Alien Romance: Surrogate To The Alien: Scifi Alien Abduction Romance (Alien Romance, Alien Invasion Romance, BBW) (Alien Protectors Book 5) Read online

  She also noticed his tanned, muscular build. Beneath the power suit that was tailored to perfection, the mystery man housed a powerful physique. With wide shoulders and narrow hips Avery could tell that he had a killer body hidden beneath the prim outfit.

  She shook her head. What he was wearing was completely appropriate and in no way sexual. So, why had she been wondering about what lay beneath?

  By the time the man turned toward them, Avery had collected herself. She did her best to present the epitome of decorum, wanting to impress the man who was clearly of a higher social class than anyone that she had ever met. She wondered which country he was from. It was clear that he was exotic. Maybe Europe or Brazil? The truth was, she could not place his impeccable features as any one nationality.

  The men spoke briefly before Avery was instructed to join them. They waited for her to take a seat before lowering themselves into chairs of their own.

  Avery chose a seat that placed the nameless assistant between her and the attractive man. It was not that she was afraid, or even uninterested. However, his raw masculinity was a little too potent for her to handle sitting directly beside him.

  “Miss Hawthorne, my name is Runford.” The assistant began. “I would like to introduce you to my employer, Errion, Prince of Lanoxia.”

  Avery furrowed her eyebrows. Even though she had not been able to afford to finish her degree, she had paid close attention in her lessons and been top of her class. She could not remember ever hearing of a country called Lanoxia. A prince! Why would a prince need to hire a bride?

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Runford,” she began, “I’ve never heard of it.”

  The men chuckled and passed a knowing look between them.

  “Just Runford, if you please.” The assistant smiled. “I am well aware that we are not at all known on this… in this area. I do hope that this will not keep you from taking our offer seriously. Very seriously, to be quite clear.”

  Avery nodded. She forced herself to focus on the man beside her. She had missed most of his last statement when she had realized that his employer had that most captivating grey eyes that she had ever seen. Like smoke, billowing across an inky black night.

  “Good.” The man continued. “Now, we’ve been over the duration of the requirements, accommodations, medical examination, and severance package. There is one more thing…”

  Avery waited patiently for him to continue. He seemed reluctant to release this last piece of information and that made her nervous.

  “The final requirement before you are able to complete the contract…” His eyes shifted for an instant to the man beside him and then back to Avery. “Is that you provide the prince with a viable heir to the throne.”

  “Excuse me?” Avery stammered. She felt her eyes widen in shock and her mouth part as she drew in a sharp breath.

  “You didn’t tell her?” The Prince, glared at the man beside him. What was his name?

  Runford began speaking very quickly in order to cover his error.

  “I know, Sir, that your primary requirement was that the female be given full disclosure but we thought it best if she make it through the screening process before we got into the final details.”

  “We?” The prince was clearly angry though his voice was cool and calm. “As in you and my father?” Runford nodded abashedly. “Forget any orders that he gave you. If I’m to go through with this it will be done in my own way.”

  “Yes, your highness.” Runford bowed at the waist, his face nearly resting on the table.

  “How much does she know?” The prince demanded.

  Runford closed his eyes. “Not much.” He whispered.

  “I thought it was a joke when she said she had never heard of Lanoxia. Do you mean to tell me that you have told her nothing of our planet?”

  “That is correct, your highness.” Runford sat up, his back straightened with pride and assurance. “I thought it best to tell her now, rather than before.”

  Avery’s mind was reeling, trying to make sense of the twisted conversation that was taking place before her.

  “Wait!” She interrupted. “Did you say… planet?”

  The men fell silent and finally turned their attention toward her.

  Runford cleared his throat and began.

  “We come from the planet Lanox. Errion is prince and only heir to the rulers of Lanox. They reside in the capital city, Lanoxia.”

  Avery tried to hold back her laughter but she could not. It burst forth from her and shook her body as she gasped for air.

  “Miss Hawthorne, this is very serious. We come from across the galaxy in search of a viable mate for the Prince, who will carry on the royal bloodline.”

  Avery continued to laugh. Some small part of her realized that the prince, Errion, was staring at her with a somber expression. His eyebrows were raised and his lips pressed into a firm line.

  “Where are the cameras?” she asked when she had calmed the laughter down to a moderate chuckle. “Come on. I get it. It’s a prank show, right?”

  “Excuse me?” Prince Errion scoffed.

  “A joke?” Avery clarified. “This is a joke. I’m not stupid.” She rolled her eyes. “Another planet. Like you are aliens or something. Ha!”

  “Well, technically, to us you are the alien. So it’s really a matter of semantics.” The Prince was clearly losing patience. “Runford,” he pushed back his chair and retreated to the window, “It was your job to convince her, you should do so now.”

  “Yes, your majesty.” Runford waited for the Prince to turn his back before he looked at Avery with a pleading gaze. “Miss Hawthorne, you must understand.”

  Runford clapped his hands together and in an instant, all of the unoccupied chairs in the room piled themselves atop the table. Avery’s heart leapt in fear and she flung herself from her own seat and plastered herself against the wall.

  “What the HECK!” she shouted.

  With a sigh of resignation the Prince turned away from the window. He brushed his hand absent mindedly through the air, as if brushing away a bothersome bug. The chairs did not return to their former locations. They disappeared.

  Avery bolted toward the door. She heard the latch click shut moments before she reached it. Hyperventilating, Avery turned toward the men with her back pressed firmly to the doors.

  “Miss Hawthorne, we mean you no harm.” Runford approach with both hands raised in front of him. The gesture was meant to calm her, but it only had her eyes darting from one hand to another as she waited for the next unexplainable event to occur.

  “Get away from me.” Avery whispered as she backed away from his approaching form. She rounded the far side of the table keeping Runford at a safe distance.

  “Runford, leave us.” The voice spoke from directly behind her. Avery jumped and turned to look at the prince. “Would you mind if we had a word in private?”

  His request was made with such a soft tone that Avery had trouble feeling afraid of him. The Prince held out a single hand, waiting patiently for her to make the decision.

  She swallowed deeply and slowly set her hand atop his own. She could at least hear what he had to say, Avery reasoned.

  She heard Runford slip out the door as the prince conjured two of the chairs out of thin air.

  “We can’t make something from nothing.” He explained as she sat down with extreme caution. “I made them disappear, therefore I can make the reappear. It isn’t as complex as you are probably thinking.”

  Avery stared at him in silence.

  “There is a prophecy on our planet. More of a requirement, I should say.” He told the story in his slow, soothing way. Avery wondered if there was any situation in which he did not have complete control. “It says that the reign of the royal family is to pass from heir to heir. Direct heir, I should say. Meaning, blood descendants. I, as the last surviving heir, can only take the throne when I produce a descendent of my own.”

  He leaned back into the chair, lounging in a casuall
y sexy way.

  “Many years ago, shortly after my birth, a rival planet released an airborne pathogen into our atmosphere. This pathogen caused all of our females to become infertile, and many of them to die. Including my mother.”

  At this, Avery could not help but raise her eyes to his face.

  “Our planet has the ability to produce offspring in a laboratory, but these females are likewise infertile because the pathogen still lives in our bodies. The goal of this group, called the Hmorithians, was to end the royal blood line and therefore incite war.

  “For many years we have searched for a compatible species. For many years there was no hope. We recently discovered that human DNA is compatible with our own. That it would be possible to produce offspring, and that it would once again be possible to bring forth a child through natural birth once again. This would be the first natural birth on our planet in over twenty years.”

  For some reason, Avery believed him. Perhaps it was his tone, perhaps it was the innate draw she felt toward him, but Avery believed every word that he said.

  “What we are asking is that you join me as, my wife and child bearer, on our planet. Once you have given birth you are free to go. We will return you to Earth with a fortune to live off of, and we will have the heir that I need to ascend the throne and keep the peace of my people.”

  When he had finished speaking, he waited in silence, allowing Avery the opportunity to think about the enormity of his proposition.

  “You are asking me to be your… surrogate?” She whispered.

  The prince nodded in response.

  She thought about the payment… that would be a shame to pass up.

  She thought about leaving for a year… there really was not anything that she could not reestablish on her return. There would be no requirement for long term commitment. What was a year in the grand scheme of her life?

  She imagined leaving a baby on a strange planet… but, it would be royalty and have a life full of wonder. It would also likely have supernatural powers that would be impossible to hide on Earth.

  Finally, she imagined what it would take to conceive a child. Could she give herself to this man, this alien? She chanced a quick look at him and had a difficult time denying her attraction. Yes, she could imagine laying with him and giving birth to their child. As strange as it all seemed, she did believe him. She could change her entire life, and help another planet at the same time.

  Avery pursed her lips as she tried to talk herself out of the decision that she knew was already made.

  “Alright.” She whispered.

  His grey eyes darted to her face with disbelief.

  “Yes?” He waited for her careful nod. “We leave in the morning.” He stood up and took her hand in his own, gently placing a kiss on the back of her fingers. “I will see you when we land in Lanoxia. Don’t worry, you won’t remember any of the journey.”

  Chapter 3: The Wedding

  The following morning was spent with Runford preparing for the journey. Errion, as he had asked her to call him, was nowhere to be found. According to Runford, he had travelled ahead of them to prepare their people for her arrival.

  That morning she signed a formal contract. She tried to think of any items that she would need to take with her but, after finding out that she would have no access to outlets compatible with the Earth-style electricity, she decided to leave everything behind.

  “How will we get there?” She asked with a nervous waver in her voice.

  “I believe you call it teleportation on this planet though, if I’m correct, you do not yet have the capabilities?” Runford’s response was more curious than anything. He seemed baffled by the lack of abilities that Avery had revealed over the past four hours.

  “That’s right.” Avery mused. She was extremely nervous about traveling through space. More nervous than she cared to admit.

  “Well, Miss Hawthorne, are you ready?” Runford held out his hands, palms upward, for her to grasp.

  Avery placed her own on top of his, the anticipation making her heart beat like thunder in her chest.

  “One other thing.” Runford closed his fingers over her hands. “We don’t have double, or triple, names on our planet, as you do here. Would you prefer to be called Hawthorne when we arrive?”

  “Avery.” She clarified, to his apparent surprise. It was clear that he had thought the surname to be the primary identifier. “My name is Avery.”

  “As you wish, Avery.” Runford gave her a small, but excited, smile before pressing her hands between his own and closing his eyes. Avery did the same and an instant later they fell into nothingness.

  What seemed like hours later, Avery felt the weight of her own body once more. She opened her eyes to see Runford standing exactly as he had been that morning, except now they were in a completely different location. On a different planet, Avery reminded herself.

  The world shimmered in a haze of clear and frosted crystal. The many colors and ornate carvings made the empty room look like the inside of a jewelry box.

  Avery glanced around but they appeared to be completely alone.

  “This is the landing pad.” Runford explained. We will have to get you cleaned up and properly attired before you meet the King.”

  The man closed his eyes and muttered to himself

  Avery listened carefully and realized that he was sending a message to someone, through his mind.

  “Now,” Runford laughed, “I’ll have to abandon this Earthly attire. If you don’t mind.” He raised his hands above his head and as he brought them down across his body his clothes instantly changed from the navy suit to loose fitting trousers and a silken shirt. The seams were adorned with a myriad of tiny gems that reflected the light as he moved and Avery found the affect was very pleasing despite its extravagance.

  An elderly woman rushed into the room a moment later, her breath was ragged with excitement as she opened her arms in welcome.

  “Dremena!” Runford exclaimed. “How long has it been since we have had a female in the Royal household?”

  “Too long!” Dremena’s excitement was palpable. “I shall choose only the best of Her Majesty’s garments. I have preserved them with great care.”

  “Excellent.” Runford nodded before turning to Avery, “I’ll leave you here. When you are ready, Dremena will bring you to the Chamber of the Throne, where we will all be waiting.”

  Avery swallowed deeply as she stared at Runford’s retreating back. She turned to the woman beside her who, without warning, laid her hands upon Avery’s soft stomach.

  With tears in her eyes the woman looked up at her.

  “It has been decades since a woman has borne a child on our planet. We can create a child with science, yes, but what you carry inside of you… it will make a miracle!” Avery bit her lip. The woman was in tears over the fact that she had functioning organs? Her heart went out to the woman of this planet and the terrible destruction that they have suffered.

  The woman removed her hands from Avery’s stomach and stood back with one hand raised to her lips. She paced in a circle around Avery, humming and making short clucking noises.

  Finally, she stopped.

  “Yes, I believe one of the green gowns will bring out your eyes and offset your hair nicely.” She shrugged. “You are a bit bustier than the Queen before she passed, but I should be able to re-work the pattern a bit as I transfer, if I remove some of the length. You earthlings are shorter than I expected.”

  Avery, having no idea how to respond, just stood there with wide eyes.

  Dremena raised her hands in front of Avery’s face and lowered them on a path in front of her body.

  Avery felt as if her body had been scrubbed clean. She smelled a light, floral scent coming from her skin, and her clothing had instantly been replaced with the most beautiful emerald gown that she had ever seen.

  Pale gems adorned the bodice, and the satiny skirt pooled at her ankles, accentuating the shape of her body. She wiggled he
r toes and felt the smooth cushion of leather sandals on her feet.

  Dremena had moved to stand behind her. The old woman’s hands hovered near Avery’s ears and she felt her hair begin to weave itself into an elaborate braid that fell to her waist.

  “I hope you don’t mind.” Dremena smiled innocently. “I made it a bit longer, it’s more regal, I think.”

  “How do you do all of this?” Avery heard the wonder in her own voice. It was as if she had entered a world of magic.

  Dremena laughed. “It’s is the mere task of re-assigning matter. Nothing can be made, where something is not previously removed. Nothing can be permanently destroyed, only repurposed. It is quite simple, actually. I can lengthen your hair, by removing the rest of it from your body and reassigning its form to your locks. It’s nothing really. It will grow back”