by T. S. Ryder
Devon groaned in disappointment. He stroked her a couple more times before he withdrew. "If that's what you want."
Rose rolled over, putting his arms around his neck. She kissed him gently. "You really do want tonight to be special. Why, are you going to propose?"
"Uh…" Devon realized too late that she was joking. In the moonlight, he saw her eyes widen.
"You are?"
Devon winced and nodded. "Yeah. That was the plan… Actually, that's still the plan. You're not allowed to say yes or no or see the ring until—"
Rose threw herself at him, rolling him over onto his back. Her mouth caught his hard. He chuckled at her passion, grinning. She straddled his hips, grinding herself hard against him. Already semi-aroused, everything was kicked up another notch. He wrapped his arms around her waist, crushing her against him, and Rose moved to his neck, eagerly kissing and sucking at his skin.
Well, I think I know what her answer is going to be.
The shifter rolled her over, the bed wobbling dangerously under their movements, and pinned his mate beneath him. Rose's eyes sparkled as she gazed up at him, her hands twisting into his hair. He returned to her mouth as he explored her body with his hands. When he found her breasts, he moaned and ripped open her pajama tops. The buttons hit him on the chest, but he ignored them, moving down to feast on her beautiful body. Rose shivered beneath him, moaning.
"You're fixing that," she said, pulling him closer. "Later."
"Of course."
Her fingers dug into his shoulders as he moved his hand down between her legs again. He loved the way she shivered at his touch, the way her hips rolled up towards him, begging for more. He loved the way she gasped out his name, and the sweet taste of his skin while he kissed between her breasts. But most of all he loved the smile on her face, the pure love radiating from her eyes as she gazed down at him.
"How did I ever get so lucky?" he whispered, removing her pants to have better access to pleasure her properly. "You are the most amazing, wonderful, compassionate, sexy, beautiful, kind-hearted—"
"Don't lay it on too thick. I'm already taking off my clothes."
Her back arched and her shoulders shimmied from side to side as he adjusted his strokes against her. Her jaw hung open a little, her eyes sliding closed. Devon's own body ached with need as he watched her, filling to the brim with a desire to be as close to her as possible. He checked to see how ready she was and grinned when he found her perfect. He kissed her once more as he removed his pants. Her hands found him, and he let her work her to readiness before he laid over her again.
Both of them cried out, clutching at one another, as he entered. Devon kissed her gently, giving her a moment to adjust to him–but apparently, she didn't want to wait. She planted her feet onto the bed and brought her hips up hard. Devon gasped, then laughed and joined her rhythm. The pace was impossible to keep up, but he ground his teeth and tried, their bodies slick with sweat, writhing together as the heat built between them.
Soon it was too much to hold back; as Rose bucked and screamed beneath him, Devon was drawn with her to climax. His body jerked and writhed from side to side before he collapsed. He heard Rose's labored breathing and was just able to make himself to roll off her.
They lay there, hands twined, for quite some time before Rose stirred. She pushed herself to her elbow and smiled at him. "Well. That was an experience."
"A good one, I hope," Devon said, suddenly worried. "Did you—"
"I loved it." She kissed him. "I love you. I don't know why I waited for so long… I can't wait until tonight when I can tell you yes."
Devon chuckled. He pulled her against him and kissed her again. He glanced at the clock. "Look at that… we still have an hour left… want to go again?"
Rose gave him a wicked grin and straddled him. "My turn."
Devon was all too happy to let her give him what she wanted. He smiled as the heat began building again. He had a lifetime of this to look forward to… and it could only get better from here.
*****
THE END
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed reading “The Shifter's Nanny” as much as I liked writing it. Please consider leaving an honest review here; it means a lot to me to hear from you.
T.S. Ryder
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Alien Romance Collection
Kidnapped by the Barbarian
Description
What's a girl to do when her kidnapper is the sexiest alien she's ever seen?
T’shav mercenary Taliga didn’t plan for his prisoner to be so freaking gorgeous. He kidnapped her for a reason. And it wasn’t to fall in love. Love only stabs you in the back. So why is he staring at her hourglass figure, the roundness of her belly and her over-sized hips?
Whatever happens, Vanessa has made one vow: she won’t give up her virginity before marriage. But that’s proving to be damn hard around this piping hot alien. It’s wrong to have these lustful thoughts, especially about her kidnapper. Right?
But hot or not, a terrible fate is awaiting Vanessa. The people who hired Taliga intend to cut out Vanessa’s heart and feed it to the Earth. Taliga is her only chance.
Can he find it in himself to take a chance on love once again - and risk his life for her? Will he lie for her if he can save her and their unborn child?
Chapter One – Vanessa
White wasn't a wedding color out here among the stars, but Vanessa still felt like a bride. The tight bodice of the dress she was laced into emphasized her curvy hourglass figure, minimizing the roundness of her belly while at the same time balancing out her over-sized hips and large breasts. The white fabric looked good on her golden tones, and she grinned in satisfaction as she gazed at her image projected by the little probes that buzzed around her, capturing pictures of her from every angle.
"I wish I could be half as beautiful as you," her alien attendant, a three-eyed Trioeil named Miki said, sighing in adoration as a silver crown was settled on top of Vanessa's head. "But then, all you humans are beautiful."
"You'd be beautiful, too, if you were worshiped," Vanessa joked. "Honestly, back on Earth I was certainly not considered a great beauty. Maybe parts of me, but not the whole."
"I don't believe that."
Vanessa shrugged. It had been almost a decade now that she had been woken up from cryostasis to find that she had been abducted from Earth. Not only that, but she had been drifting through the cosmos at light speed for who knew how long before she was woken. The temporal distortion caused by lightspeed travel combined with the stasis meant there was no knowing exactly how long it had been since she was taken from Earth.
One thing was for certain, though. Earth had died a long time ago. Vanessa had been taken to see it once. From orbit, it was a ball of brown. She hadn't gone to the surface, but it was clear that it was an uninhabitable world now.
Humans themselves had become mystical beings of sorts, revered by most, if not all, of the new religions practiced by the various species throughout the galaxy.
All these species were descended from humans, and though they couldn't interbreed with one another, human genetics accepted all other species, and a human woman could give birth to every other species in the galaxy. Yet another reason why they were practically worshiped by churches, such as the one Vanessa found herself being pampered by at the moment.
"We are blessed to have you," Miki said, beaming at her with three large, yellow eyes. "We have petitioned for a human to lead us through our dawning rites ever since the Zon Sanctuary was founded, you know."
"Yes, I know." Vanessa turned from her image. "Zon told me all about your parish before I journeyed here."
Zon, the fierce warlord that protected h
umans from, had asked for volunteers for this, having carefully gone over security. Parishes like this one might worship humans, but there were plenty of aliens out there that did the opposite. Dozens of churches had declared the humans rescued from their stasis pods as 'fake' humans and encouraged violence against them. Not to mention the various corporations that were still after humans to dissect their DNA and for all sorts of horrific experiments.
At least the United Species, the ruling government body over the core worlds of the galaxy, had declared humans legally persons recently. It was in no small part thanks to Zon and his own human wife, Lisa. The announcement meant that humans were safer traveling outside of Zon's controlled worlds, although the safest place was still under his protection.
As for her part, Vanessa hadn't left the Sanctuary for a decade. At least, that was what she figured it at. The planet the Sanctuary had been built on was Earth-like, with a similar daily and yearly cycle, but 'Earth time' remained substantially different from the standard time that the United Species used. Ten years was a long time, but the loss of Earth still hurt. Even though she had adapted to life out here, nothing felt like home.
Before she was taken, Vanessa's plan was to be a famous Country singer by the time she turned thirty, a birthday that had to have come and gone by this time. When she learned that the dawning rites for this particular parish were led by a singer, well, she knew she couldn't pass up the chance to get her singing career back on track. Her mother always said that God gave her a voice to be used, and so Vanessa was going to use it.
Although Vanessa wasn't sure what she believed anymore. Being abducted from her home and waking up thousands of years after Earth was rendered a dead world would do that to a girl.
"Ready to cut loose and do some dirty dancing?"
Miki looked horrified. "The dawn rites symbolize the purity of the new day and the new year. That's why you are dressed in white, to indicate the cleansing snows that will soon fall to wash away the sins of our previous year. There is no mud for you to dance in."
Vanessa sighed. "I was making a joke."
Miki made a little noise in her throat but didn't say anything else.
Within a few minutes Vanessa was declared perfect, and she was led out of the small preparation room. Dozens of children, also dressed in white, lined the corridor, and as Vanessa walked towards the golden light of the performance hall where she would be singing the song she'd been practicing for months.
A bubble of nerves built in Vanessa's stomach. This was always her favorite part of the performance. The excitement mixed with dread. What if she fell flat on her face? What if she lost her voice?
But every fear was counterbalanced with something more exciting. Imagining hitting the high notes just right. People being moved to tears by the clarity of her voice. The possibility of greatness.
It had been so long since she had sung to an audience. A real audience, that was, not friends and not in the futuristic karaoke bars that had been built in Zon's Sanctuary.
Behind her the children fell in line behind her, humming now. Vanessa had to remind herself to walk slow and stately. She represented all the possibilities of things to come, the fresh new start in these rites. Bouncing wasn't going to help anything. The parish had a lot riding on this ceremony, which meant a lot of riding on her.
She was almost to the end of the corridor when two aliens stepped out of a side corridor, blocking her way. Both were T'shav, Zon's species. Their devil-red skin looked out of place in the cool gray tones of the corridor, as did the great broadswords strapped to their backs. Both were bare-chested, wearing the skirt-like var'ki that was traditional among T'shav males.
"Is something wrong?" she asked, bewildered. "Did Zon send you?"
The T'shav on the left, shorter of the two, snickered. "Certainly not."
A frown creased Vanessa's brow and she turned to the other one for more information. As she got a good look at him, her heart skipped a beat. It had taken her a while to come to grips with aliens in general, but this guy would have been piping hot back on Earth as is. Strong jaw, deep black eyes, straight nose. Lips that were so full that Vanessa had to stop herself from staring. His black hair was slicked back into a wolf's tail at the crown of his head.
"Kulog, you are an idiot," this T'shav said to his companion as he drew the broadsword from his back. "This could have gone much smoother if you kept your mouth shut."
"You'd better keep your mouth," Kulog growled. "I didn't save your life to have you talk that way to me."
Vanessa drew back from the two T'shav. She had only positive interactions with the species, given that they were her protectors, but now she remembered the stories she had heard. T'shav had a reputation as mercenaries and cutthroats throughout the galaxy. And if these two had not been sent by Zon, that must be what they were.
"What are you after?" she demanded, even as Miki grabbed her arm and attempted to pull her back down the corridor.
"You, of course," the taller T'shav said. His brow furrowed as he stared at her.
Her heart was in her throat, but Vanessa shook off Miki and stepped forward. "If you promise not to hurt anybody, I'll go with you."
The taller T'shav's eyes narrowed. He opened his mouth, but before he could respond, a shout rang down the corridor. Vanessa turned to see one of the priests coming for them, a blaster in his hand. Two muted blasts echoed from behind her. Twin balls of bright red energy shot past her. They impacted the priest's chest, lifting him bodily from the ground.
Vanessa's mouth opened to scream, but nothing came out. The children were all running away, their cries echoing in the narrow space. Miki wrapped her spindly arms around Vanessa's waist and tried to pull her back, but the human gripped her wrists and pulled them off. She spun to face the T'shav, only to find herself face-to-face with the taller of the two.
Whatever she had been about to say or do faded away. Her lungs locked, and her heart seemed to stop beating altogether. She stared into the black eyes and a thrill of fear ran down her spine. What were they going to do with her?
The T'shav reached around her and grabbed Miki's arm. He spun the small alien around, slamming her into the wall. The little alien shrieked and collapsed, hands pressing over her face. Blood poured down her face. The T'shav seized Vanessa around the waist and threw her over his shoulder. She yelped and began beating against his back, but he didn't seem to notice at all.
"Leave the Trioeil," he ordered.
Vanessa's head jerked up to see the shorter T'shav bending over Miki. He looked annoyed. "I need somebody for my musth."
Musth. The hormonal cycle that T'shav males went through. Vanessa could breathe for a moment as horror froze her.
During their musth, T'shav males became both unpredictably violent and had an insatiable sexual drive. Pheromones they produced at the time made women go crazy with lust for them as well. Vanessa's stomach cramped and she renewed her efforts, fighting against the T'shav that held her. He grunted in annoyance and dropped her.
"Leave the Trioeil, you can hire a woman once we're paid for the human and you." He shoved a finger into Vanessa's face. "Stop fighting me or I'll kill your friend. Understood?"
Vanessa's mouth was dry, but she nodded. The T'shav grunted again and picked her up again. This time she didn't struggle as he and his companion raced down the corridor. She couldn’t hear anything but the blood pumping in her ears. What was she supposed to do now? And how could she have ever found this animal attractive?
Chapter Two – Taliga
Taliga sat in the middle of the third cargo bay, breathing deeply through his nose before releasing it from his mouth. There was an ache right below his sternum, the likes of which he hadn't felt for a long time, that hitched his breath. It was ridiculous. Years had passed since he has been run through by a jagged blade, and yet the old wound had been bothering him ever since he had brought the human aboard.
He breathed in again. Maybe it was the look in her eyes when she offered to
go with them without a fight, as long as nobody was hurt. Or maybe it was how her dark eyes contrasted with the pale golden hue of her skin, or her hair, which was thick, dark and shiny. Her curvaceous body certainly didn't hurt. She was gorgeous.
Pure animal lust. That must be why all these unwanted feelings were welling up in him.
The door clanged open, and Taliga looked up, irritated, as Kulog stomped in. He was barefoot, revealing the enlarged claws that meant the other T'shav was approaching musth.
As if he wasn't annoying enough. Whenever Kulog entered his musth, he became unbearable. But the other male had saved his life all those years ago, and they made a profitable tea. Taliga was better with people and so got them well-paying jobs, while Kulog could punch his way out of almost anything. It didn't make Taliga like him any better, though.
"We got a message from Zon's Sanctuary," the other T'shav said, turning over an empty bucket to sit on. A faint banging came from the corridor, but Taliga ignored it. Kulog grinned and rubbed his hands. "Zon has offered us twice as much as whatever payment we've been offered for the human to return her to him unharmed and unmolested."
Taliga was quiet. There was, of course, no question of accepting the warlord's offer. For one thing, the people they were selling the human to were vicious, bloodthirsty brutes in their own right. Second, if he and Kulog did give her over to Zon, the warlord would likely arrest or kill them. Third was Kulog's history with the Sanctuary.
"I told him he could take his offer and—"
"I think I know what you told him." Taliga unfolded his limbs and stood. "How long until we reach the rendezvous?"
That was another reason that Taliga stayed with Kulog. There wasn't a better pilot in the galaxy. Taliga's own skills were basic. If he was flying this ship, it would take them twice as long to get to any location he wanted to get to.