Bad Boy Romance: Nick (Romantic Suspense Alpha Male Romance) (New Adult Rock Star Contemporary Short Stories) (Hard Rock Star Series Book 2) (34 page)

“We could ask you the same thing,” Viseer grumbled from his
place at the teleporter.

Allie looked at him bemusedly; he was so much more wound up
than Araimeer. How did they work together on missions? She decided to try to
mollify him to speed up her questioning. “I’ll tell you what I was doing,” she
said.

Araimeer’s face lit up with joy, and Allie felt a sudden
rush of warmth for him. “Oh, tell us! Tell us!”

She grinned and slipped her hand into his, intertwining
their fingers as she spoke. It was far more comforting than it should have
been, but she forced herself to ignore how surreal the situation was. “My ship
sent me down to look for an old galleon—a ship from the Spanish Armada—called
the
Isadora.
It probably has a ton of gold on it, or some rare spices,
or—“

“An ancient artifact?”

Allie looked at Viseer, who was standing and staring at her
now, his brown eyes narrowed but his expression far more open. “Yeah…or an
ancient artifact.”

Araimeer looked stunned, but Viseer smiled at her genuinely for
the first time since they’d met. It made his hawkish face striking, and his
gaze was almost hungry.
Where did that come from?
“Well, what do you
know? Maybe we’re not so different after all.”

Allie’s heart started to race. “What do you mean?”

“We’re down here looking for an artifact, too,” Araimeer
said. “And we can’t leave until we get it.”

“What is it?”

Araimeer sighed. “It’s a chunk of a rare element that is,
essentially, concentrated electricity.”

Allie blinked and then shook her head in disbelief. “That
doesn’t sound possible.”

 Viseer scoffed. “You’re talking to two alien travelers at
the bottom of the ocean who rescued you from a murderous mutant jellyfish, and
you’re having trouble believing electricity can be concentrated into something
tangible?”

Allie blushed, and Araimeer laughed in surprise at Viseer’s
bluntness. “I guess you’re right, but why would you even need that?”

“Our job is to jump around the galaxy and retrieve artifacts
our people lent to one lifeform or another. Our artifacts are sought after
because of their nature, though we can use them far better than humans. We’re
actually partially electric,” Araimeer told her. He picked up a slim silver
tool that looked like a wand and tapped it against the unfinished teleporter; a
golden spark shot from the tip of the instrument to the blocky engine of the
machine, and it emitted a short
buzz
that set Allie’s teeth on edge.
“That’s only a little example of what we can do with any conductive material.
But with the lightening stone, we’re far more powerful.”

“It’s like an enhancement,” Viseer supplied, and he looked
so annoyed she almost laughed; Allie guessed he didn’t like sharing information
with humans. “We’re at our weakest right now, which is why we appear so human.
With the stone, we’re less humanoid and we can manipulate any form of
electricity in any condition.”

Allie gaped at him.
“Any
amount of electricity?

 Viseer looked thoughtful. “I think humans had a figure
called Zeus who could throw lightning bolts, right? It’s like that.”

“
What?”
Allie squeaked, her heart in her throat. What
would happen if they got out into open water?

Araimeer saw her panic and poked Viseer’s shoulder to
silence him. “It’s not what you’re thinking! We can control it completely. It’s
not all that scary. We’re not monsters or anything. We’re more like…”

“Gods,” Allie finished for him, and her voice was a whisper.
Viseer and Araimeer exchanged a long look; Finally, Viseer closed his eyes and
sighed, while Araimeer bit his lip and slid deep into thought. Suddenly, Allie
had the feeling that this wasn’t the first time a human had come to this
conclusion. Maybe that was why Viseer was so eager to keep her in the dark.
Allie thought about Collin, and how quick he’d been to slip back into a
subordinate role when he thought she was upset with him. What would it be like
to have every person you met treat you that way? If she felt lonely on the ship
sometimes, how must two aliens travelling the galaxies feel?

Her heart swelled with compassion at the same moment her
sense of unreality finally settled in. Allie decided that there was one thing
to do: move forward. They needed the artifact, and she would help them get it;
they’d figure out the rest later. She remembered what Viseer said earlier,
about her ship assuming she was dead; she felt a rush of gut-wrenching pain as
she thought of Carter’s reaction, but she shoved it away before it could take
hold of her.

“So, this artifact. Do you know what it looks like?” Allie
got to her feet and started to look at the bowels of the ship, staring into
every exposed nook and cranny in case the two aliens had left something behind
during their scavenge. “Or where it could be?”

 Araimeer stood and looked at Viseer, and there was a
pregnant pause. “Yes,” he said finally. His tone made Allie turn toward him,
and his expression was pained. “To both questions, actually.”

Allie tugged at her ripped orange diving suit impatiently,
looking from one cloaked alien to the other. “Well? What are you waiting for?
Let’s get it.”

Araimeer laughed. “Well, thanks for your spunk, Allie. It’s
gonna be a little harder than just picking it up.”

“Why?”

 Viseer went back to tinkering with the engine, and Araimeer
smiled wanly. “It currently belongs to that jellyfish you met earlier.”

Allie stared at him.
I can’t believe this. I should have
called in sick.
“So how the hell are you going to get it back?”

Araimeer walked over to her, and she could see the lines
around his eyes in startling clarity. How long had they been without sleep? “We
just need to draw it against the dome. It will stun it long enough for one of
us to be able to stab through its stomach and rip out the stone—I know,”
Araimeer said apologetically at the look of disgust on Allie’s face. “But it’s
the only way. We can’t get it to come back, though. It won’t follow the
bubbles. The stone made it into some power-hungry beast. It’s only drawn by
electricity or nuclear energy, apparently.”

Allie looked at Viseer, then back to Araimeer. He saw her
train of thought immediately and answered the question before she could form
it. “We could try to generate electricity, but we need to activate our
electroglands.”

Allie looked at him, mystified. “Electroglands? Glands that
produce electricity? Like with the endocrine system?”

“Yes,” Araimeer said, sounding impressed. “It’s hard to get
both of our heartrates up for long enough, though. We could try fighting, but
that would cause too much damage to our bodies and our surroundings. The only
other thing is…”

He suddenly stopped talking, and his blue eyes widened in regret. 
“I don’t want you think I’m suggesting—I didn’t—never mind!”

Allie watched in confusion as Araimeer walked away from her
and crouched over the transporter with Viseer, who didn’t move or even
acknowledge the other alien. She narrowed her eyes and stepped over the stacks
of books until she was behind them, waiting until Araimeer looked up to crouch
next to him and smile warmly.

“What is it, Araimeer?”

Araimeer shook his head. “We’re not supposed to mate with
humans.” He raised his eyes to hers, and Allie shivered—there was emotion held
there that he couldn’t possibly feel after knowing her for so little time.

Allie ignored the quickening of her pulse and sat next to
him on the soft soil, feeling the cool sand beneath her diving suit. “Why not?”

“We could hurt you,” he said quietly. “Even kill you.”

Allie heard his words, but all she could focus on was the
delicious surge of adrenaline coursing through her body as she watched his
strong hands work on the machine. All she could think of was what she’d said
earlier that day—she wasn’t feeling challenged by the Navy anymore. She was
missing the passion, the rush—the
spark.
Here was that spark, in spades.

Allie put her hands on Araimeer’s shoulders, and she heard
his breath hitch. “Araimeer, I’m going to die down here if you guys don’t do
something. I can’t stay down here forever, and by the look of those bags under
your eyes, neither can you.”

Araimeer’s eyes bored into hers, and the silence stretched
between them for so long that Allie briefly wondered if she should shake him.
Her skin tingled with need, but she forced herself to wait, to make him come to
her. His eyes dropped to the curve of her lips, and she saw the desire register
in his eyes, the hunger that had been plain there since they first met. They
were drawn to each other, and it was more than physical; Allie wondered if
they’d been pulled together by fate. If every step she’d taken had been leading
up to this moment, then what harm could taking this step be? She heard a faint
hum
,
and she shivered as the sound slithered across her skin.

 Viseer stood abruptly and spoke without looking at either
of them. “I’m finished.”

Araimeer twisted around and looked at the engine, blue eyes
moving frantically as they examined the teleporter. “It’s ready for the stone?”

 Viseer nodded. “As soon as we can get it.”

Araimeer turned back to Allie and swallowed, hard. She could
see him forming excuses, but she could also see him fighting to beat those
excuses into the ground; he clenched his fists and groaned, shaking his head of
shaggy brown hair in frustration.

“Viseer?”

 Viseer sighed. “I think it’s the only way, Araimeer. She’s
right. We have to get out of here.”

Araimeer nodded, excitement plain on his face. “But what are
we going to do afterward?”

 Viseer smiled and turned to Araimeer, his brown eyes
twinkling as he started to unclasp his robe. “Oh, we’ll figure something out.”

Araimeer looked surprised, but he laughed softly and
watched  Viseer’s robe fall to his feet, revealing a slim body built like a swimmer’s—all
broad shoulders and narrow waist, muscled thighs and long calves. Allie
shivered, her eyes moving down his body to rest between his legs and at the
patch of curly black hair surrounding his member.

This is going so fast,
she thought, and when she
looked back at Araimeer, he was standing and pushing his robe to the sea floor,
too. His body was wider, more powerfully built, and a shock of ginger curls
surrounded his long, thick shaft. Allie felt a rush of moisture between her
legs, and her breath started to quicken.

Araimeer held out a hand. “Come on. We’ll be gentle.”

 Viseer was smiling faintly at her as Araimeer began to
unzip her suit, peeling it away from her slim shoulders as he pressed gentle
kisses into her back. “Are you okay with this?” Viseer asked, and his voice was
filled with desire. “Both of us at the same time?”

Allie was taken aback, both by his question and the urgency
in his voice. She saw how much he’d been holding himself back from her, then;
his grouchiness really had been a front. Araimeer hands were on her hips now,
and his lips were brushing across the bare skin of her round ass. She nodded at
Viseer, and he moved forward and kissed her, one hand wrapped around the base
of his erection as his tongue gently massaged hers.

Allie leaned into the kiss, thrusting her right breast
forward into Viseer’s hand as he cupped her flesh and ran his thumb across her
nipple. She let out a soft moan and moved his hand away from his shaft,
wrapping her own hand around his thickness to gently tug on the base.

Araimeer pulled her to her hands and knees, and Viseer
followed, leaning his head back and closing his eyes, his mouth slack with
pleasure as Allie stroked him toward his climax. She watched in awe as streaks
of gold started to appear on his muscles, flashing in the light of the dome,
and she was overcome by how beautiful he was; the next moment, her focus was
stolen by the feeling of Araimeer gripping her waist and pressing himself
against her slick opening.

Allie gasped and threw her head back, catching a glimpse of
Araimeer’s lustful gaze as he thrusted himself inside her from behind, filling
her body with a pleasure so intense that her legs weakened. Allie bent forward
on her hands, and Araimeer gripped her waist as he thrust against her, his
breath coming hard and heavy as her wet walls swallowed his shaft.

Allie gripped Viseer’s shaft more tightly and moved her
mouth over the head. Her body felt like a live wire, but the pleasure she felt
from being filled by the two aliens was so intense she didn’t think she could
stop if she wanted to; the energy she felt from their passion was stoking a
flame in her that she thought had been extinguished long ago. She worked her
mouth along Viseer’s shaft slowly, watching his reactions as Araimeer screamed
in pleasure behind her. The flashes of gold were returning, and the heat in her
body seemed to be building to a peak; Araimeer’s
nails dug into her ass as he slammed
into her, and each thrust came with a dizzying jolt of electricity. Viseer’s
eyes were wild, and his hand was gripping the back of her head as he watched
her head bob on his shaft.

“Allie!” Araimeer shouted, but it seemed to be coming from
far away.  Viseer’s breathing was getting far away too, but she could feel the
energy welling up in her body as they neared their climaxes. Then both men
thrusted into her one final time, and as they emptied themselves, the air in
the dome was filled with static energy, and an ear-splitting
crack!
shot
through the air. Allie felt like her heart was beating outside of her chest,
but her skin was crackling with energy, too—as the aliens pulled out of her,
she was startled to see that her once pale skin was emitting a soft light. Even
the veins in her wrists were lit up with a golden tint; Araimeer and Viseer
crowded around her to compare their glowing bodies.