You wont come with me?

Here he was asking again. Did she dare take a chance and"

Sirens wailed in the distance. Time grew short. She needed to make a decision, so she brashly asked, Do you think youll ever love me?

The answer, while expected, still hurt. Of course not. Love is a human emotion. But I do want you.

Disappointment slumped her shoulders. Want isnt enough. Just because you want something doesnt mean you should have it. Or that she should leave everything shed ever known.

What about when he no longer felt the burning need? What would happen to her when he awoke one day and moved on to pinker pastures"or, in his case, maybe purple ones?

Are you denying me?

Im not coming with you.

Just because I wont admit to a human frailty? The concept seemed to flabbergast him.

No, because I deserve more out of life than to be something a man wants to own. I deserve to be loved.

I would take care of you. Pleasure you. Shower you with presents.

Its not enough. Not for me. Go, Vile. Go back to your world. One she didnt belong in.

He frowned. He really was pulling out all his adorable stops, but she fought his allure.

Youre being obstinate, Jilly.

No, Im being human.

Red lights and blue lights strobed in the distance, but they were less ominous than the stuttering sound of a helicopter, make that more than one. The military was closing in.

You should leave before they catch you, she said.

As if they could, he scoffed.

No, but they could destroy his vessel.

With no heed for the danger"d.a.m.n him for being so s.e.xy"he drew her to his chest and kissed her.

The heat of it almost changed her mind. It definitely weakened her knees.

Then lights were upon them as cars screeched to a halt and doors slammed.

Vile released her, his eyes glowing. He opened his mouth and shut it. His lips thinned. Goodbye, Jilly.

He turned and began to sprint, only to abruptly stop when she yelled, Arent you forgetting something?

He whirled, his face inquiring, his reflexes perfect as she tossed the artifact to him. He caught it, but strangely, he seemed almost disappointed.

They stared at each other.

Stared long enough for men to rush and line the field, yelling about surrendering.

With a gesture of his hand at the soldiers and cops that was probably the human equivalent of f.u.c.k you, Vile leapt into the air, an incomprehensible act until the beam of light shot from the belly of his ship and engulfed him.

Blinded, Jilly shut her eyes against the brilliance, and when she opened them again He was gone.

He left.

And it made her chest ache something fierce.

Despite their short whirlwind of an acquaintance, shed grown fond of him and would miss him. Especially now with cops flooding the place and sure to bombard her with questions"right after they arrested her.

She didnt bother to run. Run where? Her house blew up. And how? Her car sat in two pieces, sc.r.a.p metal at best.

Even more depressed, she sat on the tailgate of her truck, only to find herself ignored.

While lights swept over her, and a swarm of people tramped in the next field over where Mos remains glowed disturbingly, no one spoke to her, or even acknowledged her.

Its as if Im invisible.

A theory she tested in the chaos that followed Vhyls departure.

Somehow, Jilly managed to avoid getting arrested. It could have been because, while one s.p.a.ce saucer disappeared, another was discovered across the road in the other field. Mos neon grave also drew lots of attention. Or maybe her lucky spell had to do with the wristband Vile had slipped on her during their kiss.

Whatever the reason, it was almost as if she wore some kind of invisibility glamor, one that allowed her to walk away from the area unchallenged.

Alone, and downcast, the adrenaline wearing off, she wandered away from the scene of chaos.

Eventually, her spell of invisibility, or whatever it was that let her escape unseen, wore off because she managed to hitch a ride, several as a matter of fact, which, given her ragged state, was a bit of a surprise. Or not, given at least one guy needed a black eye to learn Dont touch meant dont f.u.c.king touch.

Almost twelve hours later, her last ride dropped her off at her farm. Her poor destroyed farm.

In between the explosion of the farmhouse, the vehicles that had run amok, first putting out the fire then investigating, the entire area was a churned-up mess of snow, mud, and debris.

And to think I turned Vile down to come back to this.

At least with him, she would have enjoyed some pleasure, at least for a while. But in the end, she preferred to nurse her broken heart here among her own kind than later when she was well and truly lost"and she didnt mean just in s.p.a.ce.

She couldnt have said how long she stared at the ruined mess.

A vehicle drove up behind her, and still she didnt move. Where would she go? Shed thrown away her chance at a new life.

Stupidest move ever.

Miss Jillian Carver?

Oh youve got to be f.u.c.king kidding me.

Could her day get any worse?

Perhaps if she ignored him, hed go away.

Nope.

Miss Carver, I know you can hear me.

Unfortunately. She pivoted to behold the p.r.i.c.k shed been dealing with at the bank. Less dealing and more like begging for more time. Time that he denied.

Flanked by a pair of cops, he held a sheaf of papers in his hand.

What do you want? she asked, unable to hide her irritation.

Since you failed to pay the sum owing on your mortgage, it is my sad duty to inform you this property is now the possession of the bank.

Youre foreclosing? But I thought I still had a few days.

It is our right, especially given the willful damage done to the property in the past few days, to change the date. Its right here in the contract.

He pointed to a small blob of text, which she was sure in some legal mumbo-jumbo backed his words.

But its Christmas Eve. A fact shed almost forgotten in the turmoil but suddenly remembered as a glint of melted gold winked from the rubble.

We wanted to get this settled before the end of the business day. As of this moment, you no longer own this land.

A few days ago she might have ranted and raved. Maybe even resorted to tears.

But now?

She didnt care.

On the contrary, knowing the farm, and all its problems, was being taken from her actually lightened the load. She was free. Free from the crushing debt of it. Free from its maintenance and headaches and everything that came with owning land she couldnt care for. Land that kept her from being free.

Would her grandmother turn over in her grave?

Probably. But then again, Grandma freaked when alive over lots of things.

She also knew her grandmother would have never wanted Jilly to suffer or feel trapped.

Of course, now that Jilly was homeless, and had her epiphany moment where she realized she could go anywhere and do anything, she really wished shed gone with Vile.

So what if their relationship lasted, one day, one month, or forever? So what if he thought he couldnt love? Perhaps she could have taught him.

I could have seen and done things no one ever imagined.

What an adventure. What a man. What a f.u.c.king loss.

Sigh.

As the bank p.r.i.c.k departed with his armed escort, but not before administering an admonishment to clear the property by midnight, she found herself well and truly alone.

In the cold.

No money.

Sans wheels.

Without a thing to her name.

So was it any wonder when the beam of light shot down from the sky, she smiled.

He came back for me.

Just one problem.

It wasnt the right he.

Chapter Ten.

Whats mine is mine. Whats yours is mine. Whats his is mine. And if its not mine, its not worth having. - Vhyls personal philosophy on life.

Mentally stunted, perversely stubborn, frukxing female, Vhyl couldnt help but curse as he boarded his ship without Jilly.

He cursed, but not because the human forces had spotted him and his ship.

He cursed, but not because Jilly handed him the XiiX without payment or a fight, which made its acquisition kind of unexciting.

He cursed because hed left her.

Alone.

Because she didnt want to come.

Since when did that frukxing matter?

A true warrior took what he wanted. He didnt listen to the pleading or screaming. He didnt care about another beings thoughts or feelings on the mater.

Look at his distant cousins. Tren, Jaro, the idiot duo, his compet.i.tive partner, Makl, even that lackwit who wanted to be a hero, Dyre. Most of them had abducted their brides. Each of them saw a female, a human one like Jilly, who would give them what they needed, and they took action. They abducted their woman and didnt accept no for an answer.

Vhyl, on the other hand, respected her wishes. Probably because some Earth parasite was chewing at what wits he had left, Stupid alien planet.