Alien's Match: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance, page 1
ALIEN’S MATCH
OUTLAW PLANET MATES
ELIN WYN
CONTENTS
Norsuk
Agatha
Norsuk
Agatha
Norsuk
Agatha
Norsuk
Agatha
Norsuk
Agatha
Norsuk
Agatha
Norsuk
Agatha
Norsuk
Agatha
Norsuk
Agatha
Norsuk
Agatha
Norsuk
Agatha
Epilogue: Norsuk
The World of Outlaw Planet Mates
Chosen by the Rakian Commander
Reaver’s Quest
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About the Author
NORSUK
The rush of adrenaline coursed through my veins as I leaped into the stinger, my fingers dancing across the manual retro controls. Sorik and Kamek, those idiots, thought they could best me in a contest of piloting skill. Ha! They couldn't handle a stinger like I could. I zeroed in on my chosen target, a glint of chrome caught in the light of the twin stars.
“Telemetry capture,” I barked at the computer, my eyes never leaving the pale arc of Reazus Prime. The pod's trajectory flashed across the screen—glide path seventeen degrees south of the equator. Perfect.
The stinger's thrusters clanged and thrummed as I maneuvered, the vibrations rattling through my bones. I could almost taste the victory. Once I scooped up that pod in the EM haul field, I'd jam it into a descending orbit to Maneet and sell off the contents sight unseen. Minimal effort, maximum profit. The contest was in the bag.
“Glide path twenty-nine degrees southwest,” the computer chimed, an edge of warning in its mechanical voice.
What the hells? The pod was changing course on its own. Impossible. No matter—I was still on its tail. I watched the distance tick down. 3000 klicks. 2500.
3000?
It was pulling away from me now? I slammed my thumb on the main rocket control, the thrust shoving me back into the command chair.
We were scavengers, my brothers and I. Bounty hunters. Opportunists. Whatever put credits in our pockets. And according to the scans, those pods held human females. Universal breeders. Valuable commodities in certain circles—slaves, concubines, baby-makers. Not my scene. I didn't want to get close to any female. I just wanted to get rich.
The stinger shuddered as it hit atmosphere, the planet's surface filling the viewscreen. Too close for any fancy flying now. “Employ EMHF when we're in range,” I ordered, watching the electromagnetic haul field charge up. Almost there. I could practically smell the credits.
“Ten. Nine. Eight,” the computer counted down. The pod loomed large before me, seconds from capture. I readied myself, fingers tightening on the control stick. At contact, I'd activate the delta fields and guide us safely planetside...
“Seven. Six. Fi-” The cockpit flashed red and klaxons blared.
“No, no, no!” I yelled, fighting for control as the stinger rocked violently.
“Trawl ray failure,” the computer announced needlessly as the pod broke away. The sudden release sent the stinger hurtling in a dizzying loop. I hauled back on the yoke, desperate to level out. To land. The pod was ahead of me again, retros flaring as it tried to land itself.
“Telemetry capture!” I barked.
“Emergency landing sequence engaged,” the computer replied. I pounded the dash. Stupid, useless machine!
“Where is it going?” I demanded. The pod seemed determined to plow straight into a plateau. At the last second, it plunged downward... into the yawning mouth of an arched tunnel. An old mine shaft. Of course.
I pulled up hard, catching a final glimpse of the pod vanishing into the depths. Banking around, I brought the stinger down just outside the tunnel entrance, landing skids sinking into the bare rock.
The hatch popped and I leaped out into a wall of blistering heat. I ducked quickly into the cool shadow of the mining tunnel, following the marks carved into the stone by the pod's violent passage. It didn't take long to find it.
The once gleaming nacelle lay dull and scarred, studded with spent retro rockets. As I approached, the rear end suddenly lifted a few inches, then settled again. What the...?
I edged around the side and froze. The pod balanced precariously on the lip of a deep chasm. One wrong move...
The hiss of an airlock seal releasing made me jump. The rear hatch rose with agonizing slowness. I knew the shifting weight would send the whole thing tumbling into the abyss. Leaping forward, I peered inside...
And forgot to breathe.
A small, sleeping form lay within. Child-sized, yet curved with the unmistakable shape of a woman. The most delicate, exquisite features I'd ever seen...
The pod groaned and pitched forward. I lunged, scooping the female into my arms and throwing myself back just as the pod lost its battle with gravity and plummeted out of sight. The crunch of metal on stone echoed up seconds later.
Behind me, a thunderous roar. I spun to see a cascade of rubble seal off the distant light of the tunnel mouth. The pod's violent passage must have triggered a cave-in.
I looked down at the tiny woman cradled against my chest, her face barely visible in the gloom. My heart stuttered, then raced. Now what the hells was I supposed to do?
AGATHA
Iblinked, trying to focus on the massive figure looming over me in the darkness. A chiseled face emerged from the shadows, all sharp angles and hard planes. What was he doing in my bedroom?
Had I gotten lucky? I squinted, giving him another once-over. Had I ever gotten that lucky?
Or was this an intruder? My body tensed as I realized he cradled me in his arms, the heat of his body seeping through my thin nightgown. Oh god, was I about to be assaulted? Fragments of a long-ago self-defense class flashed through my mind. Rape was about control, not sex. Sometimes, going along with it was the best way to throw off a stranger rapist.
“I'm ready to go if you are,” I heard myself say, my voice wavering slightly. “Why don't you put me down on the bed and we can get it on?”
He jerked as if I'd slapped him, his arms tightening reflexively around me. “Bed?”
I glanced around, a sinking feeling in my gut. No familiar glow of the streetlight through my window shade. No comforting red numbers on my bedside clock. In fact, no window or clock at all. Just rough, craggy walls and a ceiling that looked suspiciously like...rock?
The man set me down abruptly and I had to crane my neck to look up at him. Good gravy, he was massive. Seven feet tall, at least, and built like a tank. He strode away, his heavy footfalls echoing in the confined space.
“Damn my fate!” he growled, the words laced with frustration and something else I couldn't quite pinpoint.
Seeing no obvious escape route, I trailed after him, my bare feet kicking up puffs of dust with each step. The air felt thick and stale, heavy with the scent of earth and something metallic. I sneezed, the sound startlingly loud.
The giant waved a hand, somehow triggering tiny beams of light that sliced through the hazy air. “Your pod caused a cave-in,” he said, gesturing toward a wall of tumbled stone and debris.
I blinked. “My what?”
He turned, his eyes catching the light and reflecting it back at me, twin points of eerie luminescence in the gloom. Like an animal. Or something else entirely.
“The escape craft,” he clarified, eyeing me intently. “When it crashed in the tunnel...” He cocked his head, the movement oddly reminiscent of a puzzled dog. “You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?”
A glint of metal drew my gaze to a band encircling his left wrist. He glared at it, shaking his arm and tapping at the device in clear agitation.
“What's that?” I asked, curiosity temporarily overriding my growing unease.
“My broken communicator. I think the rock is blocking the signal.”
“Signal?” I echoed. “Who are you trying to talk to?”
He ignored me, his attention focused on the uncooperative gadget as he stalked deeper into the cave. A bright beam flared to life from the wrist-thing, illuminating our surroundings in stark relief.
And that's when I saw them. The scales. Tiny, iridescent, and decidedly not human. They covered every inch of his exposed skin, catching the light and throwing it back in a mesmerizing dance of color.
“You're an outer space alien, aren't you?” I breathed, the pieces clicking into place. My roommate was obsessed with sci-fi shows, but I'd never seen a character quite like this. Then again, what else could he possibly be?
“No,” he retorted, his tone clipped. “You are the outer space alien.” He snorted. “Actually, I guess we’re both strangers to this planet.”
I frowned. “Earth?”
“Reazus Prime.”
“Oh.” I digested that for a moment. “So I'm on an alien planet? How did that happen? Did you bring me here? Why?” A sudden, terrifying thought occurred to me and I took an involuntary step back. “Am I your captive? Are you going to...to have your way with me?”
I couldn't quite keep the tremble from my voice, even as some reckless part of my brain whispered that it might not be so bad, being ravished by a gorgeous space giant.
Stupid brain.
But I couldn’t seem to get any further than that. The who
Kinda fine.
Not at all.
He shot me a look that could have melted steel.
“I guess you don't want me to take you to my leader, then,” I babbled, the words spilling out unchecked. “But what do you want?”
“I want you,” he growled, advancing on me with predatory grace, “to stop. Asking. Questions.”
“Sorry,” I squeaked, holding up my hands in surrender. “I kind of babble when I'm nervous. Is that irritating?”
If looks could kill, I'd have been vaporized on the spot. Mercifully, he whirled and stalked off without another word.
Since he was the one with the light, I had no choice but to follow. The beam played over the uneven ground, throwing monstrous shadows on the cave walls. He stopped abruptly and I nearly plowed into his back, catching myself at the last second.
When I peered around his imposing frame, my stomach dropped. A massive crevasse split the earth mere inches from his boots, a wound in the planet's surface that seemed to have no bottom. I thought I caught the distant whisper of rushing water, but it was hard to tell over the sudden roaring in my ears.
“This place seems prone to seismic activity,” he mused, his voice a low rumble.
Then he was moving again, picking his way along the edge of the chasm with the ease of someone who'd done it a thousand times. I had no choice but to fall into step behind him, my heart lodged firmly in my throat.
After what felt like an eternity, the gaping maw fell away, replaced by a rickety-looking suspension bridge that spanned the rift. The giant strode across without so much as a backward glance. I gripped the rope railings until my knuckles turned white, my feet finding the weathered planks as if of their own volition. Don't look down, don't look down...
On the other side, the giant dropped to one knee, running a hand over the stone. “Mine cart tracks,” he said, tracing the trio of rusty rails with a fingertip. “These might lead us out.”
“Oh, good,” I replied, trying for nonchalance and failing miserably. “I wouldn't want to be late for my shift. Dr. Hannigan kind of depends on me, you know?”
He turned to stare at me, his expression unreadable in the half-light. Slowly, deliberately, he shook his head.
“You're going to be late for that shift,” he said, an undercurrent of something I couldn't identify threading through his words.
“I am?” I asked, a sinking feeling in my stomach. “How late?”
But he had already turned away, following the tracks deeper into the mine.
I stood there for a long moment, my mind reeling. What the actual heck was going on? The last thing I remembered was going to bed after the eleven o'clock news. No, wait...there had been a light. An intense, blinding blue light that seared itself into my retinas. The kind of light you'd expect to see in a Spielberg flick, not boring old reality.
But try as I might, I couldn't dredge up a single memory after that. It was as if my brain had been wiped clean, a slate left blank and waiting. Waiting for what? I had no idea. But I had a sinking suspicion I was about to find out, whether I wanted to or not.
NORSUK
This was all wrong. The plan had been simple: snag the pod, drop it in Maneet, collect my fee. Now, I found myself saddled with a tiny, chattering female as we navigated these endless, winding tunnels.
I risked a glance at her, taking in the shock of crimson hair, skin so pale, it bordered on translucent, and a smattering of reddish-brown freckles dusting her pert little nose. But it was her eyes that drew me in, a mesmerizing shade that reminded me of the crystal-clear waters surrounding the southern archipelagos. I'd witnessed mating rituals of exotic birds less vibrant than this creature.
And that outfit! The short, red shift barely grazed her mid-thigh, leaving entirely too much smooth, creamy skin on display. Her dainty feet were encased in some sort of animal-themed coverings, though I couldn't begin to fathom their purpose. Not that I was complaining about the view, mind you. But the ensemble left me utterly baffled.
“I'm a vet tech,” she offered, as if sensing my unspoken question. “I work with animals. Oh, and I volunteer at the community garden, too. You know, growing things.” She peered up at me, curiosity brightening her gaze. “What about you? What do you do?”
I grunted. “I'm a bounty hunter. A scavenger.”
“Oh, self-employed then? Must be nice, being your own boss.”
“I work with my brothers.”
“Ah, a family business.” She nodded sagely. “You enjoy working with family?”
“Only because I can't stand people,” I retorted, my tone flat. “I barely tolerate my own brothers.” I shot her a pointed look, hoping she'd take the hint.
She didn't.
“Well, I'm a total people person!” she chirped, seemingly oblivious to my growing irritation. “I just love helping customers. But hey, I hope you don't mind me asking...” Her gaze raked over my form, lingering on my exposed skin. “I can't help noticing that you're covered in these amazing golden, bronzy scales. What's the story there?”
I suppressed a sigh. “My people are called the Korgein. This is simply how we look.”
“Huh. My people are called Irish,” she replied, as if that explained everything.
Fate save me from her incessant prattle. I didn't have the heart to tell her the truth—that the Irish had lost one of their own, that raiders had brought her to this forsaken planet on a one-way ticket. She wasn't going home.
But why did I hesitate? Perhaps I didn't want to frighten her. Or maybe, just maybe, a small part of me enjoyed the melodic cadence of her voice, the exotic lilt left behind by the translator embedded behind her delicate ear.
“Whoa, are those rocks glowing?” Her awed whisper cut through my musings.
I flicked off the work light on my comm link, plunging us into near-darkness save for the faint, eerie luminescence emanating from the stones themselves. “Traces of korun ore,” I explained. “A zero-point energy conductor. Rocket fuel, essentially.”
In the dim light, I caught a flicker of movement in my peripheral vision. I swung the beam toward it, but the shadows had already swallowed whatever lurked there.
“It's not...radioactive, is it?” the female asked, sidling closer until her silk-clad shoulder brushed my arm. As if my larger frame could shield her from any harmful radiation.
An unfamiliar sensation stirred in my chest. Did I enjoy the notion of her seeking safety in my presence?
“Only mildly,” I assured her. “Not enough to cause harm.”
“This is seriously freaky,” she breathed, huddling even closer. “Being trapped in a cave like this. Are you scared? Because I'm kind of terrified. What do we do now?”
Much to my chagrin, her ceaseless chatter grated on me less and less with each passing moment. There was something undeniably alluring about the way her words flowed like honey, each syllable a caress against my heightened senses.
“We look for a way out,” I replied, my voice gruffer than I intended. “This mine was once the busiest in the galaxy. I refuse to believe there's only one exit.”
Her next move caught me entirely off guard. Slender fingers interlaced with mine, her palm pressing against my own as we walked. She glanced up at me, worry etched into her delicate features.
Despite her undeniably womanly curves—the enticing swell of her breasts, the lithe grace of her pale legs—there was an almost childlike innocence about her. An innocence that made me want to shelter her, to tuck her close and keep her safe from the darkness pressing in on all sides.
A soft skittering sound, like pebbles cascading down a slope. The telltale rasp of scales on stone. I reached instinctively for my ray blaster, cursing under my breath when my fingers closed on empty air. I hadn't anticipated needing it for such a brief jaunt to the planet's surface. Instead, I drew the wicked-looking knife sheathed at the small of my back, the fang-shaped blade glinting in the wan light.
The female plastered herself against me, trembling like a leaf. “Is s-something in here with us?”
Fighting with her draped over me like a second skin would prove challenging, to say the least. Though I had to admit, the press of her soft curves against my frame was not entirely unpleasant.
