patted her on the shoulder, “You are an incredibly lucky woman, but I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that.”

  “Yeah, really lucky,” she muttered toward her lap.

  “I’m sorry. I’m sure you are very tired after your night. I will leave you to catch up on your rest.”

  “It was a pleasure to talk to you Samson.”

  “It was a pleasure talking to you too. I hope that you rest well and are ready for the future.”

  “What does that mean?”

  He simply grinned at her and left the room.

  As the door shut behind him, Ashley wondered if she could ask him to show her how to work the door. The rest of the day was rather dull. Food appeared for lunch, and she ate it while looking out of the window. It really was a beautiful view.

  Several servants came and went over the course of the afternoon and evening. Some stopped to talk to her, others averted their eyes. After the third or fourth, she could even tell the difference between the living servants and the robots. It was much simpler now that she knew that they weren’t all biological animals.

  Over the course of all the conversations, she came to learn a lot about the ranch, the mission, almost everything that she asked about, but just like when she had her own room, Ashley found that none of the servants would talk about Martin, except for Samson.

  When he arrived the next day, she asked about it.

  “Most of the servants hold him in such high regard, and after what you said to me that one time, they don’t want to hear anything against him.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Have you ever loved someone?”

  A picture of her mother appeared in her head. Ashley nodded.

  “How would you feel if someone started talking really badly about that person?”

  “I would stick up for my mom, no matter what and no matter who was saying bad things about her.”

  “Ok, now what if the person who was saying the bad things was your father? What would you do?”

  Ashley felt her face turn red. She knew exactly what she wanted to say, but it wasn’t true. Her step-father had said many horrible things about her mother, yet Ashley had never stuck up for her. She was the only person who loved her and tried to take care of her no matter how bad things got.

  In a timid voice, she responded, “I would simply try to avoid talking about her.”

  Samson nodded.

  As he moved to the door, Ashley asked him, “So the people here are actually fond of him, it isn’t a forced thing?”

  Samson gave her a sad smile, “You have been with him, you should know his heart by now.”

  “I don’t understand what you are saying.”

  Samson’s face turned a shade of light purple, “You and Martin. You two have mated.”

  “What? No, we haven’t!”

  Samson dropped what he was carrying. Immediately, he knelt and started cleaning it up. Ashley hurried over and tried to help, but Samson reached a hand up to stop her.

  “I’m sorry, after our talk yesterday, I thought- I just…” the poor man groaned and his eyes rolled back.

  “Samson, what’s wrong? Are you ok? Samson!”

  He stood up and left without another word. Ashley threw herself against the door, hammering on it and asking if Samson was alright. When it was clear that he wasn’t going to return, she started cleaning up the mess that he had left on the floor.

  She was just finishing up when the door opened. A smile bloomed on her face as she grabbed the last piece, “I’m so glad you came back. I thought you were going off to try to hurt yourself again and I – Oh!” She looked up and was surprised to find it wasn’t Samson standing in the door. Everything fell back to the floor with a crash.

  Martin glared down at her. His steps were very purposeful as he crossed over to her, “He did. He tried to cut his tongue out and he was almost half way through his tongue when I finally reached him. It is going to take his injury several days to heal.”

  Ashley took a few steps back, but he kept on walking toward her. Finally, her back was against the wall, and Martin was glaring down just a few inches away from her face.

  “Do you have any idea how painful it is to have your tongue cut out?” She shook her head. “Can you imagine how much worse it would be if you were cutting it out yourself? Had I been two minutes late, he would have died of blood loss!” Martin slammed his hand on the wall next to her head. “I have no idea what you said to that poor man, but I will not let you torture him again.”

  �
�I wasn’t trying to torture him!”

  “Really? He was trying to cut out his tongue, which meant you made him say something he shouldn’t have. Did you goad him? Pester him?” His eyes went wide, “Did you try to seduce him?”

  Ashley’s jaw dropped, “Did I what?”

  “As far as my crew here knows, we’ve already mated, so if you do anything that is considered a breach of that…”

  “You are telling people that we slept together?! That’s repulsive and…”

  Martin slammed his other hand on the wall, “If I were to tell them what happened, they would consider it a failure on their part.”

  “What? That doesn’t even make sense!”

  “Not when you are a low-minded creature who thinks no further than her own needs,” his face was so close to hers and the smell of mint so overpowering that she almost missed what he was saying. “But to those who understand how the universe works, every man’s failure to succeed with his destined mate is a sign that the man is not worthy of having a mate.”

  “That’s stupid and I can’t possibly…”

  Martin ripped open his jacket and his shirt was covered in blood. “That’s Samson’s blood. Do you think that he would do something like that over something that is stupid? Are you insulting his intelligence because you have no concept of reality?” Ashley looked up at the angelic face and blood covered shirt. The two did not belong together.

  Martin took her lack of response as something else. He turned and walked away from her, removing the jacket and sending it down a chute that hadn’t been there seconds before. He ripped off the shirt unceremoniously and tossed it into a bin where it burst into flames for a fraction of a second, and then was gone.

  His pants soon followed, and Ashley stayed pressed up against the wall, thinking that he was going to come for her next. Instead, he walked into the bathroom and the door shut behind him. The sound of running water let her know that he had all but forgotten about her.

  She returned to cleaning up the mess on the floor and cut her finger on a shard from glass that broke with the second drop. Ashley finished cleaning up, then took care of her finger.

  When she was done, Ashley noticed that she no longer heard the sound of water. That must mean he was coming out soon. Uncertain what to say, she sat on the bed and nervously awaited his return.

  Five minutes later, he walked out wearing his jogging pants. His torso shone in the light streaming in the window, and he had a small towel that he was using for his hair. Martin tossed the towel into a separate chute (just how many secret doors and chutes does this room have, Ashley asked herself), and headed for the door without acknowledging her at all.

  “Martin, wait…” the door slammed before she could say anything.

  Ashley stared at the door for a while, then reached a decision. Tearing the band aid off of her finger, she squeezed a little blood out. It wasn’t enough for what she needed. Walking over the dresser, she picked up a small vase and smashed it on the ground.

  She was about to find out if there were cameras in the room. She set to work at once, writing on the wall as carefully as she could in her own blood.

  Not ten minutes later, Samson appeared in the door, tears in his eyes.

  “Samson!” She hurried over to him, “Oh Samson, I’m so sorry. Don’t do that ever again! No more harming yourself. Every time you do that, you hurt me, and much worse, do you have any idea what that does to Martin? If you really want to help, you have to stop hurting yourself. Do you understand?”

  He nodded.

  “It’s ok, Martin told me what you did to your tongue. You don’t have to talk, just having you here is comforting.”

  Samson sighed, “I can talk just fine now. You have to stop hurting Martin.”

  “What? I didn’t do anything to him! I swear. He came in here, yelled at m-”

  “Stop! Stop! Stop it. Pay attention to the things you say and the things you do. Stop acting on instinct and baser things. You are going to kill him if you keep this up.” His tears were nearly overflowing.

  “I don’t understand,” she said in a small voice.

  Samson squeezed his eyes shut tight, “Martin just healed me at his own expense.”

  “He did what? What did he do? Do a straight IV from his arm to yours or something?”

  “We aren’t barbarians. No. He took my injury as his own because he said…” Samson took a deep breath, “he said that you have no desire to actually talk to him. The last thing he said was to…” Samson covered his mouth and tried to compose himself. “He said that you have a week. If at the end of that time you still want to leave, you are free to go.”

  Ashley’s eyes sparkled, “Really? He will let me go?”

  Samson’s face looked like a mask of horror, “You would actually leave him? YOU would leave your destined mate…Why did you have to send me?” He turned to the door. “Why did you have to send me? I can’t do this to you! I don’t want to be a part of this!”

  Ashley grabbed at his arm, “Samson, don’t do anything to hurt yourself. You have to swear. You will only hurt him more if you do.”

  Samson turned and she could see a mix of anger and sorrow, “What the hell do you care what hurts him? Nothing I do will hurt him as much as this will. I had thought you were…. I wish he had never come here.” He looked back at the door.

  “I understand, and I will not help her anymore. I will not allow her to continue to torture you and treat you like this. I don’t care if she goes insane, I would rather see her locked up here forever than to see you...” he gulped, “I can’t do this to you.” There was no response. “Please.”

  The door slid open and Samson walked out without another word or a glance at Ashley.

  Chapter 10

  Ashley walked around the room, her thoughts completely disorganized. Would she really be released in a week if she still chose to go? What happened if she did? What would Samson do? This whole thing had become a big mess and she had no idea how to untangle from it. She wished this was just another nightmare that would end soon, but everything was wrong.

  The day passed, food was sent in, robots came in to assist her, but not another living creature entered all day.

  That night she couldn’t sleep. After hours of trying to get tired enough to sleep, she finally shut off the lights and just lay in the bed. Martin’s bed. Where was he sleeping since he had locked her in here? Did he have other clothes somewhere else? She suspected not since he had come all the way up here after getting Samson’s blood on them.

  As she lay in the dark, she tried to occupy her mind with things that might make her drowsy before she abruptly felt a slight draft of air. No sounds accompanied it, but Ashley knew that the door had opened. Laying perfectly still, she kept her eyes closed and tried to hear the footsteps. She heard nothing. Rolling over, she reached out for her water and her hand knocked into something warm.

  “I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you there,” she was babbling but couldn’t see anything in the room. Ever so slowly she noticed that the room started to have a slightly green glow to it. Her gaze was drawn up and she saw Martin standing there, staring down at her.

  “I…I’m sorry.” He said, his words somewhat slurred. “Didn’t mean to wake…you.” It was clear that he was having trouble speaking, and at first she thought, it was because of alcohol. That would fit much better with the image she had of him. He turned to leave and was half way across the room when she remembered what Samson had said.

  “Martin!” She threw the covers back but her foot was still wrapped in one and she nearly fell out of bed.

  An arm was around her, saving her for the millionth time, but this time, he did not press her body against his. The arm was nearly the only contact she had with him. Her mind filed this away as she righted herself and grabbed the front of his shirt, before he had the chance to throw her on the bed as he had done after the last couple of accidents.

  “Martin, please don’t leave.”

  He lo
oked down on her, the green fire in his eyes flickered like the embers of a fire.

  “Martin, please don’t leave me tonight.” She clung to the front of his shirt. “Please let me take care of you the way you took care of me for so long.”

  Gently, he took her hands and pushed them against her chest. Shaking his head, he tried to direct her back to the bed.

  “No, Samson told me what you did for him,” she continued. Martin let out a loud sigh, and she could see the wound on his tongue. “I want to help you for a change. I have done nothing but cause you problems and make you miserable. You gave me everything and I have been terrible toward you. I want to try to make it up to you.”

  Martin gave her a skeptical look.

  “I will sit with you all night. I’ll spoon you until you fall asleep.” He gave her an inquisitive look, “Spooning, it’s what you did when you slept with me those couple of times. You kept your chest to my back. I can do that for you.”

  Martin shook his head and more insistently pointed her back to bed.

  “I will not go to bed unless you join me.”

  Martin looked at her, and then rolled his eyes.

  “Please.”

  Martin looked down at her eyes, the green in his own were pulsing in time with his heart. Ashley took his hand and led him back to the bed. She removed his shirt, then pushed him down on the bed. Pulling the covers back, she helped him get under the covers, then rolled him over to the other side of the bed.

  She slipped in under the covers, placed her arm around under his arm, and pulled him close to her. For the first time, she thought she felt his heart beat. It was faster than her own, and his breathing seemed a bit shallower than it had been when he had spooned her. With her other hand, she stroked his hair. It felt far softer than anything she had expected, like silk on a warm day with a cool breeze.

  Gently, she began to hum while she focused on Martin’s heartbeat. Gradually, it slowed down, and she could hear him making the sweet sounds that she had heard the previous two times. As tempted as she was to hold and stroke him, she refrained from doing anything that might disturb his slumber.