Page 8 of Eclipse Bound (Galaxy Alien Mail Order Brides #7)

Chapter Five

Rowan had almost convinced herself that last night had been a dream.

Almost.

The whiskey glass still sat on her coffee table where she'd left it, and her phone showed the text to Stephanie, simple evidence that something had happened. Not to mention the wad of cash he’d pressed into her hand. But holograms? Aliens? A man named Eclipse with stars in his eyes?

Everything she could write off, but not those eyes.

"Get a grip," she muttered, pouring coffee into her travel mug. She resisted adding a splash of whiskey to combat her slight hangover.

She had a full schedule at the retreat today.

There were damage control meetings about the incident.

Three yoga classes needed rescheduling. Plus, she had a call with the insurance company about Pete's roof because the resort owned the property, and her bosses didn’t want to deal with it.

These were normal, practical problems that required normal, practical solutions.

Not alien diplomacy.

Aliens.

The word sounded insane. Well, more so than usual.

She checked her reflection in the hall mirror. Dark circles shadowed her eyes, but otherwise, she looked like her usual self with sensible clothes and hair pulled back in a no-nonsense ponytail. She was the kind of woman who dealt with reality, not interplanetary matchmaking schemes.

Her phone buzzed with an incoming text from Stephanie, “You missed all the fun. Aliens showed up. I made out with one of them.”

Rowan rolled her eyes.

“Or he might be a cowboy from Kansas City,” came a follow-up text along with the picture of a naked man’s ass. The cowboy was passed out on a bed. “I’ll ask him when he wakes up. Cover for me?”

“Can’t. Get to work. Today will be crazy,” Rowan answered.

“Boo!”

Rowan tossed her phone into her bag, grabbed her coffee, and headed out the door.

The drive to Duskrock Yoga and Spa Meditation Center took her past Crimson Rock Inn. Without thinking, she slowed down as she passed and scanned the parking lot and windows. What was she expecting to see? Three aliens hanging out by the pool with mimosas?

"This is ridiculous," she told herself, accelerating again. "I’ve been living here too long. I had heat stroke from too many hours spent helping guests in the desert sun."

It was more likely than an alien asking her for help after crash landing on Earth.

But as she pulled into the retreat's parking lot, she couldn't shake the nagging feeling that Eclipse would indeed return as promised. And worse yet, she couldn't deny the tiny flutter of excitement that accompanied the thought.

The retreat was buzzing with activity when she arrived.

A news van from Channel 12 had parked by the entrance, and a cluster of tourists with cameras stood near the meditation garden, pointing toward the distant crash site.

The van reminded her of her past life, and she felt that tiny rush of excitement that came from chasing a story.

She forced her eyes to turn away. That wasn't her job anymore.

Before Rowan was out of her car, Darren, the retreat manager, waved frantically from the entrance.

"Rowan. Thank goodness. The insurance adjuster is here, and Channel 12 wants a statement about yesterday's incident. And Mrs. Craine is demanding a refund because her energy vortex is disturbed, even though she received all the services she paid for."

"I'll be right there," Rowan called back, stopping to scan the crowd for her mystery man. He was nowhere to be seen.

The morning passed in a blur. Rowan filled out paperwork, drafted a carefully worded statement for the company blog about unusual atmospheric phenomena, and placated disgruntled yoga practitioners with promises of free aura cleansings.

Though, really, what did they expect? UFOs were a part of the local culture.

It hardly seemed worthy of complaint. On the opposite side of that spectrum, the hint of UFOs and visitors from outer space was good for booking rooms to capacity.

The front desk had become a sea of telephone rings.

“Who is this Eclipse group you have booked in the Desert VIP suite?” Stephanie asked as Rowan tried to sneak away to her office. “There is no information in the company profile or billing info, and no services are listed.”

“Alien enthusiasts. I didn’t have time to fill it out. They paid me in cash. I’ll do it later. Just leave it booked,” Rowan answered. “I’m going to be hiding in my office.”

“You got it, boss.” Stephanie gave a small salute.

Her office looked like a cookie-cutter of every other office at the retreat. It had the same lamp, the same pastel desert landscape painting, and the same tan office chair, as if the owners had received bulk discounts on all things blah.

Rowan leaned over and dug into her secret candy stash in the back of her bottom drawer. Her office door opened without someone knocking.

She frowned and dropped her candy bar. “Just a?—”

Eclipse filled her doorway. He wore jeans and a button-up shirt that almost fit properly, but there was no mistaking those otherworldly eyes. He clutched a bag in his hand.

Rowan pushed to her feet, glad the desk was between them. Her heart beat quickened. "How did you get in here?"

Her hands shook nervously as she glanced at the hall behind him.

Eclipse closed the door with deliberate care and then stepped toward her with fluid grace.

"Rowan Clark," he said, her name like a soft melody in his strange accent.

“Seriously, how did you get back here?”

"Your security is minimal," Eclipse replied.

"They let you wander around?"

"The human male at the entrance was very helpful when I told him I was here for you." Eclipse remained between her and the door, keeping a respectful distance. "Have you considered my request?"

In the better lighting, she saw a strange tint to his skin, almost a purplish-blue undertone.

“This can’t be happening,” she whispered. “How are you doing that with your eyes? They look like stars.”

Eclipse took a single step forward.

“You recharged my phone by touching it.” She looked at his hands. They seemed mostly normal, but for the color. “This isn’t real.”

“I am very real,” he assured her, reaching to touch her arm. “Feel.”

Rowan swallowed hard. "Just because you’re real in the sense you’re not a hallucination doesn't mean I believe you're an alien diplomat on a mission to find Earth brides."

Even as she said it, she felt energy humming off his skin, traveling into her arm. Her stomach tightened in response.

"What would convince you?" he asked, tilting his head.

"I don't know," Rowan said. She leaned closer to him, drawn into the humming. The vibrations reached all the way to her toes, but that wasn’t the particular body part she concentrated on.

“I accept,” he stated.

“Accept?” She felt breathless. Her nipples ached. Her legs felt weak. All from the single touch of his vibrating hand.

“Yes.” He suddenly jerked her forward so that her body pressed into his. The entire length of him was pure energy. It washed through her in one giant pulse.

Eclipse gave a strange moan that sounded as if someone strangled him. He stepped forward, pushing her back until she came up against a wall.

He rocked his hips forward to pin her body before focusing on her breasts. The sounds he made became louder as he grabbed two handfuls and squeezed. Another pulse of humming energy hit her like a giant vibrator.

Instinct dictated that she lift her leg to give him access, but as her thigh traveled upward, he squeezed her breasts tighter and began to shake.

They hadn’t even removed their clothing.

It left her in a mix of pleasure and frustration.

She wanted to tear his clothes and have him fill her, but an orgasm hit her surprisingly hard.

“You have favorable energy,” he said in approval. His hands stayed gripped on her breasts. “And I quite enjoy these portals.”

“I…” She couldn’t think of how to respond. Her heart beat fast and hard. This couldn’t be real.

The lights in her office flickered wildly. Eclipse instantly stepped away from her and put distance between them. The computer monitor came to life, surged, and then died.

“What’s—?”

Before she could get the question out, her door opened again, and Eclipse’s friend strode in, trailing actual sparks from his fingertips. His skin had a golden sheen that pulsed with each step.

"Eclipse, come. We have a problem," he announced, ignoring Rowan completely. "Lunar is skulking, and I believe he's tracking a human female."

"You’re glowing," Rowan whispered, eyes wide.

The alien finally noticed her. "I see you have located your woman with the compatible biorhythms." He circled Rowan, studying her with unnerving intensity. "She seems adequate."

"Solar," Eclipse warned. "We discussed proper Earth protocols."

"Yes, yes. Don't call humans inadequate to their faces.

I remember. I said she is adequate." Solar waved dismissively, causing the lights to flicker again.

"But we have more pressing issues. Lunar is displaying signs of possible mate fixation on a loud female, and if he follows his instincts, he may?—"

"He wouldn't harm her," Eclipse interrupted.

"Of course not," Solar looked offended. "But he might be attempting communication, which would be far worse. You know how he gets. All shadows and cryptic statements. Humans find it unsettling. I have seen references in their horror movies. They will try to exercise him."

"Exercise?" Rowan looked between them, her skepticism evaporating with each passing second. "I think you mean exorcise."

"Yes." The golden shimmer of Solar's skin couldn't be makeup, and the way the electronics responded to his presence defied explanation.

"You really are aliens," she said faintly.

Solar turned to her with a brilliant smile that was literally so dazzling that she had to shield her eyes.

"Of course we are. Did Eclipse not explain properly?

Galaxy Alien Mail Order Brides sent us to your primitive planet to find mates and prevent an interplanetary war.

Though why anyone would want to mate with a species that can't even regulate their own bioelectricity is beyond me. No offense."

"Solar," Eclipse said sharply. "Find Lunar. Now. Before he causes a diplomatic incident."

Solar gave a mock salute and started to leave.

“Wait,” Rowan demanded. “You can’t keep walking around the retreat like that. I have a suite put aside for you. It’s private.”

“Find him and then find the suite. Stay out of sight,” Eclipse said.

Solar left with spark trails that faded before touching the floor.

Alone again with Eclipse, Rowan found herself at a loss for words. The evidence of her eyes contradicted everything she thought she knew about reality. And if that wouldn’t have been enough, the lingering feeling inside her body was.

"Are you alright?" Eclipse asked, his voice gentler than before.

"I don't know," she answered. "I think I'm having an existential crisis."

"That is a common response to first contact scenarios," he said. "Your cognitive framework is adapting to new information."

"That's one way to put it." Rowan ran a hand through her hair, dislodging her neat ponytail. "So let me get this straight. You three are from a planet called..."

"Zorveya."

"Right. And you're here because your planet is divided between light and shadow people who hate each other, and somehow finding human wives will fix that?"

Eclipse winced slightly. "That is an oversimplification, but essentially correct. Solar represents the Solarus Zone, Lunar the Lunaris Zone, and I am from the Twilight Belt. We were chosen as representatives for a diplomatic experiment."

"To prove that if three very different aliens can peacefully exist on Earth and find love, your warring factions might be able to coexist?" Rowan summarized.

"Yes," Eclipse looked impressed. "You understand quickly. I had feared it would be more difficult for the human mind to reason."

"And this Galaxy Alien Mail Order Brides?"

Eclipse sighed. "Yes. They abandoned us. They are the only corporation with the necessary permits for this type of cultural exchange. Their competence is questionable."

Rowan laughed despite herself. "That's putting it mildly if they crashed you into Pete's crystal shop."

Eclipse's expression softened at her laugh, and for a moment, Rowan felt a connection growing between them.

The moment was broken by screams from the hallway, followed by the sound of breaking glass.

"That would be Solar finding Lunar," Eclipse said with resignation. He held out his hand to Rowan. "Will you help us? Before they destroy your retreat as they did our accommodations?"

Rowan hesitated for only a second before taking his hand. It was still warm, with a subtle vibration that tingled up her arm. It instantly made her want to press against him again.

"I must be insane," she muttered. "But yes, I'll help you."

Eclipse's fingers tightened around hers. "Thank you, Rowan Clark. Your assistance may save two worlds."

"Let's start by saving the retreat," she replied, pulling him toward the door. No part of her wanted to fill out more insurance paperwork. UFO invasion wasn't covered under their plan. "Then we can worry about interplanetary diplomacy."

As they hurried down the hallway toward the commotion, Rowan couldn't help noticing that Eclipse hadn't let go of her hand. And strangest of all, she didn't want him to.