guardianofparadise_260-1e3.htm

by Guardian Of Paradise (lit)

  She typed in the command for the simulator to create a travel bag that was large enough to carry her and Kai’s clothes. When the bag appeared in the simulator, Shana picked up the black bag, walked over to the closet and began to take out shirts and pants that belonged to Kai.

  She placed them in the bag and turned to find Kai standing behind her. She gasped out loud as he looked down into her face. His look held longing and desperation.

  Kai reached out and cupped her cheek in his palm. “I can’t go with you. My Commandant was killed last night,” he said softly.

  Shana did not need to ask which one since she only knew of one of them. “Carlos?” She asked anyway with a dreadful look in her eyes. She was saddened for Carlos but she ached for Kai. She reached out and placed her hand over his on her cheek, staring deeply into his eyes.

  “I need to stay to investigate his death,” Kai said as he moved his hand from her face to her shoulders, kneading her neck with his fingers.

  A sad look filled her eyes as she looked down at her hands on her lap and twisted her fingers. Shana nodded her head as she fought back the tears that filled her eyes. “I can help you.” She looked back up into his face.

  “You’re needed on Earth,” Kai said softly as he dropped to his knees between her legs. His hands dropped from her shoulders to her thighs, and she could feel him smoothing his hands up and down against her skin. He began to feel the heat of her seep into his hands.

  Shana continued to stare at him with sad eyes. A hard lump filled her throat and she gulped several times to ease the emotions choking her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him with everything she had in her. She poured her heart and soul into the kiss. Shana felt Kai’s hands slip around her waist and he held her close to him. She wrapped her legs around his waist as she fell to her back.

  Kai lay on top of her, his hands sliding from around her waist and under the hem of her shirt, cupping her breasts in his hands and filling his palms with her heated skin. Her nipples tightened into tiny buds instantly. He swallowed her sharp gasp deep inside of him. He had to taste her. Now. Kai pulled his mouth from her and tugged the shirt from her body. He gazed long and hard into her eyes before claiming her breast with his warm mouth.

  She cried out as Kai suckled her breast. Her legs tightened around his waist as she arched up into his hardness, feeling the hard length of him against her softness.

  “Kai,” she murmured his name as she slid her hands under his shirt, smoothing her hands along his well muscled back. She pressed her lips along his neck and gently suckled him.

  He gave one final tug on her nipple before he pulled away from her. He stood on his feet, his eyes locked with hers as he pulled off his shirt. Shana gave him a longing look as his hands reached for the waist of her pants. His look was hot and heavy with desire for his mate as he slowly peeled the garment from her legs.

  He was already hard for her. He stood and tossed her garments over his shoulders. Kai reached for the waist of his pants and tugged them down his legs while Shana kept her hot gaze on him.

  He tugged Shana to the edge of the bed as he dropped down on his knees once more. He spread her open for him. He eyed the one place that he wanted to taste. He inhaled her sweetness as he placed tiny kisses along her thigh. She gasped out loud and her hips jerked. His hands held her hips firmly as he held her down on the bed and his lips claimed her moist, heated spot. His tongue left a wet trail over her bud and Shana cried out. Her hips jerked and Kai gripped her tighter.

  Shana’s hands grabbed the sheets in her fists. Her neck arched off the bed as Kai continued to assault her with his mouth. “Kai!” She screamed out his name. He... she wasn’t sure what he was doing to her, she only knew that it felt good and lost herself in the sensation of his tongue sliding over her heated flesh. As his tongue softly made circles on the small nub, she cried out as her body shuddered with her release, her legs wrapped around his neck and her eyes closed tightly. Her body relaxed but her breathing was hard and deep, he could take her to places that she had never been without him there with her. She opened her eyes to stare down at him for several long seconds.

  He rose to his feet and looked down at her. His gaze was hot and heavy. Shana watched as he bent over her and placed his lips on hers. She could taste herself on his lips and tongue. She wrapped her legs around his waist as her arms wrapped around his neck, holding him to her.

  Hips met each other as Kai slid into her. Moans were heard in the room as skin slapped against skin. Sweat glistened on their entwined bodies. Kai held her gaze and watched as Shana climaxed again. He felt her burst around his hardened shaft as he continued to pump himself into her. He pulled her legs over his shoulders and gripped her hips to hold her still under him as he drove deeper and deeper into her. He felt himself harden even more and lengthen longer than he ever had. Sweat poured from his body to mingle with Shana’s. His gaze never wavered from hers when he shouted is own release.

  Minutes passed when Shana slipped her legs from Kai’s shoulders with a soft sigh. She ran her nails along his spine as she shifted her legs down his calves. Kai’s harsh breathing sent tingles along her neck as her own breathing began to slow down finally. Shana gulped in several deep breaths as her hand slid up his spine and cupped the side of his neck as she murmured his name, “Kai.”

  His arms tightened around Shana, holding her as if he didn’t want to let her go, which Kai didn’t. He had to, it was for both their own good. He reluctantly loosened his arms and rose on his elbows to look down into her eyes. His eyes still held a passionate glaze that made her gasp out loud. “Shana,” he whispered her name in a thick voice. Kai leaned over and pressed his lips to hers before he rolled over onto his back, his arms still holding her to him.

  Shana laid her head on his chest as she listened to his heart return to a normal beat in his chest. It was only mere moments when her eyes closed as she fell into a deep sleep.

  His eyes remained opened and alert. Kai gazed up at the ceiling as his hand ran up and down smoothly on Shana’s arm in a lazy and contented manner. So many thoughts were running around in circles through his mind. One of the thoughts was about getting Shana off Paradise and to the safety of her friend on Earth.

  The Freelancer, Kai thought. His body tensed as he thought about the man who was sent by Mikla to retrieve Shana. The Freelancer could get Shana to Earth safely. The last thoughts that were on his mind were getting the Freelancer to agree to return Shana to Earth.

  Getting Shana to leave Paradise was going to be a battle in itself.

  Fifteen

  Shana woke the next morning and as her eyes opened, she saw a gray metal ceiling that seemed all too familiar to her. She jerked herself upright in the bed with a muttered oath as she looked around the too familiar room. She raked her hair back from her face as her other hand pushed the lightweight blanket from her legs. Shana moved her legs to the side of the bed as she felt the slight vibrations of the ship. She eased herself from the bed, then quickly sat down and braced her hands on the side of the bed frame. Her vision blurred and she felt dizzy.

  “The bastard drugged me and sent me off with the Freelancer,” Shana muttered under her breath. She shook her head to clear the dizziness, but it worsened. With a groan, Shana lay back down on the bed and closed her eyes as she felt nauseated. She pressed her hands on her stomach and rolled to her side as she gulped down several deep breaths.

  Moments later, when the sickness had passed, Shana stood up on shaky legs. She made her way into the bathroom with her hand against the wall as she walked. She looked into the mirror above the sink as she turned on the water faucet. Shana gasped as she saw how pale her face was, she inhaled several breaths as she cupped a handful of cold water. She splashed her face several times and patted her face dry with a white and fluffy hand towel.

  She reached up with her hands, pulled her hair back from her face, twisted her hair and clipped it back with a hair clip. Shana walked back into the bedroom and pulle
d out the duffle bag that she had noticed that was sitting in the corner of the room. She pulled out a pair of leggings and a shirt--she noticed that it was one of the black shirts that belonged to Kai that she had worn before she started using the simulator to create her own. She brought the shirt up to her nose and inhaled his scent deep into her being. Tears formed in her eyes, but she couldn’t seem to understand why she was crying. She wiped the tears with a hand and with a soft whimper, shook out the shirt and slipped her arms through the sleeves. She buttoned the shirt quickly with trembling fingers.

  Shana dug through the bag and pulled out a pair of black socks and slipped them onto her feet. She saw a pair of anti--grav boots in the corner where the bag had sat. She picked them up and slipped them on, they were a perfect fit. She slipped off the bed and tossed the covers to the headboard and tucked them under the mattress. She took in a deep breath before she walked over to the door and it slid open. Shana took a shaky step outside of the bedroom and the door slid shut behind her. She glanced over her shoulder, then down the hallway that loomed ahead of her. She wasn’t sure which way to go. This was an unknown ship to her.

  “Shana, I see that you are awake,” the Freelancer said as he walked up behind her.

  “Freelancer,” Shana returned his greeting. “I should be angry with you right now.” She spoke sternly, while she was glaring at the man that she thought she could trust.

  “I know that you’re angry, I can feel it radiating from within you.” The Freelancer looked her over with concerned filled eyes. She’s confused right now. He thought to himself. “Kai thought that he was doing right by you,” he said as he tucked his hands into the pockets of his dark blue trousers.

  Shana closed her eyes as she looked away from him, “I wanted to stay with him. To be there for him. He almost died recently because he took a shot that was meant for me.” She opened her eyes to look at him. “I failed this mission that I was sent on. I was sent to kill him. For what? I do not know. I have never questioned the President’s orders before,” Shana said as she began to walk beside him down the hallway.

  “You are not the only one to feel that way,” the Freelancer said as he stepped into the galley. He looked over at Shana as she took in the interior of the galley. He winced as he too noticed the drab gray walls and the table and chairs of his galley. He probably should have upgraded. I don’t even get what the craze is of redecorating ships, as long as they serve their purpose, he told himself, still feeling uncomfortable about his surroundings with her looking at them.

  “Hungry?” he asked as he looked down at her.

  “Yes.” Shana said as she stepped further into the galley. “What can this ship make?” she asked as she turned to look at him.

  “Whatever your heart desires,” he answered with a grin that matched the twinkle in his eye.

  ~ * ~

  “Damn,” Kai muttered as he slammed the door shut to his office. The sound vibrated in the walls around him. He raked his hair with his fingers. He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them slowly. He glanced around the office and muttered a few more choice words. He walked in a hard, fast pace to the other side and looked down at the busy streets below him. He placed a hand on the glass pane while he stared down at the street.

  He still could not figure out for whom Carlos was working. He took his hand off the window and leaned his shoulder against the glass. He gave out a long sigh as his thoughts turned back to Shana. He missed her. It had been two days since he had carried her on board the Freelancer’s ship. The drug that he had given her must have worn off by now. He still felt guilty about drugging her, but letting her go back to Earth was his main priority at the moment. He thought back to that night.

  The Freelancer had told him that she was going to be pissed off about him drugging her.

  “It’s for her own good, she will not listen to me,” Kai had told him.

  “Still, do you have to drug her to get her to go? The drug will not harm her, will it?” The Frelancer questioned him before he boarded the ship and began the launching sequence.

  “No, the drug will not harm her,” Kai answered the question as he left the ship and a sleeping Shana and walked away.

  “Did I do the right thing to send her away?” Kai muttered to himself in the empty office. He turned to look over his shoulder as the door to his office slid opened.

  Sonya walked into his office. “Kai,” she said in a breathless sigh that grated on his nerves. He wondered what he had ever seen in her in the first place.

  “Sonya, what brings you to my office?” he said in return as he took his eyes away from her and back down to the city below him.

  “Do I need a reason to see you? Besides, we have unfinished business that was never concluded.” She raised her hand and touched his arm.

  Kai looked down at her hand as she began to run her fingertips along the exposed skin. “I am mated now,” he said in a harsh voice as he shook her hand from his arm. He turned away from her as she stepped between him and the window. Sonya squinted her eyes and glared at him.

  “You sent the little barbarian back to Earth, did you not?” she asked in an angry low voice that made Kai turn back to her. He wished that he hadn’t when she gave him a smile--a sexy smile. His heart began to pound at a fast pace but not for the reason that she wanted.

  “How did you come by that little bit of information?” he asked as he took a step back from her. “No one knows about that.”

  “I have my ways of finding about things when it concerns you.” Sonya gave a diminutive laugh. She raised her hand and placed her palm over his heart. “Now that she is gone, you need another mate to take her place. It is the law that once you release your mate, you must take another.”

  “I did not release Shana as my mate. I merely sent her to Earth for some business that she needed to take care of. I needed to stay here to investigate my Commandant’s death, then I will follow her to Earth,” Kai told her as he once more stepped away from Sonya. He glared at her from beneath his lashes as she gave him a pout.

  “I was not told this,” Sonya muttered under her breath as she glared at Kai.

  “No one else knew of this. You should check on the person who is giving you this information. Whomever that is,” Kai said as he watched her carefully. She lifted her hand and checked her fingernails.

  “I should do just that,” Sonya said huffily as she looked past Kai’s shoulder to the person who was standing there. “Maybe I should...” She never finished the sentence as Kai turned to look over his shoulder at Lara who stood there. She made a mad dash out of the office and into her own office.

  “Lara? You had my secretary spy for you?” Kai gave her a hurtful look that also spoke of his anger. He turned away from her, walked over to his desk and sank into his leather chair. He gave her another look of astonishment.

  “If the price is right, people will do almost anything that you tell them,” Sonya said softly as she sashayed over to him. She placed her hip on his desk and a hand on his chest. “What is your price, Kai? What will I have to pay to spend another night in your arms?”

  Kai reached up with his hand and covered her wrist. He was about to shove her away when a thought entered his mind. He knew now deep down inside that she was the one who murdered Carlos. He wasn’t sure how he knew this, maybe it was something that she had started to say when Lara interrupted them or that she had caught herself before she said it.

  He stood up from his chair and kept his hand on her wrist as he walked around to stand in front of her. He grinned down into her eyes and lowered his lips, an inch away from hers.

  “Tell me who killed Carlos and I’ll spend eternity with you,” he whispered. He pulled back from her and looked deeply into her eyes. He placed a hand behind her to a button that called Prix’s office, privately. He hoped that his friend was in there to listen to what Sonya had to say.

  “Is that what you really want, Kai?” Sonya asked in a low, sexy breath. She placed her hands over hi
s chest as she kept her eyes on him. The hands slowly slid up his chest until she entwined her arms behind his neck.

  “That is what I am willing to pay to know who killed Commandant Carlos Sanchez. Since you know everything that happens on Paradise, I figure you might know something,” Kai muttered as he brought his lips close to hers once more, then pulled away. He glanced past her as the door slid opened. He gave Prix a knowing look as Prix lifted an eyebrow at the position in which Kai found himself.

  “If you really must know, will you still love me after I tell you?” Sonya pouted up at Kai.

  He placed his hands on her hips and brushed his lips against her cheek. “You know my feelings for you,” he answered, even though what he really felt for her was disgust and wanted desperately to pull away from her.

  “If you really must know. President Jim Grogan ordered his assassination, along with yours. That is why Shana was here to begin with. Since she failed and you mated with her, Jim sent another to take her place. Carlos and I were the ones chosen one for the mission. I was the one who was ordered to assassinate him and Shana. Then you. But I could never hurt the Guardian of Paradise, not when I have such strong feelings for him.” Sonya looked up into Kai’s hard eyes and gasped out loud, stunned at the rapid change in his expression.

  Kai’s jaw was clenched tightly and his eyes were hard. His hands tightened on her waist hard enough that Sonya cried out from the pain. He looked away from her to Prix who still stood in the doorway with a stiff spine. Kai nodded his head at him, and he began to walk in the office when Sonya lifted her leg and kicked Kai in the groin.

  “Shit!” Kai cried out as he grabbed his family jewels and dropped to the floor. He shut his eyes as tears blurred his vision. He could hear the scuffle over the blood rushing through his head. He heard Sonya scream and drop to the floor beside him.

  “Are you all right?” Prix asked Kai as he kneeled down beside him.

  Kai opened his eyes slightly, though it was too painful to even breathe. His vision was a red haze and blurry. He nodded his head at Prix’s question and Kai rolled over onto his side with his hands cupping his groin. He tried to breathe through the pain as he clenched his teeth together.