by Stella Sky
I knelt to him, unsure of whether or not this would be the last time I would see him, and then stepped inside the cool guest bedroom where Christina was slumbering soundly.
I gazed at her for a moment, pain wrenching my heart. I lowered my lips gently against her temple.
“I may die trying,” I whispered, “but I will do everything in my power to bring your brother back.”
I left quickly, before Christina could stir and ask what I was doing hovering over her in her sleep, and headed for the prison. My heart tremored nervously as I made the trip. It was one I had made a thousand times before, but this time, I was terrified. Whether the place was understaffed or not, the Doyan was very particular about who worked there. It was under the supervision of some of the most experienced fighters on all of Helna, and the idea of confronting any of them, with the mysterious disease that continued to weaken me, was disturbing, to say the least.
“Jaize, hello!” Narei said, walking toward me when I crossed into the entrance. “I was just—”
“I’m sorry, Narei,” I said. His face flickered with confusion just before I struck him hard. He fell to the ground fast, and I studied my fist in disbelief. It hadn’t just been my imagination. Ever since Christina had gotten pregnant, it seemed I had been regaining my strength again, little by little.
And now, when I closed my eyes, I could almost feel the heartbeat of my tiny son or daughter as their strength urged me forward. I opened my eyes again, thrilled and determined to accomplish exactly what I set out to accomplish. With strength on my side once more, there was nothing to stand in my way.
I knelt beside Narei and dug through his pockets until I found the ring of keys and passcodes. I would find Luke and get him out of this place if it was the last thing I ever did.
***
I could hear the heavy snores of human men once I opened the door to the corridor, and knew immediately that I was in the right place. Narei had led me here once before, to his detriment, unfortunately, and I crept through the hallway as quietly as I could, peering in each cell until I found the one where Luke was sleeping.
“Max!” I hissed. One of the men stirred, but Lucas stayed asleep. Finally, I lost my patience and unlocked the door carefully. If I was too loud, the men would end up charging out of the cell all at once, and I would lose my advantage.
I crept inside until I was standing just over the sleeping boy. I nudged him.
“Lucas,” I whispered. “Time to go.”
His eyes shot open, and he sat bolt upright, staring into my eyes fearfully.
“Please don’t hurt me!” he whimpered.
I clamped my hand over his mouth and lifted him up. “I’m here to save you, little Yul!”
His brow furrowed in confusion but he stayed silent until we were outside the cell. I sat him down on his feet and fumbled with the keys, peering at the lock.
As I attempted to lock the door behind us, a strong hand gripped my wrist and wrenched the key ring out of my hand.
“You shouldn’t have done that, Jaize!”
Narei shouted from behind the line of hulking Verian warriors, retired from battle and content to work the graveyard shift at the prison.
“Stay down!” I growled to Lucas. He nodded, his brown eyes wide in terror, and I turned to the group of men. They clearly hadn’t seen a good fight in years, and they were ready. I braced myself for the impact, and soon my fists were flying.
It had been almost four years since I had felt like myself, and with every connection my fists made to another Verian man’s flesh, the more alive I felt. Soon, I was giddy with the adrenaline and had knocked out three out of my seven opponents. Narei was watching from the sidelines with fear etched all over his face, occasionally trying to talk some sense into me.
“Think of your ranking!” he would shout, running behind the wall to avoid getting splashed with blood from one of the older men’s teeth getting knocked out. Or, “You have a hybrid on the way! What if their career is jeopardized because of your own foolishness?!”
But I was immune to his words. There was nothing left on Helna for me. Verian society had far more wrong with it than it had right at this point, and until they learned to compromise and appreciate humans, and vice versa, I couldn’t see myself taking either side in the war. There had to be somewhere that we could coexist without having to live in fear. And I was going to find it.
“Krocha!” the last man shouted in fury as his head hit the ground hard. I grinned. I had never felt so alive in my life. Narei cried out and backed away toward the wall with his hands raised in the air.
“Don’t hurt me!” he pleaded. “I didn’t want to do this!”
I shook my head at him and tossed him the keys.
“Don’t try to stop me next time,” I warned him, pointing my finger at him.
“I won’t!” he promised.
“Come on,” I said to Lucas, taking the boy’s hand. “We’re going to get out of here.”
“Where are we going?” he asked. He was clearly afraid of me, and really, I couldn’t blame him.
“I know where your sister is.”
The boy gasped, and I couldn’t help but smile. I was doing the right thing. Finally. And nothing was going to stand in my way.
Chapter 10
Dr. Christina Evans (MD)
I looked out over the murky green water pensively, the Pelin man standing silently beside me. He refused to tell me what we were doing here, and all I could think about was Jaize. He had promised to help me get Luke out if I helped to heal him, but I hadn’t. I didn’t know anything about the disease. And now, my little brother was doomed because of one man’s selfishness. How was I ever going to live with myself after this?
A loud whirring noise filled the sky, and I looked up, afraid and confused about what was going on. The Pelin hopped up and down excitedly, and I frowned as the huge craft landed on the sand beside me.
“Christina!”
My heart nearly burst, and tears sprang immediately to my eyes as Lucas wrapped his small arms around my neck and clung tightly to me.
“Your friend is so cool! He got me out of jail! We’re going home!!”
I looked at Jaize through the tears in my eyes, my entire body electrified by the handsome smile on his face.
“It’s true,” he reassured me, crossing the sand to help me to my feet. Apparently, I had collapsed as soon as Luke’s voice reached my ears. “But we have to move fast.”
“Are you coming?” I asked, turning to the kind little Pelin. He seemed surprised and looked at Jaize.
“Well?” he asked.
The Pelin ran onto the ship, as if afraid we were going to change our minds, and Jaize laughed.
“Come on. We don’t have much time.”
I boarded the ship, the same stealth craft that I had bumped my foot on before, and before I knew it, we were flying through space at the speed of light.
I held Luke tightly, and suddenly he touched my stomach.
“I’m going to be an uncle?!” he exclaimed.
I nodded. “Yes,” I said, kissing his forehead. “And you’re going to be the best uncle there ever was.”
***
Several hours later, Luke and the Pelin were sound asleep, and we landed safely on Earth, far away from the Zones or settlements. Jaize had packed us enough resources on the ship to last us for years to come, and we camped out in the darkness quietly.
We were alone in the bunker, Jaize sitting quietly across from me, gripping my hand tightly as if he were afraid I might disappear.
“I didn’t know if I would ever see you again,” he whispered. “I thought that because of my disease, succeeding at this would be a long shot.”
I held his hands to my lips and kissed them tenderly. I had heard him, somewhere in my sleeping mind, that morning, and I had woken up wishing dearly for him to be beside me.
“Please promise me you’ll never do anything so reckless again,” I whispered. “I don’t think the baby
and I could take it if anything happened to you.”
I had been trying so hard to deny my feelings for Jaize that I had completely missed the part where I’d fallen head over heels in love with him. But now that he had risked everything he had ever known, including his own life, to bring my brother and me back to Earth safely, I knew there would never be another man I wanted more in my life than him.
“I’m really sorry, you know,” he said awkwardly, looking down at the ground. “For everything I put you through.”
I laughed quietly. “I’m sorry for that too. But it worked out. We should try to forget the bad and focus on creating more of the good.”
My eyes caught his, and our gazes lingered for a moment. Suddenly, rapid heat surged through my body, and our lips were touching. I kissed him passionately, his lips generating fire all throughout my body. I had never wanted a man so badly in my life. Now that all was said and done, and I knew exactly who he was, nothing had ever felt more right.
Jaize seemed to feel the same way, and I gasped as the urgent mound of his erection pressed against my thigh. We kissed languidly for a few more moments before he pulled away, his brow arched in concern.
“Is this safe? For the baby?”
I laughed and pulled him down to continue the kiss.
“Yes,” I whispered, my hands roaming the broad muscle of his chest and the soft skin of his face. “Don’t you dare stop.”
He grinned and lifted me easily, and I was shocked by his strength. He truly had made a miraculous recovery: one he attributed entirely to our baby.
Jaize stripped me quickly, his mouth settling over the sensitive ring of my nipple, and my back arched involuntarily as pleasure surged through me. I helped him to strip his clothes off and took in the deeply gratifying sight of his completely naked body. Men on Earth would kill to look the way a Verian man did naturally, and I relished in the firm muscles brushing against my skin and the impressive size of his member as it teased and caressed the hypersensitive nerve endings between my legs.
I sighed in bliss as Jaize buried his mouth against the nape of my neck and tasted my skin, his muscle swelling against me. I cried out softly as it entered me, suddenly and swiftly, and our bodies soon found the rhythm they needed to become one.
I closed my eyes, relishing every wave of pleasure that Jaize and his body took me on until I could hardly think anymore. All I could do was feel the distinct satisfaction of my climax building and building; the tension of release as Jaize continued to thrust deeply into my body, carrying me beyond the sweet sensation of pleasure and into the ocean of ecstasy.
“I love you,” Jaize whispered, his deep voice rumbling in my ear. I closed my eyes, my back arching as the words sent thrills down my spine. The small movement brought his member deeper inside of me and my body ever closer to my climax.
“I love you too,” I gasped, gripping Jaize’s muscular arms tightly as I braced myself for another powerful round of thrusting.
I shuddered beneath him as his body took on a power I had never experienced before. It shocked me deeply, and I had to bite my lip to keep from screaming out in rapture. Jaize hissed in pleasure as he submerged himself deeply inside of me, and suddenly I could feel the tension of our bodies give way to orgasm.
The sweet nectar of his longing filled me in a hot rush of ecstasy, and I quaked beneath him as my world opened up to new heights. A new swell of pleasure overwhelmed me as he emptied the last of himself inside of me in a final, fluid motion, and we collapsed on the bunk together, our chests heaving laboriously.
“Welcome home,” Jaize said, kissing my forehead. I hugged him tightly and lifted his hand to touch my belly for the first time.
“You too,” I whispered.
We fell asleep like that, both exhausted and excited for the new chapter of our lives that was about to unfold.
The End
Verian Mates(Complete BOX SET(1-4)
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Cylo: Dragons Of Kelon
(Dragons Of Kelon)
By Maia Starr
CHAPTER ONE
MELODY REEVES
I saw a large dark shadow just underneath the surface of the water. The massive ripples let me know that it was something fast. It looked dangerous, but I could not look away. I took a few more steps and got as close as I could to the edge of the cliff jutting over the Pacific Ocean. I was very scared of heights and I did not want to be anywhere near the edge, but I had to take a look. My knees grew weak as I looked out over the water.
"Are those wings?” I whispered to myself as I watched the dark shadow underneath the water get closer to the surface and create a dark outline. It looked like a very large bird swimming underneath the water.
"That can't be, Melody. I think the pressures of being the president's daughter have finally caught up with you,” I said as I rubbed my eyes and shook my head from side to side as though I could make it disappear.
I looked back at the water. Whoosh! Suddenly the creature burst from the surface of the water and flew straight up, shooting into the sky, into the blinding light of the bright sun. It was so fast that I could not exactly see what I was looking at. But in the backlight of the sun I saw a brief outline as the creature spread its wings out from its sides. They look to be at least 10 feet across and my mouth was wide open as I stared at it. What the hell was I looking at? Was it some form of dinosaur that we thought was extinct, but would reappear now and then to create a legend like the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland?
I took steps backward as the creature seemed to hit the highest point of its flight and change direction, toward me. It was diving very fast. I kept my eyes on it but walked faster; I could not run. I was too frozen with awe at the sight of this strange thing.
Boom! The ground seemed to shake underneath me as the creature landed a few yards in front of me.
"Holy shit," I whispered to myself as I put my hands over my mouth. I could not believe what I was looking at. It was a man. It was a very large man, almost 9 feet tall. His very broad strong chest was naked, and only a simple loincloth covered his waist down to his thighs. He was very muscular, toned, with six-pack abs that looked chiseled. His jet-black hair was long down to his jaw, and a 5 o'clock shadow beard covered his face. But as he took slows cautious steps toward me, it was not these features that made me feel like I was losing my mind. It was the imprint, almost like a tattoo, that covered his right arm from his wrist up to his shoulder. It looked like a strange pattern, and the very large wings that he had folded behind him let me know this was something not human. My breathing grew heavier, and I knew then that this moment was the start of something that would change my life forever. But little did I know exactly what it all meant.
I couldn't believe that all of this was happening simply because my friend Gloria had recommended I take a hike to clear my mind. I was the daughter of the current President of the United States, President Reeves. The pressure of all of it was getting to me, even though I lived all the way across the country in California. Being the daughter of the president was not all it was cracked up to be. I hated politics. But I hated even more the intrusion of privacy that came with it. I was a writer, and I wanted nothing more than to have an adventure in order to write about it. But I was never able to really get away without people knowing who I was. My father's security detail watched my every move. Even though I was 25-years-old with my own life on the other side of the country, my father ran my life. I could not wait for his term in office to be over. It affected my life more than anything, and that included my romantic life. I never knew if a man was interested in me because of my own personality or if he was just using me for my position in the world.
Just like the guy I had been seeing: James Buckley.
"Are you going to eat that?” James said as he sat across the table from me at a romantic restaurant. We had been dating for two months, an
d he was a very dashing, rich, Ivy Leaguer. My girlfriends loved him and thought he was perfect. I, on the other hand, thought he was just okay. He was nice and did everything by the book, but I found him to be very boring.
"No, I'm not,” I said pushing the plate of veal toward him.
"Good, I am famished.”
I looked down at my very expensive pink and maroon Dior dress and heels. “What a waste,” I said under my breath.
“What was that, Melody?” James said.
“Oh nothing,” I said.
“I worked out for two hours today before dinner. I'm working on my quads. Have you been able to tell?” he said.
"No, I have not really—”
"I'll show you later back at your place. My personal trainer says that I am doing really well. Maybe you should start going to him too. You could use a little strengthening,” he said squeezing my arm.
"You want me to go to your personal trainer?” I said, looking at him with annoyance.
"Sure. It's not like you can't afford it. Just tell your dad to cover it. You could use some working out.”
"I will consider it,” I said simply because I knew that opposing him would keep him talking about it. I did not have the energy to deal with that.
"Speaking of your father, when will you be visiting him? I would like to go with you if I could. Or better yet, when is he coming here? I'd love to show him around my office. I think he would be very excited about some of my proposals,” he said to me.
