XAV: An Alien Romance (Pleasure Invaders Book 1) Page 3

  As soon as her fingers connected with its cool hardness, the amorous feelings from earlier spiked. No matter how hard she attempted to block the vivid imagery from her mind, she couldn’t. It was mind-altering, universe-shifting even, though if she were honest with herself, she figured she would latch on to almost anything to distract her from the reality Charles had left her in.

  The blush crept up her neck all the way to her cheeks, and she licked her lips. The crisp linens beneath her suddenly felt too hot, her pulse ticking higher and higher the longer she rubbed her thumb along the smooth lines of the metal.

  As she stroked faster, the light touch transformed into a full-handed stroking, and the entire vessel started to vibrate and make her skin tingle all over.

  The sensations magnified until the power overwhelmed her, and she dropped the thing onto the bed. What had she just done? Given a handy to an inanimate object? What in the world had possessed her to do such a thing?

  Closing her eyes, she pressed her thumbs against her temples, trying to massage away the embarrassment. She’d only meant to give it a light touch, like the way she smoothed the sheets down her body before sleep. But there was nothing about that vessel that made her want to sleep.

  Who was she now? How had she let Charles leave her and make her feel like she was nothing? Confused and bombarded with a rush of emotion, Gerti began to weep.

  Had she been so focused on what Charles had done, on how to recover, on how to face the complete obliteration of everything she was raised to want, to have lost herself in the process?

  The tender sweep of a thumb across her cheek startled her, and she jerked open her eyes. “Do not cry. It pains me to see you do so.”

  Lying there, on the bed beside her, was the man from before. “How did you…?”

  “Your energy called for me, and I answered.”

  A tear formed at the corner of his silver eyes and she fought the urge to return the soft gesture and dash it away.

  “Did I hurt you before, when I threw the box at you?”

  “No, delicate one.” He frowned. “I did not mean to cause you fear. Only comfort. Having done so shames me.”

  With the buzz from the wine still in full force, Gerti lifted a finger and traced it across the seam of his forest green lips. “Are you real? Have I gone totally daft?”

  “I am real. Are you? Or has the torment of my past forced me to create a new reality?”

  A surge of protectiveness fueled her confidence, and she once again found herself exploring his otherworldly features. Strong cheekbones, a light dusting of hair along his angled jaw and wide set eyes that seemed to look right through her.

  “Well, I thought I was. But maybe this is all a product of my insanity.” Gerti laughed—the lightness of the sound seeming to lessen the green man’s misery.

  He too lifted a hand, waiting hesitantly until Gerti leaned into his touch, and pressed his fingers gently to her cheek. “Your mind is strong, particularly here.” He dragged a finger over the right side of her scalp, catching a few strands of hair and sending goosebumps across her skin. “You rely on logic and reasoning. Perhaps, if I were to explain my existence, you would not feel so unsure.”

  Gerti laughed again, the irony of the situation not escaping her. She’s spent exactly thirty seconds with this being, and in one single sentence, he’d summed her up in a way no one else had ever done. He knew she needed facts to wrap her mind around anything out of the ordinary, and he was willing to give them without hesitation. How curious it would be to converse with someone who actually got her.

  “I would like that. To know who and what you are.” As the air conditioning cut on, a slight chill drifted through the room, and Gerti’s nipples hardened. When she went to pull up the covers, the male’s gaze followed her. Heat bloomed across her skin as his eyes brightened, taking on a prismatic gleam. There was no denying he saw the change in her body, and his responded accordingly.

  The vastness of his naked cock stood at attention, and no matter how hard Gerti tried to level her gaze, she was unable to stop herself from looking down. It was magnificent, hairless and smooth. The tip was larger than any male part she’d ever seen, spread out like an umbrella trying to catch the rain, except she was sure that wasn’t the type of flood it was used to. Her nethers clenched at the thought of the havoc a giant member like that would wreak on her flesh.

  She licked her lips, unable to stop herself from imagining its taste, and was immediately shocked by her reaction. She’d never wanted to perform fellatio before. And even the few times she’d done so, it’d only been after Charles had showered and sprawled out under the fan. But no, not this time. Gerti wanted to taste the male himself, not a bar of Irish Spring soap. She wanted to consume his sweat and feel the shudder of his sex as he came in her mouth—

  Oh, God. What was she even thinking?

  Sitting up, Gerti gently placed a pillow over the stranger’s immaculate green stiffy and took several deep breaths to find some semblance of composure.

  “Um…can you…put this on?” She held up her bright pink robe, and he nodded.

  “Of course, delicate one.”

  “Are you hungry?” The devil loved idle hands, and all Gerti wanted to do with hers at the moment was explore this green being’s impressive erection.

  “I…do not know.” His dark green brows drew together. “I have not consumed food in a very long time. More than half of my existence, at least. But I can feel your need to do something. May I…join you?”

  Chapter 6

  Xav

  The female rushed out of the room, and Xav immediately felt the pain of their separation. If he did not follow her, he would be soon forced to return to his vessel. The fluffy material she’d thrown at him was like the ceremonial robes his people had once worn on their planet, only…brighter…and…with ruffles?

  It did not fit his large body. Not well. She had seemed most uncomfortable with his member, so he tugged and adjusted until it was mostly covered, then followed her energy through the dwelling.

  Very little he saw seemed to fit the female’s aura. Almost as if this were not her home, but someone else’s. Only the room he’d just emerged from had anything of her in it.

  He found her standing in front of a device with flames coming out of a round opening, and panic flared. “Fire,” he shouted and wrapped his arm around her, turning with her held against him so he could absorb the pain.

  Her words vibrated against his chest, and she struggled to free herself, so he released her. As she whirled around, he caught some of what she was saying.

  “…can’t do that! I was fine. It’s just…” And then she turned away from him again.

  “My delicate creature,” he said, “I am sorry. But I cannot understand you if I cannot see your face. Sounds were taken from me long ago.”

  She turned, her expression one of horror, and he felt her shock and shame. “Taken from you?”

  Xav did not want to relive the centuries of torture, but he sensed she needed to know. The flames distracted him, though, and he frowned. “What were you trying to say to me?” He eyed the flames, but the female appeared not to fear them.

  Her cheeks turned a delightful shade, almost the color of the garment he wore. “This is a stove. It’s for cooking. There’s nothing dangerous about it. And you can’t just grab me like that.”

  “I am sorry. I feared for you.”

  The female reached out her hand and touched his arm. Her fingers trembled slightly, and Xav covered them with his palm. “You are still unsure of me.”

  Her laugh vibrated the entire room, and the light emotion seeped into him, filling him. “Of course I am. You came out of a dildo. You’re green. Do…do you have a name?”

  “A name?” He did not know this word.

  The female smiled, a little wobbly, but also…kind. “Yes. Something you’re called. I’m…Gerti.”

  “Gerti. I am saying this correctly?”

  At her nod, Xav puffed out
his chest and stood a little taller. None of the beings who had used him over the centuries had ever wanted to know his birth calling. “I am Xav.”

  “I have to…um…cook, Xav. Sit?” Gerti gestured to a table and chairs off to the side of the room, but Xav did not wish to leave her.

  “It is better for me to be close to you. I will remain quiet.”

  Gerti angled her head to the side. “I can hear you if you talk. I just can’t…respond so you can understand me. Tell me how you came here? Or…where you are from?”

  As she poured some oblong pale wedges into a metal pan, Xav tried to figure out where to begin. “I traveled the stars with my brothers. We are warriors. Were warriors. Our planet was dying. We hoped to find a place we could settle. Earth…the air is similar to ours. I calculated the entrance angle to your atmosphere, but I was incorrect. Our ship crashed. But it broke into pieces first. My brother gave the order for us to retreat to our vessels. They protect us.”

  Gerti looked over her shoulder at him. “How many brothers?”

  “There were eight of us. For a time, I could sense them. Their energy. But no longer. Your sun…it is not the same as ours. On Pleasuros, our planet, we can leave our vessels at will. Often we go many moons without entering them at all. On Earth, we cannot.”

  Moving to a cabinet, Gerti withdrew two plates, then slid the browned wedges onto them. “Come on, then,” she said as she headed for the table.

  After they’d sat, she put a plate in front of him. “Chips.”

  “Chips?” He stared at the strange wedges. “These are…food? Sustenance?”

  “Yes!” She grinned at him. “They’re terrible for you. Fattening. And delicious.”

  Delicious he knew. Fattening he did not. But she picked one up and bit into it, and he did the same.

  Creamy, soft flavor burst over his tongue, and he groaned. It had been so long since he had consumed sustenance. He had forgotten the joy. The pure delight. Before he knew it, the plate was empty. Gerti’s too. “I enjoyed…chips,” Xav said, his lips curving involuntarily.

  She returned his smile, then took their plates away. With each step, Xav felt weaker. He would need more energy soon, and he did not know how to ask Gerti to help him. He only knew he would not use her. It would have to be her choice.

  “What’s wrong?” Gerti knelt next to him, her hands covering his. “You look…pale.”

  “I have been without energy for many hundreds of moons. I will need to return to my vessel soon.”

  “No.” Her shock—and was that sorrow?—hit him in the chest, wrapping cool fingers around his heart. “Stay. I want to know more about you.”

  “I will stay as long as I can.” Xav linked their fingers and brought Gerti’s hand to his lips. “But, Gerti, if I cannot return, I must tell you how you have soothed me.”

  “Soothed you?” She pulled him up and back into her bedroom, where they lay side-by-side in her big, comfortable bed with the cool sheets and soft pillows.

  Xav could not remember the last time he had slept in a bed. Or anywhere. The time in his vessel was more of a semi-conscious trance, one that pained him every moment as he grew weaker and weaker.

  “Xav? How did I…soothe you?” Gerti touched his cheek, and he leaned into her palm. She was his. Totally and completely. He only wished he had enough time to explain the connection he felt to her.

  “I have been alone for so long, Gerti. Before that…I was…” Xav rolled over, unable to face this beautiful, kind creature as he confessed the horrible things he had been made to do. “I was somewhere else. Somewhere with evil males who forced their females to partake in a terrible ritual. They used my vessel, and me, against my will to cause the females pain, and then they killed them. I could never absorb enough energy to remain free from my vessel for more than a few moments, but they quickly learned of my strength. They caged me and prevented me from escaping.”

  His female drew in a sharp breath. “I do not know what happened to stop them, but the next time I left my vessel, I was somewhere new. I had just enough strength to find somewhere to hide so I could…cleave away my own flesh. To endure the pain as my member—and my vessel—regrew from nothing. To atone for horrors from which I will never be free.”

  Gerti touched his shoulder, and he flinched. He did not wish to tell her the rest. The vibrations from her voice called to him, but as he tried to turn his head, pain spread through his limbs, and he cried out. “No. Not…now…”

  And then she was in front of him, kneeling on the floor with fear in her beautiful eyes. “Xav? Stay with me. Please.”

  He could not. The only solace he took with him was that his last sight would be his Gerti’s face. If he never left his vessel again, the memories of her, her smile, her laugh…he would treasure them forever.

  The pressure on his limbs increased, bones cracked and shattered, his mind dulled, and Gerti wailed as Xav’s consciousness faded into the background, darkness consuming him.

  Gerti

  No. It wasn’t fair. “Come back,” Gerti begged, rubbing Xav’s vessel, desperate for him to return. He’d been alone for so long, without love and kindness, and she could hardly bear to see him be sucked back into his prison.

  An intense longing pulled at her, and her chest began to ache. Why did he affect her so strongly? She’d been with Charles for years and she’d never felt like this. Most of the time she’d wanted him to just go away. And she had often swatted at him and insisted he do just that.

  His touch had been cold and unmoving. Something she tolerated, accepted as her norm.

  But with Xav, everything was different. Warmth enveloped Gerti, along with the heaviness of his torment tugging at her core. The urge to hold him was unbearable. To comfort him after he’d confessed the horrors those awful ancient ones had done to him.

  She didn’t know him well, but Gerti was certain of one thing. Xav was a good man. A strong, passionate, emotionally fragile creature who deserved a soft caress and the warmth of a safe embrace. He deserved happiness, and for reasons unknown to her, she wanted to be the one to give it to him. To show him how to love properly.

  Arousal stirred within her as she remembered how his body had felt against hers. His taut abs…the weight of his cock against her bottom. The dream…

  Now that she’d seen him in person, she knew the being who’d expertly driven her to a climax she’d never believed possible was the same hauntingly beautiful male who refused to leave her mind.

  There wasn’t an ounce of logic in how she felt, and Gerti fought with that reality all the way into the bath. She removed her clothes, searching them for a hint of her Xav, and when she found his scent, she cemented it in her memory. No matter what happened, whether she gave into her curiosity or she erred on the side of caution and returned him to the store, she’d never allow herself to forget.

  Who was she kidding? She could never return him like a piece of furniture. He was a man. Or…male, at least. He had a soul. A kind heart. He deserved a home. To be cared for. To be…loved.

  Her mood—along with the wine she’d consumed—had soured at the thought of turning him away, and as she slid into the comforting warmth of the bath, she couldn’t bear to take her eyes off his vessel. Now that she knew what lay inside, how could she ever feel right about him being alone? Was he in there suffering right now? Crying and calling for her, unable to be heard?

  The logical part of her brain taunted her. Chastised her girlish fantasies and the ridiculousness of the whole situation, but at her core, in her soul, Gerti knew the green stranger was hers. They were meant to cure each other’s broken hearts, and she’d be damned if she would let her old self win.

  Her self-sabotaging thoughts faded to the back of her mind as she recalled the horrors that had been done to him. Of only escaping his vessel after those unspeakable acts had been performed. How could anyone use such a gentle, noble creature in such a terrible way?

  A memory tried to float to the surface. A documentary on the
ancient Mayans. Or were they Incas? Or some other ancient society? They used to sacrifice women. Virgins. “…a shaman would take their virginity, then their lives…”

  What had Xav said? He needed energy. She’d given it to him before. In her dream. And then again as she’d been stroking the vessel in a way that made her blush, even now. Could it be that he thrived on sexual energy?

  Oh God. The very thing he relied on had been twisted and debased, used to harm him over and over again.

  It nearly brought her to tears thinking about how painful it all must have been for him. Charles always did say she was an emotional drunk, but even if she’d been stone cold sober, Gerti knew she’d feel the same. There was just something about Xav that felt right and true. He was good and caring and…hers.

  Holding the vessel close, Gerti let herself drift to where she most wanted to be—back into his strong arms. His corded muscles caging her in like two strong pedestals taking the weight that hung so heavily her shoulders. She imagined the way she needed him, how she wanted him with every fiber of her being, and as she let the images replay in her mind, she knew he was so much more than a simple fantasy.

  He was her deepest desire brought to life.

  His lips peppered her belly with kisses, the tip of his tongue teasing her with every single touch. The harshness of his teeth scoring her hips and light sting of his fingers rubbing over her sensitive clit. She was bare, and the sensation of his tongue on the naked skin of her sex was unlike any other she’d ever imagined.

  Warm and slick, the sensation lit up her every nerve ending and sent her into a place far beyond her wildest imagination. She was raw, like an animal, letting go of all of her inhibitions and thrusting her pelvis against her green lover.

  Xav drank her in, tantalizing her with long, slow strokes of his tongue until her pussy ached painfully and she was about to beg.