Alien Fascination (The Shadow Zone Brotherhood Book 3) Read online

  I’d wondered when he would get around to the real reason he sought me out, alone. “She’s interesting.”

  “And have you shown her the skeleton in your closet.”

  “The one I have right now is from last night. There’s a lot more than skeleton to it.”

  Drift watches me, waiting for a real answer.

  “Is that why you put her with me? Because you want her to work on them for us?” I don’t tell him she’s already decided to do it on her own. “I thought it was because I’m the one person in the caldera who has no chance of making her stay.”

  “I put her with you, because I knew she’d be safe. Out of everyone, I trust you the most, Trench. Don’t forget that.” He yanks the rod out and I stab the new one back into the ground, holding it steady as Drift takes the heater away and the ice starts to refreeze around it. “It’s just pure luck that you’re the only one of us who can stomach taking one of the monsters home to figure out what the hell is going on. And if she has any insights…. We both know we can use all the help we can get.”

  “We were in the cold storage when this alarm tripped. She wants to help.”

  Drift doesn’t turn quick enough to hide his smile. “I thought she might.”

  “What are you scheming?”

  “Kimba came home from the council last night and let me know they’re trying new angles.”

  Drift’s bondmate was one of the four people standing in the way of the group who wants to take care of the problem we presently held at bay by bombing the creatures out of existence.

  “If we know more about them, they’ll have a better case against the bomb.”

  I consider that, kicking more ice around the sensor. “I’ll ask her to share her notes.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Is she settling in well?”

  I press the release that sends the anchors shooting from the sensor’s base to the icy ground on all sides. “How the hell should I know.”

  “Fair.” Drift goes back to his bike. “Just remember, if you need anything, let us know. I’m sure Laurel will be stopping by sometime soon, but I figured I’d offer for Kimba and myself as well.”

  His bike roars to life and he’s gone before I can ask why Laurel would care.

  Turning off the heater, I pack more snow around the base and wait another ten minutes to be sure the sensor isn’t going anywhere.

  The drive back feels like it takes longer, but when I pull into the garage, it’s been less than two hours.

  Jessica is spread out on the floor in front of the windows and the daylight spilling through them turns her sweater near-to see-through. I can see the outline of her just as well as I could this morning when she was wearing next to nothing.

  She’s moving in stretching flows that Richter once described. Laurel does yoga too.

  Jessica is temptation personified. And Drift may be right. I might be the only one of us—that’s unbonded—who’ll be able to keep his hands to himself. And it’s going to be hard enough for me….

  “You’re back!” She stands as if unfolding and skips back across the floor to me. “I wasn’t sure how long you were going to be.”

  I try not to enjoy how excited she sounds to see me. “It was just broken. Replacing it wasn’t too difficult.”

  “Good. I don’t like the idea of you getting chomped.”

  I almost tell her she didn’t have anything to worry about, but…. Never say never.

  Taking off my jacket, I decide a subject change is best. “Tell me your question.”

  She hesitates, biting her tongue. “You know that part of the reason I’m here is because the Agency lobbied for it, right?”

  “I think Drift mentioned it when he told me you were coming.”

  “Well, part of the stipulation—part of my pitch, actually—was that a larger part of my research would be on reproduction. Women like to know what they’re getting into, and the porn available on Earth feels a little… unrealistic.”

  “Watched much of that?”

  “Enough to get a decent idea of what you sian men think Earth women find kinky.”

  “Do you?” I swallow, the sound, too loud in my throat. “Find it kinky?”

  “I’m not into the really weird stuff they show… but Alien sex is hot.”

  I hate what I’m about to suggest, but…. “There’s a club in town, called Margot’s. The women who work there are all bonded, so sleeping with them doesn’t risk bonding—you only get one.”

  She smiles, chuckling to herself. “Some people would think that’s a blessing.”

  “I certainly can’t imagine needing more.”

  “How many times have you gone?”

  “Three. Before I decided it was better to help myself when I need that particular release.” When I decided it didn’t matter what I preferred in a woman, because I was ever going to ask for one again.

  “Did you like it?”

  “Of course.” The question seems almost absurd.

  She shrugs and makes some notes. “Some people don’t.”

  “We can go to Margot’s in a few days, see if you might want to consider options there.”

  She looks at me, studying me, but she doesn’t say no.

  She more or less ignores the offer. “Will you be okay with me doing some… tests?”

  I look at the tablet she hands me. There’s nothing that seems overly invasive.

  “I’m at your disposal.” I have no idea whether that is going to come back to haunt me.

  “Would you be more comfortable doing this in your room, rather than out in the open?”

  “It doesn’t really matter to me, but I have to put this away anyway.” I pull at the fabric covering my chest.

  “Lead the way.”

  When I cross the threshold, I go immediately to the closet, but Jessica doesn’t follow me in. Not right away. She’s surveying the room with a scowl. “This isn’t your room, is it? You moved into this one when Drift told you you were having a house guest.”

  “It’s only a month.”

  She doesn’t look particularly pleased with that answer.

  I strip off the suit and hang it back with the others. I didn’t wear it long enough to toss in the laundry. And when I pull off the very last of my clothing, I turn to her.

  As her eyes travel down me and her brows raise, I wonder if I should feel self-conscious…. I’ve been poked and prodded too many times to worry about what she might see when she looks at me.

  Her gaze stops and she swallows, turning back to her tablet.

  “Would you say you’re about average?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve never… checked myself against others. This might be an instance where you should see about enlisting some of Margot’s patrons.”

  Her mouth screws to the side, like she wants to say no, but she doesn’t. She just keeps tapping away at her screen.

  She holds up a soft measuring tape and purses her lips. “Would you do the honors?”

  It’s not something I’d ever expected to have to do, but….

  I give her the measurement.

  “I know that you’re a little like human males when it comes to the growing versus showing thing. Is this the smallest it gets?”

  “No.” I’ve promised her honesty. “I’m not sure you’re going to get to see it at its smallest. Though I could try stepping out into the garage naked for you.”

  “Do you have to be cold?” She’s making notes, not looking at me.

  Again, honesty wins. “Being around you arouses me.”

  She looks up at me, eyes dilated, lips parted, and then her gaze travels back down my body. “Oh.”

  And she writes that down too.

  “It gets bigger.”

  Her eyes fly back to mine, and I manage to not chuckle.

  Clearing her throat, she stands and switches off the tablet. “I think that’s enough for right now.”

  “I’m sorry if that made you uncomfortable. I’m trying to be completely
honest. I don’t want to skew your data.”

  “That is precisely the sort of thing I need to know. So, thank you.” She tosses my wrap back to me. “But you can put this back on now.”

  I secure the wrap and wait.

  “Later,” she says, still typing on her tablet. “I’ll need to know the size difference. Will that make you uncomfortable.”

  Maybe this was the other reason Drift chose me. Of all of us… I might be the one who’s moved past the worst of the trauma of being a lab rat.

  Nothing she could do to me would be worse than what he did.

  “I doubt you’ll find a way to make me uncomfortable before you leave.”

  “I’ll try not to look for one.”

  She’s standing just a little too close. Her eyes are just a little too wide...

  I may have to amend that statement to specify which kind of uncomfortable.

  JESSICA

  He may have put the wrap on, but I’m very aware of how easily that would come off.

  It’s ridiculous. Nothing about that interaction should have left me feeling… this out of sorts. Even his admission should have been… nothing to me.

  But it’s sparked more questions. Led my mind down instant fantasy paths it has no business taking.

  Because the way I want to touch him has nothing to do with science, and everything to do with the dark coiling desire in my belly.

  “Would you be okay to spend tomorrow morning out in the…. Do you call it something special?”

  “No. It’s just a cold room.”

  “Let’s rename it the lab then. Does that work for you?”

  “Yes, and I would be happy to spend the morning in the lab with you.”

  The way he says it makes me wonder….

  “What do you do for fun?”

  He looks at me askance, a faint smile on his lips, and I realize I probably said that a bit too sharply. It was too obvious I was trying to change the subject in my own thoughts.

  “Video games? Movies? Books?”

  “Yes, and I bake.”

  I stare at him just a little while longer than I need to. “I’m not going to make you wait on me hand and foot.”

  Though I am incredibly curious as to what he’d make.

  Sitting on the couch, I tuck my legs under me as he turns on a movie in their language. A language I don’t understand by ear.

  “Do you have a doctor besides the machine down there?”

  “No. Normal people do, but… doctors tend to get weird about us.”

  “How long can you be out in the snow without damage?”

  “I’ve gotten stuck out there for six hours before and had no ill effects. The suits help. My brother has some… special qualities. I’m pretty sure he’s been on patrol for eighteen hours before. Not that he was supposed to do it.”

  I might not know what they’re saying, but the movie sucks me in, and I don’t notice I’ve fallen asleep until I wake up. In my bed.

  The moon is out, casting a faint brightness on the snow, and I force myself out of bed changing out of my clothes, and wondering how tomorrow is going to go.

  TRENCH

  I hear Jessica get up and I listen to her move around upstairs for a minute before I start to make coffee and dig through the fridge.

  By the time I have breakfast on the table, she’s making her way down the stairs. She goes straight to the chair she sat in yesterday.

  “Thanks for taking me up last night and…” she waved her hand over her head. “The other stuff. Or, rather, not the other stuff.”

  “I figured you needed the sleep more than you needed me to wake you up so you could change.” And I wasn’t going to do it myself. I know my… being comfortable with nudity isn’t necessarily common.

  Her smile is tight and as she looks down at her food. It turns into a small scowl.

  “Do you want me to make you something else?”

  “No, but I believe I mentioned last night that I’m not here to be waited on.”

  “You’re my guest.”

  “Still… I’ll make lunch.”

  She says it so resolutely, I can’t help but smile. “I can agree to that.”

  “Good.” She stabs at her food with her fork and eats the first bite as though it’s replacing the handshake in a pact.

  It’s my turn to ask a few questions. “How did you get into alien biology?”

  “Biology first.” She says before she finishes chewing. “I loved animals and had a great middle school science teacher. She was the actual best. In high school, you guys showed up and suddenly there was a field of study that no one had ventured into before and a whole planet of biodiversity we’d never gotten our hands on.”

  “We fascinate you, don’t we?”

  “Don’t worry. It’s not a fetish.”

  I laugh, but look down at my food. Not sure if I’d mind if it was.

  The way her eyes lit up when she talked about how she fell into her field…

  My chest is a little tighter than normal, and I can’t stop smiling.

  This isn’t good….

  “Jess?”

  We both look up and Richter’s mate is standing on the threshold of my front door. Richter is protectively behind her.

  I’ll remind him later, he needs to learn how to knock.

  I have to lock my leg muscles to keep from standing, to keep from putting myself between them and her.

  But the emotion in Laurel’s voice isn’t one that should have me ready to fight.

  “Laur!”

  Jessica is out of her chair and both women are enveloped in each other before I can stand. But Richter hasn’t made any move to protect his bondmate from the attack.

  They start talking so fast, I lose track of the conversation, and when they break apart, Jessica comes back to me with a wide smile on her face. But I’m watching the other two as Richter takes Laurel’s coat.

  “You know Laurel?”

  Jessica blinks at me, her head twisting to the side. “She’s my sister. Didn’t anyone tell you?”

  They did not. “That information would have been relevant.”

  She shoots me a look like I’m being childish, and a glance between the two women is all it takes to find the small similarities to suggest they are siblings.

  I don’t like the thought that comes to mind, but I have to voice it.

  “Wouldn’t you have preferred to have stayed with them while you were here?”

  “Think about the things I’ve asked you… now imagine me asking them. All of them, of my brother in law.”

  I didn’t want anyone answering the questions she’d asked me. “I can see how that would be problematic.”

  “Awkward.”

  Laurel comes back, looking me over, disapproving. I don’t mention that, had I known we’d have early morning guests, I might have put on more appropriate clothing.

  They’re the ones who didn’t send forewarning, they can deal with it.

  I sit back and watch as Jessica and her sister talk about a half dozen things I don’t exactly understand, and another half dozen I do, but shouldn't be trying to remember.

  When she’s gone, they won't mean anything. And while she’s here….

  A half an hour ticks by before Laurel stretches, and Richter stands on some unspoken cue.

  “We have to get home, I’m sure that one has explained the reasons they have to stay close.”

  I try not to bristle at the way she acknowledges me.

  “Oh!” Jessica holds up a hand. “Wait just a second, I have something from Chris for you.”

  “Chris?” Richter asks, his tone low—possibly jealous.

  Laurel swats him on the chest. “Our youngest sister, you know that.”

  I watch Jessica disappear upstairs, and when I look back, the two of them are staring at me. But Laurel’s smile has disappeared. She’s glaring at me, and I’m suddenly aware of how very dangerous human women are. She shoots me an accusing glance.

  “I
love my sister and would love to have her here. But if you do something that forces her to stay when she doesn’t want to…. Richter’s going to have to step in to save your life.”

  Richter would know better than to say something like that. I almost mention it, but Laurel is dead serious.

  “I fully understand what it’s like to have your choices taken away from you. I would never—knowingly—do it to someone else.”

  Laurel looks like she wants to ask a question, but she doesn’t. With a short nod, she says, “Good.” And goes to Richter at the door.

  “Got it!” Jessica runs back down the stairs and deposits a small, but puffy square package in Laurel’s hands. “I know what it is, so you can wait to open it until you get home.”

  Laurel’s eyes narrow, but she’s smiling. “What is it?”

  “I’m not allowed to tell.”

  “Then I guess it’s a good thing we have to go, so I can open it in the car.”

  “Are you ever going to be able to wait to open presents?”

  “Never!”

  They embrace again and whisper something between them. Whatever it is, I know Richter can’t hear it either, but he smiles… the bond sending amusement or something else like happiness along to him.

  I stay where I am. Richter saw them in, he can see them back out.

  When Jess turns back to me and we’re alone, I tell her. “Your sister just threatened my life.”

  “Did you deserve it?”

  “If she has to act on her threat, I will have.” I glance back at the door. “What did your sister send with you?”

  “A baby blanket and some kids’ books on Earth zoology.”

  She looks me over and rubs her hands together. “Now! Let’s go see what’s going on with those monsters!”

  FIVE

  TRENCH

  Day two of studying the monsters with her is going about the same as day one had.

  She’s glaring at the open chest cavity, worrying her lip behind the clear face shield I’ve found for her.

  It would be cute, if the creature in front of her wasn’t so gruesome.

  The notes on the pad beside her take up at least ten digital pages, and we’ve only been out here an hour today. She hasn’t even poked or prodded anything yet.