guardianofparadise_260-1e3.htm

by Guardian Of Paradise (lit)

  “Excuse me. Who are you? And what are you doing?” Shana asked as she walked over to him. She watched as he stood upright and turned to face her.

  “You must be Shana? Kai’s mate?” The raven-haired man said with a soft grin as he moved over toward her. His hand stretched out to hers.

  Shana looked at the offered hand, then back to the man as she gazed up at him with wary eyes.

  He dropped his hand and looked down her with a soft smile. “I am Prix Samuels. Kai’s friend. I heard about what happened last night and thought I’d come over and find out what was going on around here. Did you get a close look at the man who did this?” Prix had looked over his shoulder at the bush, then back at her. His smile had vanished.

  Shana stared deeply into his eyes and knew that he was telling the truth. She glanced over his shoulder and at the bush, took a few steps, then paused. Shana stood there gazing at the bush. She choked back a lump in her throat.

  She couldn’t seem to stop the images running through her mind as they were replayed over and over again. The moment when Kai had been shot. Shana still could not believe that he was alive. He had died in her arms last night. She had watched him take that last breath.

  “It’s okay,” Prix said softly as he stepped up behind her. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

  “It had happened so fast.” Shana gulped back a lump in her throat. “I didn’t even see the man until it was too late.” She turned to face him and his hand dropped from her shoulder. Her face held such raw emotions thinking that she had almost lost Kai. Shana was in such turmoil because she was still confused about her growing feelings for him.

  “Is there some way that you would know him if you were to see him again?” Prix asked as he stepped closer to her. He could understand why Kai had chosen to mate with this woman. She held such inner and outer beauty and she held herself up with determination.

  “I’m not sure. Maybe. It was dark when we returned from the mountains.” Shana pointed in the direction of where the mountains stood. Prix followed her hand.

  “The Shadow’s Edge,” Prix muttered under his breath.

  “Oh. Kai mentioned that name the other day and he rushed out of here,” Shana said as she gazed at the mountains. “I wondered where that was.”

  Prix knew why Kai had rushed to The Shadow’s Edge that night of which Shana had just spoken. There was a smuggling ring going on at that particular spot on the mountain, and Kai was trying to put a stop to the ring. Prix looked at Shana.

  “How is Kai this morning?”

  “He’s resting at the moment. He died. Then he came back to life. How can that be possible?” Shana asked as she turned away from him.

  “As long as he got to the med-unit within moments of his death, the unit can bring him back to life,” Prix said. He could see that this woman had strong feelings for his friend. He saw how confused she seemed at the moment. He could relate to her being confused about how fast their relationship was going. His and Sira’s relationship had been a whirlwind.

  Shana turned to him, “Nothing seems familiar to me. Kai said that I am from Earth. I don’t think that we have anything like that there.”

  Prix nodded his head. “Earth is not as far as advanced as we are here. They lost much of their technology when Earth was in a Great War centuries ago and have barely made a comeback into space technology,” Prix said as he bent down near the brush where the attacker had stood the previous night. Nothing on the ground gave him a clue.

  Must be a smuggler, Prix thought to himself. Kai was getting close to discovering the smugglers’ identities.

  Prix stood up and faced Shana one last time, “Tell Kai that I’ll come by and visit him later on this afternoon. It was nice to finally meet his new mate.” He smiled and turned, walking to his silver hovercraft and jumped inside quickly.

  ~ * ~

  “I met Kai’s mate,” Prix said as he entered the house. Sira was on the couch nursing their son. He walked over and cupped the back of his son’s head and gazed down at the baby’s sleeping face.

  “What is she like?” Sira looked up at Prix.

  “Pretty. I can understand why Kai chose her. She is strong and determined. She is upset about the fact that Kai almost died last night.” Prix took young Michael in his arms.

  “He almost died? You didn’t tell me that.” Sira sounded distressed. She placed her hand on his arm.

  “I didn’t know until Shana told me just moments ago. The reports did not state that fact.” Prix stepped into the nursery and placed the baby in the crib. He covered Michael’s sleeping body with a small blanket.

  “Do you have any idea who would do such a thing to Kai?” Sira asked in a soft voice. Her eyes were moist with tears as she wrapped her arms around him.

  “I think it was those smugglers at Shadow’s Edge.” His eyes and voice hardened as he spoke those words. Sira sighed as her arms tightened around him.

  “I wonder what they’re smuggling out there?” She asked with curiosity in her voice. Prix’s arms went around her, holding her tight against him as he gazed down at his sleeping son.

  Eight

  “I said that I’m fine,” Kai mumbled as he looked up at Prix who sat in a chair beside him near the bed. Shana had made herself scarce so that the two men could talk in private.

  Prix nodded his head. “The reports did not indicate that you almost died, Kai. I had to learn that little tidbit from your mate,” Prix said in a low and harsh voice.

  “I wanted it that way for a reason,” Kai said as he sat up in the bed with a pillow tucked behind him. His arms were crossed over his chest.

  Prix once again nodded his head in understanding. “I also found out something else about Shana’s ship that wasn’t in the report either.” Kai glanced over at the door and pointed his chin in that direction. Prix rose from his chair and walked over to the open door. He glanced in both directions and noted that Shana was not in the hallway.

  Prix looked over his shoulder and shook his head, then stepped back into the room and closed the door. He walked back to his chair and sat down, scooting the chair closer to the bed.

  “I have a man inside the government system on Earth,” Kai told Prix with a hard expression.

  “Kai, you’re playing a dangerous game here,” Prix warned him.

  “I know. They have someone inside in my administration. I just don’t know who,” Kai said in a hard voice that matched the glare in his eyes. “What I do know is that the Earth’s President is in on the smuggling ring, and he wants me terminated. That is why Shana was sent here.” His voice softened when he spoke the last few words.

  “Is that why you mated with her?” Prix’s eyes softened, then hardened. “You should not be messing with her feelings if that’s why you’re keeping her close to you. You’re playing a dangerous game,” Prix said in a harder voice then he had ever spoken in before to him. He was stunned at what his friend had just revealed.

  “I mated with her for an entirely different reason. I thought that I mentioned that to you a few days ago. Besides, she has lost her memory--you do remember that?” Kai tossed the covers aside and rose from the bed. He walked over to the closet and began to pull some clothes out, tugging them on as he spoke. “I need to find out what they are smuggling and why Shana’s ship had a virus on it. The computer detected the virus mere moments before the crash. The ship caught fire in space.” Kai turned to look at Prix with a pained look on his face. “Our sources indicated that there was another ship near Shana’s ship. But they don’t know who the ship belonged to.”

  “Do you think that it’s linked somehow?” Prix asked as he rose from the chair and faced Kai.

  Before Kai could answer, the door opened and Shana walked inside the room. She looked at Kai with a surprised look on her face.

  “What are you doing out of bed? You should be resting.” She walked over to him and placed a hand on his chest. She tried to push him back into the bed but he wouldn’t budge.

&nb
sp; “I have some business to do.” Kai walked over to the vacated chair that Prix had just occupied as he began to tug on his socks and boots.

  “What business could you possibly have to do that is so important it can’t wait, when you should be resting? You never did tell me what it is that you do,” Shana said as she braced her hands on her hips and glared down at Kai.

  Kai looked over at Prix and grinned. Then he turned to look at her. “I will tell you that at another time, but not right now.” He stood and kissed her on the lips before he walked out of the room with Prix at his side.

  Shana stood there and watched them leave. There was nothing she could do when someone was determined to do as they liked. Just like Mikla.

  She gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. “I just had another memory!” Shana muttered under her breath. “My memory must be returning.” She smiled to herself as she stepped over and tossed the covers to the headboard. Sometimes she let the Bot do its chores, other times she helped out just to keep herself busy.

  “One of these days I will remember who Mikla is and what she means to me. Who I am. And what those dreams mean, or if they are flashbacks,” Shana spoke sadly as she gazed around the bedroom. She had often wondered what her life was like before she opened her eyes and didn’t remember anything before last week. Shana made a sound of frustration before she turned and stormed out of the bedroom.

  ~ * ~

  “I’ll look this way and you go that way,” Kai said as he pointed in the western direction. Prix started to walk in the direction that Kai had pointed while Kai started his trek through the thick foliage on the mountain. Lifting thick branches out of his way as he stepped underneath them, he swatted the air in front of him when small flying insects got in his way. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for at the moment. He was only searching the area for some sign of who these people are that were using his planet as a drop zone.

  He muttered a few oaths as he stumbled upon a circle of rocks in an open area on the mountain. He kneeled down and placed his hand in the small circle of rocks. The charred remains that were once a small fire were still warm. He rose from his knees and muttered a few more chosen oaths as he eyed the remains on the burnt ground, his hands on his hips.

  His eyes had hardened, his face tightened. He began to search further past the charred remains of what once was a small campfire.

  Two hours later, Kai’s search turned out to be a waste of time. He met up with Prix at the hovercrafts. Prix shook his head when Kai asked if he had found anything of use.

  Kai led Prix to the campfire site.

  “Set up a team to watch this area for a few days. I damn well want to know who is using our planet as a drop zone,” Kai told him.

  “I’ll get on it as soon as I get back to the Capitol,” Prix said as he climbed into his silver hovercraft.

  “I’ll be in the office tomorrow. I want the commandant to be in my office by noon. And another thing, I want around-the-clock security on my house and Shana.” Kai’s eyes were hard and lethal.

  Prix nodded his head as he lifted from the ground with a quiet purr from the hovercraft. Kai decided to stay behind for a few quiet moments, trying to slow down his beating heart rate. He glanced all around him making sure that no one else was in the area before he made a few kicks and punches, venting out his anger through a kata.

  He landed on his knees next to the white hovercraft. Sweat dampened the clothes that he was wearing. He shook the hair out of his eyes and gazed up at the sky through the breaks in the trees. Kai slowly rose to his feet and wiped the sweat from his brow before climbing into the hovercraft. He took one last look around before he left the area on the mountain.

  ~ * ~

  “What’s going on, Kai?” Shana demanded as soon as he walked in the door. Kai walked past her, down the hall and into the bathroom. Shana followed him as he shut the door, locking her out.

  “Kai!” Shana shouted through the closed door.

  Kai shed his clothes and left them on the bathroom floor. He stepped over to the shower stall and turned the water on as Shana called out his name. He was not in the mood to be interrogated. When the water temperature was to his liking, he stepped into the shower. The water pulsed over his naked body, the spray working the kinks out of the muscles along his back and thighs.

  He turned in the shower, lifted his face up to the spray with his eyes closed, letting the water cascade down his chest and into his lower regions. He stepped back when he heard the door open and close. He could have sworn that he had locked that door.

  The shower door opened and Shana stood there, watching him, in her naked glory.

  “I thought that maybe you might want to have some company. I didn’t know that I could pick locks, either, but I did,” she spoke softly as she stepped into the shower.

  Kai placed his hands on Shana’s hips and turned her into the spray. Water sluiced over her. His lips claimed hers. Kai’s arms tightened around her as water cascaded around them. Shana wrapped her arms around his neck. Kai dropped to his knees and claimed the most intimate part of her.

  “Kai!” she screamed out when his tongue slipped inside of her. She grabbed onto his shoulders as he slipped her legs around his neck. He slipped two fingers inside of her, his tongue swirling around her tightened bud.

  With her eyes closed tightly, Shana leaned her head back against the wall. She moaned as Kai continued to slide his fingers in and out of her. His lips closed around her nub. Shana tightened her legs around him as she moved with him.

  Kai gave her one last lick along her mound before he rose from his knees. Shana’s legs dropped to the floor and she slid down the wall. She cupped him in her hand and closed her fingers around his shaft. She rubbed up and down along his hardened length. She looked up at him from her position and saw that he was looking down at her. She smiled up at him as her lips closed around him.

  Kai tilted his head back with his eyes closed. His hands braced on the wall in front of him for leverage. He felt himself inside of her mouth, her hand around him moving along with her mouth and tongue. Kai could feel the pressure slowly building inside of him. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up onto her feet. He claimed her lips with his, his tongue digging deep inside of her moist mouth.

  His put his hands on her hips as he lifted her up and braced her against the wall. He plunged into her deeply in one swift thrust. He wrapped his arms around her tightly as he plunged into her over and over until they both screamed out their release.

  ~ * ~

  “You won’t let it out that I am paying you to find Shana?” Mikla asked the Freelancer as she paced the length of the living room, her movements resembling a waddle. She had her hand on her back to ease the pressure there that had been building all day.

  The Freelancer nodded his head as he watched her with concerned eyes. She had also told him that she didn’t want Gregor to know about this as well.

  “I am the most discreet person there is. Why do you think that I have not been caught?” he asked with a smug smile

  Mikla sighed as she pressed harder into her back. “I just want her found and brought home,” Mikla said as she walked over to the chair and sat down. Sitting down did not help the pressure either. She held out her hands and the Freelancer stood up, then he helped her to stand.

  “Are you all right?” he asked.

  Mikla nodded her head. “I’m fine. You do know what to do?”

  “Yes. Are you sure that you’re fine?” he asked watching as she continued to walk around the living room. Once more, Mikla nodded her head.

  “How soon can you leave?”

  “I can leave right now,” he replied in a casual tone.

  “The sooner the better,” Mikla replied with a wince.

  It was midnight when Mikla knew that the baby was coming. She woke Gregor up and they rushed to the hospital. It was two hours later that their son was born into the world. And Shana was not there to witness the birth.

  Mikla rest
ed on the hospital bed and stared up at the ceiling as the baby slept in the crib beside her.

  ~ * ~

  Shana tossed and turned for most of the night. Kai had left early that morning while Shana was still sleeping. He did not touch her that night, and Shana didn’t understand why he had turned cold after what they had shared in the shower. Kai had seemed preoccupied, quiet and distant toward her.

  She rose from the bed ate a quiet breakfast that the Bot had given her.

  Restless.

  Shana felt restless. She couldn’t seem to sit down. She paced the length of the living room. Couldn’t seem to read the mystery novel that she had started last week. Shana placed the book down on the coffee table, walked over to the window and stared out at the horizon. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she gazed out the window.

  A piercing pain filled her head. Shana dropped to her knees as she placed her hands to her temples. Her eyes squeezed tight as she cried out from the pain. The pain was more intense then it had been previously.

  “Make it stop,” she whispered to the empty room.

  ~ * ~

  Kai answered the com-link on his desk with an irritated sigh. He listened to the sound of beeps on the other end of the line. His spine stiffened as he continued to listen. “Get her to the med-unit. Fast,” Kai commanded into the link. He stood up as he turned off the link. He stormed to the door and slammed it opened. Laura looked up as he walked past her desk and out of her office. She followed him with her eyes in a stunned gaze. She slowly shook her head.

  Nine

  Her eyes opened slowly. Shana seemed confused at first as to how she had come to be in bed. She slowly turned to the side and saw that Kai was asleep in the chair beside the bed. Her heart went out to him. Shana could still remember the words that he had spoken to her that night.

  “I love you.” His words whispered over her in a chant. I should have told him of my feelings, Shana thought to herself. She closed her eyes against the pain that filled her heart. Not yet. Not until I know who I am.