The beginnings of a ramshackle village, huts built of grass and mud, rose out of the grasslands. Busy roos hauled, piled, and constructed.
At the very center of the village stood the tree. More roos ringed it, bowing and chanting.
“We are truly the blessed roos. First you, now tree.” Merng hopped excitedly, pulling Kyle forward. “Tree brought me Rheena, most beautiful roo ever.”
Kyle broke into a sprint. He just needed to touch the trunk. It didn’t matter where in the galaxy Zana was. The tree could bring her here. To him.
I believe. I do believe.
He bounded through the crowd of roos, his hand stretched in front of him. Power radiated from the tree as his fingers connected with the rough bark.
Barton squeezed Zana’s breast hard.
She struggled in his painful grip, trying to bite the man’s hand.
A pop echoed through the cabin, then Kyle’s golden tones filled the air. “Dammit. Doesn’t that stupid tree ever get it right?”
Barton lurched up, gazing behind her, releasing her breast, and bringing his hand up high enough for Zana to latch on with her teeth.
He howled and struggled to break her grip.
Zana hung on tight, digging in. The coppery tang of blood filled her mouth. In that moment it tasted sweeter than her Aunt Val’s fruit tarts.
“Get away from my wife.” Kyle’s bumpy arm shot over her shoulder, catching Barton on the jaw and throwing him back.
Zana released him as the man tumbled back.
Unibrow reached for his gun.
Kyle was faster, blasting the man from across the cabin. Spinning toward her, he tore the ropes from her wrists and legs, then drew her into his arms.
Kyle. Her Kyle.
She hugged him tight.
“You found me.”
Chapter 18
For just a moment Kyle’s finger wavered over the lower button, the one that would open the small chamber’s second door and launch Palv into the chill of outer space.
A Galactic Marshal sentenced to a prison planet would be struggling just to survive on a daily basis. A quick death would be a blessing compared to what Palv faced.
Kyle pushed the other button and stepped back. He wasn’t feeling merciful. The little prick deserved everything he got.
The airlock hissed open and Palv stepped out, his eyes going wide. “Kyle, I—”
“Shut up.” Kyle brought the blaster up, aiming for Palv’s chest.
Yes, Barton was the boss, the ringleader. But for Kyle, Palv held the bigger sin. A corrupt Galactic Marshal. There could be no worse crime. People trusted, and that trust was hard earned at times. Someone like Palv threatened to throw that hard work down the drantha pit.
“Drag them into the airlock.” He indicated Barton and Lunard. They’d be secure enough in there while Kyle took over the rest of the ship.
Palv pulled each of the men into the airlock.
Kyle kept the blaster trained on him. “How many others on board?”
“Th-Three.” The tremble was in more than just his voice. Palv was in deep and he knew it. “Pilot and co-pilot aren’t armed, but there’s another thug up there with them.”
Kyle moved toward the button to close the airlock door.
“Look . . . Kyle . . . I’m sorry.”
Way too late.
“You’re a sorry piece of shit.” Kyle pressed the button sealing the three inside.
He turned in time to catch a glimpse of Zana’s incredible ass as she bent over to pick up Lunard’s blaster. Gods, she was okay, and he was determined to keep her safe. “Stay here.”
She raised one delicate eyebrow. “You’re joking, right? I’m not leaving your side.”
Amusement tickled through him. One stubborn woman. Gods, he loved her. “Okay, but stay behind me, and make sure that blaster is set on stun.”
Staying behind Kyle was the easy part. He’d secured a tighter-fitting pair of pants, and that ass of his looked so fine.
She did take her eyes off his butt long enough to check the blaster, and change the setting to stun. It had been on the kill setting when Unibrow pointed it at Kyle. Thank the Galactic Gods Kyle had been faster.
Kyle stormed the flight deck, ordering the pilot and copilot to stop the ship and raise their hands.
Zana scanned the chamber. No sign of the third man. They’d been through the entire ship except . . .
The door to the head zipped open behind Kyle. “Kyle, down!”
Kyle dropped to the deck.
The man behind him looked up wide-eyed. Still fastening the magna clip at his waist, his hands released the belt and grasped for the blaster at his side. The pants fell, dropping the blaster out of his reach.
He stooped.
Zana fired and he ended bare butt up, unconscious, on the floor.
A butt nowhere near as attractive as Kyle’s.
Ugh.
Kyle prodded the pilot and copilot to drag the unconscious thug back to the airlock. After they were all safely secured inside, he took to the pilot’s seat, turning the craft back toward Tzankor.
The Galactic Marshals gladly took possession of the ship and prisoners, and after filing a bit of paperwork Kyle quit the Galactic Marshals.
Again.
“You sure about this?” Tron accepted Kyle’s resignation. “We’ve got a backload of cases. You could head up any investigation you want.”
Zana placed a hand on his arm. Gave him an encouraging squeeze. She’d let him if he asked.
Kyle shook his head. “I’ve got a different life now.”
He had Zana. She was all he needed.
The dispatch printer burped out a plassheet and Tron snatched it up. “Son of a gun.” He handed the printout to Kyle. “Seems like our old friend Kyrk Jameson was joy-riding in an FTL 11.”
Kyle pulled Zana close as he headed for the exit. “Sounds like him.”
The mystery of how Kyle found Barton’s ship had the whole office asking questions and looking for clues. In the official report he’d told them magic was used, which hadn’t set well with anyone. Now all the marshals were using any angle they could to get clues on how he’d pulled off his amazing rescue.
Tron followed after him. “Any idea where we could find Kyrk, or more specifically, that ship?” Tron raised an eyebrow.
Kyle shrugged. “Hard to say about Jameson. You might try checking Old Earth for that ship, though. You never know.”
Now Tron’s eyes widened. His jaw dropped. “Old Earth. I’d need a frackin’ permit.”
Kyle ushered Zana through the door. “You know Jameson. No respect for the law.”
The huge starcraft sitting on the galactic marshal’s landing pad dwarfed Zana’s TRS-90. Both ships hummed with power, ready for takeoff.
“That’s my . . . our new freighter.” Pride infused Kyle’s tone.
Zana’s gut roiled with excitement. “What’s it for?”
“Eventually, it will be hauling fresh produce and meats to markets all over the galaxy.” A broad smile played over his face. “Right now it’s carrying our new home.”
The arm he had tucked around her tightened, hugging her closer to him. “I hate to leave you, but we’ll have to fly home separately to get both ships back to Konga 10. I will need a few kisses to tide me over during the long, lonely journey.”
He drew her close. Flutterbugs erupted in her stomach as his lips closed on hers.
She drank him in. Everything she wanted, everything she needed, was right here in her arms.
The clearing of a throat behind her, broke the kiss. Kyle’s eyes, alight with passion, gazed over her shoulder. “Good to see you.”
His gaze swept back to her. “I’ve arranged for y
ou, at least, to have a travel companion.”
Kyle loosened her grip and she spun. “Uncle Onwin.”
She gave her uncle a hug.
Onwin sighed as he hugged her back. “They finally let me go. Evidently the mystery of my disappearance has been satisfactorily explained.”
Suspicion tingled at the back of Kyle’s neck. “You didn’t tell them about the Soul Mate Tree, did you?”
Her uncle chuckled. “Who would believe that? No, according to the official record, I was kidnapped by the tree cutting industrialists and left to rot on a backwater, backteched planet.”
A sudden query niggled at the back of Zana’s mind. “There are a lot of people in the galaxy looking for the love of their lives. Isn’t there some way to tell them?”
Kyle shook his head. “We don’t have to. The ones who need it, the tree will find them. It sure as hell worked for us.”
As Zana landed by her Uncle Onwin’s home, her father met her.
“Kyle arrived ten hours ago. It appears his new ship is faster than yours. He told us of your marriage, daughter. Your mother and I are very pleased. He’s a good man.” He hugged Zana tight. “He also asked for some land to build a farm on. I told him to take anything he wanted north of the pasturelands. Does he know what he’s doing?”
Zana hadn’t a clue, but she trusted Kyle.
She kissed her father’s cheek. “I’ll be there to help him.”
Her father nodded and released her. “He asked me to send you to him as soon as you got back.”
Zana snorted. “Like I’d fucking go anywhere else.”
Her father shook his head. “Mind your language, young lady. You’ve always had a problem with that mouth of yours.”
The lush grasslands north of the pastures buzzed with activity. Droids constructed fencing, tilled ground, and planted seeds. By the time Zana touched down beside the big freighter, a large, new house of plastine modules oversaw the burgeoning farm.
Kyle strode toward her and scooped her into his arms as soon as she exited her ship.
“You accomplished all this in just a few hours?” Her mind whirled with amazement.
He chuckled. “I haven’t done much of anything. The droids are doing all the work. Your father wanted to bring the planet up into the present. I figured there’s no better place than here at home to start.”
“Our home?” She gazed up at the huge, two-story mansion.
He took her hand. “Let me show you around.”
The accommodations included modern furnishings and appliances, a garage with a solar powered land vehicle, and six bedroom suites.
Her one-bedroom cabin had been modest in comparison.
“What are we going to do with all this space?” She threw wide her arms and spun in the vast open-concept living area. “I mean . . . six bedrooms?”
His eyes blazed with mischief. “You said you wanted kids someday.”
She gazed out the window at all the land, already fenced in. “With a farm this big, we’re going to need all the help we can get. Working this much land will take a lot of time, and hard labor.”
“Nah.” Kyle shook his head. “The droids will run most of the farm. We’ll just have to cart the fresh produce and meats to all the new markets I plan on opening up.”
Droids, of course. This was the future. Her father had wanted to put Konga 10 back on an even footing with the rest of the galaxy. He must have given Kyle the go-ahead.
Kyle pointed to the little droid gussying up their new kitchen. “I even got you one for cleaning, like you wanted.”
It was all so amazing. Her head spun at the possibilities. “So what do we do while we wait for the crops to grow?”
He pulled her into his arms. “Eat, drink, and make love. Lots and lots of love.”
She stared into Kyle’s loving eyes, desire rushing through her. Images of a little boy with his father’s smile flashed across her mind. A smile curving her lips, she pressed her body tightly against him. “So, are you hungry?”
He kissed the tip of her nose. “Ravenous.”
“Thirsty?” She ran fingers down his chest, tracing his hard lines.
His lips nuzzled her neck. “Parched.”
Her palm slid down to cup his ass—that amazing ass. “So, what do you want?”
Sweeping his hand under her knees, he picked her up, cradling her in his arms. “You.”
Also by S.C. Mitchell and Soul Mate Publishing:
THE BLARMLING DILEMMA
(HEARTS IN ORBIT BOOK 1)
“They’re not animals. They’re people!”
Phoebe Callista’s pleas fall on deaf ears and she’s forced to rescue two helpless Blarmlings from certain death. Fleeing across a backwater sector of the galaxy, with Galactic Marshals in hot pursuit, Phoebe falls into the hands of a handsome but determined bounty hunter.
Rigel Antares has captured wanted criminals throughout the galaxy rim, but he’s never come across anything like Phoebe Callista. The gorgeous blonde is playing the innocent, and something deep inside wants to believe her, but Rigel has problems of his own—a ship that’s falling apart and an unscrupulous Galactic Marshal looking for any excuse to send him back to the prison planets of the Theiler System.
An intergalactic circus, vicious space pirates, and a planet full of backtechers cross their paths as two hearts go into orbit to save a pair of adorable Blarmlings.
HEARTS IN ORBIT BOOK 1: THE BLARMLING DILEMMA is a science fiction romance set in the far-flung space traveling future, and sets a new course across the galaxy that leads to love and adventure.
Available now on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/n9wl28v
SON OF THUNDER
(HEAVENLY WAR SERIES BOOK 1)
The man looked like a god. Then again, he was one . . .
Jord Thorson was a god–the son of Thor, the Norse God of Thunder. In his search to find his missing father, Jord seeks out the mortal, Meghan Larson, who is in possession of his only clue–Megingjörð, Thor’s magical belt of power.
But when the belt decides to take matters into its own hands, locking itself around Meghan’s waist, Jord and Meghan are plunged into the middle of a massive conflict that rages across the heavens.
Giants, magical artifacts, and a golden city in the clouds weren’t exactly what Meghan Larson expected when that amazing belt arrived at her museum. Now Megingjörð is stuck around her waist and talking to her in her head. She’s got to be dreaming, but with the wonders around her and hunky Jord Thorson at her side, Meghan’s not sure she wants to wake up.
Available now on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/qfaej46
PIRATES OF THE DARK NEBULAR
(HEARTS IN ORBIT BOOK 2)
It can’t fall into the wrong hands.
Luna Callista holds the key to a galaxy-changing new technology. Captured by a ruthless band of deep-space pirates, she’s rescued by a man filled with dark secrets of his own. Who is Rik Mazar?
Galactic protector or rogue pirate?
After three years undercover among the Brotherhood of the Dark Nebula, Rik Mazar isn’t sure what side of the law he’s walking. In a world of murder and betrayal, his life goes on the line every day. But, protecting Luna Callista means putting his heart in as much danger as his hide.
A rusting service droid, a Ferang fortuneteller, and a ship full of back-water refugees are their only allies, as two hearts go into orbit to save a galaxy in peril.
HEARTS IN ORBIT: VOLUME 2 – PIRATES OF THE DARK NEBULA is a science fiction romance set in the far-flung space-traveling future, continuing the series’ course across a galaxy filled with love and adventure.
Available now on Amazon http://tinyurl.com/h7ckwv6
DAUGHTER OF DARKNESS
“It wouldn’t be
the first time I’d been kicked out of heaven.”
After a thousand years in exile, the goddess Nott learned to live without interaction with the other Norse Gods. Hidden away amidst the devastation of a dead heaven, and working to aid the besieged mortals of Midgaard, Nott found peace. The night is her realm, and darkness her best friend. But war finds her. And her grandfather, Loki, wants her at his side, when he conquers Asgaard.
And then there’s Tyr . . .
Visions of the Night Goddess have haunted Tyr’s dreams for a millennium. Unjustly accused, she’d fled Asgaard before he could stop her. Now, circumstances offer him an opportunity to reconnect with the woman who’d walked away from the Golden Realm—the woman who’d eluded him for a thousand years, yet always haunted his dreams. But Nott’s family ties threaten to put the goddess on the other side, in a war that’s blazing across the heavens.
Available now on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/jgzf6m7
Thanks for reading Between Venus and Mars, by S.C. Mitchell, the third book in THE SOUL MATE TREE Collective! If you enjoyed the read, please consider leaving a review on Amazon.
The Collective continues with April’s release, The Trail to Love, by Tina Susedik:
After they each catch a glimpse of an ancient, mystical tree, widower Jack Billabard and widow Sarah Nickelson find themselves traveling together on the Oregon Trail. Yet both fear being hurt again. Can they survive dogs and puppies, wind and rainstorms, Indians, and unfavorable fellow passengers while their love blossoms? Will the Soul Mate tree fulfill its promise?
PRE-ORDER LINK:
Links for S.C. Mitchell:
Website: http://scmitchellauthor.com/
Blog: http://scmitchell.wordpress.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorSCMitchell
Twitter @authorsmitchell
Between Venus & Mars (The Soul Mate Tree Book 3) Page 14
