Proposition (2 page)

She nodded that she understood, although she had no idea how he’d managed to get it past inspection. That would have to wait for further discussion. She grabbed her bag, and as the women took a defensive position behind the seats, she crouched down, too, to minimize being hit. And it wasn’t long before their fears were realized. The shuttle lurched again, worse this time, causing several of the men to fall to the side. The klaxon began to blink, as if the ship was losing power, and in the next moment, the lights went out completely. The backup generator kicked on, and an eerie amber glow filtered over the room.

Keirah felt her heart pounding fiercely as they waited for whatever it was that was coming for them. She couldn’t help but feel as if they’d all jumped from the frying pan into a fucking fire, but it could be worse, she supposed. And then, as if the universe heard her and decided to play a cosmic joke, the cargo bay door opened and a tall Xyran soldier stood in the doorway.

Worse had just happened.

The Xyran male stood bathed in shadow, dark even without the armor he was wearing since they had the ability to blend into their surroundings. His black eyes seemed mocking as he took in the six men standing guard, and Keirah felt a shiver run through her as her gaze met his black, soulless eyes.

The forked tongue snaked out and touched the air before slithering back inside his mouth. And then he smiled, although that might not be the right word for what stretched across his mouth.

“You have women in here,” he said with a higher pitched voice. “I didn’t need to taste the air to determine that. Give us the women, and we’ll let you live.”

“No,” Geoff said. “These women are our wives.”

“I was hoping you’d resist.” The Xyran man smirked, and in the next instant he attacked. He was so fast that Keirah didn’t even see his moves as he fought, dodging the shots being fired at him. He clearly outmatched all the other men, who weren’t fighters, and Keirah hoped that Geoff didn’t get hurt, although he was fighting back better than she would’ve expected. She slipped her hand in her bag and felt around but couldn’t find the blaster. The only thing she found was her hair dryer.

Why would he pack a hair dryer?

Oh. The hair dryer.

Taking her eyes off the fight, she pulled out the hair dryer and noticed the screws had been removed. She pried the machine apart and found a small blaster inside. She checked it, turned it from stun to kill and waited. Her heart was beating furiously because as much as she was rooting for her husband to come out the winner, she already knew the outcome of this game.

Geoff held up his blaster, and the Xyran male simply laughed. “You can’t hesitate when you’re facing an opponent, silly human! You can’t kill me if you’re scared.”

He backhanded Geoff so hard that he bounced off the wall and flopped on the floor. The Xyran took a step closer and aimed his blaster at Geoff’s head. Keirah gasped, and pain blossomed in her heart. No! Not Geoff! She couldn’t lose him!

The Xyran heard her and turned to face where the women were hiding, although it wasn’t much of a hiding place at all. She felt hate welling up inside her, spilling forth. A drunk driver had killed her parents, and he’d gotten away. A robber had shot Geoffrey’s parents, and he’d never been caught. There’d been chaos and danger prowling the
New York City
streets. Injustice was everywhere, and she was sick of it! Sick of always being the victim, of feeling hopeless, of watching people die.

Keirah stood, not really sure what she was doing only knowing she had to save Geoff. She wouldn’t let this monster take away her rock, her home, her reason for everything. She wouldn’t let him hurt any of these people. The Xyran’s face transformed into a self-satisfied gloat, and she didn’t even hesitate, taking his words to heart. She simply brought up the blaster and fired in the vicinity of his face.

He was dead before he hit the ground.

She didn’t care. She rushed over to Geoff and felt for a pulse, letting her tears finally fall when she found a strong beat. He was alive.
Oh thank God!

And then there were thumps and grunts, and the sound of fighting came through the door. She knew she had to stand her ground, had to protect her husband, not to mention the other women, who were sobbing behind her. She stepped in front of Geoff and waited, holding her blaster steady as the cargo door was pried open. Her heart thundered so loudly she could hear it in her ears. Her finger tightened on the trigger until her eyes met the golden stare of the Alphan male on the other side of the door. Relief sliced through her.

He was big and muscular, and the moment their eyes met something zinged through her body. His horns sat high on his forehead and curled back toward his skull, the tips disappearing into his thick black hair. His blaster was held in his hand but down by his side, and she saw his golden eyes widen slightly as they took in her protective stance. The Alphan man looked first at her and then at the dead Xyran male at her feet.

“You killed him?” he asked in English, his words lightly accented. Goose bumps dusted across her skin as his deep, sensual voice washed over her.

Keirah lifted her chin. “I’d kill any man who meant to hurt me. Or Geoff.”

Again, the Alphan glanced around, lingering a moment on Geoff and the other unconscious men before looking at the women behind her.

“You must have taken him by surprise.”

“He said don’t hesitate. So I didn’t.”

“Have you ever killed a Xyran before?”

“No.” In fact, it almost made her feel sick how easy it was, but she wouldn’t show that weakness in front of him.

He nodded. “What are you doing on this ship?”

“It’s an auction ship,” she said. “There are some buyers willing to pay for a husband and wife.”

One of his eyebrows went up. He pointed to Geoff. “That’s your husband?”

“It is.”

His brow furrowed. “My name is Captain Krig. Commander Jorg sent out a distress call as soon as the Xyrans attacked, and we were on patrol, which is why we got here so quickly. You can put the blaster down now.”

She took a deep breath and slowly lowered the weapon.

“What is your name?”

“Keirah,” she said. “Keirah DeWinter.”

“You’re a loyal woman, aren’t you, Keirah DeWinter?”

Her eyes narrowed. He almost made that sound like it was a bad trait. At that moment, several more Alphan men walked up behind him, and Captain Krig conversed with them in his own language. She’d never had a reason to learn it, so she didn’t know what he was saying, but the next moment they were coming in the room and helping the unconscious men, including Geoff.

“Where are you taking him?” she demanded.

“The men will be taken to the medical bay on my ship,” he told her. “I would like for you to follow me.”

Did she have to? She wanted to follow Geoff. But the look on his face told her that he hadn’t requested her presence. He demanded it.

She tried to push down some primal instinct that warned her this man would change her world forever.

Chapter Two

She followed Captain Krig back through the shuttles narrow corridor and onto his ship, which was very large. So large they were able to bring the shuttle into their own cargo bay and it boggled her mind slightly where she was standing. Sure, she’d watched sci-fi shows growing up; she just never thought they could be real.

The Alphan crew watched her as she walked behind the captain. Birds of prey keeping vigil on a scurrying mouse, or so she pictured. When she’d first seen Alphan men she assumed they were all alike, but being this close she began to notice slight differences between them. Different facial features, different textures to their hair, even different sizes of their horns. All were tall and muscular and overwhelmingly tough, so she reminded herself not to do anything to piss these guys off.

The ship might be big, but it wasn’t pretty. Alphan men were a warrior type race, and Keirah now saw what that meant by looking at the stark metal design of the ship. Just like its captain, it was bold, tough, and utterly without softness. Captain Krig entered an elevator that zoomed them somewhere reminiscent of military barracks. The floors here were nothing but metal floor plates that made their footsteps echo down the long corridor.

“This way,” he said and led her past the barracks to a door. He entered a code on the sensor pad, and the door swished open.

Keirah followed him in and realized immediately that this was a bedroom.
His
bedroom. Although he got a door because he was the captain, it was just as sparse as the enlisted men’s rooms. The room wasn’t overly big or decorated. There was a bed, a desk with two chairs and the kitchenette. He was a large man, so everything fit him, but it wasn’t quite what she expected the apartment of a captain would look like.

She stopped, and her mouth dropped open. She should’ve known better than to blindly follow him.

“I didn’t bring you here to have my way with you,” he said with a trace of amusement underlining the words, leaving her to wonder if he could read her mind as well. “I wanted to talk with you for a moment in private. Please, have a seat.”

Keirah took a deep breath and sat where he indicated. He moved gracefully over to a sort of bar slash kitchen area and poured himself a drink. “Keirah,” he said, as if testing out her name. “Do you know anything about the Alphan way of life?”

The question wasn’t what she expected, and it took a moment for her to collect her thoughts. “Um, not really. I know you’re warriors. And Geoff told me that your people have a need for women.
 
We weren’t even going to leave Earth until he found an auction house willing to not separate a husband and wife.”

He took a sip of amber colored liquid as he regarded her. “Our society is based on honor and personal pride. We earn the right to find a human mate. There are no such things as auction houses on Alpha.”

The unease she’d been experiencing since this adventure started rolled through her stomach, making her feel queasy.

“Commander Jorg is a human slave trader, and we’ve been hunting him for some time. He likes to hide in plain sight. He finds gullible humans and sells them to Xyran sex houses, and no doubt your husband would’ve been killed while you ended up working on your back for the rest of your short life.”

Keirah’s eyes went wide, and for a moment she thought she would throw up

“The others families will be treated in medical and then sent back to Earth with a strong warning against trusting offers too good to be true,” he said. “But I have a proposition for you.”

She swallowed the bile down and looked at him, feeling shell-shocked. “What type of proposition?”

He drained the rest of his drink and set the glass down with a click. “I am a career military warrior. One day I plan to make Admiral of the Fleet. I’m a decorated officer from a noble house, but I spend the majority of my life on whatever ship I’m assigned to. However, after every deployment I have a mandatory one month rest period, and during that time I’m usually trying to find some companionship. As you know now, that’s extremely difficult given the limited Alphan women available, so that means I have to go off-world.”

Keirah waited, wondering when he was going to get to the point.

“It’s occurred to me that we could help each other,” he continued, coming over to sit across from her. He held her gaze, his golden eyes seemingly able to reach inside her soul to twist her all up in knots. Why did he affect her like this? “I would like to propose our mating, with certain conditions of course.”

Her mouth went dry. “W-what conditions?”

“During my shore leave you will be my exclusive companion,” he said matter-of-factly. “The time I’m deployed you can be with your husband. I will want two children from you before you procreate with your husband, and, of course, this is an exclusive deal. I will be your only Alphan, and you will be my only mate.”

“What does that mean?”

“You will be the only female I engage in sex with. I don’t mind giving you that pledge if you pledge the same to me.”

She opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out. Was this really happening? In one day she’d left her home planet, killed a man, and been propositioned. It almost sounded like the plot of a really bad film.

“I will give you a chance to talk it over with your husband,” he said smoothly, and she wondered if anything ruffled his feathers, so to speak. He was so in control, with such a dominating presence, that it was hard for her to think clearly. “I have a rather large house that needs someone to oversee its care. If you accept, perhaps your husband would like to work for me. It would solve many issues I’m having. You can work as well, if you wish, although there aren’t many women in the Alphan work force. Usually women are kept out of sight by their families or mates.”

Dear lord yes, she needed to talk with Geoff, although she had a sneaky feeling she knew what his answer to Captain Krig would be. Was this better than returning to Earth? Could she trust this Alphan male sitting across from her watching her with his intense golden eyes that made butterflies dance in her belly? That seemed to be the question of the day.

“I’ll take you back to your husband now,” he said as he rose and held out his hand to her. “What is his name?”

“Geoffrey. Geoff for short.”

Keirah looked at his hand, at how big and strong it was and couldn’t help but think of the old earth saying about how the size of hands correlated with the size of a penis. If that was true, dear lord, the man was hung. Shaking her head to clear it of the fanciful notion, she took his outstretched hand and let him help her up. Little jolts of electricity shot up her arm and had goose bumps dancing over her skin. Standing this close to him she realized how tall he was, towering over a good foot. Geoff was taller than she was, too, but not quite this tall. She felt the heat radiating off his body and had the craziest urge to touch him. She blinked and stepped back, not liking how his nearness affected her equilibrium. Geoff always turned her on by making her feel safe, and loved, but this man didn’t bring any of those feelings to the surface. He made her feel a little crazy and slightly out of control.

And that terrified her.

****

Krig watched the emotions playing across the human woman’s lovely face and contained the satisfaction he felt coursing deep inside. He knew he had her, and that she would say yes. From the moment he’d seen her standing with the blaster aimed at his head, her arm steady and true, ready to defend her people with every breath in her body, he knew he had to have her. He’d often heard of the intangible feeling of finding a bondmate, but he’d always scoffed at the fanciful notion. It was like falling in love at first sight, completely illogical and moronic. However, he couldn’t deny that something had drawn him to Keirah DeWinter from the start. A connection, for lack of a better word.

With her mass of blonde curls and sky blue eyes, she didn’t look like a fierce warrior. In fact, she looked innocent and doll like, but appearances, obviously, were deceiving because she had the heart of a fighter.

And she was obviously confused about her arousal, which meant she’d probably only known her husband sexually, and he could see she was uncomfortable about having to accept another man into her bed. Virtue, bravery, and strength … all great qualities to breed into his children. He’d never really thought about procreating until recently, until he’d been reminded he had a duty to his heritage, and now that he’d met Keirah the idea of begetting children with her made his blood run hot. He bet her
quonum
… what did humans call it? Oh, pussy, that was it. He bet her pussy would be nice and tight, like a glove wrapped around his cock. He’d slept with a few female humans during his mandatory shore leave, mostly diplomats assigned to Alpha, and the women had taught him much about pleasuring them. Truth be told, it wasn’t very different from his own species.

He felt himself getting hard and was amused when he saw her eyes widen as she realized he was getting aroused. Her blue eyes went wide as she looked down toward his groin, which only made him harder. He’d love to pick her up and lay her upon the bed and fuck her until she screamed his name in pleasure. He felt his
tesak
, his fangs, sliding out of his gums and had to force them back. Now was not the time to show her that little quirk of his people’s mating ritual.

She almost tripped over her feet backing away from him. Realizing his fantasy wasn’t going to happen, at least not right now, he let her escape. But he knew there was only one answer she could give him. He had a feeling she didn’t have much of a choice.

He’d have her soon.