Joaquin's Saving Grace (Alien Mates Book Five 5)
Page 1
Table of Contents
Joaquin’s Saving Grace
Acknowledgements
Copyright
Other books by the author
Reviews and where to find me
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Epilogue
Have you read the other books in the series?
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Joaquin’s Saving Grace
By
Serena Simpson
Acknowledgements
I want to thank my daughter for putting up with me and all I go through. I am blessed to have her in my life. I want to thank you the readers for caring enough about the stories and the worlds to pick up the book and want to know what happens next.
Copyright
Joaquin’s Saving Grace – Alien Mates, Book Five - Copyright © October 2016, Serena Simpson
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, including electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.
Cover Art by OriginalSyn
Edited by Keriann Mckenna
Published by Serena Simpson
Other books by the author
Love Me Harder Series
Aran Book 1
Niko Book 2
Sergey Book 3
Nicolas Book 4
Hale Book 5
Alexei Book 6
Ash Book 7
The A’rouk Brothers
Mick Book 1
Alien Mates Series
Soul-Bonded to the alien Book 1
Rylan’s Heart Book 2
Gabe’s Destiny Book 3
Colun’s Passion Book 4
Dragon Mates Series
Alexa’s Dragon Book 1
Shifters on the run
Tane’s Mate Book 1
Reviews and where to find me
Once you’ve read Joaquin’s Saving Grace you can leave a review on Amazon. All reviews are appreciated.
You can find me on my website.
I’m also available on Twitter @serena789books
You can also find me on Facebook
Join my mailing list
Look for me I’m happy to connect with all.
Chapter One
Joaquin placed his foot on the gas taking the car up to seventy, eighty, ninety miles an hour. He took a look at the speedometer and pressed on the gas pedal again. When he was up well over one hundred, he looked at the black empty road ahead of him and wondered why. Why did he let the pain in his chest incapacitate him and the voice in his head taunt him?
Depression—that’s what the human doctors called it. They prescribed lots of medicines for him. He tore the scripts up and ignored them. There was no telling what human medicine would do to his particular biology. Having no other choice, he sought out the best two doctors in the universe.
Nicolas Dare and Damon A’rouk. Both called themselves Created, and neither of them was from this planet. They both told him the same thing, his body was at war with itself and taking a pill wasn’t going to help. They suggested he start by accepting what he was. Needless to say, he ignored them.
Now he was driving down the road to nowheresville wondering if after seeing all the joy back at the bed and breakfast if it wasn’t time for him to disappear for good.
Pain lanced through his heart and cut into his intestines reminding him that everyday his body held together it was a miracle. He shouldn’t exist; he was a freak of nature, someone’s sick joke. Although his mother never felt that way and his father doted on him before he died. Not that it mattered, he still grew up hiding who he was, keeping it all inside, knowing if his secret were to come out they may choose to kill him rather than accept the abnormality he was.
The cliff on the side of the road was steep. He pondered if he would survive driving over it at this speed. Considering his life, he probably would. Before he could think about it any longer, the prettiest pair of brown eyes he ever saw drifted in front of his face. She sat in the dining room at the B&B, hiding in the shadows as the other guest talked too loud and made inappropriate jokes.
Her eyes tracked him the minute he walked into the room and followed until he disappeared into the kitchen. He had wanted to talk to her, and that scared him. When Colun, his mentor was well, Joaquin packed up his bag and hightailed it out of there even though he knew she was watching him. Now here he was three weeks later driving aimlessly and contemplating his mortality. He pressed on the gas and floored his car because he knew if he survived the night he was going back to the B&B, damn the consequences.
*~*~*~*
They were finally leaving; Grace was beginning to think she would never be free of them.
“Grace, are you sure you don’t want to come with us?” Beth walked over to her taking her hands searching her eyes. “There’s nothing here in this small town. We had fun looking for the monsters, but their are none here. So it’s time to move on to our next stop.”
Grace had fallen into this group by accident when she went to the Greyhound station looking for a place to escape. She didn’t stay anywhere long; her life was easier when she moved around.
Beth said hello to her and invited her to sit with the group she was with. They tracked down sightings of monsters and were on their way to Newburg, Pennsylvania, because according to rumors they heard there were non-humans on every street corner. They were so excited and asked her to join them. Although she should have said no, the thought of having company for a while appealed to her, that’s how she found herself in Selma and Victor’s bed and breakfast.
When Beth told Selma why they were in town, Selma’s eyes had grown large and her mouth opened on a proper ‘O’ which only encouraged Beth and the rest of them to go on. After Selma offered them a place to stay, she walked past Grace and winked.
That one action should have been enough for Grace to take off but she felt the B&B calling her name, so she went along with the rest of them.
“Beth,” Grace smiled at her because she liked the young girl. “I can’t come right now, I got some disturbing news, and I need to figure out what to do next.”
Beth threw her arms around Grace and gave her a quick hug. “I understand, but I’ll miss you.” Beth took Grace’s phone and put her number in it. “There, now we can stay in touch.”
“Stay safe, Beth. Some of those monsters aren’t nice.”
Beth shivered for a minute like someone was walking over her grave. “I’m thinking about going home soon. Lately, I’ve had a bad feeling.” She shrugged it off saying goodbye to Grace one last time before joining her friends.
Selma arranged for the males to take the group into town to catch the Greyhound that was due in an hour.
“Are you sa
d to see them leave?” Selma asked her coming to stand by Grace’s side in the foyer.
“I’m sad to see Beth go. She’s real; I just hope the others don’t get her killed.”
Selma nodded. “I made a call a little while ago, talked to Beth’s parents. They will be there when the Greyhound pulls into Pittsburgh.”
Grace smiled the first real smile that she had in weeks. “Thank you. That’s just what she needs.”
“Your welcome.” Selma left her standing there.
Why am I still here? Grace wondered as she walked out the front door. Normally she would have run by now, but running wasn’t getting her where wanted to go. Tomorrow would be her birthday, another year older and no closer to peace.
She slipped through the trees walking away from the B&B until she stood in front of a small pond. Tomorrow she would come into her power. She would become the evil she spent her life fighting. Thoughts of ending it right now plagued her, but she couldn’t do that to herself.
Playing devil’s advocate was something she knew well.
“Grace,” the evil part of her said. “Tomorrow I get your body, and I’ll rule the world. At least I’ll rule your world. What are you going to do about it?”
“Well, devil I’m going to fight the evil that will try to take over my body.”
“Fight away, but the minute you turn thirty you belong to me.”
That part of her she didn’t want to acknowledge was right. Her family was under a curse, a long standing one. Every female turned evil on their thirtieth birthday. Their powers became uncontrollable. Several of her aunts and cousins were incarcerated right now for the things that they had done, and she wasn’t going to get a choice of whether she wanted to join them.
Kill yourself or kill others. Neither of those choices appealed to her.
One of Grace’s grandmothers, there were too many greats in front of the title grandmother to count, had been on her way home after checking on her only child. She ran across a man who was torturing a woman or so she thought. The woman was hanging between two poles and he was flogging her. In the interest of justice, she defended the woman, making the male leave her alone. That’s when she realized there was more than one type of monster in the world.
The woman cursed her and her descendants. Her grandmother had laughed not knowing, not understanding that some humans had more power than others. From that day forward, the females in her family had the ability to control fire, any fire. As they approached their thirtieth birthday, the ability began to take them over, giving them no choice but to hurt others. Tomorrow she would be thirty.
Knowing what was coming, she still couldn’t convince herself to end her life, so maybe she was already possessed. Already evil, but she still wanted to live. She dreamed of a better life when she already knew the outcome of hers.
She gave herself to the flame one last time while she was still in charge. Her body ignited flames eating at her skin until she was one large flame. Lifting her hands, she poured her fire out into the pond. Her heart went out to the fish and small animals that wouldn’t survive the heat of the water, but she rejoiced that it wasn’t a town or the B&B in flames.
When her body was empty of heat, she fell to the ground watching the flames making sure they didn’t spread. This was it her last conscious choice of what to do with the fire until it was all taken away from her tomorrow.
“What are you?”
She looked up to find a Sudir standing away from her unable to approach because of a barrier that separated them.
“I’m your worst nightmare.”
“You look rather weak and pathetic now that you’ve discharged all that lovely energy into the pond.”
She turned to look at him her eyes burning red. “Looks can be deceiving.”
“Why are you here?”
“I’m resting, not that it should matter to you.”
“Call it whatever you want but the Arbrin/Matra’s at the B&B are mine. I don’t care how much power you have, if you go after them, I will take you apart and treat you like a party snack.”
Grace yawned ignoring him. “That might be the answers to my problems, Sudir. It also might be your death wish. Be careful what you do.”
She stood up having made sure the fire was out on the pond before she walked away never turning to look at the Sudir again. She would have to leave tonight, staying any longer would place everyone here in jeopardy, and they didn’t need her issues combined with the issues the Sudir was bringing them. For a moment, the picture of Joaquin with his bronze skin, silver eyes and hair flashed before her.
She cut the thought off immediately, how ironic to find a male who called to her so completely when she no longer had the luxury of being with a male.
The walk back to the B&B gave her time to think, time to plot. She should have taken off for the mountains ages ago. That’s what she would do now. She’d hold on until she could get to a mountain and then she would burn whatever was in her way as long as it wasn’t human. It was the best she could do. The fire demanded blood.
Joaquin was back. His car sat in front of the B&B like a calling card. One he didn’t want her to miss. She cast her eyes down and walked up the porch stairs and into the front door. There was safety in her room.
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
She didn’t have to look up to know Joaquin was standing in front of her.
Chapter Two
Grace turned her head deliberately and looked around the room trying to find the person he was talking to.
“I’m talking to you, Grace,” he said with a small chuckle in his voice.
She knew who he was talking to, but she was trying to give him an out give her an out.
“Come with me?” He looked into her brown eyes, silvers ones staring into hers.
She swallowed feeling her throat work as she tried to gain control of her body. Her fingers, the traitors were shaking, clenching unable to stay still. Her arms had goosebumps on them from his asking her to run away with him.
Get a grip Grace, he didn’t ask you to run away with him. Every part of her that had absolutely no common sense wanted to go. The other part that knew they would become a killer tomorrow was screaming run away.
A sad smile curved her lips. “I can’t, but I wish I could.”
“You can but you’re scared.”
“If anyone should be scared it should be you. You don’t want to be around me tomorrow, no one does. I won’t even want to be around me, but I don’t get a choice.”
“Will running away stop whatever is coming for you tomorrow?”
Her foot hovered over the first step. She pulled back placing both feet on the floor and turned to look at him. Really look at him. He believed what she said about tomorrow; he wasn’t acting like doomsday wasn’t coming, he simply treated it like it was inevitable. He was right about that.
“Tomorrow is coming; I can’t run away from that, but maybe by running, I can save some lives.”
“Did that help the others?”
“What makes you think there were others?”
“It’s a very rare thing when only person in a whole society suffers from a disease.”
“In my case, it’s a curse, and no it didn’t help the others. They never wanted to hurt anyone. They tried to get away to live alone but eventually it drove them to populated areas. Eventually, it drove them to kill. So why am I running?”
“Because it’s the only thing you can do as you try to stay sane.”
“That’s it in a nutshell.”
“Come with me?”
Was he crazy? Hadn’t she just told him his life would be in danger if he was around her tomorrow and still he wanted her to go with him? What bothered her was that she wanted to go with him.
Joaquin was sin dipped in bronze skin. His lips were slightly thick making her think about kissing him whenever he was around. His body was tall and lithe, muscular without being massive. His silver eyes matched the silver of his hair. His hai
r was natural not the color of age but the definition of not being human. The desire to touch him coursed through her fingers. Once again she called her body a traitor as she tried to move away from him.
“Tomorrow will be too late,” he said as she turned her back on him.
“What would you give for a few hours of freedom Grace? To be who you always thought you were supposed to be before life, reality, and responsibility weighed heavily on your shoulders?” That voice that played devil’s advocate with her asked.
She didn’t know the answer, but maybe her life was supposed to end in a blaze of fire. Only one way to find out.
“Let’s go.” No need to ask him where they were going because it wouldn’t matter. She wouldn’t be far enough away to keep from hurting someone, to keep from hurting him.
He held out his hand she shrugged. There was no holding back anymore.
She took his hand and walked out of the B&B with him. She didn’t see them but she knew every eye in the place was on them. He took her to his sports car; it was silver. The silver of his hair and eyes, not the silver found in a car lot, on the sides of the car was a flame. It looked so real she itched to touch it. The car somehow represented them. She was the flame—he was the car. Together they were going to go up in smoke.
She slid into the passenger seat and waited for him to get in. He put on a seat belt bringing a surprised smile to her face. She buckled up, and he turned on the radio. Something easy and bluesy came out, and he took off never looking at Colun who was standing on the porch watching them.
“Why are we doing this, Joaquin?”
“Because your brown eyes haunt me. They stay with me when I close my eyes, and they follow me into my dreams. Your pink lips enchant me and your skin, a color so close to mine, calls to me. Your voice hypnotizes me; all of what I said was true, but there's more. You reach out and touch me on a level I’ve never felt before. So tonight we’re going to dinner, maybe dancing, and then whatever happens next happens.”