Slade

by Simpson, Serena

  She wasn’t ever going to sit home and stay out of trouble. He watched as her hand slid tentatively across the bed. Slade took it knowing better but unable to stop himself.

  “This isn’t real, you know that, right?” Her voice was whisper soft when she spoke.

  “What?”

  “This.” She used the hand he wasn’t holding to swirl around in a circle encompassing the two of them. “Whatever this is. People just don’t meet and go hey you’re the one.”

  “Are you sure?” She nodded her head yes and closed her eyes. “You’ve never met anyone who took one look at another person and said you’re the one?”

  The quiet between them drew out as she bit the inside of her mouth desperate not to say a word.

  “One couple.” The words came out in a rush.

  “Tell me?”

  “My parents. My mom met my dad when she was thirteen, and he was fourteen. He first spotted her across the yard at a picnic at his aunt’s house. She was the new neighbor’s daughter. My mom said he almost broke his neck getting to her. They spent all day together. He made her laugh. Before he left, he told everyone he was going to marry her.”

  Slade gave her hand a squeeze waiting for the rest.

  “Mom said that one week to the day he met her, he placed a slip of paper in her hand. She didn’t read it until she went to bed because all her friends were around.” A soft smile tilted her lips as her eyes took on the dreamy cadence of a well-told fairy tale.

  “I would say to her what happened, mom? She always told me this story when it was time to put me to sleep. It was my favorite.” The soft smile was replaced with a tear that she angrily wiped away. “Everyone had laughed and told them they were too young to know who they would marry. My mom, she still had the note. She would take it out and show me. It said ‘Will you marry me? Yes or no.’ Yes, was circled in pink pen. They are the only couple who knew from the minute they met.”

  “I don’t have any paper, and we’re only on day two.”

  “That means we have escaped the marriage curse.”

  “Your mom?”

  “Dead, both of them are.” Another tear escaped down her cheek. Sadness sometimes escaped the leash put on it. “She always wanted me to know immediately who I would marry.”

  “Mila, will you marry me after we defeat Trogon?” His heart knew what his brain had yet to figure out. Part of him felt free in her presence, damn the number of hours they had known each other. The other half of him felt like he was wearing chains and drowning. He might not understand love, but he knew the woman who was intended to be his mate.

  “Yes.”

  Chapter Eleven

  “Are you sure we should be doing this?” Mila asked. She was standing with Slade in front of what he called a transportation device. Mekhi gave her a clean bill of health this morning, five days after the incident.

  She spent that time with Slade and his family getting to know them. His brothers were quiet in the beginning. Their mates were the same women she went to the mall with. It was the children who amazed her in the end. Each one of them tugged at her heart and made their house a home. She felt bad running out on them, but Slade suggested time alone. Just the two of them. How could she turn that down?

  Now they were standing in front of a portal. “If it takes you from one place to another and spits you out magically, it’s a portal.”

  Slade rolled his eyes. They had that conversation before.

  “I swear I’m going to talk to Brandi when we get back. I know that’s where you got the rolling of the eyes from.” She reached out and took the hand that Slade extended. She was never going to admit that she was scared, just a bit, okay a lot, to go through the portal.

  She gave an exaggerated sigh. “I’m ready. It better not screw with my atoms. Or my genes!” She said loudly as an afterthought.

  Goodbye, sweet world and life as I knew it. How I loved you. Goodbye, sweet fluffy body you were always there when I needed you. Please let me go to a good place when this device of torture kills me.

  “How long are you going to stand there with your eyes closed?”

  “I’m waiting, Slade. Nothing has happened yet. What happened to let’s take a vacation off planet. Were you messing with me?”

  “Mila open your eyes.”

  She opened them to find a gem colored sky overhead. “OMG!” Her hands ran over her body to make sure it was all there. “What happened? How did we get here so soon? I thought it would take hours.”

  “It must be a portal if it takes you magically from one place and dumps you in another.” Slade mimicked her voice before he laughed at her.

  “Yeah, yeah laugh it up. Just remember what they say about payback.” How could she have spent so much of her life preparing to fight an alien invader without ever wondering what another world looked like?

  The sky almost reminded her of Earths if not for the second sun. There was also what looked like a bridge that led to a place she didn’t think she wanted to go.

  “Slade is that a bridge?”

  “Yes, the souls of the Sallari - the natural inhabitants of the planet - walk that bridge in death. It connects them to their afterlife.”

  Yep, she was staying far away from that bridge. With reluctance, she brought her eyes downward to see what was surrounding her. They were standing in a small transportation hub. Beings were coming and going. They all seemed humanoid, but not human.

  “They all kind of look like me.”

  “The Sallari turned their planet into a paradise, thus the name.”

  “Seriously? They named their planet Paradise?”

  “It’s the closest translation in English. The planet is broken up into the Sallari seasons, then each season is broken down into different atmospheres. This one is for oxygen breathers. If you breathe deep, you will find that the oxygen level is about that of your high altitude.”

  It was; it made breathing a little harder but not impossible. Although she wasn’t going on a long run or even planning on training while she was here.

  “Is it because they're not used to having humans here?”

  “No, they moderate the oxygen to make it accommodating for as many species as possible. They also make sure that it doesn’t really get close to anyone’s home world.”

  “Why?”

  “According to the Sallari, it’s harder to fight if you have to concentrate on breathing.”

  Mila laughed as Slade took her hand and guided her through the streets that reminded her of a maze. The Sallari were right about the fighting. The buildings were done in gem colors making her think she was on some Caribbean island. The humanoids were just different enough to make her gawk. She knew it was gauche and still couldn’t help herself.

  He finally took her into what she assumed was a building. They walked up to someone who spoke in a fast buzzing language. Slade answered back registering them.

  “You understand her?”

  “I do. You will too, in a minute.” He stuck out his hand a golden light appeared over it. “Stick out your hand Mila.”

  “Why?”

  “It will register you as well as give you an implant to translate language into English, and of course give you access to funds to spend.”

  She hesitantly stuck out her hand telling herself in for a penny. A rose-colored light highlighted her hand. It tickled like an ant or something small walking on it before she could snatch it away it was over.

  “Thank you,” she said to the woman.

  “Your welcome,” she answered with a huge smile.

  “I understood her!” Mila whooped hugging Slade.

  “I love it when the people of Earth first get the translator.” The woman said.

  Slade pulled Mila away; her eyes were about to fall out of her head.

  “Humans come here? How?”

  “The same way you did. They take up with an alien.”

  “But…” she tripped over her tongue. “How many of you are there?”

&nbs
p; “The universe is full of us.”

  She bumped his shoulder with hers. “You know what I mean.” Her feet stopped moving as her mouth hung open. “Is that a slug?” It came out as a whisper not wanting to humiliate the slug.

  “No that’s a… yes, it’s the biggest slug in the galaxy.”

  It was gliding along the floor. Part of its body was upright. There were humanoids around it as it spoke. The English seemed to be translated as if it were coming from underwater.

  “Look behind it.” Mila turned her eyes to look at the slime it was leaving in its wake. When it went several steps, crawled, slithered? The floor would pull the slime in leaving everything in its wake clean.

  “Self-cleaning floors. If you were to come in with sand or dirt on your feet. The floor would clean itself after you took a new step.”

  “I want one. Think of the time we could save not vacuuming floors.”

  Slade led her over to a transportation disk. They stood on it; a slim transparent wall came down around them. Before Mila could speak out or protest, they were standing in a private suite.

  “We have arrived.”

  “This is ours?” It was wide open with sunlight pouring through the windows. The balcony door was open allowing in a cool breeze. Slade took her hand directing her to the balcony. She was entering another world. Before her sat a deep pool with water that moved like gentle waves in low tide. It glistened a green that reminded her of Slade’s eyes. From there she could see a sandy beach.

  “How?”

  “It’s paradise. Your wish is their command.”

  “You did this for me?”

  “If I missed anything let me know.”

  Mila threw her arms around Slade knowing he would pick her up. As her feet dangled, and she clutched onto him, she batted her eyes hoping to get rid of the tears before he saw them. In her life, she couldn’t remember anyone doing anything this nice for her.

  “Thank you.” At that moment, it didn’t matter that her voice was waterlogged, or that tears were soaking the side of his neck where her head was lying.

  “Anything for you small warrior.”

  “We don’t have any clothes you know.” She spoke into his neck.

  “Let me introduce you to the future.” He carried her in sitting her on a plush couch. A few simple gestures and rows of clothes appeared in front of them. “I assume you will not be skinny dipping?” He gave her a hopeful look.

  “Absolutely not. Am I supposed to try these on?”

  “Yes.”

  “Close your eyes and no peeking.” Never had she been jealous of the model thin women with the “perfect” bodies. Right then she wished she was one of them. Instead of reaching for a one piece her usual default, she grabbed a tankini while she remembered to like herself for who she was. It was blue with silver stars on it.

  “You can look now.”

  “Beautiful. You’ll need more than one of those. I know I said skinny dipping, but I prefer the thought of stripping you one piece of clothing at a time.” Slade stood stalking her across the room until her back was against the wall.

  “I’m going to kiss you Mila if you don’t want that you have about five seconds to let me know.”

  One thousand and one, one thousand and two she counted in her head waiting for his lips to descend.

  The pressure was light almost tentative as his lips touched hers. The heat of them made her want to fidget. Taking control, she stood still as his lips spread over hers. When she didn’t protest, he licked her lips drawing in the taste of her skin before the pressure increased. His tongue came to the seam of her lips gently prying them open as a gasp escaped.

  The feel of his tongue licking against her melted a barrier she kept up. She flicked her tongue against his taking part in a dance she didn’t know existed before now. He explored her mouth leaving her just enough oxygen to breathe, but not think. Her fingers clutched his shirt needing to get closer to him.

  “You taste good, like vanilla and mint.”

  She gave a small laugh. “You taste the way I always think pumpkin pie should taste.”

  A strangled moan came from her as Slade went from tasting her mouth to devouring it. Her body came alive as electricity shot through it. Had she really thought she understood intimacy before now? It was more than her body responding. Her nipples were hard nubs of need. Her pussy was crying with wetness that needed to be satisfied.

  If that was all there was maybe she could die without needing to know Slade, maybe. There was so much more. She felt close to him. Every commanding kiss was drawing her heart closer to the surface. The chain-link fence wrapped around it wanted to come loose. The scratchy burlap that she hid it in was trying to disintegrate. She felt her mind wanting to get to know him. She wanted to wallow in his scent and understand everything that made him tick.

  Mila wanted to understand why she said yes when Slade asked her to marry him.

  He pulled away breaking the kiss. They were both fighting for breath as she leaned her head on his chest. “Definitely buying this.”

  “Definitely, let's finish shopping.”

  As much fun as shopping at the mall was; this beats it hands down. The look of appreciation in Slade’s eyes when she tried something on was something she would never forget.

  “Dinner or a dip in the pool?” Her stomach picked that minute to growl. More time had passed as they laughed than she thought.

  “Dinner. The pool tomorrow?”

  “Perfect. Find something to wear and we’ll go out.” The living room was littered with clothes that she bought even when she protested that with what she had back at the house, she’d never be able to wear them all.

  After grabbing an outfit, she disappeared into a bathroom to get ready. For a moment, she was disappointed, she didn’t have her black bra and pantie set. This one; she bought while Slade wasn’t paying attention. It would do.

  After a nice long shower and extra time paid to her hair, she met Slade, who was waiting patiently by the door. He was dressed in a suit that reminded her of a zoot suit. The legs to this one were tailored to show off his height and thickness. The long jacket made her want to unwrap him. There was something decidedly alien about the suit that gave it an air of danger that made her shiver while the lips of her pussy pulsed. No one had ever done it for her like he did.

  “You’re beautiful.” His deep voice wrapped around her.

  “Thank you. Since the most handsome male around is escorting me, I had to live up to the challenge.” He bent his arm; she placed her hand on it while they stepped onto the disc that would transport them.

  The disc let them off on a platform high in the sky. There were several intimate tables and diners eating or slow dancing. Mila clutched at Slade’s arms the feeling of being so high making her sick.

  “It’s safe. There are no walls that way we can enjoy the warmth of the sun and wind or the beauty of the moon. There is a force field that surrounds the restaurant. It keeps out any unwanted visitors while making sure the patrons stay safe inside.”

  “In other words, they made sure I won’t fall out.”

  “Yes, although you may think they did this to keep the humans safe, there are several species that desire to experience the heavens but are rather clumsy. Dead guests are not good for management.”

  “I’ve decided what I like best about the Sallari.” They were being led to a table.

  “What is that?”

  Mila waited until they were left alone with a menu to answer. “They are a practical people. I’m surprised they gave me a menu.”

  “Normally, you would see what they are offering by touching here.” Slade touched a button she hadn’t seen. A scroll of alien writing passed in a blur. “Your brain isn’t fast enough to catch the words, even if they were in English. A menu seems to put the human guest at ease.”

  She may have accused them of being speciest, but the menu was still scrolling through the air. The speed of it was making her dizzy.

 
“Slade.” She pointed to the menu. He turned it off. “Thanks, my brain wasn’t appreciating that. She opened the menu and ignored the fact that prices weren’t listed by the food. This was her first and maybe her only vacation. She was going to enjoy it.”

  “There are a few native dishes on here that you should try.”

  “I think they tell you not to drink the water or eat what the natives eat.”

  “I’ll vouch for it.”

  “If I die of food poison, I’ll haunt you forever.”

  “At least you won’t leave me alone.”

  The sadness of his words made her heartache. In the end, they got a serving of several dishes to share. There was surf and turf which the restaurant proudly said came from earth. Which made her wonder if they were the ones over fishing their seas. They also got several dishes that were native to the planet.

  “It tastes like chicken.”

  “It’s mint green,” Mila said in protest.

  “I didn’t say it looked like chicken.” Slade cut a piece and ate it. “Yummy.” He rubbed his belly his eyes alight with mischief.

  She couldn’t help but laugh. He was a fierce fighter. The image of him covered in blood as he dispatched his enemies made her hand creep down her thighs at night. Now he was boyishly charming with smiles and eyes that made her want to clutch her heart. He was an enigma she wanted to get to know.

  Obediently she opened her mouth, he popped a piece of the foul green looking meat in. She closed her eyes and decided if she was eating it blindfolded it really did taste like chicken.

  “Told you so,” he whispered in her ear before he sucked her earlobe into his mouth.

  She let out a soft moan as her heart stuttered.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Thank you, Tonight, the whole day has been special.” They were standing back in their room. Dinner was followed by dancing. Something she felt a little better at. Then he took her to the public beach. They took their shoes off and walked in the sand. She was still amazed at the pink sand. Then, Slade, a virtual magician found a late-night ice cream stand.

  All good things came to an end. She didn’t want to say goodnight or close her eyes for fear that when she woke, it would all be a dream. He pulled her close taking her into his arms. A soft feathered kiss brought a sweet sigh to her lips.