Alien Soulmate (Paranormal Romance Aliens) (12 page)

Of course, some of that probably had to do with Angen being dead and Carver not having any time to get used to that before he'd been shipped away to Earth by Ithril, but still.

All he found himself doing was working and pining.

Getting the Des'kos off the land as they promised was as hard as Carver had expected it to be. There were skirmishes all the time, and the guard had been doubled on the boundaries of their city, but little by little they were leaving. E'lira had come to him to talk about plans for what to do with the space once the Des'kos were all gone, and it was that forethought of hers that let him know he was correct in thinking that his main plan would work.

It was rare for things to work out so perfectly, but when there was a knock on the door that turned out to be E'lira wanting to see him, Carver had to think that perhaps the stars were in favor of this.

The two of them talked for a bit, and Carver updated her on Ithril's status. They had let him keep his rooms and all, but he had to speak with one of the psychiatric doctors three times a week and had been assigned to help with building and training new guards to replace the ones that had been killed because of his foolishness. Having a purpose seemed to help him, and Carver and E'lira were both glad for it.

Once they had exhausted that thread of conversation, Carver turned to what he really wanted to speak to her about.

"Do you know what the last thing Father said to me was?" he asked.

"Something other than making you and Ithril leaders?" E'lira returned, eyes curious.

Carver nodded. "He said 'remember Kithairin'."

"Grandfather?"

"Yes. I'll admit that with everything that went on right after that, I forgot all about it, but I've been thinking lately, and I think I might have figured it out." Carver motioned for E'lira to sit down beside him. "Grandfather was one of the main ones who wanted to keep the push to seek out other planets if necessary. In fact, he was one of the ones who was sent to Earth to build the safe houses."

E'lira's eyes widened. "You don't think Father knew, do you? What Ithril was planning?"

"No, I don't think so. Not even Father could be that far ahead, and I'd like to think that if he did know he would have told me. No, I think he meant something else. I did some research about Grandfather and read some of the notes about him. He was all about change. He wanted to stop the Des'kos because he was tired of the Sitheri being useless at battle. He wanted new and better things for us. I think
that's
what Father meant. And I've been thinking about it quite a lot since I came back."

"You sound like there's something you want to say, Carver,"E'lira said. "It seems important."

"It is. I... You know that I love our people and that I was honored when Father thought I was ready to co-lead. But the truth is, my heart isn't in this. Not like it should be."

She smiled knowingly at him. "You left your heart on Earth."

"Yes." There was no use denying it. He'd spoken to Vivian a few times since he'd come back, but he was too busy for them to talk long and all it did was remind him of how much he wanted to be by her side again. Carver never would have thought that there would be something he wanted more than to oversee the rebuilding of his people, but finally there was something he wanted for himself, and he had figured out a way that both he and the Sitheri could have what they needed.

"But surely you don't mean to give Ithril back control. I know he's doing better, but there's no way he's ready for that."

Carver shook his head. It had occurred to him that their father had named the two of them as leaders, but Angen was dead, and his word was gone with him. Carver was in command now, and he had a much better idea. "No, the further away Ithril is from power, the better, I think. I had a different idea." He smiled. "You, E'lira. You are much more suited to lead than either Ithril or I."

E'lira looked stunned, mouth open and eyes big in her pretty face. "But... But... Me?" she asked. "Are you sure? I mean, I never... I haven't been trained for this kind of thing!"

He laughed at that. "E'lira, don't be absurd. You were right there most of the time when Father was teaching Ithril and me, and what you didn't see, we told you about. You know just as much as we do, and what's better is that you're more suited for it. I'm too set in my ways, and Ithril's too hot headed, but you're the perfect mid point between us. You'd do wonderfully."

"Do you really think that, or do you just want to go back to Earth?" E'lira asked, giving him a sharp look.

Carver laughed harder and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "It is definitely a mix of both, believe me. But I do honestly believe you can do this. You have all of Father's notes and you're terribly smart on your own. Do you want it?"

Because he wouldn't force it on her. No matter how much he longed to be back with Vivian in their cabin and in her arms, he had a responsibility to his people, and he wasn't going to turn his back on them if she didn't want to be in charge.

But from the set of her mouth and the way her eyes were alight with possibilities, Carver was pretty sure that she did want it.

"I want it," she said after a moment. "Everyone's always going on about how Sitheri women can have whatever they want, and I want this. I want to make a difference."

"I knew you would. Father would be proud of you, you know. Mother would, too."

E'lira just stared at him for a moment and then she was throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly, nearly crying on his shoulder.

It was going to be hard to be so far away from her, especially since visiting wasn't going to be an easy thing, but it was about time they all found their places in life.

Vivian hummed to herself as she dusted the surfaces in the cabin. It was strange how a few days of neglect could cause the place to fall into disrepair so quickly, but then, she didn't have much better to do than take care of it.

She was meant to be getting on with her life, she knew that and yet. And yet it was easier said than done.

Major tech companies were still scouting her, sending her offers and on some occasions, gift baskets in the hopes that she would decide to come and work for them. Eli didn't understand why she hadn't accepted any of the offers yet, in the same way he didn't understand why she had spent long days working on a project she wouldn't explain to him or why she sometimes found herself looking wistfully up at the sky.

She supposed that he assumed she and her mystery lover had parted ways, and he showed his remorse by bringing her Indian food and cupcakes and offering to be around more, even as his own workload piled up.

More than ever, she had considered telling him about Carver then, but the words always stuck in her throat. In the end, she just settled for explaining that he had been called back home for some important family business and that they were keeping in touch when they could. It was the truth, after all, and there was nothing she could do to keep the longing out of her voice.

Part of her didn't know if she actually believed in soul mates when she felt the ache in her chest and missed him or if she was just wishing it were true, but regardless of why she was missing him, the fact remained that she was.

A lot.

And she understood that he couldn't talk all the time. Sometimes weeks would go by with no word from him, and she knew that it was because he had to secure his clan and fix the things his brother had ruined.

Once he'd called and told her that everything was fine and that he had stopped the trouble before it had a chance to get worse, she'd stopped worrying.

Now it was mostly waiting. But she didn't even know what she was waiting for.

"You're being an idiot," she mumbled to herself as she cleaned off the sensors that were supposed to be keeping the cabin looking nice as well as keeping it concealed. According to Carver they had maintained themselves well enough in the decades it had been since someone had last come here and worked on them before they met, but it gave her something to do.

Her mother had noticed her languishing and had restarted her petition to get her in a relationship. Once again Vivian had considered telling her that there was no way she would ever find anyone who made her feel like Carver so it was useless, but she kept her mouth shut then, too, except to tell her mother that she wasn't interested in meeting her hairdresser's sister's roommate.

Instead she fiddled with her machines and came to the cabin. Sometimes just to sit and think, sometimes to go to the spot in the woods where Carver had stashed the broken transporter and see if she could make some headway in figuring out how it worked.

She had a half-baked idea of finding out the coordinates for Khaosali and getting the transporter running and then just showing up there, but she shook her head at that foolishness. It was more likely that she would die in space than she would make it to where Carver was, and it wasn't worth the risk.

Carver had said that she hadn't seen the last of him, and she was going to have to trust that he knew what he was doing and wanted to be with her as much as she wanted to be with him.

The sun was setting on the horizon, filling the cabin with dusky light and soft color, and she smiled to see it. At the very least, it was beautiful here. Beautiful and quiet, and it made a great place to get away when she needed to.

Night was going to be falling fast, and Vivian didn't really feel like driving back into the city. It wouldn't be the first time that she'd slept here in the last month or so, so she didn't think anything of it. She'd brought some food that she could heat up, and it was warn in the cabin, and actually, a night spent curled up on the cot with a good book sounded wonderful.

Vivian sped through the rest of her cleaning and then changed into Carver's shirt. She always wore it to bed these days, and she'd even been reluctant to wash it because it had smelled so much like him. Now it smelled like her laundry detergent, but it was still good enough.

With a sigh, she settled herself in the bed and opened her book, forcing her mind to stay put on the words and not wander off to things she couldn't have. That wouldn't do anyone any good at all.

It was some time later when a sound from outside woke her. Her neck was stiff from the position she had accidentally fallen asleep in, and it took her a moment to puzzle out what was going on. The lamp that she had been reading by was still on, but the room was unnaturally bright.

Vivian shaded her eyes and peered out the window, heart racing when she saw a light flare and then dim.

Even if someone was outside, it was unlikely that they would get close enough to the cabin to find the door. She was safe as long as she stayed put.

Carefully, she pulled the blankets higher over herself and tried to be still. Making noise would just alert someone to the fact that there was more to that supposed wood pile than met the eye, and she didn't need that happening.

As she listen, though, the footsteps got louder, and there was definitely someone coming up to the door.

"What the hell?" she hissed between clenched teeth, looking around for something she could use as a weapon.

The door opened, and she swallowed hard, heart pounding painfully in her chest. Something clattered to the floor in the outer room, and a muted swear in a familiar voice made her freeze.

It couldn't be.

Could it?

Before she could think about why it might be a bad idea, she was slipping out of the bed and padding softly to the door and peering through to the other room.

And there he was. His hair was longer, and he looked a bit thinner than he had the last time she'd seen him, but there was no mistaking that she was looking right at Carver.

It occurred to her that she could be dreaming, considering the fact that she'd had this dream many times before, but when she emerged into the other room and was immediately staring into those green eyes she knew so well, she knew that this was real.

"You're back," Vivian breathed, eyes wide as if she were afraid to look away from him.

"You're here," he murmured in return. "Did you… know I was coming back today?"

She shook her head. "No. I… come here sometimes. When I need quiet. And to make sure everything's clean and working and all that."

"Oh."

They stared at each other for a second more before the sheer desire to be touching surged through Vivian and she was pelting across the room to throw herself at him. He was solid and warm and smelled like he had before, and she was so, so happy to see him. "Oh my god, you're here," she mumbled into her shirt, and she was at least fifty percent sure that she was crying.

"I am," Carver replied, arms tight around her. "I am. I told you I would return. Did you doubt me?"

She just laughed and hugged him tighter, and when he tipped her chin up and kissed her, she wasted no time in kissing him right back, all of the longing and desire that she had been feeling for months pouring out into it.

He kissed her like he had been longing to do for weeks now, and when he pressed her back towards the bedroom, she didn't stop him.

It was easy enough for them to shed their clothes on the way to the bed, and they reacquainted themselves by touch and sight. His hands were everywhere, his mouth following behind them, and she moaned and spread for him, everything in her burning to let him in and let him claim her all over again.

She'd touched herself while he was gone, but it hadn't been the same. Nothing could compare to the overwhelming feeling of perfection that washed over her when his hands met her skin and he stroked her nipples and down her stomach. It just felt like it was supposed to, like she had been waiting for this for her whole life, and she was loathe to even think about letting it go again.

When Carver sank into her at long last, Vivian knew. It didn't matter if she believed in soul mates or not, there was no way she could be without this for too long without craving it. She wanted him, and that was all that mattered.

There would be time for them to take it slow later, or so she hoped, but this was rough and fast, need and pent up want pushing them to move faster and pull each other as close as they possibly could.

Vivian gasped Carver's name into his mouth and parted her lips, letting him kiss her and conquer her mouth all over again. The room was filled with the sounds of their breathless murmurs and their bodies joining, and it wasn't long before they were both losing themselves in each other.

It wasn't until later, when the sweat was cooling on their bodies and they were wrapped around each other with the blanket thrown over them to ward off the chill that Vivian had the presence of mind to ask properly.

"What are you doing here? Is this just a visit?" Her heart ached at the thought of saying goodbye to him again and not knowing when or if he would be back.

But she needn't have worried. Carver was shaking his head and kissing her forehead. "No, it's not. I've decided to stay here. It's… it's not my home, but there is something here that I cannot be without."

Vivian blinked and the wiggled out of his arms so she could sit up and stare at him. "But… what about the Sitheri? You're supposed to be their leader, aren't you? I thought Ithril was too unstable to lead."

"And so he is," Carver agreed. "But he is not my only sibling, and there is someone who deserves the position much more than either of us. Someone who will do with it what needs to be done and bring our clan into a time of prosperity while making sure that everything gets taken care of."

She frowned but then understood. He'd told her about how well his sister had handled things while he was gone, and how she'd stood up to both Ithril and the Des'kos. "E'lira."

"Yes. She will be wonderful at it. I couldn't be their leader when my heart wasn't in it. You see, my heart belongs to someone else already, and I would prefer to be with her. Besides, there are supposed to be Sitheri on other planets to help smooth things along  just in case we even need to flee there, and Earth doesn't have any. Well, it didn't. I will still be serving my clan, but also serving myself for a change as well. Being back was wonderful, but... But I couldn't enjoy it like I was meant to because you weren't there. Because every five seconds I was thinking about you and wondering if you were alright and wanting to see your face and kiss your lips. Being unable to was maddening. So I am back, and I am staying."

Vivian grinned and blinked back tears. He was staying. He was staying for her. Carver had given up being with his people and his title to be with her, and it felt like the most perfect thing anyone had ever done for her. "Thank you," she murmured. "I can't promise you won't regret it, but I will try so hard."

"You don't need to," he said, drawing her down into another kiss. "I know it will be fine."

The certainty in his voice was reassuring, and Vivian kissed him back before settling in with him.

"You know, this just means we have another transporter to hide. We're starting to build up quite a collection at this rate," she said.

Carver snorted. "Maybe you can use your brilliance to help put the broken one back together. Or find a use for the parts. I'm interested to see what you could come up with." He kissed the side of her head. "But there will be time for that later. Go to sleep."

"Bossy," Vivian mumbled, but she was already close to sleep as it was. It had been ages since she'd felt this relaxed or this content.

It was late, and she knew there was a lot of work ahead of them to make this work properly. Carver would have to find a job most likely and build a life here, and eventually she would have to tell Eli and her mother something to explain him, but that could wait until later. For now, she just wanted to revel in having him back and knowing that they had both found something they were meant to have.

It felt good.