In His Alien Hands (7 page)

“Come, Meadow. Let me show you your new home.”

* * * *

The massive waterfall was breathtaking. White and blue bubbling thunder teemed down from the immense elevation. Above the mountain the mist concealed the peak, giving the impression the mountain disappeared into the sky, or became one with it.

Standing next to the falls, Arax took her hand, preparing to take her under. Meadow shied back. When he’d said he wanted to show her his world she didn’t realize he meant his underwater world. Gazing at him, she felt sheepish. Of course underwater was his world. When submerged in the freezing depths of hell and surrounded by sharks, Meadow had been convinced she would die. For years she was dead on the ship. If she gave him her hand, there would be no going back.
Back to what though?
It was time to live.

Meadow’s feet were on solid ground and on land. The first time in a year. The last time she’d stepped foot on dry ground had been filled with heartache. Used as a pack mule for pirates, slaving to do the hard work while they reaped the rewards. She wasn’t allowed to live on the ship; she was allowed existence.

Arax’s earnest blue eyes gazed at her with what she felt was hope. If he could love Neola, he could grow to like Meadow, and she him. He’d saved her from hell, from death. He’d welcomed her. Perhaps it was only for his and Neola’s sake, but how could she not want to stay with a being who could love a human infant?

The warm, slightly heavy feeling in her belly was sustenance; food, real food, enough to take the sharp pangs away, finally. She wore very little in the way of clothes, but they were clean and the material fine and downy soft. The stench was gone. And perhaps she’d washed away doubt along with the filth when she’d realized this wasn’t as frightening as it should be.

“I don’t want to be alone here,” Meadow said. Her hellish boat life was a sad memory, but she’d made a few friends. None were too close, and at one point all were certain someone would throw them under the bus. They’d worked together from necessity. Meadow had shed tears alone under darkness until she was empty.

Arax turned her into his chest and tilted her face up. “My council has demanded I take the responsibility I was born to do. They have overlooked more infractions than any other council in the past. You were the last straw. I’m not angry with you, I brought you here. I came to the conclusion the council is right. It’s time I stepped up. Come with me and I promise you will never be alone. Let my world be yours.”

The water before her wasn’t the brackish, lifeless water she had known on Earth. There were no creaks and groans of a dying vessel to send her into nightmares every night. This pounding deluge was more a song. A strong song of never ending life. Arax wasn’t a pirate wielding life or death over her.

She nodded; she wanted to see what her new life would be like. So far she had to admit that having a beautiful baby, food, warmth, and a home was wonderful. If Arax was to be her mate, she needed to like her surroundings. His compelling blue eyes and wickedly handsome face had nothing to do with how wonderful she felt—but it helped.

If she didn’t mate with Arax, he’d made it clear there would be no hope of Neola being accepted. This was her life too. If she grew up among these aliens, they would be family and familiar. What would she do for a mate when she was grown, where would she find one or fit in? Meadow was a trailblazer in her own right, so why stop now? She got on the ship alone, she survived under dire circumstances. The odds were in her favor this time. She only had to say yes.

Arax pulled her tighter against his chest to shelter her. His grin was cheeky, and she understood he was a bad boy rogue though something had changed for her. They didn’t know one another, but he loved Neola. If he could love, he couldn’t be all bad. In fact, aside from his somewhat annoying attitude, he wasn’t bad at all. In a short time he had supplied Neola and Meadow with everything she needed and wanted. Then again, those green eyes of the cherub captivated Meadow the moment she saw Neola. But she couldn’t just mate for the child’s sake. She needed to see she could accept this life, accept Arax.

Meadow gasped as they stepped into the water. It took a moment before she realized the crushing capacity of the deluge barely drizzled over her flesh. Arax shielded her as he turned her within his embrace, sheltering but not confining her. She gazed up at him and he motioned with a nod to take in her fill of the sight. To see what she never before had witnessed. All around were smooth walls of the mountain and beauty. She’d never been inside a waterfall before. The bubbles Arax created haloed her face, allowing her to breathe while she gazed in avid wonder. He was larger in this form. She knew his ability to morph was what saved her life.

They strolled at their leisure, her bare feet caressing the slick stone beneath her. When her hand lifted so, too, did Arax’s. Placed above hers for protection from the pounding water, she touched the walls then cupped handfuls of water. When Arax smiled she tasted the cool sweetness of the liquid. No wonder his planet was considered a world within a world, a water world that could only connect to other places through water. There were too many marvels to be contained and explored when Earth was alive, the planet needed the expansion of different worlds within. Who knew water was a portal for different dimensions? For the rest of her life anything to do with water would be at Meadow’s fingertips.

When they stepped through to the other side she gazed at a beautiful beach. Endless white sand stretched for miles. Warmed by the sun, tiny grains tickled her bare feet and slipped between her toes. She was shoeless. It had made no sense to demand footwear that would only get wet. Everyone on his planet went barefoot from what Arax said.

Arax turned her in his arms and cupped her chin. “My world is land and water. I can protect you on both. Your world is land. I know when we met you were freezing, but not yet drowning. Don’t fear water. Elements create temperature. Water is harmless until manipulated to do elements’ bidding. I don’t allow an element to rule me.”

Arax lifted his hand and the tidal wave that formed by the motion was over a hundred feet high. Meadow sucked in her breath. The phenomenon stood still, awaiting command. Arax released her and she moved forward to dip her hand into the wall.

She smiled. “It’s warm.”

“Did you expect freezing?”

“I guess, because it’s so dangerous.”

“There is nothing dangerous about this wave. I control the water. Trust me.”

When she gazed at him she saw earnestness. He was his normal self, not in warrior form. Open for scrutiny. He was large and broad and different, but not ugly. He was asking her to trust him. He was water, or at least part of it. She knew his preference must be the water.

Meadow pondered his words. She didn’t hate water. Every day for years she viewed it as the enemy, surrounding her, trapping her. Putrid death. A silly thought. Would she hate air when she breathed it or fire when it kept her warm? Water was a necessity. Without water she would die. But while in water she almost died—this was one area where she would need to learn control of her emotions.

She gazed over the sight before her as Arax settled the tidal wave. Smaller, innocuous waves lapped the sand. It had been an eternity since Meadow heard the beauty of an ocean caressing a shoreline with crystal clear waves. The smell in the air was sunshine. She could see under the water before her; fish in a multitude of color swam in a world filled with life. Everything an open book, and there was no awaiting evil, no stench of the dying world that Earth had become. To breathe easy again was yet another gift Arax had given her by saving her. Another thought to consider while her emotions were in turmoil.

Arax didn’t realize how much he asked of her—or perhaps he did.

“You saved Neola, you saved me. I guess I did hate water. How did you know?”

“I was in similar water you floated on every day, but granted, mine is clean and clear. I don’t have to open a portal to simply see into your world. I think humans would call what I do television, a place to see while not actually stepping into. You may have hated it, the seas, but I mourn for what it has become. There is anger on Earth. The water is angry, as it should be. The oceans aren’t happy they rule the world. How do you rule death?”

His words made her sad. “I didn’t know water could feel.”

“It can. It watched your little boat flounder. It gazed at the only life it could see. The oceans hungered for a glimpse of you, of life, trying to keep your vessel safe, but soon it was too late and too cold. There was nowhere you could be guided to. It watched as every day it was fed death covered in sheets, leaving a foul taste. When you entered the water it felt your fear, it savored your terror, not because it wanted your demise, but because your flavor was emotion. Finally, an emotion. Once it played with humans. The water couldn’t help the coldness seeping into you, it had no control. At one time humans breathed water, you were one with it. Can you imagine how lonely water is now? Yours was the last ship. Yours was the last source of life. Now what will your water do? Who will it look at and watch over? There is empty, and then there is soul-numbing aloneness. That is the legacy of Earth’s water.”

“I didn’t know.”

Arax held out his hand. “Come. Feel what water really is. Remember a time when your ancestors floated safe and warm in water’s embrace.”

With a new understanding Meadow took his hand. Together they walked up to their knees, then waist, then shoulders in the ocean. Meadow closed her eyes. The water lapped at her. She trailed her fingers over the surface. Wet, warm. Healthy. Small fish swam to greet her. When Arax turned her to his chest she gazed up at him. With a smile he pulled her to him and took off so fast she gasped and stifled a scream.

Down they went into a new world of vibrant colors—greens, yellows, reds. The sun shone on so many kinds of different beings it created a light show for the eyes. Dolphins swam to greet them. Meadow pulled in a huge breath then pushed away from Arax to touch the creatures.
Whales
, her thoughts squealed. Jellyfish and stingrays! Arax pulled her back to him when she exhaled, her bubbles haloing her head, then released her after she took a breath. For the first time in her life Meadow wished she had gills.

Warmth filled her empty chest, expanding her emotions to an exhilarating proportion. There was no death here, only happiness. She would live here if she mated with Arax. This was where Neola would grow up. Never again would Meadow feel sorry for the baby. She was no longer sad for the woman Neola had once been. If she welcomed her as a daughter, Neola’s world would be beauty. How wonderful for a person who suffered so much to be reborn.

Arax again pulled her close and sliced through the water, leaving the creatures far behind. Arax took them to a cave deep underwater. She was suddenly sightless.

“My oceans have treasures within caves,” he whispered.

He jumped up to land them on a ledge. When her feet hit the cave floor she was breathless. Her chest heaved in her excitement.

“So much beauty after so much darkness,” Meadow gasped. “Oh, how I wish I was like you and could swim all day.”

“Be my mate,” Arax said. His tone was almost a command, but she could tell his intensity was that of a warrior who took what he wanted. “I will take you out anytime you want to go.”

She could only nod, her insides a whirlwind of emotion. A baby, a new world, why not a new mate? After years of having no one and nothing why would she refuse to live again? The sights she saw reminded her at one time she did know beauty. Thrust into a sea of life she wanted more. The promise of daily living was a bauble too enticing dangled before her.

Arax gripped her to his chest. He remained in his natural form, but his eyes were demanding. Commanding. A warrior’s eyes.

“Water is my favorite place to be,” he said.

Her eyes widened as he gazed beyond her, there was no mistaking his unspoken question. She understood his meaning. If she were his, she must accept he was a water warrior. Did she still fear the element? Would she change her mind?

His look dared her to resist, to show fear after all she had seen, but Meadow felt curious. He was right, she had no fear. This wasn’t the brackish pollutant she was used to. This wasn’t the dead, miserable sight she’d witnessed day after day. Arax’s gaze was intense, his breathing ragged. His broad shoulders towered over her as she stood before him.

Having a massive warrior as a mate might not be such a bad thing. Arax trailed a finger from under her jaw down the side of her neck. His touch gave her goosebumps.

“I spend half my life in water. You should know all of me, all of what and who I am.”

His tone gentle and his body warm, Arax leaned down and gripped her shoulders as he nuzzled her neck. His erect cock rubbed the side of her hip. He was built big. When he gently bit her throat Meadow was surprised. She’d never had sex in the water, in gorgeous, clear, clean liquid. What could be the big deal?

She screamed when he pulled her roughly to his chest and he flipped their bodies backward. The sound of the splash was earth-shattering. Meadow stopped struggling and lay quietly in his arms as bubbles haloed her face. Her expelled breath bubbles whooshed to the surface.

They sank swiftly with Arax on top of her and settled on the soft bottom of the ocean floor within the cave. Meadow could breathe when she remembered to. For a second she tried to speak, but to her ears the words were garbled. When he said to trust him she had no idea how much. Everything, every action, was controlled by him.

He peeled her shirt from her, trapping her raised hands in the fabric. He buried his face within her breasts, and soon his roaming lips latched to a nipple. It had been so long since a man sucked her flesh. She wiggled, but he held her easily, moving lower to remove her short pants. The females she had seen wore nothing to cover their breasts, but Meadow wasn’t that bold in public. She pulled her hands loose and placed them on his shoulders.

For a moment he floated before her. An array of bubbles settled enough for her to gaze at his engorged cock. He waited. They were both naked, her hair haloed her head. The choice was hers. She could see once she gave permission he would take her as he pleased.
Choose life.
She nodded, there were no words she could say.