Celia awoke the next day with the smell of cigarettes and stale beer surrounding her. Her head was pounding, and her mouth felt as dry as her backyard. She rolled over and groaned as her eyes demanded to stay shut against the cruel light of morning. It was the typical morning-after for a night at the Rusty Jug, a hangover and a hatred for humanity. She sat up and stretched, trying to find her alarm clock in the mess that was on her floor.

Wait.

Something didn’t feel right. She looked around the room with bleary eyes, trying to piece together her scattered thoughts. The battle in the canyon came swirling back, filling her mind with the smells and sounds of fear. She shivered and shrunk into the bed, unable to decide if she had been dreaming or not.

Comfort soon came, though. From the kitchen, she could smell potatoes and eggs, and heard the mumbled voices of her parents. A feeling of safety filled her chest, and she broke into a wide grin.

“Mom and Dad!” she cried, hopping up from the bed and running out her door.

Her parents were real. They were sitting in the kitchen, sipping tea and reading a magazine. They looked up in surprise as she came tearing in, her black hair sailing out behind her like a cape.

“Are you ok, Sweetie?”

“Where have you been? Is everything ok?” Celia jabbered.

“We told you, we went to Los Angeles to meet with the art dealer,” her mom said softly, looking Celia up and down in concern. “How much sun did you get yesterday? You were asleep when we came home last night, so we figured you must have had a long day. I hope you didn't get dehydrated.”

“I…I’m fine. Everything is fine!”

So her parents had gone to Los Angeles. But did the other things happen – the vague battle and powerful aliens?

No, that would be impossible.

Everything seemed muddled and she tried to shake the fog from her mind.

Celia went up and kissed both her parents on their heads. She pulled her feelings together and went to grab a breakfast burrito off the oven. Her stomach lacked any feeling of hunger, however. Instead she just felt a rolling sense of confusion. She wasn’t sure what would be worse, knowing she had imagined everything, or knowing that what happened had been real.

KNOCK KNOCK

“Oh, that is the art dealer. He is coming to pick up even more paintings!” her mother chirped, getting up and heading towards their door. “Xarax is so nice! And attractive! You’ll like him a lot.”

Miguel snorted behind his paper and mumbled, “He is too young for you, Maria. Besides you already have the best husband in the world.”

Maria playfully swatted Miguel on the head and went to open the door. Celia stood by the stove, clutching the burrito and trying not to get dizzy. No fucking way, Celia thought, wildly looking around. Xarax’s last words rang in her head – maybe I’ll see you around.

“Come into the kitchen, we are just finishing breakfast. I’ve got the paintings all wrapped up for you,” her mother prattled as she came back into the room.

Behind her came Xarax, looking as handsome as ever. He was wearing a black cowboy shirt that barely held in his muscled arms. He was dutifully listening to Maria, but his eyes immediately sought out Celia. As soon as he saw her standing there with a look of shock on her face, he flashed his biggest smile yet.

“Thank you so much for inviting me in and letting me meet the rest of your family, Maria,” he said softly. Maria giggled slightly and left the room to grab her paintings.

Xarax then turned to Celia and held out his hand. “I’m Xarax, nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too,” she said mechanically, putting the burrito down on the counter to shake his hand. “You…are here for the paintings?”

He nodded pleasantly and was about to say more, but was interrupted by Maria. Celia’s mom had quickly come back, carrying a huge bundle of cottage paintings. Each one was individually wrapped in green paper covered with pictures of Santa.

“The only thing I had to wrap them in was some old Christmas paper. At least they look pretty! I hope you can handle all of these,” Maria mused, before fleeing the room to get a second stack.

“I’ll find room. I might need some help getting these all packed into my car, though,” Xarax replied, his eyes mischievous.

“Celia will help you!” Miguel broke in. “Celia, why don't you help him carry these out to the car?”

“That’d be great! Then she could show me around the town a little,” Xarax responded. “I’ve never been here before.”

“Uh...sure,” Celia said meekly, allowing her mother to overload her arms with more paintings.

Before Celia knew it, she was trudging down the front steps, following Xarax towards the store's trailer. She didn’t say anything, not trusting her ability to keep silent about alien stuff in front of her parents. So they went on in an awkward silence, him leading the way and her trying not to stare too much at his butt. He claimed to be parked just on the other side of the store, but as they walked up to the parking lot all that was sitting there was his bike.

“Where is your car?” Celia asked, frowning.

“I can fit those on the bike, trust me,” he said, grabbing a box off the back. He opened it and a bright red light began to pulse out of it.

The paintings suddenly whizzed out of their hands towards the bike. Then with a POP the pictures shrunk down to the size of postage stamps and slid into the box. Xarax smiled widely, obviously pleased with himself.

“So I wasn’t crazy when I remembered the magical, futuristic technology part,” Celia said, stifling a nervous laugh.

“Nope. I didn’t wipe your memory.”

“I appreciate that.” She focused on the ground while speaking, avoiding his dark eyes. “But you did do…something to me.”

Xarax sighed with regret. “I just needed to make sure you were going to be mentally okay. After touching our Grand Staff, many species can go insane. You saw what happened to Reyes. So I had to knock you out and make sure we could give you medical attention if needed.”

Celia rolled her eyes. “Reyes was that crazy before he ever picked up that staff. And obviously I’m fine. Where is Reyes, anyway?”

“Don’t worry about it. He’ll just be going on a little vacation to our home planet.”

“Hmm,” she replied, not believing him. She had a feeling that some sort of crazy space prison awaited the gangster.

“Would you like to come with us?” Xarax said suddenly, moving close and putting a heavy hand on her shoulder. “With me?”

Celia looked up at him, blinking slowly in surprise. “Go…where…with you?”

“To my planet. We don’t let just anyone come, but since you are such a badass I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

She scoffed at the ridiculousness of the question. “Don’t you mean, ‘pure of heart’ or something like that? I think that is how it goes in fairy tales.”

“No, I think ‘badass’ is the technical term,” he said while grinning and squeezing her shoulder. “Come on, it’ll be a long trip but I promise you it’ll be worth it.”

She felt her throat tightening. She suddenly realized he was serious about his offer. “I don’t know. Someone needs to help my parents run the store. This community relies on it, you know.” Celia shuffled backward and stuffed her hands in her jeans, unwilling to walk away entirely but unsure of what to say next.

Xarax wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. “I can’t leave without you,” he said huskily. “My fate has spoken. Please come with. But if not, I will stay and have my men go without me.”

“What are you even talking about?”

“My people have one fated mate each. But I’ve looked on my entire planet, finding no one. No one that had the connection. The last thing I thought I’d find on this little planet was my mate, but here you are.”

He pulled her closer, his lips touching her forehead in a soft, gentle kiss that made her knees weak.

“How do you know I’m this mate?” She didn’t know what to think. Was this something he said to the girls on all the planets he visited? Was this too fast? Why did his words strike her heart and just seem…like the truth?

“Can you see my tattoos move?” he asked seriously, looking at her with those gorgeous eyes.

His gaze held hers and she felt a deep calm wash over her. It almost felt like her heart was opening up slowly, letting him in. She knew she could trust him, in a way she could have never forced. The trust was natural, and felt as necessary as air. She was dizzy, giddy and ridiculous.

She nodded. “I can. I wondered why only yours move. None of the other aliens’ did.”

Xarax smiled. “When we are young we are tattooed with nano-bots. They live under our skin, and help our body repair and survive while we experience extreme space travel. They move according to our moods, vital signs, and yes, destiny. However, for reasons our greatest sages haven’t been able to figure out, they only show their data to ourselves and to our closest loves.”

“Is it the same with the smell?” She took a deep breath, noticing that a rich citrus scent was once again filling the air.

He nodded. “Please, come with me. I know you must be confused. Our people move much faster than yours in relationships, my research shows. But we could go slower. Do this “dating” I’ve read about.”

Celia thought about the tiny town, with its heat and dust and depression. If she wasn’t careful she would dry out and die there, her potential blowing away like sand in the wind. Did she want that type of life? It would be the easy choice, but she knew it would also drive her mad with boredom.

“If I don’t like it, can you bring me back?”

Xarax put his hands on her hips, pulling her close. “Of course. I won’t keep you as a prisoner.”

“And I can keep in contact with my parents?”

“Not instantaneously – we don’t have the relay network set up for that. But we could transmit videos and audio to them.”

Celia’s heart tugged a bit. “It would be a long adventure, wouldn’t it? Going to your planet?”

Xarax’s hands were now moving around to cup her ass. “Long. Perhaps hard. But very satisfying.”

“Tell me you aren’t talking about your dick,” Celia said, chuckling in mock frustration. But she realized long and hard definitely described what was rubbing against her groin currently.

“I can’t promise you that at all. And now I need to get you into the store,” Xarax said suddenly, his voice hoarse with need. “Unless you’d like me to mate with you right here, in the parking lot.” To drive home the urgency of the request, his ground his hips tighter against hers. What he was packing was enormous – and obviously very, very excited.

Celia’s lady bits were drenched. Her nipples were so hard they were about to cut their way out of her shirt. Every fiber of her being was calling out – he’s mine.

Celia surprised herself by nodding wordlessly, her mouth going dry. She’d never had sex before, with a human or a ridiculously hot alien. But her whole body was humming with a need she’d never experienced. It was all crazy, insane even. But holy hell did she want him.

Xarax lifted her up by the butt, and Celia could do nothing but wrap her legs around his hips. She clung to him as he walked up the steps to the store and slammed open the door. Only once they were inside did his mouth find hers. His lips felt like velvet as they crashed together, his tongue pushing open her mouth with an authority she didn’t question.

The sense of calmness was back, washing away any of Celia’s nerves. The talk about fated mates didn’t seem too crazy now that Celia was wrapped up in his arms, feeling him take possession of her mouth. Their chemistry was perfect, and electric. His smart-ass, too-sexy self was everything she could want.

“Mine,” she moaned against his lips.

Xarax stopped, a deep animal growl coming from his chest. “Fuck,” he gasped, his body rippling with energy.

Next thing Celia knew she was on the counter, the cash register laying on the floor in a heap. Xarax grabbed her shorts and tugged, literally ripping the denim to shreds with his hands. Her panties were next, leaving her gasping as the warm air hit her sex.

He dropped his pants – or they disappeared – she really wasn’t sure how this whole alien disguise thing worked. He was left standing in front of her with an enormous, thick cock. And a second one below that. Both were completely rigid, and pointing right at her.

Oh crap. Porn has not prepared me for this, she thought.

“You know it’s not normal for humans to have two, right?” she asked, her voice dry.

“Oh, I know. This will just make it extra special for you,” he said. “Have you been with anyone else?” he added, trailing his finger up her thigh, toward her pussy which was practically quivering with need.

“No,” she answered, whimpering slightly as she felt the pad of his finger reach her lips. He stroked upward gently, avoiding her hot core in a way that was infuriatingly intoxicating.

“Good,” he said, his cocky smile back in full force. “Because you are all mine.”

With that he grabbed her hips and pushed himself forward. His first cock slid inside of her with the force of a freight train. Celia’s eyes rolled back and she grabbed onto his shoulders as hard as she could.

“Mine,” he repeated, timing the word with his thrusts. “Mine.”

“Holy shit,” she gasped, wrapping her legs around him.

He wasn’t sticking his second cock in any holes yet, thank goodness. Instead it was nestled along her cleft, the head rubbing her clit in the most delicious way.

His skin felt hot under her touch, and she was shocked to see his disguise melting completely away. His blue skin was on fierce display, and his tattoos were dancing across his body. She was captivated by the ink’s movements, the pulses in design that seemed to match her heartbeat. The beautiful designs were calling to her, and somehow they were beginning to make sense – they were telling her that everything he had said was true. That she was truly special.

One of his hands cupped her face, drawing her attention away from his tattoos. He pulled her toward him, crashing her lips to his. He sipped on her lips as he continued to drive his cock deeper into her.

Celia could feel her pleasure rising to a plane she’d never managed to reach by her own hand. This was something different. She felt so full, so safe. And the way his hips were grinding into hers was enough to see stars.

“I’m so close,” she cried out, digging her nails harder into his shoulders. Xarax didn’t seem to mind.

“Come for me, Celia. I’ve waited so long to feel my mate’s pleasure,” Xarax growled. He then pulled her head roughly to the side and bit her neck. It was animalistic, almost feral, and it pushed her completely over the edge.

Waves of pleasure washed over Celia, her body clamping down on the cock that was inside her. Her back arched, and she gave herself over to the purest feeling she’d ever known.

As she came down from her high, she was vaguely aware of Xarax’s own groans of pleasure. He held himself as deeply inside of her as he could, unleashing his load while his tattoos exploded in a multi-color display of geometric fireworks. She could also feel warmth on her stomach as his other cock also erupted and covered her in stickiness.

As they collapsed together afterward, Xarax kissed her forehead sweetly, his hands continuing to roam over her body.

“Please come with me,” he said at last. “I don’t often beg.”

Celia took a moment to respond, her head still buzzing from the earthshattering orgasm she’d just had. Finally, she gathered the energy to kiss him on the lips deeply.

“I’ll go. But only if you promise we can do this again.”

Xarax flashed her that cocky grin that had completely stolen her heart in record time. “Oh, I already have plans. As soon as I get that spaceship in the air, I’m going to be spending a lot of time exploring every single inch of you. And showing you what can happen when we use two holes instead of one.”

Celia giggled and playfully swatted his chest. “Let’s just stick to one thing at a time, cowboy.”