A Kiss on Kaidava

by S. J. Sanders

  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  A Kiss on Kaidava

  A Mate Index Alien Romance

  S.J. Sanders

  ©2019 by Samantha Sanders

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without explicit permission granted in writing from the author.

  This book is a work of fiction intended for adult audiences only.

  Editor: LY Publishing

  Cover Artist: Samantha Rose

  Many thanks to all the people who made this book possible!

  Chapter 1

  Cara Bennett was a fortunate woman. That was all she could think as she watched her fiancé, Ben, form a complicated knot with his tie. He caught her eye in the mirror and smiled at her, and she huffed a sigh in response.

  “I still don’t understand why I can’t come, Ben.”

  Ben turned to peck a soft kiss on her lips. “I told you, Cara. The United Council of Earth isn’t comfortable letting unmarried women go into space. There have been too many… incidents with aliens acquiring human women without compensation.” He gave her a boyish smile and pulled her into his arms. “But in a few weeks, we’ll be married. After that, no one can stop me from taking you everywhere with me. Until then you can keep Mother company.”

  Cara played with the end of his tie, admiring the delicate print. She had picked it out herself for him as a gift. She tried not to wince at the idea of spending her days with Ben’s mother. The woman had the warmth of a glacier in January. Instead, her mind spun imagining them stretched out together on the pink sands of Kaidava’s Luxur Beach. “Do you think that you’ll be sent to Kaidava again after we get married? I hear it’s a very romantic planet. In fact, that’s a big part of their tourism, from what I understand. The Paris of the galaxy,” she said with a laugh, her eyes sparkling up at him.

  Ben leaned into her, grinding his hips against her. He was a bit less than average in that department, but Cara told herself she didn’t mind. Ben and Cara were on the same page. They both wanted the same things in life. If the sex was a little lackluster, what did that matter in the bigger scheme of things? While women she had grown up with were eagerly signing up for the Mate Index, she was going to be living her dream with both her feet safely on Earth.

  She pecked him on the corner of his lip. “You’re going to comm me every day, right?”

  He raised a hand before him in oath. “I swear it, Carabear. They have some of the best comm systems in the universe. Guaranteed I’ll be able to reach you without a problem every night.”

  Cara sighed but put on her most dazzling smile. She would be his wife soon; she needed to start being more demonstratively supportive of him.

  Cara watched the taxi pull from the curb from the living room window, fussing with her small pendant. The gold pendant with two hearts entwined had been a gift from her grandmother before she died. Grammy had said that finding your heart’s match was the greatest gift in the world, so when you found it not to ever let go.

  Cara knew that she was right. Ben was the perfect match for her heart.

  Ben waved from the passenger window and Cara leaped forward eagerly, waving back at him. A sense of melancholy settled in as she thought about the upcoming days that he would be gone on business. Ben did important work with imports and exports for the government, and she was used to him being away for a few days at a time. This, however, was his first intergalactic trip and it made her jittery.

  It’s just nerves. He’ll be gone a few days and then back before you know it, just like every time before. Relax.

  The next day, Cara found herself sitting around the comm system waiting to hear something from Ben. She frowned as she watched the minutes tick by on the old-fashioned clock. It was getting pretty late. Surely, he would be comming her any minute now. Cara sucked in her bottom lip pensively, and she was so engrossed in waiting she nearly fell off her chair when the loud chirps of the comm filled the air.

  Combing her fingers through her hair a bit, Cara sat down in front of the system and accepted the comm. Ben’s slightly round face peered at her with a happy grin.

  “Sweetheart, you’re still awake! Glad I didn’t miss you.”

  “Hi honey,” she chirped happily. “I miss you. How is Kaidava?”

  “I miss you too, sweetheart. Kaidava is beautiful. I wish you were here with me. They have the best tasting delicacies and the view is to die for. My room opens right out onto the beach. It’s amazing! It’s pink, just like that one stone you put in your room that you said enhances love vibrations or some such.”

  “Oh, the sand looks like rose quartz?”

  He snapped his fingers. “Yes, that’s it. You’re so clever, Carabear.”

  Cara fidgeted a bit. “Sounds beautiful. We should definitely go sometime after we get married,” she said with a hopeful smile.

  “Definitely.”

  “About our wedding, I was talking to the wedding planner and I was wondering—”

  At the sound of Ben’s groan, Cara bit back her words.

  “Baby, you decide. You know I don’t care about that sort of thing. Whatever you like will be fine by me.”

  “Oh, okay, Ben. I’ll let the wedding planner know to—”

  “Perfect. You really are the best, Carabear,” he said with a grin, brushing back a dark lock of hair.

  Cara tittered and flushed with pleasure at his sweet words.

  “I had a thought, Ben. Maybe, since we are getting married soon, we should go ahead and start trying for a baby when you get back.”

  A strained look briefly passed over his face. “A baby? So soon?”

  Cara licked her lips. She’d been rehearsing this for the better part of the day.

  “Well, yes. I am twenty-eight, you know, and I’m in my most fertile years. If we want to have a big family, we can’t wait too long. And it’s not like we’re just starting our relationship,” she hurried out. “We’ve been together for over three years.”

  “Yes,” he murmured, “that is true.” His perfect teeth flashed in a brief smile. Everything about Ben was perfect, from his hair down to his shoes. He always looked immaculate. “I suppose that if it will make you happy, we can get started on that family.”

  Cara paused for a moment. That was not quite the reaction she’d been looking for. She shrugged it off. They were galaxies away from each other. She was certain she was just misreading him from so far away. It wasn’t like he could exactly take her into his arms and kiss her breathless at the thought of having a baby together, right?

  Ben blew a kiss to her over the comm. “I have to go, sweetheart. These comm calls probably are costing a fortune. Love you!”

  “Oh, I love you t—”

  Then, before she could even blink, the comm screen snapped closed, terminating the call.
She frowned at the comm system, unable to shake the unease growing in her belly. But she always did let her imagination run away with her. Before she knew it, he would be home.

  The next two days followed a similar pattern, but on the third day, the day before he was supposed to board the starship to return home, he didn’t call. Cara sat up waiting all night for him to comm her, but the call never came.

  The day after that, there was also no word from him from the starship Reliance. Worry fully entrenched in the pit of her stomach, Cara called the charter company. There was all manner of things that could happen to a human out there in the universe. Maybe the ship was overtaken by pirates? Maybe—no, she breathed through it. She wasn’t going to let herself get all wound up without facts.

  The comm system beeped three times and then the comm screen snapped up to show an irritated Vazith, the four thick tentacles on his head weaving around him, snapping their tips with ill-humor. Cara dredged up a weak smile for the snarling male. His eyes raked over her and his expression turned intrigued.

  “Can I help you, pretty little female?”

  “Hello. I’m sorry to disturb you, but I just needed a status update on your starship Reliance. My fiancé—uh, that is to say my mate—is traveling back to Earth with you and I’ve yet to hear from him.”

  The male looked pensive as he turned his attention to open another window on his system. He grunted and shook his head.

  “I am sorry. I do not know why you haven’t heard from your mate. Reliance returned to your Earth at 0600 Earth time.”

  She chewed her lip. “And everyone was accounted for?”

  The male sighed, an obvious effort to hold on to his patience. “Female, we do not keep track of our boarders. It is in their contract that it is their responsibility to be at the boarding dock two hours before departure. If they fail to arrive, we take no responsibility for them.”

  “Oh, okay,” she said as she buried her face in her hands. Scrubbing her face briskly, she looked up and forced a smile. “Thank you anyway for your assistance.”

  He nodded his head and hesitated. “I am not permitted to offer this, but if you need to get to Kaidava, I can make arrangements…”

  Her polite smile transformed into a genuine one, though she shied away from the idea of leaving planet-side alone with horror. “Oh, thank you. That’s such a generous offer. I’m sure something must have come up that made him miss his transport. If it appears otherwise, I’ll be sure to comm you.”

  The Vazith nodded, eyeing her with concern before he leaned forward and closed the comm.

  For several minutes, Cara just sat there staring at the comm system, willing a communication from Ben.

  After a few hours, she got up and began to pace through her condo. Part of her stressed about the condo payment coming due. Ben had insisted that they keep their finances and households separate even though he’d also insisted that she quit her job in order to be at hand when he needed her. If he didn’t return home in time to make the condo payment, what would she do to cover it? She had money in savings…

  The comm system interrupted her musings with a bright chirp. Cara let out a breath of relief and ran over to the system to accept the communication.

  The viewscreen opened to show her fiancé with a strange smile on his face. Actually, he looked downright flustered and wouldn’t meet her eye despite the fact that he was grinning like a maniac.

  “Ben!” she called out. “Thank the gods. Where are you? What happened?”

  A soft, feminine laugh in the background made Cara freeze.

  “Ben?” she croaked.

  His eerie smile fell into a grimace. “I’m sorry, Cara. I never meant for this to happen. I’m still here on Kaidava.”

  A delicate rose-colored hand came into view, stroking the side of his cheek as a voice purred in another language. Cara didn’t understand what was said because there had been no need for her to get a translator implanted. But the suggestiveness behind that rolling, catlike purr had her hair standing on end.

  “Ben, who’s that with you?” she asked, her eyes widening in horror.

  Ben cleared his throat. “It’s Mahuura, and she’s a Kadesh. I met her on the beach a couple nights ago and—gods, there’s no good way to say this—we fell in love, Cara.”

  Cara blinked slowly. Mahuura… a Kadesh? Was this some kind of cruel joke?

  “You’re kidding, right?” she whispered, her heart doing its damnedest to crawl out her throat.

  “Sorry, Cara. I’m not coming back,” he said with finality. His eyes pleaded with her to understand but she just sat there, stewing in shock.

  At the corner of the screen, a delicate sharp-boned face appeared on the screen, her skin luminous and glittery with hair floating around her. The female planted her lips on Cara’s man, and the last thing she saw was him groan and fall forward with the female before the screen closed out.

  Oh, no, no, no. This has to be a mistake! He’s… just confused. There must be something in the air over there—or in the water. I just need to get there and break whatever weird spell he’s under.

  Unable to feel her fingers even as she watched herself push the buttons, Cara commed the Vazith again. The screen opened promptly. The male didn’t seem all that surprised to see her, raising one brow with interest. Cara cleared her throat.

  “Just how soon can you get me to Kaidava?”

  The male grinned at her, baring a disturbing series of needle-sharp teeth.

  Chapter 2

  Lerix Morkrav sneered at the paltry offering. Being a bodyguard paid gono shit. He should have listened to his sire when he insisted that Lerix stay in the family business, but really, who wanted to own a rundown resort on a private beach that hardly anyone knew about?

  When his father began to speak of him taking over, Lerix had cringed. He hadn’t imagined spending the rest of his life catering to spoiled tourists. He’d begged his father to give the business to one of his brothers. His father finally reluctantly agreed, but set aside a sprawling beachside estate for his inheritance, insisting that it would be there waiting for him “when he finally got over his foolishness.” These days, that old monstrosity of an estate on a beach looked better than what he was dealing with.

  The female smiled up at him, her long golden-scaled limbs intentionally flashing a fair amount of bare flesh as she grinned up at him with a predatory leer.

  “Look, I appreciate you… putting yourself out there, but we agreed on twelve-hundred credits for this job.”

  The female ran a long-fingered hand along her collarbone, the narrow claws grazing her scales as she licked her lips suggestively at him.

  “Perhaps we can come to some sort of terms over the balance?” she purred.

  His eyes narrowed on her. Koriee was certainly attractive, and in the past, he might have at least considered accepting the female’s invitation—had the offer come a few years earlier before his sex drive died out.

  No one had ever told him this would happen if he refused to mate for several years after reaching sexual maturity. He didn’t know if she could inspire interest in his nether regions if she tried. But even if she could rekindle that part of him, he doubted he would have taken her up on it. The idea of bartering for sex left him more than cold.

  Five years was one hell of a dry spell. For a minute, he allowed himself to imagine the delicate golden scales of her body against his large burgundy frame. It did nothing for him.

  He curled his lip at her. “Female, if I wanted a bed partner, I don’t need to pay for it. What I do want is the balance of what is owed to me, and the remainder of our agreement fulfilled for my services rendered.”

  The female’s scales flushed with anger, and she brushed the feathery wisps of her hair away from her face. “You dare speak to me like that? Do you have any idea who I am?”

  Lerix grunted. Here we go…

  “I know who you are. I also know that we agreed on twelve-hundred credits for my services as your private bo
dyguard while you traveled from your home planet to Kaidava.”

  Kaidava. He never thought he would see the day where he would miss it so.

  The only way males were allowed offplanet was to sign up on a mating quest. Many males took advantage of it to seek fortune and fame among the stars. The only unfortunate point was that once a male left, they could not return without a mate if they changed their mind. Which was what, in part, found him in this situation. He needed a female to pose as his offworld mate so he could go back home.

  By whatever quirk of the gods’ humor, males and females of the Kadesh species had a difficult time breeding with each other. Their one blessing was that Kadesh genes were entirely dominant, able to make a little Kadesh with any species they successfully mated and subsequently bred with. Even so, their species was unable to breed with anyone other than a mate, so they were not as prolific as some species made them out to be. Males were encouraged to find offworld mates, whereas females tended to mate with visitors to their illustrious planet.

  Few knew that the origins of Kaidava’s tourist trade were rooted in Kadesh females luring potential mates. Those females played the mating game in earnest.

  Koriee bared her fangs and hissed at him as she recoiled. “I am hardly selling myself, you brute! You wouldn’t know an enticing offer for companionship if it came up and bit you. What harm is there in asking you to shave off a few credits for a potential lover? Fine, here. Take your credits, but you can also forget me helping you get on Kaidava.”

  She gave him a sultry smile and leaned into him. “Unless you would like to change my mind…”

  Lerix slid his hand up her neck and drew her forward for a hard kiss before pushing her away. “Not a chance, female.”

  Koriee hissed again, showing her impressively lengthening fangs. With an angry punch of her fingers on her comm unit, she transferred the remaining credits, seething all the while. As soon as his comm chirped with verification of funds transferred, she glowered at him and spun on heel to stalk away from him back into her chamber.

  Lerix rubbed the back of his neck as the full weight of his actions settled on his chest. Well, fuck. He was now out one stand-in mate. Looking down at his other hand, he uncurled his fingers to show a brilliant flash of jewels.