by Selena Kitt
“Your eyes!” the Empress interrupted her. Coming forward, she pushed past Captain Hesler and grabbed K by the chin, tilting her face for a better view. “Krissana, what have you done to your eyes?”
K jerked away from her mother’s pinching grip and frowned. “What are you talking about?”
Boone was wondering the same thing. For the first time, he turned to look at K full in the face and gave a muffled exclamation of surprise.
“K, she’s right—your eyes!”
She put a hand to her face. “What about them?”
“They’re not the royal purple anymore.” The Empress sounded extremely upset. “They’re some common, nondescript color. And you’ve lost your golden rings! The triple golden rings that denote royalty!”
“What?” K frowned.
“See for yourself.” Loki came forward for the first time, being careful not to touch the Empress, and passed her a hand-held viewer. K studied herself in silence for a moment, her eyes growing wider and wider.
“They’re the color of the sea on Earth-that-was. Just like Boone’s.” She looked up at Boone. “And your hair has changed too.”
“What? How?” He put a hand to his head. “Feels the same.”
“Look.” She handed him the viewer and Boone saw with surprise that his hair had gone from brown to the same deep black as K’s.
“Looks like you had a bad dye job,” Loki said with a smirk.
“Not at all,” Mom countered. “The color suits him. But why did you change
it, Boone?”
“I didn’t,” he protested. “I don’t see how—”
K’s new eyes grew wide. “The DNA swap! That must be it. But you didn’t say anything about visible changes, Boone.”
Boone frowned. “I didn’t think there would be any. Our DNA must have shifted a little more than my calculations suggested. Don’t worry though,” he added trying to reassure her, “It should have reached the end of its maximum potential for change by now.”
“Well, it definitely had an effect,” Loki said, frowning. “It’s not just K’s eyes—I think she’s taller too.” He sniffed. “Like she wasn’t tall enough already.”
“You have grown a couple of inches,” Boone said, looking at K. “No wonder my shirt didn’t fit like it did before.”
She looked down at the hem of his dress shirt. “I knew it felt different.”
The Empress, who had been standing before them, mute with shock, finally managed to say something. She turned on Boone abruptly.
“What did you do? What did you do to my daughter?”
“He made it possible for us to be together.” K stepped forward, looking steadily at the enraged Empress. “By giving me some of his DNA and taking some of mine, Boone was able to help me complete my cycle without anyone dying. That’s why he has my hair color and I have his eye color now.”
“You didn’t...” The Empress was pale now. “Tell me you didn’t do this. Tell me you didn’t pollute your blood and give up your one chance of ruling just to be with this inferior giant!”
“As a matter of fact, Mother, that is exactly what I did.” K took back the viewer and looked at herself again, a small smile playing around one corner of her mouth. “I just didn’t expect it to be so obvious.”
“But now... how can you rule? Without the triple golden rings how can you command the people? How can you... how...” The Empress sputtered to a stop, apparently so overcome she couldn’t even finish her thought.
“K, I swear...” Boone shook his head. “When I came up with this, I never thought about it changing you so dramatically. I’m sorry.”
“I’m not.” She lifted her chin. “These changes made it possible for us to be together, Boone. That’s all I care about.”
The Empress seemed to gather herself. She took a deep breath. “All right, it’s all right,” Boone heard her mutter as her advisor fanned her rapidly. “Stop that,” she said sharply to the advisor who stepped hurriedly away. She looked at K. “We’ll take you back to Eros, Krissana. We’ll get the top doctors involved and get this process reversed—”
“I’m afraid there’s no reversing the process now,” Boone said, speaking up. “Speaking as one of the ‘top doctors’ in genetics, K’s DNA is permanently bonded to mine as mine is to hers. We can’t do anything about it.”
“Even if we wanted to—which we don’t,” K said. “Mother, listen to me—I love Boone. And I don’t ever want to be without him again. Now I don’t have to. Can’t you at least try to feel some joy for me?”
Boone’s heart swelled and he couldn’t help the emotion that flooded him. To hear K say that she loved him... it was the best feeling he’d ever had. He pulled her even closer, wishing he could take her somewhere and show her exactly how he felt. At the moment, though, the Empress was still glaring at both of them.
“But... but who will rule after me?” she demanded in agitation. “Who will take on the sacred burden of telling the people of Eros what to do and how to live their lives?”
K shook her head. “I don’t know. I only know it can’t be me. I’m sorry, Mother.”
“Have another child,” Boone suggested gently. “You look young enough yet. Or better yet, consider a democracy—the kind we have on Colossus. Nobody should have so much power over so many people—it’s the whole reason K got kidnapped in the first place.”
“He’s right,” K said, frowning at her mother. “Your political system is deeply flawed. You should use this opportunity to fix it.”
The Empress’s expression went from deep despair to pure rage in an instant.
“Why you insolent... I will bring you home with me and we will find a solution to this!” She took a step forward but Captain Hesler was suddenly between her and K. “Get out of my way you Tainted bastard!” she demanded.
Hesler didn’t move an inch. “Sorry, Ma’am but that’s as far as I can let you go. Commander K obviously has no interest in going back to Eros with you,” he said evenly.
“And since her DNA is changed beyond repair, I think you should just let her go,” Boone said quietly. “You lost her twice before, your Majesty. Maybe if you leave peacefully, the two of you might come to some kind of relationship in time. As long as that relationship doesn’t have anything to do with K ruling after you.”
The Empress’s eyes blazed. She held herself regally erect, staring K down. Or rather, staring up at her—K had definitely grown a few inches—she was much taller than her mother now. K stared back, unmoving.
“And this is your final decision?” the Empress demanded. “You truly don’t wish to claim your birthright and rule after me as is your right and royal destiny?”
K stepped forward and reached for the Empress’s hand. She seemed to hesitate for a moment but then she took it, surprising Boone by her willingness to touch anyone but him.
“Try to understand,” she said. “My destiny was changed the moment the High Sentinel stole me away when I was only five cycles old. It changed again when Boone captured me—changed for the better and for good. I’m sorry, Mother, but I spent most of my life leading others as a commander in the Purist army and, well... I’m tired of it. I’d just like to be in charge of my own life for a while.”
The Empress studied her daughter’s new blue-green eyes and then, finally, she nodded.
“Very well. If that is how it must be...”
“There’s no other way for me.” K squeezed her hand once and then relinquished it. “I’m going to stay with Boone.”
The Empress looked up at him and then shook her head. “I suppose there is nothing more to do or to say.”
Boone put an arm around K and pulled her close to him. “Nothing except to assure you that I’ll take good care of your daughter, your Majesty.”
“Oh, you’ve taken care of her all right. You’ve ruined her.” The Empress gave him a withering look. “I will not forgive this, giant. Give me one reason I shouldn’t leave here and blast the lot of you out of the sky.”
“I can give you at least five,” Captain Hesler growled. “That’s the number of blast cannons we have aimed at your ship, your Majesty. If you shoot at Commander K’s vessel, we will return fire in kind.” He spread his hands. “If, however, you choose to leave peacefully, well, that’s a different matter. We can all go our separate ways and forget this unpleasantness ever happened.”
The Empress’s eyes flashed. “I never forget. And I will never forgive.” She glared at all of them. “None of you are ever welcome in my domain again. If I find any of you anywhere near Eros, you will be summarily executed.” She looked at Captain Hesler. “And that includes the Tainted. I will not forget that you came between me and my daughter, Captain. You may rely upon that.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” Hesler nodded stonily. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Goodbye,” Boone said stonily. “Have a safe journey back to Eros.”
“Goodbye... Mother,” K echoed.
The Empress did not deign to answer. Turning on her heel, she marched back to the airlock, head held high and two bright, angry spots of color high on her regal cheekbones. “Come,” she told her people. “We are going home. Without the princess. And if anyone so much as breathes a word of this, I’ll have his head mounted on my wall before he draws his next breath.”
There was a long silence when she left but when the airlock finally cycled shut, Boone breathed a sigh of relief.
“Whew, glad that’s over.”
“It’s not,” K said, frowning.
Hesler nodded. “The commander is right.” He looked at Boone. “I advise you to go back to Colossus and stay there, giant. The Empress is not the forgiving kind—she just handed all of us a death sentence if we stray too far into her territory.”
“Well, then we won’t go there,” Boone said lightly.
“Easy for you to say,” Loki grumbled. “You didn’t just get banished from your home planet on pain of death like Rolf and I did.”
“It’s okay, sweetheart.” Rolf rubbed his shoulders. “We’ll be together in exile—it won’t be so bad.”
“Yes, it will.” Loki crossed his arms over his chest, clearly pouting. “What about friends and family? What about the bathhouses? No place in the universe has such hot bathhouses as Eros filled with so many hot men...”
Boone felt bad for his friend. “I’m sorry about that, Loki. I never meant for you to get banished too.”
“Oh please,” Mom said in an uncharacteristic display if irritation. “It’s not like he ever gets home above once every few years. We’re always out flying missions. He’ll live.”
“Only if I don’t go back to my own home planet!” Loki stormed out and Rolf followed him, trying to calm him down.
“Wow.” Boone shook his head. “I’m never going to hear the end of that.”
“Yes you will,” Mom said. “Just let him loose in the red light district on Colossus. He’ll be happy as a clam.”
“I don’t know how Rolf would feel about sharing,” Boone murmured. “He strikes me as the monogamous type.”
“Like us.” K smiled up at him and squeezed his hand.
Boone kissed her cheek. “You know you’ve smiled more in the past few hours than in all the other time I’ve known you. Hell, you’ve even laughed. You’re all bright and shiny all of a sudden.”
“I know. I just feel... good.” Her smile widened and she shrugged. “Strange, huh?”
“Not really. It’s because you’ve finally broke the suit’s conditioning and gotten over your need for it that you’re able to show and feel real emotion.” Hesler sounded almost wistful.
“But K was out of the suit before—when I first captured her,” Boone pointed out.
“Yes, but she hadn’t broken the conditioning so the drugs lingered in her system. Until you reach that breaking point on your own, you’re not fully free of the suit’s influence. Now K is free to be who she really is—who she was always meant to be.”
“What about you?” Boone asked him. “Did you break your suit’s conditioning?”
“I did. My breaking point came when that old bastard, the High Sentinel, ordered me to purge myself and I decided I’d rather live than die. It was damn hard, but worth it to be in control of the suit instead of the other way around.”
“True.” K nodded.
“I’m envious of you, Commander K.” Hesler gave her a level look. “You’ve found what you were looking for and you no longer need the suit as a crutch.”
“Boone’s solution could work for you, too,” K suggested. “If you want to get away from the suit.”
“Only if I found someone I wanted to swap DNA with,” Hesler said dryly. “Finding your one true love isn’t easy when you’re on emo-suppressors—even modified amounts like I am.”
“Why not come off them?” Boone asked.
Hesler shook his head. “As I told Commander K, I tried that once. Took off the suit and let my Erian nature exert itself. Even went through a cycle.”
“And?”
“Things... didn’t go well.” Hesler sighed. “Besides, I like the emotional distance the suit gives me. It keeps things from getting messy.”
Boone nodded. “I understand. But take it from me, Captain—sometimes messy can be good.” He smiled down at K who smiled up at him.
“And speaking of cycles...” She shifted from foot to foot restlessly. “Could I see you alone for a minute?”
Boone got the hint. “Of course, darlin’.” He looked at Hesler. “We’d all be blasted to space dust without your help, Captain. What can I do to thank you?”
“Well...” Hesler cleared his throat. “If you have some time after you... take care of the matter at hand...” He nodded at K. “Then there is something you can help us with. A crew member who needs a medical consult if you wouldn’t mind.”
Boone was intrigued. “But I thought the skinsuit took care of all your medical needs.”
“The skinsuit is part of the problem,” Hesler said grimly.
“Boone...” K’s tugging at his hand was more insistent now, more urgent and Boone felt his body responding to her need.
“Can I come to your ship in a few hours?” he asked Hesler.
“Of course.” Hesler nodded. “Take all the time you need.” He gave K a small salute. “I wish you luck, Commander K.”
“Thank you.” K returned his salute with a smile. “But it’s just K now. Not Paladin or Princess or Commander. Just K.” She tugged at Boone’s hand, leading him away. “And that’s the way I like it.”
The End
If you enjoyed Purity, you’ll love Evangeline’s bestselling Brides of the Kindred series. Read on for the first few chapters of Book 1, Claimed . And if you like what you read, Claimed is available for FREE. Start your saga now...Brides of the Kindred...
ABOUT EVANGELINE ANDERSON
Evangeline Anderson is the New York Times and USA Today Best Selling Author of the Brides of the Kindred and Born to Darkness series. She is thirty-something and lives in Florida with a husband, a son, and two cats. She had been writing erotic fiction for her own gratification for a number of years before it occurred to her to try and get paid for it. To her delight, she found that it was actually possible to get money for having a dirty mind and she has been writing paranormal and Sci-fi erotica steadily ever since.
You can find her online at her website www.evangelineanderson.com
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The Alien King: Barbarian by Maya Kane
Prologue
Dex’s unnaturally orange eyes fixed me to the spot—it was like I was suspended
in space under the intensity of his gaze. He’s hiding something, I thought with a jolt. My brain told me to snap out of it; that I had to focus on my escape, not on my lust for this huge, strong being.
Yeah, you try ignoring the alien equivalent of a male model.
Particularly when he’s got one thing on his mind.
I sucked in a breath as Dex stepped closer to me without saying a word. I didn’t need him to—it was like I could read exactly what was going on in his mind. My core clenched at the delicious feeling. Trust me to fall head-over-heels in lust at the exact wrong moment. So many nights spent alone on Earth with a Hawaiian pizza and a movie for company.
