Abducted by the Star Prince: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Lords of Astria) Read online

  I hope to God I didn’t damage that fucking solar array.

  Her last breath escaped her lips, fogging the visor of her mask. As the oxygen left her body, turning her blood toxic, a white light appeared before her, guiding her forward. Strong arms took her, holding her. She wondered if this was what heaven was like. Gripped in powerful, healing arms... the arms that would carry her to the afterlife.

  Everyone probably sees something different, she thought. I’m only feeling this because I haven’t been touched by a man in over a year. She chuckled.

  It was her last coherent thought before everything went dark, and she was gone.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Kester

  The woman was wearing some kind of suit. Well, at least he thought it was a woman. She wore her hair back in a strange style, presenting her face in all of its odd planes and angles. He ripped the mask away, revealing her face. It was soft, like many of the females of Astria. But her skin was as pale as the surface of Gemna’s moons, her lips as red as the surface of the Lanids. And her hair -- it was long. He reached out and touched it. Soft as clouds.

  Gently, Kester laid the woman down on the hard bed of his ship. Her body was light, so much lighter than those of the Astrian women he had brought back to his ship. He could hold her still and perform the healing, but the sensation of having her in his arms was disconcerting. He laid her down gently, pulling away the unnecessarily bulky suit and revealing her workman’s clothes below. He stepped back in shock. The woman was tiny. He didn’t know much about Terran women -- was this even a Terran woman at all? -- but he thought she might even be small for a female of the blue planet swirling below them. He brought his fingers to the woman’s neck, checking her pulse. A weak pulse but still there. He grabbed a mask from the shelf, gently putting it onto her face and infusing her with the oxygen she so desperately needed.

  Silly Terrans and their clunky oxygen chambers. The tiny mask clicked over her face, pulling oxygen from the surrounding air in the ship and feeding it into the woman’s system. Kester found himself watching with more attention than necessary, observing her lips turn a brighter, almost bloody red. That moon-pale skin regaining pink color around the cheeks. Her tiny body flushing beautifully red. Perhaps there was something to this idea... at least for other males of the Astrian Federation. He pressed his fingers to her neck again, feeling her pulse become stronger under his touch.

  “Good, good, little woman. We’ll get you back to that ridiculous sky home shortly.” Kester would find some excuse not to take a Terran woman back to Delma. He looked down at the weak woman’s body and picked up her arm, which was swollen and bruised. He closed his eyes, focusing on the source of the swelling and the imperfections in her human structure. A vision came to him -- a hairline fracture in the ulna, a solid break of the radius, ripped tendons along her wrist, and massive bleeding inside, pooling beneath the skin. He removed a medical pen from the wall, rubbing it lightly over her skin. It wasn’t as advanced as the medicine available -- even on Delma -- but it would have to do for now. The pen could stop the bleeding and begin the repair of the tendons and bones. It would take days to return to Astria, but there she would be healed in a matter of minutes. He held her arm again, envisioning the healing taking place inside of her. It was a brief solution, but she would be better off to return to his home galaxy and retrieve proper treatment in a healing chamber. With the medicine pen, he made one last swipe, immobilizing the break for now.

  The tiny female will recover. He breathed a sigh of relief.

  The physiology of these humanoid creatures was very similar to that of the humanoid inhabitants of Astria, but they were so much more delicate. There had been interbreeding and abductions through the ages, though Kester had never imagined himself as the type of man who would take a wretched, backwater Terran woman away from her home. He sighed. In fact, he knew he couldn’t take an unwilling woman. He could have any female in Astria. Why take an Terran mate? They weren’t even able to travel between star systems. It would be like bedding a farm peasant of two thousand years ago. He held her arm in his hands, rubbing his fingertips over it and marveling at the smoothness of her skin. He wondered absently what that skin would feel like against his lips, what that tiny body of hers would feel like wrapped around him. He wondered if her channel was tighter than the larger women of his home planet, if it would feel as hot against his cock. He groaned slightly and bent to kiss her, resting his lips lightly against her neck, testing his tongue against the smooth, elegant line of her collarbone. The taste of her... the smell of her... it was something entirely different than any female he’d touched before. He closed his eyes, taking in her clean, bright scent. The vision flickered in his mind’s eye... the tiny human who lived in space taking his shaft in that tiny, tight mouth, serving him with her hot, tight pussy. Well, the feeling of it didn’t seem too bad in his thoughts. Maybe if he could impregnate an Terran woman, that would be good enough for his father. It would establish the Gemnian presence on Terra, and he could leave the weakling woman to care for her child, returning her to her home planet while Kester was free to roam the Astrian colonies. He darted his tongue out to taste her skin again. The petite woman shifted beneath him, arching her back instinctively. He pulled out to watch her body. That arched back... a perfect curve. The skin beneath the mask pink and bursting with health. He put a hand to her belly, closing his eyes and feeling the fertility there. The image of her womb came to his mind. It was beautiful and tight in there... she had never borne a child, and she’d had very few sexual partners. Even though she was a bit past her peak fertility, she’d be able to conceive quickly with Astrian seed. Perhaps even twins. He could sense that two eggs were ready to release in the next two days. In spite of himself, he smiled.

  Suddenly, the woman sat up, pushing hard against his hand. She tried to tear at it, shunning his touch, but he kept his hand on her. If she thrashed too much, she would undo the medical work. She tried to rip the oxygen mask away, her voice coming out in animalistic screams.

  Poor, weak Terran. She has no idea what she’s doing. If she breaks out of her oxygen mask, she’ll damage her skin and undo what healing she’s accomplished so far. He held her down, gently but firmly. The little human could bear to be without her oxygen mask now, but he wouldn’t have her ripping it off of her face. The woman ripped at her face, clawing at the slim metal mask. With his free hand, he reached up and pressed the mask on its side. It drew away, coming off in Kester’s hands. The woman glared at him fiercely. Her eyes were a color he had never seen before -- a deep green with blue at each of the centers. Most of the people of Gemna and Delma were golden in tone -- both in hair and in eyes. This woman was golden of hair, but it was so light that it veered toward white instead. And her eyes... He kept his hand on her tiny body, holding her down as he put the mask back on the shelf. Before he could explain himself, she began babbling in a language he had never heard before. It was disturbing... the sound of it harsh and foreboding to his ears. He lifted away, trying to sign with his hands for her to be quiet until he found the language chips.

  With a mighty roar, the tiny woman leaped onto him, knocking him down in the low gravity of his ship. She ran toward the captains chair, stopping for a long moment as she looked out of the window. Behind them was the ship she’d come from. She fell to her knees, clasping a hand to her chest. Kester watched her calmly, keeping his eyes on her. Right now, she was trying to process what had happened. For now, she was like a wild animal, cornered. Perhaps even dangerous. Even if she couldn’t physically overpower him, she could hurt herself. Kester felt a surge of protection, watching her little body... and those big green eyes. She looked back at him, her face questioning. She spoke again, her language a harsh garble. He held up his hands in what he hoped was a peaceful gesture, not breaking eye contact with her as he stepped back to the ship’s shelves and retrieved two ear chips that would make them able to understand each other’s languages. He was glad the old ships came equipped wit
h them. He’d never have thought to bring them himself. He would never have wanted to converse with a Terran woman. He retrieved the chip and fit it into his ear, trying to gesture to her that it would help them talk to one another. She backed away, falling into the captains’ chair. He approached her again, trying to calm her. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, projecting an image deep into her mind. If he couldn’t speak to her, perhaps her weak brain would be able to pick up his signals. It was his only chance of getting her to accept anything from him.

  Nadia

  The space station expanded out behind them, and the ship blasted forward, away from Earth and heading out towards Mars. Well, not technically towards Mars. If she wasn’t mistaken, the ship was headed out to the asteroid belt. For what reason? And what the hell was this ship? An illusion? Something she’d dreamed in her state of near death? Or was it taking her to heaven... a spaceship guided by the tallest, sexiest man she’d ever seen. His muscles were perfectly visible beneath his thin shirt… each tiny detail showing off how cut he was.

  “Where the hell are we? And why can I still see the space station? Am I actually dead?” She started to cry and hung her head low. The man didn’t seem... well he didn’t seem quite like other humans. She’d bank on the spaceship trip to heaven if everything around her didn’t feel so real. The ship itself was like nothing she’d ever seen before. The controls weren’t visible, but she was betting they might be hidden beneath the surface of the smooth black expanse that sat under the large window of the ship. So foreign... so alien. And the man, shirtless, taller and more muscular than any man she’d seen in years. Perhaps ever. There was something strange about his proportions, as if his body was adapted to live in much lower gravity. But it couldn’t be. “Who... who are you?” She looked at him again, and he stepped forward trying to show her a tiny chip that he’d slipped in his ear. She shrunk back and fell over one of the sleek chairs that faced the window, a searing pain shooting through her arm. Nadia tried to move the arm, to shake it out, but it was immobile, pressed against her body as if it were in a sling.

  She glanced back at him, her face hopeless and sad. He didn’t seem to understand the words she was saying. She closed her eyes and wept again, thinking back to the accident at the ISS. It was his ship that had done this. It was he who had ripped her away. Suddenly, a vision seemed to intrude in her mind. In her mind’s eye, she saw the man put the chip in his ear, and he spoke. In the vision, he gave the chip to her, and she put it in her ear. She was able to understand his words. She put her hands to her temples, shaking away the images. A sick, twisting feeling hit her gut. This was technology that was far beyond what humans were capable of. And that meant... she shook the words away. It couldn’t be. It wasn’t possible. Tentatively, she reached out her hand and gestured for the tall man to give her the chip. She had a heady feeling, swaying back and forth as she stood. He placed the chip in her hand and immediately stepped back again, giving her a wide berth.

  Smart, she thought. He at least wants me to think he’s not a threat. But is he? She glanced over his body, wondering at his muscles. He was sleek, but obviously very strong... perfectly built, but perfectly built for what? She shook off the feeling she’d had before... that he was built for low gravity... and slipped the thing into her ear. Nadia gasped. The thing seemed to forge with her skin, expanding over her ear canal and blocking out her own ear drum. A wave of nausea hit her again. Was it worse that the man had sent her an image of what the tiny chip would do... or that she had blindly accepted it, believing him instantly? It could be monitoring her brain for all she knew. Still, she spoke, still huddled against the captain’s chair.

  “Who are you? Where am I?” Her voice trembled, and he stepped closer. She cowered against the chair, wondering if this chip did indeed do what he’d shown her. Or if it was a brain-monitoring device... it was too gruesome to consider.

  “I’m Prince Kester of Delma and the Lanids, Lord of Astria and heir apparent to the Lanid Empire.”

  “What in God’s name...” She closed her eyes, her brain almost going blank and tipping into darkness again. Bile rose in her throat. There had never been any contact with alien life. There had never been any response from the radio satellites on Earth or rotating around the planet. Trips to Mars had turned up nothing but dust, and the rumors of alien contact on Earth were all unfounded. Weren’t they?

  “Stay calm, little human. I know this is a lot to take in. I’m not taking you for my mate... but I am taking you to Astria for medical treatment.”

  “Your mate? No, no no,” she muttered. “This can’t be real. I can’t be trapped on... what the ever fucking hell... on an alien spaceship. And he’s taking me as his mate. His mate.” She backed up further, cramming her body behind the chair to put distance between herself and the man. She looked at him, her eyes roaming over his body, considering him.

  What the fuck? she thought, her mouth going completely dry. There was a longing, a draw to him, reaching out from the core of her being. She shook her head as if to ward him off, to make him disappear from her consciousness.

  “I said I wasn’t going to take you as a mate. You’re not the kind of woman a prince takes for a mate, and besides, I never wanted a Terran anyway. It was my father’s idea. You humans are so sensitive. I will get you healed and get you back to that clunky metal house that orbits your silly blue planet.”

  “What’s wrong with me as a mate?” Nadia stood shakily, her voice angry. She sat back in the chair. “There are plenty of men who would want to mate with me. I’m an astronaut.” What was she saying? Why was she defending herself to this man? And what in the hell did he mean about taking a mate in the first place?

  “Now you want to mate with me?” Prince Kester of the Lanids chuckled, a melodious sound, sweet and intoxicating to Nadia’s ears. “I’ve had many Astrian women but none as small as you, Terran. I’d try it, but it would leave you quite sore... and likely pregnant. You are due to ovulate soon.”

  “How...” Nadia put her hand to her belly, centered over her womb. “I take birth control pills. I can’t... That’s not... how in the hell would you know that anyway? Fuck me, I can’t be ovulating.” The tall man looked at her quizzically.

  “You want me to... fuck you? From the chip that sounds like a crass word for mating. You keep bringing it up, so perhaps I should. I could give you a sedative that would render you able to take my size.” He stepped forward, a grin on his face. Was he joking with her?

  “No, God no. It’s just... an expression. And I’m not... ovulating. And furthermore, I’m not going to your planet for medical treatment.”

  “Galaxy,” he corrected. “Astria is a galaxy. I’m from the dwarf planet Delma, of the Gemnian race. My father is King of the Lanids. I’d be taking you to the first planet with adequate medical facilities.” He stepped closer to her again. Nadia stepped backward and sat down in the chair, her head pulsing.

  “I’d be able to get medical treatment on the space station.”

  “The space... station? You mean the clunky metal house? That bizarre thing. There’s no doctor who could adequately treat you.” He was right. There were some astronauts with basic medical knowledge, but for the kind of care she needed, she would need to go back to Earth early.

  “How do you know? There could be a whole load of doctors.” The alien man sighed. Nadia thought she could see his muscles rippling.

  “I scanned the lifeforms on this ‘space station’ and found that none of them are trained in the medical profession. Besides, the medicine in Astria is far advanced from Terran medicine. You could be healed in a matter of minutes.”

  “Okay. Well, I still don’t know if you’re abducting me or taking me somewhere I can’t escape from. If you’re going to eat me or what.”

  “Eat you? For food?” Kester laughed out loud. “Never. Though I would be tempted to taste you if there’s any of this ‘fucking’ you’re talking about.” He smiled again, broad and genuine. And somehow... tempting
to Nadia’s brain. She felt herself grow wet at the thought of the alien’s tongue on her. How long had it been since she’d felt the touch of another human’s body? A year. Perhaps over a year. Nadia gulped. It was tempting to go see another planet... another whole galaxy.

  “How... how long would it take to get there? You say this is another galaxy. Are you sure of what that actually means? Don’t you mean another solar system?”