Despite the buzzing of the comm unit on his hip, Kor ignored it. He had more important things to attend to. Whoever called would have to wait as he strode towards the docking bay that held his aircraft. But what if it was news of Diana? Not breaking his stride, he flipped the unit open and found a message from Alphie, of all people-er, machines. Kil has Diana on board craft S0014533. Charted course the third moon. Will attempt a low-level radiation beacon. Murderous heat lengthened his stride. In short order, Kor boarded his spacecraft, a place rife with memories of Diana. And in short order, he'd replace those with new ones, because he would get her back. Programming in the coordinates Alphie fed him, he prepared to follow his brother even if it wasn't he most rational choice. The smart thing would be to wait for his father to arrive with some of the clan warriors, but his brother had Diana. My mate. It didn't take much for him to just imagine how terrifi
The craft landed with a thud that reverberated throughout the vessel. Diana looked around, desperate for something to defend herself with, but the stripped room she'd frantically searched earlier still contained a whole lot of nothing. Determined to at least try, though, she stood to the side of the door and waited, her palms slick with sweat. When Kil opened the door, Diana swung her clubbed hands at his head. To her surprise, he staggered, and she darted out the door. She took two steps before the steel vise grip of his hands closed around her arms and ribs, the strength in him enough to lift her off the floor. Diana wanted to scream in frustration, and she did when Kil chuckled maliciously in her ear. "There's nowhere to run, little Diana." Kil threw her hard over his shoulder, digging it painfully into her stomach. Diana cried, her silent tears running down her face, even as she pounded uselessly at his back. She heard the cranking of metal, followed by a hissing
Seeing his mate, his beautiful moonflower Diana, burst into tears caused a fluttery sensation in Kor's chest. Why does she cry? What ailed her? "I thought you were uninjured," he exclaimed, scooping her up and jogging back to the spacecraft he and Alphie had appropriated. "I am," she sniffled. "Then why the tears?" he asked, confused, slowing his pace as he came into sight of the waiting vessel. "I'm so happy you're back," she sobbed. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again. And I was so scared and lonely." Kor listened as she recited all of the things he'd found himself feeling too. He didn't understand it. Were these emotions normal with one's mate? "I'm back now, and Kil's gone. You don't need to be afraid anymore." Kor walked up the ramp to the ship and carried Diana straight into the decontamination center. Stripping her soiled clothes from her, he ran his hands over her body to reassure himself that she was unmarked. Of course, even
Lex stood in the bland transport and decontamination room, his naked body tense with anticipation as he waited for the Alpha 350 to teleport him to his intended's location. When nothing happened, he shifted from one foot to another. "Computer, is there a problem?" "You know, we've been travelling together for a few days now. Could you not call me by something less formal? Your friend Kor calls me Alphie," said a voice from seemingly nowhere. "You are a machine," Lex stated for the umpteenth time. "An intelligent one," said the shipboard computer with a sigh. Lex clenched his teeth. The AI unit on this vessel-artificial intelligence, his ass, more like pain in his ass-kept acting inappropriately. A machine that wants to be my friend. He almost snorted at the incongruity. Lex had already noted in the service log the need to service this model. "Please cease with the idle chatter and transport me to my intended mate that I might bond with her and return her
". . . George, who heard it from his cousin Juanita on the base, swears, this time, it's real. Aliens have landed, and they're not friendly." The word "alien" caught her attention. Maya turned to the petite Latina woman who spoke. "What's going on at the base?" Eager to tell her story again to a new avid listener, Marcia spoke quickly. "Apparently their radars didn't catch it, but this object, unknown object," she said with a wide-eyed whisper, "landed by the white sands. My cousin says the military sent out a detachment, and they found a circle like the ones you see in them crops. The dog unit was called in, and last I heard, they were chasing some giant alien, and he's heading toward us!" Several of the listeners crossed themselves, and excited babble broke out. Maya shook her head. She knew better than to listen to gossip. How often had so-and-so's cousin, sister, or uncle made the same claim, when the truth usually ended up being something benign? The last false a
Lex dreamt he kissed sweet lips while his body covered a luscious body made for pumping. It took him a moment of fuzzy bliss to realize this was no dream. The smart thing to do would have been to break off the passionate embrace with the human, but he didn't want it to stop. No longer confused, even though his shock at falling in that liquid pool had been great, he briefly wondered at his unexpected reaction to the woman underneath him, for there was no mistaking what he felt-desire-and it raged like a wild beast through his body. He might have lost consciousness, but he was definitely awake now, well, a certain hard part of him, that is. Sharp teeth bit his lip, and with an exclamation, he pulled back from the kiss. "Get off me," said a female voice that, even in irritation, lilted musically. Lex didn't move right away, his body reluctant to leave the soft haven it nestled on. The body under his thrashed, and a knee came perilously close to his male parts. Rolling of
What color indeed? Maya reached a hand up to smear what obviously had to be blue makeup, but his smooth skin did not change hue, and a tingle ran down her body at the touch of his smooth, beardless face. With the sun rising brightly, she could now see him more clearly, and if he wasn't an alien, then he wore a damned good disguise. His skin shone a beautiful dark blue, and his hair, cut short, was a startling white. He had strong masculine features, with hard lips and vivid violet eyes-eyes she remembered glowing before he'd kissed her. She stepped back and looked him over, the silvery material of his jumpsuit already dry and clinging to an obviously muscled frame. Well, alien or not, he's sexy. Even without the dip in the pool, her panties would have been wet. So why did I bite him when he kissed me? An even better question-is he the alien that has the military in an uproar? She hadn't forgotten the rumor circulating in the break room. "Who and what are you?" she asked.
Lex found himself swirling with a confusing mixture of emotions, the most prominent one being lust. The woman who'd rescued him looked nothing at all like his picture-perfect Amanda with her blonde locks. Yet this female, whose name he hadn't yet gotten, with her wild brown curls, smooth, tanned skin, and mouth-watering curves, made him want to forget the Oracle, forget his intended. He wanted this feisty beauty. In her soft, pillowy curves, a male could lose himself and never want to leave. He couldn't blame confusion on his near-death experience anymore either. He knew full well she wasn't his for the taking, and yet he wanted her with a desire that almost frightened him with its intensity. Could the Oracle have made an error? Had his ancestors not looked hard enough? And since when did he doubt his betters? Part of what made Lex a good warrior, and the reason he'd become eligible for a mate, was his unquestioning of orders. His superiors gave him a mission, and he did it. Sim