BLURB:
A HUMAN IN TRANSIT AND MY HEART IN JEOPARDY
Jax
I am the Ambassador to the Agnorrian Empire and bearer of the goddess of home’s eye. I am one of the most important men in the Alliance Empire. However, I’ve had to leave my diplomatic vessel on Earth’s moon for repairs and return to the Empire on a cargo ship. This is unfortunate, but that's not what’s troubling me. The real issue is the young human woman traveling with us. I thought I would never give my heart to another woman after my first wife died and certainly not to a human, but the goddesses, it seems, have other plans for me.
IS IT MY DESTINY TO TAKE A HUMAN WIFE?
EXCERPT:
Lotta
The next few days proceed just like the first. I’m surprised that Ambassador Jax still has not come to any decision about whether or not the Empire will supply these Regals with more imperial weapons. In my humble opinion, I think he should just give them the weapons. They are, after all, a territory, aren’t they? I’ve, of course, voiced my opinion in the privacy of our own tent, but the ambassador just smiles and says, “If only it were that simple.”
Today as I’m admiring the ambassador’s hair, I notice my thigh muscles begin to really ache. Then an hour later, I begin to experience menstrual cramps. I know I can’t just leave in the middle of this, but at the same time, I have to leave.
I take the tablet for my notes and write the following,
I feel very ill.
Then, I hand this to the ambassador. He nods and then, to my surprise, calls a recess right then and there. Everyone gets up, his green eyes meet mine sympathetically, and he touches my elbow. “Can you walk, or should my guards carry you?”
I can’t believe he just stopped everything for me. “I can walk.”
Still holding my elbow, he escorts me back to the tent we sleep in, and I go directly to my bag, looking for the tab the Alliance Force nurse gave me. And I hope she’s right about it helping with the pain too. I’ve such bad cramps now, I just want to lie in the fetal position and not move for days.
“Can I help you?” Ambassador Jax asks from across the tent.
I don’t want to have to tell him what’s going on. So I do an Alliance thing and ignore his question while I continue looking for the tab.
I finally find it after I’ve emptied my entire bag, but I can’t remember how the nurse said to use it. I look at it in its clear case and realize I either have to guess how to use it with unknown consequences or ask. I think about the ambassador and summarize, He’s been married before. “Do you know how this works?”
Ambassador Jax asks his guards to secure the tent from outside and remain there. Then he crosses over to me and takes the tab from my hand, and as always between us, his fingers linger longer than they need to. “I do, and I’ll help you.”
“I’m sorry, I think I have gotten blood all over these trousers too,” I admit.
“There’s no need to apologize. I’m concerned for you. Are you in a lot of pain, Madame Lotta?”
“Yes, but it’s manageable. Can you explain to me how this works?”
“Didn’t the nurse give you instructions?”
“She did, but I forgot.”
“Come with me,” he says and begins leading me toward the toilet and shower area. I expect him to stand outside while he explains how the tab works, but he actually enters with me. “Disrobe, and I’ll help you.”
“That’s not necessary,” I say. “You can just tell me from outside the door.” I’m sure my cheeks are starting to turn red and not from my embarrassment over my period but because of my fantasies coming to life at the thought of him helping me with anything while I’m naked.
“You’re my responsibility. I’ve made you come to an alien planet, and I’ve noticed you’ve not been sleeping well. This is the least I can do.”
“That’s very kind, but….” I trail off when he makes the universal sign I have come to know means, ‘I will do this.’
When another wave of bad cramping hits me, followed by the sensation of more blood on the tops of my thighs, I give in to his request and begin taking off my trousers. “I’m sorry.”
“Do not apologize again. Without women, there would be no Empire to call home.” He takes my trousers and then, to my surprise, says, “Remove your tunic and undergarments. I will bathe you first.”
A thousand things pass through my mind at that moment, some of which must have shown on my face because then he adds, “I’ll not violate you in any way. I know human men have a reputation, but I assure you, Alliance men do not harm women. You’re safe with me. Understand?”
The sincere way he asks me if I understand is the same way he asks me after he has taught me something new about the Regals, the Alliance, or technology, and this makes me trust him, even if this is a very odd and intimate situation. I unbutton my tunic and take it off, along with my shoes and socks. Now I’m completely naked except for my fake ranking ID naming me as his assistant.
I notice that his pupils enlarge as he gives my body a once over, and this makes me feel beautiful, despite everything, the blood, my abdomen being enlarged from my period, and the cramping and the hair all over my body as I’ve not shaved in about a month.
He turns on the water. “You’re lucky we are here so you can have the water temperature higher than you could on the Hio. Please,” he says, gesturing for me to get into the massive shower that’s more like half a meter of a light rainstorm.
I step in, and it’s like I’m standing on smooth stones during a summer thunderstorm. I close my eyes and let the warm water run over me, forcing myself to relax. After a minute, I remember what’s going on and ask, “Soap?”
The ambassador pushes an area of the wall I would have never found myself, and then in the palm of his hand, he has some golden honey-like liquid. “Let me.”
END OF EXCERPT:
You can pre-order Married to My Alien Valentine (STANDALONE) for $0.99 or read it in Kindle Unlimted when it is released on February 10th, 2023
