COWBOY ROMANCE: Justin (Western Contemporary Alpha Male Bride Romance) (The Steele Brothers Book 1) (83 page)

Chapter 7

At home that evening, Lynne attempted cooking a meal for Fenrir, but she was unfamiliar with the thing they called a stove. It bore no resemblance to a stove on Earth. There were no burners or oven, but it changed the appearance and consistency of the food as if by magic. It didn’t even look like a microwave.

One put food on top of this thing that looked a little like a clothes dryer and pushed one of many buttons. Unfortunately, she couldn’t read their language, even though she could hear what they said in English. She simply pushed a button that Fenrir had used in making food and hoped it would cook the chicken-like food she’d put on top.

Inside the glass door of the dryer gadget were mechanisms that ran the machine. If it had been empty, she would have put the food inside and used it as an oven.

The remainder of the dinner would be food she didn’t have to cook, possibly green carrot-like vegetables, or what she assumed were vegetables. She also cut up some leafy gray food that tasted like Romaine lettuce. It wasn’t much to look at, but she liked it.

Then an unexpected thought came to her. All the colors were so vibrant here, yet this lettuce was gray. Why was that?

Fenrir entered the house at that moment and saw her at the stove. “What are you doing?”

“Cooking your dinner,” she replied.

“You’re going to feed me
that
?” he asked in shock. “Why would you try to kill me?”

“
Kill
you? I’m not trying to do any such thing. I just wanted to show you that I appreciate you.”

“That gray stuff is poisonous.”

“I ate it and it didn’t bother me. You should be fine.”

To her surprise, he released a breath that sounded much like a laugh but was shorter. Maybe she could call it a burst.

Then he said, “You do not know how to work our stove.”

“I’ve watched you, and it isn’t funny. I’m trying to do something nice for you, and you’re laughing at me.”
At least, I think you’re laughing
, she added in her mind.

He approached her from behind and slid his arms around her. “I apologize.” He kissed her neck at the place just below her ear that always made her quiver with delight. “I did not mean to offend you.” He kissed the junction of her shoulder and neck. “Let me make it up to you.”

His hands cupped the large breasts. For those, she was grateful. She’d had moderate breasts on Earth and had always longed to have large ones. He tweaked her cloth-covered nipples between his thumbs and index fingers. She moaned with pleasure and leaned back against him. His organ throbbed against her buttocks.

When she’d picked out this body, he’d told her that it was his favorite. He’d also told her that they would never mate unless it was to procreate. But he had apparently lied about that because he wanted sex daily. Then again, he’d also told her that the Earth way of mating for fun was something he liked.

Releasing her breasts, Fenrir unzipped her jumpsuit. Beneath it she was naked, as was the custom here on Cartonia. Fenrir turned her to face him and slid the jumpsuit off her body. It dropped to her feet, and she stepped out of it. Every time he saw her nude body, the look in his eyes surprised her. For a man who believed that sex was only for reproduction, he certainly was lusty.

Lynne stepped out of her clothes as Fenrir fondled her breasts. On Earth people would call him a breast man, but she didn’t mind his constant playing with parts of her body. She felt sexy this way, something she hadn’t felt in a long time on Earth.

He bent over and his lips caught her nipple, suckling like a hungry infant. His tongue taunted the excited tip as his hand caressed the mount between her legs. When he slipped a finger into her wet passage, she threw her head back. Her long hair tickled her buttocks as he dipped a second finger into her.

With his fingers still inside her and his lips now on her other nipple, he maneuvered them backwards to a straight chair at the table. He broke for only a moment to unzip his jumpsuit and drop it to his feet. Finally, he sat down on the chair.

While he sat there, he continued rubbing her clitoris with the heel of his hand, at the same time working his fingers around in her wet cavity. It felt so good! Even in this new body, which shouldn’t be all that interested in sex according to Fenrir, her appetite for him didn’t wane. She really enjoyed their lovemaking!

“Sit on me,” he ordered softly. “Impale yourself on me.”

Without a word, she straddled him, lowering herself until she felt his hardness at her opening. Then she stopped to tease him a little, to get him even harder if it was possible. Her womanhood was right there, wetting the tip of his penis with her juices.

Taking her hips in his hands, he thrust her down upon his organ. It filled her in an instant. She ground against him, their pelvises meeting seductively. Her excitement grew with each movement until she needed that release. She moved faster and faster until her body took over, and she exploded in an orgasm.

When she stopped panting after the exertion, he pushed her off him and turned her around before bending her from the hips and laying her face down on the table. He entered her from behind, filling her even more deeply. At the same time he pumped into her, he toyed with her clitoris, not roughly but with a gentleness that made her long for more.

The moment her body convulsed in a second orgasm, he drove into her as far as he could with his own growl of ecstasy.

For several minutes, he lay atop her. Finally, when their bodies parted naturally, he pushed himself from the table and pulled up his jumpsuit.

“Why did our parents tell us that this is only for having children? This is wonderful at all times. I do wonder, though, why you still are not carrying my child.”

Lynne grabbed her jumpsuit from the floor and stepped into it. “How would you know that I’m not?”

“If you were, your skin tone would change to mine. That would mean that you have an heir in your womb. We need that soon.”

Confused, she asked, “Why soon?”

“It is time to tell you everything.” He sat down on the sofa and patted the cushioned seat beside him. “Sit.”

Chapter 8

Lynne couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The man sitting next to her was the grandson of a former king of Cartonia? Apparently, he had been dethroned after having beheaded a number of citizens who had done nothing wrong except speak unkindly of him.

Now Fenrir wanted to reclaim his “rightful” place in the palace. His fuchsia hue denoted his regal status. This confused Lynne, because he lived in housing that was like many other houses, common brick and stone, not the gold of the palace. Why had he been designated to such low status?

“What happened, Fenrir?” she asked. “Why do you not live like royalty? Why is your house so barren and stark?”

“My grandfather was banned from having any luxuries. Here it is passed down from generation to generation. My father did not want the throne, so it went to his brother, Odin’s father. As my father’s oldest son, I want to get the throne back. Then you will be queen.”

“Why not let the people vote on who they want? That’s how we do it in America.”

Lynne cringed internally. She’d unthinkingly let him know that she remembered something. Much to her relief, he concentrated on one word.

“Vote?” he asked. “I do not understand. What is that?”

“Everybody says who they want, and then the person with the most people wanting him or her wins. So if you got nine votes and Odin got seven votes, you would win. Does that make sense to you?”

“We do not do that here. Here we either take over peacefully or we fight.”

“That seems so barbaric for such an advanced planet.”

“I would like you to meet my cousin and his mate. Would you like that?”

Knowing what he was planning, Lynne hesitated. She didn’t want to be involved in this, but if she agreed, maybe she could decide for herself which side to support.

To postpone her answer, she said, “Let me put the food on the table—after I sterilize it, of course. We don’t want burnt dinner.”

While they ate, Lynne pondered what she should do about meeting Odin and Melanie. She’d heard tales that Melanie was from Earth, but she hadn’t been sure it was true until today when Fenrir mentioned it. If anybody would know, it would be a member of the royal household.

***

The palace, with its gold walls, was more beautiful than Lynne had anticipated. Everything was ornate without being gaudy. One of the first things Fenrir showed her was the throne room. Two large thrones of gold, silver and bronze sat at the head of the room, with two matching smaller thrones on each side of them. All of the thrones were padded on the seat and back with a purple brocade-type of material. Purple—the color of royalty, which was not different from royal colors used on Earth.

“That is where we will sit someday,” Fenrir said with a dreamy tone in his voice. “We will rule the land and have wealth beyond your imagination.”

“This would be a wonderful place to live,” she agreed as she gazed at what appeared to be stained glass windows with pictures of previous kings. “I assume they have servants to clean everything and keep all of the metal shining the way it does.”

“Many servants, my dear.”

She shot her startled gaze to his face.
My dear
. That was the first time he’d ever used such wording. Did that mean he loved her? She certainly did love him, but she worried that he would leave her.

As he had predicted when she chose a new body, she remembered little from when she lived on Earth. Her actual life there was a total blank. Cartonia was her home now; Cartonia was all she truly knew.

Fenrir stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her hips, pulling her back against him.

“One day I will sit on that throne,” he whispered into her ear. “I will tell the world that I am ruler, and I will rule as my grandfather did and make him proud.”

A door behind them opened, and a deep male voice spoke cheerfully. “There will be no mating in the throne room, cousin.”

The light tone of the man’s voice startled Lynne because everyone on Cartonia seemed so serious. Fenrir released her as the tall, bronze male approached them. He also wore a jumpsuit, but his was silver material.

The men touched chests and thumped once on each other’s backs in greeting.

“How is my favorite cousin?” Odin asked as they faced each other.

“I am well. I brought my mate to meet you. This is Lynne.”

“Lynne?” Odin repeated, gazing down at her. “I believe that is a name from the planet Earth.”

She curtsied before she replied, “Yes, sir. I am from Earth.”

“As is my mate. You should meet her. You will like her, just as everyone else does. She is a very giving soul.”

“I would like that.”

“Now, for the reason I invited you here,” Odin said. “I feel that we have been at odds for far too long. Our families need to rejoin, and to begin that process, I would like to gift you with the mountain palace, all of its furnishings, and its staff.”

Gazing over at Fenrir, Lynne was surprised to see his expression of shock. Then again, how could he not be astonished by this announcement? He was plotting to overthrow Odin because his grandfather had been dethroned and banished to be a commoner. Now the very cousin he wanted to remove from power was giving him a palace. As happy as she was for Fenrir and herself, she couldn’t help but wonder what would happen next.

Would Fenrir change his mind about the coup? Or would he continue down the path that could cause destruction to many, himself included?

THE END

A Scifi Alien Abduction Romance

Prologue

Wandering around Princess Melanie’s parlor, Lynne gazed in wonder at the many golden knick-knacks. The elephant/zebra type statuette had sapphire eyes, a mane of what appeared to be spun silver, and a horse’s tail of silver. The zebra’s “stripes” looked to be of imbedded amber.

“Do you like it?” a woman asked from behind her.

Lynne spun to face her and stared at her in shock. This woman looked nothing like the other females she had seen. They were all tall and curvy; whereas this woman, although not of a height that would be average on Earth, was short in comparison and petite in build. Her skin, though, was of a light bronze color and her hair was silver, giving her the appearance of being mixed Earthling and Cartonian.

“Are you Lynne?” the woman asked.

“Yes, your highness,” Lynne said as she curtsied.

“You don’t need to do that here—at least, not with me. Quite frankly, I’m surprised you even remember that royalty receives curtsies. I was under the impression that when you took a Cartonian body, you lost your memories of Earth. Is that not the case?” Melanie sat on a velvet sofa and patted the cushion beside her. “Please. Sit.”

Dropping down next to her, Lynne explained, “I was under that impression when I was told to take a new body, too. I thought I would lose all memory, but I didn’t. Oh, I don’t remember my life on Earth, but I do remember some things. Mostly, though, my life before taking the new body is a blank.”

“That’s a shame. I chose not to take another’s body so I could remember meeting Odin. I wanted to remember everything.”

Lynne stared at her in shock. “I was told that I
must
take a new body. You had a choice?”

“I did. Odin was very kind when I met him, and that didn’t change when I decided to join him here. It still hasn’t changed in all the time I’ve been on Cartonia.”

The princess stood, and Lynne scrambled to her feet. Melanie chuckled.

“I’ve missed that sound,” Lynne admitted. “I don’t remember what it is, but it makes me feel happy.”

Melanie laughed again. “You won’t hear a lot of laughter around here because most people are melancholy, but you will hear it at the palace.
This
is a very happy place because I taught Odin that joy is a must for me. Come, let’s walk on the beach.”

***

“But, Uncle,” the young man with light fuchsia skin protested, “I do not want a female. I do not feel ready.”

Fenrir shook his head. “You must, Tyr. So far, I have no children of my own, and you are my brother’s only son. You are my heir; therefore,
you
must replenish the royal line.”

“Prince Odin and Princess Melanie have three sons.” Tyr paused then asked, “Why do you need me to go to Earth? Why can I not choose a female from Cartonia?”

“You know the females of Cartonia have a difficult time reproducing. We need an Earth female because they are so closely related to our species. They reproduce much more easily. If you were anything but royalty, you could, but you hold the future of Cartonia in your hands. You must go, and you must go now. There will be no other discussion. When you return, your people will need you.”

“I do not understand, Uncle,” Tyr insisted. “We have heirs to the throne. We have Borr, Forseti and Hermo’our. They will save Cartonia. Our people need them.”

“You must stop questioning my decisions and leave immediately. Go to a place called America. They have many females there, and they are smart, independent and strong. Most importantly, they are adventurous. They are more likely to join you willingly.”

***

Tyr sat at the controls of his ship. He hated making this trip, but his father had insisted that he do as Fenrir instructed. He did not want a mate yet. He wanted to join his uncle in Prince Odin’s army and be a great soldier. How could he do that if he had a female to care for? How could he concentrate on any possible battle if he had an offspring?

Nor was Tyr certain that he wanted to take over the body of a dying man on Earth. What if he himself died? That would mean that he would not be on his own planet with his own people. He would be light-years away from the place he loved.

Straightening his shoulders, he took a deep breath. That was not the way a soldier should think. A soldier would do as he was told and do it with bravery.