The Beast's Chosen (Astral Heat Book 3)

by Hunter, Ashley

  What was done, was done, he thought, closing his eyes.

  Now this human was going to hate him.

  This human, who just so happened to be his soulmate.

  Chapter Six

  The alien had left the room a while ago. She’d woken up to find him on the exact opposite side of the bed, and shortly after that, he’d gotten up, dressed, and left. He hadn’t spared her one word. It was expected, though. What would he even say? Thanks for having great sex with me, I’ll be back later after I work with the people who tried to kill you?

  Yeah, that wouldn’t have been awkward at all. Amber sat up and scooted so that her back was against the bed, pursing her lips.

  What had made her have sex with him? It had obviously not been anything romantic, but still? His kind were her enemy. His kind had killed her family. His kind was taking over her planet. Branton was her enemy, not some happy-go-lucky fuck buddy!

  Maybe it had just been the way it was so easy to push his buttons. Watching him get angry had been…kind of hot? No, very. It had been very hot. And when he had effortlessly carried her to the bed, something had just spoken out to her, telling her that yes, it was totally okay to drag him on top of you suggestively.

  But where had that gotten her? With a bed partner that hadn’t said a word for the rest of the night, and now a lonely bed, in a lonely room, with no clothes or food. At least he had a bathroom in here. A shower would be amazing.

  She started to slide her legs out of the bed when a beep from outside had her pause. A second later, she heard the door open.

  “Branton?” she called out softly, heart racing. If it wasn’t him, what was she going to do?

  Instead of responding to her, he walked into the room with a sack. He was dressed in the same outfit as the day before. Black coat, black pants, and black boots. The only bit of color on him was the badge on his shoulder. Even in all the dark clothes, he looked…delicious.

  He paused, staring at her. Something flashed over his face, but it was gone too soon for her to decipher.

  He handed her the bag and she gingerly took it, biting her lip. What had he thought, seeing here there? Naked? Was he regretting last night? She didn’t know whether she wanted to or not. Sure, the two extra arms coming out had been weird, but weird things always happened in the moment.

  “I’ve brought clothes that should fit you. Come with me,” he said, holding out his hand.

  Amber took it tentatively, and he led her to the bathroom. Amber gasped when he lifted her onto the counter, but didn’t say anything. Obviously, this was something he felt he should do. And she was so exhausted and confused, that she was just going to let him have at it.

  He turned away from her to start the shower. It was a giant walk-in shower with slate-grey stone walls and floors. The shower head was high up on the ceiling and gigantic. When he turned it on, water sprayed over half of the walk-in shower.

  Her mouth watered. It had been so long since she had had a proper shower! When she would leave the debris, she would try to clean up as best she could—but the town was so destroyed that water lines were down, there were no close houses that had working showers, and the houses that she thought would have running water were too far away for her to actually get to before nightfall.

  “Come,” he said quietly, taking her hand. He helped her down from the marble counter, then guided her into the water. When the first droplets touched her skin, she nearly died and went to heaven. She tilted her head back into the water and let it wash over her hair, her face, and her shoulders.

  “Do you have any so—?”

  Before she could finish her sentence, Branton was handing her a bar of soap.

  “Thank you,” she murmured.

  She didn’t even care that he wasn’t looking away. She could feel his eyes on her, tracing her body like invisible fingers. If anything, she was glad he was watching. Then at least he could feel something other than regret for what happened last night.

  She didn’t regret it. Couldn’t. She’d made up her mind to sleep with him in the spur of the moment, and what’s done was done. Not only that, but she hadn’t had sex since she was a teen. Her life had been too busy and chaotic to focus on having sex.

  It didn’t help that he was great in bed, either. He had the perfect size—

  “Here,” he said, breaking into her thoughts. She gladly took the shampoo from his hands, then paused.

  “You don’t want to join me?” she asked, letting her head fall back as water washed down her throat and chest. “It’s nice and warm in here—and after last night, you could definitely use a shower.”

  She looked over in time to see his jaw tic.

  “I will shower later,” he said, grunting.

  “You sure? We could just knock two birds with one stone.” There was just something so enthralling about him when he was frustrated. Being alone for in the debris for as long as she had been, human contact had been severely limited.

  It felt nice to talk. Nice to tease, entice, and rile. It just felt nice—especially since he was so easy to irritate. She should be terrified of this alien, but it was exactly the opposite. She felt comfortable with him. He had saved her from the others, and had only tried to take care of her.

  That was enough to win her trust, at this point. He had already had multiple opportunities to kill her, and he hadn’t. She believed that he truly did not agree with the war.

  “I do not hit birds with stones, human.”

  She laughed, squirting shampoo into her hand and lathering her hair.

  “It’s a metaphor, alien,” she said. “It means if we both shower now, it’ll save us time.”

  “Time is a human concept meant to conform your people. I will not be showering, human,” he repeated, handing her a second bottle.

  “How did you know I like conditioner?” she asked, taking the bottle with a squeal. It had been so long since she had had a proper wash! She hadn’t expected to get the full works, but this was amazing. Fine, she thought as she worked conditioner into her hair. I won’t bug him…for now.

  “I often tune in to your static frequencies. There are these things called ‘commercials’. They’re quite informative. That’s how I learned of the ‘oat man’. We watch your shows to adapt and learn ‘slang.’” He stopped watching her and leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, expression one of brooding.

  She chuckled and then finished her shower.

  He held open a towel, and she reached for it.

  “No, walk into it. I will do this for you,” he said, sounding way too annoyed. Why was he so weird about things? He wanted to dry her, and he was mad about it?

  “I can do it,” she said, tugging on it.

  He sighed. “You can, but you won’t. It is my duty. Step inside the towel, human.”

  “I have a name, you know,” she grumbled. Nonetheless, she stepped into the warmth of the towel and for a brief second, his thick arms were wrapped around her. Despite herself, she melted against him. And when he led her out into the bedroom, he gently laid her down on the bed.

  “Are you sore?” he asked, voice as stoic as his face.

  Just to see what he would do, she nodded. Like it was a chore for him, he sat on the bed, rolled her onto her stomach, and put his hands on her back.

  “If you’re uncomfortable, why are you doing this?” she asked.

  “It is my duty,” he said calmly. She couldn’t stop the moan of relief when he began rubbing her back in just the right place. “I must take care of you.”

  “You don’t have to,” she whispered, eyes closing in pleasure. How could an alien warrior know just where she needed to be rubbed?

  “I do. Now relax, human.”

  She had no problem doing that. With a sigh, she immersed herself in his touch. His fingers whispered over her back like they were sensing for knots, and when he found one, he would gently rub it out. Eventually, he moved from where he sat beside her, to kneeling over her back with his legs on either
side of her thighs.

  A few times he would lean down too close, and she could feel his hardness against her back. But still, he did nothing but her back, shoulders, and hips. When he climbed off of her and rolled her onto her back, she gave him a lazy smile, her eyes still closed. She was too relaxed to have the strength to open them.

  Who could blame her, though?

  He knew just where she needed to be rubbed.

  When his hands touched her throat, she tilted her head back to give him better access. He didn’t focus on that spot long, because after a second his hands were sliding down between her breasts, then under them, then down her sides… She shuddered, stretching her arms above her head with a sigh.

  “You are really good at that,” she murmured.

  “I’m good at a lot of things,” he replied quietly. He was no longer the mad about massaging her—if anything, he was getting into it just as much as she was. When he moved between her legs, she readily opened her legs for him. After last night, she had no shame.

  Not only that, but somehow she knew he wouldn’t take advantage of her in this position. She felt like she could be as relaxed and free around him as she could if she were alone.

  “You know,” Branton said, his voice nothing but a deep whisper. “Your hair turns very blonde when it dries. Even more blonde than last night.”

  “I haven’t had a bath in weeks,” she admitted, shame eating at her. She had tried her best to stay clean. But to have it pointed out that she had been dirty…it hurt.

  “There is no shame to be found in surviving. You are the only human that we have found in this state thus far. I am proud of you for surviving, and you should be proud of yourself.” She didn’t open her eyes, but she could feel him lean down. His hardness pressed against her bare core, and warm lips gently brushed over her temple.

  “I try to be. It was hard, being alone down there. You know, before my state was attacked, I was a reporter,” she said, swallowing thickly when his fingers brushed over her stomach. She wasn’t thin by any means.

  Amber had always been naturally curvy, and not a lot of men she worked with or knew had found that attractive. Most reporters and journalists were skinny.

  “Reporter, as in…?”

  “As in, I covered a lot of stories about your kind. My parents were taken from me when I was young, so I used that to drive myself. I worked for the agency until the building was attacked—I was in it when it fell.”

  “You’re becoming tense,” he noted, hands returning to her shoulders. He gently massaged them, working his hands up to the back of her neck. His fingers swirled in circles there, causing her to groan.

  “When the building fell…it was terrifying. I don’t know why I was the only one to stay alive…”

  “It was just meant to be, human.”

  “Maybe. I guess. I don’t really know—I don’t believe in that kind of stuff. I can’t believe that my planet was just ‘meant to be’ destroyed, or that my parents were just ‘meant to be’ killed.”

  His hands stilled, and he was silent. Then, without a word to address what she’d said, he continued rubbing her down. There was no more conversation after that, and she was grateful.

  Chapter Seven

  She opened her mouth to accept another chip while he held up another object. “That’s a pacifier,” she said, chuckling.

  “What does this pacifier do? It looks like some sort of plugging mechanism,” Branton said, studying it closely and turning it around in his hands.

  “It sort of works like that. Babies use them to suck on. It calms them down.”

  “Ah,” he said, setting it down. He fed her another chip, watching her intently. “So it plugs their cry. That’s odd—our women do not use those. I will have to bring this back with me.”

  “You just might,” she said with a smile, swinging her feet behind her as he searched for something in the box.

  They were lounging on the bed. Branton sitting up with several boxes pulled out, and her laying on her stomach with her hands under her chin. He was off duty for the night, and these were the times she lived for.

  He would bring her meals two times a day, stay to make sure she ate all of it and sometimes even feeding it to her while he told her what he had done during the day. Branton would only stay for a few minutes, though. Then he would return back to work, and she was left to herself.

  Their past week together had been spent mostly like this. Him feeding her snacks, and her telling him about various objects he’d collected. When they got bored of that, he would put the boxes away and they’d spend the rest of the night talking until they eventually fell asleep.

  Not since that first night had they had sex, and Amber didn’t know if she liked that or not. She loved spending time with him—loved learning about him. He was inquisitive, curious, and not as hard as she had originally thought.

  Every time they were together, he took care of her. He made sure she was clean, happy, and full. It had become ritual for him to massage her after every bath he was around for, and Amber just adored that. He had never required her to give him one, though, and even denied her when she offered.

  To him, the massage was his way of exploring her. It was his way of seeing the difference in their kind. Those were his exact words to her, but she had a feeling he just liked to touch her. And she was fine with that.

  A few days ago, he had brought in equipment to do a physical on her. The broken rib was healed, all of the internal bleeding was healed, and her kidney was in top notch condition. Neither of them had breached the subject of her leaving now that she was fully healed, and honestly, she didn’t want to.

  Spending her nights with Branton were some of the best nights she had had in her life—and that was without them having sex all week!

  She had put together that he was the second in command to the “Rainer” fleet, which she had eventually concluded was the main fleet.

  Basically, the alien that was harboring her was the second in command in command to the entire war. The first being the Lord Commander, which Branton mostly referred to as LC.

  “What about this? I thought that it was some kind of magnifying device, but all it did was give me a headache.” He pulled out a pair of glasses, holding them up to his face. They were big and old, the frame pink with a pronounced wing. She laughed, reaching out to take them from him.

  “They magnify alright—for people who have bad vision! Your kind doesn’t have things to help them see?”

  “No,” he said, confused. “Our vision is perfect, as are all our senses. No one has ever needed aid to see—unless they are taking aim with a weapon. We have sights for those—but not anything like that.”

  She smiled at him. “Well, our senses are not always perfect—so we come up with things like these,” she said, waving the glasses at him. He gave her a patronizing look and took the glasses away, putting them back into the box.

  Amber rolled onto her stomach, stretching her arms over her head. “So, I just want to point something out to you,” she said, tilting her head all the way back to look at him upside down. “I had to hide in the ground for almost a month, and now I’m hiding in here. I’ve been cooped up for a while…so when can I explore? Can we go together?”

  He drew back, frowning at her.

  “Human, that would not be practical.”

  “But why not? Can’t we just sneak out? I could dress up like one of you again. And you’d protect me from them—right?”

  “As best I could, but that is not the point here. Can you not wait a little longer?” He avoided looking at her as he stood from the bed, leaning down to pick up the box.

  She sighed, rolling herself to the end of the bed and then standing up. She met him eye-to-eye—or as best she could, since he was probably a foot and a half taller than her—and frowned at him.

  Branton set down the box and took her face in his hands, gently smoothing her hair back. “Now is not the time. In a weeks time, there is a peace treaty being si
gned, and-”

  “Wait, a peace treaty for the war to end? How long have you known? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because not everything is set in stone. Anything can happen between here and then. I didn’t want to get your hopes up, human.”

  “That’s so…mean. I can handle the truth, you know,” she said, backing away from him. She was disappointed. For the first time since meeting him, she was disappointed with her alien. How could he have kept something like that from her? Especially after all the talks they had had about the war?

  She hadn’t known when or if there would be an end to it, and that was one of the biggest fears she’d confided in him. He had so many opportunities to tell her about the treaty, but he hadn’t.

  “I did not mean to hurt you,” he said quietly.

  “It’s just that-”

  Pounding on the door cut her off.

  “Stay here,” Branton said. He started away from her, then turned back just as quickly and took her cheek in his hand. Even though his face was as serious, she felt the emotion behind his touch. “I really am sorry for withholding the treaty from you. I will be back soon. We can talk about it then.”

  She nodded silently, then gasped when he left a quick, soft peck on her lips.

  He strode away without another word or look, leaving her there with her hand over her mouth.

  ~*~

  “What is going on?” Branton asked, closing the door tightly behind him. Arbon, one of his men, stood on the other side with several other males. This was the same group that had attacked his human. Anger flowed through him, but he kept it hidden. He could not alert these men that he was angry for the simple fact they had no clue why he would be.

  “We have an issue in the infirmary. Your help is needed.”

  “Could you not ask another commander? I am off duty right now,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. He valued his time with the human and would much rather stay with her than deal work. He spent all day away from her—the last thing he wanted was to walk away right now.