Alien Romance: The Alien's Pregnant Mate: Scifi Alien Abduction Romance (Alien Romance, Alien Invasion Romance, BBW) (Celestial Mates Book 2) by Marla Therron Read Free Book Online Page B

reaching up to unhook the leash from her collar, though he left the collar itself on, "I thought that was frowned upon in most rural planets."
    "He tried to eat me," Erena replied flatly, relieved to have the leash removed, "I'm not exactly sympathetic. But mostly I'm just curious."
    Shang knelt to open the hatch on the floor, shrugging off her concern.
    "He wasn't dead yet."
    Beneath the hatch was a small bunk area hardly high enough to kneel in, just wide enough for a queen size mattress. The sheets and plethora of small pillows were in brightly colored warm jewel tones, and a strange decoration like a wind chime made of thin gold chain and colored glass hung in one corner.
    Shang, still kneeling by the hatch, offered her a hand to step down. Distracted, she took it and started to step in before he held up his other hand.
    "Wait. Shoes first."
    "Oh, right."
    The shoes were part of the fabric of the rest of her outfit, so she just stared for a minute, wondering what to do to take them off. Shang rolled his eyes and pulled out a small device, running it around her ankles.
    "So he was still alive when you threw him off?" she asked while he peeled the black material away.
    "Insectoids tend to be more resilient than you'd expect," Shang explained, "He was hurt, playing dead. But a fall like that is probably the only thing that would kill him. Probably."
    "Only probably?"
    "Insectoids are very resilient."
    Once her shoes were gone, Erena took Shang's hand again and stepped down into the bunk, pausing as she realized something.
    "Wait," she said, staring at him with a frown, her feet on the mattress and her head still above the hatch, "Does that mean you're a pirate too?"
    "Yep."
    Shang's reply was deadpan, and he followed it by shoving her head down and closing the hatch.
    "Now go to sleep," he called through the door as Erena struggled to push the hatch back open, but despite all her shouting and banging, it remained shut.
    Eventually she gave up and lay down, wishing he'd at least given her something to do. Through poking around in his bunk she found little to entertain her. Somehow she'd expected a diary or dirty magazines, but she supposed he kept those on his computer.
    There was some kind of colorful puzzle toy, or at least she assumed that's what it was, but fiddling with its bright sliding tiles could only amuse her so long. She couldn't even stand up and pace in here. She flopped back onto the pillows with a sigh of irritated resignation, and looked up.
    From this angle, the strange wind chime like decoration was not a random jumble of colored glass and gold chain. When she looked up at it from here, the pieces lined up into the shape of a tree, its branches filled with color. It was beautiful, the way the glass shifted like the leaves of the tree moving in the breeze, chiming softly in the quiet.
    If she closed her eyes a little, she could almost see a second shape inside the tree, like a woman, almost as tall as the tree trunk, reaching up into the branches...

Chapter Six
     
    She woke to the sound of the hatch opening.
    "Move." Shang ordered, and Erena obeyed without thinking, getting out of the way as he climbed in after her.
    "Why are you coming down here?" she asked, rubbing her eyes, "Have we landed?"
    "No." Shang replied, adding nothing else as he lay down, rolling over with his back to her.
    "Then shouldn't you be up there flying?" Erena frowned, a little concerned.
    "Haven't you ever heard of auto pilot?" Shang muttered, his voice edged with exhaustion, "I've plotted a course for us. Just go back to sleep."
    "I've been sleeping for ages," Erena scooted closer to him, reaching for his shoulder to try and make him face her, "At least give me something to do. Your species must have books or movies or something. I'm going to die of boredom before the pirates catch us."
    "You wouldn't be able to read my books," Shang rolled over to glare at her, "And I don't know what the hell a movie is but I don't have