His Brazen Bride (Earthly Possessions #1)

Chapter 1

1

GWEN

G o figure: I’m actually rocking this periwinkle blue bridesmaid’s dress.

A miracle, right? Everyone knows that bridesmaids’ dresses have to be hideous and make you wonder if the bride even likes you.

But this one is impressive. The material has a natural give that makes it more comfortable than most, hugging my curves with a sensual femininity I’m not used to.

I’m more at home in worn jeans and an old sweatshirt. But as I twirl in front of the mirror, gardenias woven into my dark hair, my lashes thick, my skin glowing, I feel…pretty. Nothing like my usual tomboy self.

The groom must have picked it out. He’s the most fashionable person I know.

“If we leave now, no one will even notice,” Iris murmurs, coming up behind me. She looks stunning as usual—tall, lithe, perfectly bronzed, her blonde hair done in the same plaits as mine.

She flashes me a wicked grin in the mirror. “Seriously. We can run out the back and be gone before the string quartet begins the wedding march.”

“Iris! Nataliya will hear you,” Lacey whispers, looking up from the book in her hands. Her midnight black hair is gleaming, her face fresh and dewy. She was ready twenty minutes ago but pulled out a book the moment she finished. Always reading, that one.

“Nataliya’s gone to get the flower girl,” I reply.

“And she wouldn’t understand me anyway.” Iris runs some gloss over her pouty lips. “She doesn’t know any English.”

The bride is of the mail order variety from some Eastern European country. She’s marrying our boss, Gabe. She doesn't know anyone here in the US, so Iris, Lacey, and I were volunteered to be her bridesmaids.

“I still can’t believe he’s going through with this,” Iris mutters.

“Does Nataliya know?” Lacey asks.

“That Gabe’s gay?” I shrug. “Not sure. Maybe she doesn’t care. She still gets her green card, right?”

Gabe’s the CEO of Atlas Athletics, the sports agency we all work for. He figured he would be more successful in such a traditionally alpha male industry if people didn’t know he was gay. His family had been pressuring him to get married anyway, so he decided a fake marriage would solve his problems.

So he’s looking at it like a business deal. A contract.

Contracts are what I do at Atlas Athletics so I’m not going to judge. I understand them.

Marriage, however, I don’t get.

My dad wanted me to settle down and said as much before he passed. But I think he just wanted someone to take care of me because he couldn’t. I do a damn fine job of that myself, thank you.

People don’t get married for love, anyway. Mom sure didn’t. As soon as Dad got ill, she bailed. I guess she’d imagined being taken care of, too…and when she saw that wouldn’t happen, she cut her losses.

Lacey sighs. “Hey, they could grow to love one another.”

Iris groans, rolling her eyes. “I’m going to forget you said that, Lace.”

Lacey purses her lips. “Sorry. I didn’t think that one through.”

I tuck my lipstick and phone into my matching periwinkle wristlet. “Better than dying alone, right?”

Iris chuckles. “Neither of you has to worry about that. You have me.”

Lacey comes up to put her arms around us both. “Exactly. We’ll always stick together no matter what.”

“Men are overrated, anyway,” Iris scoffs. “I have all the man I need in my purse. It just requires batteries.”

“Iris!” Lacey exclaims.

“What? I’ll buy you one. Then you never have to worry about losing your v-card to one of these disgusting pigs that call themselves men.”

Lacey blushes, crossing her arms over her chest.

Iris had gone through a messy divorce. She had doted on her ex-husband and it crushed her when he cheated on her with his secretary and blamed it on her. These days she’s increasingly bitter about love and she’s not shy about sharing her feelings.

Lacey, meanwhile, comes from a religious household and has no experience with love or sex yet. She lives in a fantasy of what could be, even as she worries that most men are only looking to get in her pants. Despite that, she still believes in fate…true love…all that garbage.

I’ve been around the block. It doesn’t work that way.

I glance in the mirror once more when I notice movement in the back of the room.

“Nataliya?” I whirl around when I see a dark shadow attempting to hide. No answer.

Iris grabs a heavy candlestick from the vanity as I see another shadow near the other side of the room. “Who’s there? Show yourselves!”

“What’s going on?” Lacey asks, backing up.

What the actual fuck? Something feels…off. The air is different and a strange ozone-y smell is wafting through the room.

Then the shadows move into the light.

Holy shit.

Three…beings—it’s the only word I can think of to describe them—are before us, with wide mouths, mottled greenish-brown skin, and large, reptilian eyes. They stand tall on two legs like humans, their lean limbs covered in what looks like leather garments. Large metal guns are strapped to their arms, though they don’t look real. More like toys with colorful lights and buttons.

Standing there frozen, all I can hear is the thick breathing of these…remember those interdimensional guys from Land of the Lost ? Sleestak or whatever? Yeah. Spitting image.

“Oh my goodness,” Lacey whimpers.

“What the f,” Iris croaks. “Is this some kind of a joke?”

It can’t be a joke. These guys are much too real.

My gaze darts around the room. We’re cornered.

Have these things come for just us, or have they surrounded the entire church? Is this be part of some all-out alien invasion of Earth?

Did I just admit these are aliens ?

“Who are you and what do you want?” I ask, just in case we’re jumping to conclusions.

Iris scoffs. “Something tells me these guys haven’t come in peace. Listen.”

We hear screams and yelling outside the church. Dammit.

Lacey grabs onto the wall, trembling.

“Keep it together, Lace,” I say, trying not to let my own voice waver.

The sleestak-type guys continue to stare, then communicate with each other using grunts, clicks, and other odd sounds.

“What do we do?” Lacey squeaks.

“Get ready to fight,” I say. “Let’s put all those krav maga classes to use, okay?”

“And stay alert to wherever they point those weapons on their arms,” Iris adds.

“Last chance, guys,” Iris says to the creatures. They only make more grunts and clicks.

Then they advance on us.

“Scream, Lacey,” Iris says. “We want everyone to know what’s going on here.”

Lacey yells for help as Iris and I begin kicking and punching, trying to evade their long arms. Iris cracks the candlestick over the head of one, but it only fazes him for a second.

They’re not using any weapons at all, just constantly trying to grab us.

Do they intend to take us alive? Experiment on us? Probe us?

With that in my head, I fight harder. These guys are slow, yet take our punches and kicks like nothing. Their bodies are solid…and powerful.

I go for their faces, but it’s hard to do that and avoid their long arms and claws. There’s no way we can keep this up for much longer.

Iris is cursing and fighting like a feral cat, while Lacey keeps screaming and throwing anything she can find at them.

“Try to get out of here, Lacey,” I yell, my dress getting caught for a moment in one of their claws when I kick back and stun him for a second. “Get help if you can!”

“Okay!” Lacey takes off for the door to the dressing room, but just as she grabs the doorknob one of the sleestak turns pulls her close to his chest.

Suddenly she goes limp in his arms.

“What did you do to her, you fucking alien lizard bastard?” Iris bellows as the alien drops Lacey’s body to the floor and comes after us.

He couldn’t have killed her. He barely gave her a hug.

Iris runs over to Lacey while I attempt to hold them off. I can tell by the aliens’ incessant chatter they’re frustrated with us. I guess we’re putting up more of a fight than they expected. Ha! Go team Earth Girls.

As Iris is checking Lacey’s pulse, one of them grabs her from behind. Iris elbows him. “Get the fuck off me, asshole!” But the hit barely registers, and the alien pulls her to his chest.

Just like Lacey, Iris goes limp in his arms.

“No! Iris!”

One sleestak backs me into a corner, while the others lift Lacey’s and Iris’s bodies over their shoulders.

“Hey—listen to me!” I cry. They all pause and turn to look at me.

“Take me , not them ,” I say. “Me.” I point to myself, then shake my head as I point to Iris and Lacey. “Not them,” I enunciate.

The alien directly in front of me studies me with those huge black, bulbous eyes. Then he motions to the others and makes some noises.

Did I get through to him?

Doubtful. I watch in horror as Iris and Lacey are carried out the door, and then I’m left alone with the last lizard-guy.

He moves on me faster now and despite my fighting, he’s too big and strong for me to keep him away. I make a mad dash for the door, but he grabs me and rolls me into his body.

A dizzying wave of numbness rushes through my limbs, and I succumb to the darkness.

* * *

My eyes flutter open. I’m on my back on a platform, staring up into a blurry array of lights.

I hear what sounds like voices near me, one deep and guttural, the other higher. They sound strange. Not quite human.

Then it all comes rushing back.

Aliens!

Where are Lacey and Iris?

I let out a squeak, and quickly cover my mouth. At least my arm still works.

The colored lights above me come into focus, but I’m still not sure what the lines and shapes represent. Words, maybe? In another language? No, diagrams …that seem to pulse and move along with my heartbeat and my breath.

The voices have stopped. All I can hear now is the soft hum of machines.

I turn my head to look around.

Woah.

It’s definitely some sort of medical room, but unlike anything I’ve ever seen in a hospital. Everything’s smooth and metallic, and instead of screens displaying data and vitals, laser lights map information in 3D.

“She’s awake,” says the deep voice. Weird. I can understand it, but the words are definitely not English.

“Oh goody, let’s get the probe ready,” says the higher pitched voice.

Probe?! I turn toward the voices and let out a yelp.

An octopus-like creature with four arms and hands, and four legs, with shoes on its feet, rolls its black and yellow marble eyes. “Don’t joke like that. She’s obviously afraid.”

I push myself up, still trying to figure out where I am. And who these beings are! I pull at the silky fabric barely covering my body. It’s unlike anything I can place—stretchy and shiny, but soft as a T-shirt. Why is it so crazy short?

I swing my legs over the side of the platform as the other creature smiles—at least, I think it’s a smile. His mouth is barely a slit in his long, thin face. He reminds me of Squidward from SpongeBob SquarePants , minus the big, floppy nose. He’s a sickly blue-green color, while the octopus is brick red. And despite the octopus not having a visible mouth, I know I heard him speak?—

My brain hurts.

Never mind. I need to get out of here. No one’s going to probe me ! I jump up, swaying on my feet before regaining my balance. What looks like a door is across the way, off to the right.

“No need to be alarmed, Gwen. We won’t hurt you,” says the octopus.

How does he know my name ?

This is too much.

Squidward and the octopus move closer to me and I bolt, making a run for the door. There’s no handle, of course, only a box with buttons and lights next to it. I smash them all at once.

Miraculously, the door gives way.

“Gwen, wait!” calls Squidward.

I cast a look over my shoulder at them as I run forward and slam right into a tree, or possibly a really lumpy wall.

Whatever it is, I’m on the ground, struggling for air, blinking up at the lights again.

“I’m guessing this is the female?” says the tree/wall, standing over me. It seems a million feet tall, the deep, rough voice crawling down my spine and settling low in my belly. I want to roll around in it. Why would trees or walls have such arousing voices?

As he looks down at me (yeah, this thing has to be male), I suck in a breath.

Electric blue eyes, larger and more vibrant than any human’s, stare down at me from a strikingly handsome face. His features are strong and defined, with a chiseled jaw, prominent brow, and a firm, masculine mouth. His physique is muscular and perfectly sculpted. His skin and hair shimmer with a glossy, coppery sheen. It’s like he’s made of one of those fancy frying pans.

His ears are elfin, long and pointed, rising high toward the crown of his head, adding to his otherworldly appearance. He’s dressed in tight, flexible material that stretches across his broad chest and massive frame, accentuating his powerful build, including the…oh my…hefty bulge at his crotch.

It’s as if someone blended Conan the Barbarian and Legolas together, then dipped the whole creation in liquid copper.

“Yes, Commander,” I hear the octopus say. “Her name is Gwen MacKinley.”

“Gwen.” My insides squirm with excitement when the sexy alien says my name.

What’s up with that?

“Not very intelligent, is she,” he remarks.

“Hey!” I huff. Enough of this.

“She can understand you,” the octopus says. “I implanted the translator chip.”

They what now? Not cool. I don’t care if this sexy copper beast makes me all hot and bothered, no one does shit like that without my consent.

Copper Hottie leans down, reaching for me with one of his big meaty hands.

I see my chance.

I bring my knee to my chest and kick out as hard as I can at the bulge, connecting directly with his large package.

He grunts and falls to his knees, his eyes squeezing shut, cursing. There’s no translation this time. But I know a curse when I hear one.

Once he’s down, I grab his head and thrust my knee into his pretty face. He yells and grabs his nose.

“Commander!” yells Squidward.

I jump up before Copper Hottie can grab me, and try to take off, but I trip and fall onto my stomach with a cry. I’m struggling to get to my feet when a thick hand grabs my ankle.

“No!” I yelp. I try to kick him off, but soon the other hand latches onto my free leg.

“Why are you fighting me?” he grunts, still sounding in pain. “I won’t hurt you.” He pulls me closer as I try to raise up, pins my legs with his, then rests all his weight on my back. I squirm, but he pins my arms too.

Fuck, he’s heavy.

“Don’t be afraid, Gwen,” he says, his mouth close to my ear.

His voice sends a shiver throughout my entire body.

“I’m not afraid,” I whisper.

“But you are trembling,” he says.

“Got the tranq, Commander,” Squidward says.

Suddenly, something pricks my foot.

“No!” I can barely breathe, let alone move the mountain on top of me.

“Give it a moment,” the octopus says, his words getting farther and farther away…