Venturi, Complete Serial Parts 1-4: Alien SciFi Romance (Crashlander)

by Annie Nicholas

  Silly for my butterflies to grow worse but they did. If it was hormones that controlled his heart then so be it. Technically, it was hormones that controlled mine, if less visible.

  “You wish to return to your home in the stars?” His expression softened to something sad.

  Throat tight, I whispered, “I don’t know. I hate the idea that I would have to depend on you so heavily for survival.”

  “Then it’s not me you hate?”

  I pressed my hands against his chest, my heart pounding so hard it hurt. “No, never.”

  “Then I will go with you if your rescue comes.”

  My cheeks ached from how wide I smiled. “Just like that.”

  “Wherever you go, I will follow. Through dragons, across canyons, diving off trees…you lead a dangerous and exciting life, my When-di.”

  A laugh bubbled up from deep in my belly. “The canyon was your idea.” I stared at his chest, curious at what I felt under my hands. “Do you have two hearts?”

  He moved my palms lower, one under each nipple. I could sense two distinct beats. He set his huge hand over my one heart. “Now I can say I love you twice as much.”

  “It’s quality, not quantity, that counts.” I kissed the tip of his nose and marveled at my happiness. These were some of the worst conditions I could imagine living in and I was laughing. All because of this wonderful man.

  His eyelids grew heavy and I swear I could almost read his thoughts. It included us rubbing skin together in a vigorous and pleasant manner.

  “Venturi!” A man shouted from the tree trunk, cracking twigs and rustling leaves followed. He stepped into the clearing. Savagely handsome, he sent shivers of fear down my spine.

  I had thought Venturi armed? This one bristled with knives and spears. I was so thankful I had run into Venturi instead of this guy. He looked as if ready to roast me over a pit.

  “Ne’flav and Argeer are at each other’s throats again.” He crouched, poking my shoulder. “They said it was tiny. You’re not afraid you’ll break it?”

  I brushed his hand away. “It can speak for herself.” I stood, still not managing to be taller than this jerk.

  “Apparently.” He straightened in one smooth motion, giving me vertigo. “I leave you to take care of this problem then, since you are the cause.” His glare traveled to Venturi. “I’m off to hunt. I’ll be back before the moon rises.”

  “But you just got back,” my mate called out as the jerk slipped back through the foliage and it folded in his wake.

  “Been home too long already,” he responded, then was gone.

  “Who was that?” I asked.

  “My younger brother, Rog’ba Durab i Pallopa.”

  I sighed. “Rog, for short.” Their names gave me a headache.

  “Don’t let him hear you shorten his name. Not without his permission.” Venturi rose and cleared a path through the leaves with his arms. “We should see what the argument is about.”

  We hurried to the trunk trail.

  “From what Rog said, I assume it’s about me.” I wasn’t trying to be impertinent but seriously, how did I pronounce that name?

  The sound of shouting grew louder as we descended to the main platform where Ne’flav faced the thickly muscled man.

  “That’s your chief, right?”

  “Yes.”

  I hadn’t noticed the first time we’d met that the chief’s skin was covered in small knick-like scars as if he’d been attacked by razor blades in the past. “I thought he’d be gone until dark.”

  “So did I.” Venturi didn’t look happy though.

  We’d been waiting for the chief to return so we could call a tribe meeting about the bioprocessors. I was thrilled he was back early. My crew was dying, the beacon would be dead soon, according to the aliens, and our window for survival was narrowing. Oh yeah, and here I was, sitting in a God-awful beautiful place with a gorgeous man who looked at me as if I made the suns rise, eating fruit.

  Damn straight, I was excited we could have this meeting early.

  Argeer stood cross-armed in a staring contest with the healer. “Why should we risk so much for them?”

  Oh no.

  Ne’flav’s hands fisted. “We need new blood in the tribe.”

  “It’s alien blood. How do you know it won’t weaken us instead?” Argeer spoke so calmly in comparison to Ne’flav, like he had already made his decision.

  “Viable pregnancies are getting less and less with each generation. We can’t ignore this opportunity. We’re too inbred.”

  “We have four pregnant women now.” Argeer gestured to the gathering tribe. I noted one of those pregnant women rubbing her round tummy while her mate rested his arm around her shoulder possessively.

  “How many of them will be born alive?” Ne’flav threw up his hands.

  Even I flinched at his outcry. The poor pregnant woman across the platform buried her face in her mate’s chest, her shoulders drooping.

  I wasn’t the only one to notice. Ne’flav took a step toward her. “I didn’t mean it.”

  “Yes, you did,” Venturi spoke out. “Pretending we don’t have a problem is not a solution. When-di’s people might be the answer, but we won’t find out if we let them die.”

  Lightheaded, I leaned against Venturi. They wanted to breed with us? Was that even possible? I laid my hand on my stomach. We’d had sex last night and I wasn’t using any birth control. Why should I have been? I hadn’t been seeing anyone prior to this trip. I’d been focused solely on my career.

  “You would give the bioprocessors needed for these pups to the humans?” Argeer asked, still cold as deep space.

  Ne’flav shook his head. “No, we have enough for everyone.”

  “How? When last you reported to me about their growth, before the storm, you worried that they were not maturing fast enough.” The chief’s frown deepened.

  How could I convince him to help us? I hated how so much depended on this one person’s decision, but I understood his dilemma.

  I wouldn’t steal from babies. Not to save my crew.I touched the bump on my arm. Not to save myself.

  I stepped forward. “I don’t feel right taking this bioprocessor if your people are in need of it. Maybe Ne’flav should take it back.”

  Venturi made a distressed noise behind me. A cross between a shocked growl and a yelp. My gut twisted at the sound.

  Ne’flav dropped his chin, hands on hips, and shook his head slow as if forced to deal with idiots. “A bioprocessor is very hard to remove and yours wasn’t a mature one.” He lifted his head and pinned Argeer with his glare. “That’s my point. The humans are much smaller than we are. They don’t need fully matured bioprocessors to survive. When-di is proof.”

  “You experimented on her?” Venturi asked. “Without discussing it with me? What if it hadn’t worked?” He grew angrier with each word until he was shouting.

  The healer gave a frustrated growl. “Don’t you start. Like Argeer said, I had no choice. The pups need the mature bioprocessors to have any chance to live.” He pointed at me. “Look, it was the right choice. She’s doing well.” He faced Argeer. “Don’t you see? We can save them all. Most of them are female and Venturi is proof we can mate.”

  “Save them. Yes. What about shelter, food, and safety? Who will provide these things, Ne’flav? You?” The chief turned his attention to me. “What say you, little alien?”

  I cleared my throat. Suddenly aware of the many pair of eyes pointed in my direction. “I won’t lie. My people are helpless at this point, but we’re willing to learn.”

  We would have to or die.

  Argeer clapped his hands once to gather everyone’s attention. “Very well. Our pup’s bioprocessors are safe and we might have potential mates, meaning more mouths to feed.” His gaze traveled over the tribe as if gaging their reaction. “We leave at dawn to retrieve the humans then. I need three hunters to volunteer. I will lead the group. Venturi and his mate will accompany us.”

&
nbsp; “My mate is still recovering from the poisoning.” Venturi hugged me to his side. “She should remain here.”

  I chewed my bottom lip. What about the beacon? It was our last hope to call for help and it has been exposed to the tech-destroying radiation for days. Saving my crew had priority, but from the sound of it, I had that covered. Ne’flav was going to rescue them. That would leave me free to return on my mission with Venturi to reach the beacon.

  Would my crew let the aliens into the ship without me to smooth things over?

  Could I take that chance?

  P artFour

  Chapter One

  Wendy

  I was still adjusting to Venturi declaring that I was his mate. To everyone in the tribe. Like a huge announcement without any warning. Did that make us married?

  His sister’s hut sat empty behind me. Luckily, the storm hadn’t damaged it much. She left us alone, claiming a driving need to finish some sewing project. I didn’t have to be tassuone to know she wanted to give us privacy. I appreciated it.

  My thoughts kept buzzing in a circle. Mate, crew, beacon. Mate, crew, beacon.

  I sure could use a stiff drink or three about now.

  Venturi fussed over me, making sure I sat on the softest moss patch, and shoving thin slices of cooked meat into my mouth as soon as I finished swallowing the last bite. All the while, he would pause occasionally for a possessive touch or kiss, letting me know he was aware of me. Or worried that if he blinked, I would vanish into thin air.

  I plucked a piece of meat from the wooden platter on his lap and fed it to him. “I’m full.” I shoved another piece in his mouth as he opened it to protest. “I’m full,” I repeated. I didn’t want to tempt fate. So far, I hadn’t died of instant poisoning from something I’d eaten.

  He swallowed without chewing. “You barely touched what I brought.”

  I stroked his muscled shoulder. Wow, I loved touching him. He felt utterly sinful. “I’m half your size so I only have half your stomach.”

  He held up the platter. “Half is not gone.”

  It held enough food to feed a crew of four. “You can eat all that in one meal?” No wonder the chief worried about feeding eight more people. He would be relieved to hear that we didn’t require as much as they did.

  “With what is gathered from the jungle, like the melons. Yes.”

  “I don’t want to overeat.”

  “If what Argeer said is keeping you from taking food—”

  I eased the platter back between us, picked a piece, and offered it to him.

  He refused the bite.

  “Look, the food is alien to my system. I don’t want to fill myself with something that might be poisonous to my kind.”

  Venturi ’ s eyebrows rose. “You are clever, my When-di.” He ate the food I held in my fingers. “The melons didn’t make you sick. I will gather another for you.” He made to stand but I grasped his wrist.

  “Wait.” I chewed my bottom lip. “Don’t leave me. Alone, I mean.” Just as quickly, I released my hold on him, like I’d been holding a hot ember. Damn, I sounded so needy.

  I wiped my sweaty hands over my thighs. Mate, crew, beacon. Mate, crew, beacon.

  My head began to pound with my litany of worry.

  Venturi tucked my short hair behind my ear. “What worries you? You have been very quiet since Argeer announced that we would rescue your people. Are you not happy? Is this not what you desired?”

  Great, now I was coming across as ungrateful. I threaded my fingers with his three. His black skin so alien against mine. “I’m very happy, but I’m wondering if my going back to the ship is such a great idea.” I’d promised my crew to turn on the beacon and call for help. Then Venturi’s people had offered a cure for the radiation poisoning, I’d thought to return to my crew with the tassuone, but that was before I realized I had a time limit to send a message home. The radiation didn’t only kill alien life forms—it destroyed advanced technology.

  Like the beacon.

  I hung my head.

  Fuck.

  “You are tired. I did not want you to journey so soon.” He frowned. “But your people can’t afford to wait. I can make a sling for you and carry you on my back as before when you were sick.” He cupped my face. “I promise on our return to force my tribe to let you recover properly and allow us to bond.”

  “I’m not tired.” I was the opposite. I was wired and ready to go. What to do with my newfound energy was the problem. “I can’t stop thinking I failed my crew by not reaching the beacon.”

  “The beacon again.” He sighed, his accent very thick and sexy as he used the English word beacon. “What is this obsession to be eaten by balaur?”

  I laughed, the tension easing from my back. Venturi had a beautiful gift in knowing how to make me cool my jets before I took off unprepared. “Even the balaur have to eat.”

  His smile grew heated and he licked his lips. “Only I have the right to eat you, my mate. No other can have a taste.”

  Just like that, instant panties damp. My gaze traveled to the empty hut where we would be hidden from curious eyes.

  Venturi’s tail traced a seductive path up my calf toward my inner thigh. “I know how to distract you from your worries.”

  “I bet you do.” And I could use some serious distracting, but I wasn’t on any kind of birth control. There had been some serious talk of babies an hour ago and we needed to discuss the nuts and bolts of baby-making before I entered that hut.

  With my fingertips, I plucked his tail off my leg. “I’m pretty sure that since we’re different species, you can’t get me pregnant.”

  He gave me a slow blink. “Why would you think that?” He actually looked insulted.

  “Uh…” How did I explain genetics and alien biology? Maybe I should pull out the old drawing stick and leaf trick. “I am made differently than you?”

  Yeah, that totally covered it.

  “Not so different. We fit well together.” He ran his palm over the growing bulge in his pants. “If I remember right, we fit very, very well together.” He reached out, offering me his upturned hand. “Come with me and I will show you how well my cock slides into your cunt.”

  I clicked my jaw closed. I wasn’t used to such honesty. He was…blunt about what he wanted. I didn’t need to read between the lines and I kind of liked that about Venturi. The man had a gift of making life worth living.

  “I have a good memory.” I tapped my temple. “I recall exactly how—”

  “Hard I made you come?” His grin was so wide I could count all his sharp little teeth. “Are you sure? I don’t mind refreshing your memory. It wouldn’t be a burden.”

  I crawled onto his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck, unable to resist his charm. “You’ve done so much for me already. How could I possibly ask for more?”

  He moved his hips while gripping mine so our special places were rubbing against each other.

  A moan rolled in my throat. “Okay, but seriously.” I sounded so breathless. The man literally took my breath away. “So you really think I can get pregnant? Because I’m not taking anything to prevent it.”

  His eyes went wide. “Why would you prevent it?”

  Well, that was a loaded question. I twirled one of his braids around my finger, avoiding his stare.

  “When-di.” He said my name the way I loved. Like it was sex and chocolate all rolled into a word. “My tell-sign, the spots on my arms and chest, would not develop if we were not compatible.” He ran his hand over his muscled chest. “My body knows.”

  What a body it was too.

  I shook my head and cleared my lusty thoughts. “So I could already be pregnant?” We’d only done it once but I wasn’t sure I wanted to be a mom on an alien jungle planet.

  “Possibly, but from what I know of others’ experiences, it takes a few tries.” His eyes danced back toward the empty hut in invitation. The man was relentless.

  I rested my head on his shoulder. “I’m not sure t
hat’s a good idea.”

  Actually, I already knew the answer. Me? A mom? Terrible, terrible idea. I really didn’t need to ask. I knew it.

  He leaned back, forcing me to meet his gaze. “You don’t want to carry my child?” I had hurt his feelings. “I forget you are not driven by the same instincts as I am.”

  I closed my eyes, wishing I could crawl into a hole. The last thing I wanted to do was upset Venturi. “I’m afraid.” The whispered confession was the hardest thing I’d ever done.

  “Of me?” He tilted his head, his braids cascading over his shoulder and revealing his pointed ear.

  “No, but being a mom.” Silly man, I knew he’d never hurt me, but motherhood could possibly be my end. My own mother was a terrible role model. On this world, there were no hospitals or delivery rooms. What would I do if things went wrong? “I can’t even care for myself, let alone a baby. What sort of parent would I be, afraid and lost all the time?”

  “A loving one.” He ran his long fingers through my hair, almost cupping my whole head. “See, already you’re worried for its benefit. But you forget that you are not alone in this endeavor. I will be there as well.”

  I turned my face and kissed his palm. Words stuck in my throat and tears burned behind my eyelids. Of course he would be there for us. How could I ever have doubts?

  “There are ways to enjoy each other without making a baby. We’ve practiced a few of them already. With a little flexibility, we can try a few more.”

  I giggled. Tempted to lose myself in Venturi for the rest of my life.

  “As for the cursed beacon, leave it. The poison most likely has killed the tech, if not the fire. Your people will be frightened when a group of giants seek entrance into their ship. Will they not try to defend it?”

  “Probably.”

  Venturi

  My hearts pumped with a sad beat. A mating to an alien female was not a simple thing. Our ways were different. I was in such a rush to start a family that I’d forgotten the recent traumas When-di had suffered.

  She was my light and reason for being now, and one day, we would create a home and family together. Just not today or tomorrow. I had to be patient. She was safe with me and healthy. I was content.