guardianofparadise_260-1e3.htm

by Guardian Of Paradise (lit)

  The last man standing made a dash toward Shana as the fallen man began to rise. Shana moved to the side with her arm outstretched and he ran into her arm and fell backwards. Shana looked at the man that had risen to find him climbing into the hovercraft. But he didn’t get halfway into the vehicle when Kai dragged him back out the door. Prix was running toward her. When he stopped next to her, Prix picked up the other man by the collar and yanked him off the ground.

  “Take these men into custody and question them. And while you’re at it, bring in Carlos also. He was the one behind the kidnapping the first time. I don’t doubt that he is also behind this attempt on Shana.” Kai looked at Shana as he spoke the words. She was breathing fast and was also sweating. Her eyes grew wide at how hard his voice seemed. She nodded her head as Prix took both men and shackled them, then placed them in the back seat of his hovercraft. With a final nod at Kai, Prix climbed into the front seat of the black hovercraft and started the engine.

  Within moments, the hovercraft was a tiny speck in the sky.

  Kai watched as Prix took off and slowly walked over to where Shana stood. He wrapped his arms around her and felt her trembling. He placed a tender kiss on her brow, bent over and picked her up in his arms. He walked into the house and strolled down the hallway until he came to the bedroom. He stood next to the bed and swept the covers back. Kai slid Shana down his body until she was on her feet. He could still feel her trembling as he slowly lifted her shirt from her. He squatted down and took her running shoes off her feet. His palms slid up her legs as she dropped her hands on his shoulder to keep herself steady.

  He slid his fingers into the waistband of her leggings and slid them back down, taking her panties with them. Kai looked up to find Shana staring down at him with her lips parted when he slid the rest of her clothes from her body.

  “Kai,” she whispered his name in a breathless sigh.

  He pressed a soft kiss on her navel, followed by another just below the first one. He grasped her thighs in his hands and slightly parted them.

  “Kai.” Shana moaned as he pressed a kiss on one of her thighs, then the other one. Her hands tightened on his shoulders. His hands slid down her thighs and stopped at the back of her knees. As Kai stood up, he wrapped her legs around his waist. His lips claimed hers in a deep kiss as he carried her to the bed. He placed her in the middle and followed her down, her legs coming up to cradle him.

  Shana arched her back as she felt his hardness through his leather pants. Her fingers fisted in his shirt as she tugged the soft, dark blue material off of him. “Kai.” She murmured his name as her fingers pressed into his naked back. His smooth chest pressed against hers, his nipples pressed into hers. Shana inhaled sharply at the sensations that went through her. His hands slid around her and cupped her warm breasts, her nipples hardened even more against his palms. She swept her hands down over his back and palmed his buttocks as she raised her hips into him.

  Kai pulled his lips from hers and trailed them down the side of her neck at the same time he pulled his hands from her breasts. He quickly shed his pants and shoes. His naked manhood pressed against her wetness. Kai groaned as he wrapped his lips around her nipple and gently suckled her. Shana arched off the bed as sensation after sensation overwhelmed her.

  “Kai!” she screamed out, wrapping her arms around his neck. Her legs wrapped around his waist tightly. “Please,” she begged.

  Kai smiled around her nipple before he tugged on it one last time. He rose on his arms and stared down at her. Shana was panting and gleamed with sweat. He crawled backwards and sat on his knees as he continued to stare down at her. His hands smoothed up and down her legs, his gaze burning into hers.

  “Shana,” he whispered in a soft, tender voice that shattered her heart, and tears filled her eyes.

  “Kai.” Shana spoke his name the same way that he had spoken hers. Kai’s heart pounded in his chest as his hands slid up her thighs and stopped at her heated core. His thumbs gently slid over her hardened bud, causing Shana to whimper. Her arms stretched out as she reached for him. Kai shook his head as he stretched out his legs and laid himself between her thighs. Shana dropped her hands on his shoulders as Kai began to lave her wet, heated core.

  Her hips rose as she met his tongue and she cried out his name. Shana’s legs wrapped around his shoulders as her arms tightened around his neck. She arched off the bed and her eyes closed. Her fingers slid from around his neck to the back of his head and grasped his hair with her fingers. Shana panted and gulped in several deep breaths as Kai continued to tease her with his mouth. She kept her eyes closed when she felt him pull away from her. She was close to her release as he slid over her and into her with one powerful lunge of his hips. She felt the tip of him all the way into her womb.

  “Look at me,” Kai commanded as he placed his hands around her face.

  Shana blinked her eyes open as he looked down at her. His eyes were dark and intense as he began to move within her. She gasped out loud as she recognized the look in his eyes--desire and passion. And love. Tears welled in her eyes once more. A single tear slid from her eye and pooled on the pillow beside her. Her arms wrapped around his waist as she rose to meet his thrusts. Kai’s eyes never wavered from hers.

  “Keep them open for me,” Kai muttered when Shana closed her eyes. She opened them again. She stared up at him as she neared her climax once more. Kai groaned and moved harder and faster into her as he felt his release rising within him.

  Shana arched off the bed as she moved faster and harder against Kai. She closed her eyes as Kai gathered her to him. He grew taunt and stiff as he spilled himself into her. Shana began to shake and sobbed into his shoulder.

  “I love you,” Shana cried out to him.

  Kai stiffened even more as he heard the words that he had wanted to hear from her lips. When the ebbs of passion eased from his body, Kai rose on his arms and stared down at her with longing in his eyes. He pressed his lips to hers and whispered against her lips, “I love you,” before he collapsed against her with his chest still heaving. Their combined sweat began to dry in the warm evening.

  Moments later, Kai shifted his body to the side and onto his back, taking Shana with him. She cuddled at his side with her arm draped over his chest. His thumb trailed circles on her shoulder. Her eyes grew heavy and weary from exhaustion. Soon, she fell asleep. Kai was still awake as he stared up at the ceiling. He should feel elated that Shana loved him as much as he loved her, or did she? That was not what was keeping him awake. So much had happened this day and he thought about what the Freelancer had told him about the danger that Shana was in currently. He needed to make plans for the trip to Earth. Kai tucked his arm under his head as his hand slid to her back and felt her still heated skin under his palm.

  He also needed to figure out how he was going to get to Earth without being detected from the patrol around the planet. As thoughts and ideas swam through Kai’s mind, he fell asleep.

  ~ * ~

  “You bastard!” Sonya shrieked at Carlos, her hands waving in the air around her as she stormed across the bedroom floor. Carlos’ eyes were downcast toward the wooden floor, glaring at the swirling patterns on the floor panel. “You said that you had a fail-proof plan.” Sonya continued to rant, her voice vibrating against the bedroom walls.

  “How was I to know that she knows the art?” Carlos asked in a soft voice as he turned to look at Sonya.

  “Of course she knows the art,” Sonya said nastily as she slowly walked toward Carlos. “She’s a government agent. They teach them the arts.” She trailed her finger down his chest until she stopped at the waistband of his pants. She looked up at him with a small grin on her face.

  “You failed again,” she smirked. She turned and walked away, leaving Carlos to stare up at her retreating back, watching the gentle sway of her hips.

  “I do not like to fail,” she spoke in a hard voice as she turned to look at him. “Neither does Jim.”

  Carlos’s eyes opene
d wide at the mention of the President’s name from her lips. He averted his gaze from hers; hurt filled his vision.

  “You do know what Jim does when others fail him?” Sonya said as she continued to have her back turned toward Carlos. Then she ran her hand down her thigh until she reached the hem of her skirt.

  Carlos could only stare at her curvaceous buttocks. He did not see what she was doing until it was too late when she turned around to face him.

  ~ * ~

  Kai slid into Shana when the morning light filled the room. Shana stared down into Kai’s face from her position above him. “Say it again,” Kai said softly as his grip tightened on her hips as she raised herself and slowly slid down on his shaft.

  Shana dropped to her arms, which brought her lips an inch from his and whispered the words, “I love you.” She touched her lips to his.

  Kai inhaled sharply, his fingers digging into her flesh. His back arched off the bed as he moved deeper into her. His feet pressed into the mattress and his knees were bent as his hips pounded into Shana.

  She tore her lips from his and buried her face into the pillow next to Kai’s, muffling her soft cries as she found her release.

  The bedroom vibrated and the windows shook when Kai shouted his release.

  ~ * ~

  An hour later, Kai pushed Shana’s chair up to the table as he served her breakfast. The Bot would be arriving back sometime after breakfast. Minutes after he had his bout with Shana, he got the call from Stu saying that the Bot was fixed but he couldn’t retrieve the lost memory banks. There was a virus that had caused the memory banks to crash.

  “It’s no longer necessary. I found out what I wanted to know,” Kai told Stu.

  “But I did do something new with the Bot. Something that I have been working on for several months. I’m working on a new technology that will bring the Bots new life in this century and it’s a surprise for you,” Stu said before the call was terminated.

  Kai and Shana ate their breakfast in silence but gave each other knowing looks that held secrets of what they had shared the night before and earlier this morning. Shana would grin at Kai and he returned hers. He reached over and took her hand in his, “I am going with you to Earth,” he told her softly.

  Shana stared at him with wide eyes--she couldn’t believe what he had just said.

  “I don’t want you to go alone. I will be there with you,” Kai added in a softer tone. Shana nodded her head as she stood up from the chair she was sitting in.

  “You have no idea what you are getting yourself in to,” Shana told him, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at him. She did not want to argue with him, not after what they had shared earlier. Her body was still tingling in places that she never knew she had.

  “I do know what I’m getting myself in to. You are my mate. My first priority is to make sure that you are safe at all costs,” Kai said as he swiftly stood from the chair. The Robo cleaner came out of the wall and put back the chair without drawing the attention of Kai and Shana.

  “I love you and I don’t want to see you get hurt,” Kai said softly as he walked around the table and took her in his arms. He held her close to him, burying his face into her thick red hair.

  Slowly, Shana raised her arms and wrapped them around his neck. “I love you, too. But we won’t know what to expect from President Grogan until we get there. I know he was the one who sabotaged my ship.” Shana took a step away from him, her arms lowered to her sides and turned around, away from him.

  “I figured as much when we took what was left of your ship to the salvage yard.”

  “You have my ship?” Shana asked as she spun around to face him.

  Kai nodded his head. “It’s near the Capitol. I had people look over the ship to find out who you were and why you were on my planet.”

  This time it was Shana who nodded her head. “What did you find out? About my ship?”

  “There was not much left of the whole system. You would have perished if I hadn’t rescued you from the inferno.”

  “Take me to my ship. Please. I want to find out for myself what kind of damage has been done,” Shana said, her voice so hard and cold that it nearly made Kai wince.

  “I’ll take you,” Kai said as he turned toward the door just as there was a knock that sounded someone’s arrival. “As soon as I get my Bot back.”

  Fourteen

  Kai stood in the middle of the meadow and stared at the gray Bot with his hands on his hips. There was something different about the Bot, but he couldn’t put his finger on what it was. Kai looked over at Stu and shrugged his shoulders silently, telling Stu that he couldn’t figure out what was different about it.

  “The lights,” Shana spoke softly as she looked up at Kai. “The lights are gone.” There was a soft glow to her face. She stepped away from Kai’s side and walked over to the silent Bot. She pressed her hands along the top of the Bot and smoothed them over the now solid surface.

  Kai glanced at the spots where the lights once were. He flew a glance at Stu with a question, “What have you done with the lights?”

  Stu held up a finger to silence Kai as he walked over to the Bot’s back. Shana had stepped aside as she also watched Stu.

  She looked as Stu opened the back panel and pressed a button. The Bot began to whir and spun on its wheels.

  “Greetings.” The Bot spoke in a computerized voice.

  Kai stood with his mouth gaped opened and glanced over at a stunned Shana. She had her hands pressed to her mouth and her eyes were wide. “Oh my, gosh,” she whispered. Shana turned and ran up into Kai’s arms. She held tightly to him as he wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing her closer to him.

  He looked over Shana’s head to Stu, who stood with his hands behind his back. “Thank you,” he mouthed at the other man. Stu nodded his head as he bent over the Bot, making a few changes as well.

  “I am at your service,” the Bot said as it turned on its wheels and faced Kai.

  Kai dropped his arms from Shana’s waist and walked over to the Bot. “This will get some getting used to,” Kai muttered under his breath. He felt Shana at his side and he looked up and grinned at her.

  “What did you do to give it a voice?” Kai asked Stu as he placed a screwdriver in the tool belt at his side.

  “Nothing much to do. I replaced the program that it came with. I basically reprogrammed the Bot with a voice instead of the beeps and whirrs as the first Bots were given over a century ago. It was something that I have been tinkering with for the past several years.” Stu grinned at Kai and Shana.

  Kai walked over to Stu and clapped him on the shoulder before he shook the other man’s hand. “Thank you,” Kai said as he stepped away from the other man.

  “It was a pure pleasure to work with the Bot,” Stu said as he nodded his head at Shana and at Kai. “Give me a call next time you have a problem with the Bot. I have been working on other programs, too. I am in the planning stages of upgrading the looks of Bots as well. I am planning on a humanoid look for the Bot.” He grinned once more before he turned and walked back to the hovercraft.

  “Humanoid? That will be something. But we don’t even have a Bot like this one on Earth,” Shana said as she looked up at Kai.

  Kai nodded his head as he stared at the Bot. “Now that I have my Bot back, we need to start making plans for our journey to Earth.”

  “May I make a few suggestions?” the Bot spoke. Both Kai and Shana looked down at the Bot and started to laugh.

  “This will take some getting used to. I can actually understand what it’s saying instead of the beeps and whirrs.” Shana grinned up at Kai.

  Kai looked over at the area surrounding his front yard. There was suddenly a dire feeling washing over him. “Let’s go back to the house,” Kai said in a fast, harsh voice that made the hairs stand at her nape.

  “I have this feeling that we’re being watched,” Kai said in a hushed tone as he continued to look at their surroundings. He took Shana by the
elbow and guided her toward the house when the Bot’s voice announced, “There is an incoming call from Prix, sir.”

  Kai groaned as he sped up their walk to the house. “If it’s not one thing, it’s another.” Shana stepped into the bedroom to start preparing for the journey to Earth while Kai kept walking toward the office with the Bot at his side.

  “Shall I make refreshments?” the Bot asked.

  “No,” Kai said as he sat down at his desk and typed into the computer. He waited as Prix’s face appeared on the monitor.

  “We have a situation here that you should be aware of, Kai,” Prix said. Kai noticed that his face was pale and weary. There was a hint of agitation in his look as well. Prix ran a hand over his face as he looked over his shoulder when one of the Security Team asked him a question that Kai could not hear.

  “Take him to the morgue,” Prix responded. “We have found Commandant Carlos’ body at Raven’s Lake--an hour ago.”

  Kai stiffened, this was not going as he had planned. This time it was Kai who ran a hand over his face. “What was the cause of death?” Kai asked.

  “A laser blast--to the abdomen. We are not sure when this happened. We are working on it as we speak. We are also working on who was the cause of the Commandant’s demise as well,” Prix said as he terminated the link.

  “Damn,” Kai muttered under his breath as he pushed his chair away from the desk. “This is the last thing that I needed right now.” Kai stood away from the chair and began to pace the room. His hands fisted at his side and his steps were angry.

  ~ * ~

  Shana sat on the edge of the bed and her stomach twisted inside of her. She was nervous. She wasn’t sure why she was so nervous about going home. It was what she wanted, wasn’t it?

  “I don’t know,” she cried out softly as she brought her fist to her mouth. Tears welled at the corners of her eyes. She inhaled several deep breaths and pressed her thumbs at her eyes to stop the tears. She stood up from the bed and walked over to the simulator.