by Anna Carven
“I beg to differ.” Zyara pulled down his trousers, revealing his muscular thighs. Kai’s body was a testament to a hard life; there was not an ounce of fat on him, and his muscles were clearly defined. He was lean and chiseled and marked. He was a scarred, imperfect living work of art.
And he was so very deliciously Human.
His cock sprang forth, hard and ready, moisture glistening at its tip.
“Not so different,” Zyara remarked, grasping his erect length. She pumped him up and down once, and he groaned.
“Sweet Jupiter, woman,” he gasped. “You will be the end of me.”
“I’ve only just started,” Zyara smirked. She spied a second room through an open doorway. There was a bed in there. Zyara pushed Kai backwards. His eyes widened and he grinned.
Zyara couldn’t hold back any longer. She needed this man, and she would have him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
He found himself being pushed back onto the bed that he never used, Zyara poised over him with her lilac hair all wild and her bronze eyes burning with desire.
For once, he wasn’t in control, and he was loving it.
She was strong and nimble, her body a graceful mixture of lean muscle and curves. She had small, pert breasts and a taut stomach. The thought that she could probably match him in a fight sent Kai’s arousal through the roof.
She looked him in the eyes, smiled, then started to trail kisses down his body, sucking on ink and bare skin alike.
She reached his cock, taking it into her mouth. Kai closed his eyes and gasped as he entered her. Her tongue was all over him, caressing his hardness.
She moved her lips up and down, slowly at first, then faster and faster, as Kai surrendered to a new type of pleasure that he’d never known before.
The dynamic had changed. Now she was in control, and she knew it.
Kai threaded his fingers through her hair as she moved faster and faster, sucking him, bringing him closer to the edge. Kai didn’t want it to end. She went harder, taking him deeper. He closed his eyes and forgot about betrayal. He forgot about death. He forgot about the fact that his world was crumbling before his very eyes.
There was only Zyara.
“Oh,” he gasped, “my beautiful Zyara.”
She looked up, her silver skin luminous in the dim light. Gently, excruciatingly, Kai drew her towards him as she released him from her mouth.
“Let’s fuck,” he whispered. He rested his hands on her shoulders, braced himself, and flipped her so that she was lying on her back. She looked up at him, a Universe of emotion trapped in her molten gaze. She was hungry. Ravenous. He wanted to fill her with the pleasure she deserved.
He slid his fingers between the folds of her pussy, appreciating her silken labia. Increased in length, they seemed to give her greater pleasure. He rubbed her clit with his thumb, gently at first, then with greater pressure. She was wet as hell.
She was ready.
Kai was bursting at the seams. He couldn’t hold on for even another second. Threading his fingers through her ethereal hair, he inhaled deeply and entered her.
“Aah.” She cried out, and it was the sweetest sound Kai had ever heard. He wanted to hear her cry out again and again.
He thrust deeper, watching her face as she closed her eyes, her delicate lips parting. Her features contorted into a look of sheer pleasure, and it was the sweetest thing Kai had ever seen.
Being the one to satisfy this exquisite creature felt so damn good.
He slid his hands down to her breasts, fondling her taut nipples, before caressing the smooth skin at her waist and hips. He grabbed her hips and fucked her harder, desire taking control of his body.
He was powerless against it.
He fucked her endlessly, until his muscles burned. Until she screamed.
Until he roared.
Until he came inside her, and she was curling her legs around him, pulling him close in an impossibly strong embrace, her sharp claws digging into his back, and he didn’t care, because even as he bled and suffered exquisite pain, he was immersed in a world of pure bliss.
And his recklessness in going after her at a time like this was repaid in spades.
Right now, he could go insane and Darkside could go up in flames for all he cared, and it wouldn’t matter, because he was with the woman who made him feel alive.
And she didn’t care about his past; she didn’t care that he was a reject, an outsider, a survivor who’d lived a wretched life of violence and crime.
She brought out good things in him, and that rarely ever happened.
She made him want to be decent, whatever that was.
She was everything he’d desperately needed in his life.
He just hadn’t known it.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Zyara stretched and found Kai gone. She blinked, looking around the room. The thick curtains were drawn, concealing the outside view, and a warm, languorous sensation had spread through her body.
Her pussy tingled in a good way.
She was fucked and spent and all kinds of satisfied.
She shook her head. It had been far too long.
The sound of running water drew her attention. Zyara slipped back into the other room and found her kashkan. She belted it loosely at her waist and went in search of the sound.
It led her to a gigantic bathroom where Kai was kneeling in the shower, water cascading across his magnificently inked skin.
He was babbling to himself in some indecipherable Earth language.
“Kai?” She walked towards him. There was no response. “Kainan?” she said sharply, louder this time.
Still, he ignored her. Zyara stepped into the shower and shut off the water. Finally, he turned to face her, but there was no recognition in his dark eyes.
“I’m sorry, mother,” he whispered, and it was clear he wasn’t talking to her. He was somewhere else, in a far-off place.
Panic rose in Zyara. She’d seen this sort of thing before. It seemed the trait of madness wasn’t just confined to Kordolians. Humans could go mad too.
Before she could think, she reached out and slapped Kai sharply in the face.
It was an impulsive, desperate measure. She wanted the old Kai back. She wanted the stoic, honorable, philosophical Human she was starting to fall in love with.
“Kai,” she said again, her voice cracking.
He blinked, his mouth opening wide. Confusion was etched across his face. Then, a glimmer of recognition.
“Zyara?” He blinked again as realization and horror dawned on him. “Ah, fuck.”
“What’s happening to you, Kai?”
“I didn’t think it would kick in this early. I thought I had at least a couple of days to sort everything out.”
“What, Kai?”
“It’s complicated,” he replied. He closed his eyes, shaking his head. His fists were clenched, the line of his shoulders stiff with tension.
He was fighting something.
“Kai,” Zyara said gently. “Did you forget that I’m a medic with access to the most advanced tech this side of the Universe? If you don’t tell me what’s wrong, I can’t help you.”
Typical male. Even Human males seemed to have an aversion to seeing the doctor. They never seemed to want to seek help at the right time, always leaving things to the last siv, when their symptoms were out of control.
Kai remained silent.
“Come on, Kainan,” Zyara urged. “I’m not losing you to madness after I’ve just had the best sex of my life. I’m not losing you after I’ve found you. Tell me what’s going on.”
Kai’s eyes opened again, and Zyara looked into their depths and saw a strong man on the verge of breaking apart. “A-are you familiar with neural implants?” His voice was shaky.
Horror rose in Zyara. “The Ephrenians do them,” she whispered. “Stupid, stupid devices. Oh, Kai, don’t tell me you have one.”
He nodded. “It’s been invaluable to me, but now a viru
s is attacking it. My mind is on the verge of falling apart.”
“We need to stop this.” Zyara’s voice rose as anger flooded her. “You knew about this and you didn’t tell me? What were you expecting to do, Kai?”
“Was going to get my tech people to look into it.” Despite the situation, he managed a half-cheeky smile. “But I had to fuck you first, just in case their fix didn’t work. The thought of you is more powerful than any madness they might try to infect me with.”
“Idiot.” Zyara’s anger dissipated as she looked at him. She couldn’t stay angry at this beautiful man, even if he was such a frustrating, infuriating male. “You should have told me. You can’t sort out everything on your own, Kainan.”
“Can you fix me?”
“I can irradiate your implant. That will neutralize it and stop the hallucinations. But the equipment I need for that is on Silence.”
“Silence?”
“Our warship. You’re coming into space, Kainan.”
“I’ve never been off-planet before.” Shakily, he got to his feet. He stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel, drying his torso and wrapping it around his waist.
That’s when the thin black band around his wrist started to buzz, flashing with an array of glowing symbols. Kai’s eyes narrowed as he pressed something on the band. “Banri, what is it?”
“Council enforcers are here.” The big man’s voice filtered through the band. He sounded nervous. “People from the Jinkai faction and Arik’s goons. Say they’re here to take you away. Something about holding yourself accountable before the Council. Did you know about this, Boss?”
“Don’t worry, Banri, I’m not going before the Council. Tell them I’m not here right now. And get your ass up here. I have specific instructions for you.”
“I’m going to mobilize our people,” Banri snarled. “I’ve had enough of this shit, Boss. You’re innocent, we all know it. If we gather all the soldiers in the North Ward, we give them a massive headache. Arik doesn’t have the firepower to hold you down. We’ll fight to the death for you.”
“No fighting,” Kai snapped, any trace of his earlier vulnerability gone. His voice rang with authority. “Not now, not tomorrow, not ever. I am not going to throw away everything we’ve worked so hard to build here. I will not have any more blood shed on my behalf. Two days, Banri, and this will all be resolved. But for now, my orders are absolute. Do. Not. Fight.”
“I got this far by trusting you, Boss, but if anything happens to you, I’m going to unleash hell on those fuckers.”
“Banri,” Kai growled darkly.
“Yeah, yeah.” His subordinate finally deferred, but he didn’t sound happy about it. “I’ll be up there in a minute.”
Zyara looked at Kai questioningly as he terminated the comm. “That exchange was in Universal for your benefit. I could have spoken in Eskulin, but I wanted you to hear. There are many people on Earth who want me dead, Zyara. This is my life. This is what I have dealt with on a daily basis for longer than I can remember, except it’s never been this overt before. That is why the first time I saw you, I didn’t chase you.”
“Idiot. I’m Kordolian.” She drew him towards her, pressing her body against his, the moisture from his bare torso seeping into the fabric of her kashkan. “The way things are now, because there are so few of us, females are treated like royalty on Kythia. You have no idea of the place I grew up in. In the early days, I was spoiled rotten. But what happens when they find out that you can’t reproduce? That you’re infertile and considered defective? There are some who see you as a blight on the entire race. They want you dead, wiped from the collective memory of the Kythian Court. That’s what happened to me. I lived with the threat of death hanging over my head for a long time, Kainan, so don’t you come to your own conclusions and decide that I can’t handle your baggage.” In truth, that was why she’d busted her ass to become an excellent medic. It was why she’d deliberately caught the attention of General Tarak al Akkadian. She’d sought refuge with the most powerful warriors in the Universe, the only ones who could protect her from the threats of the Kythian Court.
No-one fucked with the First Division.
Tarak had known what she was about from the start. He hadn’t cared, as long as she was good at her job.
And she was the best.
“The question is, Kainan of Earth, can you handle my baggage? Can you handle what I’ve just revealed to you?”
She’d just witnessed him in a moment of vulnerability, and now she was re-opening her own old wounds.
“I don’t care about that,” Kai growled, holding her tightly. “You know how many goddamn street brats we have to look after around here? They’re all my children, and you’re my woman. Now, are you going to take me to that floating spaceship of yours and fix me, or what?”
Zyara kissed him, a warm glow settling in her chest. Of all the possible responses he could have given her, she hadn’t expected that.
A soft chime interrupted their embrace. “That’ll be Banri at the door,” Kai muttered. “I need to discuss business with him. Why don’t you shower and then join us? No rush, take your time.”
Zyara nodded as Kai disappeared into the other room. She proceeded to enjoy the cavernous shower, indulging in the seemingly endless supply of water these Humans had access to. She pampered herself with luxurious toiletries and dried herself with sumptuous towels, before arranging her kashkan in the proper way, tying her belt with a traditional ceremonial knot.
She padded across in bare feet to the bedroom, where she heard raised voices filtering through the closed door.
Zyara stepped out into the main area and found Banri freaking out.
Kai had relapsed into talking-to-himself mode, his eyes distant, his expression blank.
“Did he tell you what’s going on?” She kept her voice steady and calm as she approached the big man.
“Y-yeah.” Banri shook his head. “What do I do now?” It was strange for such a big, fierce looking man to appear so helpless.
“You let me fix him,” she said, “and in the meantime, you do whatever else your boss ordered you to do.”
Kai got to his feet, babbling in Eskulin. Whatever he was saying appeared to distress Banri, who shook his head. Zyara activated her comm. “Kalan,” she snapped, “I need you guys over here now.”
“Your night not going to plan, medic?” Kalan’s tone was slightly mocking.
“Just come,” she growled. “There’s enough landing space in the compound. Bring the landflyer here directly. These people won’t put up a fight.” She shot Banri a meaningful look and he nodded. “And Kalan,” she continued, “tell the ground crew to prepare a space transport. I need to get to Silence. It’s a medical emergency.”
“Be there in a couple of sivs,” Kalan said. Zyara terminated the comm, grateful that the warrior hadn’t asked her any pressing questions. But she had no doubt she was in for a full interrogation when she got back to base. It didn’t matter. She would handle them.
Banri was looking at her strangely. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a flat case.
“What’s this?” Zyara kept a wary eye on Kai, but he was just muttering to himself.
“The Simavir,” Banri informed her. “Boss told me to get it for you. Cost a fuckin’ fortune.”
Zyara opened the case. Inside were eight vials of yellow liquid, clearly marked SIMAVIR.
Damn Kainan and his thoughtfulness. Zyara suppressed a rising feeling of desperation as she ushered Banri out. For some reason, she didn’t think it was right that he see his Boss like this. “Go, Human,” she said softly. “Don’t worry. I’ll fix him.”
The door slid closed behind her and she walked across to where Kai sat. As she approached, he rose, turning to face her. “It’s done, Boss,” he said, a deferential note in his voice. “I made it look like an accident, just like you asked.”
Zyara sighed, slightly chilled by his words. He was in another place and another time. She did
n’t really want to hear any more about his past. Somehow, she felt like an intruder.
She hated to have to do this, but it was the only way. Setting down the case of Simavir, she reached Kai’s side. “Sorry, love, but you need to sleep now.” She then proceeded to punch him in the face.
He dropped to the floor like a stone.
Psychosis was dangerous. It induced changes in the brain that could become permanent. Sleep was a better option, and unconsciousness was the only small mercy she could grant him right now.
She sat down beside him, cradling his head in her lap as she waited for the cavalry to arrive.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Kai woke in a black cocoon, surrounded by warmth and darkness. He looked around and saw that he was in an oddly shaped room. There were no straight lines or corners here, everything was rounded. He could barely see; the only source of illumination was a few dim blue lights set close to the floor.
“What the fuck?” He blinked as fragmented memories returned.
He’d been sleeping. How strange.
He sat up, throwing the soft black sheets aside. He was dressed in a pair of loose black trousers, but his torso was bare. His head pounded.
He had a killer of a migraine.
The last thing he remembered was Zyara; her touch, her scent, her soothing, throaty voice. He loved hearing her talk.
Then, nothing. Blackness.
Where the hell was he?
He sprang to his feet, the sheet dropping to the floor. Frantically, he began to search around the room. He needed a weapon or something.
But there was nothing. No drawers, no doors, nothing.
He was trapped.
Just as the twin dragons of rage and panic started to rise in his chest, a soothing voice surrounded him. “Relax, Kainan. You’re in the safest place possible. You’re on Silence, two thousand kilometers above Earth. Don’t you remember our conversation?”
Her voice was a soothing balm for his rising anger. He struggled to recall what had happened before he’d lost his memory. He’d been on Earth. There had been incredible sex. How the hell could he ever forget that? Then his neural implant had started to malfunction.