Alien Romance: The Barbarian's Owned: Scifi Alien Abduction Romance (Alien Romance, Alien Invasion Romance, BBW) (Celestial Mates Book 1) by Marla Therron Read Free Book Online
Authors: Marla Therron
important ritual where I’m from is that you ask to get into the bath with me. You only come in if I allow you.”
His face hardened. “A prime does not ask. He wins. You are mine by victory.”
The good feelings evaporated and she stood from the pool, water running from her sleeves. The mud had been scraped from her blouse, dark colors disguising the stains. She would need a change of clothes eventually, and wasn’t looking forward to wearing wet clothes the rest of the day.
Garr followed her from the pool. His outfit rippled into that liquid form, shedding the water until it all dripped clear. After the otoya solidified again, his clothes were bone dry. He seemed to wait for hers to do the same.
Her teeth chattered.
It dawned on him that her outfit didn’t shed water that way. “You will wear mine.” He disrobed his jacket, offering it.
“I damn well won’t.” She pushed past him and strode away, water squelching from her wet shoes.
Chapter Five
The sun dried everything but Rae’s shoes and socks. Those she was stuck with for the rest of the day.
Vaya behaved skittishly, always looking off into the canopy or down the trails, perhaps alert because Lyr was alert. Rae hoped the arboreal squid-beast was finished with them—getting a dozen knives embedded in its body should ward off most predators, right?
Around midday, they were close to Kaython’s border but had to cross the “geyser jungle.” The terrain was a swampy territory filled with dingy trees bleached of all low-lying foliage, the squama bark made from dense, foreboding armor plates.
The ground was wet, with an orange lichen that seemed to thrive off the humid atmosphere, and all around them a thick mist reduced visibility. Periodically, jets of steam would explode from pores in the soft earth, filling the air with boiling water and hot vapor.
“How do we cross?” Rae could see no pathway that didn’t occasionally erupt. “For the record, humans are burned by steam. Not sure what it does to Ythirians.”
“About the same,” Vaya murmured.
“Lyr wants us to cross here,” Garr said. “She’ll provide a sign.”
They waited, until Vaya pointed out a swarm of insects that hovered in the distance. Their reflective azure shells twinkled through the jungle’s fog, as though beckoning them.
“You’re sure about this?” Rae did not want to argue about Lyr’s responsiveness, but the domé had certainly sent her some mixed signals before.
“Yes.” Garr confidently strode directly at the glinting swarm. Vaya prodded Rae forward, but when geysers burst into the air close by, she interposed herself. Soon, the giantess and Garr both walked together in front, where most of the eruptions occurred.
They arrived at one insect swarm and saw another floating off in the fog. They stepping-stoned through the geyser jungle that way, using the swarms as guide posts.
Partway through one of their hops, Rae first noticed Vaya and Garr had started walking side by side. There was no more rearguard, and their focus was on the geysers, the swarms, or one another. From their silent glances, they were communicating with each other and entirely distracted from what Rae was up to.
Desperate, she scanned her surroundings, utterly turned around in the swamp. Once she hit Kaython’s ground, though, she was sunk. If Lyr would send her home, she needed to do it now.
“Show me a way,” she mouthed silently behind Garr’s back. “Please let me go home.”
Off in the distance, Rae spotted a new swarm of insects, this one green. The lights twinkled from their constant, shifting movement.
Well, Rae thought, summoning her courage. Green does mean “go.”
***
Traversing the geyser jungle, Garr brooded on his human’s words regarding “love.” An aberrant concept, to suggest males might belong to females—or, worse, a prime might belong to anything other than his domé.
Did she not understand her arrogance? In implying
His face hardened. “A prime does not ask. He wins. You are mine by victory.”
The good feelings evaporated and she stood from the pool, water running from her sleeves. The mud had been scraped from her blouse, dark colors disguising the stains. She would need a change of clothes eventually, and wasn’t looking forward to wearing wet clothes the rest of the day.
Garr followed her from the pool. His outfit rippled into that liquid form, shedding the water until it all dripped clear. After the otoya solidified again, his clothes were bone dry. He seemed to wait for hers to do the same.
Her teeth chattered.
It dawned on him that her outfit didn’t shed water that way. “You will wear mine.” He disrobed his jacket, offering it.
“I damn well won’t.” She pushed past him and strode away, water squelching from her wet shoes.
Chapter Five
The sun dried everything but Rae’s shoes and socks. Those she was stuck with for the rest of the day.
Vaya behaved skittishly, always looking off into the canopy or down the trails, perhaps alert because Lyr was alert. Rae hoped the arboreal squid-beast was finished with them—getting a dozen knives embedded in its body should ward off most predators, right?
Around midday, they were close to Kaython’s border but had to cross the “geyser jungle.” The terrain was a swampy territory filled with dingy trees bleached of all low-lying foliage, the squama bark made from dense, foreboding armor plates.
The ground was wet, with an orange lichen that seemed to thrive off the humid atmosphere, and all around them a thick mist reduced visibility. Periodically, jets of steam would explode from pores in the soft earth, filling the air with boiling water and hot vapor.
“How do we cross?” Rae could see no pathway that didn’t occasionally erupt. “For the record, humans are burned by steam. Not sure what it does to Ythirians.”
“About the same,” Vaya murmured.
“Lyr wants us to cross here,” Garr said. “She’ll provide a sign.”
They waited, until Vaya pointed out a swarm of insects that hovered in the distance. Their reflective azure shells twinkled through the jungle’s fog, as though beckoning them.
“You’re sure about this?” Rae did not want to argue about Lyr’s responsiveness, but the domé had certainly sent her some mixed signals before.
“Yes.” Garr confidently strode directly at the glinting swarm. Vaya prodded Rae forward, but when geysers burst into the air close by, she interposed herself. Soon, the giantess and Garr both walked together in front, where most of the eruptions occurred.
They arrived at one insect swarm and saw another floating off in the fog. They stepping-stoned through the geyser jungle that way, using the swarms as guide posts.
Partway through one of their hops, Rae first noticed Vaya and Garr had started walking side by side. There was no more rearguard, and their focus was on the geysers, the swarms, or one another. From their silent glances, they were communicating with each other and entirely distracted from what Rae was up to.
Desperate, she scanned her surroundings, utterly turned around in the swamp. Once she hit Kaython’s ground, though, she was sunk. If Lyr would send her home, she needed to do it now.
“Show me a way,” she mouthed silently behind Garr’s back. “Please let me go home.”
Off in the distance, Rae spotted a new swarm of insects, this one green. The lights twinkled from their constant, shifting movement.
Well, Rae thought, summoning her courage. Green does mean “go.”
***
Traversing the geyser jungle, Garr brooded on his human’s words regarding “love.” An aberrant concept, to suggest males might belong to females—or, worse, a prime might belong to anything other than his domé.
Did she not understand her arrogance? In implying
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