by R. R. Banks
I giggled. “A series of stories, articles about what it’s like here. Your King and Queen seem very determined to mix our species and helping each other out. It’s a win-win really. I am a damn good writer so this will be a success.”
“Well let’s go.” He gripped my bags and smiled. “My mate has been complaining I’m not a gentleman. If only she could see me now.”
“I’ll be sure to tell her.” I said deadpanned. Here was this big giant of a man and he was worried about what a woman thought of him. It surprised me. I’d heard of his reputation, and it wasn’t how he seemed to me. He seemed like a happy man who wanted his mate’s approval.
“Thanks, it’s important that she knows I’m sweet right now. She’s carrying my child.” He beamed and I was taken back. This was the first I’d heard of a pregnancy.
“Whoa, that’s—uh great. Congratulations.”
He frowned. “I shouldn’t have told a complete stranger that. I’m just happy, and you’re a reporter no less. Shit.”
“I won’t tell, and let’s just say that was off the record until you want to go public Earth-bound?” I smiled trying to reassure him.
“Promise?”
Something in his eyes pleaded with me. “Yes, my lips are sealed.”
He nodded and led me down a long path to a giant house. It was beautiful and grand. Better than any house I’d ever seen in my life. I’d grown up in the ghetto and now the crummy apartment. Journalism didn’t pay well, not yet. I had no regrets though. I would starve just to be able to write every day of my life.
Suddenly my escort was thrown back and another man tackled him slamming his fist into Pyra’s face. Pyra didn’t stay down long and he held the other man close with his arm around his neck.
“Ciyrs, what the fuck?”
His eyes glowed orange, but only for a second as he locked gazes with me. I gasped and felt my panties dampen. What the hell?
The man literally growled. “Mine,” he roared and tried to break free.
Pyra laughed and held him tighter. “Calm the fuck down. Do you even need to freak out right now? Think of Eden you douchebag.”
The other man named Ciyrs, instantly calmed and nodded, his eyes changed from orange to a color I couldn’t make out in the dark.
“Sorry,” he muttered and then he looked away from me. Pyra let him go and he sped off, so fast I didn’t really see him go. He was nothing but an amazingly fast blur.
Pyra rubbed his jaw and frowned. “Well that was unnecessary, but fucking funny. I called it.”
I stared at him confused and he shook his head. “You’ll understand soon. Very soon indeed.”
He continued walking to the house slowly. As he said that, the other man came back looking a lot calmer than he was and glared at Pyra. “Go back to Eden, I got this.”
Pyra smiled and nodded. “It’s nice to meet you shorty, and remember your lips are sealed.” His smiled widened when the other man’s eyes flared with anger and he fisted his hands. “See ya around.”
“Thanks,” I replied and cocked my head to the side to look at the heaving chest of the other man.
His hand gripped my chin tipping it back to meet my eyes. His touch was electrifying and I shivered.
“You’re lips are sealed for what?”
I figured he knew so I shrugged. “The new generation. He slipped. I promised I wouldn’t write about it.”
“I see.” He stared at me with such intensity I gasped. There was something about him. He was perfect. His voice vibrated along my skin, sending shivers down my spine to the front of my body and settling in the space between my legs.
Chapter 3
So the fucker was right. Ciyrs was on his way home when he passed Pyra walking with the smallest woman he’d ever laid eyes on. She was at least a foot and a half shorter than him, and his eyes flared orange and a rage so deep and strong, one he’d never felt before took over when he heard her speak. She was with Pyra and even though rationally he knew Pyra was with Eden, a beast inside of him snapped. She wasn’t supposed to be around any other males.
Before he knew what he was doing he attacked the cocky warrior and slammed him to the ground, but even in a rage Pyra still out maneuvered him.
He kept his finger on her chin but she still couldn’t meet his eyes. “What’s your name beautiful?”
Her eyes widened and she licked her lips. His eyes followed the movement and he raged harder wanting her so badly.
“Eliana.”
Her voice came out as a mere whisper, and she stared at him in confusion.
He rubbed his thumb gently along her jaw before letting go. “I’m Ciyrs, and I apologize about that. I’m usually not so—violent.”
She laughed. “Isn’t that kind of a Denynso trait?”
“I have more control.” He let go of her chin and scrubbed his hand down his face and sighed. “Normally.”
“I see, so what’s changed?”
“We need to take you to see the leaders. They are watching right now—with amusement I might add.” He changed the subject. It wasn’t the right time to tell her. She had just gotten here, and he wanted to give her a moment to get used to the changes.
She glanced around him and her eyes widened. “Are you all giants?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I’m not going to fit in well then.”
He scanned her body. She was tiny, thin, and short. Her breasts were perfect and so was she. “You’ll fit in fine.”
He led her to the house and climbed the stairs not bothering to hide his apparent erection. He was in too much pain to care.
“What happened to Pyra?” the king asked.
“I sent him home to Eden.”
“I see.”
“Sorry about my—display.”
Criea laughed and clapped him on the back. “We’ve been there, son. It’s fine. Let’s meet our newest family member shall we.”
She didn’t say anything as she stood staring at them. She followed him inside and he felt her gaze burning into his back. All he wanted to do was strip the clothes from her body and make love to her. This was out of control. He had control. Losing it was unacceptable.
He pulled out a chair and gestured to Eliana to sit and she smiled timidly at him. Without a word she sat in the chair. He could already sense her. He could hear her heart race as if it was his own. He refrained from touching her and sat in the other free chair. The king and queen stared at him and then his lovely queen smiled. “I see.”
That’s all she needed to say. Everyone knew, and now maybe he wouldn’t have to be so apologetic. It was fucking unreal how much he wanted to hurt someone.
“It’s nice to meet you Mrs. Conner.”
She cleared her throat. “Oh it’s Miss actually, I’m not married, but I would prefer no formalities. I’m Eliana.”
“Very well, you may call me Criea if you wish. This is my mate Thiea.”
“It’s nice to meet you both. It’s an honor to be here really. I can’t wait to learn about your culture.”
“You know there are some things that must be left out correct?”
“Yes, every article will come to you first before I send it back. I won’t print anything without your approval.”
“Very good. Now you’ve met my son and our residential healer.” He gestured toward Ciyrs. There are many more, but you must be careful, and I’d like to assign you a guard. We’ve had some—security issues.”
“I’ll do it.” Ciyrs said.
“You’re not a warrior.”
He clenched his teeth. “But I can protect her. I have something the others don’t.”
She didn’t say a word, but her eyes stayed on his.
“If that is satisfactory to Eliana, then fine, but she will be assigned a warrior as well.”
He growled and slammed his hands on the table. “I don’t need anyone to fucking guard her.”
The king smirked and he paled.
“Oh dammit, I’m so sorry. This is gett
ing out of control.”
“On a normal basis I would have thrown your ass to the ground Ciyrs, but because I understand what you are going through that’s your one and only free pass. Do not let it happen again.”
He nodded and licked his lips. “Yes sir, I apologize.”
“Very well. Take Eliana to her cabin so she can get settled.” He turned to her and smiled. “If you leave the cabin, you have to be accompanied until we fix our issue. I apologize for not giving you a fair warning throughout emails, but I was afraid you’d change your mind about coming.”
She smiled. “I understand and I have no problem with being guarded by Ciyrs.”
He nearly groaned with how she spoke his name. He couldn’t wait to hear her scream it.
“Even though he isn’t trained like the warriors?”
She shrugged. “He seems very capable of protecting me, and for some reason I trust him. So I’m good.”
The king leaned back satisfied, and Ciyrs wanted to beat his chest. She trusted him already. He smiled and nodded at her. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“I know,” she replied.
In that moment time stood still and the air thickened with her scent. She smelled sweet and spicy all at once. He could also sense her need to be accepted. She was like him. She held back too. His mate was strong and controlled.
Chapter 4
My breath caught and time stood still. His eyes glowed orange again, and I found myself lost in the depths. There was something so powerful about the way he looked at me. I felt something in my heart. It was trying to tell me something. But I looked away. The thing I craved so badly would never happen. My whole life I knew a life alone would be inevitable. I was destined to live solo. That’s what my mom told me right before she left me.
I looked away and took a deep breath stopping the tears before they filled my eyes. I wasn’t weak, and I certainly wasn’t going to cry in front of them. I plastered a smile on my face.
“I’m actually really tired if you don’t mind.”
The king stood and laughed. “Of course, we really have no idea what the trip is like.”
“Long,” I said and kept my smile.
“Okay well, meet with me when you are feeling better, and you can give me a run down on what your plans are.”
“Sounds great, thank you.”
Ciyrs led me from the house with his giant hand on my lower back. His heat burned my skin. He kept quiet as he led me down a dirt path. We passed others and all of them stopped to stare, but then their eyes widened and they moved on. It didn’t take long for me to figure out what was going on.
He was protective of me for some reason. It almost seemed like he was possessive. That didn’t make sense though. I’d just met him.
“You’ll love it here,” he said and smiled. “There’s a lot you’ll be able to write about.”
I nodded and stepped closer to him to see what he’d do. He wrapped his free arm around my waist and his fingers dug into my hip. I didn’t have a lot of meat on my bones and I gasped.
He let go and sighed. “Sorry, I have to remember you’re small.”
“Is that bad?”
“No, you’re delicate and need to be handled with care. I like that—a lot.”
I lowered my eyes nervously, but I couldn’t ignore the bulge in his pants. He was big everywhere. I’d never been with a man ever. I couldn’t imagine being able to handle someone like Ciyrs, but oh I would love to try. He did funny things to me.
He gripped my hip again, but this time kept his fingers loose. We didn’t talk. The silence was comfortable as he led me down a different path.
“The cabin up here is empty. It was Eden’s when she first came, but she didn’t stay long before she mated with Pyra.”
“It happens fast for your species then? Mating I mean?”
“I guess so, besides the king and queen, Pyra was the first to mate. It’s new for us really. We’re all envious of Pyra and hope that by combining our kinds, more of us will find our loves. It’s the most important thing in our lives, especially now that we know it’s possible to mate with humans. Though Eden isn’t anymore.”
“She isn’t what?”
He stopped. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
I grabbed his hand. “I won’t tell.”
“She died, got attacked and I tried to heal her, instead I had to bring her back to life. Apparently doing that turned her into one of us, and she and I are connected too, but only like brother and sister. She’s able to heal now as well.”
I felt an anger I’d never felt before. I didn’t like hearing about him having a connection with another woman. Jealousy clouded my features, and I found my heart pounding and my hands clenched. “Oh.” I didn’t know why I was so pissed, but it was the first time in a long time I’d been angry. He felt me tense up and rubbed my hip.
“What’s wrong?”
I shook my head shutting the anger off. “Nothing. So you can turn humans then?”
“I don’t know. It’s the first time it ever happened, and we don’t know if it was a fluke or something I’ll always be able to do.”
“You’re pretty powerful then.”
“I don’t see it that way. I saved her because my friend was desperate. I always feel like I’m less because I choose not to be a warrior. I don’t like violence believe it or not.” He said and chuckled.
“You’re not less.”
“Thank you for saying that.”
I shrugged. “You’ve got a good heart. I can tell.”
“Are you going to tell me what pissed you off now?”
I thought he’d let it go, but I was wrong. “No.”
“You were upset after I talked about Eden and my connection to her.”
My cheeks heated and I nibbled my lip. “I don’t know why. I didn’t like you talking about her.”
For a minute he didn’t talk. He sped up to the cabin dragging me behind him. He led me up the path and I gasped. It was big and beautiful. I climbed the stairs behind him, and when I went inside I nearly cried. The living area was bigger than my apartment back home, and it smelled clean. If I was honest this cabin was nicer than anything I had ever lived in. I felt ashamed. I didn’t come from wealth or whatever it was the Denynso came from. I was at the bottom of the chain. From the wrong side of the tracks so to speak. Each day was a struggle for me, and I wouldn’t admit the truth to anyone. No one knew my main reason for taking the assignment. I wouldn’t tell them.
“This is it. There are two rooms and a bathroom. The kitchen has been fully stocked, and when you need more food, it can be delivered to you.”
I stood in the middle of the room and the tears came. I couldn’t stop them. I didn’t know what was going on, but I felt overwhelmed and undeserving. I was basically here to use them, and even though they wanted me to write about them it felt wrong. Humans were selfish and feared the unknown. Would I actually be helping? I vowed I would do my best though.
“What’s wrong?”
I turned away and my shoulders shook.
“Are you crying?” he asked, and I heard torment in his voice.
He came behind me and wrapped his arms around me. I was small so his forearms covered my chest. He was warm and comforting. Around him I didn’t have to hide or pretend. I felt I could be me.
Chapter 5
She was crying, and he didn’t know what to do. The females never cried, or at least they never allowed the males to see it. He spun her to face him and became frustrated when she was able to avoid eye contact. He growled and lifted her in his arms and plopped down on the couch holding her on his lap.
She gasped and scrambled to get off of him, but he didn’t let go.
“What wrong beautiful?”
“It’s—” she shook her head and pressed her lips together.
He felt her resistance. “You can talk to me, always.”
“Right, like I haven’t heard that a million times in my life. I’m 28 years o
ld, and I’m alone. No friends, no family. I’m on my own, always have been.” Her eyes widened as if she told him something she hadn’t planned to share.
“Well, you’re not anymore. Do you want to know why you have those strange feelings?”
She nodded, and Ciyrs sighed. He didn’t want to freak her out so soon, but he realized his mate had some baggage and some major trust issues.
“You’re my mate. It’s why I went crazy on Pyra for talking to you. It’s why I shockingly yelled at my leader when he thought about assigning a warrior to you instead of me. It’s why my eyes shift to orange, and it’s why you feel how hard my body is beneath yours.”
Her lips parted on a gasp and her emerald eyes rounded in surprise. She didn’t speak and he gripped her small hand in his. She blinked and the surprise was gone. “Your mate? You’ve just met me, you can’t possibly know that.”
“That’s how it works; you can ask Pyra and the king if you don’t believe me. Instant soul wrenching attraction. You feel it too. Though humans see it as lust correct?”
She nodded. “I’ve never—”
She blushed and he gripped her fingers. “Never what?”
“I’m a virgin,” she said quickly. “I know I’m a little too old, but I’ve never found anyone that deserved to take that away from me.”
Now it was Ciyrs’s turn to be surprised. Eden told him about human women. Sex was something that was used for many things for humans as well as for them. It was a past time; a time to enjoy and being intimate with another person brings closeness. Knowing his mate had never had a man inside of her had him nearly panting. She tried to cover her face in shame, but he pulled her hands back.
“That is nothing to be ashamed of. I—wow, I think I’m the luckiest man alive. I’ll be your first and your last.”
She glared through the last of her tears. “What makes you think that?”
“We’re mates.”
“How do I know that isn’t some line to get in my pants?”
He growled but then shook his head. She was trying to get to him. “You’ll see. You feel it, and soon you won’t be able to fight your feelings. You’ll see they are real and that I’m not just messing with you to use you. I would never—”
