Rykhan (Book 1 of Mate Search Series)

by J. A. Hornbuckle

  Leah was his one true and legitimate mate.

  The one true pair-partner of his heart.

  He had heard the tales from the priests, the ones that told of the old days before the worst sort of sorrow had stolen all of their joy. He already considered Leah the female he was destined to meet. Just the fact that he could feel her emotions and found peace in her presence was enough to convince him she could be his only true mate.

  However, it was the sight of his own emblem on her, Tsiran’s way of allowing Rykhan to accept without any doubt, he and Leah were fated to be together. Something he needed to report and discuss since he had never heard of it happening outside of the priest’s legends. 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 absolutely brimmed with both hope and excitement.

  Combined with the memory of their kiss, he reached to adjust himself in his recently purchased jeans. The sensation of her mouth beneath his had been wondrous but when her tongue had hesitantly danced against his, their actions shifted into ones he knew were a precursor to sex sharing. Something he had never engaged in except as a solo activity but he was more than willing to participate in, as long as it was with his Leah.

  He had known of her desire for him as well. Had tasted it as her emotions slid through him.

  She had always been attractive; from the very moment he had spied her at the speed-dating session, in his and Wyst’s bumbled first attempt to meet human women. The two alien warriors had both 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 had made marks on their pages with the table numbers of the females they wished to see again. Before he met his Leah, Rykhan had haphazardly listed three other females as potential partners. However, after only one inhale of her innocent aroma, Rykhan’s body craved her even as his ears ached to hear her speak.

  He hadn’t wanted anyone else, not after he’d sat in the restaurant’s booth and realized 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.

  Moreover, he had known she felt their connection as well.

  He had seen the goose bumps that had skittered her skin when he had just spoken softly to her over nothing more than a simple meal. Of the widening of her eyes and her sweet, glistening lips as she stared up at him time and time again.

  He had phoned her at 4.31 the next day as promised and had left her a voicemail suggesting they meet for coffee. Which led to more 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 and at the swell of her feelings that more than mirrored his own as they engaged in different outings. Her playfulness, her desire, and curiosity had lit him up from the inside.

  Of all the data he and his brother-warriors had obtained on their journey to the blue-green planet, nothing had indicated how Rykhan was supposed to take the next step. There was a boundary that was crossed but not addressed in any of the movies he studied nor in the sex vids he avidly viewed.

  In some instances, couples were not allowed to experience physical pleasure until after the couple had united their lives in something Americans called ‘marriage’. In others, a simple ‘hi’ found the pair nakedly fracking fast and deep.

  But Leah’s question tonight, the one where she had asked why he had not tried to kiss her before, brought things in much sharper focus. Had shown him the conclusions he had drawn had been wrong and based on incomplete knowledge.

  It was something he absolutely needed to share with his warrior-brothers, especially if Rykhan was the first of the six to find his mate, his true and legitimate life partner. A female who would share her life with his and give him the younglings who would help to rebuild his world.

  He had known he and Leah had taken their courtship farther than any of the other males, even before their kiss. Arbrynt, Tyshar, and Laxon had failed in their attempts to secure second outings with numerous human females and each had cornered him to ask what he did with Leah, at how she gladly wanted to be with him repeatedly. However, Rykhan had not had an answer. Not really, although he related tales of shared interests and how the two of them engaged in activities that made her laugh.

  If only he had known Tsiran had hand-picked Leah for him and him alone, he advised his brothers to wait. To hold off until they too received a sign that one specific female was created just for them.

  As the car changed lanes and signaled its intent to exit the freeway, Rykhan shifted in his seat. What if he had not seen the wahrom that had etched its mark into her skin though? What if she had been wearing a shirt with sleeves and he had not had the opportunity to both view and touch the intricate marks on her arm. The ones caused by the connection of their kiss? What then might have happened?

  Was his attraction and connection to her emotions enough in order to name her as ‘mate’?

  He could not answer and set his questions aside to worry over later.

  There would be enough queries from his warrior-brothers he needed to address to the best of his ability.

  Even if his honest replies were only those of, ‘I do not know’.

  Chapter Ten

  Leah was surprised when she awoke before her alarm, only marginally aware of the other residents in her complex slamming out of their apartments as they made their way to their cars. The added feel of her phone, still clutched into the palm of her hand, gave evidence that what she’d experienced the night before hadn’t been a dream.

  Rykhan.

  She had finally met a man who was better than any dream she’d entertained or in any fantasy that had crossed her mind. And he’d seemed to be as interested in her as she was in him. Especially when he’d responded so wickedly in the kiss they’d shared.

  The kiss she’d had to ask for and one she made sure went deeper than just a little lip touch. Something she’d experienced not only with her own physical sensations but also with his emotions overlaying the whole of the experience.

  ‘How’s that for a fairy tale?’ her mind simpered. Leah winced at the thought, since she’d long ago given up the happily-ever-after endings the stories of her youth promised. The ones that insisted were the true benchmark of how girls would meet the one man that they could honestly say was the love of their lives.

  But damn, Rykhan was different!

  Throwing off those thoughts, Leah turned on her side while pressing her phone against her heart and closing her eyes. On any normal weekday, she would delay getting up until the last possible moment, knowing that her day was going to be the same as it had been the day before. A day filled with requests and complaints, of excuses and the denial of late fees as her customers tried to wiggle out of paying any more than they absolute had to, as required by law. People had no clue working for the DMV could suck the soul right out of a person.

  Her mind wasn’t on the day ahead but filled with the memory of him, of the look on his face as his eyes had traveled over her as if she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen, ever wanted to gaze upon before their lips had actually pressed together.

  And the feel of his mouth when it had finally met hers? God. As if someone poured warm, sweet butterscotch all inside her, saving the best of the heated stickiness for all her extra-sensitive parts. Spreading its hotness in every area, every crevasse, even the ones that his hands hadn’t gone anywhere near.

  Rykhan.

  He’d texted her within an hour of leaving her shaking and lonely in her apartment, only to say he’d greatly enjoyed being with her and couldn’t wait to see her again.

  Somehow she knew he wanted to kiss and hold her again.

  Something she hungered for as well.

>   The phone in her hand, tucked up beneath her chin, vibrated before the two-note beep announced an incoming text message, making her smile. No one texted her that early in the morning, not even her best friend, Pam.

  Which meant it could only be from one person.

  One man.

  ‘I dreamed of you last night’, she read. ‘And it was very good. I cannot wait to see you again.’

  Oh god! The man had his whole pursuit down pat!

  Then Leah remembered the feel of his fingers as he touched her, on her palm when he’d held her hand, on her face as he’d tucked her hair behind her ear stroking her jaw with his eyes probing hers. She knew that he hadn’t been playing her. No one, not even the smoothest, most experienced player could make those sort of moves. Not with the vulnerability she’d seen exposed, of his total heart in his eyes while he’d looked at her.

  It just wasn’t possible.

  Glancing at the clock, she realized she still had a few minutes before she needed to call in to excuse her absence. It was something that she never considered, not in a normal morning. Not even with her last bout with the flu, when she’d been so sick she was dizzy and seeing double. No matter what, Leah always, but always reported for work. But when confronted with Rykhan’s text Leah made the decision to take the day off.

  Slowly, carefully Leah pressed the buttons on her phone as she replied to his text. ‘If I could get out of work and we could somehow spend the day together, what would we do?’ Her thumb hovered over the ‘send’ button for more than a few heartbeats before depressing the key.

  ‘I am happy with whatever catches your fancy, my Leah’, was the immediate reply. She quickly dialed the service that logged in her department’s absences before mentally composing her response to Rykhan.

  As she made her way to the bathroom, Leah found herself shaking her head in denial. He couldn’t be serious. There was no way a man that hot, that cultured would be interested in a little mouse like her. Yet no matter how much she denied it, there it was, clear as day in text format on her phone.

  Pulling off her tank top, she reached for the knob to turn on the water only then noticing the metal, bronze-colored band embedded in the skin of her left bicep.

  What the hell?

  A trembling started within her as she stared at the new addition to her body as her heart began to race. Raising her right hand, she allowed her shaky fingers to trail over the metal that rose up from her skin, as if it was a scar due to a recent injury. She noticed it was cool when compared to the heat of the flesh that seemed to surround it and Leah’s vision blurred before righting itself.

  She blinked hard but the metal was still there when she opened her eyes.

  What was it and how the hell did it get there?

  It seemed to be in some kind of a tribal design, looping and crossing itself much like so many tattoos she’d admired on other people. However, with her abject fear of needles, was something Leah had never, not seriously, considered for herself.

  ‘No tattoo is made of metal, though’, her mind screamed as her fingers explored the design that went in a complete circle around her arm. It was as if it had come up from inside her, growing out of her while she had slept.

  “Which is freaking impossible,” she announced to no one but the tiles of her bathroom. Sitting on the edge of the bath, Leah shook so hard she could barely breathe, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the beautiful yet unwanted bracelet.

  Her trembling fingers trailed over the metal band, seeking a clasp and after finding none just continued to stroke the captivating brown with orange highlights piece that gleamed in the stark bathroom light. There were no sharp edges she could find in order to pry a fingernail underneath nor a break, not even a crease that her fingers could detect.

  It was, she finally admitted to herself, as if it was on her arm for a purpose, but one she was couldn’t understand.

  ‘Don’t freak out,’ her mind warned, the line repeating over and over again as she viewed it from every angle, using the mirror in order to see the part of it that no amount of twisting and turning allowed. She grabbed hold of the edge of the vanity as her trembling turned to full-body shakes so deep and hard, they left her dizzy. “You’re freaking out,” she told her reflection finally reaching for her phone sitting on the vanity.

  “Pam?” she greeted but then stopped because of the lump that had taken over her throat. “I need you. Can you come over right away?”

  “What’s up, honey? You sound stressed,” her bestie drawled in a sleepy voice.

  Leah tried dislodging the lump by swallowing but it was hard when all she wanted to do was sob in sheer terror. “I need you to drive me to the hospital.”

  “I’ll be there in fifteen!” Pam yelled, not asking a single additional question. That was just the kind of friend Pam was and why Leah had immediately turned to her for help.

  *.*.*.*.*

  ‘Pam, this is Wyst. Rykhan cannot reach Leah and is worried. Do you know where she might be?’

  The curly blonde sat in the urgent care cubby waiting for Leah to return from being x-rayed. With nothing to do but guard Leah’s purse, she was almost thankful for the interruption of her cellphone. Maybe it was because no metal had grown out of her arm in the middle of the night, but Pam didn’t think it was anything to worry over. Much less, get medicos involved!

  Actually, in Pam’s mind, it was beautiful and suited Leah’s coloring to a ‘T’.

  In addition, if it brought Wyst’s attention back to her, so much the better!

  ‘We are at the doctor. Leah has something she wanted the doctor to look at. I will have her call Rykhan when she’s finished.’ Pam wasn’t sure if Leah wanted to withhold the info about her new addition from her new boyfriend but Pam didn’t think it was her place to spill the beans. Especially to said boyfriend’s friend that Pam had been crushing on.

  ‘Is she okay?’ the next text read. ‘Rykhan is very worried.’

  ‘Yes. Not in pain but very scared.’ Which Pam thought was putting it mildly. Her friend had been in full meltdown mode when Pam arrived—wailing and crying so much that Pam hadn’t understood a word the other woman had been saying. When she’d finally pieced it altogether, Pam had spent more than a few minutes of trying to find an opening in order to take the armband off. There wasn’t even a gap around the edge and it appeared that Leah’s skin had somehow grown over the edges of the metal itself.

  But if a girl was going to get stuck, in the literal sense, with a piece of jewelry she couldn’t remove, the bronze bicep bracelet was cool as shit, in Pam’s opinion.

  Her cellphone vibrated and she opened the screen again. ‘We have your location and will be there momentarily’. Pam stared at the words, reading them again and again. What did that mean? How had they know where the women were and why did they feel the need to join them? In Pam’s experience, guys didn’t run to a girl’s side when she was at the doctor, especially not those they met just a couple of weeks before! ‘I don’t know if that’s a good idea. Leah is pretty wigged out.’

  ‘We are on the road. Estimated arrival in 7.5 minutes.’

  Seriously? Pam looked up from her cellphone not really noticing the activity that was going on in the hallway of the facility but wondered who would race to get to her if she felt the need to hit the urgent care for something or another. Outside of Leah, there really wasn’t anyone she could think of, no one who would drop everything and come rushing to her side.

  The pair were so much more than friends, albeit ones of the long-term variety. Pam had been raised by her grandmother, who had passed on just two months before Leah’s parents died in an automobile accident when they were both only twenty. Since that time, the two women had become closer, more like family than just simply friends.

  “Excuse me, miss?” A nurse stood near the curtain of the cubby and Pam raised her eyes. “There are two men in the waiting room that are demanding information about your friend.”

  Pam wondered how many traf
fic laws Wyst and Rykhan had broken to get to the clinic as she grabbed both purses and followed the nurse to the door that led to the waiting room. She saw Rykhan arguing with the receptionist behind the glass as Wyst paced with his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “Hey, Wyst.”

  Wyst raised his head before rushing up to her. “Is she okay? Rykhan is practically out of his mind with worry and no one here will give him any data concerning her condition.”

  She patted Wyst’s shoulder before making her way to where Leah’s large boyfriend stood as he loudly instructed the receptionist to tell him where ‘his Leah’ was even as the other woman argued back only using sentences that included ‘the police’. Pam grabbed onto Rykhan’s forearm and pulled. He glanced down at her hand with a frown before lifting his eyes to her face. As he opened his mouth, Pam started talking. “You’ve gotta shut up now, Ryk. Just sit down and be quiet, okay?”

  “But I need to know what has happened to my female!” His demanding voice echoed throughout the small, almost empty waiting room.

  “And I’ll tell you but you’ve gotta chill, dude!” She cast her eyes to Wyst silently asking for help. As Wyst moved to stand next to Ryk, Pam continued patting his arm as she steered him to a bank of seats. “That’s right, big guy. Just cop a squat here and settle for a minute, okay?”

  As Rykhan sat down, Pam straightened and shot Wyst a look. There must’ve been something in her demeanor that told him she wasn’t willing to put up with much more because he slowly and quietly sat down next to his friend.

  “Okay, here’s what’s going down.” Due to Rykhan’s obvious distress, Pam felt she had no choice but to tell him what was happening. Besides, it was just some kind of weird metal band on Leah’s arm, not a girlie issue by any stretch of the imagination. “Leah woke up this morning with a bronze bracelet on her upper arm. It scared her and even though we tried to get it off, we couldn’t. So we came here to find out what it is and see if the doctors could help.”