A Very Alien Christmas
Page 7
Vos turned to me. “You seriously want a chance to mate with an Earth woman who violated the Bride Alliance Treaty?”
I felt a smile growing across my face. “I do. And I believe it will make for some amazing programming.”
Vos narrowed his eyes at me, bit his lip, then picked up an epen and held it poised over the epaper in front of him, ready to take notes. “Tell me more.”
This is going to be amazing.
Enjoyed this story? Be sure to leave a review for the whole set! You can preorder Wex’s story in Enemy of the Alien Bride Lottery, book four of the Khanavai Warrior Alien Bride Games series. You can also read the rest of the series, starting with Entered in the Alien Bride Lottery.
About the Author
USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times bestselling author Margo Bond Collins is a former college English professor who, tired of explaining the difference between “hanged” and “hung,” turned to writing romance novels instead. Sometimes her heroines kill monsters, sometimes they kiss aliens. But they always aim for the heart!
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Read More of Margo’s Books
Khanavai Warriors Alien Bride Games Series
Entered in the Alien Bride Lottery
Captured for the Alien Bride Lottery
Claimed for the Alien Bride Lottery
Enemy of the Alien Bride Lottery
Interstellar Shifters
Star Mate Matched
Star Mate Marked
The Alien Warriors' Reparation Brides Series
An Alien of Convenience
Alien Romance Boxed Sets
Stolen and Seduced
Captured and Captivated
Alien Embrace
Reverse Harem Alien Romances
Snatched
Her Alien Crew Reverse Harem
Tiny and Fierce
Theirs by Destiny
A Kiss on Delarou Valdani
Harpie Alexa
About A Kiss on Delarou Valdani
Rena
He caught me in his arms, but then he let go. I was too afraid to get his name, too afraid to admit the effect he had on me. That was three months ago. Three torturous months going back to the bar Shakaat’s and hoping that mysterious hooded alien would be there, but he never shows.
But not this time. I refuse to let him evade me any longer. When I see him tonight, he’s mine, and I’m never letting go.
Aarvik
That beautiful female steals all my attention, distracting me from my only mission. I’ve been avoiding her, and not because she doesn’t appeal to me. It’s because she’s too appealing. Tonight, I’m supposed to carry out my mission, my destiny, nothing else matters.
The problem? She’s here too, and I don’t know if I have the strength to stay away.
A Kiss on Delarou Valdani is a short, slice of life novella, with a holiday-like Christmas theme.
This book is for readers 18+ years in age. Contains explicit love scenes.
*Previously Published as A Kiss on Alien Christmas by Harpie Alexander*
Prologue
Rena
Three Months ago…
“Here?” My eyes bulge at the sight of the crap ass building in front of me that looks so run down, a slight gust of wind could knock it over.
“Here!” Jari-ri, my new best friend, who happens to be an alien says as she jumps in excitement. Her long pink tresses bounce behind her.
I’m not so sure about this place. I feel like I’m about to get some kind of disease just standing here. The desire to call the transport to come pick me up is strong, but the idea is shot out of the window when Jari-ri grabs my arm and drags me inside against my will. To my surprise—and relief—the interior is much more appealing and doesn’t give off the same icky vibe and so I relax half a fraction.
“Tada! See, I know you’d like it,” Jari-ri shoots me a smug grin over her shoulder. “Here, come sit at the bar. The food here is delicious.”
Sure, I guess. This is meant to be fun, right? It’s been a long time since I had a girlfriend that I could just hang out with and have a drink. Besides, a particular comfy-looking bar stool calls to me, so I walk up and plop my ass down. Jari-ri sits down next to me and snaps her fingers. On Earth this would be rude, but here this appears to be the norm.
“What are you two having tonight?” A female barmaid slings her way over and hands us a menu. We gloss it over for a minute as she looks at us expectantly.
“Grutik and whatever you have on tap,” Jari-ri requests, then turns to face me. “You should try the food here, it’s great.”
“Sounds good to me, I’m half starved,” I say, shrugging my shoulders. What’s the worst that can happen?
We sit and chat for a while, sipping our drinks and talking about how work is shit and our coworkers are even worse. The food doesn’t take long to come out. Jari-ri has ordered some kind of appetizer for us, but when I see the plate of sea worms, I downright refuse. She makes me try some anyway, which I promptly determine is not as good as she promised me they’d be and spit them out. I wasn’t even being discreet about it either. They were so fucking disgusting the worms practically flew out of my mouth as I gagged.
“I need to go wash my mouth,” I tell her, feeling sick to my stomach.
“Alright,” she grumbles.
“Hey, you don’t need to look so disappointed,” I say with a laugh. “More for you.”
When I arrive at the back, there’s no sign to distinguish which room is for which, so I enter one indiscriminately. As I’m doing my business, I realize there’s people in the stall next to me getting it on. I snort and shake my head. Of course, there is…it’s a bar. People have sex at bars. After a quick hand wash, I leave as quickly as possible, but in doing so, I accidently allow the bathroom door to slam shut behind me. It’s so loud, everyone stops what they’re doing and promptly looks over. Seconds later, passion filled cries fill the air. As if the display is nothing out of the ordinary, people laugh and go back to drinking and chattering away.
“Oomph.” Air is knocked from my lungs when I accidently bump face first into a massive alien. Tripping backwards, I let out a yelp as I lose my footing on the slippery floor that’s sticky and wet from others sloshing and spilling their drinks.
In one quick motion, before I could even crash to the ground in a mess of jumbled limbs, he lunges for me and catches me in a dip. It reminds of a graceful move between elegant dance partners. Except this time, we’re not dancing and this isn’t some recital.
“You should not be so reckless. Many here lack honor and would have taken advantage of your beauty and disposition,” my savior grumbles in a deep voice that is both masculine and soothing. His warning, while soft and tender, is laced with a hint of something else I can’t quite pin down.
It’s very obvious that he’s male, and for some reason his complement catches me off guard. Of their own volition, my eyes lower to where I’m pressed against his chest and his half-open robe. He’s keeping a small, but respectable distance between us, but I wish that he wasn’t. I wished that he’d hold me tighter and close this unnecessary gap. Distracted by the beautiful coloring of his body, I reach up to touch one of the shimmering scales from his pecs, but I snatch my hand back in horror.
Fuck Rena, you can’t just go feeling aliens up whenever you want! What the hell is wrong wrong you?
“Maybe you
were the one that was reckless,” I reply, pretending I didn’t just violate him. My voice doesn’t falter as I shamelessly, and flirtatiously, accuse him of something he obviously didn’t do. I’m not even sure if what I said made any sense, but if it keeps him glued to my body, who cares?
Flirting is not one of my strong suits, and to be honest, I’m rather shocked that I’m doing it now. Maybe it’s the position I find myself in, or the fact that I feel like this male is devouring me whole with his intense eyes beneath his hood. Either way, I have no plans of stopping. My mind and body have a will of their own, I’m just here for the ride.
“Perhaps. Shall we right ourselves before our spectators demand more of a show?” He asks, chuckling. Suddenly, he turns his head to sneeze. “Apologies, I had a mishap with a vashlu herb. It has irritated my nose all evening,” he complains with a sniffle, which is something that is never considered sexy, but the way he does it, somehow still manages to be.
“It’s fine.”
My cheeks burn at the idea he implies. Half of me wants to demand that we give them a show, while the other half is horrified that I want to already jump this stranger’s bones. The rift tears me apart as I struggle to decide how I should feel and what I should do. And it doesn’t help that he still has me clutched in his arms. There’s a strange feeling that if we stay this way any longer, not even the universe could tear us apart.
As if he could hear my thoughts, he grips me tightly and assists me in standing up. I wobble a little from the strain of holding still in an awkward position for so long, but the strong arm he has behind my back holds me secure and I’m able to get my bearings straight. Then he lets go, the heat of his body drifting away as if it’s comforting embrace never graced my skin.
“Thanks for catching me. And I don’t think these guys need a show, not with what’s going on in the bathroom.” I nod toward the back of the bar while I try to convince my mind that I didn’t just lose part of myself.
His head turns towards the back doors, and he tilts his head to the side. “Ah. I see what you mean. I must be off now; I have an important task to do. Be safe female, I recommend not smacking into anyone else if you can help it.” His voice sounds almost regretful, like he'd rather be here instead.
“Hey! That’s not wha—” I stop mid sentence and watch him clutch his abdomen and rumble a throaty and contagious laugh, one that I eventually join in on. “Yeah laugh it up, sweetheart.”
Something flashes across his eyes. Longing? Regret? Loneliness? It’s too hard to tell, but I wish that I could. I find him intriguing and I want to know more. Much, much more.
“You are far too easy to tease.” The corner of his lips tug up in a grin, betraying the opposite emotion the rest of him gives off.
Our shared, but barely private moment simmers down to silence and there’s nothing left to be said. It’s time to walk away. I know it, he knows it. My stomach cringes as I acknowledge this hard fact, but there’s nothing I can do about it, no matter how badly I desire to stay in this moment with him longer.
“Well, I won’t get in the way of your important work. Maybe we will see eachother again.” Immense regret fills me as I speak and before I have the chance to do something silly, I turn away and make my way back to my friend at the bar.
Jari-ri, who no doubt saw the exchange, pulls out my stool when I return so I can sit down.
“Do you know him? He walked in when you were in the bathroom, the whole room just went quiet, and everyone leaped out of his way. Except for you. Looks like you two were getting cozy.” She wiggles her brows.
“It wasn’t like that,” I shove her arm in a playful manner. “Honestly, I don't know who he is.”
“Want me to go get his name for you?”
“NO! Don’t you dare. He said he had business to attend to. Let him be, it wasn’t like that, I swear.” As the words fall from my mouth, I feel like I’m convincing myself more than her.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watch the mysterious male sitting in the back of the bar. He's not looking this way, and I feel a slight pang of disappointment. Like a missed opportunity that could have been so much more, but the moment slipped out of my grasp and that was that. Contemplating on whether I should go back and introduce myself weighs heavily on me. I really want to, but ultimately it feels too late. Besides, he plainly stated that he was busy, and Jari-ri and I are here for a break. This is our girl’s night after all.
I lift my drink. “Cheers!”
“Cheers?”
“Human tradition,” I remind her as my glass clanks against hers. The rest of the evening passes by in a mixed blur of fun and regret, swirling together as it plucks ‘what if’s’ from my mind.
Chapter 1
Rena
“Arg. Come on already, why won’t this day end?”
Gritting my teeth, I eye the time on the station wall behind me. My shift is almost over. Jari-ri pops her head around the corner of the mine support beam, her satin-green face is full of dirt and grime.
“Getting all hot and bothered there, Rena?” she asks me, her pink eyes dazzle knowingly through her safety goggles.
“Maybe,” I say with a frustrated sigh and gaze downwards at a small green crystal protruding from the thick rock by my foot. Pulling the pickaxe from my sling, I start chipping away. Dust and debris fly into my face. It’s messy, but I have learned crystal mining is always messy.
Am I being impatient? Absolutely, but I can’t help it. It’s Tessara, and that means tomorrow I can waltz my way over to Shakaat’s; the dingy hole in the ground bar that screams, ‘I got a transmittable disease’ on the far outer side of VadCurah. The place isn’t actually dirty and has a fairly decent clientele; ones who want reprieve from the bottom scum of the city but refuse to pay the extra devals for something upscale. It’s the kind of place that’s only open on Pendi, Exi and Efta, the respective Friday, Saturday and Sunday of Earth, but for Delarou Valdani; a planet far beyond the alpha quadrant where I was born.
So, one more day is all I have to wait and tomorrow I can head over to my favorite bar and see if that mysterious alien will make an appearance. I blame my new bestie for all this. She was the one who took me there a few months back, and admittedly, I go way more often than I should. Though, not for the food or drinks. Ever since we collided, I just can’t stop thinking about him, or how secure I felt when he held me in his arms.
“I knew there was something between you guys. It’s your fault for not acting on it when you had the chance. Big mistake.”
Staring over my shoulder, I glare at Jari-ri, knowing she is right...to a point. Although, my secret alien lover did claim that he was busy and I didn’t want to interrupt whatever business he had going on. If it wasn’t for that, I probably would’ve walked my ass over to him and demanded he give me his name and his time. There isn’t a doubt in my mind, he would’ve given it to me too. And it certainly would have saved me a lot of effort and time.
Holding out my hand, I snatch the crystal I’ve been digging before it has a chance to smash to the ground and ruin its naturally polished exterior. Once it’s safely stashed in my sack, I let out a tired sigh and glance back at the clock. Relief has never been so sweet. Now my shift is over.
It takes little time to grab my tools and pack my things before I’m heading down the tunnel towards the changing station, Jari-ri follows not far behind.
The scent of sweat and unwashed bodies blasts my nose as soon as we enter the room. They really ought to put some damn showers and better filtration systems in here if they want anyone to be able to breathe.
“So…are all you humans’ stalkers?” Jari-ri casts me a playful glance, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively while stripping out of her work clothes. “I just want to know, in case another one of you shows up and takes a liking to me. I’m lonely too, you know.”
“Ha. Ha. Very funny. You do realize I must know where he is to be able to stalk him, right?” She shrugs her shoulders when I roll my eyes at her.
Jari-ri stops for a moment, the sheen of her flowing, multicolored one-piece hanging around her midriff, exposing her feeders to me. Long slithering tendrils attached to her breast plate, snip at the air aggressively. I don’t quite understand how the snake-like appendages are supposed to feed young, and I’d rather not find out. It’s just not my cup of tea.
“Put those away. And no, we’re not all stalkers. And neither am I,” I finally answer her original question, not that I needed to. She’s just being an ass.
Finished, we both rush to finish changing so we can both go home. When the shift bell rings, signaling the next batch of workers to get started, Jari-ri groans and urges me to hurry up. Neither of us want to be down here when the third shift starts. Crystal mining is a run of the mill shit job as it is, but at night, a high volume of toxic critters come to life and the only type of people who sign up for it are dangerous males in need of quick credits. That or those who literally do not give a rat’s ass about whether they live or die.
We head through the busy mine shaft. It’s already crowded from the addition of new workers heading to their posts. I don’t like the idea of getting separated from my friend, so I grab her hand before dropping off our sacks loaded with mined crystal. Jari-ri doesn’t seem to mind. Payment is automatically added to our account after our load is carefully scaled and weighed.