Alien Romance: Astral Mates Complete Series (Book 1 - 4): Scifi Alien Abduction Romance (Alien Invasion Romance, Alien Romance) Read online

  His father nodded. "That was a generous move on your part. Let's hope they get along. Not all females like each other, even if they come from the same planet."

  "They were huddling together on the ship, they seemed friendly with each other, I can always sell the other one if they don't get along, but I want this to be as smooth as possible, which cannot happen if she's stressed out and freaking out on me every moment of the day. Females need females to talk to, I'm not a female." Aris said, explaining his motivations.

  "Makes sense to me. I hope she works out Aris," His father put his hand to Aris's shoulder and smiled at him. "You've made me a happy man, now just figure out if you like her enough to make an heir."

  "We shall see father." Aris said and then watched his father walk away.

  He realized his Dad seemed sicker than ever, he was walking stiff and painful down the hallway, but refused to show any weakness to anyone, even to his own son.

  Aris wondered if he could ever live up to his Father's example. The man had been a legend in his day until he'd gotten an illness that was killing him. He still held out some hope that the doctors would discover a cure before it was too late.

  Chapter 4

  Helena and Cindy were sitting together on the floor cross legged on the rug in front of the large bed. Not knowing the rules, Cindy had suggested staying off all furniture and not touching anything until they'd been told what was expected of them so they could avoid any unwanted trouble for themselves.

  Helena had the urge to rifle through the room and see what her new Owner was like, though she snorted every time she thought of the words. She was property on this planet, and she had a hard time understanding it emotionally. Logically she knew what it denoted, but emotionally, she didn't feel owned, instead she just felt like she was in a strange place with people pushing her around.

  The vaccines and translator unit they'd given her had hurt. She could still feel the bump on the back of her neck where they'd installed it in both her and Cindy. Once they'd installed she was able to communicate with the Aliens on this planet.

  She appreciated that, but wasn't sure how she felt about having a microchip in her neck, metal poisoning occurred to her and she had a mild panic attack. Cindy had laughed at her and told her they'd been using translator chips on these planets for hundreds of years and they weren't a primitive science like on Earth.

  That helped Helena feel a little better, but not completely. She had seen the man on the ship, he reminded her of a Greek god. He was tall and imposing. His dark hair had curled around his ears and the nape of his neck. He'd had a scar on his chin that went down his neck, but it didn't detract from his good looks.

  He had tattoos on his hands and arms that had disappeared under his sleeves. Cindy had explained that they most likely represented the clan or family he was from. The more elaborate the tattoos, the fancier the family.

  She'd seen a hint of them on his neck going under his shirt and she wondered if his whole body was covered in them. The only thing that had made him not look human was his eye color. It was an intense blue-green that was unlike any color she'd ever seen before. It reminded her of a crayon color rather than an actual eye color. Like colored contacts in a movie.

  He'd moved with a purpose and had glanced at them before talking to the ship attendant who'd been in charge of them during their trip to his planet. When they'd took them to a bathing room after being vaccinated they'd been dressed in sheer clothing that left nothing to the imagination and Helena was feeling self conscious.

  "Don't even think about it Helena." Cindy warned her. "I know it's hard to sit here and wait, but it's better to be patient then risk having your hands cut off for touching his stuff without permission."

  "He's not here and I just want to figure out if these are actually his rooms or if he was just the broker or something for our sale." Helena said, she'd found herself attracted to him but wasn't ready to admit it to Cindy.

  Or herself.

  "Helena, this is not a good idea, please, you've survived everything else, just stay here until we know what's going on." Cindy begged her, sounding desperate. "What if he punishes me too for what you do? Some Master's will do that."

  "I won't do anything damaging, I promise, I just want to look, I can't help it, I'm a nosey person at heart, this is what I do. I find dirt on people." Helena said and shook her head as she got up and walked over to the bookshelves with ancient looking texts.

  She pulled one out and flipped through one of the books. She couldn't read the writing, but the book was heavy and the leather that bound it together was well cared for.

  Helena looked through a few more books before giving up on trying to understand any of the texts. Instead she walked over to the large bed, it was the biggest bed she'd ever seen in her life, it was the size of two king beds put together, and the fur on the bedding was of high quality.

  She touched the fur and it was the softest she'd ever touched in her life. She lifted the corner and touched the bedding underneath, realizing that it was softer than any silk. Her hand literally slid across it like she was moving it through water.

  Fascinated with it, she didn't hear the door open and Cindy gasp.

  "Do you like my bed?" A voice asked her.

  Helena whirled around and blushed, looking at the ground, not wanting to offend him.

  "I'm sorry," She whispered to him.

  "You aren't from here, a little curiosity is natural." He told her and walked over to look at her, ignoring Cindy who was sitting on the floor trying to be invisible. He grinned at her.

  "I didn't mean any harm," She told him and took a step back when he crowded her. She could smell him when he was a few inches from her, he smelled like odd spices that reminded her of cinnamon and nutmeg.

  "What's your name girl?" He asked her, staring at her with his intense eyes that made Helena want to take a step back. She felt like he could see inside her soul and it was an intimidating feeling.

  "Helena," She said.

  "I'm Aris. I understand that this is all new to you, and I will do my best to help you adjust, but I am going to be blunt with you," He told her and waited for her to acknowledge him.

  "Alright," Helena nodded and forced herself to look up into his face. She felt her heart pound into her chest.

  "My father is very sick; I'm heir to the throne and need to choose a wife to have an heir. I picked you because you have good birthing hips and as a slave, you will hopefully keep your ego in check unlike the rest of our royal females. I don't expect you to understand our cultures or traditions, but I will expect you to learn and be a fast learner. You are to be silent around others and support me when we are together. If you have concerns, you are allowed to bring them up to me quietly, in private." Aris told her.

  "You're a prince?" Helena said, gasping. This was hard to believe, why would a royal of any species pick her? She was just a regular looking girl-next-door type.

  "Something like that. I will be crowned King as soon as I pick a bride and we get married. I do not want the royal females and my father wants me to pick a slave for a bride. If you serve me well, I will make sure you want for nothing." Aris told her.

  "Don't you care about love?" Helena said her romantic fantasies of childhood had never left her when she'd grown up. She'd always held out wanting real love before she gave herself to a man.

  "I don't believe in love. I believe that I need to do whatever is necessary for the safety and health of my kingdom and people." Aris told her, and then surprised her by reaching out and took a hold of her arm.

  Helena struggled for a split second, but the minute his mouth touched hers, she melted into him and kissed him back. He had one hand almost painfully on her arm and the other tangled in her hair as his mouth devoured hers.

  After a few minutes he pulled away and had a troubled expression cross his face before making his face be a blank mask.

  "It appears we have enough sexual chemistry together that this will work." Aris to
ld her and abruptly let her go. "I will have clothes brought for you of the status you will end up having. You will also be required to be tattooed once we are married and you have my heir."

  Helena swallowed a lump in her throat, still reeling from the shock of his kiss. She was terrified, she had no idea what was going on and the fear of being hurt if she made a mistake bordered on traumatizing.

  "Please don't hurt me." Helena squeaked out, before she could stop herself.

  Aris gave her a startled look, "I have no intention of harming you, but I will make my rules clear. You are not to let any other man touch you, and if he tries you fight back and you tell me who he is. I will protect you, you may have come here as a slave, but no one else has the right to touch my property but me."

  "If I become your wife, will I still be a slave?" Helena asked, confused.

  "Yes, you may be my legal wife, but you will always be a slave. You were not born free." Aris told her, giving her a funny look.

  "Do I get a say in this?" Helena asked him.

  Aris shrugged, "I will allow you to make the decision on the first time when we copulate, and I won't force you to have sex with me until you are ready, but the rest, no. You won't have a say. As I said, I will listen to your concerns in private, but you will not make final decisions here. As my wife, I will listen to you, but as the leader of my people you stay silent and show support, if you don't, you will be punished. Am I clear?"

  Helena nodded and watched him turn to walk away; his hand was on the doorknob when he turned back around to look at her for a moment.

  "I will leave you to process all of this, and feel free to look around the room. I will have a tutor brought to teach you to read our language and start your education. My father will want to meet you eventually, but you can't do anything to upset him or I will make you regret it. Understand me?" Aris told Helena, and the look on his face scared her.

  She nodded and sighed a breath of relief when the door shut with an ominous thud.

  Helena glanced over at Cindy who gave her an odd look.

  "I don't even know where to start," Helena said feeling helpless.

  "Well, that's one way to get a prince." Cindy said and then started to laugh.

  "Oh shut up." Helena said and sat on the edge of the bed and buried her face in her hands, feeling like the pounding of her heart was going to cause a heart attack.

  Chapter 5

  Cindy and Helena were both working with the tutor; Aris had decided that Cindy would be Helena's companion and maid, though Helena tried to do most things for herself, feeling guilty that Cindy had been demoted to servant while she'd been picked to become the wife of a royal family member.

  It made no sense to Helena, she still felt like she was having a gigantic misunderstanding, or the worst most awkward fantasy dream she'd ever been subjected to.

  Her growing attraction to Aris made her want to avoid him. He'd kept his promise and hadn't been pressuring her sexually, but the subtle touches on her elbow or her cheek had left her feeling breathless and her desire for him grew every time she was near him.

  He was a nasty bastard sometimes, his words hurt and she didn't know if she wanted to slap him, cry, or yell at him for being so hurtful when she didn't understand something. He never hurt her, or put his hands on her violently, but he pushed her hard to try and learn quickly.

  "I don't understand why you are so anti-being his wife, it sounds like a pretty cushy position, and it just requires sex and keeping your mouth shut." Cindy said when they were finally alone in their quarters. "You get babies, anything else you want or need, and you get to be a princess, and eventually a queen, what is your problem?!"

  Aris had moved them to their own rooms; it had two beds, a sitting room, and a bathing area. The door locked on the outside, but because they hadn't attempted to do anything or escape, for now, it remained unlocked and they had freedom, within reason, to wander through his palace.

  Aris had come close to forcing himself on Helena and she was now slightly scared of him. He'd stopped himself, due to his promising he wouldn't force her, but he had accused her of teasing him, and there would be consequences if she kept doing that.

  She'd been avoiding him ever since. Or trying to avoid him.

  "He scares me." Helena finally admitted.

  "You like him though, I can see it every time you get near him, and your eyes light up." Cindy replied and then propped herself up her elbows. Cindy was having a grand time fooling around with all the soldiers and men in the castle. She was living it up and enjoying the gifts the men gave her for her attention and favors.

  Helena just mostly felt trapped. She didn't ask to be put in this position and she felt like she was going to fail. There was far too much pressure on her shoulders, and her only friend here was Cindy, who thought everything was being handed to her on a silver platter. It's the only thing the two of them disagreed on so far.

  "He expects me to have a baby like the minute we get married." Helena told Cindy.

  "I know, I was there for that first conversation, I know what he expects out of you," Cindy shook her head. "I think you are just being stubborn. Give him a chance."

  "But he's dominating, and he bosses me around, and he's physically aggressive sexually. It scares me." Helena said.

  "That's just because you're a virgin, if you'd seduce him and realize that rough sex can be fun, maybe you'd stop freaking yourself out. There's nothing in his culture or traditions that insist on you being a virgin on your wedding night. The two of you have enough sexual chemistry I can feel it the minute I get around the two of you together, put yourself and him out of each other's misery and just go with it." Cindy said, sounding logical about the situation and spoke slow to Helena as if she lost her intelligence.

  "But he doesn't love me!" Helena insisted. "I don't want to be with someone who doesn't love me. Is it too much to ask to have him show an emotion besides dominating control and lust? I want him to like me a little."

  "Then make him love you, are you really going to sit here sounding pathetic and whiny about the situation when you have power here? He has to marry you, he has to have babies with you, and he gave you permission to be the one to decide when you have sex out of respect for you. So, use it to make him fall in love with you." Cindy said putting her hands up in the air.

  "How do you do that?" Helena said, she'd always assumed falling in love with someone was something that just happened slowly over time, being around Aris was like lighting a forest on fire and watching the flames consume the trees, the damage it caused was unpredictable. She was worried she'd end up being damaged.

  "Well, start by spending more time with him, make him laugh, show him you appreciate him, give him a reason to desire you and want to spend time with you, make him think about you all the time so he becomes obsessed with you, use sex to push whatever emotions he's feeling beyond physical and into emotional. If you avoid him, leave him frustrated constantly and make him feel like he's torturing you every time he's around you, the two of you will never make this work and you'll end up hating each other."

  "I suppose you're right," Helena said, lying back on her bed and staring up at the ceiling. She wished she'd had more worldly experience in her life besides her writing, maybe then she'd know how to navigate a situation that involved sex and emotional entanglements.

  "Of course I'm right." Cindy proclaimed and then yawned, getting sleepy. "I'm going to bed; we can talk about this more later."

  "Sure," Helena said and then shortly after, Cindy started to snore.

  She wished she could take her attitude and be more like Cindy; she was always so positive and cheerful, no matter what got thrown her way. Even with Aris's female cousin had slapped Cindy for looking at her husband, she hadn't let it get to her, though the woman could have demanded a worse punishment.

  Aris had protected Cindy to defend Helena's friend, but had warned both girls that next time, Cindy would be given to his cousin to punish as she saw fit, and Cin
dy was required to stay hidden whenever Aris's cousin and her husband visited now.

  Cindy was doing her best to avoid having any unwanted attention to herself, but her blond hair and bubbly personality drew male attention like honey drew flies.

  Helena put her arms behind her head and felt upset with herself. Aris didn't really deserve her fear, he hadn't done anything to actually harm her, feeling intimidated and scared of him wasn't a good enough reason to try and avoid the situation or him long term. She needed to toughen up and give him a real chance.

  Cindy was right.

  Aris was a strong, handsome man, who had a code of honor that couldn't be broken. He might be imposing, and impossible, but he did what he felt was right, and stood for what he believed in.

  She could admire that, even if she was tired of him bossing her around.

  Chapter 6

  "Helena, stop." Aris told her as he crossed his arms and glared at her.

  "No! You promised me that you would spend time with me today, I've been patient, I've done everything you've asked of me, and now you owe me this." Helena responded, she was mad at him.

  He promised to take her out and have a picnic with her by the lake outside of the palace so they could talk and spend time together with no stress.

  "I would have, but my father is ready to meet you, and having lunch with him will take priority over our picnic." Aris said growling at her.

  Helena walked up to him and poked him directly in the chest. "You knew you had plans with me. You knew he made a promise to me, you could have arranged it to be dinner. Or breakfast tomorrow, there is no reason you couldn't have found a way to keep your promise to me. Or maybe it's that I'm just a lowly slave, so why should my feelings matter at all, hmm?"

  Aris looked like he wanted to strangle her for a moment and then he took a deep breath, refusing to allow emotions get the better of him. "You know my father is sick, I'm not going to put him off any longer. You are ready to spend time getting to know him. He's not scary, my mother was a slave, and I have the utmost respect for slaves. They just play a different role in our society. That's their job."