All For An Alien's Love: Book 2
Jenny Tompkins left Earth with great hopes and dreams for her future. Yet six months later, she finds herself forgotten by her father, her best friend, Cassia, and the alien who had swept her off her feet while back on Earth, Cambra Jeiel Vernier.
Bored, Jenny decides to take matters into her own hands. Sneaking away, she ventures off into the unknown, hitching a ride to Zaratan, the city below Travaar, the palace where Cassia and her husband live, the rulers of the galaxy.
Unbeknownst to Jenny, the galaxy has fallen under attack and been put into complete lock down. Jeiel, supreme commander of the imperial forces of Valtor, has his hands full, only to learn that Jenny, the woman he loves, is now missing. Forced to leave the war at hand, Jeiel must battle the odds to rescue her from those who would exploit her. But will he get to her in time? Or face the possibility that she may be a casualty of war and be lost to him forever?
Excerpt:
Jenny Tompkins, 24, an Earthling - a Zarcon - and best friend of Kaaniga Altair, lay on her bed, staring blankly at the beautifully ornate ceiling, a frown gracing her lovely brow. She was so bored she could spit tacks and wondered briefly how Cassia had managed to survive the boredom she had endured during her tribulation period, both while at St. Christi's Institute for the Criminally Insane as well as during her captive flight to Planet Konatha. Then later at Travaar, their present domicile, then back to Earth again when Menakam M'yata, Kaanig Altair's half-brother and chief antagonist had shipped her back home.
Kaanig Altair had promised Jenny that he would find suitable employment for her once she reached his galaxy, Valtor, but after six months, she still found herself waiting for that promise to be fulfilled. Her father, on the the other hand, had quickly buried himself in learning about Kathian botany and was already planning his future greenhouse and going through the final phase of setting up his new flower shop. He had decided upon reaching Valtor that he preferred living in the city of Zaratan, below the Palace of Travaar, deep in the valley below the mountain. It made more sense to him to have a home there and to start his flower business there as well. So, at Jim's request, Kaanig Altair had quickly purchased the perfect house for his friend and helped get him settled there.
Kaanig Altair had also surprised Jim Tompkins with a variety of seeds and plants that he had managed to bring with them from Earth, ones which Jim loved and was already familiar with, so that Jim could sell these new flowers and plants to the people of Valtor. Due to their exotic nature, both Jim and the Altair knew that he could make a killing with this new business venture, and Jim was anything but displeased with the ways things were progressing. In fact, he was completely overjoyed and grateful for what the Altair had given him and done for him.
If only Jenny could be as happy as her father, then she would have no complaints. Although she had complied with the Altair's desire that she learn some of the Kathian languages in order to become an instructor to his people of these and the Earth - Zarconian - dialects that she already knew, the Kaanig had yet to present her with the job of her dreams. Jenny had truly thought that her life would be more different, fulfilling, and exciting once arriving in this new world, in a new galaxy, but nothing was further from the truth.
As if her boredom wasn't bad enough, Jenny found that the alien she had grown to love, Cambra Jeiel Vernier, was never around anymore. When she had first met the handsome Valtorian, it seemed he was ever present and always by his Kaanig's side. Once the Altair's half-brother, Menakam M'yata, had been defeated following his overthrow from the throne of Valtor, Jeiel had left Konatha to return to his home planet, Azor, where lay the main military base. That had been months ago, and Jenny had not seen nor heard from him since. Believing Jeiel felt about her as she did about him, Jenny found this disheartening and disappointing, and she wondered now if she had only imagined his feelings for her. Jeiel certainly hadn't voiced anything to her about wanting to see her again or discussed establishing a long-term relationship of any kind with her. This bothered her greatly because she couldn't stop thinking about him. By all accounts, it seemed that everyone on Konatha, including her father and Cassia, had forgotten about her.
She glanced over at the book lying beside her on the bed. If it wasn't for her journal, she probably would have gone crazy by now. At least she could vent her loneliness and frustration within its private pages. Even her deepest heart's fantasies found its way there, and it amazed even her, the depth of emotion she had for Cambra Vernier. All she remembered now were his deep chocolate eyes as he gazed down at her when he had kissed her under the mistletoe that time. Memories of how he had made her feel made her tremble with longing, and she lifted a hand to her lips, tracing their outline as she recalled how his warm lips had felt pressed against hers.
A fluttering in her gut brought a queer sensation within and, groaning, she angrily kicked the shoe off that had been dangling from her foot and listened to it slam against the wall. Sitting up, she grimaced at the black mark now gracing the ivory paint, then plopped herself backwards onto the bed again, chiding herself for making such a fool of herself with Jeiel the last time she had seen him.
She had dared to snuggle up against Jeiel at the Christmas party she had attended at the Manaham farm, on Planet Ulstra, and she thought for certain he would make his intentions known then, but...nothing. He had merely kissed her cheek upon leaving later that evening, and that had been the end of it. She hadn't seen him since. She thought it was odd, but she also knew he was an extremely busy man.
As well as being commander of the imperial forces, the second most powerful man in the galaxy, Jeiel was continually by his sovereign's side, at his beck and call, it seemed. Still, after Menakam's defeat and after Cassia had finally accepted her place beside the man she loved, it was as though Jeiel's role there had ended, too, and so he had returned home. He left with no explanation and not once had he made any attempt to contact her. So clearly, she was just a passing fancy, someone to pass the time with while he was performing his duties at Travaar or elsewhere. Still, she couldn't believe that Jeiel did not love her. She saw it in his eyes and felt it in her heart. So, what had happened to make him forget about her like this? It was driving her crazy, trying to figure out the man's behavior.
"I have to get out of here," Jenny said aloud, sitting up to bounce to the edge of the bed and reach down for her shoe. She picked it up from the floor and slipped it back on. Grabbing her journal, she then moved to hide it behind the dresser, to a pocket she had made behind the back of it, where no one would find it. Then, grabbing a light jacket she had brought with her from Earth, she quietly left the room, happy to discover that the guard normally posted outside her door was not there. She knew that a supply unit was leaving the palace in about fifteen minutes, so she hurried to sneak a ride down to Zaratan.