I Married An Alien (15 page)

Jordan bowed from the waist, and I wondered if I should do the same, but his arm around my shoulders kept me in place. "Thank you, Chancellor Badwana. May I introduce my mate, Anita DeBurgh?" he said as he straightened back up.

"Ah yes, the young Earth woman who has caused all the fuss. Welcome, Anita." His tone became even icier. I realized I really was not welcome in the slightest.

"I didn't mean to cause so much trouble," I blurted out. Jordan nudged me with his knee and I realized I had probably said the wrong thing.

"Those who speak before they think are often the root of all troubles," the Chancellor said harshly, and returned his attention to Jordan. "Well, you should be familiar with your old mentors, but for Anita, allow me to introduce Mark Fontura and Brian Lantana, Logan's big brother."

For a moment I wondered why he'd called Brian Logan's
big
brother, when he looked a good fifty years younger, until I remembered that poor Logan had Aged before he could find a mate.

The other two men greeted me politely enough, inclining their heads and welcoming me as Jordan's mate.

"Where's Logan?" Jordan asked once the introductions were out of the way.

"We organized a transport to bring him here. We didn't think he'd be any safer than you after what transpired tonight," Brian explained. He seemed to be the most casual of the three, wearing his dark brown hair unbraided. I wondered if this was how Logan used to look. Despite his grey hair and seamed face, he was still distinguished, almost regal. I suspected it came with the territory. The Terrons seemed to be an incredibly serious bunch, formal and stiff, not inclined to find much humor in anything. I supposed with their race risking extinction they probably didn't have too much to laugh about. "He's staying in the guest quarters, the same as you will be. If you'd care to follow me, I'll see you settled so you can get a few more hours’ sleep. The night is almost over."

Jordan bowed to Chancellor Badwana again, and then we followed Brian and Mark to the bank of elevators.

The set of rooms we were shown to were nowhere near as plush as the hotel suite I had so rudely been ejected from earlier in the night, but it still had its own bathroom with a spa bath, and a huge bed to fit the long limbed Terrons. There was a small sitting room off to one side. No balcony this time. This place was obviously not meant for romantic star-gazing under the moonlight.

"Logan is right next door, actually, and Dana will be spending the night across the hall with her mate," Brian explained. "Too late to send them home, and Dana thought you might like some female company over breakfast. This place can be quite daunting for newcomers."

"Thanks," I murmured. "This whole
planet
is quite daunting."

"Well, it is three times larger than Earth, so I could imagine it would be," he added with a small smile, and then he let himself out of the suite, the door hissing closed behind him.

Three times
larger?
I thought incredulously. Obviously it must be nowhere near as dense as Earth, otherwise the gravity would be crushing. Or perhaps the gravity
was
heavier and I didn’t notice because I was in someone else’s body, a form that could have been specially treated to survive on the Terron world. But then, as I beheld the tall, slender Terrons, I thought perhaps the reverse was true. They wouldn’t have grown so big on a heavy gravity world.

"They are good men, Anita," Jordan said as he came to stand in front of me.

"I never said they weren't. It's just that they are so terribly formal."

"They are unsure of how to act around you."

"Even that icy Chancellor? He looked at me as though I was some kind of insect he wanted to squish under his boot," I said rather tartly.

"You present so much danger, and yet you act so innocent of it all…" He sighed. "If it wasn't for our ability to mind-link and the wonderful way we fit together, I would question your motives too…" Suddenly he pulled me into his embrace, and I melted into him, already feeling like I belonged there.

"If only you would believe me," I murmured against his shirt as I slid my own arms around his lean waist.

"Tomorrow we will find out what wiped your memory. Now it is time for bed." Once again I found myself lifted into his arms, as he carried me across the floor, and deposited me on the bed.

I lay there and watched him shrug out of his shirt and slide out of his damaged trousers. He wore nothing underneath. No underwear whatsoever. I have never been one to admire a man's body, but I could stare at Jordan's naked form all night. His body was so perfect. But he was quick to climb onto the bed beside me.

"If only I had the energy to make love to you right now," he said as he pulled back the sheets, so we could both slip under them together. "But that injury and the energy it took to heal me has really exhausted me. So let me just hold you so we can fall asleep in one another's arms."

I had no arguments with that, and snuggled against him, infused by his warmth. "Well, at least you believe that I can't remember being Anita," I acknowledged, glad we were at least getting somewhere.

"For you to forget something as simple as an insignia and the shape and style of a spac craft must mean some kind of brain trauma. Not to mention some of the other strange comments you've made." He yawned hugely. "We can talk to someone about all that tomorrow too. But right now I need some…"

When he didn't finish his sentence I knew he was already out for the count. Since I had dozed off in the hover, it took me a bit longer to nod off, but soon the welcoming folds of sleep enfolded me into its embrace, just as Jordan always welcomed me in his.

Chapter
Twelve

All too soon morning arrived, and it was time to get up and face the music; loud and discordant, emitting from a clock on the bedside table that I wanted to pick up and hurl across the room. Clearly my dislike of early morning wake-up-calls had followed me into the future. The huge Terron sun hadn't even risen yet. To add fuel to my reluctance to rise, Jordan was cheerfully humming along with the unpleasant tune, as he stood fully clothed, in another pair of comfortable loose pants and crisp white shirt, brushing his long hair back into a neat ponytail.

I threw a pillow at him, and burrowed back under the sheets.

Not only did the pillow come straight back at me, so did a heavy weight, landing across my body. Fingers yanked back my flimsy covering. I squirmed, trying to shake him off, but it was futile to try and move such a massive man, particularly when I felt him kiss the back of my neck.

"Rise and shine, my lovely," he murmured against my ear as his tongue followed the ridge of my lobe.

"Stop that. It tickles," I squealed.

"That's the general idea. We have a busy morning ahead of us, and if you want to take a shower, you had better hop to it," he urged, giving my rump a light whack with the palm of his hand.

"Hey!" I cried, rolling over as he sprung off the bed. This was one Terron who certainly did have a sense of humor, I thought as I saw him grin at me from a safe distance. Jordan sure seemed to like to play. And as I had only recently discovered, so did I. For too many years my spirit had been buried beneath the demands of my mother. But now that I was free of her, I could really express myself. I aimed the pillow at him again. Of course I missed as he casually stepped to one side.

"Any chance of turning that dreadful noise off?" I asked as he picked the pillow up off the floor.

"Of course," he said pleasantly. Sauntering over to the bedside table, he laid his hand on the clock. It instantly silenced. "You could have done that yourself, you know."

"Well, I know now. And what are you going to do with that pillow?" I asked dubiously, as he just stood there with it in his hands, grinning charmingly back at me.

"Nothing if you get up."

I heaved a very loud sigh and reluctantly climbed from the bed.

It wasn't until I had removed my dress, and stepped into the shower, that I realized I'd slept in the thing, and that I hadn't seen my suitcase anywhere in the suite.

Wrapping several towels around myself I returned to the main room, wondering what on earth I was going to wear, since the dress was rumpled and stained from last night's adventure.

I shouldn't have worried. Dana was standing there with her arms full of garments, already laying them out across the bed. I couldn't see Jordan anywhere. She had on a pale pink dress that looked Roman, with a beaded border around the neck and a matching beaded belt cinched around her slim waist. Her fair arms were bare.

I noticed a similar belt dangling from the pile of clothes, a blue one with silver tassels. "Is there a dress to go with this?" I asked hopefully as I pulled it free.

She smiled. "There sure is. It's one of my favorite outfits, but you're welcome to wear it today. And here are the matching shoes." She pulled a pair of soft beaded slippers not too dissimilar to my own from the heap of clothing.

I stuck out a foot. "Will they fit? We might be about the same size but I don't know if our feet are too."

She smiled at me. "They'll fit. Terron material remember? It adjusts to just about anyone's size."

"Cool. Thanks. Where did Jordan get to?" I asked, as I began pulling on the new clothes.

"The men have already left for breakfast."

I guess that meant I should hurry. Since the dress more or less glided on, and the shoes hugged my feet like a second skin, all I really had to do was brush my hair. That took the longest, since neither race seemed to have invented instant detangling brushes.

Feeling fresh and comfortable, I followed Dana to the bank of elevators and down into a massive cafeteria. It was crowded with mostly Terron males making quick work of what looked like standard-sized breakfasts for elephants.

"Get a good breakfast on board and achieve a more productive day," Dana quoted. "These guys are mostly Administration staff. Personally I think it's to take advantage of a free feed."

I was really beginning to like her brand of humor. "Do you work here too?"

"Yes, when I'm not at the hotel preparing brides for their marriage ceremonies. If mates want to work, the Administration will find you a job," she explained as she lad me over to what looked like a buffet. She began helping herself, so I too picked up a plate and began piling food onto it.

"It's been a while since I've had a job, but I would like to do something useful," I said as we began weaving our way through the other diners.

"That's good to hear. There's more than enough to go around, as you'll no doubt soon find out. This city might look enormous, but over half of it is empty."

I hadn't known that. It all looked so neat and new. I had no idea it was a city in decline.

"The Terron buildings are built to last,” Dana continued. “Derek and I moved back into his family home after our mating, but until then he was living here in the Admin building. If Jordan and Logan weren't running the farm, you too could move into his family's home. The houses are to die for. Ah, here we are."

Our mates were sitting at a long table, along with Logan and the two men I had met during the night, Brian and Mark. Like gentlemen of old they all got to their feet to welcome us, and then shuffled about to make room for us. I was also properly introduced to Jordan's best friend, Logan.

As I began tucking into my bacon and eggs, Jordan outlined today's itinerary for me. Apparently Logan had already organized for me to see a doctor who specialized in memory recovery.

"A shrink?" I queried suspiciously.

"A what?" everyone asked.

"You know - a head shrinker, a psychiatrist," I elucidated.

They all laughed. "Not in this day and age," Logan snorted. "No, he's a memory specialist, a doctor of the brain."

"As long as he doesn't try to operate
on
my brain, I'm prepared to talk to him," I said, becoming rather annoyed at their reaction.

"There's no need for anything quite that barbaric with today's technology. Nobody's brain has been operated on for well over a hundred years," Jordan explained.

Now I was a barbarian. Great! I decided to keep my mouth shut, and have it out with the good doctor himself should he decide to hypnotize me or stick electrodes to my head. After my experience with Professor Jackson, I didn't want my head, body
or
mind messed with again anytime soon!

Dana patted my hand. "Don't worry about them. They're just being typical males. If you want me to come with you, just say so."

"Thanks Dana." I was actually annoyed that Jordan hadn't given me moral support. As I glanced at him, I thought he looked worried, no doubt as concerned as I over what we would discover about Anita today. Of course that worry had never really left me either, but for a few short moments I had wanted to enjoy my food. Now I pushed my plate away, only a few mouthfuls eaten. I preferred to get this over and done with. "But I'd rather you didn't. I hope you don't mind." The fewer people involved in this the better, I thought.

"That's fine. I've got plenty to be getting on with myself. Hopefully I'll see you afterwards at lunch time.” With a smile, she got to her feet.