Kayzon's Wish Read online

  He placed the child in the arms of the terrified female. “Run,” he ordered.

  Then he swung around, trying to locate the tiny human. His two hearts beat violently. Had she been taken? No. He spotted her. She was nearby. Two Hurlians rushed at the female, each of them holding a net. It was clear their intent was capture.

  He watched as she tried to fire her blaster and it didn’t work. A look of disgust flashed across her face. She threw her weapon to the ground and picked up a large pot that was on display in a stall. The first Hurlian lifted an arm to toss the net over her. She knocked it aside with the pot and performed a maneuver that required amazing flexibility and hand-eye coordination, one he could never perform with his dense body structure—she did a cartwheel and ended up before another soldier. The small female caught the soldier by surprise, leapt up and kicked the Hurlian in the chin. The soldier hit the ground and stayed down.

  This tiny human was fierce and much stronger than he had first assumed.

  But there were more soldiers, too many for her to handle alone. Kayzon rushed forward. She grabbed one soldier by the chest and kicked another to the ground from under the first Hurlian’s arm. One male grabbed her by the hair. Another held her arms in restraint. More were surrounding them both. There was a wall of Hurlians between him and the human female.

  Kayzon fought harder, snarling, raging over the fact that they dared touch the small human. They must die. Two soldiers were carrying her struggling form. They both stepped onto a platform that was raising them up to the hovercraft. Kayzon tossed out a Xylan detonator, taking care of the group of soldiers on the ground. The blast rocked the ground behind him as he raced to the female. She fought for her life on the lifting platform and had both hands free.

  “Human!” he shouted.

  She locked eyes with his, her face a mask of pure desperation. He leapt up, his suit and New Earth’s gravity giving him more force than any human. His feet pounded on the metal platform. He grabbed one of her hands while pulling out his blaster and shooting the soldiers who held the human. Then he fell backwards. He had the female in his grip and she was falling with him. This was all that mattered. The Hurlian hovercraft continued to rise and lift off. Kayzon pulled the human into his arms and twisted as they fell, making sure they landed with his Hunter suit taking the brunt of the fall.

  They hit the ground. The air blew out of his chest. Pain radiated throughout his body. He caught his breath and immediately checked the female for injury. She was stunned but unhurt. He lay still, letting his hearts cease their frantic pace.

  The area around them grew quiet. The crowd had dispersed. The Hurlians retreated. It was just the two of them, the wind whipping his long dreads and her black strands around her smooth face. She stared at him with those human, wide-set, sparkling black eyes. Her skin was Margol, but her eyes and her hair were royal. He found it most pleasing.

  She blinked. “You saved me,” she whispered.

  They were face to face on the ground; their bodies pressed together, his arm still around her. He held her small hand with the extra appendage in his bare claw, pressed against his armored chest.

  Skin to skin.

  And then he felt a surge of power at that point of contact. Palm to holy palm. A rush of pure adrenaline. Like a machine long dead suddenly sputtering back to life.

  Surprise and fear raced through Kayzon’s mind.

  What was this? What was happening?

  His cock was hard under his armor, and his blood boiled with lust. This was wholly unexpected.

  He’d grabbed her hand to save her, not to test mating compatibility.

  He cursed.

  This human was his Bride?

  He’d accidentally tested mating compatibility. Most Xylans wanted a mate, they waited their whole lives for such a thing to happen. But he did not. Kayzon knew the consequences of such a union for a warrior removed from the mating database, and they weren’t pleasant.

  The Xylan High Command would send a judge. They would be all up his ass.

  Goddamn, fucking hell. Why had the Gods sent this female in his path?

  Palm to holy palm…

  Her face was smooth, without ridges. Her lips soft and inviting. But she wasn’t of his species. How could he have found his Bride here on New Earth, among the humans? It was impossible. He’d only meant to pull her down from the ship and bring her to safety. It was purely accidental that both of their hands had been uncovered at the time. Were they even breeding compatible? His hard cock throbbed within his armor, proving his body thought it was possible.

  There were no more Hurlians. Red-armored bodies were strewn on the ground. No ships hovered above. The other humans had backed off. It was just Kayzon and his Bride, on the ground. Together. She remained quiet, staring at him intently. Her eyes drifted, and she was starting at his…lips, obvious hunger in her gaze.

  Oh hell, there was no denying his own hunger, his desperation for her. It rocked within his body like blasts of thunder. His hearts boomed in his chest. Blood rushed through his veins like ribbons of fire. He took great gulps of air, trying to calm his raging hormones.

  His Bride.

  My Be’Ih.

  She continued to stare back, wide eyed, not moving. She took in great gulps of air, her chest rising and falling. He was surprised at this. She should be terrified of him. She was human and little. But she wasn’t weak. His tiny human Bride had courage. She had fought off the Hurlians with grit and determination.

  She shouldn’t be with him. He was a beast. Not a fit mate for any female. He should leave her alone. Walk away and let this human live her life, unchained to an unfit Xylan warrior. But he could not resist. Could not. Hormones flooded his body and left little room for logic. Only primitive urges remained.

  Xylans did not breed or have any sexual urges until the moment they met their mate. A male might never meet his mate, or he could meet his Bride soon after coming of age. It was a gamble. But unlike most Xylan, Kayzon was not looking for a Bride. Normally, this would be the momentous moment of a warrior’s life, that moment when he’d been blessed with his mate and the start of his line. But the gift echoed hollow in his hearts. He had expected to be the last of his line. To live and die a virgin, never knowing the joys of family and offspring. He’d accepted this consequence. His joy came from his work and his prayer. His life was simple and uncomplicated.

  Until this human female entered his life.

  He inhaled, and her arousal filled his lungs. He checked her reactions in his Hunter suit. Her temperature and rate of breathing. Her pupils were large. She was in her Breeding Cycle.

  Breeding Cycle? He cursed.

  His body throbbed with desire. The heat of mating hit him like a hammer.

  Resistance was futile.

  “I warned you,” he rasped. “I warned you to leave, that nothing good would come from this. Now it is too late.”

  She whimpered.

  He slammed his lips down on hers.

  She melted into his embrace.

  He’d never kissed a female before and had no idea how this was done. He’d seen other mated pairs kiss and had always wondered if this would ever happen in his lifespan. Wondered if it was as good as it looked.

  It was.

  One image after another flashed through his brain, a chain of sexual positions he wanted to perform with this female. His Bride. His head was exploding with the download of lust, hormones and primitive urges that was driving his body onward. He grunted and slipped his tongue between her open teeth. She tasted exquisite.

  Her hands were in his hair, pulling tight. She was kissing him back like a Bride on fire.

  He cupped her head and tilted to the side and opened his mouth wider. Her teeth were smooth and erotic. Fuck. Everything about this female in his hands was a lust-filled zone of intense pleasure.

  By the Gods, how was he to be expected to resist a female in her Breeding Cycle? It was impossible.

  He pulled his head back and broke
off the kiss. She let out a cry into his mouth.

  He sighed and rested his claws on either side of her face. “You are my Bride,” he intoned solemnly. “You feel the mating as strongly as I do, even though you are human. Because of this we will not wait. I will tranq you so you will not be uncomfortable while I prepare the claiming ceremony.”

  Her eyes widened as he took out his small tranq gun and pressed it against her shoulder. She slumped in his arms, and her eyes fluttered closed.

  He carefully lifted his sweet Bride and carried her back to his ship.

  Chapter Three

  Kia woke up to the soft sound of water rushing, which was totally fucking bizzaro. She blinked, sat up slowly and looked all around, slack jawed.

  The air was misty and cool. There was green all over: green grass, green plants, green needles. Tree trunks rose up from the ground, huge and imposing. And water seemed to be everywhere.

  This was impossible. How could she be in a…a forest? This certainly wasn’t New Earth. She’d seen pictures of ecosystems such as this but never thought to leave her world in order to experience one.

  Wow.

  Kia placed her hands on the damp grass she was sitting on and ran her fingers through it like plush fur. It was incomparable. A thin layer of decadent water clung to her palms and legs. There was so much water here it rubbed off on her body.

  Astonishing.

  And this place was so quiet. No sounds of the city—people yelling, vehicles moving. Just the peace of the wind blowing and the water rushing. The one moon above was a full, glowing milky white; stars glittered and huge beams of trees jutted into the dark sky.

  It was nice.

  Earth, the original planet humans came from centuries ago, had forests like this. But New Earth did not. New Earth was a planet-wide wasteland of semi-arid and desert climates with the added bonus of the constant struggle over broke-down water reclamation systems. Wet, wet places like this did not exist in Kia’s life. Or if they did, they’d been drained long ago to supply the humans.

  Kia looked around again. Where the hell was she?

  She put a hand to her forehead, expecting to find blood, but she found none. Her brow furrowed. That’s when she realized she was perfectly fine, which was surprising considering she’d been knocked to hell and back by Hurlians. But the Xylan, the Xylan she’d been following had…

  He’d saved her.

  She grinned.

  That Xylan warrior, whose name she didn’t even know, the one who’d initially treated her like a piece of trash under his foot, unworthy of a moment of his time, had kissed her. He’d suddenly come to her rescue when the Hurlians arrived to snatch their allotment of humans, and he’d pulled her back and caught her against his chest and kissed the hell outta her and…she’d enjoyed it. It had been epic. Literally one of the defining moments of her life.

  She reached a hand up to touch her lips, remembering the feel, the taste of him. Her stomach pleasantly swooped as she remembered his touch.

  Damn. Xylans were confusing.

  She looked down and blushed when she noted that she wasn’t wearing the same clothes as before. A long tunic shirt of some kind went down to her knees, and she was naked underneath, no panties, no bra. Nothing. The V neck of her tunic exposed the swell of her small chest, her nipples obviously poking against the light fabric. Her weapons were gone. And she was…clean. Clean all over. And she felt good. Like she’d had plenty of sleep. She wasn’t hungry or thirsty. Everything would be right with the world if…

  If she knew where her family was and if they were okay.

  And if she knew where she was.

  Kia exhaled and stood up.

  Was this a real forest? Was she on another planet? Or was this some elaborate Xylan holodeck? She knew they had those. Everyone in the four sectors had amazing technology, except for anyone living on New Earth.

  The river she’d heard before was right next to her. She stood on the bank and stared, unable to take her eyes off the majesty of so much water rushing by at once. It was dark and sparkly, catching glints of moonlight on the swirling current. Her quick impression was that it didn’t look impassable, but it certainly wasn’t a kiddie pool either. Not that she’d ever seen a natural body of water her entire life. There were the public pools everyone used back home and the showers and plumbing in houses and the water systems for irrigation, and that was it. Those were all jealously guarded and maintained. Water was precious on New Earth.

  Footsteps crashed through the underbrush. She inhaled sharply. The murky outline of a tall male moved toward her.

  It was him. The warrior who’d kissed her, tranqed her and brought her to this place.

  Her heart was almost tearing through her chest and her whole body felt like it was on fire. He did this to her. His mere presence. Just the knowledge that he was approaching.

  By the gods, this man was making her light-headed.

  Through the moonlight she could make out his naked chest. That wide, wide expanse of amazing dark skin and those defined abs. He was enormous. How could she have forgotten how big he really was? His arms were mountains of chiseled muscle, and he strode forward with the confidence of a warrior who knew he was amongst the best in the universe.

  And she’d seen him fight. He could back up any bravado. He’d earned it. And then she’d remembered her own vicious brawl with the Hurlians and grinned again. Never had she been able to let go like that.

  The thing was, she’d never been in the actual presence of a snatching. Usually she heard about them later or arrived after it was all over. But if the Bounty Hunter hadn’t been there, they still would’ve taken her. No matter how hard she’d fought, using every technique Dad had taught her in their private training sessions, there’d been too many Hurlians. For once she’d thrown caution to the wind, not caring if anyone saw what she could do, because what good were secrets if you were dead? But still, despite all her strength and how many soldiers she took down, if it wasn’t for this warrior, she’d be chained on a Hurlian ship and…and…well, she didn’t know exactly what they would be doing to her, but she was certain it would be the stuff of nightmares. No one ever returned from those snatchings. No. One.

  And then he was there, looming over her, staring at her intently.

  That cybernetic eye glowed white, even more ghastly in the dark of the forest. The scar on his face looked like a dangerous shadow etching. She shivered. He was everything she’d ever desired. An edgy fantasy come to life.

  Okay, maybe she was a fool over this male.

  But who could blame her?

  And the fact that he’d saved her life definitely helped. And, well, he was a Bounty Hunter—the exact occupation she admired and wanted for herself.

  She opened her mouth, ready to throw a barrage of questions his way, but he began speaking in that delicious deep voice.

  She shut up and listened intently. This time he spoke in his own language, not English. And she understood every word he said. How was that possible? The only language she knew was English. It was difficult to decipher the context. The language was ritualistic. Stylized. She understood his words but not the meaning.

  Finally he said something loud and clear that made complete sense.

  “You may run.”

  What?

  “Run? Why would I want to run?” she demanded. But weirdly, running didn’t sound like a bad idea. Something within her broke free, something that wanted to get the hell out of there and leave him trailing behind in the dust. Her heart pumped faster, her muscles tingled with anticipation. All parts of her body felt free and alive, ready to burst with speed and power. She clenched and unclenched her hands, shifting on the pads of her feet.

  Kia had always lived with the secret that she was different from everyone else on New Earth. She was…strong. Stronger than a human girl was meant to be. If she wasn’t careful she could smash small objects in her hand and bruise people with her grip. Only her parents knew of her powers. Not even her siste
rs knew.

  Back home she was never able to test the limits of her strength. They had to keep it a secret so she didn’t stand out as different. Because on New Earth, different was bad. And if a woman was different? Double bad. But today, in this setting? Yeah, she could run. And she had a sense of what he meant. This was a chase, a game, and she was born to make it hard for him.

  “Run,” he repeated.

  So she fucking ran. Ran with all the strength coiled within.

  Kia whipped around and sprinted through the dense grove of trees to her left, weaving in and out. Breath burst in and out of her chest. It was quiet behind her; she couldn’t hear him coming after her yet, possibly giving her a head start. No matter, she was confident she would lose him. Kia let herself go all out for the first time in her life, pushing herself to the limit. Muscles burning, legs pounding.

  Damn, it felt good.

  The full moon lent a pale white light, but shadows loomed everywhere, making it hard to judge distances. Every rock and stick seemed to jab into her bare feet. She’d run from him, directly away from the river and into a dense grove of giant trees, but now she began to turn right and curved along the fringe of a clearing, deciding to double back to where she’d begun, hoping it was the last thing he’d expect.

  She ran silently, only her light puffs of breath giving her away. And she listened intently, straining to hear. A bestial roar echoed through the forest.

  Oh fuck.

  She ran faster. The warrior was tearing through the forest far behind her, going the way she’d originally gone. Damn, she needed to run faster. Faster. Before he figured out her real direction.

  She winced at the jab of yet another rock on her bare feet and leapt over a log.

  Rushing water sounded straight ahead. She’d lost him for a moment, but only a moment. Could she lose him in the river? Finally she stood on the damp bank, her chest heaving as she tried to control her breaths. The banks of the river were rimmed with dark, shadowy plants and bushes. Perfect to hide under. She stepped down and waded in slowly, not wanting him to hear her splashing—that would be a dead giveaway. She hoped like hell there weren’t any weird creatures just waiting to have her for lunch. The water wasn’t too cold or hot, and the current wasn’t as strong as she’d thought it would be. She waded in farther until it was at her waist and then her chest, and she went straight for the opposite bank, which had a thicket of bushes that grew over the edge of the river. It was pitch black in there, and she had no idea what creatures she might be hiding with, but she had to try. There was no other choice.