He grinned and started to jog towards her down the path. His thin body moved almost awkwardly as he ran. He slowed a bit, raising one hand to push back his dark glasses as they slid down his nose. His pale green skin looked paler beneath the harsh sunlight of Turonga. For an instant, she wondered why he wasn’t wearing his floppy hat over his bald head to help protect his sensitive skin. But as he drew closer, his widening smile pushed away her concerns.
“You’re here! I’ve been waiting for you to arrive.”
She embraced him. “I’m so glad you made it.”
Tears choked her throat as they clung to each other for a long moment, before she pulled back.
His face was flushed. “I told you nothing would stop me.”
“And, you’re officially in?”
He pulled a neatly folded paper from the pocket of his frayed shirt and opened it gently. “I just got the notice.”
She hugged him again, crushing the paper between them. People said the gardener’s son was over-reaching when he became her unofficial training partner in preparation for the academy. But she’d known better.
In her life, she’d come across many different people, and she knew he had it in him to be a great engineer on a spaceship. So, she’d made him her partner whenever she trained at the mansion, teaching him all she learned from her ‘official’ tutors aboard the Allure.
Even knowing that he’d never be recruited for the academy, he’d focused on learning everything he needed to know to become a spaceship engineer. He’d have to join the one percent of people who arrived the week before sign-up to be tested. If he passed, he’d be given a full scholarship to attend. She’d spent the past three weeks wondering if he’d not only made it safely to Turonga, but also if he’d passed the test. The fact that he’d done both was almost miraculous.
“I’m so proud of you.” She squeezed his arms, then released him, shifting her bag. “Do you know what group you’ll be in?”
He avoided her gaze. “The Hawks.”
It took her a second to recover from her surprise. “That’s… that’s amazing!”
The hawks were the most elite group of trainees. She’d been placed in it with ease, but from a young age she’d spent day in and day out on a Level 10 spaceship learning the ropes of her future career firsthand. The Hawks were groomed for such success from the time they were born. The fact that William had gotten into it… well, it was yet another miracle.
“Yeah,” he said. “It was a surprise to me, too.”
“Wow,” she pushed a strand of her long, black hair out of her face. “Has a walk-on ever entered the Hawks before?”
He shrugged. “Not sure.”
“Well, we’ll have to celebrate for sure.” She tried to hide her shock with pleasure. “And now we’ll have at least our core classes together.”
He nodded, staring down at his feet.
A sound from behind made her turn around. The live ship had opened. The most incredible man she’d ever seen stepped out. His shirt was unbuttoned, showing off his impossibly muscular chest. Even his stomach was covered in hard, tanned muscles.
Something within her clenched. She didn’t know what a human was doing coming out of a Keltair ship, and she didn’t care.
He was big, bigger than any man she’d seen before. His dark hair, left a little shaggy, and his scruff of beard gave him the undeniable look of a man who knew what he wanted and simply took it. She bit her lip. Alpha males were a particular weakness of hers, and this man set off every alarm she had while he simultaneously drew her toward him. Like gravity.
His gaze snapped up to meet hers. The world melted away. Need flashed in his dark eyes. His jaw tensed. She could sense his physical response to her. It was an electric current running between them. He strode towards her purposely.
“Hello?” William stepped in front of her, trying to get her attention.
She almost pushed him out of the way. “Move.”
Anger flashed across his face. “Too busy checking out the eye candy to notice that Fleet Admiral Stowe is heading straight for you?”
It was like a face full of cold water. She looked behind her, and sure enough, her father was heading in her direction. No one else would’ve noticed the flicker of annoyance in his eyes, but she knew, and she had no intention of dealing with it.
“Let’s go.”
They hurried towards the academy building. She allowed herself one last chance to look back at Mr. Muscles. His eyes were locked on her as he stared around a Keltair who’d blocked his path.
Good. That was dangerous. She’d promised herself no more than a one night stand or two to get herself through the academy. And that man didn’t fit the bill. He was the sort of guy she’d want to spend weeks on, exploring every inch of him. She’d want to know what turned him on. She’d want to bend him to her will and leave him begging for satisfaction.
She felt herself growing wet.
Shit. She was glad she’d brought her trusty vibrator, Turbo. Otherwise, this year was going to be the most frustrating one of her life. But she could manage, with Turbo’s help, just as long as she stayed as far away as possible from Mr. Muscles.
But for some reason, she was sure the real thing looked a hell of a lot better than something she’d have to leave charging by her bed each night.
Chapter Two
Liam wanted his father, Gurgo, to get the hell out of the way. The woman he’d just seen wanted to be fucked as badly as he wanted to fuck her. He could sense her needs from across the ship yard, and damn if he didn’t want to satisfy them.
“Are you listening to me?” the large Keltair invaded his space, puffing his chest out in a show of dominance.
Liam knew better than to back down. He let his gaze run from the two white horns sharpened to deadly points on his head, down to his deep brown face. The silver eyes that stared back at him grew paler in anger.
“I heard you the first time.”
His father grasped his shoulders, squeezing them so hard Liam had to fight to ignore the growing pain. “This human academy is a dangerous place to be. Do you understand me? You have grown into a man, but you are not yet ready to Bond with a female. This place cares nothing for your unique needs as a Keltair. They will throw you in with their wanton females and rely on your own control.”
Staring into his father’s eyes, he didn’t blink. “I have lain with too many females to count. I don’t fear them the way you do.”
His father spat on the ground. “Laying with them is different than being surrounded by them. Understand me well, son of my blood. If you form too close a relationship with any of them, I will have you removed to a Keltair training center. I will not risk you Bonding with a human who will toss you aside and leave you forever weakened, unable to Bond with another. Do you understand?”
He shoved his father’s hands away. “I do not need to be told the obvious or threatened like a youngling.”
They exchanged glares for one long instance before his father growled, “enough! I must pay my respects.” His voice grew harsher. “Not for the last time I’m sure.”
He turned away, heading for the academy.
Liam watched him go. Had there ever been a better father? Not many males would push aside their pride to help their son. Or fight so hard to allow me to train with the humans. Regardless of how his father despised the idea.
Liam took a deep breath, pushing his thoughts aside, and looked back for the female. She was gone.
He closed his eyes and pictured her. Big breasts, a narrow waist, long legs. Her body pleased him in every way. Then, his thoughts strayed to her face. Had he ever seen eyes that color of green before? Never. They drew him in. He wanted to see how they widened with awe as he entered her. He’d grasp her fine mane of black hair and take her deeply.
A ship lifted off noisily beside him, and he clenched his fists. What a time to be growing hard with need. The woman wasn’t even present to please him!
Turning back to his live shi
p, he reached in and took his bag. Unconsciously, he ran his knuckles along the hard shell of its body. Rest. Grow. I shall be back.
The ship gave a soft hum of acknowledgment.
An Airspace Marshal waved his hands in front of Liam’s face, gesturing for him to move to the path. Liam wrapped one large hand around the side of his throat and drew him so close their breath mixed. The man gave a tiny squawk and shrunk back.
These are humans, not Keltairs. He chided himself.
Against his instincts, he loosed his grip on the man and let him wiggle free. “Continue as you were,” he said, then tried to give a reassuring smile.
The man shot away .
They already think that having a half-Keltair at the academy will be a problem. I need to show them that we’re not all war and death. That peace between our nations is plausible. I need to remember the time before my father took me, the days with mother.
He decided right then and there that he would do better. It would be difficult, but he’d relearn what it was to interact the human way.
When he entered the academy, he was surprised by how large and grand it was. A Keltair would’ve called such a place a useless waste. When they trained, they selected the most dangerous terrains and pitted the males against each other. Mercy was for the weak, and only the strong survived. This place was…dainty. Pretty even.
He hoped he’d made the right choice in coming here. He gritted his teeth. It had to be. If he ever wanted to serve on a ship other than a Keltair war machine, he’d need to graduate from here. And even then, the prejudice against his Keltair half would limit his options.
Unless he proved himself a thousand times over.
He joined a line of students, waiting for their assignments.
A pretty red-head turned around. Her eyes widened, and she spun back around. Not so subtly, she elbowed a petite blonde beside her. The other woman turned, and after the initial shock, let her mouth curve into a smile.
“Hello, I’m Summer.”
He sensed her need, but he felt no stirrings of passion. Which was strange. She was pretty enough, wasn’t she? “Hello.”
“You didn’t tell me your name,” she said, blinking her big lashes slowly.
“Liam.”
“L…i…a…m,” she stretched out his name into four syllables, licking her lips. “I like it.”
An officer in black shouted for the next person in line, and the two women flushed with embarrassment.
“Maybe I’ll see you around,” Summer whispered, winked and left.
He watched the two get their assignments with little interest. These women stirred nothing inside of him. Unlike the dark-haired beauty. His muscles tightened. It was the strange woman’s fault. Once he buried himself inside of her, he could move on to the next woman. Like he always did.
“Next!” the officer shouted.
He approached the man and noticed how his annoyed expression faltered. The officer took his papers and typed into his computer. Liam knew the moment he realized that he was part Keltair, the officers lips curled.
“Your assignment is The Hawks. Top floor.” His disgust was poorly concealed. “They’re the best, and usually include our most talented recruits.”
Liam leaned in as he took his papers. “Thank you.”
The man cringed.
As he walked away, Liam felt a spark of pride. Not only hadn’t he grabbed the man’s head and smashed it against the desk, he’d been polite. After eleven years of being under his father’s care, he would slowly remember the ten year old boy who used to cook beside his mother in the kitchen. Who smiled and meant it. He would let the human side of him finally come free, now that he knew that part of him wouldn’t get him killed.
His time with The Academy would be wonderful. He’d find himself again. He’d interact with humans once more. Maybe even make some friends.
And he’d track down the beautiful dark-haired woman and satisfy himself until the tension building inside of him fled.
DID YOU ENJOY THIS PREVIEW OF TO KISS A WARRIOR (An Alien Rogue Romance – Part One)?
You can find all of part one available on Amazon here. Please don’t forget to leave a review if you enjoyed this work! Thank you for reading!
Angel Warrior: The Complete Series Page 17
