Soul-Bonded to the Alien Read online

  “He must be famous.”

  “He is, but you’ll never know it because he produces and releases under several different names. We like our quiet life in Newburg and want to keep it that way.”

  “How many floors do you have?”

  “We have three floors. This floor and the one above it are for guests. The top floor is where Victor and I live.”

  Selma led her down the hall that held two doors on one side and one on the other. She stopped in front of the single door opening it. This will be your room.

  Paige stepped in and turned around. This wasn’t a room, it was a suite. The kind she was sure she couldn’t afford.

  “This is much too large, all I need is a small room.”

  “Nonsense, this is perfect. You’re in the living area now. Behind the door to your right is the bedroom and the door on your left leads to the bathroom. We serve dinner at six, that gives you two hours to rest and refresh yourself. Here’s Victor with your suitcases.”

  Paige turned around to find her luggage in the room but there was no sign of Victor.

  “Thank you, Selma.”

  “It’s my pleasure Paige, see you at six.” Selma closed the door as she left.

  The living room was elegantly decorated in browns with accents of rose. The chairs and couch looked comfortably overstuffed. Paige took off her coat hanging it in a closet that was hidden in the corner of the room. Rolling her luggage behind her she headed for the bedroom, she might as well enjoy the luxury while she had a chance.

  The bedroom made her dream of home. Not that she knew what home was. She was raised in an orphanage. She was never adopted, never fostered; she was the kid that no one ever noticed. She knew what institutionalized beds felt like and mass produced turkey as well as impersonal gifts under the tree. After she was old enough to go it alone she wanted to resent the orphanage but couldn’t. They did what they could so she would have a chance at life. It was too bad she never quite landed on her feet.

  Touching the bed, she felt her hand sink in. The mattress would feel like she was sleeping on a cloud, she was sure of that. Quickly she stowed the clothes she brought thinking several of the items were impractical now that she actually saw the snow. After putting her suitcases away, she grabbed a change of clothes and headed towards the bathroom. She couldn’t wait to see if her bathroom was as luxurious as the rest of the suite.

  The bathroom looked like it came right out of one of those beautiful homes magazines she bought when she was in the mood to torture herself. It was large with a deep soaker tub and a separate shower with several shower heads at different levels. As much as she wanted to try them out, her body was begging to slip into a tub of hot water with scented bubbles.

  She turned on the faucet and searched the cabinets hoping a bubble bath would reveal itself. Eureka, she found several scents and sniffed each until she found the one that appealed to her, Summer Apple. Adding a liberal amount, she slid her tired body into the water and groaned with relief as her muscles began to relax.

  Maybe this was just what she needed. A change of scenery may be the new start that would kick her life into gear. The last couple of years she had been drifting. When she left the orphanage she went directly to college on a full scholarship. The staff at the orphanage were proud that one of their children proved the system wrong. The house mother said to her, ‘You are strong and smart, you will beat the odds. I’m so proud of you.’

  She studied to become an accountant. The work was tough, but the holidays were tougher because she had nowhere to go. In the end she prevailed. Graduation was a bitter-sweet time for her; no one held her tight or gave her flowers. She was a loner in college, driven to prove herself. The few friends she made were all going to different parts of the world and she was headed somewhere in California, the only state she knew.

  Finding an entry level accounting job wasn’t hard. With her job and her apartment she thought her life was set. She would be rolling in friends and male company. Life didn’t always work the way she wanted. She found making friends on the job harder than when she was in school. It was cut throat and each person had their eyes on the position above them. Climbing the corporate ladder was the goal and anyone who got in the way was stepped on. Life there had been lonely, but the money wasn’t too bad.

  Leaving the tub, she dried off and went to get dressed. As much as she wanted to sink into the bed, she wanted to explore more. She still hadn’t actually touched the white stuff drifting down from the sky. The thought of making a snowball made her smile. Yes, this was definitely what she needed.

  She looked in the mirror; the jeans looked good on her slightly thicker size sixteen frame. She liked herself just as she was and she even met a few guys who liked her curves. Too bad none of them were keepers in the end.

  The door to her room opened, catching her by surprise. A little bundle of energy flew in her direction. She caught him.

  “Hi.”

  “Oh, I didn’t know anyone was in here.”

  “That’s ok,” Paige said letting him go. “Who are you?”

  He drew himself up until he was as standing at his full height. “I’m Victor the second, but they call me Vick,” he said with all the pride of a young boy.

  “Hi Vick, I’m Paige. Who are you running from?”

  “My uncle is in town. He’s chasing me!” The laughter in his eyes and voice brought a natural smile to her face.

  “Well you can hide in here for as long as you want. I was thinking about going out in the snow.”

  “Are you going to make snowballs?”

  “Uh huh,” she lowered her voice to a whisper, “I’m going to throw them also.”

  “I’ll meet you outside we can see who has the best arm and make a snowman too.” With the energy of the young, Vick reversed paths and ran out the room.

  Laughing, she went to the closet to get her coat and a thick pair of mittens.

  Chapter Three

  Her new boots and wool socks warmed her feet. Paige was glad she took the saleswoman’s advice on what to buy. The tennis shoes she was wearing earlier were still soaked through. She was standing outside in what she could only assume was their large yard surrounded by mountains of snow. Small mountains, still she’d only seen snow like this on television.

  Reaching a hand out she let it swing back and forth through the top of a snow drift. The more she looked at the snow drift the wider her smile became. She backed up a little ways, turned to make sure no one was around before running, and then threw herself at the top. She landed with a thump, snow going everywhere as she slid off the edge of the drift. Her excitement rang loud and clear through the yard.

  Jumping up, she couldn’t wait to do it again, it was the male laughter twining with the laughter from a child that stopped her.

  Turning her head she saw a male with impossibly wide shoulders and a tall body standing with Vick at his side. She might have thought it was Victor but the brown hair peeking out from underneath the cap told her differently. He had on pair of wraparound sunglasses keeping her from seeing his face. This must be the uncle Vick told her about earlier. Her cheeks reddened a little, but she knew they would simply think it was from the cold.

  “I love jumping into the snow. Did you like it?” Vick asked, his eyes alive with pleasure as he looked at her.

  “I did, it was my first time ever trying it.”

  “Why did you wait until you were so old to jump into the snow?”

  “Where I come from there is no snow.”

  “No snow! I would hate to live there.”

  Paige laughed. “There are great things about living there, and maybe I’ll get a chance to tell you about them later. Although honestly I think I love the snow. Not sure about the cold though.”

  She turned her attention back to the uncle, he really was broad with a slender waist. She didn’t realize how attractive a man like that could be, in the past she was always attracted to the nerdier type of guy.

  “Vick,
is this your uncle?”

  He nodded his head. “This is my uncle, Calix. Uncle Cal, this is Paige, she’s the one I told you about who smelled real good like food.”

  Paige found herself blushing as she tried to figure out what Vick meant. The Summer Apple bath wash came to mind. She tried to sniff herself discretely, she did sort of smell like heat and apples.

  “You’re right, Vick, I can smell her apple scent from here. Paige, call me Cal, everyone does.”

  “Nice to meet you, Cal. Selma and Victor were nice enough to let me stay even though it’s the off season up here.”

  “They are always open to the ones who need them. Where are you from that you never saw snow before?”

  “I’m from California and I’m fascinated with the snow.”

  “Well around here we get lots of it and you can’t say you’re fascinated with it until you hit and have been hit with it.”

  “Snowball fight,” Vick yelled diving into the snow and coming up with a ball of it in each hand.

  He threw one at Paige and the other at his uncle.

  “It’s on,” Paige yelled out, making an oddly shaped ball and throwing it at him.

  It came apart before it reached Vick. Not phased, she got another handful of snow and tried again.

  “You have to pack it tight,” Cal yelled as his snowball tagged her in the arm. “Like that. Vick, go help her. It will be me against the two of you.”

  “Somehow I don’t think the odds are in our favor.” She bent over picking up more snow.

  Paige followed Vick’s instructions for making a snowball and this one made it across the yard to hit Cal in the leg. She gave a victory yell and immediately made another one. They laughed and threw snowballs back and forth until she finally had to concede. Cal had taken it easy on them, but he was still declared the winner in the end.

  “You’ve got a good throwing arm, Paige. A little work and I might have to run and hide from you. As far as you go,” Cal ran his hand over Vick’s head, “you get stronger every time I see you.”

  “Aww Uncle Cal! I’m stronger than superman, want me to prove it?”

  “Maybe tomorrow, I thought we were building a snowman today.”

  “Paige, do you still want to build a snowman?” The note of hope in his voice was her undoing.

  “Not any snowman, but the biggest baddest one there is.”

  “Yeah!”

  They took a small ball of snow and rolled it into a bigger one. Once it stood where it could be seen from all the windows of the living area they continued to add onto it until the base of the snowman stood half as tall as Vick.

  “This is going to be the best snowman ever,” Vick yelled as he started on the second ball of snow.

  They rolled until the second ball of snow was almost too big to pick up.

  “On the count of three were all going to lift it together? One, two, three.” With Cal doing most of the work, they took a couple of steps to the left and placed the ball of the snow on top of the first one.

  “This will be as big as the one dad and I made last year.” Vick clapped his hands and started on the head.

  “What do you think of the snowman so far?” Cal asked, walking over to where Paige was resting.

  She looked it over, it was big. “I think it’s the best one ever.”

  “I think Vick agrees with you. Let’s go help him with the head; Selma will be calling dinnertime soon.”

  They finished the head off and Vick brought over a small box he called snowman supplies. It was filled with buttons and even the proverbial carrot. The kicker was a scarf that must belong to Selma. He wrapped it around the neck.

  “Now she’ll be safe all winter long.”

  “It’s a snowwoman?” Paige asked Vick.

  “Of course, that’s why I put mom’s scarf on her. Now she’ll be safe all winter long. You’ll be safe too, Paige. Don’t tell mom about the scarf.”

  Paige was rather sure Selma had already seen it. She was standing in the door watching them.

  “Dinner time,” her voice cut across the yard before she disappeared back into the bed and breakfast.

  “Sounds like it’s time to eat, after you Paige,” Cal indicated for her to go first.

  *~*~*~*

  The table was set for the five of them when Paige walked in. Victor was standing in the kitchen doorway while Selma talked to Vick.

  “Vick, have you seen my scarf? The one with red flowers in the black lace, I can’t find it anywhere. I know how it fascinates you every time you see it.”

  Selma raised her head and threw Paige a smile and a wink.

  “Vick, have you seen it?’

  “Yes, Mom.”

  “Where was it when you last saw it?”

  Vick mumbled something low that almost caused his mother to burst out in laughter. Instead her lips twitched before she schooled her features into a slightly stern mask.

  “I didn’t hear that. Say it louder.”

  “It’s around Darling’s neck,” he jutted his chin up.

  Victor took a quick look at his wife’s neck before focusing on his son.

  “Victor, who is Darling?”

  “It’s the snowwoman, Dad.”

  “Vick are you telling me that you took my scarf and wrapped it around the neck of a snowwoman?” She placed a hand on the hip of her slight frame shaking from repressed laughter.

  “I had to Momma!” The small boy that he was came out in his pleading eyes. “She is a guardian and your scarf will make her strong and powerful; she will be able to warn us when the bad man is coming. He wants Paige, Momma and if he can he will hurt you too.” He dashed at a tear rolling down his cheek.

  All laughter left the room, every eye on Vick. Selma turned to look for her husband catching his back as he left the room. Cal, who was standing in the doorway, turned to follow Victor. Selma gathered Vick in her arms holding him tight.

  Paige stood there not knowing what to do.

  “Everything will be fine, Paige. The males have gone to do a perimeter check; it will help to make Vick feel better. They will even add to the power of the scarf,” she said the last in a much lower voice for Vick’s ears only. Ruffling his hair, she suggested he help her with dinner.

  “Paige, would you like to come into the kitchen? This way you won’t be left alone in the dining room.”

  Not really. She eyed the door for a minute, she was already running from a monster and now it looked like she had fallen into a nest of crazy but nice people. Her luck went from bad to worse.

  “Thanks, although I am used to being alone.”

  “Then maybe it’s time for that to change. Come on in.”

  The feel of the kitchen floored her. It stretched out and wrapped its arms around her. A subtle warmth invaded her causing her shoulders to relax and her heart-beat to slow.

  “This is amazing. I love the modern conveniences paired with an old time feel. I used to dream of a kitchen like this when I was younger. The kind I used to see on commercials a long time ago.”

  Selma stopped and looked around her kitchen. “This is one of my favorite kitchen’s, I’m glad it’s back for Christmas.” The kitchen had a mind and a will of its own, Selma never knew what she would walk into but it was part of the house’s charm.

  Paige stared at Selma before deciding her son raving about people coming must have thrown her off. She was probably concerned about him and talking without thinking.

  “Where did Victor and Cal go?”

  “They went to check the grounds; it will put Vick at ease. Although we are on the edge of our small town, we own so much land here it feels like we are isolated.”

  Paige smiled, her last guarded thought put at ease by Selma’s response. “What are we having for dinner?”

  “Good question. Victor cooked, I suggested pasta, but he said not everyone wanted that.”

  Paige cringed at the thought of pasta. It had been days since she ate Thanksgiving dinner alone. Day old pasta and water
, still the memory of it made her cringe.

  Selma opened the oven. “Smothered pork chops, can you smell that, Paige?”

  Paige’s stomach gurgled with hunger. She had never smelled anything that good before. Cal smelled good. She clamped down on that thought. She had refused to think of him when they were outside wanting to have some privacy to examine her body’s reaction.

  “It smells delicious, if it tastes as good as it smells I’ll be in heaven.”

  “Dad’s the best cook, you’ll love his food.”

  “Darling, we’re back. There was no sign of anything remiss,” Victors voice came from the dining room.

  “We’re bringing dinner out, have a seat.”

  There was a flurry of activity as Selma directed Paige and Vick. Soon all the food was on the table. Victor came and took a seat, Cal leaned against the door jamb with his sunglasses still on.

  “Are you coming to the table?” Paige asked, watching him. He drew her in; his gentleness with Vick amazed her. It was not something she got to see too often. The way he smelled made the secret parts of her come alive, but more than that—the way he treated her made her feel special and all they did was throw snowballs and make a snow woman. She wanted to see his face to give his body a complete picture in her head.

  Cal watched her, hating what he knew was coming next. Her beautiful gray eyes were lit with an internal fire that beckoned him closer. Her pouty bow shaped lips made his groin tighten every time he looked at her. And her body, he wanted to touch every soft curvaceous inch of her. She was thick in all the right places and he wanted to worship between her legs. His sigh was internal.

  “Just trying to decide if I should take the glasses off or leave them on until you eat.”

  “Ok, I’ll bite, why?”

  “Because when I take them off I’m going to scare you, you’re going to scream, then run. Then I’ll have to run after you. You’ll be out of your mind with fear and truthfully I’d like to eat before I calm you down. Victor and I just expended a lot of energy reinforcing the fields.”

  “Calix,” Selma said in a low voice.