The Topper Collection: My Crazy Alien Romance Books 1-3

Chapter 3

3Topper stopped in front of her house and held up a hand to slow them down. Her wards were practically vibrating in alarm. She glanced at her large, alien shadow and lifted her chin. Stark tilted his head down and raised an eyebrow over her gesture. She felt like a bug under a microscope.

“This is my home. Do not touch anything unless I say it’s okay.”

Stark stiffly nodded as he watched the strange, hostile female climb a series of small platforms until she reached a large wooden landing. He imitated her actions until he was standing behind her on the platform. She held both hands palms out facing the door and was chanting something.

Her power was erratic, but it wrapped strongly around him. The only being he’d ever known who rivaled her was the Goddess herself.

His gaze roamed the back of Topper as he waited for further instructions. That turned out to be a misjudgment as his body once again reacted to her. Soon he was straining against his pathetic covering and it was all he could do not to lean in and sniff to see if she was aroused.

To keep from doing so, Stark imagined he and Topper being together on the rug in front of his crystal fire at his residence. He imagined her face relaxed in pleasure instead of wearing her current scowl. The vision was surprisingly easy to hold in his mind—natural even.

The witch provoked some very strange feelings in him. Her need of him was nearly palpable. Trusting the instincts the Goddess had given him, he had to pursue his interest.

“Are you mated?” Stark asked softly.

Topper froze mid-chant at the question. She looked over her shoulder. “I can’t talk right now. I need to focus on the words.”

“Sorry. Was your mated status too personal a query?”

“Yes. Stop asking me,” Topper ordered through gritted teeth. “I’m way too old for this nonsense. Let me finish altering my wards so we can go inside.”

She turned back to her door. Nearly yelling out the call to action part of the spell, the energy strands woven over her entry unwound like a magic spider web.

Pushing open the door at last, Topper sighed as she crossed the threshold. Her home was a special place for her. Now aliens had invaded it, but for the moment, not even magic could change that fact.

“Follow me. The green meanies are out in the sunroom.” She headed that direction, expecting Stark to follow, and he did.

“You put the dakkari in your home? Amazing. I’m surprised you even still have them. They are very cunning when it comes to escaping all sorts of traps.”

“Not my traps—they’re magical,” Topper explained. She motioned to a set of plastic cubes lined up on the table. “Their containers allow in light and air, but do not allow them escape. I’ve been feeding them leafy vegetables to keep them alive. They don’t seem to mind. Though I have been concerned about their lack of struggling. Something tells me they’re not normally this calm.”

Stark was surprised more than he’d expected to be at how well Topper had constrained them. He walked to the small plastic cubes and studied the miniature dakkari inside each. Several were strangely malformed.

“Did the trip through the portal cause them to shrink and change forms?”

Topper snorted and shook her head. “They’re under a magical spell and will stay that size until you’re ready to take them back. Any deformities you see are temporary. Not all those who helped me catch them are equally skilled in magic.”

Stark looked from creature to creature. Outside of a few strange features, they appeared mostly unharmed. He turned back to face the witch responsible for their capture.

Now he knew why Frost had contacted Glacier for help.

“Where are the beeberg and her mates?” Stark asked.

Topper shook her head. “I’m sorry—the what?”

Stark frowned and thought hard, searching for words in her language. “The beeberg is their female leader. She takes two males as her mates. They never leave her side.”

Topper sighed in frustration. “Well… damn. So we are missing three of them.”

“Yes, if they passed through with the rest, and my guess is they did. A dakkari pack travels together, but the beeberg is the decision maker. She’s the one in control.”

Topper nodded. “Okay. How do we catch her and her mates?”

“Strategies vary by situation. How long have they been missing?” Stark asked.

“Not quite a week—uh… almost seven Earth days,” Topper corrected, remembering how Frost had struggled with understanding time.

Her gaze glided across Stark’s smooth, broad back and down to his trim waist as he turned back to inspect the captured ones again. He was more attractive than any of the other Glacier males she’d seen on Frost’s planet during her visit. She grinned at what she knew was hidden behind his purple cloth and let her gaze wander down the backs of his legs to his feet as he paced in front of the cubes.

All she knew about Glacierans was what Frost had shared with her, but she didn’t need magic to see Stark was restless. She recognized the signs because she often felt exactly the same. Despite his youthful looking body, an older, more impatient soul was in residence.

“I’m surprised the beeberg and her mates have not taken hosts yet. You would have known if they had because the host creatures would have been acting strangely by now. And they would have come back for the rest of their pack, even if they are being held captive in your home.”

Topper sighed deeply. “You’re just the bearer of all kinds of wonderful news, aren’t you? The dakkari are stored here because it’s my spell holding them. How dangerous are the missing three?”

Stark shook his head. “The hosting situation is invasive. Eventually the beeberg and her mates would shed their dakkari bodies and be absorbed by their hosts. It is an evolution they use to survive the severe ice storms on Glacier. The rest of the explanation is quite gruesome because they bring the host animals back as food to feed the pack, as well as birthing new versions of themselves inside them. The cycle goes on even if the originals die in the process. New leaders are chosen from the pack to replace the ones that don’t survive.”

Topper nodded, even though she was more worried now than ever. “I’m sure the missing three haven’t left Magic. I cast a net around the town and tuned it to the ones in the cages. If anything remotely like them tried to leave, I would instantly know where. Theo would hunt them down in the desert and fry them.”

Stark frowned as he repeated her words. “Fry them? As in cook them for food? That would be most unwise.”

Topper laughed at his dryly offered advice. “Gee Stark, what a great impression you must have about the intelligence of people on my planet.”

Stark shrugged a shoulder. “I researched your culture before I came here, but perhaps I need clarification of your statement. Feel free to enlighten me.”

Topper snorted. “Yes, you certainly do need enlightenment, especially about the residents of Magic. Sheriff Theo is a dragon. He would have breathed fire on the fleeing dakkari and reduced them to ashes before they got away.”

Stark nodded. “Oh. Good then. Destruction is acceptable and preferable in those circumstances. Dakkari are poisonous for Glacierans and should never be consumed as food. I assume the same would be true for Earthlings.”

A knock on the door sounded. “Speaking of dragons,” Topper declared, walking back to answer it.

She glanced back to see Stark had followed her to the door. She pulled it open to find Theo standing on her doorstep with several pairs of pants and a few t-shirts in his hands.

“Something here ought to fit your alien visitor. These clothes belonged to my brother, Kane. He was a lot taller and bigger than me, so they should come close to being the right size. Kane left town a long time ago. I’ve been keeping these in case he came back, but honestly, I don’t think he ever will.”

Topper took the clothes from Theo’s hands and stepped into him for a hug. “Thank you. This is very helpful.”

Theo returned the hug and smiled. “Sure. You doing okay?”

“Perfectly fine,” Topper lied. She didn’t want anyone worrying yet. “Stark and I are talking about capturing the green meanies—I mean, the dakkari—that’s what he calls them. He confirmed we are missing a female leader with two male mates. Stark said they were going to be actively looking for hosts and may have found some by now. Spread the word around for everyone to check their animals. If any start acting strangely, they need to let me know. Tell them not to take any action outside of restraining them.”

“Sure thing, Topper. I’ll check on you later and give you an update if anyone calls in to the office.”

Theo sent a warning glare in the alien’s direction before he left.

Topper rolled her eyes at well-meaning males and turned back to Stark who was studying her again. “Why are you looking at me so strangely?”

“Is the dragon your mate?” Stark asked.

Topper snorted at the question. Theo was young enough to be her son. Stark was the most clueless male she’d ever met on either of their planets. “No, Stark. The dragon is Theo. He’s our sheriff and the person in charge of security here in Magic. He sees every stranger as a threat.”

Stark shook his head. “No, I must disagree. That is not what is going on here. I distinctively feel his concern is directed towards my continued presence near you. He is being a protective male.”

Topper threw up her hands. “Of course he is. Theo is like my son. I have no mate—alright? Topper has no mate. In fact, Topper is an old lady who has never had a mate. Why don’t you take an ad out with some intergalactic news service and tell both our worlds? I’m sure everyone would like to know how someone my age could live all this time on Earth without a man.”

Stark nodded in approval. “Ah… now I understand. You have no male at all in your life, so the young dragon has placed you under his protection.”

Topper rolled her eyes. “More like the other way around… but whatever. I stopped trying to explain my power to men like you long ago. It’s not worth the trouble trying to squeeze reality into your narrow minds.”

Despite the rising anger in her tone, Stark was surprised at the joy Topper’s irritated declaration about being unmated brought his body. As a Star Ranger, he had visited many planets. Hope was a universal among all life forms, and Goddess knew, he had never stopped appreciating it in his too often austere life.

But to feel hope now about this beautiful Earth woman—this allegedly powerful witch—to anticipate that she might share herself with him? l**t was not something he’d expected to feel for anyone when he agreed to this assignment.

Plus, it was fascinating to find he was capable of being unsure. Despite his long history of dealing with females, he was fairly clueless about how to deal with this fascinating one.

Stark cautiously approached the obviously offended female, trying to gauge the best way to put Topper at ease again. He pointed to the clothes she still held.

“I assume you wish me to cover myself with those articles of clothing.”

Topper nodded and held them out. “Yes. n***d male aliens, no matter how well hung their package, are just too distracting for most Earth females.”

“Hung?” Stark repeated the word and chuckled at the term. Hung. Goddess, he liked that word being applied to him.

Topper’s gaze dropping constantly to his barely covered mating organs clued him in to her meaning. Polar would be proud of him. Even without Frost’s help, he was beginning to figure things out.

“Very well, Most Powerful Witch Topper. Since the dragon is not your mate, I will wear his clothes. In exchange for my compliance with your prudish customs, will you please give some consideration to having intimate relations with me before my return to Glacier?”

“Having… what?” Topper drew herself up straight. “Are you asking me for s*x?”

“Yes. I am sure Frost would be willing to provide a reference. On my planet, females stand in line for the opportunity because I am very skilled at pleasuring them. I’m sure I can become just as proficient with your Earth anatomy if given the opportunity to practice with it a few times.”

“No thanks. I do not need or want an alien pity f**k,” Topper exclaimed, shoving the clothes into his arms. “Now get dressed. We’re going on a dakkari hunt as soon as you put on some freaking clothes.”

Stark frowned. “I sense extreme discord between us again, Topper. What did I say to make you angry? I find you physically appealing and you arouse my body every time I glance your way. I wish to pleasure you at the first available opportunity. Are such things not complimentary to females on your world?”

“No,” Topper yelled loudly over her shoulder as she left. “It is not complimentary to offer your s*x services to me as if I couldn’t find a man on my own if I wanted one… which I damn well don’t or there would be one here. I may be almost sixty, but that’s pretty young for a witch. And I stay in freaking shape so there… asshole.”

Stark stared at Topper’s extreme agitation in confusion. He had no idea what he’d said that was so wrong. “I apologize for offending you. Was it the offer itself? Or the fact that I asked first? If you wish, you can ask me instead. I did not mean to disrupt your intimacy protocol. I thought females on Earth like to be pursued.”

Topper snorted. “Get over yourself, Mr. Arrogant. The answer is no in either case. Come find me when you get some damn clothes on.”

Stark set the clothing on a nearby surface as Topper stomped away from him. While he dressed, he pondered what grave Earth error he’d committed in asking to be with her.