by Maxi MacNair
“But you need it.”
He turned back to look out the window.
Nillana sighed. “Is there really no one who catches your eye?”
“No,” Kallos said without hesitation.
“How so?”
“They have no substance to them. I don’t want to marry someone who’s lived the same life as I. The mundane bores me.”
“You want to marry a commoner?” Nillana looked at him. “I mean—it’s been done, but rarely are they fit to help rule.”
Behind them, the advisor cleared his throat.
“My lord and lady? Might I suggest another alternative?”
“Suggest away,” Kallos said, still gazing out the window.
“Perhaps an ideal mate might be located elsewhere.”
“Elsewhere?” Nillana said. “You mean off-planet?”
Kallos’ pointed ears twitched.
“I do. Securing off-planet brides is becoming a trend across the galaxy.”
“She would certainly have lived a different life than you, Kallos,” Nillana said, then she turned to the advisor. “Do you have a specific system in mind? A specific planet?”
“Unless my lord has a particular taste, I have heard of a planet, with lovely specimens, that would provide little resistance to our technology.”
“Where is it?”
“In a system the natives call the Milky Way.”
“An odd name.”
The advisor raised a cupped hand in the air in a shrug.
“Well, Kallos?”
The prince turned on his heel and regarded the two of them.
“Very well,” he said. “But whoever you send to collect this woman, make sure they know how to choose. I will not marry an idiot or—”
Nillana held up a hand. “Rest easy. I will rally a team and go myself. I haven’t been off Halpa for a while.”
“You?”
“Oh, please,” she smiled. “I think I know my brother enough to make an informed decision.”
“Then I will place my future in your hands. Please, take care not to ruin it.”
Nillana patted him firmly on the shoulder.
“Our lives are intertwined, so I shall treat yours as mine. I’ll leave immediately.”
Nillana strode out of the room.
“You may leave me now, Ferrin,” Kallos said, returning his gaze to the stars.
“As you wish, my lord,” the advisor said, and left with a bow of deference.
Kallos slipped off the metal band around his wrist and ran his finger along a particular edge. His fingers danced on a blue grid projected in the air. In an instant, the image of a blue, green and white planet floated before him. It spun slowly on its axis. And for the first time in days, Kallos allowed himself a small, hopeful smile. It was not the responsibility of the throne that he feared, it was the responsibility of marriage. He dreaded the thought of having to marry one of those scrawny and boring daughters of the nobles, but the king must have a bride or he was no king. At least the possibility that his bride would be someone different and interesting made him happy.
Nillana better not fail me.
Kallos thought those words as he swiped away the image of the green and blue planet in the galaxy called the Milky Way.
~
Larisa wiped the sweat from her temple, sending beads of liquid glistening through the air. Her breathing was heavy, but she didn’t stop running. She was too close to slow down now.
Her sneakers pounded into the grass, the porch light casting her shadow against lopsided trees. Lactic acid gathered in her muscles, but she forced herself onward, into the field that was her house’s backyard. One thing she loved about living in the suburbs was the privacy. No one was here to judge her performance during her late night or early morning workouts, or stare at the slight jiggle of her belly and thighs when she ran. She could wear whatever she wanted and not have to endure the parade of airheaded sticks that filed through the locker room on their way to their light sweatless workouts or raw food lunches in their expensive workout clothes. Larisa always thought that if the clothes you work out in weren’t a sweat drenched mess then you can’t really call it a workout. There were plenty of those types at the gym she went to in the city. Now that she lived out in the suburbs though, the whole countryside was her gym.
The phone strapped to her arm beeped, and with a gasp of relief, she turned her run into a trot, and then the trot into a steady jog. She panted, the cold night air suddenly uncomfortable in her lungs. She gradually slowed to a walk, and pulled her phone to her face.
She smiled. Sweat dripped into her eyes. She had bested her previous time.
Take that, world, she thought. Her chest swelled with pride.
Larisa plopped down on the grass and leaned back. The light breeze was bliss against her skin.
As her heartbeat gradually calmed, she opened an app on her phone and tapped to mark the time and distance of her run. She then swiped through her friends’ latests posts and liked a picture one of her friends had posted. It showed a tall, slender woman with piercing hazel eyes and red hair. Her crop top and low rise yoga pants showcased impressive abs and chiseled arms. She definitely wasn’t a size 0 fitness model. The caption read: “Some women compare dress sizes. I would rather talk about how many chin-ups you can do.” Larisa liked that. She never wasted time wishing she was smaller or skinnier, and she definitely wasn’t as ripped as that woman in the picture, but Larisa liked how she looked. Even if the rest of the world didn’t see it that way.
She set her phone on the ground and looked up into the sky.
The city lights were still close enough that the haze of light pollution diminished the intensity of the stars, but she couldn’t argue that the view wasn’t better than if she lived downtown. She’d rest for a while here, with the grass frisking her legs, and then head back inside to rehydrate and wind down for the night.
It was a quiet night. A rare quiet, and she wanted to savor it a moment longer. There were only faint car engines rumbling in the distance, no wandering cats shrieking for sex, and, for once, no pestering phone calls from work. Larisa had been getting a lot of those lately, and was starting to get fed up. It’s not like she got along with anyone there anyway, but everyone seemed to like coming to her when they didn’t know how to do something. The fact that she didn’t have many close friends though didn’t really bother her. She was used to be a bit of a loner, and to making things happen for herself. She was used to just being comfortable being alone.
Her mother had actually abandoned Larisa as a young teenager, and Larisa grew up in foster care. It wasn’t the tragedy everyone envisions when she mentions it. Sometimes the system works out, and it definitely made her stronger and more independent, which is why it was nice to not have to talk to anyone right now. A few years ago she had actually reconnected with her biological mom, and she was glad they did, but Larisa didn’t feel overly emotional about it. It’s not like she felt like she had found her home or her family now.
Larisa closed her eyes and laid all the way back. She had to shower anyway, so it made no difference to her if she got bits of grass and dirt in her hair.
Her mind began to drift away from her, the distant sound of cars on the freeway taking up residence inside her ears and wrapping around her like a blanket. The stars were coming down from the sky to sing a lullaby to her…she closed her eyes
She jerked to her elbows, eyes flashing open. There was something not right in that one spot in the sky she was looking at as her eyes closed. As she scanned the area in the night sky nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary though.
I must have pushed myself a little too hard this time. She thought when she checked the time on her phone.
She rolled onto her stomach and stretched, then pushed herself up into a plank, held it for a few seconds, then transitioned into a downward dog. After a minute of shifting between that and a cobra, Larisa got to her feet and stretched her arms above her head. Her gaze wandered
up to fall on that section of sky again and a particularly bright star seemed to be there. She tried to remember the name of the visible stars she knew of—the brightest star in the sky—but it escaped her. All she could remember was that it shared a name with some pop culture character…
The star seemed to be growing brighter now though and Larisa squinted at it. It also seemed to be noticeably moving in the sky. Her arms fell to her side.
Was it actually a satellite? She mused. If it was the star she was thinking of, it should be in Orion’s Belt—but that was behind her.
She shook her head then looked again. She couldn’t tell now if it was moving, but she could swear it was still getting brighter. She wondered what else it could be that explained it. Maybe there was some weird meteor shower tonight or some other type of natural phenomenon. She liked looking at the night sky, but she was no astronomer.
Larisa kept her eyes on the light as she started moving back to her house. Taking a few steps backwards and then turning around to take a few steps before looking back over her shoulder. The edges of the white light transmuted into turquoise, then continued to get even brighter, and bigger and she stopped moving. This light now seemed to hover in the sky barely twice the height of the treetops before she even knew what was going on.
Larisa eyes teared up from the brightness. Something in her gut tried urged her to run to the house, but her feet had rooted in the earth now. A tingling sensation began at the back of her head and prickled its way along her cranium and to her brow. Her vision became spotted with orbs and auras. Her head felt like it had been swept up in the waves of a fierce storm.
As the dizziness increased, she tried to reach out to steady herself on something, but there was nothing to grab onto. She stumbled, but somehow didn’t fall. She clenched her eyes against the glowing lights that were suddenly surrounding her. It was warm—hot. She felt like she had ran a mile in thirty seconds. She was covered in sweat again.
Larisa heard a buzzing in her ears. She opened her eyes, but was blinded by white floodlights. Her head spun and the bits of darkness at the edges of her vision swarmed to takeover the rest.
Then everything was black and silent again. She didn’t even feel herself hit
the ground.
Bodyguard Baby Daddy (Look Inside Preview)
The cameras were flashing, and people were calling out her name just on the other side of the closed backstage door of the concert hall. Bristol Maitland didn’t notice the creep until he was too close. A hand closed around her bicep and she gasped. She found herself face to face with a tall man with wide, dark, crazy eyes.
“I need you,” he frantically said shuddering.
How had he gotten to her? Where was the new guy Pete, her backup security? For that matter, where was Lucas, her full-time bodyguard?
The guy reached out with his other hand and caressed her face. Bristol was frozen with fear. She had known first hand before how dangerous a stalker could be. Just how crazy was this guy?
It wasn’t far from the stage door to the car waiting for her, and a relatively light crowd waited outside for her tonight. Maybe she could shake him and make it on her own? Sometimes, in bigger cities, crowds stood by the stage door for hours to catch a glimpse of her. This crowd of fans and paparazzi were hardly the largest Bristol had seen recently. What could possibly have allowed Lucas and the extra security guard he brought along with him to have missed this lunatic?
Suddenly, the door burst open and Lucas came charging through. Pete was lagging behind him. A few cameras flashed through the open door, probably catching a picture of the man touching her.
“Hey you, cut it out!” Pete said, unsure what to do while slowing down his pace.
Lucas was a professional though, he radiated calm, and without a sound charged like a bull up to the creep and snatched his hand away from her face with such force Bristol was surprised he didn’t snap it off. “Buddy, you don’t want to do this.” Lucas sounded like he was just waiting for this guy to let him show why.
“I love her though!”
“Just relax man, or you’re gonna get hurt.” Lucas spoke still with an even tone though, which certainly didn’t surprise Bristol. Lucas did everything even on the job. He wore a jacket and collared shirt, no tie. Clean jeans and combat boots. He kept his short blonde hair buzzed on the sides, but still long on the top. He usually slicked it back while working a security detail, but the action had caused a few locks to stray across the corner of his eye. He still cut quite the intimidating figure. His key trait though he was that he was as by the book and thorough as could be when it came to doing his job: keeping Bristol Maitland safe. He was obviously ticked off that something like this had gone wrong on his watch.
More cameras flashed, paparazzi and fans hungry like sharks for blood in the water as Pete finally did something useful and shut the door on them.
“Bristol, I love you. Will you marry me? I know you must feel it too?” The bold and crazy fan bumbled out his ramblings through the pain Lucas’ grip was starting to cause him
Bristol started to answer, but Lucas had had enough and pulled the guy’s wrist behind him, pried him away from her, and dropped him to the ground. The guy seemed to try to fight Lucas at this point. Big mistake. Pete just stood by the door still looking like he had no idea what to do.
Lucas was actually doing the kid’s uncle a favor by hiring him. Bristol knew he wasn’t going to get a second chance to redeem himself.
“Hey! Thanks for the help Pete. Maybe go get find venue security or the police or something?” Bristol said, knowing that if Lucas didn’t fire him after this she certainly would herself.
Ever since last May, when Kyle Reed, a dangerous maniac who decided he was going to be Bristol’s latest most active stalker, appeared on the scene, she’d hired Lucas’ firm to do her security. Most days it was just Lucas who kept an eye on her, but he had a few other handsome ex-marines like himself to fill in when he needed a day off.
This creep that snuck by security wasn’t Reed, thank goodness. She hated to think how things would have turned out if it was him though. She hated to remember all those terrible things he wrote in his almost daily letters to her fan mail account. She hated to think what would happen if Lucas wasn’t always around to protect her. This time, he was thankfully close enough to cover for another security guard not doing their job.
The creepy fan hit Lucas three times, more or less like he was hitting a mountain, before Lucas decided he had enough and hauled his arm back and gave a short snap punch across the face. The guy wasn’t going to fight back now after feeling what that got him. Two police officers came around the corner just then to take care of this trespasser, which was sufficiently subdued now.
In the end though, trespassing would be all they could charge him with. That was the main problem having to deal with stalkers, there wasn’t a lot the police could do as far as arresting them unless they actually acted on their crazy threats. It was why Bristol had hired security firms like Lucas’ in the past, and why she had been paying extra to keep Lucas himself around full-time. A dangerous maniac obsessed with her, and the police couldn’t legally do anything? Lucas, and whoever he brought with him, were her only real protection now. Sometimes though, when she looked at Lucas, Bristol felt like just having him around was more than enough protection.
**Purchase to enjoy the rest of this steamy and suspenseful story and many others like it. Keep reading to check out a preview of one of the other great bonus stories.**
**Look Inside Preview of “Hit and Run: The Bad Boy’s Baby”**
“The suspect is fleeing in a black Jetta,” the voice on the radio announced. Detective Randi Gagnon and her partner Christine McDonald knew the address and saw they were directly in the path of the suspect’s escape. Holiday traffic clogged the streets though so Randi jumped out of the car to cut across an alley to increase their chances of catching sight of the car. In the distance, she heard sirens blaring from the first Nationa
l Bank after three masked men got out with almost a quarter million dollars. One of the suspects was in custody, the other fired on one of the security guards, and was killed instantly when a second security officer opened fire. The third suspect, disappeared from the scene like a ghost, but was just spotted headed this way in the jetta.
Traffic was almost gridlocked, and Randi’s partner Christine McDonald stayed in the unmarked car in case the suspect came down High Street instead of taking the more obvious route out of downtown, which Randi now had eyes on. She felt confident she could intercept him, could get out ahead of him. Randi pushed her way through the holiday shopping crowds, dressed in running shoes and a smart tailored suit. She never wore heels on duty, and this was the reason.
Chris radioed to her to let her know she’d saw the Jetta down the street take a quick turn, which would mean it would be coming up on Randi’s location any moment. It made the turn Randi thought it would. Chris cursed inwardly, she needed to get over to help her partner.
Bursting out of the ally, Randi stopped short as a handsome man crashed into her, his arms full of wrapped Christmas packages.
“Sorry sir, Police matter.”
“No, no, I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
Randi crained her neck, searching for the black Jetta as the man slowly started collecting his packages.
“What do you mean I should see it?” Randi frantically radioed to Chris. She looked around for another few seconds then realized the time had past. She radioed back to dispatch, “suspect has not been seen on High or Tisdale, suspect assumed to still be in black Jetta.” Her shoulder’s slunk down and she saw the man collecting his Christmas packages. She bent to help him pick them up. They were all heavy, the wrapping job neat in a way she could never manage, all crisp angles and corners. One was torn from the fall, and she saw pale cardboard underneath.
“Oh no, this one will have to be re-wrapped.” She handed it to him apologetically.
