But it wasn’t just the physical sensations that overwhelmed him. At this moment, holding her in his arms, he knew he would never be able to let her go. She was his now—he had claimed her and tied her to him. She belonged to him and he to her and at that moment, nothing else mattered.
Slowly the pleasure ebbed but Kor still didn’t want to let her go. He kept his arms around her and pressed his face to her hair, breathing in her scent, holding her close to his heart.
Maggie…Oh Gods, love you so much. Can’t help it—I know I shouldn’t but I do. I love you!
“I love you too,” she whispered in his ear.
Kor pulled back and looked at her in surprise.
“What did you say?”
“I said, I love you too,” she repeated and burst into tears.
Kor didn’t know what to do.
“Sweetheart? Blondie?” He stroked her curls back from her flushed cheeks anxiously. “Are you all right? Did I hurt you?”
“No, of course not. That was…” She sobbed. “That was the b-best sex I’ve ever h-had.”
“Not something you usually cry about,” Kor pointed out gently, still stroking her hair.
“I know.” She sniffed. “I’m crying because I love you even though I know I shouldn’t. I mean, I’m engaged to Donald and you’re going to want to leave and go your own way now and I’m just…Oh, Kor, I’m so scared and confused.”
“Don’t be.” Cupping her face in his hands he brought her closer and pressed his lips to her cheeks, kissing away the tears. “Don’t be frightened because I’m here, blondie. And I’m not about to leave.”
“You…Do you really mean that?” Maggie’s eyes were wide and wet and uncertain. “About not leaving?”
“Of course I mean it,” Kor murmured. “Haven’t I been telling you how much I want you?”
“I thought you just meant like this…you know, sexually.”
“This isn’t all there is, you know,” Kor told her. “There’s a hell of a lot more than just sex between us. You’re a beautiful, fascinating, intelligent female. Why would I ever want to let you get away?”
“Oh, Kor…” She leaned back a little, swiping at her eyes. As she did, something small and red fell to the bedspread beside them.
“Hey, what’s this?” Kor picked it up.
“The implant!” Maggie studied the small red ruby in the palm of his hand. “It worked! So does this mean…?”
“That the implant wasn’t the source of your feelings,” he finished for her.
“Then I must really love you.” Maggie looked up at him, her eyes wide with understanding. “I really do.”
* * * * *
“Well, that’s it.” Xandra stepped back from her cauldron in disgust. “We’ve lost him. He may not know it but he’s bonded her to him. You’ll never be able to indwell him now—the bond will block you out.”
“Not so.” The burning eyes of the demon blazed ominously. “The seed that was planted will keep the bond from growing and taking root. A good dose of anger and hatred will wither it considerably. And then all we need is to bring Therron to the Black Planet. Once he has breathed the fumes of my home world and taken the mark of the shadow stone upon his skin, he will be ours.”
“That is never going to happen now!” the witch protested. “He’ll stay with her and no amount of whispering on your part will part them. Besides, even if you could lure him back to the Black Planet, no mortal being can stand upon it and live. It’s hotter than the surface of a star—that is why you and all your brothers are spirit only with no flesh.”
“Once I indwell him, he will be invulnerable to any and all attacks. And I will indwell him, wife. Watch and see.” The eyes blazed again. “Watch and see what I have planned…”
* * * * *
“I love you,” Maggie whispered and Kor was suddenly choked with emotion.
“I love you too, sweetheart,” he said roughly, saying it for the first time out loud. In the back of his mind, he still wondered how Maggie had heard him earlier, when he was just thinking about how he felt. Maybe he had said it aloud without realizing it?
“Kor,” she said, looking at him tentatively. “I’m glad we feel the same way but what about—”
Suddenly a huge thump rattled the door of their room. And then another.
Both of them jerked, startled.
“Oh!” gasped Maggie.
“What in the Seven Hells…?” Kor growled. “Who—?”
“Open up!” shouted a deep male voice from outside. “I know you’re in there and I know you’ve got the girl. Open up now or I’ll break it down!”
Chapter Thirty-one
“Who the Hell…?” Kor growled. He got up, disentangling himself from Maggie and made his way to the door.
“Kor!” She pointed to him as she hastily gathered the bedspread to her chest. “I don’t know who that is but you’re still naked.”
“Fuck that.” His eyes glowed as he went to the door and flung it open. “Who in the Seven Hells are you and how dare you threaten to break down my door?”
A tall man with dark hair and a devilish looking goatee and mustache stood in the doorway. He had a black eye patch over one eye and a sardonic grin on his darkly handsome face.
“I thought that would get you to the door,” he said, grinning at Kor.
“You’re damn right it did now who the hell are you and what do you want?” Kor growled.
“I just want to talk to Maggie Jordon. I assume that’s her on the sleeping platform?”
“It is.” Kor didn’t budge an inch, keeping himself between the strange man and the bed. “What do you want with her?”
“Well I can guess what you want with her,” the man murmured, his one eye flicking over Kor’s huge, naked form. “But I assure you, what I want is completely different. My interest in her is purely professional.”
“And what kind of ‘profession’ are you in?” Kor growled, still not moving.
“I’m Salix—maybe you’ve heard of me? I brought in the rogue Balor twins after their little shooting spree on Harmon Four?”
“Salix? Salix the bounty hunter?” Kor frowned. “Who sent you—some agent of my old master?”
Salix eyed him thoughtfully. “You would bring in quite a payday—wanted escaped felon and murderer that you are. The price on your head would refit my entire ship…But no. Regrettably, I have no interest in you, my friend. I simply need to speak to the lady.” He made a deep bow in Maggie’s direction and she nodded back, not knowing what else to do.
“What about?” Kor demanded.
“Why, about coming home,” Salix said mildly. “As you may or may not know, Miss Jordon there went missing a little more than six solar months ago. Her friends and family and most especially her fiancé…” he gave Kor a significant look. “Are understandably concerned for her.”
“Oh my God…Donald.” Maggie felt her cheeks getting hot and the little guilt voice she’d somehow managed to banish earlier when she was feeling so close and connected to Kor suddenly came back. Look what you did, it whispered. Now everyone is going to know.
“Is that the name of your fiancé, dear lady? Lucky fellow.” Salix grinned sardonically. “I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to hear you’re ah…intact.”
“Enough,” snapped Kor. “Get to the point.”
“The point is that I have been employed by the Kindred High Council to come and find Miss Jordon. And what do you know…here she is!” Salix ended brightly. “So could I please, if it’s not too much trouble, have the pleasure of speaking to her for just a moment?”
“No.” Kor crossed his arms over his chest. “We want no part of you—or the Kindred,” he spat.
Salix frowned. “You appear to have some Kindred blood yourself, friend—as do I. You have a problem with them?”
“My problem is none of your concern,” Kor growled. “Maggie is with me now—that’s all you need to know. So go back to the High Council and tell them she’s safe and she�
��s staying here.”
“Kor, no—wait!” Maggie got off the bed awkwardly, keeping the red bedspread bunched to her chest. She nearly tripped over it in her haste to get to the doorway and would have fallen if Kor hadn’t reached out a hand and caught her just in time.
“Stay back, Maggie,” he said, frowning. “You don’t want any part of this bastard.”
“Yes, I do—at least, I want to hear what he has to say,” Maggie protested. “They’re my family, Kor. Do you have any idea how scared and worried my mom must be?”
He frowned, his face as dark as a thundercloud.
“Really? It’s you’re mother you’re worried about? Not Donald?”
“Of course I’m worried about my mother!” Maggie snapped. “And my father and sisters and brother. We have a very close knit family, Kor. If you could just meet them you’d understand.”
“As it happens, that is a wish I can grant.” Salix reached into the large side pocket of his coat and pulled out something that looked to Maggie like a rolled up Venetian blind except it was only about a foot long. He shook it out with a flourish and the slats that made it up clicked together, forming a small one by two foot screen.
“What’s that?” she asked, frowning.
“A long-distance portable viewscreen. The latest in Kindred tech.” Salix grinned and then looked pointedly at Kor. “Might I suggest that you put on some trousers, friend? Maggie’s family is waiting eagerly to speak to her and seeing a large naked male hovering in the background might not put them at ease.”
“My family?” Maggie suddenly felt a little sick. “You mean all of my family?”
“What she means is are you also going to display her precious fiancé,” Kor growled, reaching for his black leather trousers.
“I don’t know if dear Donald is going to be in attendance or not,” Salix said blandly. “But in case he is, I’d take a moment to adjust your bed linens, my dear. They appear to be slipping.” He nodded at Maggie’s front and she was horrified to see that the bedspread had sagged, revealing one of her nipples.
“Oh my God—hang on—wait a minute!” She turned around and quickly rearranged the bedspread, wrapping it more securely around herself to resemble a kind of toga. “All right,” she said at last, turning back. “I…I think I’m ready.”
Salix cocked one black pointed eyebrow at her. “Are you? Very well.”
He activated some control on the side of the small viewscreen and suddenly Maggie was face to face with her entire family—her mom, dad, both sisters and even her protective older brother, Michael were all staring at her.
“Oh Maggie!” her mother cried at once. “Oh, honey—is that really you? Are you really all right?” Her eyes were wet with tears, her careful make-up obviously smudged from crying.
“Yes, Mom—it’s me and I’m fine.” Maggie felt tears gathering in her own eyes. She might have her differences with her sisters from time to time but she had always been close with her mom. “I’ve missed you so much,” she said to the viewscreen.
“I missed you too! Oh, honey—where have you been? And what happened to your glasses?”
“Forget the glasses—who’s that gorgeous hunk of a man standing behind you?” interjected her little sister Tammy, who was standing beside their mom.
“Yeah, who is he?” Michael was glowering at Kor, who Maggie was afraid was probably glowering right back. “Is he the guy who kidnapped you?”
“No, no he’s not,” Maggie said quickly. “This is Kor—he saved me, actually. Without him I’d be a slave on some distant planet right now.”
“A slave!” Her mother put a hand to her chest. “Oh my goodness! Then we owe you a big debt of gratitude, Mr. Kor,” she said, speaking to Kor over Maggie’s shoulder. “Thank you so much for rescuing our little girl and bringing her back to us.”
“You’re welcome but I haven’t brought her anywhere,” Kor growled. “Actually, I was planning on keeping her for myself.”
It was the exact wrong thing to say.
“What? What is he talking about?” Maggie’s father demanded.
“Listen, you punk,” Michael shouted. “You lay a hand on my little sister and—”
“No, no,” Maggie exclaimed quickly. “He’s kidding, you guys! Take it easy!” She threw a glance over her shoulder at Kor. “What are you doing? Why would you say a thing like that?”
He glowered at her. “Just telling the truth, sweetheart. I think that’s important—don’t you?”
Maggie bit her lip. “I—”
“So, shacking up with a hot new guy, huh?” Tammy’s voice interrupted her. “I wonder how Donald is going to feel about that…if he ever wakes up.”
“Hush!” Tricia, her older sister, elbowed Tammy in the ribs. “We agreed we weren’t going to say anything about that!”
Maggie felt like an icy fist had squeezed her heart.
“Say anything about what? What are you talking about? What happened to Donald?”
“Now, honey, he’s all right,” her mother said quickly. “At least we think he is. This all just happened a little while ago—we were on our way to the HKR building to talk to you when we got the call. It was all so quick, we didn’t know what to think. We went to the hospital to visit him—”
“The hospital?” Maggie was horrified. “What hospital?”
“Tampa General and he’s getting the very best care there, princess,” her father said reassuringly. “So please don’t worry.”
“But what happened to him?” Maggie demanded. “What? Somebody, please tell me,” she appealed to her family.
“Now, Maggie…” None of them seemed to want to talk—except Tammy who was clearly bursting to tell.
“Spill it, Tammy,” Maggie ordered her little sister. “Come on, tell me!”
“Donald got flattened by a bus,” Tammy said at once.
“Oh come on now,” Michael protested, frowning. “He wasn’t exactly flattened.”
“He had his leg broken in two places and a fractured skull.” Tammy snapped the piece of gum she was chewing annoyingly. “I call that flattened.”
“He…how did it happen?” Maggie demanded. “Was he just not looking where he was going?” It wasn’t an impossible scenario. Donald was the original absent minded professor and since he didn’t drive, he regularly rode the bus everywhere when she wasn’t there to be his personal taxi.
“Dunno.” Tammy shrugged and snapped her gum again. “It was weird—one of the guys who came into the ER with him saw it. He said Donald’s eyes got all glassy and for a minute he could swear they turned red. Then he just stepped right out in front of the bus. We’re still waiting for him to wake up.” She brightened. “I got a picture, though—you wanna see?”
Maggie felt sick to her stomach but she nodded anyway. “Yes, show me.”
“Tammy,” her mother protested. “I don’t think you ought to—”
But Maggie’s sister was already whipping out her large screen cell and scrolling through the pictures. “Nope, that's a selfie of me and Candie…Oh, here it is,” she said, flipping it around and pushing it close to the viewscreen. “See?”
“Oh…Oh my God…” Maggie put a hand to her head, unable to believe what she was seeing. There was Donald, lying in a hospital bed, his narrow face pale and slack. There were tubes and wires poking out of him and… “Blood,” Maggie whispered, horrified. “There’s so much blood.”
“Yeah, well, he had a compound fracture,” Tammy said. “If you look, you can see the bone poking out. See?”
“Oh!” Maggie reeled and almost fell. She was actually faint and nauseous with guilt. This is all your fault, whispered the mean little voice in her head. You did this to him. You cheated and somehow he knew. He knew and it upset him so much he stepped in front of a bus!
Maggie knew it wasn’t rational but the idea took root in her mind and wouldn’t leave her alone.
You should be home right now, the snarky little voice continued. You would be if you hadn’t
taken up with Kor. If you hadn’t decided to do your own thing you would have been to Gaia and back again already. Then you could have driven Donald wherever it was he was going and this never, never would have happened! It’s all your fault!
“Maggie? Maggie, please, honey—talk to us,” her mother pleaded.
“Put that damn thing away, Tammy,” Michael growled. “You’re not helping anyone showing his goddamned bone sticking out of his leg.”
“That picture Tammy showed you was the before shot,” her sister Tricia put in quickly. “Donald looked a lot better once they cleaned him up and set his leg.”
Somebody’s cell phone went off and Maggie’s father turned away for a moment. “Hello?” Maggie heard him say. “Yes? He is? Wonderful! Look, can I call you right back? Thank you so much!”
He turned back to Maggie with a relieved expression on his face.
“Guess what, princess? That was the nurse at the ER. She said Donald is awake and asking for you—isn’t that great?”
“Great…right…” Maggie whispered, putting a hand to her head. “Oh my God, what am I going to do?”
“If you’re talking about picking between Donald and Mr. Tall Dark and Angry over there, I’d say go with plan B,” Tammy advised. “Looks like you’d be trading up, Sis.”
“Tammy, how can you joke at a time like this?” her mother snapped. “Maggie isn’t going to leave Donald—especially not while he’s sick and injured. She loves him.”
Maggie felt a sick, stabbing pain in her gut—it was as though someone had slipped a knife made of pure guilt right into her stomach and was twisting it viciously.
“You guys…” she began. “I don’t know how to tell you this but—”
“Then don’t,” Kor’s deep voice came from behind her.
Maggie looked back at him. “What?”
“You heard me. Don’t say anything. You don’t have to.” He was already moving away from her, gathering his things.
“What are you talking about?” Maggie asked. “What are you doing?”
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