Craving: A SciFi Alien Mail Order Bride Romance (TerraMates Book 8) (5 page)

K
ai clutched
his sindare's hand as she led him into an alley between two buildings.

"We shouldn't be doing this."

Jenn stopped suddenly. "You're right. We probably shouldn't. Do you want to go back?"

Kai looked into her blue eyes for a moment, then stepped back and gazed at the human speculatively. Everything about her was beautiful. Her presence triggered a fundamental desire to hold and protect her. At that moment, he was torn between his duty to his Emperor and the need to be with his sindare.

He'd read the poems and stories about what happened when someone found their sindare lovemate. He never imagined his feelings would be overwhelming. His heart pounded in his chest as he started thinking about touching her. Now that Kai had experience with sindare love, he understood why the Emperor's face immediately changed whenever he saw Kai's mother. Being with Jenn made Kai realize he had found a missing part of himself that he didn't know he lacked.

They expected Kai to give her up.

Impossible.

But keeping her would result in her death.

Perhaps they could spend a few precious hours together. Eventually, he would have to explain what Jenn needed to do to satisfy honor and put an end to this impossible mission. That way Jenn could walk away with her life. It would be painful for him, but she would survive.

"No," Kai said carefully. "I don't want to go back to the restaurant."

"Then let's move. The taxi's waiting and I'm sure the meter is running already." Jenn dashed away.

Kai slowly realized what the conversation about the taxi meant. He strode quickly to catch up with her as they moved out from the alley a few doors down from Nardones. He glanced at the small crowd of people waiting for them to come back from the restroom, but they all had their backs turned. Kai climbed into the car, and the vehicle started moving down the road.

Jenn was already settled into her seat and flipped down the control panel on the self-driving car. "Is there any place you want to go?" she asked.

The cab was cramped. Kai couldn't help but sit extremely close to Jenn. He breathed deeply, taking in her scent. He didn't care where they went.

"I don't know much about Earth. The one thing I know is that I want to be with you."

Her face flushed, and her fingers idly worked on the control board, pushing buttons at random.

"How can you be sure of that?" she asked. "We barely know each other."

"How can I not?" Kai's gaze swept over Jenn's beautiful body. Her skin seemed to glow and encouraged him to touch it. The swell of her breasts peeked out from the neckline of her dress. Kai wondered what it would feel like to lick them. He wanted to explore the curve of her creamy neck. Jenn's legs, barely covered by the short Earth dress, led his eyes from her petite feet up their graceful curves to the mysterious place between her thighs.

Everything about Jenn was delectable. Kai knew in his soul that they were destined for each other. Nothing in the universe would make him feel different.

With her overwhelming presence and his thoughts focused on the gorgeous exotic beauty, Kai's passion stirred and his cock swelled to an aching hardness. Kai was a soldier trained for discipline, order and duty. At this moment every fiber of his being cried out, needing to possess this woman. With a bold move, he engulfed her with his broad arms and bent his head to her lips. All his desire and longing came out in a fiery kiss. She melted into his arms as he pressed his lips to hers, taking her mouth with hungry kisses. He felt her heart hammer against his chest.

Kai's hand traveled below her waist. He pulled up the edge of her dress, using two fingers to lift the lacy fabric between her legs and caress the cleft of her fleshy mound. Jenn's breathing sped up, and she softly mewled as he explored her soft folds which were growing hotter and slicker with each stroke.

"Please," she moaned.

"What?" he whispered into her ear.

"Harder."

He found the sensitive bud in her cleft and smeared her wetness in and around it. She panted with her mouth open, and he kissed her again, this time penetrating her mouth with his tongue. Kai was knowledgeable about Anquesh sex, but he felt new sensations now that were more intense than anything he had experienced before. He slid his fingers into her hot channel and pumped them in and out while he swirled his thumb around her hard bud. She moved her body against his hand, her eyes going wide as he pushed his tongue further into her mouth, stifling her cries. Jenn wrapped her arms around Kai's neck, clinging to him as she moaned.

Jenn pulled back suddenly. "I never...I mean...I don't," she stammered. Her breathing and heartbeat slowed down. She pulled her arms away and smoothed her dress. She looked distressed, and Kai didn't understand why.

"Did I do anything wrong?"

"No. It's just...what must you think of me? We barely know each other, I feel like I'm representing the entire planet and I let you..."

"You're right." As Kai thought about the ramifications of what he'd done, he felt the cold chill of sobriety overtake his body. He drew back and sat upright. "I should not have touched you like that before I won your rights in the wedding ceremony battle. It was dishonorable on my part. It's my fault, and I apologize."

"It wasn't dishonorable. Definitely honorable. Kai, no one has ever cared enough about how I felt to take the time to...you know...bring me pleasure. Not like that. Um…what battle?"

He swallowed hard. A single question rushed to his brain.

"Other men have touched you?"

Jenn gave Kai a quizzical look. "Well, of course."

"Of course!" Kai's voice rose to a roar. "Who are they? I will challenge each one to battle!" It was
wrong
for other men to touch his sindare. Kai had never felt jealousy before in his life. The new and foreign emotion seized him with a fierce longing to prove that he was her mate, and no other.

"Emissary!" she gulped, drawing her body into the corner of the seat. Jenn was shaking. "Like a punching battle? You wouldn't do that, would you? What kind of aliens are you, anyway?"

"The kind of aliens that don't let other men touch their sindares!"

"Why do you keep calling me that?"

Kai gave a growl from deep in his throat. "It is the way of things."

"Maybe out there, but not here. People can and do have histories. Are you telling me you've never had lovers, Emissary? Should I hunt them down as well?"

He hated Jenn using his title instead of his name, and he didn't like her angry look. But her words had the desired effect, starting a calm flow of logic in his lust-driven brain.

What was the matter with him?

Is this what it meant to have a sindare? Would all his responses be outrageously exaggerated? Is this what other Anquesh felt when they met their sindares for the first time? It was a kind of madness.

Jenn was right. The thought of her with another man woke the battle urge in him, coiling in his gut, making him ready to strike. Of course he had lovers. But now Kai realized none of them had been important to him.

Jenn was important to him.

To make things worse, even though they shared a kiss that had shifted Kai's world, the look on her face suggested that she hated him. Jenn did not feel the same way toward him that he felt about her. Was she his sindare after all?

The thought crushed him. It brought him down fast and hard from his sexual high, like he was landing from a high-altitude jump without a parachute. The memory of Jenn's impending danger reasserted itself in his mind. If Jenn became his wife, her life was at risk. Kai could not allow harm to come to her, especially through his selfish actions.

He would not be able to marry her. Being with her now was futile.

"We are in an impossible situation," he said formally, falling back on his military training, the one constant in his life. "I respect your wishes in this matter. When the time comes for the marriage ceremony, I will not resist. You may defeat me in battle and honor will be satisfied."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Her voice rose to an ear-splitting pitch that hurt Kai's ears.

"It should be simple enough." Kai was angry at himself. To keep his rage under control, he bottled up his emotion. As a result, his voice came out cold and dismissive. "Since you will never be my wife, I will allow you to defeat me."

J
enn stared at Kai
. In an instant, he could switch from fervent passion to glacial coldness. She did not completely understand the alien or what was happening, but she knew one thing.

She was pissed.

Jenn was mad at TerraMates and the United Earth Alliance from keeping critical information from her. She was angry with Kai for toying with her feelings. Most of all, Jenn was furious with herself for allowing him to touch her intimately. He must think she was a slut or worse. That was why his attitude had changed.

"You'll have to explain everything to me."

"There is nothing further to explain." Kai's voice was hard, and his eyes looked off into the distance. "I told you. Should the time come, I will allow you to defeat me."

"I'm not going to fight you."

"I understand." Kai nodded his head. "If I immediately surrendered, you would be dishonored. You are correct. I should not treat a member of a worthy warrior race like they are unworthy. Very well, then. I will do my best to defeat you." Kai gave Jenn a wink.

"What?" she screeched.

"Does that not satisfy your honor?" Confusion spread across his face.

"I didn't have a problem with honor until you started talking about it. What is wrong with you people?"

Kai began speaking a string of words in Anquesh. Jenn assumed he was swearing.

"I do not know how to satisfy you then," he said frostily. "Take us back to the TerraMates facility."

Jenn shot him a cutting look. "Fine."

Kai stared straight ahead.

"If that's how you want it," she snapped.

He refused to rise to the bait and said nothing. Jenn programmed the destination into the car. Kai began to tap his fingers on his thigh, staring ahead, sitting stiffly in his seat.

But he was still close to Jenn, and his leg touched hers. A spark of passion moved into her core. She hated it.

Whatever cologne he wore drove her crazy. It was the sexiest scent she'd ever encountered. Now it was forever entangled with the crazy, passionate moment they recently shared and Kai's strange desire for combat.

She gazed out the window, looking for something to distract her. How could she have let herself get so carried away? With Anton, she hadn't done anything physical until a month after meeting him.

Jenn glanced at the side view mirror, a remnant from automobile designs of long ago. She noticed the same white car was always behind them. It seemed to be getting closer, but it wasn't moving into the other lane to pass.

"Is that vehicle one of yours?"

"What?" said Kai distractedly.

"The car behind us has been following this one since the restaurant. It's not Earth military. We use marked vehicles. Look at the side mirror."

"Are you sure?"

At that moment, their vehicle turned onto a ramp on the right. The other car followed suit.

"I'm pretty sure."

The taxi lurched forward. The vehicle following them accelerated to touch their bumper, causing the taxi to blink its lights and activate a siren. "Warning!" it blared. "Unsafe driving! This vehicle will report you to the police."

Jenn pulled out her phone from her pocket.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to sending Nayla a message. She can give our location to Earth's military."

"How can she do that?"

"We share our locations on our phones."

Jenn
: SOS. Send help!

Nayla
: For real?

Jenn
: Someone's following us.

Nayla
: On it.

The exit curved sharply to the left and descended from the raised highway to street level. The white car cut to the left and accelerated. As it moved next to the taxi, it shifted to the right and deliberately smashed into Jenn's car.

The crash flung Jenn into Kai's arms. He clutched her tightly as the vehicle skidded into the guardrail and spun around, stopping with a jolt.

"Get down!" yelled Kai as he pushed her to the floor. There wasn't any room in the tiny car, and Jenn found herself on her hands and knees, crouching against the crumpled door. She glanced up to see Kai with a weapon in his hand and an angry look on his face.

The side window exploded. Jenn quickly covered her head with her arms, closing her eyes. She heard an unfamiliar noise and realized it was Kai firing his alien weapon.

Police sirens pierced the air, and the gunfire stopped. Kai kicked out the door on his side of the vehicle and picked Jenn up like she weighed nothing, pulling her into the evening twilight. Lights flashed around them. A group of Anquesh appeared out of nowhere, along with Earth soldiers. The aliens quickly surrounded Kai and Jenn. He held her tightly wit one arm while barking out commands to the squad. The Anquesh leader looked unhappy but nodded his head. As a group, the Anquesh squeezed past the Earth Alliance military to the protests of Earth's commanding officer.

Kai shepherded Jenn into an Anquesh transport. Grim-faced Anquesh soldiers filed inside. When the aliens had filled every seat, Kai spoke to the driver and the vehicle sped off into the night. Kai remained standing, using his arm to steady himself. Jenn noticed a bluish-brown liquid dripping from his arm. With a shock, she realized Kai was injured. He wasn't looking at Jenn, and his expression was one of utter fury.

"Where are we going?" Kai ignored Jenn's question and she stopped asking. The oversized transport rattled down the highway, slowing down, bouncing and jolting as if it were traveling on uneven ground. The jarring ride unsettled Jenn's stomach. The Anquesh warriors, including Kai, stared straight ahead, not showing any reaction.

She had never felt more alone than among this group of aliens.

When the transport stopped, the door immediately opened. The soldiers stood and filed out the door, holding their weapons at the ready.

Before Jenn knew what was happening, Kai appeared in front of her and lifted her out of the seat.

"There's not enough time to explain. You'll have to trust me." To punctuate his words, he gently pushed her through the door.

Jenn stepped out of the transport to find herself surrounded by the Anquesh warriors once again. Kai stood behind her and shouted something in an alien language. The soldiers advanced, and stepped double-time through a field. A looming dark shape rose in the distance. She couldn't see the details, but she could tell that the object was huge, whatever it was. As they approached, a sliver of light appeared in the darkness. The soldiers parted slightly to form an aisle in their midst. Kai took Jenn's hand, pulling her up a walkway and into a huge room that looked like the interior of a warehouse.

One of Kai's diplomats was waiting for them. He stepped forward and put his fist to his chest. By his demeanor, it seemed that this alien was no mere ambassador. There had been so many soldiers present during the TerraMates training that Jenn was able to recognize a military man.

How much have the Anquesh deceived us?
Jenn thought.

Kai and his diplomat had a quick exchange in Anquesh. The group of soldiers dispersed and two minutes later, Kai and Jenn were alone.

"There's time now to explain what's happening, I assume."

"Not yet." Kai's eyes narrowed. Without warning, he grabbed her and swung her onto his broad shoulders. As she started to kick and yell, Kai started walking purposefully through different corridors.

Jenn felt sick when she realized they weren't in a building. They were in a spaceship.

"Let me go!" she screamed.

Kai ignored Jenn's demands as he took her down an elevator. He stopped in front of a depression in the wall. The seam of a door appeared and opened, revealing a room barely larger than a cubicle. It contained a single platform for sleeping and an inset workstation in the wall with a chair.

Kai deposited her on the bed unceremoniously.

"The toilet is on the left. I'll need your hand for a moment." Jenn silently rose from the bed. Kai took her palm and pressed it firmly against a wall panel. The warrior muttered some words, and a mechanical voice answered him.

"You are now keyed to use the services in this room."

"How does that help me? I don't speak Anquesh."

"Good point," he said gruffly. "Computer, use Earth language protocols in this room. Change the security level to basic."

"Yes, Commander Imwaden," a mechanical voice responded.

"Commander? Not Emissary?" said Jenn.

"Now we're on my ship, the Ruvien," Kai said firmly. "I'm the commander of the vessel. We are on our way to Anquera."

"Hold on a second. I didn't ask to get thrown onto an alien ship and go on a ride through interstellar space."

"No, Jenn Carden, you did not." Kai turned and left Jenn to think by herself.