“It looks as if they have more than one human on board,” Korda said into the microphone. I am picking up at least two. They're on opposite ends of the ship. I really hope that you can make the right choice in time.”
Kane growled to himself in frustration. He felt obligated to save them both, but only one of them was Kylie. Only one of them he cared about. And not just because she could save the universe. There had been a sense of intimacy between them that he couldn't shake off. He wasn't stupid and knew that there were rumors around the ship about the two of them falling for each other, but he had not thought much about it until now. He would never have risked his life for any other person like this. They would have thought of something else to do. But this girl was different. Somehow, she had his heart.
In a moment of intense deliberation, Kane chose to go left. Korda gave him directions to follow through the ship and he did his best to avoid detection. Finally, he reached the end of the bay and peeked inside a dark room. He had to try for a while at the code to the door, and he knew that after three wrong tries the alarm would be sounded and he would be caught. Fortunately, he got the door open on the second try and pushed his way inside, his eyes wide and searching for Kylie.
He was crestfallen when he saw a man staring at him. It was an earthling, and his eyes were wide with fear.
“What are you going to do to me this time?" He asked, backing away as quickly as he could from Kane. “Please just leave me alone."
Kane's heart lurched in sympathy for this terrified man, and he lowered his weapon.
“I'll rescue you if you like, but if you make so much as a noise we're both dead, do you understand that?"
The man nodded dumbly, and Kane ordered Korda to set the coordinates to beam him away. He hoped that it wouldn't set off any alarm bells, and hurried away from the room before he was sucked into the beam as well.
It hadn't been Kylie, but he did manage to save somebody. The thought should've been comforting, but all it did was bring him a sense of dread and panic. If the Codans noticed the beam from his ship, they would all be doomed. He had to hurry.
He waited for Korda to give him the instructions and warn him of any codons coming his way. For some reason, they were all gathered in the top area of the ship. He wasn't sure what to make of this and did his best to run as quickly as he could to find Kylie.
Suddenly, the alarm bells began to blare. His heart lurched and he sped as quickly as he could down the hallway, where Korda promised that Kylie was laying. He fumbled with the lock, not caring if he set off any more alarms. Although it would alert everybody to his location, at least he would be able to escape by the skin of his teeth.
The door finally opened, just as Marxus appeared in front of Kane. Kane's stomach dropped, and he fired his weapon blindly, screaming for Korda to beam them into the ship.
“Just the man I've been wanting to see," Marxus said, unphased by Kane's weapon. Kane shot again and Marxus dodged out of the way, swooping into the room toward Kylie. Kane knew that if he didn't get there first, she would be dead.
Kane rushed forward, using his body to separate Marxus from the woman he loved, throwing himself fully in front of Marxus and colliding with his sickly body. A light began to flood the room and Kane clung to Kylie's limp form. He couldn't tell if she was breathing or not, and soon he was clinging to her on the floor of the Legacy. But there was a problem. Marxus had been beamed alongside them.
Kane paled as Marxus struck out at one of his crew members, knocking her dead where she stood. A cry of rage escaped his lips and he lunged forward toward Marxus. They both fell to the floor, tumbling together until Marxus pulled Kane up by the collar of his shirt. Suddenly, everybody on the ship rushed forward, separating Marxus from Kane and beating the ever-loving hell out of him. They formed a strong crowd, pushing Marxus toward a chute. He growled in anger as he stumbled into it, and Kane struggled to stand up and catch his breath, watching as his people got rid of Marxus once and for all. He was quickly sucked into the chute as one of his crew members, he recognized her as the sister of the woman Marxus had killed, pushed the button.
A furious cry echoed in the cabin as Marxus was sucked out into space, and they all looked away as he killed by the impact. They all watch this happen in a daze, until Kane came to his senses and commanded that the ship speed away quickly before anybody else came after them. He then ordered Korda to give Kylie something that would combat the effect of Gina's needle. He rested her side and picked her up carefully, carrying her to his own private chambers. Korda met him in the hallway before he walked in and gave him a small cup to allow Kylie to drink.
When she opened her eyes, tears of relief flowed from Kane's eyes, dampening his cheeks.
“I thought I had lost you forever," Kane said, his voice choking up. Everything happened so fast. Marxus was gone and now Kylie was back safe and sound. They were truly going to save the universe.
“I knew that you would come back for me," she said weakly.
Chapter 10
They stared at each other quietly, and Kane finally raised the small cup to her full lips. She drank it deeply and Kane could almost feel the life being restored into her body. He held her closely to his body, the two of them shockingly intimate inside of his personal cabin. Kylie had been terrified, but she knew that he would come for her. It wasn't a question in her mind. The smell of his cabin filled her senses and made her hungry for more. She looked up into his eyes as the strength began to fill her body. A longing she had never before began to fill her, and Kane, returning her intense gaze, pursed his lips and gazed down at her, his body full of adrenaline and ready to move.
She sat up, relishing the feeling of his strong arms around her, and met his lips with hers. She moaned softly as the slick feeling of his tongue against hers sent a thrill throughout her. He lifted her on top of himself and she could feel the hard bulge between his thighs pushing intimately between her legs. She wondered briefly if he would look the same as human men down there and then had to laugh to herself again. The musical sound of her laughter roused Kane's attention and he quirked his eyebrow at her as if he could read her mind, which made her laugh harder.
The sound of her enjoying herself aroused him more, and he slowly unbuttoned her blouse, taking in the soft pale skin beneath. A soft sigh escaped her lips and he smiled sweetly at her before he took her breast in his mouth, sucking gently and eliciting a moan that drove him wild. Finally he slipped himself out of his clothes and stood naked in front of her, pulling her clothes off slowly, allowing her to take the time she needed to adjust to his touch.
Finally, she grabbed him by the waist, her legs parted and welcoming him between them. She was pleased to find that he was bigger than the men on earth, and the differences and similarities were both arousing. She gasped sharply as he made his way inside of her, and closed her eyes as he made love to her, taking the time no man on Earth had ever taken to appreciate her body and kiss everything about her that made her a unique creation in the universe.
The heat between them was undeniable, and soon she was enraptured in bliss. Her climax was immense and he gripped her hips as he buried himself deeper inside, allowing himself to be squeezed by her contractions until he couldn't take any more. His powerful orgasm erupted in an explosion that surprised them both with its sheer force, bringing her to another full climax as he held her firmly in place. Finally, they collapsed together, spent but craving one another's comfort.
Kane kissed her then, a sweet, tender kiss that she would remember for the rest of her life.
“Please don't leave me,” he whispered.
It was such a sweet, intimate thing to say. Something she would expect a woman to utter after sex, not this strong, unbelievably attractive man. The gentleness of his eyes melted her heart and she thought back to her life on earth. The only person she would miss was her brother.
“I don't know how I could,” she said. “We have a universe to save.”
And with that,
they fell asleep together, drifting through space in the Legacy, each of them lost in dreams of another world.
THE END
The Highland’s Call
Jessica Savage
Copyright ©2015 by Samantha Leal. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic of mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Thank you so much for your interest in my work
Table of Contents
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 1
Andrea clutched the small stone in the palm of her hand. It felt cool and smooth and somehow strangely comforting. Her Grandmother Betty had insisted that her only granddaughter be given this small artifact on her death. That had happened over a week ago, as Andrea was driving through New York. It was almost as if she knew. An image of her beloved Gran had flitted through her mind at the exact moment she took her last breath.
Betty was her father's mother. Her dad Joe had died a few years ago and her mother Pat had remarried. She had never approved of her stepdad, Pete; he could never replace her beloved father.
Perhaps she was being unfair, but she had always sided with her dad against her mum, and now the two women seemed poles apart, no longer able to communicate with each other. Pat didn’t even attend the funeral. Not that Betty would have minded. She had never approved of the union in the first place.
Andrea had inherited her Grandma's creative talents and she had been close to Betty when she was a child, closer than to her own mother, but after college she had been offered a three-year contract with a major advertising company in New York, and it had been too good an opportunity to turn down. Betty had understood that she needed to fly the nest. She had been a young woman once, although that seemed such a long time ago.
Andrea had only seen her Gran when she flew home for Christmas and important family occasions. Then she had met Steve and her life in the US seemed to take on a more permanent footing, until the death of her Grandma had made her suddenly homesick for the English countryside. She loved the buzz and fast-paced life of New York but now longed for some peace and time to reflect and find herself again, and she certainly couldn't do that on Fifth Avenue.
Steve had stayed behind. He was in the middle of an important project but was willing to travel with her on a trip home for the funeral. For once Andrea didn't feel the need to be accompanied; this time she wanted to be alone with her thoughts and memories. Her insistence on being alone had caused a strain between them, the first serious rift since they got together almost two years ago, and it would be the first time they had spent any real time apart.
The pressure of the stone against her palm brought her back to the present. It had been almost five days since she left JFK airport, and Steve hadn't phoned her since. Not even yesterday after the funeral to see how she was coping. It saddened her to think the man she had grown to love could be so stubborn and heartless, and she began to question her commitment to the relationship. Did she really know him? He had seemed to be perfect for her, and she had enjoyed his company; yet when she looked back at the continual rounds of friends and parties, drinks and dinners, it seemed somewhat shallow. Lately she had started to feel broody; her body clock reminding her that time was ticking away. She had mentioned it to Steve once in a light-hearted way, and he had held up his hands in mock horror. That would never be the deal with him; his career was way too important, and her needs would always come second.
Did she and Steve really have anything in common?
The day was grey and coarse; the wind whipped up sharply from behind the trees and caused her to shiver. She had forgotten the English weather and hadn't prepared nor packed for it.
Opening her palm, Andrea looked down at the stone in her hand. She remembered seeing it as a child, taking prize position behind the glass in the old china cabinet in her Gran’s front room. Occasionally she had been allowed to take it out and hold it in her small palm. It was pale in color, not quite white and not quite beige. Several markings had been etched deeply into the surface, and she’d been told it once belonged to a white witch with magical powers. As a child, she had held the small token and made a secret wish that she would never grow up, that she would always remain a child. Of course, that hadn't happened. Not physically, anyway—but perhaps in her heart?
Grandma Betty had always been so full of life, her small blue eyes twinkling on the wrinkled and careworn face. There had been some sadness in her youth, but no one had talked of it and Andrea had never asked, but sometimes she saw a wistful shadow slightly dimming those sparkling eyes.
And now the stone was hers—that and an old battered leather diary from 1956. Before her death, Grandma Betty had written her a letter, the hand-writing barely legible on the expensive vellum cream paper. It had taken her a while to read the spidery hand.
Andrea,
My darling Granddaughter, I fear that I may not see you again. I do hope that is not the case, but I have to be practical. There is so much I should have told you and so much left to say, but my time is running out. Remember the wishing stone you used to ask me about as a child? I leave that to you. It's my most valued possession. You must promise that you will do something for me? The stone needs to be returned to its rightful home on the Isle of Iona, just off the Isle of Mull. You must take it into the Abbey and enter the little graveyard of St. Oran's chapel. Take the stone and place it on the third grave on the left-hand side. I can't explain everything to you in this letter. Most of it I don't understand myself. But you must promise me this, this small pilgrimage of mine. The diary may help? Call it an old woman's ramblings, but as you loved me please do this one last thing for me. The thought of you, my only remaining flesh and blood carrying out this last request, brings peace to my mind as I near my end.
I will never stop loving you even when I am far away.
Grandma Betty x
Tears trickled down her face as she imagined the dear old lady sitting up in bed, scribbling her last instructions to the world. It must have taken a lot of effort to write the letter. She had been in a very weak state in the end and therefore must have considered it extremely important to write.
Andrea had promised Steve she would be back in a few days, but what would a few more matter? It wasn't as if he was speaking to her anyhow. She would visit Iona. It was the last thing she could do for her grandmother, and although it would mean a further 1000 mile round trip, it would give her some peace of mind to follow her last wishes.
The phone vibrated in her jeans pocket, and pulling it out, she could see it was Steve calling from New York.
"Hey." His voice was deep and apologetic across the miles, and her heart thumped loudly at the sound of him.
"Hey, back." She tried to sound light as she finished their usual greeting.
"So, how are you?"
She could tell he was struggling to find the right words.
"Not too bad, under the circumstances. It was the funeral yesterday." Andrea could feel herself start to choke on the words; she had been bottling things up for too long.
There was a pause as Steve caught his breath. "Yesterday? Andrea, I'm so sorry, I would have called. I thought it was today."
Another lengthy pause ensued. Usually they had so much to talk about.
"At least you'll be home tomorrow,” he added. “I've missed you."
And now it was crunch time.
"Steve, I won't be coming home tomorrow. I've extended my stay by a week." She could hear disappointment in the silence that followed.
"I have to go up to Scotland, to Iona. It
was Gran’s last wish."
"What?"
His voice sounded incredulous, as if he hadn’t quite heard her right.
"It's just something I have to do; it was her dying wish that I visit the chapel there."
"But honey, you don't have to do that now. Not right away, anyway. You haven't forgotten the opening night for my exhibition, have you? It's in four days. I want you by my side. You promised."
Andrea had forgotten, and she closed her eyes as if that would make things go away. She had tried that as a child; it hadn't worked then, and it didn't help now. It just gave her a few more seconds to think.
"Andrea?"
"It was her last wish, Steve. I've got to do it."
She could feel his exasperation as he breathed heavily into his phone.
"Are you crazy? You know how much this exhibition means to me. You're not really going to put your senile old grandmother ahead of me, ahead of us?"
"Grandma Betty wasn't senile!"
"I know, honey. I know how much she meant to you, but you've got to be reasonable."
She was three and a half thousand miles away, and “reasonable” was something she didn't have to be. The word irritated her, and she could feel the anger rising in her throat.
"Andrea?"
She pressed the end call button and put the phone back in her pocket. End of call, end of relationship, she guessed. She shouldn’t have felt angry; she knew the exhibition meant everything to him. She should be the one feeling sorry and calling him back to apologize, but Andrea didn't feel any of these things. Her grandmother dying and her trip home had sparked something inside her, some longing and need that she couldn't quite grasp. The only thing that she was certain of was that she needed to travel to Iona as soon as possible.
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