Oz: A SciFi Alien Romance (Enigma Series Book 5)

by Ditter Kellen

  Oz came to a stop outside room 406, the room Carlito was last seen entering by one of his now dead goons.

  Checking his weapon, Oz lifted his booted foot and kicked the door in.

  Carlito stood with his back to Oz, staring out the window while smoke from the cigar he held billowed out around him. “I never doubted that you would come.”

  Oz glanced around the room for signs of a trap. “Turn around.”

  Taking another puff of his cigar, Carlito turned from the window. “Go ahead and shoot me, Nicho. But know this. If I die, Maria’s mother dies with me.”

  Oz’s stomach clenched at his words. “Where is she?”

  “Oh, she’s safe, tucked away in her family home. I have a man watching her house as we speak. If he has not heard from me in the next twenty minutes, he has orders to blow up the house.”

  Oz strode across the room and pressed his gun to Carlito’s head. “Call him.”

  Carlito laughed. “So you can shoot me afterward? I don’t think so, Nicho. Hand over the gun, and I will make the call.”

  An image of Maria’s smiling face floated through Oz’s mind. He’d taken her father from her. He wouldn’t be responsible for her mother’s death too.

  The rapid gunfire going on outside suddenly stopped. The corner of Carlito’s mouth suddenly lifted. “Your friend is dead, Nicho. My men will be up here any minute now. You’re trapped. If you want to save Maria’s mother before it’s too late, you will give me the weapon.”

  Oz gritted his teeth in rage. Carlito had him over a barrel and he knew it.

  Lowering his arm in defeat, Oz flipped the gun around and handed it barrel first to Carlito.

  “You would never make a good gambling man,” Carlito remarked, pointing the pistol at Oz. “You couldn’t read a bluff if it slapped you in the face.”

  Oz narrowed his eyes. “Maria’s mother?”

  “I have no idea where the old bag resides. Nor do I care.”

  “You son of a bitch,” Oz growled, staring down the barrel of his own gun.

  Carlito’s brows lifted. “You have that backward, Nicho. You are the son of a bitch. A dead prostitute, nonetheless.”

  Pressing the pistol against Oz’s forehead, Carlito laid his cigar in the ashtray on the nightstand. “Farewell, Nicho.”

  “Maria?” Oz sent through his mental connection with Carlito’s sister. “I—”

  Carlito’s sharp intake of breath cut off the rest of Oz’s thought.

  The gun he held to Oz’s head wavered briefly before dropping to the floor at Oz’s feet.

  Carlito groaned, sinking to the floor on his knees, his head held tightly in his hands. Blood began to drip from his eyes and nose to trickle down his face unbidden.

  Oz swung around in stunned surprise to find Gryke, Vaulcron, and Zaureth standing in the hall.

  Zaureth stepped forward, his hands raised in front of him, his penetrating gaze locked on Carlito.

  “No,” Oz snarled, turning back to grab his gun from the floor. “He’s mine.”

  Zaureth lowered his arms, coming to a stop in the center of the room.

  Oz aimed the pistol at his lifelong enemy. “This is for Maria.” He pulled the trigger, unloading the entire clip into Carlito’s skull.

  “The rest of his men?” Oz asked, staring at Carlito’s mutilated remains.

  “Dead.” Gryke came up behind Oz and touched him on the shoulder. “What do you want done with the bodies?”

  “Drag them, all but Xavier, inside the hotel and burn it.”

  “Burn your hotel?” The trio of Bracadytes chorused.

  Oz nodded and turned toward the door. “Everything I want or need is on that yacht.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Maria took a sip of the bottled water Fiona handed her and rubbed at her forehead.

  Fiona was instantly at her side. “What’s wrong? Are you in pain?”

  “I thought I heard Oz call my name,” Maria whispered, straining to find him in her head.

  Fiona returned to her seat. “It’s probably a side effect from the pain pills. They haven’t returned to the yacht yet.”

  Maria decided not to share the fact that she had communicated telepathically with Oz a couple of times since giving him her blood.

  “Oz?” Maria mentally reached out. She’d been afraid to try before for fear of distracting him.

  His voice inside her head was a balm to her soul. “I am here, babe. We are safe and will be returning shortly.”

  “Thank God,” Maria sent back, sagging in relief. “Did you get Carlito?”

  “Your brother is dead,” came Oz’s hesitant response.

  Maria wasn’t sure how to react. Carlito was her blood, no matter how horrific of a brother he’d been. But when it came to choosing between his life and Oz’s, she’d choose Oz every time. “I’m just happy that you are okay. That’s all that matters to me.”

  “I needed to hear that,” Oz whispered through their connection. “See you soon.”

  Maria glanced at Fiona. “I’m going to go get some fresh air. Thank you again for the sandwich.”

  Fiona smiled. “No problem.”

  Grabbing up her water bottle, Maria climbed from her stool and strode off toward the hall. It still amazed her that her pain was nearly gone.

  The water bottle slipped from her fingers as Maria stepped onto the deck and took in the scene in the distance.

  Flames erupted toward the sky from the location of the hotel. Maria had never seen a fire that size in all her thirty years.

  An explosion quickly followed, shooting the flames even higher.

  “Oz? Oh my God. Oz? Please answer me.” Silence.

  Tears sprang to Maria’s eyes. Had Oz been inside the hotel when it blew?

  “Fiona!” Maria cried, running to the railing, and gripping it in a white-knuckled hold.

  Maria glanced back in time to see the female soldier burst onto the deck, gun in hand.

  Fiona’s gaze lifted to the fire blazing in the distance. “Damn them,” she bit out, moving to stand next to Maria. “I told them to take me with them.”

  Tears gathered in Maria’s eyes. “What if they were inside when it blew? We have to go help them, Fiona.”

  “If they were inside at the time, there’s nothing we can do to help them,” Fiona pointed out. “We’d only end up in Carlito’s clutches ourselves.”

  Maria turned to face her, anger lining her voice. “I don’t care. Oz could be out there, hurt and unable to get back to the boat.”

  Fiona’s body stiffened into soldier mode, her steely gaze locking with Maria’s. “I was ordered to stay behind to make sure you were safe, and damn it, that’s what I intend to do.”

  “You might not give two shits about them.” Maria jerked her chin in the direction of the massive blaze. “But I do. And I’m going after them, with or without your help.”

  “Had I known you ladies would be fighting when I returned,” Oz announced, stepping onto the deck, “I would have commandeered some Jell-O from the hotel before went up in smoke.”

  Maria’s breath caught at the sound of Oz’s voice. She ran across the deck and threw her arms around him. “You’re alive!”

  Oz chuckled, hugging her back in a near crushing hold. “You’re up and moving about. Ready to fight, even.”

  “I was freaking out. I saw the flames, heard the explosion. I had no idea if you were inside the hotel or lying injured on the beach somewhere.”

  “And you were ready to fight Fiona to come and save me?” Oz teased, pulling back to look into Maria’s eyes.

  Maria shifted her gaze to Fiona, who now stood next to the ladder that Gryke, Zaureth, and Vaulcron were ascending. “That would have been stupid of me. She would have definitely kicked my ass.”

  Oz grinned, brushing his lips against Maria’s. “Oh, I don’t know. You’ve proven to be as tough as nails. I’d sure hate to tangle with you.”

  Maria smiled back before suddenly sobering. “They’r
e all dead? The cartel has really been brought down?”

  “All but Xavier. I let him live.”

  Maria studied his face for sincerity. “Why would you leave him alive to hurt some other woman who is unfortunate enough to cross his path?”

  “If he doesn’t die from infection, he will spend the rest of his life in a hell of his own creation. I thought it more fitting.”

  “What did you do?” Maria asked, holding his gaze.

  “Oz castrated him,” Gryke offered on his way inside the yacht.

  Maria’s mouth fell open in shock. Apparently Oz had a dark side that she’d never seen before.

  “Not dark,” Oz rumbled, reading her thoughts. “I feel very protective of you. When I saw through your memories what he did to you and had planned for you, I snapped. Don’t fear me, Maria. I would never hurt you.”

  Maria tilted her head to the side. “I’m not afraid of you, Oz. I feel safe with you.”

  Zaureth stopped next to Oz’s side. “What are you planning to do now that Carlito and his men have been destroyed?”

  Oz released his hold on Maria and turned to face the healer. “I’m going to return to Aukrabah with you until it’s safe to come home.”

  Maria’s stomach tightened. “You think there are more of Carlito’s men out there?”

  Oz shifted his gaze, pinning Maria with a serious stare. “Probably not. But Vaulcron has informed me that the Incola virus is now sweeping across Cuba, dropping people like flies. Having Bracadyte blood in my veins most likely would assure my safety, but you would never survive its devastation.”

  “So I can’t go home?” Maria whispered, staring into Oz’s green eyes. “But my mother…”

  Oz pinched the bridge of his nose. “I can’t take your mother to Aukrabah. Klause would never allow it.”

  Maria thought of her mother’s sweet face, her willingness to always help her fellow man. “Then I won’t go either.”

  “I will leave you two to discuss this in private.” Zaureth laid a hand on Oz’s shoulder before turning to follow Vaulcron inside the yacht.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Oz blew out a frustrated breath. Though Maria’s fear for her mother was certainly warranted, there would be nothing she could do to help her at the moment.

  “The borders are closed, Maria. As are the airports. There’s no way for you to get to her.”

  Maria shook her head and took a step back. “There has to be a way, Oz. I saw Doctor Sutherland on the news earlier. The virus is now airborne. How can you expect me to just sail off to Aukrabah while my mother risks becoming infected?”

  “She would never survive the trip to Aukrabah. As you well remember, it’s a forty-five-mile hike through those tunnels.”

  The despondent look in Maria’s eyes tore at Oz’s heart. He held out his palm. “Come with me.”

  Maria accepted his outstretched hand. “Where are we going?”

  “To call her.”

  Following Oz to the wheelhouse, Maria watched as he retrieved a satellite phone from beneath the control panel and handed it to her.

  She dialed her mother’s home number. It continued to ring until voicemail picked up.

  Leaving a message, Maria hung up and tried her mother’s cell.

  She picked up on the third ring. “Hello?”

  “Mom?” Maria breathed, meeting Oz’s relieved gaze.

  Oz could hear the older woman’s voice echo through the phone.

  “Maria? Oh, thank goodness. Where are you? I’ve been trying to call you for weeks, baby. I’ve been worried sick.”

  “I’m sorry, Mom. I lost my cell phone. I’ve left you a couple of voicemails.”

  A relieved sigh came through the line. “We locked everything up and left as before the borders closed. Too many people falling sick to that virus that’s going around.”

  “Where are you?” Maria asked, taking a seat in the white leather chair.

  “At your Uncle Juan’s cabin in the mountains.”

  Oz noticed Maria’s eyes widen at the news.

  “You’re in Alaska?” Maria asked in a surprised voice.

  “Yes, baby. It’s secluded here. No neighbors for miles.”

  Maria ran a hand through her hair. “How are you getting cell signal up there?”

  “I had all calls to my cell forwarded to the cabin phone.”

  Oz listened as Maria’s mother filled her daughter in on everything, from how much food and medicine they had stored at the cabin, to the security measures they’d taken to remain safe until the virus could be contained.

  Maria explained the details she knew about the virus and went to divulge her involvement with the Bracadytes.

  Oz was surprised at how well the elder woman took that bit of news.

  Twenty minutes later, Maria hung up with the promise to check in as often as possible.

  “There will be no phone service in Aukrabah,” Oz pointed out, helping Maria to stand.

  She nodded, leaning against him as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “I know, but I’ll tell her what she needs to hear, so that she won’t worry as much.”

  Oz led her down the steps and into the hall. “You’re a good daughter.”

  Maria sighed. “A good daughter wouldn’t be on a yacht, sailing off to Aukrabah in the company of a handsome pirate.”

  “You find me handsome?” Oz teased, stopping outside his room to open the door.

  Maria stepped over the threshold. “I suppose you’ll do in a pinch.”

  Oz closed the door behind him. “How are your ribs?”

  Maria’s beautiful eyes became hooded. “There’s barely any pain left at all,” she whispered, her fingers going to the buttons on her shirt. “Make love to me, Oz. Help me forget.”

  Swallowing around a throat gone dry, Oz slowly approached her. He gently moved her fingers aside and worked the buttons free with precise movements. “No one will ever touch you in violence again.”

  Peeling the shirt down her arms, Oz tossed it behind him, his gaze taking in her beautiful breasts. “The bruising is almost gone.”

  Maria stood completely still as Oz unzipped her jeans and dragged them down her legs.

  “Sit,” he softly commanded, kneeling before her to remove her shoes. He slid her panties down to join her jeans before slipping them off completely.

  The sight of her sitting before him, her dark curly hair falling over her shoulders, her breasts rising and falling with every breath she took sent lust racing straight to his already throbbing erection.

  “Lean back,” he growled, placing his hands beneath her knees.

  Maria locked her arms behind her and rested her weight on her flattened palms.

  A breathy sigh escaped her as Oz lifted her knees and placed her legs over his shoulders before tugging her ass to the edge of the mattress.

  Her beautiful wet center, splayed out before him, nearly did him in.

  Oz leaned in and inhaled her sweet scent. He’d never smelled anything as intoxicating as Maria’s desire.

  He tenderly nuzzled her with his nose, dragging it over every inch of her delicious feminine softness.

  Her hips lifted slightly as if inviting him to taste her.

  Oz was lost. He swiped his tongue through her pale pink slit, glorying in the sounds coming from her throat.

  “You taste so damn good,” he growled before locking onto her with his mouth.

  Maria cried out in pleasure, tightening her legs around his back and pulling him harder against her.

  He lashed her with his tongue, all the while continuing to please her with the suction of his mouth.

  Oz could feel her racing toward her release. Her thighs began to tremble, and her abdominal muscles visibly contracted.

  Bringing a hand up, Oz pushed two fingers inside her and pressed up.

  Maria cried out, riding his fingers to her completion.

  With a growl of satisfaction, Oz released her with his mouth and continued massaging her G-spot wit
h his fingers.

  Maria exploded, the almost violent squirt of her orgasm christening his pumping hand.

  Oz stayed with her, manipulating her with his fingers until she shuddered and her arms collapsed.

  Pulling his fingers from her body, Oz jumped to his feet and nearly ripped his jeans in his haste to yank them down.

  He bent, grabbed Maria around the waist, and flipped her onto her stomach.

  “Open for me,” he rasped, tugging her into a kneeling position.

  Maria spread her knees, propped up on her hands, and looked back at him in wild abandon. “Don’t hold back.”

  That was all the invitation Oz needed. He stepped in close, gripped his pulsing shaft, and thrust.

  The sound she made upon penetration drove him insane with need. He coasted his palms over her ass, gripped her hips, and drove into her again and again.

  Oz knew he’d lost control. He seemed to have none where Maria was concerned. His strokes became almost frantic. He couldn’t seem to get deep enough, to hold her tight enough.

  His hand suddenly flew to her hair. He wrapped the silky tresses around his wrist and pulled her head back. “What have you done to me?”

  His fangs shot down, and sweat dripped into his eyes.

  Oz dropped down over her, holding his weight on one arm, and fisting her hair in a tighter grip.

  Tugging her head to the side, he buried his face against her shoulder and sank his fangs deep.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Maria had never been so turned on in her life. Oz’s show of dominance had to be the hottest thing she’d ever experienced.

  The feel of him thrusting wildly inside her, his hand in her hair, his fangs buried in her shoulder threw her into another tailspin of pleasure that rocked her to her core.

  He must have sensed her impending orgasm. He let go of her hair and slid his hand beneath her, his finger stroking her into a frenzy.

  Maria screamed her release. Her eyes slid shut with the power of the climax seizing her body.

  Oz’s fangs pulled from her shoulder, and his hoarse shout ricocheted off the walls of the room.

  Maria’s arms collapsed, and her face planted on the mattress.