by K. D. Jones
Jaxon smiles at her mischievously. “Hey, you know what the best cure for getting over a man is?”
Kat looks at her curiously, “What?”
“Another man.” Jaxon told her.
Blasted female! Kyd couldn’t keep his mind off of the hot little brunette with the warm brown eyes. She had been a fiery surprise tonight. When he first reached for her he expected her to lash out at him painfully. But she melted in his arms.
He would never forget how the female tasted. After he used his fingers to bring her to release, he licked her juices clean from his hand. Her taste was branded on him for all time now. His cock ached to be buried in her tight warm sex. He smiled with the knowledge that Jaxon had not been with a male in a long time. His erotic thoughts were rudely interrupted by work.
“Commander, did you want the full security detail put back on the Kiljorns?” The Second Commander asked.
“No, a light security detail is good enough for now.” He hopes to be done quickly. He has unfinished business to attend to.
Maybe work was a good thing. He needed to take a step back and rethink this whole thing with Jaxon. They would be great sexually, but what about the rest of the time? They were constantly getting on each other’s nerves. He had always thought he would settle down with a beautiful docile female. Jaxon was beautiful but in no way was she docile.
Maybe he should pursue Lindsey Carreli like Ren had suggested. She was lovely, and would never challenge him openly. He had thought about it several times while he was on Earth, but never did anything about it because he knew that she had feelings for his brother. However, Ren was fully mated to Cassie now. Did Lindsey still have feelings for him? And was this really what Kyd wanted?
Chapter 6
It took 2 days and a lot of pushing on Jaxon’s part, but Kat and SilAS finally agreed to go to Evening Meal together. She hoped that it would help solve both their lonely issues. Now all she had to do was find someone for herself. Easy right? How could anyone resist her sparkling personality? The answer to that was Prime Commander KydEL.
She hadn’t heard anything from Kyd, which was disappointing. She really thought there was a spark between the two of them. Most guys only wanted Jaxon for the challenge. Once they got what they wanted, they lost interest. Kyd threw her off her game. She didn’t like it, not at all.
She decided to head off to Midday Meal. She hated eating alone but everyone else was busy. She had just exited her suite and turned toward the blue lifts when she found herself rooted to the spot. Kyd walked out of the lift and he had that female advisor, Lindsey, with him. They laughed and smiled as they walked further down the hallway to Kyd’s suite.
Jason felt her stomach drop to the floor. Just days ago the man had his hands on her and in her. Now, he was making the moves on another woman. PIG! Her whole face turned white as a ghost. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the scene. Kyd opened the door for the other woman and allowed her to enter first. He turned her way and froze.
Jaxon didn’t wait for him to explain himself. It was clear that he was moving on and she planned to do the same. She walked as fast as she could to the blue lifts. She got inside and hit the close button over and over. She prayed to herself, “Please close, please close, please close.” Kyd called out her name as the doors to the lift closed and then … blessed silence.
All this time she had been feeling guilty about looking for Intel on the Katierans to report back to her superiors at the EWG military headquarters. Not anymore. She didn’t owe him or any of the Katierans anything anymore. Fuck’em all!
She heads to the south Medic Wing hoping Prime Medic SydEL isn’t on duty. A young medic named JamAR is on duty. “Can I help you Captain?” The young medic asks. He growls his sexual interest. Okay, good. She can work with this. It is time to play at being a girl.
She nods her head at him while batting her eyelashes. Do girls really bat their eyelashes? Well, she is trying her best. “Medic …”
“JamAR.” The young medic offers helpfully.
“What a great name.” She comments while touching his upper arm lightly. “And what big muscles you have.” She smiles at him. The man puffs out his chest and deepens his voice. Take it easy Jaxon, a little flirting here and there, don’t need to go too far. “Medic JamAR, would you be a dear and let me check the back Medic Room. I think I left my tablet here the last time I came in for treatment after training.”
“Of course. Help yourself.” He watches her as she walks past him and she makes an effort to swing her hips for him. Once she is out of his sight, she runs down to the room where Medic JadEN uses as his office. The door is open. She searches the office. Score! She finds a digital tablet on the desk. She makes sure that it is not password protected. She doesn’t have time to search for anything else. She just grabs it and walks quickly back out to the waiting area of the Medic Wing.
“Found it!” She called out and waved it back and forth in the air. Medic JamAR smiled a big welcoming smile at her.
“I am glad. Is there anything else that you want of me?” He asks hopefully.
“Nope, that’s all I needed. Thanks a bunch.” She heads out of the Medic Wing in search of Kat.
Damn female! Kyd tried to stop Jaxon from getting on the lift so that he could explain. He would never forget the devastated look on her face when she saw Lindsey enter his suite. It was clear she thought something was going on between him and the other female.
Sure, he had briefly thought about pursuing Lindsey, but he knew that he didn’t feel that way towards her. Not like what he felt for Jaxon. He had met with Lindsey at Midday Meal so that they could discuss the negotiations with the Kiljorns. He had asked Lindsey to accompany him to his suite because he had left his tablet there and it contained the next day’s agenda for the alliance talks. He walked back to his suite with a heavy heart.
“What’s wrong Commander?” Lindsey asks when he walks into the suite. She is sitting on the sofa waiting for him.
“Jaxon, Captain Malone, saw me bring you here and got upset.” He told her as he sunk down into the chair beside the sofa.
“Did you explain to her that nothing was going on between the two of us?” She asked.
“I didn’t get a chance to before the lift doors closed. In truth I have been conflicted over my feelings. I always thought I preferred a more docile female.” He confessed.
Lindsey narrows her eyes at him. “Is that what you think of me, that I’m docile?”
“Yes … no … I don’t know what I was thinking.” Kyd admits.
Lindsey stands up and walks to the door. “I suggest, Commander, that you figure out what or who you want, and then beg her to forgive you for being a freaking idiot.” She slams the sliding pocket door shut behind her.
“What did you find out?” Jaxon asks Kat as she lay back on the sandy shore in front of the green Waters of Katiera. Kat sits crossed legged on the sand beside her with the tablet in her hands.
“Their problems run much deeper than they have led us to believe.” Kat shakes her head. What she wouldn’t give to see some test samples from the early studies.
“How deep are we talking here?” Jaxon asks her.
“The Katierans were in a 100 year war with another alien race called the Morins. The Morins developed a virus that they used as germ warfare. It almost wiped the Katieran nation out of existence.” Kat explained as she sat the tablet down on the sand beside her.
“Oh man. Was the virus the cause of the decrease in their numbers?” Jaxon closed her eyes. The thought of good people like SandELa and AriELa suffering a nasty germ warfare horrified her.
“Yes. The original virus introduced by the Morins was created to annihilate the Katierans. A great many lives were lost. However, the virus mutated over time. Not all of the mutations were listed in the document I read. Mostly they were referenced. The one mutation I found listed was regarding the effect the mutation had on the reproductive system. It became difficult over time for Katierans to c
onceive with one another or to carry the infant to birth. They, only recently, discovered that they could introduce a new gene pool with positive results.” Kat rubbed the back of her neck with her hand as she contemplated the numerous failed attempts the Katierans made to rid themselves of the virus strand altogether. With the mutations, it was nearly impossible to eliminate completely.
“I do not understand why they are being so secretive about all this.” Kat complains.
Jaxon picked up the tablet. “Simple … leverage. If they had told the EWG from the start how serious their problems were, the EWG would have used it as leverage to get more advanced technology and weaponry.” Jaxon understood the machinations of political and military minds. And she hated it.
Jaxon glanced at her watch that she used to send messages to the EWG. She was torn. Should she report everything she had learned? She would probably be sent back to Earth on the next transport ship. She wouldn’t blame the Katierans either. But, her whole life was here now. Cassie was here and the babies were here. She didn’t have anybody else. There was nothing waiting for her back on Earth. What was she going to do?
“What are you going to do with that thing? Will you take it back?” Kat asks pointing to the ‘borrowed’ tablet.
“Best you don’t know. Hey, it’s time for you to start getting ready for your hot date tonight.” Jaxon reminds her.
“Ugh. Why did I let you talk me into this?” Kat moaned as she stood up.
“Because I’m an awesome friend, and, you need to get laid badly.” Jaxon tells her with a saucy smile.
“I think I hate you.” Kat grumbles as she stomps away.
Jaxon stood up and walked the beach shore carrying the tablet with her. She felt as if she was carrying the weight of the world in her hands, the Katieran world specifically. What was she going to do?
Later that evening Jaxon sat on the sofa and stared at her watch she held in her hands. She had made a decision and hoped it was the right one. A knock interrupted her thoughts. She got up to slide open the door. A frazzled AriELa stood on the other side of the door holding two large suitcases.
“What’s up?” Jaxon asks as she moves out of the way so that AriELa can come inside.
“I hate to impose, but would you and Dr. Morris mind if I move in with you two?” AriELa drops her luggage in the entrance way.
“I don’t mind and I’m sure Doc will be fine with it, but why do you need a place to stay?” Jaxon motions for AriELa to the living area.
“I’m getting tired of people treating me like a young. I am NOT a young!” AriELa exclaims.
Jaxon glances at the female from top to bottom. Nope, she definitely isn’t a child. “Who treats you that way?” Jaxon asks. She sits back down on the sofa.
AriELa sits on the sofa beside her. “Aunt SandELa, my cousins, TarAK … just everyone!”
Ah. Realization dawns on Jaxon the moment AriELa says TarAK’s name. “And by moving out of your aunt’s place, you’ll show TarAK … I mean you’ll show EVERYONE that you’re not a child.”
“Exactly!” AriELa stated.
Both women jumped up when they heard the door of the suite open and then shut harshly. Jaxon wondered who it could be. It was too soon for Kat to be home from her date. She was proven wrong a few seconds later when a ticked off Kat came trudging through the living room.
“Hey, why aren’t you on your date?” Jaxon asks her.
Kat threw her wrap onto the back of the sofa and went to the kitchenette. She had worn a blue summer dress for her date. She came back with a pitcher of Katieran Juice and a glass. She sat down on the chair beside the sofa. She poured the Katieran Juice into the glass and started drinking huge gulps. She held up a finger to keep Jaxon from asking her questions until she drank the whole glass. Then she poured herself another one.
“Did the date not go well? I thought you would be perfect for SilAS.” Jaxon asked.
Kat snorted. “The date would have been fine if it had just been SilAS and me.”
“Someone else came on your date?” AriELa asked.
Kat was surprised to realize there was another person in the room.
“Oh yeah, AriELa moved in with us while you were gone. Long story, tell ya later. Who else was on your date?” Jaxon asked.
“Well … there was me … SilAS … and YOU.” Kat pointed a wavering finger at Jaxon.
“ME? I was here the whole time.” Jaxon wondered how much Katieran Juice Kat drank this evening.
“The man kept going on and on and on about Captain Malone this … Captain Malone that … how no one else stood up to the Commander except for Captain Malone. He talked about how every Katieran warrior idolized the female warrior from Earth. It was uncomfortable because of our friendship. I tried to steer the conversation in a different direction, but the man was determined to expand on all your virtues.” Kat vented.
Jaxon blushed. She didn’t know what to say. Did they really idolize her? “The only men that have asked me out since coming to Katiera was SilAS and the Kiljorn Commander. If I was so popular, why hasn’t anyone else asked me out?”
AriELa answers, “Everyone else is afraid of KydEL. It’s obvious that he has feelings for you.”
Jaxon snorts. “Right, that’s why he’s doing it with that legal advisor.”
“He’s what?” Kat and AriELa sit up.
Shit! Why does she say these things out loud? She has no filter sometimes. This is not a subject she wants to discuss right now. She needs to distract them. “You know what the cure for man trouble is?” Jaxon asks.
Kat replies suspiciously, “Another man?”
“Tequila.”
Kyd knew exactly who he wanted. It was a matter of finding her. He searched everywhere he could think of to find Jaxon. Blasted female made herself scarce like no one else he had ever met.
He felt anxious. He worried that he might have pushed her into the arms of another man, like that Kiljorn Commander. When RendEL called him on his Comm link to request his presence, he was practically climbing the walls. As he made his way up to Ren and Cassie’s suite, he ran into his younger brother SydEL.
“Did you get the royal request too?” Kyd asked him.
“Yes. Did he tell you what this was about?” Syd asked as they rode the blue lift up to the 8th floor.
“Not a clue.” They rode the rest of the way in silence.
The suite door is open and Kyd can hear his nieces crying. Is something wrong with the girls? Their brother is pacing with both his girls in his arms trying to soothe them. “It’s okay angels, mommy will be right back.”
Syd rushes over to inspect the babies. “Are they running a fever?” He asks as he touches each girl’s head. They feel fine.
“No. They’re just hungry.” Ren answers while trying to do the bouncy technique his mother showed him.
“Why doesn’t Cassie feed them?” Kyd asks looking around for his brother’s mate.
“She’s not here!” Ren loses his patience.
“RendEL, do not be yelling in front of my grandbabies!” Their mother SandELa yells from the kitchenette. She walks into the living room with two bottles in her hands. She sits down on the sofa and motions for Ren to bring the babies to her. “This should tide them over until Cassie gets back.” She takes one of the babies in her arms. Ren takes the other bottle.
“Get back from where?” Syd asks as he rubs GabriELa’s head. These girls have a soft spot in his heart. He watches his eldest brother make silly soothing sounds to the babies. He nearly laughs out loud.
“Cassie was worried that she hadn’t been able to get in touch with Jaxon all day. They were supposed to have Midday Meal together. She went over to the suite about 45 minutes ago but hasn’t come back yet.” Ren was worried.
Kyd’s heart clenched. Did something happen to Jaxon? He took off for Jaxon’s suite. Ren turned towards Syd expectantly.
“I’ll go with him to check things out.” Syd turns and walks in the direction of Jaxon and Kat’s suite.
He could swear that with the irrational way Kyd is behaving that he is going into protective mode. He wonders if there will be another mating in the future.
“Jaxon Marie Malone, you put that glass down right now!” Cassie orders her friend who is crawling on the floor of the living room. She picks up another glass of Katieran Juice.
“I want another. How ‘bout you Kitty? Ari?” Jaxon slurs her words.
Kat was spread out on the sofa with one leg tossed over the back of it and the hem of her dress rose up to her mid-thigh. AriELa was on her stomach on the floor. She made an attempt to roll over but was not successful..
“When does the room stop spinning?” AriELa asks.
“Long after you throw up and pass out.” Kat grumbled from the sofa.
“What in Kitana is going on here?” KydEL barrels into the room. He takes in the scene before him but does not understand.
Cassie turns and points an accusing finger at him. “This is entirely your fault!”
Why is his brother’s docile mate yelling at him? “What are you talking about? Why are Jaxon and AriELa on the floor?”
“Don’t play dumb with me Kyd. I know what you did!” Cassie says angrily.
SydEL walks into the room and sighs heavily. He can smell the Katieran Juice. It is so strong, like the females bathed in it. “They’re drunk on Katieran Juice.” He states as he goes to check on Kat. What is the female wearing?
“Nuhuh.” Kat responds while shaking her head side to side.
Syd looks down at her in disbelief, “You’re NOT drunk?”
“NOT Katieran Juice.” She slurred.
He picks up the half empty glass dangling from her hand. He sniffs it and winces. “What is this noxious liquid?”
All three females shout at once. “TEQUILA!”
Chapter 7
KydEL marched across the room and stood in between Jaxon and his cousin AriELa. He stared accusingly down at Jaxon. “You got my cousin drunk?”
Jaxon slumps against a chair while sitting on the floor. She has a hard time gazing up at Kyd. “You’re too tall.” Then she giggles which causes the other two drunken females to do the same.