I blinked several times as I woke up. The first breath I sucked in was refreshing, like a tall drink of cold water. I laid completely still, savoring the moment. A peaceful calm resided all around me, and I couldn’t remember the last time I had felt such serenity and safety. I was kilometers beneath the surface of Mars, yet I felt complete tranquility.

I glanced at the large hulk beside me. Erotan’s naked form was splayed across the bed, still asleep. I watched the soft rise and fall of his chest. My sexy Martian Adonis looked to be in a deep sleep. One that only comes from a hard day’s work. Or in this case, a hard night’s work.

Oh my God. I had sex with a fucking alien.

I shot straight up, clasping the blanket to my body as though it were a protective shield. What the hell was wrong with me? What the hell did I do?

He was an alien. An intelligent lifeform that lived in Mars. He wasn’t human. He wasn’t an earthling. But yet, I kept viewing him through that lens. I kept blurring the lines. It was incredibly unprofessional — this had the potential of discrediting some of my research — and not to mention, it was just plain weird. He wasn’t human. How many times did I need to tell myself that? He wasn’t human.

So, why was I mating with him?

I felt a soft hand touch my shoulder. It was warm and gentle as it began to caress the bare skin.

I glanced at him over my shoulder. He laid there with all his glorious brawn on display. A large smile spread his lips as his black eyes stared up at me.

“Did you sleep well? What’s the matter?” The light serene expression quickly faded from his face. “Are you hurt?”

I had to stifle my laugh. He was a big Martian, and I had worried that his size would hurt, but sitting there, I only felt a light soreness. “No, you didn’t hurt me. I’m just— ” I struggled to find the right words. “I’m just confused.”

He brought his hand to my cheek, brushing the pale skin with his dark gray fingers. “Confused about what?”

“Us,” I stated frankly. “What are we doing? Look at you. Look at me. We don’t belong together.” I felt the tears build up behind my eyes — days of trauma, frustration, and anxiety were about to come flooding out. “We can’t even communicate without this thing in my ear.”

“Calm down,” he told me as though it were the simplest thing to do. “Our looks do not matter. It’s what you feel here.” He pointed to my sternum.

A chuckle rolled through me as he poked the bone. “That’s not where my heart is. It’s up here.” I brought his hand up to the left side of my chest. These small instances while cute, were also the problem. “And this is what I’m talking about. We’re a completely different species.”

“Why do you feel the need to label and sort everything?” If it had been any other male, I would have been offended, but he was asking from a place of innocence. “Listen.” He leaned forward. “All that matters is that you belong to me. I want you by my side and in my bed. Do you not feel the same?”

“Yes, and that’s the other part of the problem. I feel this way even though I— ”

He cut me off. “Stop. Accept your feelings, allow them to be what they are, and just enjoy the moments. There’s nothing to gain from picking this apart and examining every facet of it.”

“But that’s what I do. I’m a scientist. Science is my life.”

He wet his lips as his eyes sank into mine. “And now I want to be your life.”

This was it. This was the moment I never thought would come. I had to choose.

“You don’t have to feel the same way right now,” he said as though he could hear my thoughts. “Just as I am readily both accepting and taking you, I want your decision to accept and take me to be one of your own doing. Not done out of fear or force.”

I sighed out of relief.

“For now,” he continued, “bask in this moment with me.” He fell back onto the bed and pulled me into his large, warm arms.

I couldn’t help but smile to myself as I laid my head on his chest. There was something just so unexplainably comforting about being with him, tucked away in a cave home and wrapped in a silky blanket. I felt whole as though this was where I belonged.

“Did you enjoy the mating last night?” he asked as he placed soft kisses on my forehead and down my face.

“Last night was incredible. I’ve never experienced anything like that before,” I confessed.

He grinned, proud. “We are good mates. Your body responds to me. I could feel it in your hips, thighs, and… ” His eyes glanced downward, indicating that the third item in that list was my pussy.

“And yours responds to me.” I reached my hand down and grabbed his dick. But I quickly yanked it away as a heated blush filled my cheeks. “Why is it hard again?”

It wasn’t only hard, it was that sexually frustrated kind of rock hard. As though we hadn’t even had sex last night.

He shrugged. “You can’t expect me to talk about last night without getting a little excited.”

“A little excited?” That was the understatement of the year.

He laughed. The sound was deep, coming from the belly. “Fine, I admit it. My woman turns me on.” He pulled me closer to him so that his dick poked my stomach, demanding my attention.

I licked my lips. “How about a little relief?” There was no way I could fit his full length down my throat, but I was at least willing to try. If I could get half of it down, I’d consider that a win.

“I wish.” He kissed my cheeks. “But my presence is needed in the village as soon as possible.”

My eyebrows knitted together. “What? Why?”

“The three Subcotan that died yesterday.” He sighed. “We need to put them to rest. They were my brothers at arms. I can’t abandon them now in their time of need.”

I had been so wrapped up in my own shit that yesterday’s grisly attack had completely escaped my mind. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you.” He kissed my forehead and took a deep breath, smelling my hair. “Will you come with me?”

“To the burial ceremony?”

“Yes.”

“Of course, I just need to get cleaned up first.” There was no way I was showing up to a funeral with dried jizz on my ass.

“Then, I will meet you down there.” He lifted my chin with his large Martian finger, and our lips met. The kiss was deep and passionate — the epitome of a goodbye kiss.

But I didn’t want Erotan to go. His kiss drew so much energy and excitement out of me that I felt ready to explode with… love?

As soon as he pulled away, I felt an immediate loss. As though all the warmth and air had been sucked out of the room. He swung his thick legs over the bedside and stood with a light hop. Twinkle toes. I giggled to myself at the thought of someone as muscular and bulky as him being light on his feet.

“What’s so funny?” he asked as he strapped his loincloth to his waist. I could still make out the outline of his dick and was no longer ashamed to stare.

“Nothing.” I shook my head. “Just amusing myself.”

“Must be a human thing,” he teased. “Get showered and meet me down in the village, but don’t scrub too hard. I want everyone to still be able to smell my scent on you.”

I rolled my eyes as he left the room. He was such a territorial beast, and I loved it. I was tempted to do as he said and allow a little residue to remain. The thought made my lips curl as I pulled myself out of bed.

I had never considered myself a “bad girl” but he made me feel so sexy, despite that not being a part of my persona whatsoever. Erotan awakened this sexual goddess inside of me that I didn’t even know existed. Men had never treated me as though I were hot, and therefore I never acted like it. I was the brainy science geek. I studied and worked my ass off to excel in both my academic and my astrobiological career. Not that my astrobiological career was where I wanted to be. I had achieved so much already, but I wanted to be one of history’s best scientists up there with Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking.

That’s what this whole experience was going to provide me, I reminded myself as I stepped in the natural waterfall shower. By helping these people, I was helping myself. By falling in love with Erotan, I was creating the base of a study on romance, coupling, and family dynamics within the Subcotan race, right? This was still about science, no?

I shook my head. There I went again, trying to sort and label everything like I was some sort of unemotional robot. My mind was forever compartmentalizing every facet of my life. It was the easiest way to decide where to properly invest my emotions. It was a safeguard against unnecessary risk. Anything left out of the sorted mental material was unique, singular. No testing had been performed; and therefore, behavior wasn’t as easy to predict.

It was the same problem I was facing with having slept with an alien. I didn’t know how to react to it, whether to see it as good or bad because it was singular, unique. I couldn’t label it and that frightened me.

Just as Erotan had allowed me to see myself as an enticing sexual being, he was also slowly allowing me to simply let things be. This was all completely against my nature, but I couldn’t lie to myself anymore and say that my nature was right. It wasn’t. I needed to change. People can only last so long before their Grinch-sized hearts eventually give out.

I stepped out of the shower and toweled myself dry with a huge orange leaf that Erotan had folded and left for me. It was as soft as silk and absorbed the water immediately. I hung it up and gulped when I saw a Subcotan bikini set laid out on the counter. I really didn’t feel appropriate wearing a bathing suit to a funeral, no matter what the custom was. I grabbed my good ol’ neo-neoprene suit and stuffed myself back into its tight synthetic grip. I combed out my long locks and checked to make sure the translator was properly affixed to my ear before stepping out onto the stairway.

I traipsed down the several hundred steps, still not over my fear of falling flat on my face and rolling several stories down to the bottom. Luckily, I managed to arrive on the ground floor without a single slip.

Despite all the carnage that had occurred yesterday, the city was quite clean. The damage had been hidden behind blankets of turquoise moss, and the ground swept of all body parts. If I hadn’t had witnessed the carnage, I wouldn’t have believed it even happened.

“Lovely morning,” a Subcotan woman greeted me as she walked passed. Her muscled body was displayed proudly in the customary string bikini.

“Lovely morning,” I responded in kind, surprised by the kindness. “Excuse me,” I called after her.

“Yes?” She paused, turning toward me. Her black hair was pulled back into a long, ornate braid and decorated with tons of glittering gems.

“You wouldn’t happen to know where the ceremony for yesterday’s fallen warriors is, would you?”

She grinned at me and nodded her head. “In the Champion’s Crypt.” She was too polite to point out that every Subcotan would know this, but I could hear it in her voice. “Go past the central waterfall and follow the left-leading path. When you come to the T, take a right. It’s not far from there and is guarded by two stone statues. If you get lost, just ask someone for help.”

I wasn’t normally a warm, smiley person, but kindness begot kindness. “Thank you so much for your help. I greatly appreciate it.” Anything less would have felt rude at this point.

“You are most welcome,” she replied before turning and continuing on her way.

I followed her directions and made my way past the main waterfall. I knew which one she was talking about because it practically rivaled Venezuela’s Angel Falls. At its base was a wide pond that was so deep you couldn’t see its floor. It emptied into the river that traveled through the village.

Even though we were underground, the village was light and airy with all of the glowing flora and fauna, not to mention the water that was now glowing a bright white. It fascinated me how it seemed to change color depending on the time of day. The first chance I got, I wanted to jump in the pond and study the bioluminescent coral that covered the bottom, lighting it up.

I took the path that veered left as the woman had suggested. Everyone I passed nodded, smiled, or waved at me as though they knew me. I felt like I was strolling through the golden years of American suburbia: gorgeous scenery, small shops, and over-friendly neighbors. The place was cute, and everyone was ridiculously welcoming.

It was completely different than how I imagined life on Mars. Nearly every night of my training, while I was still on Earth, was spent daydreaming of my glorious and interesting life on Mars. But now that life felt so cold and barren — stuck in the sterile, white bubble space station with two men that I could barely stand. Well, now I would be all by myself… for an entire year.

The thought gutted me. I didn’t want to go back. I didn’t want to leave all of this. It was warm down here with gorgeous rivers and waterfalls, great food, good company. Plus, Erotan was here. Just the utterance of his name made my heart flutter like a pubescent teen. Not to mention, the Subcotan town also had oxygen-rich air as opposed to the toxic and deadly surface. Sure, the camp could filter the Martian carbon dioxide into something breathable, but it was stale and not nearly as revitalizing.

I turned right when I hit the T in the path and continued with my walk. Immediately my view was met with two large stone statues of Subcotan warriors with their blades resting patiently in their grips. They were like two Martian style Colossus of Rhodes, guarding the final resting place of so many. Around their feet gathered a large crowd.

I joined their ranks but was still too far away to get a good look at the actual crypt. So many people had shown up to pay their respects to just three individuals. Each of them gripped white glowing flowers. The gorgeous flowers dripped a glowing white liquid from the stems like it was so sad that even the flowers were crying. I took a deep breath and looked around, noticing there wasn’t a dry eye in the crowd.

I wondered if they were weeping more for the men or for their impending doom. Their party failsafe had ceased to work. What would they do now? Their drums were useless against the swarming Alaki with their expanding nest.

I needed to get that damn High Freck Gun. If their neolithic drums affected the Alaki, I couldn’t even comprehend the amount of damage that a high-frequency gun would do. They’d be driven miles away.

A hand wrapped around my forearm, pulling. Panic shot through me until my head turned to see Erotan. His black eyes twinkled as he stared at me, and his lips slipped into a smile. It was an evident look of love.

“Erotan, I want to do something,” I said as he wrapped me in his arms.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“I want to help your people defeat the Alaki. I want to go retrieve the High Freck Gun. Come with me, please.” I made my tone as diplomatic as possible, requesting that he accompany me rather than demanding it.

He released an exasperated breath. “You’re really set on this.”

“Yes, I am, but only if you go with me. I need my protector.”

His expression softened. I had him. “I can’t deny you. However, I will only go if we bring along two other warriors that can help protect my mate.”

“Deal.” I wasn’t going to argue over the details. We were going to get that damn gun, and that’s all that mattered.