Page 19 of Royal Alien Mate

She clasped her hands together, still staring at the blank screen. “Oh, that makes sense. My parents are both usually at work right now, and my sisters will be in school.” She felt ridiculous over her disappointment of the unanswered call. She had permission from Vaath to use any of his video comms whenever she wished. She would still get to speak with her parents and sisters, as well as see their faces upon the screen.

“Perhaps you ought to get some sleep,” Vaath said, “and first thing in the morning you can try calling again.”

“Good idea.” She pushed back from the video comm and he helped her to her feet.

Vaath wrapped his arms around her and met her gaze, and her heart skipped a beat at the warmth filling his eyes. Her determination to hold him at a distance faltered even more. How could she dislike him when he was going to help her family? He’d announced he would give them a large amount of money, waive all future taxes they might owe, and allow them to select a new home within the zone of their choosing. Soon, her family would be living in a much safer location, a place where her sisters could hopefully enjoy playing in the outdoors, and she had Prince Vaath of Mars to thank for it.

“How old are you?” she found herself asking, not for the first time wondering about their difference in age.

“I am sixty-five Marttiaxoxalian years old,” he replied, “which equals about eighty Earth years. The days on my home planet of Marttiaxoxalia were longer than a day on Earth or Mars.”

“You’re older than my father,” she said, her eyes growing wide. “However, you don’t look like an old man. I’ve heard your kind live much longer than humans.”

“I am still considered a young male by my people’s standards,” he said. “Marttiaxoxalians usually live to around the age of three hundred and twenty-five, or, in Earth years, around four hundred.”

She forced a smile. “Well, you’ll probably end up taking about two more human brides during your lifetime then. The average human only lives to the age of seventy, though I believe before the war, when we had better access to medical care, that age was higher.”

“I will not outlive you, sunshine,” he said, stroking a hand through her silken locks, and his words left her confused.

“Of course you’ll outlive me, likely by over three hundred years.” For a reason she couldn’t fathom, she didn’t like the idea of him outliving her long enough to take another mate, yet it seemed an inescapable prospect.

He leaned down to press a gentle kiss to her forehead, and her head swam with dizziness at his nearness. Despite the seriousness of their conversation, excitement awakened within her, the first pulses of arousal quaking between her thighs. She pressed her legs together when his nostrils abruptly flared and a knowing look entered his dark eyes.

“Our scientists have devised a method of slowing down human aging, using a combination of nanotechnology and vitamin infusions. Anti-aging treatments are given once every thirty rotations, and it is our belief that such treatments will allow our human mates to live just as long as a typical Marttiaxoxalian. The first females to receive the treatments were those who were taken as brides shortly after the war ended. Though twenty Earth years have passed since that time, those females appear just as young as they did when they were brought to Mars.”

Shock reverberated through her. Was it true? Did the Martians truly possess such technology? She glanced toward the large window that overlooked the city. During the nighttime hours, it was a sea of bright sparkling lights, though she recalled easily enough what it looked like during the day. Green, fertile land as far as the eye could see. If the Martians were capable of terraforming entire planets, surely they possessed the ability to extend the human lifespan.

“That’s incredible,” she said, still stunned as she tried to process what this meant for her and all the other mail order brides who arrived on Mars.

He brought her hands to his lips for another kiss. Hope suddenly filled her to bursting. If the Martians were going to the trouble to keep their human brides so healthy, including the drastic measure of lengthening their lives, perhaps it meant at least some of the aliens cared about their mates. As she peered into Vaath’s otherworldly dark gaze, she realized she liked the idea of him feeling affection for her. Hadn’t she prayed for her Martian husband to treat her with kindness?

She swallowed hard past the abrupt burning in her throat and gazed into the bedroom area of Vaath’s chambers. Maybe a sound night’s sleep would do her some good and allow for a fresh perspective in the morning.

“You look exhausted, sunshine,” he said, wrapping an arm around her as he guided her toward the large bed, where not long ago he’d claimed her for the first time. Warmth flowed through her at the memory.

“I-I could use some sleep,” she admitted.

As he helped her under the covers, it occurred to her that she no longer felt even the slightest soreness between her thighs. Despite her embarrassment during the application, she was thankful Vaath had insisted upon putting the healing salve on her. Her eyes felt heavier as she laid her head on the pillow. Vaath soon joined her under the covers, his massive warm body curling around hers. He gathered her close, spooning her from behind.

Closing her eyes, she said a quick prayer for her parents and sister. She hoped they were faring well, despite the circumstances of her leaving Earth. Though she’d been impatient to speak with them via the video comm, she’d also been nervous, almost to the point of illness, as she had waited for the call to connect.

When she awoke in the morning, her family would likely be at home, making dinner and getting ready for bed. She could only imagine the anguish they were experiencing right now. Oh, how she wished she could’ve said a proper goodbye and given each of them one last hug before her hasty departure. Her throat started burning and she tried to think of something else, but despite her utter fatigue, she found it difficult to drift off as thoughts of her family kept plaguing her.

Her parents had awoken just a few hours ago to her shocking and heartbreaking letter, no doubt, and despite likely reeling from the knowledge that their oldest daughter had left Earth to become a Martian’s bride, they had had no choice but to send Carmen and Lilly off to school before heading in for their shifts at the factory. Even if they were already aware of the extra ten thousand galactic credits in their account, she knew they would still insist on keeping their jobs. They would be careful with their money.

What would they do when they received the one hundred thousand galactic credits Vaath had promised? She turned in his arms to find him sound asleep. His eyes were shut and he was breathing deep. Gratitude swelled in her heart as she looked at him, admiring his handsome face and the way his horns curved over his back. She snuggled closer and shut her own eyes.

Because of Vaath, her parents would be able to spend more time with the twins and less time working. In fact, given the exorbitant amount of money Vaath was gifting them, plus the fact that they would no longer be required to pay taxes, they might decide not to work. At least for a while. She hoped they accepted the money. Her father could be a bit too prideful at times, in her opinion, though she knew she’d inherited this oftentimes infuriating trait.

When she spoke with her parents in the morning, she would need to put a positive spin on the money that her father might very well see as a buy off. She would also need to make her family believe she was happy on Mars, happy with Vaath; she despaired over the thought of them, particularly her father, feeling sorry for her. Even if Vaath stopped treating her with kindness at some point, she still didn’t want their pity. She wanted them to enjoy their lives on Earth as best they could, to take advantage of the amazing opportunities they were about to receive.

As she pictured her sisters laughing and running through a flower filled meadow on the edge of a lush green forest, a large yet quaint cabin in the background, she finally drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 15

Vaath woke up before dawn, still holding Esmay in his arms. She was curled up close to him, her cheek resting upon his arm as her steady breaths puffed against his chest. A tenderness unlike anything he’d ever experienced before made his insides ache. It was painful, and yet it wasn’t. The conundrum of the conflicting emotions stealing through him gave him pause.

He stroked his fingers through his little bride’s golden hair, mesmerized by her delicate beauty. When she gave a soft sigh of contentment and shifted closer to him, that odd painful yet pleasant tugging in his chest strengthened. It was more than sexual desire he felt for this human, he realized, as a sense of disbelief stole through him. Though he hadn’t known her for long, he admired her, and he was starting to care for her.

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