Her Alien Protector

by Siren Allen

  “I thought you despised lying.”

  Shit. He would throw that in her face.

  “Admit that you feel a way about me. I feel a way about you too.”

  Lark stared down at her boots. She did feel some type of way about him. Had felt some type of way since the moment she laid eyes on him, which was disturbing because when she first saw him he was eating her guard.

  Despite that ghastly first meeting she couldn’t deny the fact that the being behind her made her hands tremble. And though she tried to write it off as nerves, she knew it was more than that. Her mother’s voice was on repeat in her head.

  ‘You will know you’ve found your mate when you yearn to touch him. We Venusians are very physical people. I know you see me constantly touching your father’s hair, his face, I can’t help it. And once you find your mate you won’t be able to help it either. Your body will guide you to the being you’re meant for. Your hands will tremble with the need to touch him.’

  Mate, a word she’d never thought to associate with herself. She was too independent to be anyone’s mate. She was a leader, not a follower. She was a dominant female, not a submissive. She couldn’t be a wife and a mother. She didn’t know how to be.

  “I can’t feel some way about you because,” she started then tensed when she felt his breath against her neck. How did he move like that, quietly?

  “It’s okay,” he told her, placing his hands on her shoulders. Against her better judgment she swayed toward him, caught up in his scent. He smelled wonderful, manly. He wore no cologne and he’d chosen to bathe with an unscented bar of cleanser instead of the perfumed bars. Still his smell was intoxicating.

  “I’m not a patient man. But, I will be, for you, sweet Lark.”

  “You…be patient? I don’t believe it.”

  “I’m trying to be, for you. There’s not one thing I wouldn’t do for you.”

  Stars, that was a sweet thing to say. Why the hell did he say it?

  “I’m willing to wait until you’re ready to admit how you feel. What I won’t tolerate is you allowing anyone else to touch you, especially not your succubus.”

  Okay, sweetness gone. “What? How do you know about me and Ana?” She stared over her shoulder, not daring to turn fully around and catch another glimpse of his… package.

  “I’m a vampire, my senses are better than yours.”

  “And, what is it that you’re sensing?” Can you sense I’m a virgin? Can you sense that these feelings I have for you are scaring the hell out of me? I don’t like being scared. I’ve worked too hard to get where I am, to allow my life to be threatened by fear.

  “I know you and Ana are more than best friends. But I don’t need heightened senses to know that. She’s a sex demon, you’re a beautiful female. It’s obvious what the two of you are. But if you think she loves you, you’re wrong. Sex demons don’t fall in love, they fall in lust. And they don’t mate the way we do. They are like earthlings, they love for a while then move on. Trust me you’re wrong if you’re thinking she’s the one for you.”

  “First of all, I will never trust you. And second of all, I know Ana is not my mate. I’m willing to admit that I have misjudged vampires. You may not be as crazy as I once thought you were. But you can’t judge Ana off what you’ve heard or experienced with other succubi. I know for a fact that succubi mate for life. It’s rare for them to find their true mate, but when they do, it’s a forever kind of love. No, Ana and I are not mates. But maybe I’m not looking for love. Maybe I’m looking for lust.”

  “Then I suggest you cease searching because…”

  “You can’t suggest anything for me to do…”

  “Because I’m here.”

  “What? What the hell is that supposed to mean?” And why the hell was her heart racing, hands shaking?

  “Whether you’re looking for lust or love, it doesn’t matter. I’m here. I’m both. There will be no one else for you.”

  “You’re out of your mind.” And so am I, because his words are making my heart flutter.

  “You’re the only reason I’m here. You’re the reason why I left my family and friends behind and travelled to this volcanic planet. If you don’t believe me, you can ask your sister when she arrives.”

  “Explain yourself.” There was more she wanted to say, but she didn’t know how to say it. Did my sister send you here? Is this one of Luna’s pranks? Please be one of Luna’s pranks.

  “You’re mine, Lark.”

  “Yours.” Lark took a step back, away from him. “I’m not yours.” Her hands began to tremble more. Stupid hands.

  “You belong to me.”

  “You say that like I’m a possession.”

  “You’re my mate.”

  “I’m not the mate of a vampire. I can’t be the mate of a vampire.”

  “I know you’re my mate because,” he pointed at his chest. “You calm the storm inside me.”

  “The fact that there is a storm inside you is the reason why I know I’m not your mate. A mate is supposed to make you stronger. Your inner darkness will only make me weak, it will destroy my whole planet.”

  “Your sister told me that a Venusians’ body recognizes their mate the moment they lay eyes on them.”

  Damn Luna. “Our bodies recognize our mate’s scent,” Lark admitted. “It engulfs us until all we can think about is that person, until all we desire is that person. Our hands shake with a need to touch that person.”

  Raynor stared down at her hands.

  She shoved them back into her pockets. “Some call it instant chemistry. Our ancestors called it going into heat.” Was she in heat? Is that why she felt so hot?

  Was that why she pounced on Ana the moment she entered her chamber. Oh my stars, please don’t let this be true. Lark turned away from him. She stared down at the floor trying to come up with another explanation for all of this.

  “So tell me, sweet Lark. Have I strayed far from your mind since we’ve met?”

  “No.” She whirled around to face him. “But you’re the only vampire on my planet, so when I think of you I think of you as a threat to my people, not as a potential mate.”

  He smirked. Fuck, he could tell when she was lying. Hell no, he wasn’t her mate, he was too damn discerning to be her mate. He wouldn’t strengthen her. He would only bring her down. He would want her to obey him. He would want to rule her mind, body and spirit.

  Her people would hate her if she claimed him. They would probably rebel against her family. Lark steeled herself against the feelings she felt for him. There was no place in her life for this creature, just as there was no longer a spot on her planet for him.

  Lark took a step back. He watched her, still smiling, thinking he had the upper hand. She kept walking until her back met the wall. She reached behind her, eyes still on him. She pressed the emergency button.

  The guards would be there soon, to take him to his cell. In the morning he would be returned to his world. She ignored the ache that took up residence in her chest. It was better this way, for both of them. She couldn’t make him happy.

  He would want to have sex and she wasn’t ready for that, would probably never be ready for that. Raynor would be better off with one of his own, a vamp like him. And she, well she would be better off alone. The ache in her chest intensified.

  “I know what you’ve done,” Raynor’s deep voice surrounded her.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You’ve called for your guards.”

  Busted, she shrugged. “You’re done bathing. It’s time for us to leave this room. Please dress before they arrive, unless you want my males to see you naked.” Her eyes followed him as he walked over to his clothing.

  He moved like a predator. The muscles in his thighs clenched with every step he took. Pure power was what he exuded. She wouldn’t be able to dominate him. No, he would demand submission from her.

  Slipping his shirt over his head he said, “I’m not leaving this planet without
you. I don’t want to hurt your people.” He slid the gray cotton pants up his muscular legs. “I don’t want to kill anyone, else. But I promise you Lark, I will kill them all, if they try to stop me from claiming you.”

  The swirling darkness in his eyes seemed to drive the point home. Fear, arousal and shame coursed through her. She was ashamed of herself for feeling anything for a psycho who had just vowed to destroy her people. Yet, she desired his strength, his fearlessness. Shit.

  Fully dressed, gaze locked with hers, she could practically feel his determination. To get him off this planet she would have to be calculating. It was a good thing being calculating was her specialty.

  The door to the bathing chambers burst open. Six minutes. It had taken her guards six minutes to get here. Record time for them, but still too long. He could’ve slit her throat and drained her in less than six minutes.

  “Take him to his cell.” She handed the remote to her guard Aron. To her vampire she said, “Goodbye Raynor.” She turned to leave.

  “We will never part, Lark.”

  Walking faster she ignored his last words to her.

  ‘We will never part, Lark.’

  He’d said it like he meant it. Shit.

  Her hands trembled.

  Double shit.

  The Kuiper Belt

  Planet Qoaran

  Sovereign Ruler, Nikolus Palenzo stared down at the codex in front of him. He’d been reading the same words over and over again, and still he was no closer to figuring out what the hell was going on. Yet he knew something was wrong, he could feel it in his gut and his gut was always right.

  “Nik, maybe you should let me read over it,” his sister offered.

  Nik cast a chilling glare in her direction, yet that didn’t shut her up.

  “You’ve been reading over it for six moonrises and you haven’t deciphered it. Clearly it’s some form of code. I’m great at breaking codes.” Dhara smiled up at him, her eyes turning black, resembling onyx orbs. A striking contrast when paired with her pale skin and long black hair.

  “Sister, if I need your help, I will ask for it.”

  Her eyes began to swirl. He didn’t have time for her anger. The sooner he figured this code out, the sooner he could get rid of the female in his dungeon. She didn’t belong here. He didn’t want her here. He didn’t want her period. Nikolus reread the first line of the page again.

  “I can’t sit here and watch you fail. I’m going to go find someone to help with something.” His sister stood up and began walking away, the train of her ruby red dress trailing behind her like a river of blood.

  “Sister, do not disturb my warriors. They do not need your help.”

  She whirled around to face him. “What have they told you?”

  “Only that you try to command them in my absence.”

  “Someone has to. They behave like beasts when you’re not in the training room with them.”

  “They are beasts. We are beasts.”

  “We are not beasts, you moron. That is why traders don’t like dealing with us. We scare them. If we want our planet to thrive we have to start acting…”

  “More like them, like the people who look down on us?”

  “They only do that because we…”

  “We are who we are. We cannot change. We don’t want to change.”

  “Speak for yourself.” She pouted and Nikolus reminded himself that she was young, only one hundred years old. In a century or two, after she had a mate and little ones, she would realize there was nothing wrong with their people. It was the outside worlds that had problems.

  Worlds like the one the female in his dungeon lived in. Why Raynor would want to be mated to one of her kind he would never understand. The mere thought of it was upsetting. Nikolus stared down at the page once more.

  “You may leave Dhara, just don’t bother my warriors. Find some of the ladies, braid their hair or something.”

  “You braid their hair or something. When I find out which guard told you I am going to slit his throat.”

  “It was Canon.”

  “That weak bastard.”

  “He’s not weak and he’s no bastard. He’s one of my best warriors.” Now that Raynor, Joston and Kane were gone. There was that anger again. He could feel his eyes swirling. He’d lost three of his strongest males.

  They were all on a quest to claim their mates. He should be happy for them. He wasn’t. He was pissed and his sister’s incessant chattering was only making it worse. He needed someone to lash out at and he’d rather it not be her.

  “Dhara, go. I will finish this sooner without your continuous interruptions.”

  “Whatever, did you take your mate a Dak-blanket like I suggested? She’s not from here, the cold could kill her.”

  “She’s not my mate.” He didn’t want a mate. And warming blankets were for guests. She wasn’t a guest. She was a nuisance that he was trying to get rid of. But he’d given her a blanket to shut his sister up about it.

  “I did as you asked.”

  “Well, moron, did you tell her how to use it?”

  Nikolus raised his head. “I am a ruler, not an instruction manual or a decoder. Yet here I sit, trying to decode a missive her guards had hidden from her. I have more than enough on my plate. You go tell her how to use the damn blanket.”

  Dhara’s eyes widened. “You… you didn’t tell her how to use it?” Her voice rose with each word, grating on his nerves. “She’s not from here. She’s from the hottest planet in the galaxy.”

  “Please quiet down.”

  “Are you hearing what I’m saying?” Dhara screamed.

  “I’m sure the whole world is, but what is your point?”

  “She probably doesn’t know how to use it, idiot.”

  “Even a little one knows how to use a Dak.”

  “A little one from Qoaran, but not one from Venus. She probably doesn’t even know that a Dak-blanket is a living creature that feeds off body heat. By now she’s probably dead.”

  Dead.

  His heart skipped a beat. Fuck that, his heart stopped beating entirely. His already cold body seemed to grow colder. His eyes swirled faster. Dead? He’d killed her. Nikolus pushed away from his desk, sending his chair crashing into the wall behind him.

  He stormed from the room, his sister following closely behind him. He knew she was talking. He heard words but he wasn’t listening. His heart was dormant in his chest, not beating. His mind was numb with only one thought filtering through it.

  I killed my mate. I killed my mate.

  He’d known this would happen if she stayed too long in his world. He didn’t want her, didn’t have time for her, but that didn’t mean he wanted her dead. He ignored his guards who rushed in his direction. Their mouths moved, but he heard no sound.

  Those who got in his way were shoved to the side. Their confused glares didn’t stop him. When Nikolus reached the dungeon he raced to the last cell. He was too late. Her brown skin was now gray and she wasn’t moving.

  “I have the keys ruler,” he heard his guard, Akron, say.

  Keys? Fuck keys. Nikolus pulled at the bars. They bent under the pressure, opening. When the hole was wide enough, he stepped in. Three strides brought him to her side. Nikolus placed his hand against her forehead.

  The first time he’d touched her she’d been warm, no, hot. Now she was like ice. Nik checked for a pulse. There was none. He stared down at his dead mate. He’d killed her. The prophecy he’d tried to avoid had come true.

  One day you will find a mate, and you will bring her pain and death.

  Chapter Eight

  Shit, shit, shit.

  Lark paced back and forth in front of her bed, staring down at the mechanics’ report Manuel had hand delivered to her. The spacecrafts were down, all one hundred and twenty of them. How the hell did that happen?

  Raynor.

  This was his fault. Over the course of two solar flares that beast had somehow managed to fry the navigation unit on
every craft. How he did it, she didn’t know. But it was him. Who else would profit from having the crafts down?

  She wanted him gone and he didn’t want to leave. Somehow, he’d found a way to get his wish. Stubborn creature. Couldn’t he see that she wanted nothing to do with him? Shit. Maybe if she stopped getting aroused whenever he was near, he’d get the picture.

  She wished he could smell her mind instead of the wetness between her legs. Her body was insane. It had to be, to crave a creature like him. Her mind was logical. If he could smell her mind he would smell disgust… yep, that’s what he would smell. She hoped.

  Manuel watched her pace. He was the only male, other than her father that she’d ever allowed in her private chambers. And he was only allowed inside because he was happily mated and his mate was one of her dear friends.

  “How the hell is this possible?” Lark yelled, forgetting that she was supposed to be working on her attitude.

  “We’re working hard to find out what caused this glitch.”

  “Glitch, this is more than a fucking glitch. The crafts are down. No one can leave the planet. We have trading to do. We have to get a prisoner back to his home planet.”

  “I thought he was going to Mercury.”

  “He’s going back to his home planet. The idiot didn’t commit a crime.” He came here for her.

  “Excuse me?” Manuel’s eyebrow rose in confusion.

  “It’s a long story.” One she would never tell a soul. “I need those crafts up and running as soon as possible. It will be night soon. We don’t need these kind of problems right now.”

  “We’re working on it. Since all the navigation systems are down, we’re thinking it may be a virus.”

  “A virus? That would mean someone sabotaged the crafts.” Raynor.

  “Exactly. Someone familiar with our system. They would’ve had to do it from the main security room. Then again, if they’re really good, they could’ve done it from a remote location. Either way, they would have to know something of our system.”

  Or they could’ve done it with vampire magic. Did vampires have magic? They must, because this had to be a spell Raynor had weaved over her. Because of him, she felt hot and frustrated. And no amount of showering and touching herself would make the need between her legs go away.