The Artistry of Love (Alien SciFi Romance) (Celestial Mates Book 2) Read online

  “That’s what you think,” I said.

  “You’re stupider than I thought you were. You haven’t realized that regardless of what you do there will be a war? You’re pathetic,” he said.

  “That may be, but I know that my father is the culprit behind most of this, and the last thing I want is for him to go unpunished,” I said to him.

  “You’re a goddamn fool then. I’ve heard about you. The professor told me all about you. How you’re the bastard son, how your mother was a whore, how you were a failure of an experiment. It’s comical to hear all of this, and the fact that I got to meet you before I died makes it so much better,” he said to me.

  I shook with anger, but then, Tracey stepped in.

  “It’s over, Brad. You’ve not only hurt me, but others as well. I’m done,” she said to him.

  “That’s cute, Tracey. Good to see you’re sucking alien dick now. I’m surprised. I thought you’d keep your legs closed,” he told her.

  I shook with anger, but then Tracey grasped my hand, holding it over his heart.

  “Just because I love this person doesn’t mean I’m a whore. I’ve learned what love is, how to accept others, and everything in between. I know that this might seem wrong to you, and you might think I’m bad, but you were the one that hurt me first. You’re the one that started this whole mess, and I’m going to say right now, this isn’t just for me, or for Jives. This is for everyone, everyone who’s been hurt by your bullshit. I’m not holding back anymore,” she said.

  With a cry, she dug her hand straight against his throat. She then took mine, which was filled with power, and pushed it there as well, shocking the other man. The burn that was there on his throat made me almost cringe, but when she pulled back, she looked at me, smiling.

  “Let’s finish this,” she said.

  I got up, took her hand, and the two of us continued to the place where I didn’t want to go, but I knew that I had to be in.

  ~Tracey~

  I felt bad for doing what I did to Brad. Not because I liked him, but because of the fact that this was all happening so fast, and I mean, I’ve never killed a man before, so this was a truly rude awakening. But, I did love beating him, since it meant I could protect Jives, to help him, and to be near him.

  I walked over to the place where Jives stood, staring at him.

  “Let’s go, babe. We need to put an end to this,” I told him.

  “I agree. I was just waiting for you,” he replied.

  Both of us walked down the hallway, the silence almost too overpowering for words. I grasped his hand, holding it there, and the slight touch was more than enough for me. I wanted nothing more than for this to just completely go away, for the fear that we had to subside. I looked at Jives, and he stared at me.

  “Do you think he was right about the war?” I asked him. I didn’t want there to be a war.

  “There might be, but I think once we get rid of my father we’ll be able to stop most of the madness. Remi is working hard to make sure that this is taken care of as well. We have a lot of great people on our side. It’s just time to put an end to this past,” he told me.

  I nodded. “That makes two of us. And… when this is over, will we still get to be something? I mean, even with all of the bullshit that’s happened?” I asked.

  He paused, pulling me into his arms, stroking my hair and giving me the most passionate kiss that he could.

  “When this is over, we can have the most peaceful life we can have. I’m not letting you go, Tracey. I love you,” he said.

  I felt a rush of affection when he said this. I mean, that makes two of us.

  “I love you too,” I replied.

  We both kissed, making out in the hallway for what seemed to be forever. After a bit, he pulled back, looking at me with a serious glance.

  “We need to finish this. For both of us,” he said.

  I couldn’t agree more. We went down the hall, entering one of the little rooms nearby. It’s where I heard the vibrations, and Jives seemed to be familiar with this place.

  “He set up the place to be similar to his old lab. That’s why I know,” he explained.

  I nodded, understanding all of this. We made our way over to the next set of doors, which he quickly opened, and we quickly moved inside. He walked up the stairs, looking at me with anticipation and soon we were all the way up. He was almost walking like he was in a trance, like he knew where everything was and was practically being called to go there. I blushed, thinking about just how hot it was that he did this, and how I was so ready to see what would happen next.

  When we finally got to the top of the stairs, he paused looking at me with a serious look. This was it. He was probably wondering if I wanted to continue with him, or to stay behind.

  “I’m coming with you,” I told him, as if he knew I was reading his mind.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. I’m not fucking around anymore. I want to stay with you, to help you in whatever ways that I can, and to… do this. For both of us,” I told him.

  He blushed, and I felt completely and utterly excited. He then started to move his hands to my own, grasping them. He gave me a kiss, pulling back and sighing.

  “If for some reason things get bad… just go to the president. Tell Remi. I want to make sure that he knows,” he said.

  “Okay,” I replied.

  The two of us shared a passionate kiss as he opened the door. When we got inside, I could already see Jives transforming before my very eyes. He was becoming an alien, almost on instinct, and when I looked at his father, all I saw was a sinister grin.

  “There you are. I’ve been waiting for you. Both of you actually,” he said.

  This was it, the climax. But then, as soon as I thought about it, a force dragged me to the wall, pinning me there.

  “What the—”

  It was then when I realized. His father had his own powers, one of them being the manipulation of gravity. I stayed helpless against the wall, feeling my body almost being crushed by the force. I didn’t want to die, and when Jives saw me like this, he was thinking the same thing. Could we really make it out of this? Could we manage to make this all work for the benefit of all? I didn’t even know anymore, but all I could do was believe, hope, and expect the worst. I saw that Jives was scared, and frankly I didn’t blame him. I felt slightly nervous as well, and he seemed to be completely in the moment. He wasn’t paying attention to me. His eyes were on his father, and I knew that this was the final battle, the one to determine what might happen next in terms of the war, and the relationship between humans and the various aliens.

  Chapter 10

  ~Jives~

  I looked over at my father, a hateful man. I couldn’t believe he was holding her hostage. I felt the anger seep through my body, making me want nothing more than for this to just end. I wanted to save her, but I had to finish off my father first.

  “There we are. Now we can finally talk. As father and son,” he said with a sneer.

  “Like hell I’d want that!”

  “Oh, don’t be so sour. I know for a fact that you want this. You want to fight me, and frankly, I want to fight you as well,” he told me with a sneer.

  He moved towards me, raising his hands. I knew this move. He was trying to push me back, to choke me. But unfortunately for him, I knew how to beat this.

  I raised my hands up, pushing the energy from his own hands out of the way. He was pushed back, and I smiled.

  “Don’t think that trick will work on me,” I told him with a smirk.

  “You little shit,” he replied.

  “I know. I’m your little shit, though. So why? Why did you come here? What did you want from this planet?”

  “I wanted to kill you, Jives. You’re a bastard of an experiment. I’ve wanted to kill you since you escaped that wretched day. And now, now that I’m here, staring at your pathetic body, the monster that you are, I can’t wait to do more damage,” he said with a smile.
r />   I braced myself, feeling as if everything was starting to change. I could already tell that this wasn’t going to be pretty, nor would it be easy. I started to feel the energy surge through my fingers once more, ready to take this bastard out. I had to, not just for the sake of the planet, but for her as well.

  I looked at Tracey, and she seemed to be stuck. He had her pinned there. He was strong, and I felt as if the only way to break her free would be to defeat this man. That’s what I had to do, and it’s what I needed to accomplish.

  I lurched forward, moving my body suddenly and letting my hands reach up. I started to fight this guy, dodging all of his blows, and that’s when I did it. I raised my hands up once again, getting one blow straight into his face. He cried out, and I smiled.

  But I left myself vulnerable. I didn’t even know that I did that until I felt the force hit me square in the face, knocking me back. I coughed hard, feeling my body shake with sudden force. He then reached over, doing that once again.

  Blow after blow hit me with a force that I couldn’t even manage to fathom until now. It hurt so badly, and I felt like tears were welling up in my eyes, making me want nothing more than for this to end. I needed the sweet release, and I needed all of this to finally just go away. I needed to beat him, but already the energy in my body was sapped, leaving me with a sudden, shocking feeling that made me want to fight, but I was unable to.

  He was hitting me with so much force I wanted to puke. It was then, though, that I looked at Tracey, who was still conscious. Her eyes were bulging out of her head, the fear obvious. I had to do this. For her. I then reached forward, gathering all of the strength that I could, pushing it all into one of my hands.

  “You’re not going to win… so easily,” I said.

  “And why’s that? You’re not strong enough, Jives. You never were. You have the blood of a whore inside of you, coursing through your pathetic veins,” he said to my face.

  “That’s… what you think. But… I’ll do this for her,” I said.

  I then reached forward, grabbing his neck. With all of the force in my body, I managed to finally hit him, and he cried out. He was screaming in pain as I twisted his neck, holding it there as he cried louder. It was then when he finally crashed, and I felt the trickle of his blood course over my hands.

  I killed him.

  I killed my father.

  I never expected to have to kill someone, but I knew that it was for a good cause. I turned to Tracey, who seemed to be just as shocked as I was. I mean, I didn’t blame her. She’s never seen me like this. The cold-blooded killer that I could be.

  I felt that feeling start to come back. I killed a lot when I was in this shape, before Remi came around and saved my life. But, as I looked at her, knowing that I needed to be calmer, to be more resolute, I then started to change. I finally morphed back into the form that I wanted to be in, and when I turned to her, I smiled. I knew she was worried about this, but I wanted to show her that I wouldn’t become a monster.

  She rushed over to me, the restraints gone now that my father was dead, and the two of us embraced. We stayed like this for what seemed to be hours, but it was really just a few minutes. I gave her a hot, passionate kiss, and she did the same. The two of us melted against one another’s bodies, probably because we thought we’d lose one another. I’d make love to her later though, when we were out of this shithole.

  “We did it,” I told her.

  “We did. We should head back, though. Tell the others. See how it’s going,” she told me.

  That’s right. The job wasn’t over yet. It’s time to go check out the damage, and hope that they backed off while we were fighting.

  ~Tracey~

  I expected it to be hell outside, but instead it was calm.

  Apparently the attack was called off when the body of the professor was found, which meant that the forces that were there soon left the area. The planet was saved, and it seemed like most of the members of the Klanden forces were ready to help at the drop of a hat. I felt great about that, and I was happy that this hell was over for now.

  When we got back, the president briefed us that tensions were about to get worse, that we’d have to start with negotiations soon. I felt like I was just another body in the way, but they wanted Jives and I to work together. We said that we would, and that’s what we did.

  The next job was to go to these people and start to work it out with them. We spoke to one of the little people that belonged to the planet, and it was discovered that the professor was actually part of a rebel faction, and not really sent by them. So, they were rebels. I thanked them for the help, and the three of us managed to work out a trade deal. I mean, it wasn’t over yet, but we did have a grapple on this situation, so I couldn’t necessarily complain.

  I turned to Jives, who seemed completely in his own little world. I felt bad for him, mostly because it was obvious that he didn’t know where to go next. He seemed to always have everything under control, but this attack was a sign that there were still things that we didn’t know. This also meant that the relations between the earthlings and those of Klanden might not be favorable. I didn’t want things to get worse.

  “Are you okay?” I asked him one night as we laid in bed after making love.

  “Yeah. It’s just… I’m trying to make sure that both of our planets don’t go to shit. I know that Klanden relies on you guys, and you guys rely on us for the defensive power. But, I’m just worried I might not be enough. There is a huge job here, and I know that someone has to do it. It’ll be me, but I worry that I might not be good enough for that,” he told me.

  “You know, you worry far too much,” I said with a smile.

  He blushed, unsure of what to say in response.

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  “You don’t have to apologize for anything. I’m serious, Jives, you worry way too much, and it’s obvious that you’re just trying to make this all work. But remember you’ve got me now. I… I’m putting my art to the side. I’ll still do it for you, and for the embassy, but I want to work with you as an ambassador, and to help keep the relations strong. I’ve learned from this that maybe, just maybe, working in the defenses and protecting this planet might be my calling,” I told him.

  I did think about this. I mean, Audrey did the same. I wasn’t doing this for anyone else but for myself, Jives, and for the benefit of the planets. But Jives looked at me with a shocked expression, almost wondering if I was lying.

  “You’re serious, right? Because once we make this decision, we can’t go back on it,” he said.

  “I’ve thought very long and hard about this, Jives, and I know that this is what I want to do. I want to do this… for both of us,” I told him.

  He looked at me, and I could tell he was studying my face, to make sure that I wasn’t bullshitting. When he realized that I wasn’t, he smiled.

  “Well, that makes two of us,” he said to me.

  I took his hand, holding it there and kissing it. I smiled at him, knowing that he was happy about this, deep down.

  “Thank you, Jives. For… everything,” I said.

  “You’re very welcome, Tracey. I couldn’t have done this without you,” he said to me.

  “Same here,” I replied.

  “I’m serious. We did save the planet. I know that there are still some rogue factions, but this is the future that I want to have with you, the one I feel we both deserve. We’re so different, and yet so very much the same. I do want to marry you eventually. Not yet, but I’ve thought about it,” he replied.

  I flushed. I mean, we both felt the same way, that’s for sure. “Same here. I want to marry you,” I told him.

  We kissed passionately, and for the rest of the night, we made love. I did work with him as a co-ambassador, mostly to make sure that everything was falling into place. I still did my art, but it was definitely becoming more of a hobbyist thing. I did go on missions where we’d oversee various buildings and make sure that it was
benefitting everyone. At the end of the day, I felt happy, whole, and definitely better than I have before.

  I don’t know, something about this just felt so… right. Maybe it was because I stopped thinking only of myself, but of the others as well. Jives was a bit nervous about letting me work with him initially, which I could understand, but after a while, once we worked out the kinks, he saw me as a valuable member of the force, and someone that he could rely on. I definitely felt happy about that, mostly because I knew that deep down, he could trust me. We could trust one another, and we could see through all of the pain that we went through. We did plan on getting married, but not just yet. Right now, the future of the planet was what we both wanted to work towards, and when the time was right, we’d work towards the goal of marriage as well.

  I was happy, and I knew that Jives was too. We were so different, but so similar, and I knew that the love we shared was real, and while we were different, love brought us together.

  Bonus Series 1

  Ice Planet BarBEARians (Book 1)

  C.J. Scarlett

  Chapter 1

  “You should come,” Greg said, grinning widely. He wore a light-pink oxford shirt and a pair of khaki cargo shorts. Jenny’s secret-recipe barbecue sauce dotted his shirt and lined his fingernails. He had a bit of barbecue sauce on his cheek as well, and bits of grayish meat stuck in his teeth. I wanted to suggest floss, but from the yellow tint to his teeth, I had the feeling that he wasn’t much of a flosser. “We’re going next weekend. We’re supposed to get a lot of rain on Thursday.”

  “Oh?” I asked vaguely. I caught a woman staring at me from across the yard. She was a stranger, weird for a small town. But then, Jenny’s crowd was a wide demographic. I frowned at her, and she smiled at me, like she knew me. She’s probably drunk, I thought. Uncomfortable, I looked up at the sky, and noticed that the sun began to get that late afternoon slant. I sighed deeply. Part of what Jenny called my “Cinderella Syndrome.” I rarely stayed at any party for more than three hours. I’d had enough of being around people, and one person in particular. It wasn’t yet dark out, but Jenny had already turned on the chili pepper lights that had been strung across the blue-painted ceiling of her porch. I was in desperate need of a few hours of R&R, involving a book and a nice, fluffy bubble bath.