by Anna Lewis
He was rattling on about all of the things he had against the Vortons, which pushed him to betray his own people.
Meanwhile, she was trying to come up with a plan on how to get the flashlight fast. She knew Calone would be busy figuring out how to run the boat properly, so she’d most likely be able to run out and jump into the ocean.
“I really, really liked you, Lindy…” Eli suddenly blurted out. “You should have given me a chance.”
It hit her then what she had to do. Without thinking any further, she stepped forward and raised a hand to his cheek, running her fingers seductively across his skin. “I’ve always liked you too, Eli…” she whispered. It caught him by surprise.
She pressed on. “I’m sorry we never got a chance to spend more time together. If I had known all this about you, then I would’ve understood you better.” She was jacking up her acting prowess to the best of her ability now. Her life depended on it. “It’s just that…you sometimes came on too strong…”
He looked very doubtful. But she had his attention now.
She moved closer to him, leaning forward until their faces were inches apart. “It’s my fault too, Eli. I should have made time to listen to you. You were one of my first friends on the island, after all.”
He grunted and looked away.
She mustered up enough courage to place both hands on his cheeks and turn his head toward her. “But we’re here now. And honestly, I feel like I just want to help you. I know you’re only doing this because you feel rejected by the community. But deep inside, I believe you are a good person, Eli. You are.”
She could feel he was beginning to fall for it, so she plunged ahead. “Let’s make a deal, okay? While we’re on the boat, I am willing to get to know you better, to make up for all the time that we should have spent together… But please help me to get home. That’s all I want.”
“What about the prince?” he asked.
“That was just a fling,” she said with a wave of her hand. “You think I’d leave the island if it meant something to me? All I want is to go back to my old life. And if you’ll help me, you can even join me. You can be one of us humans and start anew, you know…”
He was silent, mulling over the possibility.
“Think about it, Eli,” she said, caressing his face, and looking into his eyes. “You and me, away from all the Vortons. I’m not promising you anything but who knows where it will lead us, right?”
“Yeah,” he muttered.
She was definitely getting somewhere! Motivated by his response, she took the leap and kissed him on the lips. At first he was resistant. But she persisted, wrapping her arms around his neck, feeling the stubble on his chin rubbing against her skin.
He began to respond, kissing her back passionately while his hands pulled her closer. As he began groping her body, she pushed away all negative thoughts and feelings and simply pretended it was Kristan she was kissing. This was an acting challenge she knew she needed to win.
His hand snaked its way under her shirt, feeling for her breasts. She fondled his hardening manhood, making him grow even more as she slowly led them to the bed. They fell together to the soft mattress, kissing torridly with their hands on each other.
He was now under her. And in order for her to reach the flashlight, she had to sidle upward. She straddled him, making him groan with desire. He reached for her breasts and she leaned forward to cover his eyes with her chest as she fumbled for the flashlight.
Just as her hands tightened around the weapon, she heard the door swing open. She dropped the flashlight in surprise and broke apart from Eli. He also sat up quickly.
To her shock, Prince Kristan stood at the door with a pained look on his face.
Immediately, she signaled to him in her mind what her plan had been. But he was just looking at her with devastation, shock, and hurt in his eyes. He shook his head in disbelief, then turned to leave.
“Kristan, wait!” Lindy shouted, scrambling to get out of the bed. She followed him outside before Eli could stop her. “Why can’t you read my mind? It wasn’t what it looked like, and I’d never do something like that to you!”
Kristan angrily faced her. “Your thoughts are definitely getting through loud and clear, Lindy! You never changed at all! And you’re actually worse than what I initially thought of you!”
“Lindy was in on the plan all along, Prince!” Eli shouted from behind her. “She made a fool out of you, can you believe that?!”
Lindy threw him a look of fury. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Tell him how you had been playing him so that we could pull this off together,” Eli continued, placing an arm around her shoulders.
“It’s not true!” Lindy screamed. “Why can’t you read my thoughts? Eli’s doing something to change them or block them or—”
Eli grabbed her then and forced her back into the cabin.
“Help me, Kristan! Please!” she cried, sobbing.
“The soldiers are coming,” was all she heard him say. “You’re not going to get away with this!”
A gunshot sounded, making her whip around in time to see Calone pointing a gun into the air. “Stupid prince!” Calone yelled, charging toward Kristan with his gun.
Lindy screamed. “Noooo!” With a burst of adrenaline, she stepped hard on Eli’s foot and kicked him between the legs. He staggered backwards in pain while she ran to push Calone’s hand. The gun went off, fortunately missing them.
Calone grabbed her by the leg. She kicked and grappled, screaming. He slapped her so hard that blood spurted from her mouth. She fell to the deck, sobbing in pain.
Suddenly, she heard a loud crunching sound that made her whip around, afraid of what was going to happen next. It was Kristan who had hurtled himself at Calone, giving the big guy an angry punch in the face. It got him by surprise, which gave the prince the advantage. Calone tumbled to the ground with a loud thud.
Kristan, filled with rage, attacked again and kept punching him until Lindy was able to reach him and pull him back. “Stop it, you’ll kill him!” she cried.
He stopped, his knuckles bleeding.
A commotion on the side of the boat got their attention. Several Vorton soldiers had arrived. Kristan and Lindy stepped back to give way to them.
Calone scuttled to his feet, attempting to get his gun and shoot at them. But one soldier beat him to it, while another soldier had a gun pointed at him already. “Freeze or I’ll shoot!”
Calone could not fight anymore. He was captured and taken away. However, Elixir had escaped.
“He shouldn’t be far from here,” Kristan said. “He won’t be able to swim that fast. Catch him!”
“Yes, sir,” the soldiers replied.
“Kristan, I—” Lindy began to explain.
“Ssshhh…” Kristan stopped her, gazing into her eyes. The gold sparks in his eyes were flashing and dancing around like crazy. “I was wrong not to trust you. Sometimes, my mind can also mislead me. I must learn to follow my heart more.”
He took her in his arms, hugging her with great emotion. “I’m so sorry, Lindy. I should have believed you.”
“It’s okay,” Lindy assured him, hugging him back. “I would have reacted the same way…”
He pulled back gently to face her. Caressing her cheek with one hand he told her, “When I saw you getting hurt like that, it hurt me so much. I knew I couldn’t let anything bad happen to you no matter what.”
She gave him a weak smile despite her aching body. “It’s over, Kristan. But what if they were able to give your enemies enough information to defeat your army?”
“Don’t worry, we’ve been working on other strategies. The officers had devised a way to expose the spies by feeding them misinformation. The real game plan was kept top-secret. We already checked for potential leaks.”
“Thank goodness,” Lindy said, heaving a sigh of relief.
He kissed her on the lips then. “Thank goodness you’re safe now.”
She’d returned to her luxurious penthouse a week ago, sneaking in during the night while the whole city was slumbering.
She remembered waking up to her friend Belinda’s scream.
“Is it really you, Lindy?! I’m not dreaming???” Belinda had repeated over and over.
Lindy had jumped out of bed and hugged her immediately. They’d shed tears of joy for the unexpected reunion.
It was a good thing Belinda had not sold the penthouse because she’d been hoping that Lindy was still alive. The search had been given up months ago, but she had not wanted to move on until she’d actually seen Lindy’s lifeless body.
The past week, Lindy had not gone out of the apartment while Belinda had gotten her everything she needed. She’d told Belinda everything but had sworn her to secrecy.
That afternoon, she faced a room full of media people flashing cameras at her and bombarding her with questions. Dressed in a simple but elegant white jumpsuit with her new shorter hairstyle, Lindy Miles was more than ready to face them and get back to the limelight.
“It had been tough for me living on the island by myself,” she explained patiently. “But I learned so much during those months more than I’d learned in all the years previously. And I will forever treasure the experience.”
“Didn’t you see any other human there?” somebody called out from the crowd.
“Humans?” she repeated thoughtfully. Then she shook her head. “I was the only human on that island.”
“How did you get home?” was the next question.
“I was surprised to find a boat washed up on the beach. It seemed to have been abandoned. Luckily, the radio was working so I was able to reach out for help.”
“Who came to help you?”
“Just some ordinary fishermen who answered my call for help. They helped me get back.”
“Where are they now? Did you give them any reward?”
“I want to thank them with all my heart, wherever they are today. They refused to accept anything from me and preferred to remain anonymous so I never got their names.”
There were several more questions that Lindy answered gracefully without revealing anything about the existence of the Vortons. She knew by then that the island would have no trace of them, which is why she had chosen that date to give the press conference. Even if anyone had the chance to find the mystery island that was on no map, they wouldn’t discover the Vortons. Even the structures would have been cleaned up completely. They had planned for a clean exit, which was part of their deal with the American government for its use.
The war was probably ongoing at that moment. She wondered what Kristan was doing and if he was okay. She prayed they would win and that nobody she knew would get hurt.
Another week came and went. Still no word from the Vortons.
Despite Lindy’s busy schedule with all the photo shoots, commercial endorsements, TV guesting, and movie shooting, she could not help missing and worrying about Kristan and the others.
More weeks passed and she still hadn’t heard from them. She didn’t want to take a break from work because she would go insane. Had they just forgotten about her, or had their planet been wiped out? She hoped it wasn’t the latter.
One evening, she’d just come home from work when she saw the bouquet of red roses resting on the coffee table. It wasn’t really anything out of the ordinary because she often received flowers and other gifts from admirers, fans, and suitors.
However, when she came nearer, she saw the card with the familiar emblem of the Vorton royal family. Her heart jumped and began to race. With trembling fingers, she eagerly opened the card. It read, You’re thinking about me again. I can read your mind.
A tear fell down her cheek as her heart soared. Holding the bouquet in her hands, she looked around in hope of seeing Prince Kristan. “Are you here?” she whispered to the enormous room.
There was no answer. She sighed, feeling disappointed yet elated to hear from him. At least she knew that he was still okay and that he’d remembered her.
She was about to head to her room to rest when she noticed red rose petals on the floor leading to her balcony. Excited, she rushed to open the sliding doors hiding behind thick curtains. The cool evening breeze greeted her.
She scanned the area. And from one dark corner, a muscular figure emerged, walking toward her with a smirk on his lips. “Think you’d get rid of me that easily?” he asked.
Smiling, she nodded. “I guess I was wrong,” she said with a laugh. She wanted to cry and celebrate at the same time upon seeing the love of her life—the only man who had ever made her heart beat like that.
He sauntered toward her slowly, his smirk turning into a wide smile. When he was right in front of her, he scooped her in his arms and lifted her off the ground.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Lindy told him as he brought her into an embrace.
“We won the war, Lindy,” he said proudly. “My father has never been prouder of me and of course the entire Vorton community on the island!”
“I’m so happy for you, Kristan!” Lindy gushed.
“And now that things are back to normal on my planet, I had to come back to the woman who had taught me to use my heart again, to become a real person again…” he whispered, his eyes twinkling with admiration, respect, and ardor for her.
“I feel bad that I couldn’t be there for you or help you in any way because I am only a human…” she started to say.
He shushed her, chuckling. “You’re human, which is precisely the reason you were able to bring out that fun, relaxed, friendly part of me again. It was instrumental in building the community, strengthening our collaborative efforts, and a lot more. Besides, if you hadn’t taken me to that cave, we wouldn’t have been aware that there were spies in our midst.”
“Hmmm… I guess I did play a major role, huh?” Lindy said thoughtfully in a teasing tone. “So, that means I get a prize!”
Kristan laughed. “You want my treasures?”
“No, I want your heart,” Lindy said boldly, moving her face closer to his.
He smiled, touching her cheek with his fingers. “You already stole it, which is what I have come back for.
“Ahh, I see,” she replied. His words warmed her heart. “Try and get it back then.” With intense eyes, he smiled and leaned forward. Their lips met in a passionate, lingering kiss.
When they pulled back, Kristan looked into her eyes. “You are the most beautiful thing that has ever happened to me, Lindy. I love you so much.”
“You have no idea how long I waited to hear those words!” Lindy exclaimed, playfully hitting him on the shoulder. “But wait, you knew all along because you could read my mind! And you still made me wait so long!”
He laughed. “I’m going to stick around here for a while, if it’s okay with you. I told my father that he needed to run the planet while I spend some time with a very special someone.”
“What did he say?” Lindy asked with great interest.
“He told me, ‘Go to your princess and don’t come back until you can bring her with you!’”
Lindy laughed, her heart bursting with happiness. “You’re welcome to stay here as long as you like. But I’d love to meet your father soon too.”
“That would be perfect,” he said, grinning.
“I love you, Prince Kristan,” Lindy told him, her blue eyes shining with tears of joy.
“And I love you, Princess Lindy,” he whispered before kissing her again.
THE END
Special Bonus Full Length Stories
As a way to say “thank you” for downloading this book, we have included 12 special bonus full length novellas and short stories. Happy reading!
= Bonus Book 1 of 12 =
Cyborg Heart
Friday morning: Breach plus one hour
Reilly pressed the cellphone against her ear, the sound of the ringing line seeming so loud, even over the crashing chaos currently
tearing her laboratory to scrap. Ring, Ring. Would it hear the phone? Could it? It didn’t seem to have noticed her yet, focused as it was on annihilating her life’s work. Ring, Ring. “Dammit Maksim,” Reilly mouthed, not daring to put any sound into the words lest she was noticed. “Pick up the damn phone!” Ring... The ringing stopped, and even as the wave of cold relief washed over her mind, a voice began speaking on the other end of the line.
“You have reached the residence of Maksim Sokolov,” said a crisp, professional voice with only the slightest Slavic accent. “Please leave me your name and phone number…” An answering machine. She was listening to Maksim's landline answering machine! It took everything Reilly had not to start swearing. She gripped the phone very tightly, her lips pressed into a hard line as she fumed with anger. What was she going to do now? Maksim had been her only backup plan, but the damned mercenary hadn't answered her call! What kind of Luddite maniac had a landline anyway? BEEP!
Reilly jumped. She hadn’t realized that Maksim’s pre-recorded voice had stopped speaking. The scrabbling, smashing sounds coming from the far side of the lab ceased, and Reilly held her breath, not daring to speak, sure that the thing out there had heard the phone. But then a moment later, it resumed whatever foul activity it had been focusing on, and the crashing sounds continued. Reilly breathed out a sigh, and then, realizing that the answering machine was still recording, she said, in as loud a whisper as she dared, “Maksim, if you’re hearing this, please pick up. Please. I need your help.” Nothing happened. The answering machine continued recording. Reilly gritted her teeth with frustration and made as if to close the phone, but then she was struck with a horrible thought. What if Maksim called back? Would the thing wrecking her lab hear? She could just silence her phone, but what if—