Emma's Heart (Brides of Theron 3) (16 page)

She turned her gaze out the win
dow as the shuttle began its descent. Moments later the shuttle was flying in Theron’s orbit. Closer and closer the shuttle came through the outer layer of the atmosphere, giving the shuttle a jolt before smoothly sailing the rest of the way down. Approaching the landing strip, Emma could hear the voice of the pilot asking for permission to land.

“Theron station 6-2-4 this shuttle twelve requesting clearance for landing.” A crack of static came back in reply before a voice boomed loud and clear, “Shuttle twelve you are clear to land at station 6-2-4 on the
north side. Proceed with caution.”

The
shuttle landed without incident and the doors immediately opened to let out its precious cargo. Emma and Brylon made their way out the shuttle and into the station that was filled with warriors and crew that were excited to be home.

Brylon guide
d Emma through a set of double doors into what appeared to be some kind of parking garage. She looked around her, not believing what she was seeing.  When she saw a strange being that stood over nine feet tall with four arms, four eyes, the sharpest set of white canine teeth she had ever seen, and had skin a sickly pallor with a light green tinge, she wanted to stop dead in her tracks. Brylon must have felt her hesitate when she saw this odd being close to her.  He stopped and followed the direction of her stare and chuckled, “That is a Pernmock. They saved our asses when the Drylons attacked us on our journey here. They are our friends and allies so don’t be frightened of them.”

She continued to stare
as she replied, “I’m not scared. I’m just speechless, is all. I’ve never seen anything like him.” She continued to follow along as he gently tugged on her hand.

After a few minutes of walking, they ar
rived at a strange looking grey vehicle. It didn’t have any wheels and it hovered several inches over the ground. It didn’t resemble anything she had ever seen before and she wasn’t sure what to make of it.

“What is that thing?” s
he asked as she cautiously approached it.

“This is my vehicle.
It is a kind of hover craft. Come on, and get in.” Brylon pressed his hand on a small pad that was on the door which caused the top to slide back and disappear and the doors to pop open.

Emma went around to the left side of the vehicle and stuck her head in to get a better look. Inside
, the seats were covered in a tan material that felt like leather, but had a warm feel to them like she imagined she would find in a luxury car with fancy seat warmers built in them. The dashboard was all lit up with all kind of gauges and symbols, but she had no idea what they were for. On the opposite side of the vehicle, Brylon had slid his large frame into the awaiting seat then beckoned for her to do the same.

“Well Nana, I guess this is the first ride for both of us in an alien car.” She slid into the seat and was startled when the
door started to close all by itself. There was a very quiet purring noise that seemed to come from the craft as Brylon started to move the vehicle out of the parking area. Once they were out of the garage into the fresh air of the planet she would now call home, Brylon let the vehicle pick up some speed.

Much to her disappointment,
Emma wasn’t able to see too much because it was so dark outside. What she did see were massive trees that stretched further than she imagined from Brylon’s description. The vehicle rounded a corner that just happened to have a large open area unblocked by the large trees that allowed her a glimpse of the night sky.

“Wow,” she said to herself mainly
, but was overheard by Brylon. The night sky was aglow with the two moons of Theron. Each moon happened to be in a different phase which gave the night sky a two toned appearance. The larger moon was so big that it seemed as if one could reach out and touch it, while the smaller one sat further back in the larger moon’s shadow.

The view of the
two moons was gone all too soon. They were hovering over a gravel road from what Emma could tell, with gigantic trees lining both sides of the street. Every now and then she would get a glimpse of a figure standing near one of the trees or a light that shone from a window within one. Brylon turned the vehicle so many times that Emma pretty much figured she would never find her way back to the landing station if she tried. She felt the vehicle slow as Brylon turned the vehicle into a driveway then came to a stop. The vehicle doors popped open as she watched the lights start to illuminate the rooms within the tree.

Emma slid out of the vehicle and stood
by the car waiting for Brylon. Nana softly purred in her hand as the both of them took in their surroundings, at least what they could see of them. A soft breeze blew through the canopy of leaves on the trees and insects could be heard chirping and whistling all around them. The largest flowers she had ever seen lined the side of driveway in every color of the rainbow. The gravel crunched under her feet as she took a step toward the flowers, but just as she reached out to touch one of the blooms, Brylon came up beside her to lead her into the house.

“Let’s go inside
, and I will show you around.” He brought her to the front door of the tree house and pressed his hand to a panel adjacent to the door. Once inside, the rest of the lights came on all at once.

Emma was
again left speechless at the sight before her. They stood in a large circular room made entirely from the center of the tree. The floor was a rich walnut color and highly polished while the circular walls were the color of dark pine wood. The furniture in the room was just as impressive as the room. An extremely large hunter green colored semi-circle sectional sofa dominated the large area, while two cream colored chairs sat at angles near the window. In front of the sofa was a long coffee table that matched the walls and had several books scattered about on top. A beautiful rug lay beneath the coffee table in colors of red, green, cream and a slight hint of blue. On either end of the sofa was an end table with a lamp. The walls were covered just like any home on Earth with pictures of family, landscape portraits and other art.

“Do you like it?” Brylon asked quietly
as he set the few things that he brought along with him down on the coffee table.

“Brylon, it’s beautiful. I would have never thought that your home would look like this. It is absolutely incredible to have made a home inside
of a tree.” She walked forward into the room taking in everything.

“Would you like to see
more of the house?”

Shaking her head in earnest
she replied, “Oh most definitely.”

He le
d the way to a stair case that she had not seen until now. It was up against the circular wall and curved upwards to the next level. This level contains the kitchen and another smaller living area.

“I use this level the most. I mostly use the bottom level for when Zeb and Zane come over or if I have a party
,” he told her.

The kitchen reminded her somewhat of the kitchen on board the mother ship just a lot bigger. Part of the circular wall was covered in cabinets that matched the color of the walnut colored floors. An island separated the kitchen area from the smaller living area.  Six large cushioned barstools stood on one side of the island what was obviously used as the main table
because she didn’t see any other table. The smaller living area also contained a sectional sofa, but it was a miniature version of the one downstairs. This one was dark brown with off-white pillows scattered haphazardly upon it. The sofa was facing a large oval window that showed a wonderful view of the two moons that hung in the night sky. Off to the side of the window was a set of doors that opened onto a porch.

“Can we go out on
the porch?” Emma asked biting her bottom lip.

“Of course you can,” Brylon smiled
at her and opened the door for her to go out.  She was eager to see the two moons again.

Emma slipped out the doors and onto a porch that looked like something out of a fairytale.
Huge branches of the home tree draped down making a natural overhang for protection from the rain and sun. Vines with small yellow and white flowers climbed everywhere on the railings and up the tree itself. The lights of the two moons lit up the area below the porch, and from where she stood she could see a small stream as it meandered its way through the forest of living homes and out of her view. More of the large flowers grew near the bank of the stream along with several other plants and flowers. Movement near the opposite side of the stream caught her eye and she gasped at the sight of the small animal that drank the crystal clear water from the stream.

“What is that over there by the stream?”
She squinted her eyes in order to get a better look at the creature.

“That is a musson. They are nocturnal animals and come to the stream every night. They feed on berries and nuts
that they find in the forest. They are very plentiful in the forest and are a vital part of the planet’s ecological system.” She continued to watch the furry creature drink from the stream.  It was such a beautiful sight. She could get used to living here.

Brylon stood near Emma as she watched the small musson. “Emma…” he started to say something, but when she turned to the sound of his voice, his body took over. He jerked her close to him and crushed her lips with his, in an unwavering kiss. He ran his tongue along her lips forcing them to open to let him in. He moaned into her mouth as he deepened the kiss. He pulled her body tightly against his so that his desire for her was obvious.  He knew that she would be able to feel the hardened bulge in the front of his uniform. His cock was already straining against the fabric to be released from the confining space of his pants. He slipped his hand up under her shirt, grazing the skin from her waist to her chest as his hand came to rest on the sensitive skin of her breast.  The sound of surprise that escaped her mouth was muffled by his unrelenting and deep kisses.

Her hands were pushing
hard against his chest to try to let him release her from his passionate embrace.  He had her trapped against him and she was beginning to panic as she felt as if she was being slowly suffocated by his attentions. The wall of steel didn’t give her an inch as she continued to try desperately to twist her mouth away from the onslaught of his kisses. No matter what she tried, it was no use. Flashes of her former foster father was being relived as the images of his attack that she long tried to forget passed before her eyes. Her foster father had her pinned against the wall just like Brylon was doing now. His hands were groping for any part of her body that he could access. She remembered the distinct taste of alcohol as he forced his unwanted kisses upon her, as he assaulted her and she struggled with all her strength to get away.

She was
starting to feel the symptoms of a full fledge panic attack now. Her gut instincts took over. She tried to scream as loud as she could and started to kick her legs at any part of the bastard’s body she could hit. She finally succeeded in landing a kick on the shin of the man who she now believed was her foster father. The assault on her mouth quickly ended as he pushed her away from him.

“What the hell, Emma?” Brylon was out of breath and rubbing the spot where he had been kicked. “Emma?” He stared at her as she backed away from him. “Emma, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…” he started to explain, but was immediately cut off by a dazed looking Emma.

“Get away from me! I am going to tell your wife when
she gets back!” She shouted loudly at him. 

Brylon shook his head in confusio
n, “What are you talking about Emma?”

“I will kill you if you ever touch me again! How could you? You are supposed to be taking care of me, not trying to rape me! I
told them not to put me here and they didn’t listen!” She was talking nonsense now to Brylon.

Brylon tried to move closer to her
, but was halted when he realized that her eyes were glazed over and she suddenly seemed to be in a different place.  He was a bit worried. This was unusual behavior, even for her. He couldn’t help but notice that she was trembling from head to toe, “Emma, it’s me Brylon. I am not going to hurt you. I am sorry for kissing you like that. I don’t know what came over me.  I lost control,” he explained as he took another step forward.

She backed up as far as she could until she hit the railing, “No, stay away from me. I am not going to let you do this to me!”

The only thing that Brylon thought to do was move forward quickly, grab her by the shoulders and give her a nice hard shake to bring her back to reality. “Emma!” He shouted into her face.

“No!”

He gave her another hard shake.  What would he do if he couldn’t get her to realize it was him? “Emma! It’s Brylon!” Another shake and she closed her eyes long enough for the glazed look to have disappeared when she reopened them.

“Brylon,
” Emma said quietly as the fog surrounding her brain cleared. She shook her head to rid it of the horrible man’s face.

His eyes looked down into
hers, full of concern and regret, “Are you okay? Please tell me you are okay.”

“Why did you do that?”
He watched as a tear slid down her cheek as she looked at him.