by Sax, Cynthia
“There must be a locking mechanism,” Kane muttered, studying the gun.
“There is,” a male commented, his voice familiar. Kane glanced upward. Raff stood before him, his feet braced apart, his arms folded. His trademark grin was missing, his expression deathly serious. “I didn’t show Essie where it is because she’d fiddle with it and accidentally transfer half of the native population home.”
Kane didn’t have time for cute Eshe stories. His woman was in pain, dying, alone, thinking herself unloved. He swallowed his pride. “I need your help, Raff.”
Her brother removed his short black leather coat, folded the garment and set it carefully on the hood of his shiny red sports car. “And why would I give you any help?” He rolled up the sleeves of his blue silk shirt, the color matching one of the flames in his eyes, in Eshe’s eyes. “You valued your life more than my sister’s.”
“That’s not true. Your sister is my life, my entire world.” Kane glared. “If I’d known what she’d mean to me, what she planned to do, I would have joined with her back at the compound. We would have found another way to save my mother.”
“You would have been safe.” Raff cracked his knuckles.
“I don’t care about me,” Kane yelled. “Eshe is in pain. The woman I love is in pain. She might be dying and I’m here, helpless to prevent it.” He looked away, emotion choking his words. “Transfer me.” He held out the gun. “Please.” Kane had never begged for anything in his life but he begged now.
He didn’t see Raff’s fist until it connected with his face. His head snapped back, his nose crunching, the gun dropping from his fingers, the Orogone’s punch hard enough to flatten a human. Kane remained standing. He wasn’t human. He was nothing without his Eshe.
“You caused her pain,” Raff growled, his face dark with vengeance.
“I caused her pain,” Kane admitted. He bent, picked up the gun, straightened. His ears rang and blood dripped down his face.
The first punch was a surprise but he saw the second jab coming. Kane didn’t raise his arms to block. He leaned forward, into it. He deserved the thrashing. He deserved the pain.
Raff’s knuckles smacked against Kane’s jaw. He staggered backward, his head spinning, a tunnel of black forming around his vision. The gun landed on the dirt with a thud. “You can beat me to a pulp later,” Kane promised, each word an agony to form. “Let me save your sister first.”
“I will beat you to a pulp,” Raff vowed, no humor in his voice. “You don’t deserve her.” He drew his own gun.
“You’re right.” Kane held Raff’s gaze. “I don’t deserve her but I’ll spend the rest of my life trying my damnedest to be worthy of her love.”
“You will.” Eshe’s brother slid a lever on the barrel. “Because I’ll ensure that happens.” He aimed his gun. “Save my sister, Kane.” He pulled the trigger.
A blue surge of power struck Kane, shaking him, rattling his teeth, his bones. Hang on, Eshe. He stared ahead of him, not fighting the energy’s pull, trying to speed the process. I’m coming for you. He fell into the darkness.
* * * * *
“Kane,” Eshe screamed, unable to bear the pain silently. The chamber, designed to resemble a hospital room, was soundproof, built to house Orogones such as herself, Orogones dying from incomplete joinings.
“He’s coming, hon.” Kane’s mother dabbed Eshe’s forehead with a damp cloth. The relief was minor, her body burning, the agony frying her thoughts.
Kane won’t come soon enough. Eshe writhed on the bed, the white cooling sheet sliding over her naked form. As the doctors had rushed her into the chamber they explained that the distance between yet-to-be-joined pairs accelerated the process—the greater the physical gap, the faster she’d die.
Her One was trapped on a planet galaxies away from her. She’d die quickly, her rapid demise monitored by the machinery crowded around her. The information collected might help someone else, that possibility comforting the scientist in her.
“They’ve sent people to find your parents,” his mother shared. She wore the plain blue shift dress given to all human females after transferring. “They’re on some sort of wilderness retreat or something.”
Eshe groaned, her heart breaking even more. One or twice a solar cycle her parents trekked deep into the planet, cut off from technology, out of the council’s surveillance range. They won’t come soon enough either.
She gazed up at Kane’s mother, grateful for her company, not wishing to die alone, her goodbyes left unsaid. “Tell them.” Eshe panted, the sharp pain stealing her breath. “Tell them I love them.” She grasped the older woman’s hand. “Tell Raff I love him. And Kane.” She closed her eyes, trapping her tears.
“He knows you love him.” His mother squeezed her fingers. “You injected him also. It’s all there in your memories.”
The essence had burned off and the memories remained. If Eshe was thinking rationally she’d record that, note that as a possibly detrimental side effect.
“And you don’t need me to tell them anything.” Kane’s mother sat on the edge of the bed. “You’re strong and stubborn, as stubborn as my son.” She brushed Eshe’s hair away from her moist face, her fingertips light on her skin. “He’s coming for you. A mother knows these things, hon.” She sounded so certain, Eshe wanted to believe in her, wanted to believe in him. “You’ll wait for Kane.”
Eshe lifted her chin. “I’ll try to wait.”
“You’ll wait.” Her voice was firm. She tipped a cup of sweet liquid into Eshe’s mouth, the concoction designed to boost her energy levels, to prolong her life.
Although her stomach twisted, protesting the addition, Eshe forced herself to finish the entire container. She’d fight as long as she could, waiting for a male who might never come.
“Tell me about Kane.” Eshe dug her fingers into the mattress, her body trembling. “What was he like as a child?” He had all of her childhood memories, knew everything about her, yet she knew nothing about his past.
“Kane was always different than the other schoolkids.” His mother stared at the far wall. “He was intelligent, maybe not as book smart as you were, but he had a more practical type of intelligence and he knew he didn’t fit in, not that he’d ever tell me that.” Her lips quirked upward. “He was protective of the women he loved even then, never wanting to see me unhappy. He’d get so angry at his absentminded father when he forgot my birthday.”
“Orogones normally have great memories.” Eshe gazed at Kane’s mother, concentrating on her face, on the conversation. “I’m the exception. Sometimes I forget where I am.”
“You’ll be the exception for everything. You—”
A wave of heat swept over Eshe, scorching her body. “Kane,” she cried, her voice growing hoarse. She shouldn’t call for him as it upset his mother. But when the pain came his name was all she had left.
“Hang on, hon. He must have been transferred by now.” Kane’s mother rushed to the exit, her bare feet slapping on the white tile. “I’ll find him.” She opened the door.
“Eshe,” a heart-wrenchingly familiar voice bellowed.
“He’s here.” His mother’s laughter was shaky. “I knew he’d come for you.” The relief on her face belied her words.
“Eshe,” Kane yelled again, his voice louder, closer.
He’s here. My One is here. Another souls-ripping tremor rocked Eshe. “Kane,” she screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks.
His mother held the door open. “Hurry, Son.” She beckoned him with her hands.
Kane rushed through the opening, nudging his mother aside, his body gloriously naked, his skin tanned, his black hair mussed, his brown eyes wide and wild. He was magnificent, male and had come to claim her. Eshe read this truth in his set jaw, his bruised set jaw.
She frowned. “Hurt.” He was hurt, his nose crooked, tracks of dried blood under his nostrils.
“I know you hurt, love.” He lifted the cooling sheet and climbed into her bed, cover
ing her body with his, the contact instantly soothing her pain. “I’ll make it better.”
“You already have.” She sighed with contentment, staring up at him, unable to believe he was there, with her. “Is it truly you?” She touched his face, her fingers trembling. “You’re with me.”
“I’m with you.” Kane brushed his lips over hers, teasing her with his fleeting caress. “I’m never leaving you again. Ever.”
“Good.” She’d been told to be apart after joining was also painful. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” He captured her mouth and she opened to him, welcoming his heat, his sweet taste. His tongue slid along hers, twisting, twining, dancing in a celebration of life, of love.
“I’ll be in the hallway if you need me,” his mother murmured. Eshe blinked and released Kane, lowering her head to the bed. She’d forgotten they weren’t alone.
“Dad is creating havoc in the arriving room,” Kane said, not moving his gaze from her face. “You’d better retrieve him before he takes some of the machinery apart.”
“Oh God.” The door closed.
They had the room to themselves. Kane’s eyes glowed, his hard cock pressing against her stomach. Eshe lifted her head, seeking his lips, needing more kisses, more connection, more of her sexy male.
Chapter Eight
“What do we do?” Kane murmured against Eshe’s lips, his body hard against hers, his warm skin easing all of her pain.
“Do?” She blinked, confused, her brain fuzzy with passion.
“To join, love.” He scattered kisses over her forehead, along her nose, across her jaw, his touch heart-wrenchingly gentle. “To become one. What is needed to make this happen?”
She lifted her knees, cradling his naked physique between her thighs, opening herself to him. “I need you inside me.”
Kane’s eyes glowed. “You need my cock inside your tight little pussy.” He rubbed his shaft against her feminine folds.
“Yes.” Eshe purred with pleasure, moving with him, tilting her hips, covering him with her wetness. “And when we find release together place your palm or lips or chest here.” She moved one of his hands over her mark. Her souls pounded against his fingers, as eager for this joining as she was. “I’m told skin-on-skin contact eases the transition.”
“You’re so hot.” He stroked the red-and-blue ink, tracing the circles with his calloused fingertips. Eshe’s nipples ached for his rough touch. “Hot for me.” Kane followed the design with his tongue, the moisture sizzling.
“When I thought I might lose you, that I might spent a lifetime without your warmth.” He shuddered, his expression bleak, his eyes reflecting his anguish.
Eshe grasped his bare shoulders, undulating under him, caressing him with her breasts, her hips, her mons. “You’re strong.” His muscles rippled under her fingers. “You would have survived.”
“That’s all my life would have been—survival.” He rocked, his cock head gliding over her clit, the friction raising Eshe’s desire. “That’s all my life was before I met you.” His tempo increased, growing more frantic, as though he needed contact as she did to soothe his soul. “I was cold and hollow and alone.”
“I understand.” She had felt the same way before she met him.
“Do you understand, Eshe?” Kane’s face darkened, his expression becoming frighteningly fierce. “Because I won’t return to living alone, without you, without love.” He grabbed her wrists and pulled her arms above her head, easily restraining her.
“There will be no more sacrificing your health or your life to save others.” He leaned over her and gazed directly into her eyes. Eshe squirmed, trapped under him, at his mercy. “Risk your personal safety again and I’ll lock you in one of your laboratories. Permanently. You’ll never see the light of day. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes.” Eshe nodded, her heart beating quickly.
“Good.” Kane nipped her bottom lip and she yelped, his physical reprimand both surprising and exciting her. “Grab my cock and guide me into you.” He released her. “I want your soft hands on me.”
She reached between them and curled her fingers around his shaft. His veins pulsed, her souls fluttering to the same rhythm. Eshe stroked him once, twice, savoring the feel of him, softness over strength, and she positioned him at her entrance.
He pushed into her pussy, stretching her to the point of sweet pain. She moaned, the connection between them intensifying, and he stilled, his tip buried inside her.
“Eshe?” Kane met her gaze. His body shook. His jaw jutted. A trickle of perspiration dripped down his right cheek. He waited for her.
“More,” she urged, lifting her hips, taking him deeper inside her. His cock head grazed along her inner walls and found resistance.
“There will be pain this first time,” Kane warned, his brown eyes soft.
“Pain no longer frightens me.” Eshe drove her hips upward and cried out, the sting fleeting, the fullness sublime, their link growing even stronger. Her souls sensed the impending joining and fought to be free, thumping against her skin.
“You’re so tight,” Kane groaned as he blazed a trail within her, hard cock sliding along virgin pussy, reshaping her body, changing her. Eshe’s male was large all over, filling her completely, fusing their forms together. She dug her fingernails into his shoulders, holding on to him, marking his golden tan with red crescents.
His base pressed against her soft folds and Eshe sighed with happiness. “You’re mine.” She wrapped her legs around his waist, hooking her ankles over his firm ass, securing him to her.
“And you’re mine.” Kane covered her lips with his, plunging his tongue into her mouth. She sucked on him, pulling an animalistic growl from his throat. He pressed her deeper into the mattress. She pushed upward, taking more of his tongue, his rigid cock inside her.
Kane pulled backward and Eshe squeezed her inner walls around him, seeking to slow his retreat, her pussy lips dragging along his shaft, lighting tiny fires within her. He thrust hard, grunting into her mouth, pinning her hips against the bed. She gasped, the sensation exquisite, her pleasure edged with pain.
Kane pulled back, thrust forward, pulled back, thrust forward, his breath wafting against her cheeks, one of his arms braced beside her. Eshe met him halfway, pushing her hips upward, smacking their bodies together, their skins heating at the points of contact. Her soreness faded, leaving only bliss, each drive into her feeding her flames, pushing her closer to combustion.
She’d come in his arms previously. This was different. She felt that truth in her two souls. They would come together, joining completely, becoming one, one species, one entity. Neither of them would be the same. They would never be alone again.
“Harder,” she urged, carving her fingernails into Kane’s skin. He’d heal quickly and the loving abuse excited him, his tempo accelerating. The Orogone hospital bed rocked, its feet squeaking on the floor tiles. The machines monitoring her chirped and hummed, the readings peaking and then dropping. No one disturbed them, all medical personnel knowing not to interfere with a life-saving joining.
“Deeper.” Eshe bounced her heels against Kane’s clenched ass cheeks. He growled, riding her hard, his savagery thrilling her. He was neither human nor Orogone, an unknown entity, completely unpredictable. Their sexual discovery titillated her inner scientist, his fervor pleasing the female in her. She made him that wild. She made him lose control.
Fuck. His woman was aggressive, driving him unrelentingly, wanting more, harder, deeper. Kane thrust into Eshe’s tight pussy with everything he had, her demands both pleasing and reassuring him. When he’d arrived he’d seen how pale she was, how the flames in her eyes flared to fill the blackness, how her hands had shaken when she reached out to him and that had scared Kane more than anything he’d experienced in his danger-filled life.
He’d almost lost her, the woman he loved, the only woman who had ever warmed him. He drove into her, burying himself to his base, seeking to reassure hi
mself that she was here, healthy, his. His balls slapped against her skin, the burn centering him, and she moaned, that sexy sound making him even more crazed.
He’d intended to be gentle, sweet. This was her first time. She’d been in agony, weakened from their separation. He loved her. Kane brushed his lips over hers.
She snapped at him with her straight white teeth and he grinned. Eshe didn’t want gentle and sweet and she was no longer weakened with pain. She was his strong alien woman, the female sent across the galaxies to torment him, to love him.
He pistoned his cock in and out, in and out of her, her pussy hot, wet, welcoming, her juices slicking his shaft. She fit him as though she’d be created for him, physically, intellectually and spiritually, the link between them unmistakable. Kane licked her neck, tasting salt and woman, and she trembled.
“Kane.” The blue-and-red flames in her black eyes burned. Heat radiated from her curves, engulfing him. Kane inhaled deeply. Her scent made his mouth water. He longed to lick her pussy dry, to devour every inch of her.
“Cup your breasts for me,” he ordered, wishing to see her touch herself.
Eshe made a strangled sound and complied, her submission delighting him. Her slender fingers curved around her full breasts, and her taut nipples grazed his chest, setting off waves of bliss throughout Kane’s physique.
“Squeeze them. Play with them.” As soon as Kane issued the commands he questioned his intelligence. Every squeeze of her hands tightened her pussy, her inner walls clenching his shaft.
“Eshe,” he groaned, dangerously close to coming, his balls aching. He drove into her with increased vigor. Her eyes widened and her legs quivered. The tattoo on her chest glowed, her souls, that strange energy inside her, pushing against her skin.
He bent his head and followed the circles with the tip of his tongue. The marks tasted as sweet as maple syrup, the flavor enticing him. “My alien woman.” He grinned against her neck, fucking her with all of his might.
“Your Orogone woman,” Eshe corrected, panting, her lush pink lips parted, her beautiful face flushed. She pumped her hips, meeting each thrust.
