Devil In Exile: A Scifi Alien Mates Romance Novel (Warriors Of Elysius Book 1)

by Fiona Jayde

  What a douche.

  Suddenly, I hear the sickening crunch of bone, and the claws on my leg are ripped from my flesh with a disturbing wet sound, sending more waves of pain through my leg. I nearly upchuck what little food I have in my stomach. I look back, sweat dripping into my eyes, only to find the Chassak soldier lying limp and dead, his neck snapped. Kyllell towers over me, naked and soaking wet.

  Holy hell, he’s still naked. I blink away the black spots and unintentionally focus in on his rather large manhood. Then I try not to notice it, dangling directly in front of my face, but it’s hard to miss. Very hard to miss. I feel a twinge of arousal—okay, more than a twinge—and I’m weirded out by how turned on I am while simultaneously reeling with pain from the deep gouges in my calf muscle.

  I tear my inappropriate gaze off his male bits and stare at his face. His expression is twisted with rage as he takes in my shredded calf muscle. His horns are a deep purple, shooting straight out on either side.

  “Two more,” I whisper, pointing past him with a trembling hand. He nods and gestures for me to stay put.

  No problem. Ain’t planning on playing the hero when I’ve already got one.

  I stay still and silent, listening to the scuffling violence in the distance. I can’t help but relish every anguished moan Kyllell wrings from their throats.

  Someone’s feeling vindictive.

  I hear a tiny tap on the ground behind me, but I’m in too much pain to register what that means before it’s too late. Suddenly, I’m being grabbed and wrenched to my feet. I react instinctively, throwing back my elbow and twisting from his grip. He gives me a firm kick in my wounded calf and grabs the collar of my shirt. My scream explodes from me as the pain nearly drops me.

  Asshat. Such a dick move to make.

  I turn to face the leader from this particular hunting party. He’s giving me a creepy leer. This snake-porcupine is the most hideous thing I have ever encountered.

  Time to stall. No way Kyllell missed my girly wail of pain. “How did you find me? How did you discover this place?” I ask, struggling to free myself from his grasp.

  “We smelled you while hunting. You are like another one we have captured. That one is more violent, though. Hard. You are softer and more fertile. Compatible with us. You will come back to the fortress with me,” the Chassak hisses in my ear. “Or maybe I will sample you now.” His tongue flicks out of his mouth. It’s puke yellow and slimy as a snail’s ass. It slowly unfurls into the longest tongue I have ever seen, reaching my lobe in seconds and giving it a good lick.

  This is gnarly.

  The hottest alien in the Universe, he is not.

  Then I think about what he just revealed.

  “Another one? Do you mean another Earth person? A female or a male?”

  The Chassak chuckles. “A female. She looks like this.” As I watch, he changes form, becoming an exact copy of Thomasina. My jaw drops open in shock.

  That’s a hell of an alien anomaly.

  “How did you…how are you…?”

  The Chassak shakes his head. “No more questions.” He changes back into his own form. Then, with a lick of his lips, he reaches down and grasps my breast. I shudder in horror. “Mmm, your blood is warm. I bet your cunt is warmer. Bend over for me, pretty.”

  I struggle against him, but I’m having trouble with my coordination. Blood loss is a killer. My struggling must really get on his nerves because he doesn’t hesitate to slap me across the face. I fall to the ground in a bloody heap. I’m not too proud to admit that I’m very close to crying at this point.

  He starts to climb on top of me, his eyes full of lust, but he stops before he can position himself, frozen in place. As I watch, his eyes grow glossy and lose focus. He slumps to the side as Kyllell comes into view, his massive claws dripping with blood. I haven’t seen those long, black claws extended like that since our first encounter, but holy hell, they are lethal looking. He appears exactly like the devil himself, a nightmare of a monster with an unholy anger emanating from his golden eyes. His horns are still bright purple, shooting out on either side of his head. He scans my body, cataloguing my injuries, growing more livid with every moment that passes. He sees my bloodied calf, tilts his head back and lets out an anguished roar.

  And I’m not even remotely afraid of him.

  My breath burst out of me in a choked moan of relief. It’s enough to pull him out of his own emotional hell for a moment.

  He kneels before me and gently lifts me into his arms cradle style, taking care not to bump my calf. I cling to him as I feel myself start to shake.

  Goodbye, adrenaline. Hello, mental break down.

  He rubs my back, whispering comforting words, and it’s more than I can stand. I burst into tears, sobs wracking my body. Kyllell makes soothing noises as he kisses my eyes, my cheeks, my forehead, pulling me into him like he wants to absorb me, absorb every molecule that makes up all of me—like he would meld us into one if possible. I vaguely realize that I’m pressed firmly against his naked body. My tears are running down his torso to points south that I should not be thinking about.

  “I have never in my life experienced fear like that…when I heard you scream my name..that Chassak ship.” He shakes his head, his rage is palpable, his worry and concern offering me some much needed comfort. “I never should have left you. I had no idea they would be able to track your scent.”

  “This isn’t your fault,” I say as I rest my head against his chest.

  His hold on me tightens even further, and I let his warmth sooth my frazzled nerves.

  “It is my fault. I am sworn to provide for you and protect you. No other lays a hand on you and lives, Ada. I’ll not tolerate it, or my own ineptitude at leaving you alone and defenseless when I know the dangers of this world.”

  I look up to see the self-loathing in his eyes.

  “Stop,” I say, touching his face and forcing him to really see me. “Stop. This is not a council, and you are not on trial. You came back, you saved me, and I’m forever grateful to you. Do not blame yourself.”

  He swallows hard and hovers his lips over mine. “I will never stop blaming myself.”

  I lean back and give him a rueful smile. Great. I have a tortured soul on my hands. This guy really needs to lighten up.

  “Go for a swim?” I say, registering the dampness of his skin.

  He grunts as he gets to his feet, still cradling me in his arms. He walks through the cave into a little room I haven’t seen yet.

  “Ill-timed,” he mutters, “but I came to a very important conclusion, one now reinforced by the arrival of these Chassak scum.”

  “Oh?” The room looks to have shelves carved out of the stone, with boxes of various things stored within. I’m surprised when he pulls out a tube of something and that holds a clear, gauzy substance. He sets me down on a stone bench, kneels before me, and gently lifts my injured leg by the ankle, resting it on his thigh as he squeezes out a generous amount of its contents onto the fleshy palm of his hand. It does not look to be FDA approved.

  “And that is?”

  “Svak. It will disinfect the wounds and help with the pain.”

  “If you say so.” I give the sludge a wary look. His lips lift at the corner, his amusement obvious. I’m floored by the level of relief I feel at seeing just a hint of a smile on his face. I was afraid he’d spend the rest of the day brooding over what he perceived as a colossal failure.

  I am alive. Colossal win, folks!

  The minute the stuff slides across my wounds the pain eases to a dull throb. So much better than what I’d been dealing with before. The way he studies my wounds, I can tell the sight of them are starting to ignite his fury again. I decide to distract him.

  “Why did you leave?”

  He pauses, then gazes up at me with so much torment in his eyes, I nearly lose my damn mind and kiss him senseless.

  “You were offering yourself to me. I did not think I could control The Burning.”

/>   “You could have taken the offer.”

  He shakes his head. “I will not have you that way. You will come to me willingly.”

  “I willingly offered you my body,” I press, still trying to test him, not that it’s necessary. He’s pretty much tops in my book.

  “As a means to procure my help. I thought long and hard about your proposal, my Ada, but I’m afraid there are things we must attend to first before I aid you in your quest.”

  My heart stills. “So you’re going to take me up on my offer?”

  He strokes my cheek and then grabs a strange looking sheet of bright orange cloth just past my shoulder. He rips the material from its sheath. The thing looks like a rectangular pad…until it undulates all on its own.

  “What is that?”

  He chuckles at my horrified look.

  “Shavek. It is a small organism with healing properties. It will latch onto your wounds and knit the skin together while purifying the area.”

  “Definitely not FDA approved.”

  “I do not have any idea what you mean by that.”

  He places the gauze on my wounds, and it immediately latches onto my skin, adhering to the wounds like a leech. Creepy as hell. I let out a squeal as it tightens to fit my calf. Kyllell chuckles and draws me against him, placing a comforting hand on my lower back. “You face Chassak generals without an ounce of fear, but a tiny healing pad is enough to make you squeamish?”

  “The damn thing’s alive,” I say in a huff.

  “You’re a mass of contradictions. I find that delightful.”

  “So you’re going to take me up on my offer?” I say again, trying to get us back on track. He stiffens for a moment then draws back.

  “There are things we must attend to first before we go looking for your crew.”

  I don’t know why I feel so disappointed by his response, but I do. “My crew doesn’t have a single moment to waste. We need to leave now.”

  “We are not prepared. We must attend to a few more items of business before we can go searching for them.” He lifts his chin and stubbornly sets his jaw.

  Why do I feel like this is a stalling tactic? Why do I feel like I’ve just been handled and managed?

  Because Carl used to do that shit to me, and now I assume every male will.

  It doesn’t matter that he may really have things we have to accomplish first before we can set out to find my crew. I can’t help but blow this entire thing out of proportion. After being screwed over one too many times, I’m paranoid that he’s just stalling, keeping me here until it really is too late to go save my crew.

  I push out of his arms and stand up, surprised to find that standing isn’t all that awful, all things considered. Then I turn from him and march…limp—I’m totally limping here—out of the room, down a stretch of cavernous hall, and to the bedroom we shared last night. I resolutely keep my eyes off the bed and begin searching the area surrounding it. I’m poking in corners I’ve already checked. I know the moment he arrives in the room. I feel those golden eyes on me, probing my mind for all my thoughts and feelings. He can’t have them. I’m not exactly in the mood to share.

  “What are you looking for?”

  “I’m looking for my clothes. Where did you put them?” I’m curt with my response, but there’s really nothing left to be said. Did he save me…a lot? Sure, and now it’s time to go.

  “Your clothes? The ones from the boat? They are safe. Why do you need them?”

  “I have to go. The Chassak said they had one of my crew members. He turned into Thomasina for a second.” I pause and turn to him. “Did you know they could scent out beings like that?”

  “Yes.”

  Of course he did. He knows everything about this place and these creatures, which is why he would be the perfect guide, the perfect yin to my yang, the perfect Watson to my Sherlock, the perfect Clyde to my Bonnie, the perfect…shit, what is up with all of these analogies? He knows everything I don’t, but he refuses to help me. My anger burns even brighter. “You know what? I’m out of here. You could at least show me where my damn clothes are so I don’t have to try to rescue my crew in a fucking hospital gown.”

  Nothing but silence. He’s going to resist me. He’s going to try to keep me here, or send me out into the world in a torn piece of fabric. I bristle, preparing myself for a fight. But instead of fighting, he just looks at me grimly and walks out of the room, his bare feet padding against the rock floor.

  I stand there, shocked, not sure what to do, even though his bare ass is something I could look at for days. Then he quickly turns around and pokes his head back into the bedroom. “Come,” he says. “This way.”

  Kyllell walks to the hot springs. I follow behind him, trying not to watch the way his ass moves as he strolls casually through the cave, totally unabashed by his own lack of clothing.

  Oh, to be that confident.

  “I washed them,” he explains. He pulls my clothes from a section of warm rocks where they’ve been carefully dried. He holds them out to me silently, waiting for me to approach. I walk toward him with purpose, pretending that my heart isn’t pounding. Pretending that I don’t feel like an absolute heel for getting angry when he was doing my laundry.

  Pretending that seeing him naked like this doesn’t affect me.

  I can’t help but look at all his attributes. I’m remembering the way his cock felt in my mouth; warm and hard. Thrusting. I imagine what it would feel like to spread myself open and feel him pressed close, how it would feel to bring him inside me. We are definitely a compatible species. His muscular chest tapers to narrow hips. He’s lean in places, but strong everywhere.

  Everywhere.

  I reach him and snatch my clothes away.

  He raises what constitutes as an eyebrow. “You are angry?”

  “No, I’m not angry,” I say in an angry voice. “I just don’t know why you had to hide my fucking clothes.”

  “You had no use for them while you were sleeping,” he replies, sounding puzzled.

  “Well, I need them now,” I say. I know I’m being petulant and I hate it, but I feel weirdly betrayed that he won’t help me, that he’s using these stalling tactics to keep me here. If he wants me to be his mate so badly, shouldn’t he want to help me? And shouldn’t he want to have sex with me, even if it’s only once? He nursed me back to health, murdered three Chassaks for me, and then he just says no to what I’m offering. Am I that forgettable? I fear I know the answer. I also fear that I’m being unreasonable.

  I remember what Carl said to me last year when he left me, after I found out about his new girlfriend.

  Wife, I remind myself. They ran off together and got married before I even found out he was leaving me.

  “Sorry, Ada,” he said, the gold ring glinting on his hand. “Hannah is special. I didn’t mean to hurt you, I just sort of couldn’t think. To be honest, I was so wrapped up in her, that I forgot to call you.”

  Forgot to call me. Forgot me.

  When I’d asked him what she had that I didn’t (ugh, Ada, why do you do this shit to yourself?) he shook his head and said, “I just needed something more.” Something more than me. Something more interesting, more beautiful, more intelligent…just more.

  The hulking, naked alien watches me as I walk around to the other side of the hot springs. Steam rises between us, but it’s not enough for me to feel like I have privacy. Still, I say to him with all my bluster, “I’m going to get changed and leave now.”

  “All right,” he says calmly.

  All right. Like I’m nothing special; like I’m not worth fighting for. I feel myself getting angrier and more resentful the longer I look at him.

  I take a deep breath, willing myself to get past this shit and think logically for one damn moment.

  He is not Carl, Ada. This is not about Carl.

  But it is, and Kyllell is an easy target as I deal with these suppressed emotions and use them as a weapon against him.

  I glance arou
nd for a place to change and find nowhere private. Looking back at Kyllell, I catch a small turn of his mouth. He’s amused. He’s fucking amused by me. A small voice in the back of my head reminds me that I’m actually acting pretty childish, and maybe it’s fair for him to see my behavior as comical, but I shut that little voice down. This guy has been holding me captive, refusing to help me figure out how to help my crew. He’s trying to convince me to stay here and be his permanent bed partner. And earlier, I got down on my knees in front of him and…my cheeks start to burn.

  How dare he laugh at me? How dare he pretend I’m worth having as a mate, but not worth helping; not even worth fucking? Without thinking, I put my hand to the front of this torn tunic thing I’m wearing. Looking him straight in the eye, I undo the tie. His smile disappears. I open the gown, and let it drop to the cave floor. I’m naked now, just like him. Chin in the air, I dare him to come toward me. I dare him to try to connect with me when he won’t help me. His eyes move over my body in a slow, sensual perusal. The air in the cave is warm and wet, but I shiver despite myself.

  I dress myself slowly, keeping my eyes on him. I swear I can feel his gaze burning into me. Branding me. I feel that tug again, pulling me toward him. It feels so strong that I have to work to resist it, resist him. But I do resist him, dammit.

  I am the queen of shutting down my emotions.

  Unless Kyllell is in the room.

  Her body is exquisite. Caramel skin, smooth everywhere. Her large breasts move against her chest as she breathes. Her hips curve wide beneath a small waist. Her legs, goddess, those legs. Long and slender, with the muscles of a capable, strong warrior. I note the marks on her skin: the cut on her forehead, the now-healing quill marks on her neck, the claw marks on her calf, and it brings forth a visceral, protective instinct. I want to hold her close. I want to breathe in her scent.

  I can have her. I know this. I can close the space between us in two strides. I can grab her and take her back to bed. I can bury my face in her breasts. I can run my fingers through her hair, and down to her pussy. I can make her cum.