“I know. Any reason why you’re picking now to point that out?”
Aeron frowned. “You mean you really don’t know?”
“Uh, know what?”
Brad rushed back into the storage room. “Aeron, you and Kiwi get to the ship and take it back to the main vessel. Darrin’s here with a team. A unit of Vanos guards are here. They’re headed this way. We’ll handle the Vanos.”
Kiwi knew then who was leading the Vanos guards.
Ajos.
She also knew he wanted her and no one else. Risking her friends’ lives wasn’t something she could do. She nodded and then motioned Brad closer. He came and she drew back her fist, hitting him hard in the face. He went down fast. Aeron screamed and Kiwi ran from the room. Closing the door, she took a deep breath before punching a hole in the opening unit, effectively jamming the door.
Conell came around the corner. “Where is Fairbanks? He said he was getting you and Aeron to safety and…”
She pointed in the opposite direction. “He went that way. Aeron was right behind him. I wanted to find you.”
For a second, she thought his head might pop clean off. “You what?”
He grabbed her hand in his and ran in the direction of the back exit. They burst into the food-preparation area and she yanked hard on him, slinging his body towards the open food-station room. The moment he stumbled in, Kiwi used her rebuilt arm to slam the door shut tight. Conell would be able to get out but the tiny distraction would allow her enough time to find Ajos first—hopefully sparing the life of the man she loved.
Loved?
Kiwi pushed thoughts of her feelings for him from her head and ran, kicking off her heels along the way. Out of nowhere, she was snatched up by Darrin. He held tight to her. “Kisenia, I know what you’re doing and it won’t work. Ajos won’t just take you and leave them. He’ll slaughter them to prove a point. Especially Conell.”
She froze. “You know about Ajos?”
He set her down slowly, keeping a close eye on her. “Yes. So does Conell, but he doesn’t know what the guy looks like. I do. When I spotted him on a digital-memory capture from another crewmember at the watering hole, I knew he’d be a problem for us. I also knew the minute you found out a Vanos unit was coming for you, you’d sacrifice yourself to save everyone else.
“Conell knows about Ajos?” she asked, sickened.
“I do, baby.”
She spun and found Conell there. Brad rushed in behind him, looking winded and pissed. He pointed at Kiwi. “I will take you over my knee if you ever pull a stunt like that again.”
Kiwi couldn’t help but grin at the sight of his bruised cheek. “Might want to put some ice on that.”
“Or…” a deep voice that sent chills through her said, “…I would suggest you all come with me like good little pieces of trash.”
Kiwi tensed. Conell made a move to come at her and the sound of a pulse gun being cocked alerted her that he would be shot.
“No!” She twisted to stare at Ajos. She didn’t wait, choosing instead to run straight for Conell, putting her body in front of his. “Don’t hurt him!”
Conell picked her up and thrust her behind him with a growl.
Ajos laughed. “She is a stubborn one, isn’t she? Do you know what else she is?” He smiled. “She’s a nice, tight little cunt who screams when you…”
Conell went to lunge at Ajos and he fired. At that exact moment, Brad charged Ajos from the side, knocking into him, making the shot go wild. It pierced a vat of something, causing it to ooze at a slow pace. Since they were standing in a storage room of a restaurant, no one panicked at what might have been released.
Kiwi reached under Conell’s suit jacket and grabbed his pulse gun. She had it out and aimed at Ajos in record time. Conell made a move to take it from her but Darrin intervened. “No, little brother, let her do this.”
Little brother?
She stared between the men, suddenly realizing how very much they looked alike.
Ajos laughed, appearing unafraid of them all. “My men will be here shortly. You will all rot in a prison, knowing your women belong to me.”
“Actually,” Darrin said. “Your men have most likely met up with our men and the only thing that will be rotting is your corpse. But, that’s only my take on it. Feel free to ignore me.”
Kiwi’s hand began to shake. It wasn’t even the rebuilt one. Staring down the barrel of a gun, looking into the eyes of a monster, horrific memories surfaced.
“Kisenia,” Conell whispered. “Let me do this.”
“No.” Her hand continued to shake. “I can do it. I have to do it.”
He put his hand over hers. “It’s my place to protect you. I should have been there with you from the start. It shouldn’t have been Darrin coming to escort you. It should have been me.”
All she could do was stare at him. “Why you?”
“Because…”
Darrin nodded. “Because he’s the man I was taking you to meet, Kisenia. He’s the man your parents selected for you.”
Speechless, she felt denial creeping through her and her hand shook even more. Conell eased the weapon from her hand and tossed it to Darrin. “Shooting him is too kind. I think I’ll use my bare hands.”
“I’ll help,” Darrin said.
Brad stepped forward. “Me too.”
Kiwi almost walked away, letting them handle it completely. But the memory of her time with that monster centered her fears and emotions. She moved forward fast, dodging Conell’s grasp a second before she drew her reconditioned arm back and punched as hard as she could. Her fist connected with Ajos’s groin and she didn’t need the screams he let out as verification she had her revenge.
Doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy hearing them, though.
Strong arms pulled her away from Ajos. She knew it was Conell and she welcomed the intervention. While she could and did assure Ajos could never again do what he’d done to her, she didn’t have it in her to kill him. Something told her that Conell, however, did have what it would take and for that, she was grateful.
Conell kissed Kiwi’s temple and raked his gaze down her. “This time, really take Aeron back to the ship. I don’t want either of you hurt and I especially don’t want our baby injured.”
“Our what?”
Conell grinned. “Our little one. You’re pregnant. It’s why the waiter wouldn’t serve you that drink.”
“Ohmygods. I’m…? We’re…? A baby?”
“Think that’s shocking, wait until you hear about how our contract of marriage, which I wasn’t aware my presence wasn’t needed for, was not only submitted to the magistrate system three years prior by our parents, it was witnessed.” He bent down and pressed his mouth to hers. “That just means you are my wife and apparently, we’ve been married for three years.”
The room seemed to spin before her legs gave out on her and darkness swept in.
Epilogue
Conell crawled onto the bed, over his wife and kissed her cheeks until her eyes opened. She yawned and then smiled. He never tired of waking her up with kisses and he never tired of seeing her belly swelling with their child. “It’s time to get up. They’ll be here within the hour.”
Kiwi looked nervous. “I can’t do it. Tell them we changed our minds.”
“I am not telling my mother that we’re not saying our vows in front of them. She’s damn scary when pushed too far. From what Darrin tells me, your father isn’t exactly a guy I should piss off either.”
“But, Conell…”
He touched the tiny swell of her stomach. “Kiwi, they’ve given us time together. Almost three full months. They need this. They need to see you and hug you, know that you really are alive and well. They may not be your biological parents but they love you like they are. And, they want to know their decision three years back—to send you to me, wasn’t the wrong one. They were right. We do belong together and nothing stopped that from happening.”
He skimmed his hand up
her body, loving the fact she slept naked every night. He cupped a breast and then bent, licking her nipple. She arched into him and opened her legs automatically. Conell knew she’d be wet and ready for him. She always was. He lined up with her entrance and thrust in, careful to keep his weight supported with his arms and off her stomach.
“You feel so good, delicatica.”
She smiled lazily at him before lifting her head and kissing him. Her cunt grasped his cock, making animalistic noises come from him as he pummeled into her. Conell fucked her mouth with his tongue, thrusting his tongue in and out to match the movements of his hips. With a groan, he reached down, lifting one of her legs higher, going even deeper into her.
Kiwi cried out his name as her nails bit into his back.
Conell smiled against her mouth, excited at how passionate a lover she was. She clawed at him.
“Harder.”
He obliged, ramming into her warmth. He moved his hand just enough that the tips of his fingers reached the cleft of her ass. Her eyes widened a second before he dipped a finger into her anus. A fire lit in him as he remembered the night before, when he’d taken her there after fucking her sweet mouth.
Kiwi bucked, her pussy shuddering around his shaft.
He kept going. Kept thrusting into her. Kept pushing his finger deeper into her ass. The minute his orgasm struck and seed shot forth into her, filling her, tremors wracked his body. Conell tossed his head back and let out a battle cry as he continued to empty his seed into her. She came once more, screaming his name and digging her nails even deeper into his back.
The door to their bedroom opened fast. “I’m positive something is wrong! I heard screaming and… Oh, dear, I, umm… Conell? Darling?”
He froze. “Mom?”
Kiwi’s brown eyes twinkled as she burst into laughter.
Sheepishly, Conell glanced over his shoulder to find his mother staring at him. Darrin was next to her, his face beat red and his lips trembling with awaited laughter.
“Mom, I’ll be out in a minute,” he snapped.
She waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, nonsense. I gave birth to you. You don’t have anything I haven’t seen before. I would like to meet my daughter-in-law so hurry up and finish.”
“Mom.”
Darrin came to his rescue. “Uh, Mom, let’s give them some privacy. They’ll meet us in the main receiving room.”
“Fine. We should probably go find Kisenia’s parents. You don’t think they’re still going on and on with Brad about how they adopted Kisenia from his parents when she was just a baby, do you? Poor Brad. Such a good boy from such a horrible family. They never treated him or his siblings right and to sell their youngest off…”
“Mom,” Darrin said. “It’s not our business. I’m sure they had their reasons and it worked out for the best.”
Conell stared down at his wife. Gone was the look of mischief. What replaced it was a look of absolute shock. “That big demanding oaf is my brother?”
Laughing, Conell covered her face with kisses, listening as the sound of their outer quarter’s doors closing filled the room. “Mmm, guess that explains his overprotectiveness and the fact the two of you tease each other like two little kids.”
Kiwi wrapped her leg around his waist. “Conell, how fast can you be? I need you again before I can go out there and face them all.”
“Anything for you, delicatica.” He moved in and out of her slowly. “Have I told you today how much I love you?”
“No.” She grinned. “But you’re welcome to show me. And, Conell?”
“Yes?”
“I love you too.”
About the Author
Mandy M. Roth grew up fascinated by creatures that go bump in the night. From the very beginning, she showed signs of creativity. At age five, she had her first piece of artwork published. Writing came into play early in her life as well. Over the years, the two mediums merged and led her to work in marketing. Combining her creativity with her passion for horror has left her banging on the keyboard into the wee hours of the night. Mandy lives with her husband and three children on the shores of Lake Erie, where she is currently starting work on her master’s degree.
To learn more about Mandy, please visit www.mandyroth.com or send an email to [email protected]. For the latest news about Mandy’s newest releases, subscribe to her announcement list in Yahoo! groups.at http://groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/Mandy_M_Roth
Look for these titles by Mandy M. Roth
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Loup Garou
Talons: View to a Kill
Kiss Me Deadly
Droid Wars: Performance Criteria
Rianna and Jhaan fight to bring a promise of hope to a world on the edge of extinction.
Promise for Tomorrow
© 2007 Liz Kreger
Jhaan san deCain has only a few days left to find his psi-mate or lose his place as heir to the throne of Dakar. Rescuing Zarian princess Rianna Chartier from an assassination attempt was supposed to be a temporary deviation from his quest. But the moment he lays eyes on Rianna, he realizes he is looking at his salvation. The beautiful alien is his perfect psychic match.
He is driven to wed her quickly, even if it is without her knowledge or consent. For without a psi-mate, he will not only lose the throne, he will be doomed to a life of sexual dormancy. And his people will be pushed closer to the edge of extinction.
Rianna cannot deny her attraction to Jhaan, but she is already betrothed to a Turnisian prince in a politically advantageous match. Dakarians are respected, even feared, for their formidable psychic power, but she is forced to rely on Jhaan’s charity to escort her safely to Turnis.
Rianna is outraged to discover Jhaan has tricked her into marriage. But his deception proves minor when they discover that someone will stop at nothing to see her dead.
Enjoy the following excerpt for Promise for Tomorrow:
“Dakar made the decision to seclude itself from other worlds for two reasons.” Jhaan halted before the wide expanse of windows, staring out over the gardens. Late afternoon was fast approaching. Shadows lengthened over the expanse of lawn. “About the same time that Dakar’s psychic ability was manifesting, there was once another world called Depharia. They were a very populous world and possessed a somewhat similar Talent, although theirs was a more emphatic trait rather than telepathic.”
“I’ve never heard of it.”
“Few people have. Depharia was utterly destroyed over fifty thousand cycles ago, long before the formation of the Federation of Worlds. All that remains is a barren planet. Fear and prejudice encouraged an alliance of her enemies, which took steps to eliminate what was perceived as a threat. It made little difference that Depharia had never offered any type of threat, nor exhibited any hostilities. Not only did the alliance destroy the people of Depharia, they poisoned both the surface and the atmosphere. Nothing alive remains on that world. Dakar was a sparsely populated world then, but we observed and learned from the example of Depharia. Since that time we have concealed our growing ability, guarding our privacy and discouraging the presence of off-worlders.”
He felt Rianna’s distress for the world that had long ago ceased to exist. Through their link he knew when she understood the necessity of the Dakarian people to isolate themselves. That same prejudice that destroyed Depharia so many millennia ago was still alive and well in the present day.
She stared at him, her eyes damp for a people who were destroyed out of ignorance and intolerance. Standing, she crossed the room to his side.
“I think the caution of your people is well placed, Jhaan. There will always be those who do not understand. What people do not understand, they fear, and what they fear, they destroy.”
Warmth flooded him. He knew he couldn’t ignore the little voice at the back of his mind. He had to confess the truth.
“Rianna, I must tell you something.” He turned away from the windows to face her. “The night of the Lunar Festival…”
“Yes?”
“The ritual the magistrate conducted is also called a Linking Ceremony.”
He hesitated, at a loss of how to continue.
“Does this have something to do with that weird little connection between us?”
“Yes. We of Dakar also consider this a—marriage ceremony.”
“A what?”
Her stunned expression made Jhaan swallow. There was nothing in life that he feared, but at this moment, he would have gladly faced the fiercest creature in the universe than try to explain this to his wife.
“Rianna…”
“You’re trying to tell me you married me without my knowledge or consent?”
“Rianna…”
“You knew I was betrothed. I have a duty to my family and my world.”
“And I have a duty to mine.” Catching her by her arms he stooped until he could stare into her eyes. “I was days from being declared sterile. I didn’t have the luxury of time to woo you, to win you over.”
“Instead, you married me under false pretenses.”
“It wasn’t like that.”
“No? Enlighten me.”
“For each male of Dakar, there is only one female who can awaken his sexuality. For me, that woman is you. It never would have occurred to me that someone not of Dakar could be my mate. I was thrown off balance and reacted rashly.”
“So, it’s only my psychic ability that makes me acceptable. It was nothing personal.”
“It is completely personal. Your psi ability is only a part of it.” He willed her to understand, knowing he should have revealed these facts to her the night of their marriage. Accessing their link, he felt her anger, confusion, a sense of betrayal, and finally, pain. “I never meant to deceive you, Rianna. Time was against me.”
“Did you use your ability to take my free will away?”
“No, never.”
“How do I know that?”
Jhaan was silent for a long moment, staring at her, willing her to believe him. To believe in him. He’d hoped he would have more time to gain her trust. Now, he was at a loss to explain.
Droid Wars II: Magnetic Attraction Page 6