Love Without Boundaries

by Michelle Howard

  Mate Search – First Contact

  The Prequel to the Mate Search Sci-Fi Romance Series

  by

  J. A. Hornbuckle

  ....*

  Published by J.A. Hornbuckle

  ....*

  Copyright ©2014 by J.A. Hornbuckle

  License Notes

  This portion of the eBook contained herein is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this novel with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this eBook and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please buy an additional copy for each recipient.

  No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information story and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of J.A. Hornbuckle or her authorized representatives.

  Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This is a work of fiction and is not a reflection or representation of any person living or dead. Any similarity is one of pure coincidence.

  Although, if you recognize yourself in any character represented, maybe we need to talk.

  Dedication

  To my two Michelles, both Eidem and Howard, that told me I could.

  And to my Bob, who believed in me.

  -Begin Transmission—

  To: Quest Council

  From: Bronsyn Llent, Quest Commander

  The Mission: To travel to small blue planet, to seek and secure females in order to mate and repopulate our dying worlds.

  The Timeframe: One half of Earth’s rotation around its Sun.

  Resources Available: Earth’s worldwide web (also known as the Internet)

  Conclusion to Date: Original plan too simplistic in not anticipating the independent minds and lifestyles of human females. Most complications experienced seem to result from this unforeseen circumstance. New strategy needed to ensure success.

  -End Transmission-

  Chapter One

  As Leah pushed the key into the lock of her door, she turned and gave a small smile to the man standing patiently behind her. Rykhan always walked her to her door at the end of one of their dates so there was no reason for her hands to tremble or stomach to dip as she twisted the key and entered her apartment. But she knew her reaction was one of anticipation, at the now threadbare hope that the man would finally, finally take the next step and kiss her.

  And she was of a mind that if he didn’t take the initiative and just damn well do it then she could pretty much figure he only wanted to be friends. Friends that went out to dinner or the movie occasionally. Even though on each and every one of their five previous dates, they’d had a lot of fun together. More fun than expected, in Leah’s opinion. And while their chemistry had taken them from stilted strangers to friends-that-hugged, Leah wanted more. Needed more from the gorgeous man she’d met at one of the local casinos at a speed-dating event.

  She stepped into the tiny foyer of her apartment and turned to fully face him. “I had a great time, Rykhan. Thank you.”

  “As did I,” he rumbled, his light almost Caribbean blue eyes twinkling as his face shone with his killer smile. “It is always wonderful being with you.”

  She felt her eyebrows move up sharply at his words. He always told her how much fun he’d had in their previous times together but that was the first time he used a word like ‘wonderful’. And to hear him say it, especially in the same sentence while referring to her, made her knees weak. “T-thanks,” was all she managed to stammer out. The truth of it was, up until that moment she was sure she was a lot more into him than vice-versa.

  She wanted to ask him in, but since he’d turned her down the other four times she’d offered (it was only on their first date that she hadn’t done so), she didn’t want to feel the pain of rejection when he declined yet again. Though she was tempted to, just to fill the silence between them.

  “Are you available on Wednesday night, Leah? I have heard there is a place where people can play miniature golf which sounds like something I would like to try.” His voice had always been deep, which she found extremely attractive, but it was his foreign accent that caught on certain consonants which shifted it into the realm of damn sexy.

  “Sure,” she replied, unable to keep the disappointment out of her voice. “Just give me a call…”

  He stepped forward, his broad shoulders filling the doorway. His eyebrows had drawn together as his smile faded. “What is wrong? Did I not word that correctly?”

  “Wrong?” Leah tried a small laugh that sounded fake even to her ears. “No, you said that perfectly.” There had been instances where Rykhan had gotten tangled in his English words but his speech had improved a lot since they’d been going out. Something he said was a direct result of her help.

  His eyes did a slow roam over her face as he moved even closer. “You do not seem happy with my suggestion for our next outing.”

  She heard a door across the hall open and without thinking, snagged the folded cuff of his shirt that rested on his forearm, dragging him the rest of the way inside before closing the door and twisting the dead bolt. Sometimes living in an apartment complex was like living in a fishbowl and Leah liked to keep her private life under wraps.

  Turning back to where he stood in front of the foyer’s closet door, she took a deep breath. Maybe it was time to put it out there. They’d met at a singles event so they both knew the other was looking to connect with someone. But with his lack of moves and zero interest in engaging in anything of the physical intimacy variety, Leah felt it was time to put her cards on the table.

  She leaned, pressing her back against the front door as she looked at him. God, he was stunning. Tall. So tall that he towered over her five-foot, ten-inch stature. Tall enough that she could comfortably wear heels when she was with him. Long, sun-streaked brown hair that fell in waves to his shoulders. To his broad, muscled shoulders. And even though she’d never actually seen his chest, it had been pressed against her enough times in their brief hugs that Leah knew Rykhan worked out, since both it and his abs were comprised of amazing hills and valleys.

  He was going to be a hard act to follow. But Leah was willing to cut her losses and move on.

  Because everything within her wanted to be so much more to him than just a friend.

  As her mind swirled with all those thoughts as well as the knowledge that she wasn’t what he was looking for, her mouth blurted, “Why haven’t you ever tried to kiss me?”

  She immediately clapped a hand over her traitorous lips and saw he looked as shocked as she felt by her abrupt question.

  “Kiss you?” His voice was only a whisper in the air between them.

  “Yeah. Sorry, that just kind of slipped out,” Leah muttered, looking down at the floor, mortified to her core. And as if to add insult to injury, she felt the sharp heat of her blush as it crept up her face.

  There were a couple of beats of silence before he spoke again. “You want me to kiss you, Leah?”

  She dragged her eyes back up to his because she needed to see his reaction to her oh-so-honest but embarrassing gaff. His face held a look of amazed confusion.

  ‘You certainly put your foot in it this time.’ And she thought her mind was overstating the obvious. So she simply nodded in reply.

  “I thought hu…ah, American females liked things to go slowly when they dated.” He swallowed deeply and Leah watched his throat as it moved through the motion. Even his damn neck was sexy! “And a kiss, this early in our relationship, would be considered appropriate?”

  She could only nod again as everything in her body started squealing ‘yes, a thousand times yes!’ From his question, she deduced he hadn’t regulated her to the position of side-kick, just someone to go out with until he
found a woman prettier and more enjoyable. That he had been taking it slowly, unsure of her American customs—things so different from what he knew or had experience with back in his home country.

  With a look of quiet determination, Rykhan took a small step forward and placed his hands on the door, on either side of Leah’s head, leaning in until their faces were just inches apart. “Then I will be more than happy as well as honored to kiss you, my Leah,” he breathed and she watched as he tilted his chin downward, their eyes caught in an unblinking stare.

  He filled her vision as she lifted her face to his, silently offering her lips as her pounding heart began to resound in every cell of her body. The first press of his lips against hers was simple, almost innocent as he glided his mouth over hers. It was a kiss that was inquisitive and she canted her head to allow him better access.

  But it was his low groan that gave Leah the courage to move her hands from his waist to his back and brought their bodies closer together. An action he seemed to be in favor of, if the way he moved his hands to pull her away from the door and against his chest was any indication.

  And gave her the courage to use her tongue to lightly trace the seam of his mouth, which gained her another moan that seemed to come from his very toes. So she continued the move, adding more pressure with each sweep in a silent plea for him to let her inside.

  When Rykhan finally parted his lips, Leah wasted no time darting inside, her whole body thrilling when she felt the first touch of his tongue against hers. His body stilled at that initial contact and she wondered if she’d gone too far.

  ‘In for a penny…’ she thought as she used her lips to suckle his, curling around in a hot, wet caress before moving to stroke as she tantalized and tasted. And for a very few seconds, she wondered if he was going to respond or simply allow her to take the lead. He seemed hesitant and a bit unsure for a moment before he gripped her even tighter, angling his head before he joined in with more enthusiasm than she’d ever seen him display.

  His mouth commanded as his tongue plundered, causing Leah to arch her breasts against him. Her body was on fire with the way he was tormenting her lips in a kiss that was no longer simple. But just as she was thinking of taking him and his hot mouth into the bedroom, she felt a hot slice of sharp pain slice against her bicep. A band of burn which had agonizingly wrapped itself around her arm and she yanked herself away from him, bumping the back of her head against the door in the process.

  “Ouch!” She yelped through lips that felt swollen as she grabbed the area that was still throbbing even though the pain was quickly ebbing.

  “Did I hurt you?” Leah heard him ask and she snapped her eyes back up at him. Of all the times for it to have happened!

  “No, it wasn’t you. I just…it felt like…” Her mind was still whirling from their mouth-play and she struggled to find the words to explain why she’d so abruptly disconnected from him. “My arm felt like something burned me. Almost like a brand or something.”

  Using his eyes to ask permission, Rykhan pried her hand away so he could see her skin. His fingers traced over the same spot she’d felt the sting, even pulling her arm away from her body in order to trail the underneath side. And Leah felt a skittering of goose-bumps follow in his touch’s wake.

  “Can you see anything?” she asked, studying his face. All that she’d seen on her skin had been the slight red mark from where she’d grabbed at it.

  His eyes were somber and thoughtful but Leah had a weird sense that he was holding himself in check. “Have you ever experienced that kind of pain before? In any other place on your body?” he queried, completely ignoring the question she’d asked him.

  “No,” Leah sighed. She wanted to get back to what they’d been doing before her body interrupted them. But even she had to admit the mood was broken. “I’ve never had that happen before.”

  “Good.” His strong arms stole around her again and maybe it was because she couldn’t see his expression, she was aware of the bemused tone in his one worded growl. Placing a casual quick kiss on her forehead, his hands dropped away and he stepped back. “I should be going. I will call you tomorrow and we can arrange a time to go miniature golfing.”

  Telling herself it was for the best, Leah let him out the door. “Goodnight, Rykhan.”

  With one hand on the railing, he turned back to me with a small smile. “Goodnight, Leah. Sleep well.”

  And with that, our sixth date was over.

  ....*

  Rykhan had to fight his body on the way to his truck parked in the visitor’s section of Leah’s apartment complex. To battle against both his elation and the need to race back to his residence so he could inform the other warriors, those who had also been chosen for Quest, of what had transpired between him and Leah that evening.

  Not that he was anxious to tell of the kiss they’d shared, although it had been more than amazing. He’d seen it performed on the vids and had even seen other human couples share in the mouth-on-mouth movement which showed and signified their affection for one another. And that, he admitted, had been even better in the actual experience than he’d imagined. So deeply arousing that he’d temporarily gotten lost in it, in the feel of her, and the sensations that had shot through him at their mouth’s joining. Electrifying and inciting him in a way that found his tailpor throbbing and demanding release.

  But it was what had interrupted their kiss that had stunned him to his very core.

  And once he’d viewed the red streaks that encircled her arm, the space of flesh of where her bicep ended and her shoulder began, Rykhan had been more than astounded.

  Rykhan hitched himself into the car and carefully entered his next destination into the modified and enhanced GPS system. One that Arbrynt had tinkered with until the car operated on auto-pilot, guiding him to his destination without any need for his control and within the guidelines of Phoenix’s laws of driving. When Leah was in the car with him, Rykhan was careful to maintain the appearance that he was guiding the vehicle. But it was a lie. There was simply too many things to remember in how to operate a vehicle and with her as a distraction, the auto-pilot was like a gift from Tsiran.

  As the car started and the gearshift moved of its own accord, he felt his body jolt anew at the memory of what had happened before he’d left her company. Of how her body had taken on and reflected his very own symbol of the warrior’s band and in the same exact spot on her body where his own rested, complete in every detail, in every curve and design. In fact the only two differences were that hers was on her left arm and his was in metal while hers had only been faint lines that had faded as his eyes had caressed them.

  But he was aware of what the lines signified.

  That Leah was his one true and legitimate mate, the true pair-partner of his heart. He’d heard the tales from the older Galaxi, the ones that told of the old days before the worst sort of sorrow had stolen all of their joy. And he’d already considered that Leah had the possibility to be the one he’d been sent to Earth to search for. Just the fact that he could feel her emotions and found peace in her presence had been enough to convince him she could be his bride.

  However, it was the sight of his own emblem on her, Tsiran’s way of allowing Rykhan to know without a shadow of doubt, he and Leah were made for each other. And was something he knew needed to be reported and discussed since it was something he’d never heard of happening. Not even in the time before the troubles had occurred.

  Rykhan raced along the freeway, intent on getting back to the home he shared with the other six warriors and tried to keep his feelings in check. His heart was absolutely brimming with both hope and excitement.

  And when combined with the memory of their kiss, had him reaching to adjust himself in his recently purchased jeans. The sensation of her mouth beneath his had been wondrous but it was when her tongue had hesitantly danced with his that turned the movement into what he knew was a precursor to sex sharing. Something he’d never engaged in except as a solo activi
ty but he was more than willing to do, to participate in, with Leah.

  He’d always found her attractive, from the very moment he’d sat down at her table at the speed-dating session, his and Wyst’s first attempt in meeting human women. They both had worked the event within the rules established: never spending more than seven minutes with any one female before moving to the next, not asking for nor giving last names, employment or phone numbers, and marking their pages with the names and table numbers of the females they wished to see again. And before meeting Leah, Rykhan had haphazardly listed three other females as potential partners. But after only sitting for a few moments with her and listening to her speak, making her laugh softly in his bumbling attempts to impress her, he’d quickly drawn a line through his previous notes.

  He hadn’t wanted anyone else, not after he’d sat across from her at the tiny table and realized that her beauty, unlike the other females, was not only physical. Leah was just as comely on her inside, in both speech and spirit, as her appearance had indicated.

  And he’d been impatient for the email from the event coordinator with Leah’s contact information. Not waiting even five minutes after receiving it, he’d phoned and left her a voicemail suggesting they meet for coffee. Which led to the sharing of meals and other activities that were of a sort he’d never experienced, but he’d found fun.

  Especially when combined with her presence.

  All the data they’d obtained both on their travel to the blue-green planet and the studies the warriors had done regarding the rules of human courtship, had somehow made Rykhan believe that no sort of sexual activity was expected or even sought. Not until after two people united their lives in something Americans called ‘marriage’. But Leah’s question tonight, the one where she’d asked why he hadn’t tried to kiss her before, brought things in much sharper focus. Had shown him the conclusions he’d drawn had been wrong and based on incomplete knowledge.