Rykhan (Book 1 of Mate Search Series) (14 page)

However, it was the sight of his own
emblem on her,
Tsiran’s
way of allowing Rykhan to accept without any
doubt, he and Leah were fated to be together. Something he needed
to report and discuss since he had never heard of it happening
outside of the priest’s legends. Not even in the time before the
troubles had occurred.

Rykhan raced along the freeway, intent on
getting back to the home he shared with the other six warriors and
tried to keep his feelings in check. His heart absolutely brimmed
with both hope and excitement.

Combined with the memory of their kiss, he
reached to adjust himself in his recently purchased jeans. The
sensation of her mouth beneath his had been wondrous but when her
tongue had hesitantly danced against his, their actions shifted
into ones he knew were a precursor to sex sharing. Something he had
never engaged in except as a solo activity but he was more than
willing to participate in, as long as it was with his
Leah.

He had known of her desire for him as well. Had
tasted it as her emotions slid through him.

She had always been attractive; from the very
moment he had spied her at the speed-dating session, in his and
Wyst’s bumbled first attempt to meet human women. The two alien
warriors had both worked the event within the rules established:
never spending more than seven minutes with any one female before
moving to the next, not asking for nor giving last names,
employment, or phone numbers, and had made marks on their pages
with the table numbers of the females they wished to see again.
Before he met his Leah, Rykhan had haphazardly listed three other
females as potential partners. However, after only one inhale of
her innocent aroma, Rykhan’s body craved her even as his ears ached
to hear her speak.

He hadn’t wanted anyone else, not after he’d
sat in the restaurant’s booth and realized her beauty, unlike the
other females, was not only physical. Leah was just as comely on
her inside, in both speech and spirit, as her appearance had
indicated.

Moreover, he had known she felt their
connection as well.

He had seen the goose bumps that had skittered
her skin when he had just spoken softly to her over nothing more
than a simple meal. Of the widening of her eyes and her sweet,
glistening lips as she stared up at him time and time
again.

He had phoned her at 4.31 the next day as
promised and had left her a voicemail suggesting they meet for
coffee. Which led to more sharing of meals and other activities
that were of a sort he’d never experienced, but he’d found
fun.

Especially when combined with her presence and
at the swell of her feelings that more than mirrored his own as
they engaged in different outings. Her playfulness, her desire, and
curiosity had lit him up from the inside.

Of all the data he and his brother-warriors had
obtained on their journey to the blue-green planet, nothing had
indicated how Rykhan was supposed to take the next step. There was
a boundary that was crossed but not addressed in any of the movies
he studied nor in the sex vids he avidly viewed.

In some instances, couples were not
allowed to experience physical pleasure until after the couple had
united their lives in something Americans called ‘marriage’. In
others, a simple ‘hi’ found the pair nakedly
fracking
fast and deep.

But Leah’s question tonight, the one where she
had asked why he had not tried to kiss her before, brought things
in much sharper focus. Had shown him the conclusions he had drawn
had been wrong and based on incomplete knowledge.

It was something he absolutely needed to share
with his warrior-brothers, especially if Rykhan was the first of
the six to find his mate, his true and legitimate life partner. A
female who would share her life with his and give him the
younglings who would help to rebuild his world.

He had known he and Leah had taken their
courtship farther than any of the other males, even before their
kiss. Arbrynt, Tyshar, and Laxon had failed in their attempts to
secure second outings with numerous human females and each had
cornered him to ask what he did with Leah, at how she gladly wanted
to be with him repeatedly. However, Rykhan had not had an answer.
Not really, although he related tales of shared interests and how
the two of them engaged in activities that made her
laugh.

If only he had known
Tsiran
had hand-picked
Leah for him and him alone, he advised his brothers to wait. To
hold off until they too received a sign that one specific female
was created just for them.

As the car changed lanes and
signaled its intent to exit the freeway, Rykhan shifted in his
seat. What if he had not seen the
wahrom
that had etched its mark into
her skin though? What if she had been wearing a shirt with sleeves
and he had not had the opportunity to both view and touch the
intricate marks on her arm. The ones caused by the connection of
their kiss? What then might have happened?

Was his attraction and connection to her
emotions enough in order to name her as ‘mate’?

He could not answer and set his questions aside
to worry over later.

There would be enough queries from his
warrior-brothers he needed to address to the best of his
ability.

Even if his honest replies were only those of,
‘I do not know’.

Chapter Ten

Leah was surprised when she awoke before her
alarm, only marginally aware of the other residents in her complex
slamming out of their apartments as they made their way to their
cars. The added feel of her phone, still clutched into the palm of
her hand, gave evidence that what she’d experienced the night
before hadn’t been a dream.

Rykhan.

She had finally met a man who was better than
any dream she’d entertained or in any fantasy that had crossed her
mind. And he’d seemed to be as interested in her as she was in him.
Especially when he’d responded so wickedly in the kiss they’d
shared.

The kiss she’d had to ask for and one she made
sure went deeper than just a little lip touch. Something she’d
experienced not only with her own physical sensations but also with
his emotions overlaying the whole of the experience.

‘
How’s that for a fairy tale?’ her
mind simpered. Leah winced at the thought, since she’d long ago
given up the happily-ever-after endings the stories of her youth
promised. The ones that insisted were the true benchmark of how
girls would meet the one man that they could honestly say was the
love of their lives.

But damn, Rykhan was different!

Throwing off those thoughts, Leah turned on her
side while pressing her phone against her heart and closing her
eyes. On any normal weekday, she would delay getting up until the
last possible moment, knowing that her day was going to be the same
as it had been the day before. A day filled with requests and
complaints, of excuses and the denial of late fees as her customers
tried to wiggle out of paying any more than they absolute had to,
as required by law. People had no clue working for the DMV could
suck the soul right out of a person.

Her mind wasn’t on the day ahead but filled
with the memory of him, of the look on his face as his eyes had
traveled over her as if she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever
seen, ever wanted to gaze upon before their lips had actually
pressed together.

And the feel of his mouth when it had finally
met hers? God. As if someone poured warm, sweet butterscotch all
inside her, saving the best of the heated stickiness for all her
extra-sensitive parts. Spreading its hotness in every area, every
crevasse, even the ones that his hands hadn’t gone anywhere
near.

Rykhan.

He’d texted her within an hour of leaving her
shaking and lonely in her apartment, only to say he’d greatly
enjoyed being with her and couldn’t wait to see her
again.

Somehow she knew he wanted to kiss and hold her
again.

Something she hungered for as well.

The phone in her hand, tucked up beneath her
chin, vibrated before the two-note beep announced an incoming text
message, making her smile. No one texted her that early in the
morning, not even her best friend, Pam.

Which meant it could only be from one
person.

One man.

‘I dreamed of you last night’, she read. ‘And
it was very good. I cannot wait to see you again.’

Oh god! The man had his whole pursuit down
pat!

Then Leah remembered the feel of his fingers as
he touched her, on her palm when he’d held her hand, on her face as
he’d tucked her hair behind her ear stroking her jaw with his eyes
probing hers. She knew that he hadn’t been playing her. No one, not
even the smoothest, most experienced player could make those sort
of moves. Not with the vulnerability she’d seen exposed, of his
total heart in his eyes while he’d looked at her.

It just wasn’t possible.

Glancing at the clock, she realized she still
had a few minutes before she needed to call in to excuse her
absence. It was something that she never considered, not in a
normal morning. Not even with her last bout with the flu, when
she’d been so sick she was dizzy and seeing double. No matter what,
Leah always, but always reported for work. But when confronted with
Rykhan’s text Leah made the decision to take the day
off.

Slowly, carefully Leah pressed the buttons on
her phone as she replied to his text. ‘If I could get out of work
and we could somehow spend the day together, what would we do?’ Her
thumb hovered over the ‘send’ button for more than a few heartbeats
before depressing the key.

‘I am happy with whatever catches your fancy,
my Leah’, was the immediate reply. She quickly dialed the service
that logged in her department’s absences before mentally composing
her response to Rykhan.

As she made her way to the bathroom, Leah found
herself shaking her head in denial. He couldn’t be serious. There
was no way a man that hot, that cultured would be interested in a
little mouse like her. Yet no matter how much she denied it, there
it was, clear as day in text format on her phone.

Pulling off her tank top, she reached for the
knob to turn on the water only then noticing the metal,
bronze-colored band embedded in the skin of her left
bicep.

What the hell?

A trembling started within her as she stared at
the new addition to her body as her heart began to race. Raising
her right hand, she allowed her shaky fingers to trail over the
metal that rose up from her skin, as if it was a scar due to a
recent injury. She noticed it was cool when compared to the heat of
the flesh that seemed to surround it and Leah’s vision blurred
before righting itself.

She blinked hard but the metal was still there
when she opened her eyes.

What was it and how the hell did it get
there?

It seemed to be in some kind of a tribal
design, looping and crossing itself much like so many tattoos she’d
admired on other people. However, with her abject fear of needles,
was something Leah had never, not seriously, considered for
herself.

‘No tattoo is made of metal, though’, her mind
screamed as her fingers explored the design that went in a complete
circle around her arm. It was as if it had come up from inside her,
growing out of her while she had slept.

“Which is freaking impossible,” she announced
to no one but the tiles of her bathroom. Sitting on the edge of the
bath, Leah shook so hard she could barely breathe, but she couldn’t
take her eyes off the beautiful yet unwanted bracelet.

Her trembling fingers trailed over the metal
band, seeking a clasp and after finding none just continued to
stroke the captivating brown with orange highlights piece that
gleamed in the stark bathroom light. There were no sharp edges she
could find in order to pry a fingernail underneath nor a break, not
even a crease that her fingers could detect.

It was, she finally admitted to herself, as if
it was on her arm for a purpose, but one she was couldn’t
understand.

‘Don’t freak out,’ her mind warned, the line
repeating over and over again as she viewed it from every angle,
using the mirror in order to see the part of it that no amount of
twisting and turning allowed. She grabbed hold of the edge of the
vanity as her trembling turned to full-body shakes so deep and
hard, they left her dizzy. “You’re freaking out,” she told her
reflection finally reaching for her phone sitting on the
vanity.

“Pam?” she greeted but then stopped because of
the lump that had taken over her throat. “I need you. Can you come
over right away?”

“What’s up, honey? You sound stressed,” her
bestie drawled in a sleepy voice.

Leah tried dislodging the lump by swallowing
but it was hard when all she wanted to do was sob in sheer terror.
“I need you to drive me to the hospital.”

“I’ll be there in fifteen!” Pam yelled, not
asking a single additional question. That was just the kind of
friend Pam was and why Leah had immediately turned to her for
help.