Authors: Julia Sexton
Sandy thought Friday evening would never come. Then she got busy doing research, getting the reports ready and was lost in work. When she looked up, evening was on the Bay. Lights twinkled in the harbor. It was time to go. She saved her report and shut down the computer. And glanced at her outbox. A file folder. Josh Harrington had left the file for his Monday meeting and he was leaving for Denver on Sunday. He’d walked out yesterday with that sultry Personal Banker and left the file.
Drat and damn! She’d have to run it up to his place in La Jolla after dinner. That’s what an Executive Administrator did. Secretaries left. An Executive Administrator got the job done no matter what. So much for her evening clubbing with Jenna and Lacey. Girl’s night was canceled. OK, home to Ocean Beach, a quick bite, and then up the highway to La Jolla.
At her little apartment in OB, she decided to take a quick shower and get casual. He’d just have to deal. She pulled on her red lace underwear. Even when she wore jeans she wore sexy underwear. She loved the soft cling against her skin. She felt sexy underneath. It was her secret from the world. Always just a little bit on.
She grabbed a pair of jeans that showed off her long legs and tossed on a slinky red T-shirt made out of some silky fabric, not cotton. She’d be casual but not sloppy. She slipped on her little sandals with the jeweled straps, fluffed her hair, grabbed the file folder, stuffed it in a portfolio, and was out the door.
The evening was warm. She rolled down the windows of her little Toyota and let the ocean breeze flow over her as she drove up the coast. Lights sparkled in the beach towns and the ocean waves, whispered. What a great night. She could be out having fun, not running errands for a forgetful, spoiled, billionaire.
After driving up amongst the hills and then down again toward the ocean, her mobile phone told her she had arrived. Mansion didn’t begin to describe Josh Harrington’s home. It was huge. Open air balconies enclosed by archways protruded from every floor at different angles. Tall palms swayed over lush gardens. Even though it was night, she could tell the ocean view was fantastic.
The gates to the property were open so she drove in and parked in the stone courtyard. She smoothed her hair from the breezy drive and grabbed the portfolio with the file. The imposing double oak entrance doors hung open in invitation. Was he waiting for someone? The only sound she heard was the ocean and a faint whispering like a large electrical motor somewhere. She knocked. Nothing.
She pushed open the doors and saw a large entry hall paved with intricately designed tiles. The hall opened onto a great room with tall windows looking over the ocean. She heard nothing. Where was he? The huge mansion seemed empty.
“Mr. Harrington? Josh?” The sound of her voice was swallowed by rich carpets the led away down corridors and other rooms. Where was he? Upstairs in bed with a sporty beach bunny? But where? She couldn’t wander around the entire mansion. She decided she would leave the file with a note on the table in the great room.
Her sandaled feet sank into the carpet as she walked into the immense room. The fibers were soft against her toes. She briefly imagined rolling in the soft luxury with Josh Harrington. For an instant, she imagined his strong hands caressing her shoulders. Stop it, Sandy! Business. She sat in a large leather armchair and dug in her bag for a pen to write a note on the file.
The sound. The sound that she thought was an electric motor. It sounded like voices. Well, almost voices. She heard indistinct hisses and growls. Like animals holding a conversation. But animals don’t talk, and they definitely don’t have conversations. This is weird, she thought.
Sandy walked down a corridor toward the sound. The closer she came, the more otherworldly the sounds grew. She walked passed door after closed door. The hissing conversation came from the end of the hallway.
Sandy felt her heart start to quicken. What was she doing? This was Josh Harrington’s mansion. She was an intruder.
She walked through the open door at the end of the hall. Josh Harrington sat at the head of a large, dark table. His muscular shoulders filled the back of the high-backed chair. His powerful hands rested on the table. His chiseled face was deep in concentration as he spoke. But he was not speaking words. He was surrounded by beings, creatures. They vaguely resembled human form, but each was distorted by pale, pale skin and long hairless heads. Sandy’s heart beat so hard she was sure he would hear. She was sure all the other creatures, they were creatures, sitting around the table would hear her fear, too.
What was this? Who was Josh Harrington? No! What was Josh Harrington?
“Miss Wilson! Sandy!” he exclaimed as he looked up.
Sandy stammered, “Wha…Wha..What? Who?”
Josh Harrington focused a mesmerizing look at Sandy’s startled face. As he stared, the table and the other participants, the creatures, disappeared. Sandy’s heart pounded. She felt little short gasps escape from her lips.
Josh Harrington strode on his long, strong legs and grabbed Sandy’s waist. She felt strength flowing from his arms as they encircled her body.
“You’ve made the biggest mistake of your life!” he murmured in her ear. His arms swooped Sandy off her feet and up into his arms.
But Sandy felt nothing. Her mind was black and blank.
Chapter 2: Detained
Butterflies. Soft. Smooth. Not butterflies. Sheets. Sheets! Sandy opened her eyes.
“No. No, no, no!”
Josh Harrington sat next to her bed in a soft flower print upholstered chair, head down staring at the floor. Bed! What was happening? Why was she in bed?
“What?” Sandy murmured, still half-awake.
“Ah, you. You made the mistake of your life,” Josh muttered angrily as he jerked up his head.
“What was that? Did I see what I thought I saw? Why am I in bed? How did I get in bed?” Sandy was awake now. Fully awake. The questions tumbled out. She looked at the soft sheet covering her body, her naked body.
“How dare you,” she sputtered.
“Sandy, Sandy. I don’t know what to do with you,” Josh growled. He put his hand out. She felt a frisson of excitement, inside.
“Don’t touch me!”
She put out her hand to stop him and the soft sheet slipped down to reveal the top of her breast. He looked, then looked seriously at her face, the full lips about to tremble, the blue eyes wide in anger, the dark hair cascading around her cheeks.
“It’s much worse than you think. This is not about you’re being naked in bed. This is about something bigger than that. You don’t understand.”
“You bet, I don’t understand. Start with the naked in bed part.” Sandy pulled up the sheet and rearranged the luxurious pillows behind her. She was ready to revolt at this imperious man. How dare he. How dare he!
“That’s easy. Giulia got you undressed.”
“Giulia? Who is she?”
“Giulia runs the house and is the best cook outside of Italy. She’ll take care of you while you’re here.”
“I’ll be here as long as it takes for you to leave the room, for me to get my clothes on and walk out the door. You won’t be bothered by me again, Mr. Josh Harrington. Leave, please, so I can get dressed.”
“Sandy, stop. What did you see last night?”
“You were…,” she searched for words as vague images—pale blue skin, unintelligible sounds—flashed through her mind. She was uncertain. “There were things. Things! Creatures, I don’t know. And sounds. Not human sounds. I think. Then everything…disappeared.”
“That’s why I can’t let you go.”
“Oh, yes, you will.”
“No, you must stay here. I can’t have you reveal my secret. Not to anyone. Not to the world.”
“What secret? Those things were real? You talk to them?” This gorgeous man was telling her he talked to…things. Otherworldly things. She looked at his chiseled face, his shoulders, caught a whiff of his manly scent, not cologne, just him. It didn’t compute.
Josh put out his hand again and touched her hand. There, she felt it again, that little twinge like a spark in her body.
“I am one of those…things.”
She drew her hand back and stared at him. Square jaw, piercing eyes, curling red hair, strong fingers, shapely arms. He looked so…human.
“But, you can’t…You look…You look like one of us. Oh my God, what am I saying? I don’t believe this.”
“I’ve been genetically altered. I am human and yet a citizen of Zinka. I am the son of the ruler. My mission, since conception when I was genetically altered, was to come to earth. But, I am not a warrior like you people on earth tell in your science fiction. I am a scientist.”
“Zinka! I’ve never heard of Zinka. What is it?” She was curious and at the same time bewildered. Her thoughts swirled. Was she going to faint again? She’d never fainted in her life. Now this.
“Yes. You would not have heard of it. We’re a citizen planet, in a galaxy so far away it is barely discernible by your telescopes, even the most sophisticated.”
“I’m trying to understand. A scientist prince? Why are you here? What are you doing?” Her heart raced as he touched her hand again. Damn, he was virility embodied. Was that part of his genetic makeup?
Josh took his hand away and studied her again.
“We discovered that there was life here on earth. Life very much like ours. My mission is to study how humans…well…how the are. How they make decisions. The extent of their…your…rationality. For instance, we don’t understand why you have wars when you could live peaceably, as we do on our entire planet.”
“A scientist.” Sandy was overwhelmed. Life from another planet. And, that life was Josh Harrington.
Josh sat back in the flowered tapestry chair. His shoulders topped the back of the distinctly feminine seat. His strong thighs filled the seat and his legs seemed too long to fit. His knees stuck up.
“Why do you think Harrington projects have been so successful? Our scientific knowledge is far beyond what is here on earth, what you humans call advancement. It’s the perfect cover for our exploration. That’s why you have to stay here. We can’t lose everything now. We’ve come so far. Once a month I meet with other leaders from Zinka to report on our findings. That’s what you saw last night.”
“I’m a prisoner?” Sandy, was lost. Things like this only happened in movies. Movies about barbarians. Women just weren’t held in captivity in the modern world.
Josh stood up and walked toward a window.
“Everything in this wing is yours. It will be your own home. There are rooms. Two porticoed terraces and a small swimming pool. It’s much better than that tiny apartment you’re in now.”
“But it’s my apartment. My tiny apartment. I don’t want your otherworldly world. I want my life back.”
Josh stared out the window. His entire body was outlined by the sunny, blue sky. His tall frame, the shoulders tapering to his trim waist. His long legs silhouetted against the blue. There it was again, that spark. Sandy touched her wrist. Her pulse was racing. Was it him? Was it being held captive? She took in a long, deep breath.
“That is not an option,” Josh commanded. He turned and strode toward the bed.
He picked up a grey-blue kimono from the back of a matching chair. He smiled. His eyes twinkled. The kimono was the same color as his eyes.
“Here. Put this on. I’ll show you around.” His fingers grazed hers as she reached for the garment. She felt it again, that frisson, as though her entire body was a spark.
“Do I get clothes?” Sandy was stunned by the effect he had on her body and the bizarre, unbelievable situation she was in. She couldn’t decide which was more powerful.
“Giulia is getting clothes for you. Your ensemble from last night is in the closet. It’s quite nice. I like it. You look stunning in red.” Did he look just a bit surprised? Sandy couldn’t tell. He gestured toward a set of doors on the wall opposite the windows.
Sandy somehow maneuvered the sheet and the silky blue kimono and made a quick dash into the closet. She found her clothes, just as he’d said, hanging or folded neatly in a dresser drawer. Everything in the closet seemed to glide with customized ease.
She eased into her clothes and stood before the floor to ceiling mirror between to built-in dressers. No makeup and a scare. She definitely looked pale. She ran her fingers through her luxurious tresses, still clean from last night’s shower. If she only had a bit of makeup. She’d show this Josh Harrington that she was not a submissive prisoner. She would convince him to let her go.
“Ready? I have to leave soon.” Josh called from the other side of the doors.
The arrogance of that man. She’d take an extra minute just to show him. She pulled open the top drawer of a dresser. Two honey-based lip balm sticks: one clear, one tinted red. She took the tinted stick and smoothed her lips. There, not so pale. She opened the doors and met Josh standing impatiently in the middle of the bedroom.
“Well, you do look more presentable. Come. I’ll show you your new domain. It was the flat of the last owner’s mother. He kept her in comfort. I’ve just made it a little more secure.”
He was right. As they walked through she realized her prison was the size of a house. Two bedrooms, three bathrooms, study, kitchen, dining room, a laundry area, a reading room, an entertainment room, two patios, one with a small swimming pool. Sandy realized that by secure Josh meant, no escape. The patios were walled in glass to the top of the portico arches.
“Beautiful view,” he said as they stood by the swimming pool. “Much better than your ground floor apartment.”
Sandy had to admit the view was magnificent. The mansion was perched on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean. San Diego was built up, but here the mansion was the only structure on the hill. Tall, slender palm trees towered over luxurious gardens. The ocean spread to infinite blue to meet the sky. If it weren’t for being a prisoner she could like this place. Well, Josh Harrington was not going to bribe her with luxury. She’d get out of here…somehow.
Josh turned to her and his shoulder brushed hers. That frisson. That damn frisson. She could feel it inside, the warmth, the desire. She would conquer that for sure. She hoped her excitement didn’t show.
“I’ll let you get used to the place. I have things to do. We’ll meet for dinner.” Josh said in his arrogant way. He sounded all pleasantry, but she heard the steel behind the words. With that, he turned and walked through the living room to the door. He opened the door and without a glance back walked through and closed the door. She heard the click of the lock and then nothing.
She ran inside, collapsed on the broad tapestried sofa, and burst into tears.
*
Giulia found her lying on the sofa staring at the ceiling.
“Signora, food.” She placed a tray on the coffee table and removed the lid. Sandy heard the heavy Italian accent even in the two words.
Sandy sat up as the delicious aromas lifted into the air. She wasn’t sure what they all were, but it smelled wonderful. And, coffee.
“Thank you. You must be Giulia.”
“Yes.” Even her "yes" was heavily accented. She was lovely. In her late 30s with honey blond hair and delicate features over a slight body with curves in all the right places. She didn’t look like a jailer.
Giulia smiled and placed a finger to her lips. “ I…you…once. He…good. Man.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“He good man.” She repeated and then shook her head. “No English good. Cook good.”
Sandy took a bite of a delicate pastry sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar. “Mmmm. You are.”
“Clothes,” Giulia said and left the room. Sandy heard the lock on the door click and then a light clanging. All of a sudden she was ravenous. The coffee was perfect. The pastry, whatever it was, seemed to melt in her mouth. Scrumptious. She heard rustling in the bedroom and Giulia singing softly to herself.
When she finished the pastry, she took the mug of coffee into the bedroom. Giulia was in the giant closet singing away. When Sandy looked in, Giulia was filling a dresser drawer with underwear. Her underwear! She looked at the racks. Her clothes! All of her clothes were hanging in the closet.
This was no joke. Josh, or somebody, had gone to her apartment and removed all her clothes. Shoes, dresses, slacks, tops. And now, her underwear was going into a drawer. Sandy looked for a minute and realized everything was here but her bags. No mobile phone, no wallet. No ID, no calling out. Just like a nightmare it was real and yet wrong.
“Giulia. What is happening?”
“He, Signor Harrington. He tell. I work.” She closed the drawer and wheeled the luggage rack out of the bedroom, down the hall, and out the door. The lock clicked.
So that was it. Trapped in a mansion with no way out. Josh Harrington’s mansion. Josh Harrington the controlling alien. She was in a nightmare.
*
Alright, she thought, I’ll explore my prison. She found the refrigerator stocked. An entertainment room held a huge screen. She found the remote and clicked it on. It seemed to be connected to a computer because there was a long list of movies to watch. Right! I’ll while away my time watching movies and eating bonbons. As soon as she thought it she noticed a bowl filled with Baci. Oh, fantastic. Chocolate kisses with little romantic sayings. Just what a prisoner needs. She clicked the remote. A long list of music.
She’d read somewhere, or maybe she saw on TV that prisoners spent their time keeping their bodies in shape. She decided she’d start on day one by swimming. She swam laps and laps. Short laps in the small pool, but she stopped counting and just turned and turned. All the while she thought, I’ll beat Josh Harrington. I’ll beat Josh Harrington.
She woke from a nap after the swim. She woke thinking, I’ll beat Josh Harrington. As she thought it she heard a knock at the door. Oh, it’s him. Is it dinner time?
“Just a minute,” she called.
The handiest garment was the blue kimono from the morning. She threw it on and went to the door.
“Hello.” There he stood. Josh Harrington. All of him. Tall, commanding, fresh from a shower in designer jeans and a navy pullover that complimented his piercing eyes and, somehow, made is auburn hair glint with gold. Next to him was Giulia with a catering cart.
“Don’t hello me, Josh Harrington. Do you think I’m a submissive dummy, just a little secretary, and I’ll fall for your alien story? I’ll find a way to get away from you.” She waved her arm to emphasize her point. The kimono fell open revealing her form-fitting navy underwear.