Worlds Apart (Men of Orion Book 1)

by Laylah Roberts

  He didn’t trust women, not since Celia had fucked him over. Still, Kalia wasn’t Celia and he was in charge of her at the moment. He hadn’t even found out if it was something to do with the baby.

  “Fuck.” He wiped his hands on a rag and moved toward the door knowing he needed to check up on her.

  He nearly missed the note. Leaning down he grabbed it, reading it quickly. Furious with himself, he cursed loudly as he ran through the Orion.

  He had to find Garret. Now.

  Chapter Eight

  It was official. She had the worst luck. She was supposed to be rescuing Garret, instead she now needed rescuing. There really should be a limit on how often someone could be kidnapped.

  If she knew where Garret and Talon had gone it would have made her life a lot easier and she wouldn’t have ended up locked up in this storeroom.

  The door opened and she glanced up from the empty crate where she was sitting. She refused to stand, her feet hurt, her back hurt and she’d kill for a hot bath.

  “Here she is, sir,” said her kidnapper, almost sounding nervous. A huge man looked down at her. She blinked up at him, wishing she could see his face.

  “And she was asking about Garret St Jonas?” the deep voice rumbled.

  “Yes, sir. She seemed quite desperate to find him.”

  “Fine. Leave us,” the big man barked. The other man scurried off and Kalia wished that she could do the same. She wasn’t the bravest person, she knew that. She’d rather avoid confrontation. Unfortunately, trouble just seemed to find her.

  “Who are you?” he commanded.

  Kalia thrust her chin up. She wasn’t about to show him she was intimidated or frightened. As soon as Siren saw her note he’d warn Garret and Talon and then they’d come looking for her.

  Or they’d leave her here to fend for herself. She wasn’t part of the crew; they might decide they were better off without her.

  “Who are you?” she countered.

  Did she sense some amusement coming from him?

  Probably not.

  “Preston James,” he introduced himself. “Now, what is your name?” This time his voice was filled with steely command.

  “Ka-kaley,” she stumbled over the name.

  “Well, Ka-kaley,” he repeated. “Why don’t you come out of that storeroom so we can talk?”

  “I don’t want to,” she replied. This room gave her a false sense of safety. She really didn’t want to go anywhere with this man. “And it’s just Kaley.” Jerk.

  “Well, I’m sick of staring down at you, so you’re going to move.”

  He held out his hand. She just looked at his hand and shook her head. Suddenly the room around her moved as she was picked up, her feet dangling above the floor.

  “Huh, you’re heavier than I thought you’d be,” he said as he swung her up into his arms. He stepped out into a well-lit room living room.

  “It’s rude to comment on a woman’s weight,” she told him with a glare, wondering if she’d gone insane. Was she really scolding this scary giant?

  He set her down on her feet in front of him, keeping hold of her arms as he stared down at her in shock. “You’re pregnant.”

  “Well, duh,” she said, stealing Siren’s favorite word.

  “Is it St. Jonas’s?”

  She laughed. “Uh, no, it’s not.”

  “So why were you looking for him?” he asked. She glanced up at him. He was ridiculously sexy with silvery-blond hair, bright blue eyes and a tan, lined face. He had to be in his late thirties.

  “He, uhh, was eating in the restaurant I work in. He left his jacket there. I was trying to find it to return it to him.”

  “That’s very conscientious of you. Most people would just stick it in the lost property.”

  She shrugged. “I finished my shift and he left me a good tip.” She was quite proud of her quick thinking. She might actually manage to get out of this herself. “Where are we? Is this your apartment? Why am I here?”

  She had the sudden urge to destroy something. She glanced at the vase sitting in the middle of the small dining table.

  “Don’t even think about it,” James warned.

  “What?” she looked up with an innocent expression.

  He shook his head. “I need to talk to Garret.”

  “I told you, I don’t know anything about him. I was merely trying to return his jacket.” She stared up at him, hoping she looked completely innocent.

  “Where is it?”

  “Where is what?” she asked in confusion, moving slowly around the room, pretending to look at her surroundings. The door was so close. She was under no illusion that she could outrun him. Even if she hadn’t been pregnant, his legs were longer than hers and he looked like he was fit.

  Kalia was not.

  “The jacket,” he said with a note of amusement in his voice. “Where is this mysterious jacket?”

  Oh crap.

  “I must have dropped it when that weasel snatched me.” That sounded plausible, pleased with herself for her quick thinking.

  “Oh dear,” he said with false chagrin. “Well, I’d better contact Warrick and get him to go back and grab this jacket, since you were so concerned about getting it back to its rightful owner.”

  “I’m sure it’s long gone,” she replied, narrowing her gaze at him. She couldn’t help but feel he was laughing at her.

  “Why don’t you come and sit down,” James offered, stepping over to her just as she was within feet of the door. “I’m sure you shouldn’t be on your feet, especially after just finishing work. Where exactly do you work?” he asked as he smoothly steered her over to the small sofa across the room, even propping her feet up on the coffee table.

  She looked up at him in amazement. Was this guy for real? He’d kidnapped her, he’d set up a trap for Garret and the others and he was propping her feet up? Maybe he was trying to lull her into a false sense of security. He’d take the information he was after then slit her throat. Yeah, that was probably his plan.

  “What was that look about?” he asked as he sat on the coffee table next to her feet. “You’re looking at me like I killed your puppy.”

  “You kidnapped me!” she told him. “And you won’t even tell me why! How do I know you’re not going to slit my throat?”

  “You don’t,” he replied smoothly, his eyes growing cold. “Particularly if you keep feeding me lies.”

  Kalia swallowed heavily, not bothering to hide her fear. Any sane person would be afraid right now, wouldn’t they?

  “Now, how about we start again? We both know that you don’t work in a restaurant and that you weren’t trying to find St Jonas to return his jacket. Who are you to Garret?”

  “I’m nobody. He doesn’t even like me. If you think you can trap him by using me as bait you’re sorely mistaken. He’s probably long gone by now.”

  James tilted his head to one side. “You believe that, don’t you?”

  She shrugged. “How did you know he would come here?”

  “I’m a wealthy man with lots of contacts. I’ve had feelers out in a number of places. Plus, Garret likes to unwind here. It was a safe bet he’d come here eventually.”

  “Then how come you don’t know where he is?”

  “Oh, I know where he is, I just can’t get to him there. I was contacted the moment Orion landed, luckily my crew and I weren’t too far away. I was waiting for a chance to grab him and then you dropped into my lap. Now tell me why you were looking for him?”

  She sighed. What did it matter if she told him? All she was doing with her lies was making this big, dangerous man mad.

  “Because I overheard some port workers talking about you. They said you were here.”

  “You were going to warn St Jonas.” He looked at her thoughtfully. “Which means you care about him.”

  She snorted. “Care about him? The man is obnoxious, rude and arrogant. But I owe him. I can’t help you. So why don’t you just get on with whatever you’re g
oing to do with me and go find him.”

  He stared at her for so long she began to fidget. Reaching out he placed his large hand over both of hers. The warmth shocked her and she glanced up at him in surprise.

  “And just what do you think I’m going to do with you?”

  “Well, I assume you’re going to kill me.”

  “Hmm, I could think of other things I’d much rather do.” He ran his thumb over her hand and she shivered. “I’m not really in the business of killing beautiful women. Now, bedding them, that’s much more up my alley.”

  “I’m pregnant,” she protested through a dry throat as he moved to sit beside her. He leaned in and nuzzled her neck.

  “I can see that. Does that mean you can’t have sex?”

  She cleared her throat. “No, but, uhh, you shouldn’t want to have sex with me.”

  “Why not? I think you’re beautiful.” He ran his hand down her arm. She had to admit, the attention was kind of nice—it had been a long time since she’d felt beautiful. But there was no way in hell she could handle Preston James. The man was potent, deadly and scary as hell.

  “I-I, uhh—”

  He interrupted her stuttering by taking her mouth with his. Sweeping his tongue between her lips, he conquered her. He ran his hand down the side of her face and neck until he reached her breast, cupping it. He plucked her nipple between his finger and thumb.

  She pulled back in shock.

  What the hell was she doing? This man had kidnapped her and she was kissing him?

  She scooted back, shoving his hand away from her breast. “Don’t touch me,” she told him.

  “Why not? If there’s nothing between you and Garret then why shouldn’t we indulge ourselves?”

  “Maybe because I don’t just fall into bed with my kidnappers,” she told him, standing and moving away.

  He watched her in puzzlement. “There’s only one of me here, sugar. Unless…did Garret kidnap you?”

  “No, he did not. He saved me. Not that any of this is your business. I demand that you let me go.”

  He shook his head. “Can’t do that, sugar.”

  “I am not going to sleep with you,” she told him.

  He grinned. Gods, he was hot. “Give me some time and I’m pretty sure I could change your mind, however that’s not why I can’t let you go. You’re connected to St Jonas and I need to talk to him.”

  “I told you, I won’t work as bait. He doesn’t care about me.”

  “We’ll see.”

  ***

  “We have to find her, Garret.” Talon kept pace with him as they headed back to the Orion. Siren had just crashed their party in the room they’d rented at Lady Pleasure, telling them that Kalia was missing and that Preston James was more than likely here and looking for them.

  Truthfully, Garret hadn’t been having as good a time as he usually did. They’d hired Misty, their favorite girl. But Garret just wasn’t that interested in touching her and Talon had refused to.

  All he’d been able to think about was a petite, dark-haired beauty.

  Christ, he was in trouble.

  “We will,” Garret said. He glanced down at the note Kalia had left for Siren.

  Gone to find Garret.

  Preston James is here and looking for him.

  “I’m going to tan her butt for this,” he muttered.

  Talon glanced over at him. “She thought she was saving you.”

  “She should have stayed on the ship like I told her. I can take care of myself.” He didn’t need her to rescue him and he definitely didn’t like her putting herself in harm’s way.

  He’d sent Siren to find the others and bring them back. They wouldn’t like it, but they needed to find Kalia before Preston did.

  Garret reached Orion, storming inside. They needed to regroup and start searching for her.

  Moving towards the weapons room, he opened the locked door and started pulling out blasters.

  Talon stared at him. “You’re expecting trouble.”

  “We have no idea what Preston is up to. If he found Kalia then we need to be prepared.”

  “Would he hurt her?” Talon asked in a quiet voice.

  Garret looked over at his mate, feeling his fear although he worked hard to hide it.

  “Preston doesn’t hurt helpless women. He’s smart; he’ll figure out that he can use her to get to me. She’ll be fine.” Unless he was a different man now from the one Garret had known.

  “I really care about her, Garret,” Talon said as he followed him to the dining area, placing the blasters on the table.

  “I know.”

  “She’s our third.”

  Garret stared over at him. “I know.”

  Talon stared at him in surprise. “You do? But you never said anything.”

  “I’ve never wanted a third, you know that. Women are fragile. I’d spend all my time worrying about protecting her. Just look at the piss poor job I’m doing.”

  Talon reached out and cupped his cheek. “This isn’t your fault. You couldn’t have foreseen this.”

  “I should have left someone else with her. I knew Siren didn’t like her, I should have made sure she was better guarded.”

  “And I should have made sure she knew exactly where to find us,” Talon said. “I haven’t exactly been a good guardian. I’ve been angry at her and I’ve pushed her away. She probably thinks I don’t care about her.”

  Garret could see the guilt eating away at his mate. “When we find her, we can both work on getting her to forgive us.”

  “And the rest of it?” Talon asked. “You know how I feel about her. I love her. I want her to be mine, but I don’t want to lose you.”

  Garret cupped his face with his hands, kissing him fiercely. “You will never lose me, understand? We’re mated. That’s forever.”

  “Forever can be a long time if you feel forced into something you don’t want.”

  “I want Kalia. I’ve been attracted to her since the first time she challenged me, even though I knew she was going to be trouble.” He sighed, admitting the truth to both of them. “I feel it too, Talon. I just needed some time before I could admit it.”

  Time to figure out how the hell he was going to let someone else into his life.

  Garret turned as footsteps came down the corridor and the others stormed into the dining area.

  Lucan’s eyes widened as he saw the weapons. “You expecting a battle, Cap?”

  “I want to be prepared.”

  “No sign of Kalia?” Siren asked, looking around worriedly.

  “No,” Garret replied. “I left a message at Lady Pleasure that if she turned up they were to hold her and contact me but we can’t rule out the idea that Preston has already found her.”

  “She’s probably lost,” Ace said. “She can barely manage to make it from her bedroom to the bridge without help. Did she even know where to find you?”

  Garret shook his head, angry with himself. He should have left her with some contact details, or at least a way to get a message to him. Coms didn’t work in Lady Pleasure, but she could have left a message at the front desk.

  “Right, we’re going to split up. Hopefully, Ace is right and we find her wandering around, lost. But we can’t forget that we could all be in danger.”

  He couldn’t completely ignore the possibility that Preston was trying to harm him.

  “Go in pairs and remain in contact.”

  There was a loud beep and Lucan jumped to his feet. “That’s a communication coming through.”

  “Could be Kalia,” Talon said with excitement, racing off after Lucan.

  Garret looked at the rest of them, his face grim. “I want Kalia found. Now. Understood?”

  They all nodded.

  “This is my fault,” Siren said, looking miserable. “If I’d just listened to her instead of brushing her off…”

  Garret shook his head. “No, I’m to blame for this. I haven’t treated her well and you’ve been taking your cue
s from me. But once we find her, I’m going to make sure that she’s better looked after.”

  Lucan’s voice came over the speaker. “Garret, get up here now.”

  Garret ran onto the bridge and came to a stop as he saw a hologram image of Preston James. But it was the woman standing beside him, her face pale, her eyes frightened that had his heart skipping a beat.

  “Listen to this,” Lucan said grimly.

  “Hello, old friend,” Preston James said with a smug grin. “You’re a hard man to get hold of. If you’d just answered my communications earlier, this could all have been avoided. Instead, I’ve had to capture this lovely young lady to get your attention—”

  Kalia snorted. “You’re wasting your time,” she interrupted. “He is not going to pay any attention to your message.”

  James placed a hand over her mouth. “On the contrary, my dear, I believe he’s going to pay very close attention. If I had a lovely morsel like you then I wouldn’t be willing to just let her go. Of course, I would have guarded her better in the first place.”

  Was that disapproval in his voice?

  Kalia fought against his hold, her eyes sparking with anger.

  “Gods, Kalia, don’t fight him,” Talon said, his voice filled with fear.

  “Quite the wildcat you have here, St Jonas. I don’t think you quite appreciate her enough. I found her wandering around, trying to find you. She wanted to warn you about me. I couldn’t allow a pregnant woman to walk around unescorted. So she’s going to keep me company until you come for her. I need to speak with you. Just you. You have twenty minutes.” He rattled off an address.

  His eyes widened as he drew his hand from Kalia’s mouth. “Did you just bite me!” he yelled.

  “Don’t listen to him, Garret, get out of—”

  The message was abruptly cut off.

  “Fuck, that address is at least ten minutes from here,” Lucan said. “The message came through five minutes ago.”

  Garret ran back where the weapons were still on the table. He grabbed one and put in in the small of his back under his shirt. He tucked another one into his boot and one into his shoulder holster, before putting his jacket on to cover it up.