by Marie Dry
Her own breathing sounded loud in the silence around her. “Mr. Parnell?” Silence greeted her hoarse whisper. “Mr. Parnell,” she tried again, louder.
“Calm, breeder, you are safe,” came a voice too deep and gravelly to belong to Mr. Parnell. This voice sounded like thunder over music and pain and laughter. So many layers in there.
He leaned over her and put a claw over her forehead. She trembled; whoever this was, he wasn’t human. He was too tall to be human, his skin made of green and copper striations, and his eyes reminded her of purest evil. They were so black, she couldn’t make out if he had pupils. Red bled into the black of his eyes and her stomach turned. What was he? His clothes looked like a uniform, but she could’ve sworn they were made of metal. She shrank away from him.
“Who are you?” High cheekbones and a square chin jutted beneath the green-and-gold skin that reminded her of a snake’s. “What are you?”
What on earth had happened between Parnell putting her in that hole and now?
The messed-up thing was…the being touching her forehead looked familiar. What was he? She’d think alien, but the one that contacted Mr. Parnell had looked very different. He’d been purple. This one leaned over her and she flinched away from him. “What are you and how did I end up in this strange place? Am I a prisoner?” she asked. Maybe she was still in the hole and hallucinating from hunger.
“I am a Zyrgin. I rescued you from the hole in the basement.”
Fury coursed through her—she trembled with it, and wanted to shout at him, but her voice was trapped in her throat. Sheer rage expelled her breath. She clenched and unclenched her hands, wanted to scream and cry, but only managed to jab a weak finger in his face. “I’ll kill you.” Her voice emerged guttural, like something from a horror show on the TC. There was a pounding in her ears and her vision clouded, her breathing fragmented.
He canted his head. “I saved you. Why would you want to kill me?”
“You didn’t save me. I was proving myself and you…you…just…you―” She didn’t have the words to tell him how horrific a thing he had done to her.
“You wanted to be in there?” His skin was not as pliable as hers, but still he managed to look astonished.
She literally saw stars in front of her, and for one horrific moment she couldn’t hear or see or even speak. When she came to herself, she grabbed his silver uniform shirt, and holding on with one hand, tried to plant her fist in his face. He effortlessly evaded her punch. “I could’ve proved myself. I finally almost managed it and you come and destroyed any chance I had of ever making it.” This couldn’t be happening. “This time I would’ve succeeded,” she screamed in his face. She tried to shake him, but he was as solid as the Komodo dragon she mistook him for.
He cocked his head in a motion so reptilic, she was half-convinced he was descended from a dragon. “Why would you want to be buried alive?”
“I wasn’t buried alive, you whatever you―”
“I am a Zyrgin warrior. With superior―”
“Who cares, I was proving myself, would’ve become a full agent, but nooo, Mr. Zirc whatever had to come and―” She coughed, her throat so dry she could barely breathe. “Water,” she gasped. She could always kill him later.
She tried to clench her fists and was too weak to do more than curl her fingers a little. The outburst had left her weak and trembling.
“What is wa-dah?” the alien asked.
“W-a-t-e-r,” she spelled out the word. Apparently, aliens had the same trouble as some of her teammates who didn’t know basic English either.
Rose was vaguely aware of the alien leaving the room. She slumped back. He took away her last opportunity to prove herself. She couldn’t go back in that hole again. She clutched her arms around her middle. She just couldn’t. The moment she had her strength back, she’d kill him. Rose looked around her. She was in a bed in a large room cluttered with odd things. The alien had left through the wall and she couldn’t see a door. Or windows. Just endless silver surrounding her. Like a box without escape routes. Breathe, Rose, just breathe.
Did Mr. Parnell know that the aliens got her? Did they get him, too?
The stranger returned, carrying a silver cup. Rose turned her head to get a better look at him and she sucked in a breath. The fucker was big, freakishly big. He did look the way a dragon would if they walked upright like humans. She’d seen a docu about the Komodo dragons, that became extinct centuries ago. That’s what the alien reminded her of with his green-and-gold skin and that ridged head he cocked in an inquiring manner. Even the silver uniform and boots he wore didn’t detract from the impression of an immensely strong lizard. She had a vague recollection of dreaming about a Komodo dragon eating her hands. She flexed her hands and sighed in relief when she felt them move.
He handed her the cup and she swallowed greedily. She almost moaned when the cool water soothed her tongue and throat. She held out the cup. “May I have more w-a-t-e-r?” She spelled it out in case he got it wrong again.
He leaned closer, and Rose pressed back into the soft surface she lay on, wishing with all her heart that she could burrow into the mattress. She smelled him. She’d half-expected a rancid lizardy smell. Not that she knew what a lizard smelled like, but she was sure she’d recognise it. But he reminded her of roasted coffee beans and her father’s prized expensive brandy. A curiously pleasant smell for such a mean-looking alien. A curiously sexy-looking mean alien.
Rose squirmed. There was nowhere to go to get away from him, and those gleaming-white teeth of his looked awfully sharp. Red-and-black eyes looked at her, unblinking.
He straightened and moved away, and she sighed in relief. He scared the hell out of her. There was no shame in admitting it. Even Parnell would feel fear if he was trapped with this alien.
“You cannot pronounce the word water, my breeder. I will ask the doctor if he can assist with your speech problem. If you speak gibberish, our translator will not work.”
She gnashed her teeth at the reasonable tone he’d adopted. He left but almost immediately returned and held out the silver cup again.
Superior asshat. “I don’t speak gibberish,” she mumbled. She drank the water, not as greedily as before, but still faster than she probably should. She frowned at the large, silver-clad alien.
“Do you need more wa-ter?” He sounded out the pronunciation in an obnoxious way that made her palm itch.
“Yes, please.” She wasn’t about to cut off her nose to spite her face. She needed to get strong so that she could escape. “What happened to the other people in the building?” Her colleagues? She’d been so focused on proving herself, on becoming an agent, that she’d never made any close friends. But she didn’t want any of them to suffer.
Without answering, he left through the door that seamlessly slid into the wall. He returned, again so fast that the water had to be either just outside this room, or he moved really fast.
She tried to take a sip of water, but her hand shook too much. The word “breeder” kept repeating in her head, along with images that should distress her much more than they actually did.
“Do not be distressed, my breeder. I will help you.”
He crouched next to her and carefully slid his uniformed arm around her shoulders to lift her. He held the cup to her lips. Next to the alien, Rose felt about as big as the thorns on the stems of her namesake. More than his size, he had a presence that dominated the space around him.
“Small swallows, my breeder. The doctor said your stomach will need time to become normal.” His voice vibrated in her ears, and his roasted coffee beans and brandy scent filled her nostrils. His heat warmed her through his uniform and the flannel pajamas she wore. His temperature had to run higher than a human’s—he almost burned her. But flannel pajamas?
“I need the bathroom.”
He pointed and the wall next to the bed slid open to reveal a modern-looking bathroom. Rose struggled to stand, and he put his arm around her and helped her
to the door. She held up a hand. “I can take it from here.”
“I helped you be―”
Rose held out a hand. “Let’s pretend you never tried to say that.” She went inside and mercifully the door closed. She used the facilities, found a toothbrush and washcloth, and went to work. Soon she was trembling so much she went to the wall and touched it. It opened immediately. He stood right outside, the door almost rubbing his nose when it opened. The alien took one look at her and scooped her up and rushed to lay her down on the bed.
“How do you speak English?” He spoke it well enough to pass for human. If he could lose the green, lizardy, scary vibe.
“I am superior at learning new languages, but we had translators implanted when we landed.”
“Why do you call me breeder?” Maybe it was some kind of cultural misunderstanding. It might mean patient or sick one or whatever. Please let it not mean what she thought it meant.
“When I rescued you, I claimed you as my breeder with the blessing of our leader.” He remained crouched next to her, muscled thighs spread, his wide shoulders obscuring most of the room behind him. More red tendrils slithered into his black irises.
“You cannot claim me as if I’m some, thing.”
“I do not claim you as a thing, I claimed you as my breeder. When the time is right, we will make many small warriors.”
Oh, hell no, not in this lifetime and not on this planet. “In my culture a woman has to be asked to be with a man,” she continued before he could answer. She’d escape long before this breeder business became a problem. No small warriors happening here, thank you very much. “Where is this place, and how did I get here?”
He stood, muscles rippling. “I brought you here. This is Natalie City, headquarters of the Zyrgin conquest of Earth,” he said and disappeared through the wall again. They’d built a city already? How long had she been unconscious?
Feeling stronger, Rose looked around. She lay on a massive bed in a large room. The walls and the floor and even the bedding were silver. No windows—she forced herself to breathe. There was a lot of space around her. Shelves lined the wall to her right. She blinked. Was that a vintage Space Ranger doll? And an old-fashioned toaster? And what on earth did he want with an equally old-fashioned television? The only reason she remembered what it was, was because of the assignment she had to do on the development of technology when she first joined the department.
The wall slid apart and the alien entered, carrying a humongous, stunning, gold-and-brown pelt as if it weighed nothing. He carefully spread it over her. It was heavy and it pressed down on her. It was also warm and curiously comforting. “I killed this eduki with my bare hands.”
Something changed in the air around him. His expression remained that fierce one that never changed, but there was some emotion there she couldn’t pinpoint. His eyes roamed over her face and neck, he reached out and touched a finger to her cheek, and she nearly jumped through the roof. She lifted her chin at him to hide her reaction.
“The eduki’s pelt color reminded me of your skin, like the color of the sky, the minutes before the dawn of day on Zyrgin.”
That was almost lyrical. Rose looked from the beautiful pelt to the alien. “You think if you give me an animal pelt, that somehow means you can”—she swallowed—“you can take me.” She could feel her face burn. Images—erotic images flashed through her mind, and the heat in her face turned nuclear with embarrassment and anger.
He crouched next to her again, muscles rippling in his upper arms and thighs. How was she supposed to overpower someone this strong? And why did he hold this compelling fascination for her?
He stroked her hair with a dangerous-looking claw. Something felt wrong about her head, but she was too focused on the alien so close to her to figure out what it was. “It is like your human marriage. Because I killed an eduki for you, you are now mine.” He spelled it out as if talking to an idiot, and she glared at him. His condescending manner was getting old fast. He stood and stepped out of his boots, just stepped out of them. She could feel her eyes bug out.
“How did you do that?” One moment he wore them, the next he stepped forward and his ugly claw like feet were bare. Okay, so maybe they weren’t that ugly.
Next, he grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pulled and it came off. It sort of just melted off his body. At any other time, she would’ve been fascinated by the technology, but she was afraid she was about to find out what breeder meant. Nausea cramped low in her stomach.
“What are you doing?” she squeaked.
“Getting ready for bed,” he said, as if they discussed the weather.
Chapter Four
He stood there naked, not seeming to be bothered by his lack of modesty in the least. Tall and muscled, he was the perfect male specimen. Even though he was an alien. His body was covered in tough-looking, raised veins her fingers itched to trace. There was something seriously wrong with her because she thought he was perfectly proportioned and his striated skin looked less and less snake-like the longer she looked at him. It had a strange exotic beauty.
“Put your clothes back on and…and go away.” Yeah, that sounded forceful and convincing. She looked around—a weapon, she needed a weapon. And she desperately needed to stop admiring his body.
“No.” He put something on the shelf next to the bed and turned to face her again, naked and uncaring that everything dangled in her face. And if she wasn’t this scared, maybe she’d be impressed. At least he had human-like tools.
Rose moved back, but that only gave him more room on the bed. Unless she wanted to attack him with a cushion or a Space Ranger doll, she’d better start talking. “I’m a human being and that means I have choices. I do not choose to be yours. Not your breeder, and, eww, by the way, not your wife.” She slashed the air with her hand. “Nothing, so―”
He leaned forward, got in her face. “So?”
“…So, put on your clothes and leave me alone.”
His wide shoulders blocked out the light. Like before, red strands bled into those strange black eyes that didn’t seem to have any pupils. “You are mine. That makes you my breeder. You should feel privileged to be chosen by me.”
Rose blinked. Indignation dissolved most of her fear and she pushed against his shoulders. He didn’t budge and why did he feel so nice and warm? She pushed again, with the same result. “Are you crazy? How can being brutalized by a savage lizard alien be a privilege?” She would’ve preferred to come up with better insults, but she was too scared and angry to think. She grabbed the flesh dangling so close to her face and pulled. Instead of an agonised scream she heard a grunt. A satisfied grunt. He gently opened her hand and held it away from him. “I am pleased that you are so eager for me, my breeder, but you have to be stronger before we do the first knowing.”
“I wasn’t― You think?” she sputtered and then shut up.
He literally swelled to twice his size and Rose couldn’t suppress a small, nervous squeak. “I may be bloodless, but I have omgraz-ra. You will never again insult me like this.”
Aliens have no blood? “I don’t know what omga whatever means. And…and I’m not going to play victim. If you try to rape me, I’ll cut off your balls.” Especially if he kept dangling them in her face. One of her fellow trainees had thought that because of her small size she’d make an easy target. She’d taught him a lesson in the dark in her bunk in the dorm. She wasn’t fooled by this alien’s assurance. If he tried anything, she’d teach him the same lesson she’d taught that little creep trainee. No matter how much bigger than her he was.
He took her hands in his. “Omgraz-ra, it means honor. I know what rape means.” His eyes blazed red. No bleeding in of tendrils, just that fiery blaze between one second and the next. “Never again accuse me of that.”
Yeah right, like not saying it will make a difference. She tried to get her hands loose with no luck. “Then why did you take off your clothes to get into bed with me?”
“Human females are
emotionally needy.” He sounded as if he quoted a textbook. “I have superior understanding of female needs.” He reached out and took whatever he’d put away before and held it out to her. “Females need much care with their emotions and should be given many possessions.”
Rose dazedly took the ball of twine from him. “You’re giving me a ball of wool?”
“Human females make their primitive clothes with it.” He said it as if revealing a big secret.
Rose didn’t know what to say. He let go of her hands, lay down next to her, and carefully pulled her close, until she lay flush against his body. Her head on his shoulder.
“What are you doing?” Of all the things she’d expected to endure, him holding her as if they’ve been a couple for a long time wasn’t it.
“I am holding you. I read all the great works on females from your Golden Age. Human females need much care.”
“Which great works?” This was unreal. He was warm against her, and he had one huge claw on her shoulder and an arm around her waist. His sheer size was overwhelming. But apart from holding her close, he didn’t make any threatening moves. Still, she could feel him harden and swell against her hip.
He mentioned a few names and her eyes widened. “Those are romances.” They were from the Golden Age and popular even now. Some of the stories he mentioned were her favorites.
“Yes, they taught me a great deal,” he said with obvious pride.
“Like holding me while I sleep and giving me wool?” Rose relaxed. The only explanation for this bizarre situation was that she was still in that hole, having hallucinations.
“I also know about giving a human breeder many possessions. Possessions are more important to human females than family.”
Rose frowned up at him. Where did this guy get his odd ideas?
He pushed out his chest. “I am giving you many possessions for your dwelling.” She noticed he’d neatly sidestepped her question.