Awaken: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance Read online

  AWAKEN

  JUNO WELLS

  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  About the Book

  Excerpt

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Other Stories You Might Like

  Copyright © 2015, Juno Wells

  All rights reserved.

  This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locations is purely coincidental. The characters are all productions of the author’s imagination.

  Please note that this work is intended only for adults over the age of 18 and all characters represented as 18 or over.

  About the Book

  In Josie's family, 'pulling a Josie' meant becoming a major screw up. Yep. She was the idiot who dropped out of law school to clean other people's houses.

  Still, Josie doesn't believe herself a failure. She lives a life of simplicity and sameness with her cat.

  Then Torgan shows up, his skin a luminescent silver, a being out of this world.

  He seeks a purpose on Earth. He seeks a guide.

  But what he wants most of all is to make Josie his.

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  Excerpt

  "Why did you come to Earth," Josie asked him the next day. Leaning against the apartment balcony's rails, they watched the cars and people below in the darkening evening light. He remained quiet for some time. Then he stood straight, moving closer. Josie's breathing and heart rate quickened at his proximity. He had the face and body of a man who featured regularly in her explicit fantasies. Her brain said he was alien. Her body said he was a man.

  "What is a life without purpose, human?"

  She licked her bottom lip. "Hollow?"

  "Useless." Low and smooth, his voice carried a sensuality in contrast to his words. "Unfit for existence."

  "That's harsh."

  "Yes, but it is true. More so for a being like me. I and many of my kind once served as agents for another's purpose. They imprisoned me when I no longer valued their abhorrent ideals, and slaughtered the rest of my kind when they formed a reprisal."

  Josie raised a hand to her mouth, her eyes wide. "That's horrible."

  "Time innumerable passed until I acquired freedom from stasis. I awoke to nothingness. My kind and our rulers who used us to conquer and destroy planets were gone." His stare held a captivating intensity, a mixture of deep pain and anger from which Josie could not look away. "I came to Earth, human, because when my rulers tasked me to destroy it, I condemned myself to prison and my brothers and sisters to death instead. I came to Earth to find purpose in the consequence of my sacrifice."

  Chapter One

  OUT OF ORDER. USE STIARS.

  One peeling strip of tape held the misspelled sign to the closed elevator doors. By tomorrow, the sign would be facedown on the floor with a footprint stomped on its back. By tomorrow, the elevator would still not be fixed. The security guard lounging in one of the lobby chairs with a newspaper draped across his knees shrugged.

  Josie shook her head. Incompetence at its finest, she thought. Somehow, her feet carried her up the five flights of stairs to her apartment. Each step reminded Josie of her poor choice of shoes and why, no matter how cute ballet flats looked with an outfit, sneakers were preferable. After all, house cleaning was not a job that required cute. It demanded being on her feet for hours, selling her body and time to clients like a whore but with less pay. Josie yearned for a loving massage, but she lived alone. Who would give her one? Not Sir Glauber, for sure. As soon as Josie opened her apartment door, he approached her with an accusatory look on his orange, furry face.

  Oh, fuck. She forgot to feed him before she left for work.

  "Sorry, Sir."

  He marched off to his empty bowl, his tail held high. He sat and regarded her, his gaze arrogantly expectant. As Josie scoured the cupboards and the fridge for cat food, she wondered if Sir Glauber was human in a past life. Perhaps he was a king or somebody accustomed to servants. She was the human, the master in this relationship, yet Josie often felt like the slave.

  The slave who ran out of food to feed her master.

  Josie momentarily considered ignoring Sir Glauber's starvation in favour of her bed but her heart and Sir Glauber's glare dissuaded her. Keys and debit card in hand, Josie left the apartment with her last vestiges of energy. Outside, winter warned her of its impending arrival as she headed toward the nearby convenience store. Many of the once green tree leaves were burgundy but mostly camouflaged in the dark shadows of the night. The breeze curled around her body, lifted her hair, and pressed against the exposed parts of her skin. She shivered, pushing her hands into her hoodie's pockets to protect them.

  Of all the seasons, Josie disliked winter the most. Something about the cold inspired a special kind of misery and unfriendliness in people. She favoured the spring weather and its symbolism. Not as chilly as winter, yet not as scorching as summer. New life. New hope. If she were to ever get married, she'd want a spring wedding. If she were to ever have a baby, she'd want it born in the spring.

  But life didn't let a person pick and choose their fate. Even if it did, Josie would wallow in uncertainty. Years later, she still wondered if dropping out of school in favour of her passion for art or dumping that cheating bastard, Greg, to protect her self-respect were all good choices.

  "Five twenty five," said the convenience store clerk, his voice as devoid of emotion as his store was of customers. Josie resisted the urge to squawk at the high cost for two measly cans of cat food, paid, and went on her way.

  Her footsteps echoed louder on her journey home, the lights barely illuminating the darker areas. The gang signs in graffiti on the walls and the distant wailing of a police siren reminded Josie of her neighbourhood's less-than-savoury status. Though she'd lived in the area incident-free for nearly two years, Josie regretted leaving the safety of her apartment so late at night. How would she protect herself if the need arose? Her body ached and the only item fit to defend her was a bag of canned cat food.

  The things I do for love of a damn cat, she thought.

  THUMP!

  Josie's heart lifted and her body shook involuntarily. She spun around and her mouth opened on a soft, gasp-scream mix.

  Something tall and silver…in the shape of a man.

  A silver man. Standing there, facing her.

  The light of the street lamp just behind him—it—glistened on its reflective skin. It was taller than an average man, its shoulders broad and powerful. Perhaps Josie would have catalogued more, but her common sense returned along with her mobility. She ran.

  She did not get far. A steel-like grip encircled her arm and hauled her backwards. The pitch of Josie's scream echoed in the quiet of the night. She fought against the hold, twisting and tugging, the cans of cat food rattling against each other noisily in the plastic bag. The silver creature shook her, shocking her into stillness and Josie stared up into its face. Its skin a mirror, it reflected the depth of terror in her widened brown eyes.

  "Please don't hurt me!" she begged, her body shaking. Even its eyes were silver too. It regarded her silently, its features stoic. What was this? "Please…please…"

  Tears slid down Josie's cheeks and after a short moment, the creature let her go. She did not wait and she did not ask why. Given a chance to run, Josie took it and did not look back.

  Something woke her
and Josie didn't know what until she heard it: Sir Glauber's hissing with an occasional growl thrown in. She peeled the magazine from her face and sat up. Yawning, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes as her un-caffeinated brain struggled to make sense of why she slept on the living room floor and Sir Glauber's uncharacteristic vocalization.

  Also, why was her apartment door on the ground? And why was the silver man standing against the wall that separated her living room from the kitchen?

  Josie's heart slowed then powered into overdrive. Scrambling to her feet, she let out an expletive when she banged her leg against the edge of her coffee table. Her heart racing, her leg smarting, she scanned the room for a weapon. The best she could do was her TV remote.

  She held the TV remote high, ready to chuck it at the silver man's head if push came to shove.

  "How the hell did you get in here?"

  To Josie, Sir Glauber's following hiss and growl seemed to underscore her question.

  "If you don't leave right now, I'm calling the cops!" Josie glared at it, breathing fast. Panic and fear made her body tremble, worse yet when she remembered her mobile phone was in her bag and her bag was in her bedroom and getting to her bedroom meant getting closer to…it. Silver man.

  But it didn't matter. As long as she got to her phone, everything would work itself out. She would place an emergency call as quickly as possible and tell them…a weird, mirror-like being occupied her apartment. OK. Maybe 'an intruder' would be better and less likely misconstrued as a prank call.

  Josie raised her hand higher to chuck the remote when the silver man lifted its hands, palms facing her. For some reason, she did as it asked, her hand paused mid-air. There were five fingers on each of its hands and Josie was uncertain whether this fact made the situation stranger. Her eyes noted the human traits and her brain wanted to believe it was human, but some part Josie knew silver man was not a native of Earth.

  "What do you want?" she demanded, but as always, it remained mute. It turned one hand over so its palm faced the ceiling and Josie's lips parted slightly as her apartment door became animate, rising from the floor to reattach itself to its hinges.

  The sound of her heart beat loud and strong in her ears as she and the silver man stared at each other. The remote slipped from her hands and Josie's feet moved on their own accord. She ran past him into her bedroom, diving for her mobile phone.

  "What's your emergency?" asked the emergency operator.

  "There's an intruder in my apartment!"

  "Please describe the intruder, ma'am."

  "It—he's silver!" Breathing fast, she fought to find the appropriate words. Her body tense, her skin too hot, her hands clammy, she paced the room. "He's almost seven feet tall, I think. And he's…he's…"

  Sir Glauber growled louder and Josie rushed out of her bedroom to see if he was in danger. The silver man occupied her living room, holding the magazine that was stuck to her face when she awoke. She remembered the headline of the magazine. She'd stared at the cover image too often to count. RYAN FLINT - #1 Hottest Hunk of the Year! The cover image featured Ryan Flint, famous movie star and Josie's celebrity crush. Resplendent in a fitted, charcoal suit, Ryan's sharp, grey eyes, dark hair and firm lips were the sexy filling of many of Josie's night dreams and sexual fantasies.

  "Ma'am?" prompted the operator. "Please describe the intruder."

  "He's…uh…he's…"

  The silver man pressed a palm to the cover of the magazine. The transformation began at his head. Smooth, bald silver became thick, dark hair. Purely silver eyes attained a white sclera. Silver skin changed into tanned human flesh. Sir Glauber stopped growling. Josie stopped breathing. Then she was breathing too fast.

  Ryan Flint stood naked in her living room. No. Someone—something that looked exactly like Ryan Flint stood naked in her living room.

  "Ma'am, are you OK? Are you hurt? Ma'am!"

  Josie's mobile phone clattered to the floor. Her body followed soon after.

  Chapter Two

  THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

  "Police. Open up!"

  Josie groaned. Her head hurt and the pounding on her door did not improve the pain. She turned her head and Sir Glauber watched her through half-closed eyes, perched on her pillow, his front paws tucked under his breast. She sat up and a naked Ryan Flint also watched her from her bedroom armchair.

  Oh. Right. Silver man.

  She squelched her surprise and strode to her apartment door. The door seemed as whole as if it weren't facedown on the ground earlier.

  "Yes?" she smiled up at the two police officers. Both tall and jowly, one narrowed his eyes at her while the other peered over her shoulder.

  "Ma'am, our emergency operators received a call about an intruder."

  Josie rubbed her arm. "R-really? Maybe from a different apartment—"

  "The caller provided this address." The officer edged closer. "Are you in distress, ma'am?"

  "No, I'm fine." She laughed, the sound tinny and dry. "It must have been a mistake."

  "Holy shit," said the other officer, still peering over her shoulder. Josie followed his gaze, alarmed at the sight of Silver man cum Ryan Flint standing in the nude a short distance behind her.

  Facing the police officers again, Josie stretched her lips in a wide, fake grin. She spoke fast as she pushed the door closed.

  "As you can see, I'm all good. No emergencies here! Thanks for stopping by."

  She slammed the door shut in the police officers' faces, her heart racing. Their footsteps receded but their words still carried.

  "Did you see that?"

  "Yeah, fucking prankster bitch. What a waste of time."

  "No, no, the guy behind her. It was Ryan Flint! Y'know? From Guns and Explosions…"

  Josie leaned back against the door, relief easing the tension in her body. Folding one arm beneath her breasts, she propped the other on it and rubbed her forehead. Well, that was dangerous. She had lied to the police. They had shown up to help and she had slammed the door in their faces. What was she to do now? How was she going to handle the alien—yes, alien, because what else could he be?—camping out in her apartment?

  Her face grew hot at the sight of the defined flesh of his abdomen, hotter still when her gaze dipped beyond his navel and found quite a satisfying view between his powerful legs. Fucking fuck. How was this possible? Countless times she'd fantasized about Ryan Flint showing up in person, ready to ravish her and make her his. Now here he stood, half of her fantasy made true.

  Well, not the real Ryan Flint. Someone that looked like him.

  She approached him, her steps cautious. She no longer believed he intended to hurt her. His strength far exceeded hers and his abilities out of this world. He could kill her in an instant if he wanted. When she fainted in the living room, he could have used the opportunity to do evil things to her unconscious body. Instead she'd awoken safe in her bed.

  "Who are you?" she asked, her tone soft and curious.

  He remained mute, his grey eyes holding her gaze captive. When he stepped closer, Josie fought the urge to shrink back. She trembled when his hands caressed her face, simultaneously thrilled and terrified by his touch. His fingers moved to her forehead, his flesh the exact warmth and texture as a human's skin.

  "What—" She lost ability to speak when his fingers pressed against her temples. Her vision darkened to nothingness yet Josie felt fully conscious. Random letters and words bloomed and dimmed rapidly in the quiet emptiness of her mind and there was an acute sense of another consciousness eavesdropping on hers. Her mind fought against the invasion but the foreign awareness proved stronger.

  Her vision returned abruptly, her headache intensified tenfold. Wincing, Josie pulled away from him as she pressed a palm to her forehead.

  "What did you just do to me?" She made a sound of irritation. "Oh, right. You can't talk."

  "I can," he said, and Josie stared at him agog. "By touching you I have learnt your language."

  "Y-you did?"
<
br />   "Yes."

  Josie marvelled at him. Was there anything this man couldn't do?

  "What are you?" she asked in awe.

  "I am Torgan, a Davalon warrior." His face grew sombre, though an unmistakable hint of fury burned in his eyes. "I am the last of my kind."

  She searched for something for him to wear. Mostly for her peace of mind but also to protect silver man's—no, Torgan's—sense of decency. Albeit Torgan seemed unconcerned by the nebulous idea of 'social propriety' when she told him why humans preferred themselves and those around them to be clothed.

  He pointed at Sir Glauber licking the fur near his privates a bit too ardently.

  "Your companion does not appear bound by these restrictions."

  She shrugged. "That's because he's a cat. His fur is his clothes. But some people put human clothes on them too."

  "Clothing impedes function," he said in condescending tones.

  Your lack of clothing impedes my brain function, she thought. Her last sexual encounter was over a year ago when she'd slept with a client. 'Don't mix business with pleasure'. Easier said than done. Fresh-faced and eager, Josie sought only to please and maintain him as a client at the time. After the mediocre lay, regret and shame never tasted so bitter.

  Nevertheless, quite some time had passed since she was intimate with someone, and Torgan's nakedness reminded her body of this fact. Sliding her closet door shut after a fruitless search for something to fit his tall, muscular frame, she set her hands on her hips with a huff.

  She would have to buy him clothes. Perhaps take the twenty minute walk to the mall. She would have to leave him alone in her apartment for a lengthy space of time. This did not sit well with Josie but no other alternative made itself available.