Warrior Invasion: A Science Fiction Alien Mail Order Bride Romance (TerraMates Book 10)

T
he outfit looked so
good that anyone would want to fuck her.

Katie Briggett studied herself carefully in the dressing room mirror. The lighting in here was terrible, but it was good enough for her to know the teddy was the right fit for her body. The black lace number graced her body perfectly, showing off her curvy hips and full breasts.

Hell, it made Katie want to run her hands over her body herself, feeling her velvety skin through the thin fabric. She had tried on at least ten different styles of lingerie this afternoon, but she knew Ben would love using his teeth to rip the tiny ribbon holding this one together. The clothing would be in shreds on the bedroom floor by the time he finished with it.

She smiled as she changed back into her regular clothes and slipped out to find the cashier. She and Ben loved to have fun, but it had been a while since she wore something special for him. Sure, the back corner of her closet held a red bustier, black thigh-high stockings, a shiny leather outfit that was nothing more than straps with a matching whip, and more babydolls than she could remember, but it was always fun to mix it up a little. She gladly paid for the expensive underwear.

Taking the little pink bag, Katie headed out toward the food court. A mall restroom wasn’t the most romantic place to change into her new purchase, but she wanted to make this time special for Ben, and she wanted to do it right away. Locking herself into a stall, Katie stripped down to her bare skin. She pulled the teddy back out of the little bag and slipped it on.

Even though nobody could see her, she felt a certain thrill whenever she wore something sexy. She tucked her old bra and panties into the bottom of her purse and put her blouse and dress pants on over the lingerie. Heading back out into the mall, Katie felt dirty thinking about what she had on underneath her clothes, like a sex-fiend superhero.

On the ride home, she let herself imagine Ben’s reaction when she came home early. She saw him sitting in his recliner, having just arrived a few moments before her. His tie would be loosened, and he had a beer in his hand. He would see her coming in the door and think it was just an ordinary day. Maybe he would ask her what was for dinner. She wouldn’t say a word. She would rip her clothes off and fuck him right on the dining table. He would like that. Then they could order a pizza and eat it while they were nude.

The first sign of trouble came when she unlocked and opened the door to their shared apartment. Ben wasn’t in his usual spot. In fact, she didn’t see him at all. There was a faint rustle down the hallway from their bedroom, and Katie grinned. Maybe she wasn’t the only one with a surprise this evening.

Her flats didn’t make a noise on the hall carpeting. She undid the first few buttons of her blouse, eager to get things started. Ben had half-heartedly attempted to close the bedroom door. It wasn’t latched, and it was slightly ajar. She pushed it open with a finger, ready to catch him in the act of throwing rose petals all over the bed or lighting candles for her.

Instead, she could only see his feet and hands. His feet hung off the edge of the bed, toes curling slightly. His hands tightly gripped the waist of a naked redhead gliding back and forth on top of him.

Katie stared blankly for a moment, trying to comprehend what she was seeing. She had always heard of women catching their men in the act of cheating, but she never imagined that she would be one of them. The naked bitch moaned and tossed her red curls, and Ben gave an answering grunt from underneath her. The noises made everything real.

“What the fuck?” Katie’s heart beat so fast that her hands started shaking. She didn’t know which one of them she wanted to punch more. Katie had built herself up all afternoon for a hot and sweaty evening with her boyfriend. She was hot and sweaty, all right, but not in the way she wanted to be.

The redhead swiveled around and smiled but didn’t stop what she was doing. Katie recognized her instantly. Her name was Laura, and she was Ben’s newest coworker at the accounting firm. She couldn’t remember what Laura did, but fucking Ben was part of her job description. Katie had met her once at a company party and noted the fiery woman with interest. She didn’t worry about competition at the time. She trusted Ben.

“Oh, shit.” Ben flung Laura away, and she bounced slightly on the mattress. She didn’t even bother trying to cover herself up, giggling as her giant breasts jiggled. Ben sat up and snatched a sheet to cover himself, as if Katie hadn’t already seen every inch of him numerous times. “This isn’t what it looks like!”

Katie wondered why he bothered speaking at all. It was exactly what it looked like. She narrowed her eyes and wondered what she had ever seen in him. When they had met, she thought he was handsome. With fresh eyes, she could now see he was a bit on the skinny side. He had a paunch, and his eyes were too close together.

Her disgust and hatred overrode her broken heart. She spun on her heel and left the apartment without saying another word.

K
atie pressed
the phone to her ear so hard that it hurt. She felt like throwing it across the room. She should never have answered the phone, but apparently she liked to torture herself. Was 'heart attack from the jerk of an ex-boyfriend' covered by her medical insurance?

“I can’t believe you, Ben! How could you do this to me? To us?”

The voice on the other end of the line was doing its best to sound soothing. “Come on, babe. Don’t make this a big deal. It was a mistake. She didn’t mean anything to me.”

“She didn’t mean anything?” Katie screamed. “Are you telling me it didn’t mean anything to sleep with someone else when we’ve been together for three years? Thanks for letting me know where I stand!”

Ben had never taken any of his mistakes seriously, and it didn’t look like he was going to start now. “Calm down. You’re always uptight about everything.”

“Oh, yeah, sure. Blame me.” Katie paced back and forth, burning a track into the rug in her parents’ living room.

“Come home and we can talk about it. I’ll make you a nice candlelit dinner and order your favorite cheesecake from the bakery around the corner. Everything will be right again. I’ll give you a massage, and we can see where things lead.”

Katie yanked the phone away from her ear and stared at it indignantly. “There’s nothing left to talk about, Ben. I saw you with another woman, a bimbo with fake boobs and dyed hair. I’m not dumb enough to let you get away with it, and I’m not stupid enough to fall for what you think are your smooth moves. I’m not coming home. Ever.”

“Does that mean a threesome is out of the question?”

Katie’s hand curled harder around her phone. “Yes, that’s exactly what it means.” She ended the call and tossed her phone on the couch. It was the safest place to hurl it without breaking the screen. Katie had gone through too many phones already.

She plopped down on the couch next to her phone and buried her face in her hands. Three years of her life were gone. Three whole years of dating, loving, sharing an apartment, and picking out furniture. Three years of arguing over whose turn it was to wash the dishes and hot sex on the kitchen counter when they couldn’t decide.

None of it mattered now.

Katie had returned the next day to get her clothes and books. She thought he would be at work, and she could slip in and out without a confrontation. But Ben was home, waiting for her. Katie wasn’t interested in his pleas. Now all of her worldly possessions sat in a stack of liquor boxes and garbage bags in the corner of her childhood bedroom.

“Katie, can I make you some dinner?”

She looked up to see her mother standing in the living room doorway, with a pitying look on her face that meant she felt sorry for her youngest daughter. Again.

“No thanks, Mom. I don’t think I can eat right now.”

Her mother crossed the room, moving to the couch and sitting down next to her. She brushed Katie’s hair behind her shoulder with a relaxed hand. “I know it hasn’t been easy for you, dear. You can stay here for as long as it takes to get back on your feet.”

Katie had been fighting back tears since Ben’s call, but her mother’s words made them threaten to spill over her lashes. She was twenty-five years old, and she shouldn’t have to get 'back on her feet'. It was embarrassing. But she knew her mother meant well.

“Thanks. I’m going to start looking for a new place tomorrow. Maybe I can find something a little closer to work.” She thought for a moment about what it would be like to finally live on her own again. There were some benefits. Nobody would chastise her for leaving her clothes on the floor, for example. “Maybe I’ll move into a pet-friendly complex, and I can get a cat.” Ben had never liked cats because he didn’t want loose hair on his expensive tailored suits.

“There’s the spirit, champ!” Her Dad suddenly appeared, and he sat on Katie’s other side. “Don’t let a bozo get you down. The best things in life are ahead of you. Do you mind if I watch a little TV?” He picked up the remote and clicked on the television.

Katie settled back into the cushions, enjoying the warmth of her parents next to her. She used to love being between them when she was a kid. There was nothing better than snuggling up on the couch for a good movie. But it wasn’t the same now. She couldn’t lie down with her head on Mom’s lap and her feet over Dad’s knees, falling asleep before the credits ran. No matter how much they told her things would be all right, she didn’t believe them anymore.

The news was on, which seemed to be her Dad’s favorite thing to watch these days. It was a sign of his age and personality. He liked to complain, and the news gave him plenty to complain about.

Katie watched with disinterest as the newscasters spoke of war, price gouging, and poverty. Then her ears perked up. “In other news, the most recent negotiations between Earth and planet Bonaan have resulting in EarthGov awarding a contract to TerraMates. The company was founded here on Earth, and our correspondents tell us it specializes in recruiting Earth women to become alien brides.”

“Sounds like a load of shit.” Her father waved his hand dismissively at the screen. “As though we don’t have enough issues with illegal immigrants in this country. Now they want to take red-blooded American women and ship them off to another planet?”

“They said Earth women, Dad. America isn’t representative of the entire world, no matter how much we want to act like it.” Katie shushed him so she could hear the rest of the story. She had been intrigued by these aliens from the moment they began showing up in the news.

A satellite had received an outbound communication from Bonaan. It took a few years to establish real-time messaging. EarthGov needed time to determine these aliens were not a threat, then the first ambassadors had to trade visits. It felt as though contact with aliens was a defining moment for her generation, and she had always been fascinated by them.

She remembered her teachers turning on news reports and documentaries about alien life, and the papers they had to write about what they might find on new alien worlds and how the inhabitants behaved.

Katie was pretty sure that none of the students had written about marrying one of them.

The news company played a clip from one of the representatives from Bonaan. “We believe this will be an excellent opportunity for both humans and the Bonaan,” the man on television said. He was distinctly humanoid, with a shock of ginger hair whose relaxed and swoopy styling looked like he borrowed it from a boy band on Earth.

His English was almost perfect. It sounded as if he were from a foreign country, not an alien planet. “We are desperately short of females here due to a genetic anomaly, and it’s a fantastic chance for beautiful human women to explore a new life safely. The first ships will start running in a month.”

Katie felt her heart leap out of her chest. She had seen numerous photos and high-definition videos of Bonaan, but the chance to set foot on an alien planet for free was tempting. Documentaries portrayed the Bonaan as a gentle people, and their world was remarkable. Katie had even dreamed of becoming a botanist, hoping to land a job where she could study alien flora.

Her dreams had been pushed aside in college for something practical, but where had that gotten her? Nowhere fast.

The television cut to a scene of a protest march, with people holding up signs and shouting at passers-by. “There has been some backlash against the new program,” the anchorman droned on, “with demonstrations arising in some of the metropolitan areas. But Sophie Lynch, the CEO of TerraMates, says no one will deter them. According to TerraMates, they are overflowing with applications.”

In the background, demonstrators held up signs with catchphrases like “Keep Earth Women on Earth” and “Alien Sex Isn’t Safe Sex.” Katie hadn’t thought about fucking an alien, but the idea was intriguing.

The camera switched back to the anchorman. “TerraMates is taking applications right now. You can apply through their website or the M8r app on your phone.”

Katie jumped off the couch, sending her phone flying to the floor. She raced to the computer in the den. Katie didn’t have to be stuck in her miserable life. She didn’t even have to stay on the same planet as Ben. There was a solution to everything, and it was only a few clicks away.

“What are you doing?” her mom asked.

“I’m going to space!”