“Now get dressed so I can feed you and we can get you back into bed for a nap, and maybe a little more play time.” He gave her a little wink, his hand slipping down to cup her backside, his dark eyes flashing with a hunger that always seemed there for her.
Kara smiled and reached for her discarded robe, thrilled to know she had a lifetime of mornings just like this in store for her, wanting nothing more than her little family — what she and Arthos already had, and what she knew they would have in the coming months.
She sighed a little contented sigh. The kind of life she’d always dreamt about and here it was, albeit a little different from how she’d thought it might be when she was a child.
Perfect, nonetheless.
PREVIEW OF ‘SNATCHED BY THE ALIEN’ BY AANA CELESTYA
Chapter 1: Stargazing
Nestled in the velvet folds of endless star fields was the Travis Conundrum. It glittered like a burning jewel at the furthest point of the Orion Spur, an anomaly of secrets winking seductively.
Joanne stared entranced, scrutinizing the ghostly image on her phone and moved her fingers across the screen to enlarge it. As her gaze fixed on it, the space anomaly seemed to call out to her, beckoning her like a Siren song.
“Hey, can I get some service here?” a male voice called out. “I’m dying of starvation!”
Joanne jerked her head up, suddenly remembering where she was. On the other side of the diner counter, Larry’s huge bulk was perched on a stool. He made a sour face. “Have a heart doll, I’m almost a skeleton.”
Joanne grinned and pocketed her phone. The Travis Conundrum would have to wait until her break. “Okay, okay,” she said in mock-exasperation. “I can see very well you haven’t had a full square meal in months.”
Larry slapped his prodigious stomach. “You have to make a lot of sacrifices to get a figure like mine,” he said gravely.
“I’m sure you do. You want the usual? Fried chicken wings, eggs and fries along with and a black coffee?”
“You know me so well,” Larry drawled. “When are we going to stop dancing around each other and you finally admit that you are madly and insanely in love with me?”
“As soon as you become a multi-billionaire I’ll book the church,” Joanne replied, writing out Larry’s order and sending it through to the kitchen.
“Ah, you wound me deeply girl,” Larry moaned. “Underneath that amazingly beautiful exterior beats the heart of a cold-blooded capitalist. Have you met my ex-wife, by the way?”
“Which one?” Joanne asked wryly as she fixed him his coffee. “And I’m not a capitalist I’m a realist and I’m also not amazingly beautiful.”
“You’re clearly lying about the beautiful bit, my darling. You are a like an angel descended from the heavens.”
“Quit with the baloney, Larry,” Joanne replied. “I’m not a starry-eyed kid anymore.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Larry said, his tone becoming serious. “You really are one in a million.”
Joanne smiled and was about to make another self-deprecating retort but Table Four’s order came out and she had to go and serve them. She thought about Larry’s compliments wishing they were more genuine.
He meant well, of course, and was a good friend but he was pushing eighty and quite lonely now that his marriage had come to an end. He was only being nice when he complimented her but she wished he would ease off sometimes. If she was so stunningly beautiful, why was she still single?
Reaching Table Four and delivering their meal, she chatted pleasantly with the elderly couple she’d just served and then ambled back to the counter.
It was a typical Thursday night at Molley’s Diner, slow and not very exciting. In point of fact, every single shift she worked at Molley’s was slow and not very exciting. It was the story of this whole backwater town, even before the economic downturn, and it was the story of her life.
Taking her place back at the diner, she looked out of the window, losing herself in her thoughts while Larry read the sports page while he waited for his food. Despite not being one of those vain airheads who obsessed about their appearance, she found herself checking out her appearance nonetheless, her sudden scrutiny sparked by Larry’s generous compliments.
With her frizzy blonde hair and dimpled face, she would hardly describe herself as plain, but she wouldn’t call herself beautiful as easily as Larry did.
She brushed down her uniform and straightened her apron, depressed at how dowdy she looked. When not at work, she loved to wear bright colours that showed off the generous curves of her body and the voluptuous swell of her breasts.
It wasn’t arrogant for her to say that she did scrub up well, it was just a shame that she only seemed to attract sleazy losers, Larry not included.
“Relax my cherub,” he said without looking up from his newspaper, “you’re still perfection made flesh. If I was fifty years younger and had a life-time supply of that drug, I’d make you the happiest woman on the planet.”
“Oh, Larry, if you had a life-time supply of that drug, you’d make every woman on the planet happy.”
Larry barked a laugh. “In my dreams, maybe. Oh I almost forgot to ask, how’s the blogging going?”
Joanne turned and cocked an eyebrow at him. “You know what blogging is?”
“Hey, I’m not a complete fossil, you know. I know what you whizz kids get up to on that Internet. I bet all your astronomy buddies are all in a flap about this Conundrum thing that just appeared?”
“Oh yes,” Joanne said enthusiastically, eager to discuss the Travis Conundrum with another person. “You can’t imagine the stir it’s caused. It looks like it just appeared out of thin air one day. The scientists are absolutely baffled by it.”
Larry nodded. “So the aliens have arrived to enslave us then? Least it means we won’t get enslaved by our politicians.”
“Oh, don’t get me started,” Joanne said shaking her head. “It’s far too early to say for sure whether it’s a natural phenomenon or an artificial construction.
When Gerald Travis first posted his discovery online, I wrote a blog post outlining that we shouldn’t jump to conclusions and I got a tidal wave of abuse from the tin foil brigade. I even got death threats. The internet can be a fun place sometimes.”
“Losers,” Larry agreed. “You know you should be an astronomer for real, not just doing it as a hobby. You certainly got the smarts for it. You need to be working for the scientists, not in a dead end job like this.”
“Then who would you have to drive you crazy?” Joanne asked dryly. “I suppose there’s always Doris to seduce.”
Larry grimaced at the mention of the other waitress’s name. “No thanks, she doesn’t turn me on. Seriously though, you can do so much better than this place.”
Though she didn’t think herself as arrogant, Joanne was inclined to agree with him. Astronomy was her first great passion from ever since she was five years old and got her first telescope. During those long lonely years growing up in foster care, looking up at the stars had been a source of tremendous comfort. She had taken up the study of Astronomy with the passion of a zealot and she had harboured ambitions to make it into a career, but the dreams of a child struggled to compete against the realities of life now she was in her mid-twenties.
“I want to go back to college to study Astronomy and Physics,” she admitted, “but you know how crazy my life is right now. Maybe in the new year things will settle down.”
“Okay, but don’t leave it too late or you’ll end up like me,” Larry warned. “I won’t be able to get by on my male model looks forever.”
Joanne laughed. “Well, when you’re a multi-billionaire you won’t need to fall back on your looks.”
“Yeah, that’s a point.”
After Larry’s food came, it was soon time for Joanne’s break and she disappeared into the staffroom and got out her tablet to check over her blog and finish her latest article on the Travis Conundrum which had been so much in
the news right now. Her article was outlining the possible nature of the mysterious celestial object, reiterating that it had appeared out of nowhere and cautiously suggesting that it might be some kind of extraterrestrial structure.
She wasn’t completely opposed to the idea, and it would be extremely small-minded to believe that humans were the only intelligent life forms in the cosmos, but she just didn’t buy into the bulk of conspiracy theories online about shape-shifting reptilians pulling the strings of the governments of the world.
If there were other beings out there and could create something as amazing as the Conundrum she doubted that they’d be interested in a lowly backwater like Earth.
She posited this parting thought in her article and posted it online. Her astronomy blog was her other great passion and gave her an outlet for her interest. She had made quite a name for herself and the website got a healthy amount of traffic.
It didn’t completely compensate for not having her ideal career, but it was a step in the right direction. She found herself looking at the images of the Conundrum again and her mind wandered. What exactly was it and would they ever find out for sure?
Because of its distance, she doubted they would ever find out the answers in her lifetime. They wouldn’t even be able to travel to it let alone study it closer through telescopes. She felt a pang of envy. Sometimes, she wished she could travel among the stars and learn the secrets of the universe.
Sadly, becoming an astronaut was more difficult than becoming an astronomer. It looked like she’d be stuck on the Earth for the duration and it also looked like she would be stuck in this backwoods town as well, despite how brilliant and intelligent Larry said she was. Sometimes in life, you just never got a lucky break.
Letting out a heavy sigh, she got to her feet and put away her tablet. Never mind, she said to herself, the universe is a very big place and you never quite know what it might have in store for you.
Chapter 2: An Otherworldly Admirer
“I see no value in trawling Earth’s information networks, trying to find the perfect woman, Prince Tamas,” Pero declared haughtily as he flittered around the control centre.
“All you seem to be finding are silicon implanted adult entertainers who are ‘come crazy’. That sounds a most unfortunate ailment in my opinion.”
Lounging on the jewel-crested couch, Tamas stretched and scratched his side. “Don’t be such a prude,” he said chidingly. “It is good to immerse oneself in the cultures of other worlds. Regardless of how primitive they might be.”
“I wouldn’t want to immerse myself in that kind of thing,” the little sylph muttered. He fluttered his diaphanous wings and his sleek golden body darted over to Tamas’ couch. He pointed at one of the twelve monitor screens arrayed in front of the prince.
“This is all a waste of time,” he said pointedly. “You’ll never find what you are looking for on this tawdry little world. We should go back to Prism Star before we miss the festivities altogether.”
“Ha! So that’s why you are moaning,” Tamas chuckled. “You want to go have some fun. That’s just typical. You’re so lazy.”
“That’s rich coming from you!” the sylph huffed. “I’ve seen boulders that move more than you.”
Tamas yawned and stretched his muscled arms. “When you have a body like mine, you don’t have to move around that much. All the good things come to you.”
“Quite a few bad things, too,” Pero countered. “We’ve been monitoring this planet for nine days now, why don’t you just admit you won’t find what you’re looking for here and we can head back. It really is no big deal.”
“What?” exclaimed Tamas, “and give Kordo the chance to gloat over my defeat? No way. When I return to Prism Star, it will be with my one true love mate. Think how jealous he and the rest of those toadies will be when I return triumphant.”
“I hope your chosen female is equally ecstatic,” Pero replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “I’m sure the lucky girl has always dreamed of being snatched from her home world and taken off into deep space, never to see her friends or family again.”
Tamas got to his feet and ambled over to check his reflection in the nearby-mirrored wall.
Unlike the small and artificially created Pero, he was fully humanoid with a strong, toned body that was well over six foot tall. His face was sharply contoured and elegantly handsome with high cut glass cheekbones and dreamy hazel eyes.
His scrub of dark blond hair was carefully gelled, and an earring of glittering jade hung from his left ear. He wore a tight fitting tunic of dark blue material and slender leggings that showed off the sculpted perfection of his body. He stood scrutinizing his appearance and striking poses.
“She won’t be able to resist me,” he said with confidence. “She won’t give a single thought to her old life once I offer myself to her.”
“Your humility is truly an inspiration to us all, my prince,” Pero drawled.
“You’re just jealous that I have been graced with such stunning looks and physical perfection,” Tamos retorted jovially. “Who’d be interested in a small-dicked AI form when I’m around?”
“You seem to forget that I can take any form I wish,” Pero replied, “and whatever size I wish to be. I could easily outmatch you if I wanted. Maybe she will fall for me instead of you?”
“You also forget my friend that I have natural charm and charisma and undeniable sex appeal. I will make her so wet, she’ll have to wring out her panties for the next century.”
“How romantic,” Pero said flatly. “There’s truly no way I can compete with that.”
“Don’t take it too hard, my friend. You can’t compete with god-like splendour,” Tamas replied. He checked himself out for a few moments more before bounding across the room and vaulting over the back of the couch. He landed onto it and slipped into a lying down position seamlessly.
“I suppose it is all academic anyway,” Pero said as he flitted over to join him. “You’re not going to find anyone before Prism Star warps out of this universe. To be honest, I think we should go back now. I don’t like being away for so long, who knows what mischief Kordo will get up to when our backs are turned?”
“Shut up,” Tamas said gruffly.
“Well, there’s no need to be rude. I was only making an observation,” the sylph said in a miffed voice.
“Shut up,” Tamas repeated, staring intently at one of the screens. “I’ve found her.”
“Found who?”
“Hush!” Tamas hissed. He was engrossed in the blog post he had found that had randomly been suggested by the ship’s computer. It was from an astronomy site and was about the Travis Conundrum, the name the Earth media had labelled Prism Star. The article discussed what the Conundrum could possibly be, and he was impressed by the logical outline and wry humour displayed in the writing.
There was also a picture of the writer and the owner of the blog site, and Tamas’ heart pounded faster as he gazed at the beautiful, blonde haired girl with her cute smile and bright blue eyes. This was the one he was looking for. She was his destined love mate. He felt it in every cell of his body.
“There,” he said in triumph pointing to the picture. “She is the one.”
Pero pushed him aside and looked at the screen. “Her?” he said in an incredulous voice.
“Yes, her,” Tamas said defensively. “What’s the problem?”
“There’s no problem,” Pero replied. “She just looks a bit too wholesome than what you usually go for, that’s all.”
“What I usually go for doesn’t excite me anymore,” Tamas said, “why else do you think we came here? No, she is the one I’m sure of it.”
“Well, if you’re sure,” Pero said, an undertone of uncertainty in his voice.
“Yes, I’m sure,” Tamas said sternly. “I want her now. Hack into mainframe and find her name and location. We’re going after her at once.”
“Your word is my command, my prince,” Pero replied. “I lov
e it when you’re assertive.”
Tamas grinned and looked back at the picture of the female human of his dreams. She would be his and he would return to Prism Star in glory. This was the happiest moment in his life.
Chapter 3: Culture Clash
The next day was Friday, when Jayden had his interview. All through her shift, Joanne checked her phone to see if she’d had a message from him and when nothing came, she messaged and called him several times with no response.
The blanket of silence put her in a bad mood and when she knocked off at the diner, she left him an angry voicemail telling him to call her straight away.
This was just typical of him, she grumbled to herself. He had absolutely no consideration for others. She was still stewing when she went to the bus stop to head into town.
As it was the weekend, it was time for her to start her other job working behind the bar at a nightclub. Between that and her shifts at the diner, she had no social life whatsoever, but it was the only way to pay the bills and keep her afloat, especially as she was keeping Jayden afloat as well.
“Jayden, when you get this pick up!” she said in a snarky tone to his voicemail for what seemed like the billionth time. “I need to know what happened today!”
She shoved the phone into her handbag and huffed to herself. She knew he’d mess things up, he always did. Every opportunity he was offered, he just threw away, upsetting a load of people in the process. She’d kick him out of the apartment if it weren’t for the fact that he literally had nowhere else to go.
They might have split up twelve months ago but a part of her just couldn’t turn her back on him completely. She didn’t love him anymore, but she couldn’t bring herself to not care about him just yet.
Speaking of the Devil, he suddenly appeared on the sidewalk and ambled towards her. The brand new suit she’d bought him for his interview was rumpled and stained, and he had a can of beer in one hand. The stupefied look on his face told her it wasn’t his first drink of the day.
Alien Romance: Hunted By The Alien: Scifi Alien Abduction Romance (Alien Romance, Alien Invasion Romance, BBW) (Celestial Protectors Book 4) Page 7