COWBOY ROMANCE: Devon (Western Contemporary Alpha Male Bride Romance) (The Steele Brothers Book 2)

by Amanda Boone

  Valerie’s chest rapidly rose and fell with her breath. Her nipples were hard from the cold… and from him. She could feel him undressing her with his eyes and she couldn’t take it anymore. A short cost benefit analysis yielded little to no negative repercussions for. One. Little. Kiss.

  She reached for him, her hand landing behind his neck, and pulled him down towards her. She drank him in, her eyes rolling back at the sensation of his hand hiking up the inside of her shirt. She wanted him inside of her already! She hitched her leg on his hip as he shifted her around so that her back was to the counter.

  He hoisted her up on top of it, peeling her shirt off of her head. Her breasts bobbed free. He licked his lips before he licked her nipples. He had one hand on her free breast and the other clenching her jaw. Valerie moaned as she sucked on his finger, her hands clutching at the back of his head.

  Javen ripped her joggers off, exposing her nakedness. He pressed his head against her torso, driving himself up through the center of her chest. She attacked his lips, a purr rolling in her throat as he thrust his tongue into her mouth. She pressed her fingers into his face, squeezing him as hard as she could with her legs.

  He ripped them open, sucking on her neck as his fingers pressed into her cunt. Her jaw swung open as she sucked in buckets of pristine air. Her eyes watered; he was sucking on her so hard. One long, guttural grunt slipped from between her lips as she peeled off his shirt and dragged her nails down his back.

  Javen grabbed her wrists with both of his hands and slammed them against the cabinets over her head. He dragged his tongue from the center of her collar bone up to her chin, landing a passionate kiss on her lips.

  Valerie shoved him off of her and jumped off of the counter. She pulled his pants off, letting them pool around his ankles.

  He stepped out of them and grabbed her arms, forcing her to turn around.

  Valerie let out a sigh of ecstasy as he pushed her until her chest pressed against the cool counter. He entered her.

  He pulled on her hair, stretching her neck taught as he banged her. One hard thrust after another after another.

  Valerie could feel it in the belly of her being, the essence of the two of them radiating out, their lust filling the entire submarine. He fucked her harder and harder until she was shaking back and forth, her breasts bobbing up and down and her lips flapping around.

  He let out a groan, followed by three swift grunts.

  And then he came.

  Valerie took a moment to catch her breath, but she could feel that ache in her abdomen. “Javen?”

  “Yes?” he sounded just as out of breath as she felt.

  “My stomach hurts.”

  “Oh!” he hopped off of her like he had been shocked. “I’ll get you more medicine.”

  “Thank you.” Valerie found it hard to talk around her dry mouth.

  “Of course.” Javen traced his finger down her spine, planting a soft kiss on the back of her shoulder before putting on his pants and leaving her to redress herself.

  Chapter Six

  Valerie’s eyes popped open to the sight of a woman that looked exactly like her. She shot up from the bed. There were obvious differences in the holographic image. She appeared far more tan and had shorter, thinner hair. But other than that, Valerie was staring right at herself. She turned to her right to find Javen sitting in a small chair, gazing at the image.

  “What is this?” She asked.

  Javen tore his eyes away from that woman and faced her. “My late wife.”

  Valerie watched him drop a thick file of papers onto the ground. “What are those?” She asked, a sick feeling seeping into the pit of her stomach.

  “They’re your results.”

  “And?”

  “You’re one of us. You had a twin sister. I married her. And then she died.” His voice broke at the end.

  Valerie stood up. “I think I want to go back now.” Every moment she spent in that lab made her feel more and more suffocated.

  Javen stood, towering over her. “I don’t understand.”

  Valerie ducked her head in disbelief. “No! I don’t understand! You knew I was her twin and you didn’t tell me. You fucked me.”

  Javen set his jaw. “I couldn’t have been certain.”

  Valerie let out a humorless laugh. “So, what, you just let your penis decide?”

  “I wasn’t thinking of her when I made love to you!”

  “Oh? Really?” Valerie said, throwing her arms up in exasperation. “How nice.”

  Javen frowned, his flexed arms crossed in front of him. “I don’t know how to explain myself. I can’t understand what happened myself.”

  “You can start by explaining to me how the hell I happened to have a twin on another planet.”

  “What? Do you expect a full history of Kahara?”

  Valerie jabbed her pointer finger into her chest. “I deserve to know who I am!”

  “You’re a refugee!” Javen roared. The sentence sounded more like an insult coming out of his mouth.

  Valerie froze.

  “Your parents belonged to the province that lost the Great War. They escaped to earth like so many others did. Your sister couldn’t fit in the pod so they had to make a hard decision. You’re the lucky one because now she’s dead.”

  Just like that, Valerie gained and lost a sister in less than a minute. Guilt she had inherited from her parents’ situation washed over her. “How unfortunate,” she said through her clenched teeth.

  Javen released his arms and stepped towards her, but she stopped him with her hand. “Don’t!” Then she glared at him. “I think it’s safe for me to go back now.”

  Part of her wished he would protest, but he didn’t. He just made his way to the kitchen, muttering something about a wet suit.

  ***

  Three years of religiously running the five miles it took for Valerie to get all the way down the beach did not prepare her for a thirty minute swim under water with a huge oxygen tank attached to her back. Nevertheless, she survived the swim and broke the surface more than ready for another nap. As soon as she ripped the mask off of her head, she glanced to see that Javen was still there. But when she laid eyes on him, she found him gazing, eyes wide with terror, at the seawall.

  “Oh my God.” Valerie said as she saw the wall of men waiting for them. Her heart sunk at the sight of the guns in each and every one of their hands.

  “There are too many.” Javen said, his voice unnaturally rigid.

  “We have to go back!” Valerie screeched. She could not believe she was staring death in the face yet again.

  But Javen shook his head. “It’s no use. They will just keep waiting for us.”

  Valerie gasped. She knew he was right. “Oh God, no, I can’t! I can’t let them touch me again. You have to do something!”

  Javen thrashed through the ankle-deep water to reach her, but as she looked into his eyes, she could see… feel that he had no solutions for her. “We can’t run.”

  Suddenly, Valerie hated herself. If she had known that this is what they would meet, she wouldn’t have been so unkind. This… creature had put himself in danger for her and now it was perfectly possible that she may never see another sunset again. “I’m sorry,” She hissed, her eyes tearing up.

  He took her face in both of his hands. “No. None of this is your fault. I’m sorry I wasn’t transparent with you. I’m sorry I can’t control my emotions.”

  Now the tears were pouring from Valerie’s eyes. “The FBI said that they would probably kidnap me. That they would try to get me to refuse to testify against them and to call myself a liar. I won’t do it, so they’ll probably kill me. I can’t imagine what they’d do with you.” She melted into his arms, the despair getting the best of her.

  Javen petted the top of her head. “If they kill you, it won’t matter what they do to me.”

  Those words were a small glimmer of happiness into this impossible situation. She opened her mouth to say something mor
e, but didn’t manage to, for something distinctly sharp hit her back. It wasn’t a bullet, but a needle. Perhaps…..

  Her eyes flickered shut.

  Chapter Seven

  Valerie’s eyes flipped open. She was in a bedroom with linoleum floors and a white ceiling tainted with water damage. The sun streamed in through a high window. There was an ache in her back from where the blow had hit. She blinked her eyes, struggling to regain her composure, but she couldn’t manage any coherent thoughts because she was so foggy.

  Then she heard a beeping sound coming from within her. She scrunched up her face, glancing around her for the source of the annoying noise. “Oh shit,” She whispered as she shoved a finger into her mouth. Of course she would have forgotten about the police tracker and of course it wouldn’t have worked a mile under water.

  But now it was kicking. Her heart thrashed around in her chest as she heard the sound of sirens wailing. It got louder and louder as an armada of police cars raced in her direction. She went straight for the window, peering out of it, the colorful lights only confirming her guess.

  “Holy shit!” she screeched.

  Just as she said this, she could hear the rumble of steps racing overhead and just outside of the door. The men were clearing out, trying to get away while they could. They had given up this business of extracting her. She raced to the door, but was disappointed to find that it was locked. “Help!” she slammed her fist against the wood over and over again.

  “Valerie!”

  It was Javen.

  She could scream for joy. “Oh my God, you’re alive!” she yelled over the sounds of him dislodging the iron rod that had been slid across the door.

  He yanked the door open, his eyes wide with expectation.

  Valerie threw her arms around his neck, planting a kiss on his cheek. “Oh thank God. Thank God!”

  “Ms. James?”

  Javen kissed her on her forehead, but then held her at arm’s length apart. “I can’t be here when they come.”

  The footsteps were getting closer and closer.

  “No, but you can’t leave me!” Valerie felt the urge to hold on to him even tighter now that it was apparent that he was getting away.

  Javen wrapped his arms around her, giving her one long kiss.

  Valerie sighed, wondering how she could have ever lived without his touch.

  “I’m not leaving you. I’ll come find you after all of this.”

  Valerie narrowed her eyes at him. “You swear to me.”

  He nodded. “I swear to you.”

  Valerie nodded. She had to trust him. So she watched him run down the opposite end of the hallway. “How are you getting out of here?” She asked.

  He stopped, pointing upward. “I’m gonna scale some buildings.”

  He disappeared around the corner just as the first policeman made it to the top of the stair case. “Valerie James?”

  Valerie rolled her eyes. She was getting sick of this kind of thing. “Yeah, that’s me.”

  THE END

  Saved by the Alien Lord

  Kahara Lords

  Book 3

  (Can be read as a standalone book)

  By: Lindsay Blanc

  Saved by the Alien Lord

  Chapter One

  Coel pressed his body forward, his large hands squeezing the heavy wheel. His bushy brows furrowed as he peered at the monitor in front of him. His tiny space craft inched across the screen but he could see it in the distance.

  The air grew hot around him, a halo of burning oxygen. He pursed his lips, flexing one arm to release another. His left hand went right for the joy stick; his fingers wrapped around it. A grunt slid out of his throat as he felt the pressure of a thousand suns pushing down on him.

  His heart pounded against his chest and a hot, earsplitting whine cut through the air. A hysterical laugh leapt out of his mouth because right in the distance, on the edge of the monitor sat the first real mass of land he had seen in months.

  No sooner had he reveled in this sight than he feel the pull. The craft lurched from under him, dragging him straight down. A sinking feeling gripped his gut, wrenching it out through his legs.

  His strong hands began to tremble, the wheel violently shaking back and forth within his grip. He had to get a hold of it, and quick.

  He flipped a switch, cutting the exhaust and the engine before lifting the craft out of free fall. Dry air cut at his nostrils. The screech of the craft begged for mercy as the plummet turned into a dive

  Dust rose all around, the space craft breaking apart piece by piece to reveal the new planet—a place he had only ever studied every once and a while and from afar. Earth, a faint whisper that had suddenly become the face of the future.

  ***

  Sarah shuffled through the thick woods, her boot-clad feet slamming one step in front of the other. She hadn’t had a sip to drink or a bite to eat in over four hours, but she couldn’t stop now.

  Her heart thudded in her chest, her olive skin slick with sweat, her eyes red and swollen with tears. She had been hiking for the better part of the day and still could not figure out if she was running towards something or away from it. Her long, auburn hair stuck to the back of her neck and her shoulders. She reached up to push it out of her face, but as her arm fell back onto her side. A tree toppled; the ground shook.

  A gasp slipped from between her plump lips. She stopped. A cloud of dust and dirt puffed into the air before her, but she just stupidly stared, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open. She clenched her fist and her jaw and summoned from within her the very thing that ripped her apart from herself and everyone else. She lifted the tree without touching it, the crack of wood breaking and new roots forming filling the air. It stood tall and strong as if nothing had happened.

  Sarah turned back around and forged on through the forest. Her legs burnt from the strain and the incline only got worse but she kept up with it. Weeds sprouted from the slick mud. The energy fall out of her like water out of a glass.

  She felt herself arrive. With one glance up, she knew this is how she wanted to spend the rest of her days. A light clearing in the forest emerged, just large enough for a tent, but not large enough to draw attention. A University had set up a preservation center just two miles east and she didn’t want them to find her on accident. She didn’t want to be drawn into their plans, or questioned about her presence.

  She just wanted to be alone.

  ***

  Coel had been so preoccupied with his arrangements that he hadn’t eaten since the landing. He needed nutrients and fast. All that he had read about planet Earth had sent him on a wild hunt for something called a deer. A small calculation told him the animal would last him four days. He had already engineered his own fridge from rewiring some of the circuits in his old ship.

  He crouched behind a tree, a homemade bow and arrow resting on his lap. He could hear it from at least five hundred feet away. It trotted through the woods, completely unsuspecting.

  He shot up and pointed the weapon all in one movement. His finger flexed, the arrow ready to be released, but then—

  His breath stopped halfway up his throat and his eyes flashed wide. He couldn’t believe what he stared at: a woman with long auburn hair, olive skin, but eyes the color of sapphires… Kaharan eyes.

  He could hardly move being so transfixed with her: she, who had her arms wrapped around what should have been his dinner.

  This saintly creature tilted her head, her cheek pressed against the side of the deer’s nose. Sweet song drifted from her pink lips, leaking into the air around her. She lifted her head, glancing up at Coel before he had a chance to realize that he had been exposed.

  He dropped the bow and darted behind the cover of a hefty tree trunk, swiping a bead of nervous sweat off of his dark green forehead. He internally kicked himself for not engineering his disguise sooner. He didn’t know who this woman could be… but she had undoubtedly seen him.

  ***

  Sa
rah couldn’t have been sure of what she had seen. Her eyes flashed open to the quiet darkness of the inside of her tent. The black air pressed down on her like a cold blanket. She flipped her flashlight on and slipped the small canvas out of her backpack.

  Her hands moved, guided by the vision in her head of that strange creature she couldn’t have even been sure that she had seen. When he gazed at her with those emerald eyes, she had never felt more transfixed. His stare wrapped her in its hold as her fingers flickered across the page.

  A thin tear slipped down her cheek as she tried to convince herself that this godlike being could not have been real.

  Chapter Two

  After three days, Sarah couldn’t resist the curiosity bubbling in the pit of her belly of that preservation sight. She slipped on two pairs of socks and her favorite parka, then took the short trek to the excavation site, a hidden city that had just been uncovered 50 feet underground.

  She stood on the ledge, watching the University researchers and assistants bustle around amongst the ruins. The sight of all of that faded rock, the evidence of a whole lost people being rediscovered like new, filled her with a sense of purpose that set her insides on fire. She scanned the small cell below her, filled with people rushing around, and found a set of temporary stairs just half way around the ellipses. But when she took her first step, she felt something grip her arm.

  “I apologize if I startled you.”

  She hadn’t even flinched.

  “That’s quite all right,” she said as she gazed up at the man nearly six and half feet tall. His eyes drew her in, sharp and emerald. She swore she had seen them before.

  His wide shoulders lifted in an exaggerated shrug as he looked out on the site. “Came across this place on accident.”

  Sarah nodded. She struggled to think over the sound of her heart pounding. Her eyes watered because she couldn’t understand the sensations happening inside of her. She could feel the ebb and flow of water rushing up the tiny tunnels inside of the shrubs around her, but she couldn’t make sense of the fluttering in her own stomach. “Me too. I was, um… hiking.”