ONE
THE ALIEN WAS staring at her again.
Taylor Glass was aware of his gaze, as she had been since she and the other six women had been rescued from the clutches of their other alien captors. At first, the existence of aliens had been difficult to wrap her mind around…but she got passed that. Taylor had always been that way.
Her dad dying in a diving accident when she was eight? Taylor moved on, even knowing at a young age that her grief wouldn’t bring him back. The bullying that she’d endured during her high school years? She’d ignored it, knowing that the only opinion she cared for was that of her grandmother. Having to drop out of college because she didn’t qualify for financial aid? She became a self-employed business owner. Her grandmother passing on after a long battle with Alzheimer’s? That one had been hard, but Taylor had mended her broken heart and did what she always had before: moved on. As best as she could.
Perhaps her heart wasn’t as softened towards others as it had been. Perhaps she was more reserved and quiet now than she had been. But Taylor Glass had learned something important from a very young age: people who mattered would always have the ability to hurt you. And they usually would, intentionally or not.
Sharp as glass. That was what her peers would say about her. Taylor didn’t let her hurt over that little dig show. She didn’t want to be the way she was…but it was what she had become, it was what she had built herself into.
But it had served her well. Especially now. Especially after being captured by aliens and sold into an underground fighting ring, where the prize for the victors was women, human or otherwise.
But they’d been rescued from that awful, dark place, brought to a planet they didn’t even know the name of. By him and his kind.
Taylor squeezed her eyes shut, severing the alien’s gaze. She could still see him behind her eyelids, however. The alien had eyes as gray as rain clouds. An odd color. An alien color. And he had been haunting her dreams ever since she’d first seen him.
At first, she thought she was going crazy. Or having some sort of mental break. She’d been captured by aliens. That was the catalyst anyone needed to descend into madness. But in her heart, she knew it was something more. He intrigued her. He scared her. He confused her.
When Taylor opened her eyes again, he was looking away, as though by sheer force of will. The bottom part of his chiseled, shimmering jaw ticked, as if he was angry. Then, in his strange, guttural language, he barked out an order to the two other aliens that were keeping watch over their little group and stormed out, through the sliding metal doors on the far side of the room.
Taylor felt her body relax and a small breath escaped her lips. Her hand trembled when she reached up to push back a strand of her freshly cleaned hair. She’d almost forgotten what it felt like to bathe every day. In this room, they had access to a large bathroom and all of them took long, hot showers. Still, Taylor felt unclean. She remembered the grime, the stench, the slop of food splattering on the floor of the cage her alien captors had kept her in. She had the urge to bathe for the second time that day.
She heard the others talking, but Taylor was content to observe and listen. She didn’t want the others to know about her weird infatuation with the gray-eyed alien and she feared that if she spoke too much, the truth of it just might slip out.
There were four other women—human women—with her in the room they were being held in. There had been a fifth, but Cecelia had been taken away by a Luxirian doctor, to receive treatment for her cancer. It had been over a week since they’d last seen her. And Taylor could tell that they were all on edge because of it.
“What do you think they plan to do with us?” Bianca asked. The question of the year. The one that had been on everyone’s mind. Taylor knew that the aliens spoke English, although heavily accented English. One had said they’d received a ‘language implant,’ whatever that meant. Yet none had told them their fate. Needless to say, it worried them all. Even though they were treated much, much better there, they were still a long way from Earth with no way to get back, at the mercy of an alien race they knew nothing about. Taylor was beginning to wonder if she’d ever see her home again.
Lainey pursed her lips, a scowl forming. “Stop asking that question, Bianca! That’s all you ever talk about. I’m sick of hearing it.”
“Lainey,” Erin said, calmly. Erin was always calm, always the one smoothing over ruffled feathers, feathers usually ruffled by Lainey.
Erin only had to say her name and Lainey harrumphed and looked away. Taylor had been watching the redhead closely ever since they arrived. Despite her ‘mean girl’ attitude and slight temper, Taylor liked her. Perhaps it was because she thought that they were alike. She strongly suspected that Lainey hid a lot behind her cold exterior and that, more importantly, she had reasons to.
Bianca huddled in on herself and stared down at the floor. “I just want to go home. I want to go back to my husband. I want to see my daughter. I—I missed her birthday.”
The group quieted. Out of all of them, through whispered conversations and unspoken truths, they all knew Bianca was the only one with a real driving need to return to Earth soon.
“And you will,” Erin chimed. “There’s a reason we were rescued by these aliens. I, for one, don’t think that they would go through all that trouble and treat us this way, if they were just going to give us right back. It doesn’t make any sense. We just need to be patient.”
The last of their group, Crystal, had yet to say a word, which was odd in itself. The bubbly blonde sat quietly in the sunken pit surrounding a fireplace, staring down at the lush, brightly colored pillow nestled in her lap. The room they were in was large, but sparely furnished, as if it wasn’t regularly used. The walls were metal and there were no windows to see outside. Besides the private bathroom, the only thing in the room was the sunken lounge area and the plush cots that had been brought in for them, lining the walls. Meals were brought in at regular intervals and each portion was three times more than what they could eat. The food was surprisingly delicious, their plates full of spiced meats and strange colored berries that burst with unexpected flavors.
They were treated well, which was what put them all on edge, Taylor figured. They were all waiting for the other shoe to drop. They were all wondering if Cecelia was safe, whether she’d been harmed. And truth be told, they were all going a little stir-crazy. They’d been in the room for close to two weeks.
Taylor took another glance at the door, where their two guards stood watch. These aliens all looked similar. All the ones she had seen had long, dark hair that hung either loose or in braids to the middle of their backs. They were either clothed in leather material, or shirtless, displaying perfectly sculpted bodies, every muscle expertly chiseled. They were well over seven feet tall, with scars dancing across their skin. And their skin…it was like a mirage. A shimmering mirage that reflected the light around them. The room they were in glowed a soft yellow, so their guards skin took on a golden hue. But when they’d been rescued from their caged room back on the fighting planet…they’d appeared almost indigo.
As for their eyes, most were a light blue. Some were dark. But her alien…he was the only one she’d seen with deep, gray eyes.
Taylor shivered and shook herself, tearing her thoughts away from him, trying not to think of the erotic dreams she’d been plagued with ever since she first saw him. And she didn’t even know his name.
“Taylor?” Erin murmured. Taylor looked up to find four sets of eyes on her. She straightened, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Are you okay?”
Taylor cleared her throat, forcing a small smile. “Yes, just lost in thought. Sorry, did you say something?”
Erin looked like she was the verge of speaking, but then the door to their room opened and all of them swiveled their heads. To their astonishment, the one woman that most of them had been thinking about the past week walked through the door, beaming and healthier than they’d ever seen her.
“Cecelia!” Lainey exclaimed, the redhead rising from the fire pit, as they all did.
Immediately, they all swarmed the brunette that had just surprised them all, each taking a turn to embrace her. A flurry of voices rose, all asking questions or making comments, none of which were actually heard. But Cecelia was smiling. And before the metal door behind her closed, Taylor spied a different alien she’d never seen before, just outside in the hallway.
He was watching Cecelia, but that wasn’t what made Taylor sharpen in awareness. It was the way he was watching her. There was no mistaking the look in his eyes.
And right before the door closed, Cecelia looked over her shoulder at him, reached out to touch him on the forearm, squeezing softly, an unspoken word. Their friend, who had been absent for over a week, smiled at this new alien, looking at him much the same way he was looking at her.
It didn’t go unnoticed by the others and slowly, they all quieted, even after the door shut and the alien was cut off from view.
It was Lainey that spoke first. “What the hell is going on? Who was that?”
Cecelia sighed and then a small smile touched her lips, as did a light blush.
Then she said, “I have a feeling we should all sit down first. There’s a lot I need to catch you girls up on.”