Not Quite Terran Part 3 (Scifi Alien Romance) Read Online Free

guards piled in after them. And the uncertainty had still hovered as they all drove to her quarters, climbed the steps, and then filled her rooms. She had been good and hadn’t spoken when he transformed the tiny space into the large apartments he created for her.
    When he carried her into the bathing room and immediately made way for the large pool she’d fallen in love with, she had to get the question off her chest. They were alone, all the guards remaining outside her bedroom door so it was time for a come to God of All meeting.
    Fatigue still pursued her, pain and throbbing aches continuing to sap her strength, but she wouldn’t be denied.
    She did let him carry her into the water though. She’d use the guy while she had him, she wasn’t stupid.
    But the tic the warmth surrounded her and cradled her in the liquid, she launched into her questions. “What the hell was all that? Who the hell are you on Palia? Why the hell did you start calling me a different name?” She was on a roll and lifted her hand. “And what the hell is with this Terran wallpaper look I’m sporting?”
    He skirted her gaze, tearing his eyes from hers and he focused intently on her body. He remained silent as he carefully stripped her, easily tearing the cloth that hid her skin. She wanted to shy from his looks and ignore the way she heated and ached for him despite the frustration he caused. Was she mad? Sure. So much had happened and a lot of it seemed connected to him.
    “Karru? What’s going on?”
    He focused on her and then looked away once again as he released a heavy sigh. “On Palia I am the Jhoari. I came to Rilli to observe and see if your federation was mature enough for us to come to an agreement. I could not send another into this situation. I was meant to remain anonymous. No one was to know of me or my race.” He grimaced. “Then there was Varr and…” he did look at her then, “you.” He carefully supported her with one arm while he rained water over her nude and injured body with the other. “I told you we were in search of females.”
    “Yes.”
    “Many, many years ago, a millennia in Terran years, we were at war. Species continued to attempt to take what Palia held.” He narrowed his eyes. “They quickly learned their folly, but not before we suffered losses.” Visible heaviness settled on his shoulders. “Females. Our birthrate was carefully balanced at that time, for every male there was a female and occasionally one outnumbered the other but at a very small margin. With the warring and constant loss, our people decided to… disappear.”
    “You can’t just make a planet disappear.”
    A teasing smile graced his lips. “It seems we can. And it was not a single planet.” He furrowed his brow. “Palia is not one. It is… a collection. We have fifteen planets and eight small moons.”
    Wonder filled her. “Fifteen…” Her voice was thin. “And eight…” He shrugged as if it were nothing. “You’re an empire! And that’s why everyone sees your kind as a myth. An entire culture, not just a single planet disappeared overnight. I never…” She shook her head. “The story was never clear, just that there was Palia and then there wasn’t. No history or telling of where it went. It was like Terra’s stories of Atlantis. Everyone believed it existed, but no one understood what happened.”
    “We exist.”
    “O-kay. And why do you keep calling me a different name? It’s like yours but not.”
    He grasped her decorated hand, carefully dipping it into the water to clean it of any lingering blood and then he cradled it in his palm. “Partially because of this and also because you are my sweet one.”
    That wasn’t enough for her. “And? Gimme more than that.”
    “Despite our desire to remain hidden, there are always those who take an oath of secrecy and leave Palia. We cannot begrudge them companionship or love. We cannot begrudge them relationships and families.” He raised his gaze from