by KD Jones
“We are both intelligent medics. We enjoy spending time with one another. We are friends. The sex is wonderful. It would please me greatly for you to agree to be my mate.” He turned to her with a hopeful smile.
The man was pulling at her heartstrings. He was everything she had always thought she wanted. He appealed to her on almost every level, and she cared for him deeply. Was it enough for a lifetime commitment?
“JadEN . . . I am flattered. I just don’t know . . .”
“What is it you are unsure of?” He came to her side and knelt down so that they would be at eye level.
“Am I the first female you have had relations with in a while?” She suspected that she was.
“What does that have to do with anything?” he asked, instead of answering her directly.
“Am I?” she persisted.
“Yes.”
“Have you ever been in love with anyone before?” She looked into his beautiful eyes.
“No. Have you?” he asked.
“No. Never. But I want to be. It sounds silly for a Doctor, a person of science to have a fantasy. But I do. I dream of one day meeting someone that . . . makes me feel everything. Someone who appreciates my mind but can make me shut it off when the time comes. I want to be swept off my feet with feelings, not thought processes. I am not making any sense, am I?” She looked at his sad face.
“You speak of a bond mate. The one person meant for you, sent by the Gods. The person who is your other half, that you can be yourself with and trust above all others. Drawn to one another by fate.” JadEN stood back up and walked away from her.
“JadEN?” Did she hurt his feelings? He was her only friend and she was starting to care for him deeply.
He looked back at her as he paused at the door. “I do not know if bond mates exist. But to live a lifetime holding out for something that may never come just seems foolish to me. My offer still stands, until you tell me no. I will wait for you patiently.” He walked out the door.
What have I done? Kat asked herself forlornly.
Chapter 4
“Mamma, do you love Daddy?” the little girl with blond pigtails asked her mother.
“I care for him deeply. He is a great friend and companion,” the mother answered, pointing for the little girl to continue working on her homework.
“But do you love him? The forever after kind of love?” The little girl’s big brown eyes looked too big for her little face.
“Where is all this coming from, Katrina? Your father and I are equals in the field of medicine. We were friends who decided to marry and chose to have a child. You are a rare product of two great minds. Who is putting all this nonsense about forever after into your head?” Her mother gave her a stern look. She already knew the answer.
“Grandma Morris loved Grandpa Morris. The forever after kind of love. She said that when she saw him across the room, all the air was knocked out of her body. She even fainted. When she woke up, she was in his arms. She knew he was the man for her.” The little girl looked stubbornly at her mother. “I want that kind of love, not like the kind you have with Daddy.”
“Katrina, you are too smart for that foolishness. A fairy-tale kind of love doesn’t really exist.”
Kat woke up in tears. A dream. It was just a dream so why was she crying? She had turned JadEN down and now she was wondering if she had done the right thing or not. He seemed to be exactly right for her. If only she could let go of the foolish dreams from her childhood. But still, it had bothered her that when JadEN made his proposal, he almost sounded like her mother. Maybe once she was on Katiera and JadEN went back to Earth to continue with the assignment he was given, things would be easier for her. She could move on as she concentrated on her new role. She just needed to keep her distance from him until then.
It wouldn’t be long now. Kat was excited about entering the Katieran Solar System. The transport ship slowed down during its approach, which made it easier to view everything from the many viewing screens throughout the transport ship. She went to watch the event with some of the other women. There were many sighs of appreciation for the beauty that they were witnessing.
“What do you think?” JadEN asked from behind her.
She turned slightly to look at him. “It’s amazing. I’ve seen pictures on the digital tablet but it doesn’t compare to the real thing.”
According to the information she had looked up on her tablet, the Katieran Solar System was a binary solar system. It had two suns, one large yellow one and a small red one. There were six planets in the Katieran Solar System: Kappa the blue planet, Liskan the yellow planet, Ratran the red planet, Satrine the white planet, Traquana the orange planet, and Katiera the green planet. Most of the planets were habitable and had their own Luna, or moon, that orbited around them. Some of the moons even had oxygen and natural resources. It was absolutely majestic to look at.
JadEN pointed to the green planet. “That is Katiera. I hope you will allow me to give you a tour. There are so many places I want to show you.” He couldn’t contain his enthusiasm. His gold pupils seemed to sparkle. He was adorable, genuine, and sexy as hell. She felt her body respond to his closeness. He stopped talking and sniffed in her direction. He growled his response to her arousal.
Oh, shit. She tried to take a step back, but he grabbed her arms and pulled her against his body. He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her gently at first. As he applied more pressure, she opened up to him. He was a great kisser. His tongue danced against hers. She raised her hands up over his shoulders and hooked them behind his neck. Their bodies pressed and rubbed together. Kat moaned.
JadEN reached up to take her hands and unhook them from his neck. He kept hold of her hand as he led her away to his sleeping quarters. Kat knew that she should tell him no, but she didn’t. She also didn’t try to stop him. She might regret it later, but right now, she wanted to be wrapped up in his strong, safe arms one more time. Once he left to go back to Earth, it might be a long time before she met someone else. Maybe never.
They spent the next few hours making love. It was bittersweet. Neither one wanted the moment to end. JadEN made another attempt to convince Kat to mate with him.
“Kat, please consider mating me.” His voice was filled with longing.
She caressed his face gently with her hand. “I’m sorry. I wish I felt differently.” She then quickly left to go pack her things for the move down to Katiera.
There were a lot of shuttles that came up from Katiera to help carry the women from the transport ship. She flew in the shuttle with Cassie, the pregnant woman. She noted that Cassie looked sad.
“Are you feeling okay? Any cramps in your abdomen?” Kat asked as she sat beside the other woman.
“No. I feel fine.”
“You seem . . . down. Is there anything I can do to help?” Kat was concerned about the young woman. She was all alone and pregnant. The times Kat had seen her on board the transport ship, she was either with her friend Jaxon or she was on her own. Kat thought Cassie must be one of the bravest women she had ever met. To go against the EWG and to travel several galaxies to an alien planet, all to save her child.
“I’m okay. Maybe a little lonely.”
“Well, we’ll have to make an effort to get together outside of the Medical Wing,” Kat suggested and she meant it. She didn’t have any friends other than JadEN, and she needed to put some space between the two of them.
She didn’t know what to do about JadEN. After the last time they had sex, he asked her again to mate with him. She turned him down. It was getting harder and harder to do so. Maybe that was his plan, to wear her down until she finally said yes. What was wrong with her? She could see what their life would be like together. Working together side by side, with understanding and appreciation for one another. Great sex. But she felt deep down that something was missing. Maybe that was just an illusion. Should she give it up? Maybe her mother was right. A fairy-tale kind of love doesn’t really exist.
&n
bsp; The shuttles docked on a huge landing field, bigger than several football stadiums put together. Kat and Cassie were directed to different groups. Each group had about fifteen women in it. She glanced over to make sure that Cassie was okay. A great looking Katieran man introduced himself as her groups’ Liaison. To be fair, all the men from Katiera that Kat had met so far were extremely good looking.
“Look! It’s Prime Leader RendEL and Prime Commander KydEL!” one of the women in the crowd yelled out, pointing at the two good-looking men walking up onto a platform. Suddenly the entire landing field became silent.
“Welcome, human females, to your new home on planet Katiera. We will be dividing you up in groups of fifteen. Each group will have a Katieran security liaison. Your Liaison will take you directly to your new living quarters to allow you to settle in. Tomorrow you will meet with your Liaison to take a tour of the surrounding area. The Katieran Nation looks forward to the mating of our two cultures. May the Goddess bless you with fruitfulness.” RendEL bowed formally to the human women and then to the Katieran crowd. He turned and stepped down from the platform.
She couldn’t help but watch as the Prime Leader and Prime Commander went to greet two beautiful women. It was the first time Kat had seen Katieran women. There seemed to be so few of them. She looked over the crowd that had come to see them. The women were just as good-looking as the men. They were all as tall as models and had firm bodies. Great, a planet full of super models. She wasn’t sure if she was in heaven or in hell.
Their Liaison was giving them a short tour and leading them to their living quarters, which turned out to be very spacious suites. Each suite had its own entryway with five bedrooms branching off of it, two on one side and three on the other. Each bedroom had three full-size beds. The bedrooms had their own large bathrooms with walk-in showers but no tubs. The entryway then led to a large living and dining area with a kitchenette open to the whole space. Off of the dining area was a walk-out balcony that ran the entire length of the suite.
The Liaison said that only about 1500 human women would be living within the Prime City walls. The suites were built within the existing buildings all throughout the city. The rest of the women brought from Earth will be sent to other regions of Katiera and the surrounding habitable planets to live.
From what she understood, everyone was expected to share at least the three main meals together in the Meal Room. Of course, they could have something kept in the kitchenette for snacks and such. The liaison reassured them that if they were hungry during non-meal hours, that they were welcome to go to the Meal Room at any time and request something.
Kat wanted nothing more than to head straight for the Medic Wing and start learning more about the Katierans. JadEN had spent a lot of time with her, discussing so many things while on board the transport ship, but she felt there was so much more that he hadn’t told her. But she couldn’t go off on her own yet; they were supposed to eat some kind of meal and take a tour of the city. Plus, JadEN said that she would still only be allowed to observe and assist until the Prime Medic cleared her. Whoever that was, she hoped he was open minded and hurried the hell up.
The first week on Katiera went by in a whirlwind. She and her suitemates were given several tours throughout the city of Katiera. Kat found the city to be quite lovely. Most of the buildings were made out of some kind of white clay or brick. They seemed to glow against the backdrop of the sparkling emerald green water with the two suns shining down on them.
People either walked the streets or rode in golf cart-looking vehicles that hovered over the ground. Everything was solar powered. With Katiera’s two suns, they would never run out of power. The other positive aspect to having two suns was the weather; it was always warm. The temperature never got below seventy-five degrees on Katiera. She was told that there were some planets and moons further away from the suns that actually got cold enough for snow. Maybe she could visit them. She had always loved the snow.
Everything on Katiera was clean, untarnished, and natural. The Fifth Primary Law was to protect all natural resources, and everyone took that very seriously. No one swam in the Waters of Katiera. In fact, their Liaison was shocked when one of the women asked about swimming and told him that on Earth, people would submerge their bodies in the water recreationally. He responded by making a snide remark, “That’s why your natural resources are contaminated.” Kat couldn’t argue with him on that one.
There were many small, family-owned shops throughout the city. Kat loved the fact that they could easily walk to everything. They had a non-monetary system, almost like a barter or gift system. If a person found something she wanted, she would exchange something she had for it. The human women had been advised to bring spices with them before traveling to Katiera. Spices were a stable trade item in several galaxies. However, they were told that if they didn’t have anything to barter or exchange, they could get it on credit, which meant that at some later date they would have to trade something for it.
At the beginning of her second week on Katiera, JadEN came by to take her to the Medic Wing prior to going for the Morning Meal. Kat was excited to learn everything she could. When it was time to head to the meal room, they were interrupted by a warrior with training injuries. JadEN told her to go on ahead without him and that he would catch up with her when he was done.
Kat was invited to sit and eat with some of the other medics that she had gotten to know. She felt that she was slowly starting to earn their trust. But she still had yet to meet this mysterious Prime Medic. She ate her food and listened to the conversation going on around her.
Beep . . . beep . . . beep. Not only did her comm link go off, but so did the comm links for all the other Medics around her table. She tapped to answer. “Dr. Morris . . .” She was cut off by a very distraught Cassie calling out for help. She jumped up and followed the other medics on their way to Cassie’s suite.
She was one of the first ones through Cassie’s bedroom door. Her stomach felt like it had been punched. Cassie was sprawled out on the floor. Hovering over her was a large man with long dark brown hair that she had never met before.
“Who are you?” Kat demanded of the stranger. No one else seemed to be paying any attention to him as they scrambled around the prone body on the floor.
The stranger reached out a hand to touch Cassie’s forehead. He didn’t even look at Kat as he replied, “You need to leave this room female. We have work to do here. "
Kat was furious. How dare he dismiss her like she was nothing! She stormed over to Cassie’s side and glared down at the man. “If you do not tell me who you are, I will be forced to have you removed.”
The man finally lifted his head and locked eyes with her. She felt like someone had knocked the air out of her lungs. Her knees wobbled. She had never seen anyone as beautiful as this man. He had long, dark brown hair tied back and hanging halfway down his back. His eyes were dark chocolate brown with the Katieran gold pupils. Those dark eyes made her melt. And his voice when he answered her was a deep rumbling sound that caused an instant reaction in the lower half of her body. She gulped.
“I am Prime Medic SydEL. You need to vacate the room so we can help the breeding female,” he told her firmly.
Holy shit! The Prime Medic. The one who held her future career as a doctor on Katiera in his hands. Way to go, Kat. And now he was ordering her out of the room. Oh, hell no. Kat ignored his order and knelt on the other side of Cassie. She used her own medical scope that JadEN had given her.
She gasped in surprise. “There are two heartbeats.”
“That’s impossible,” Prime Medic SydEL said, using his own medical scope to scan the breeding female. Two heartbeats. He looked up at the small female with the strange eyes and a male’s short hairstyle. “Who are you?”
“Later. Right now we need to get her and the babies stabilized,” Kat told him.
JadEN came barreling into the room. Kat turned her attention to him. “She has twins. One of the babies is
going into arrest. We need to calm their heart rates to prevent her from losing them.” JadEN nodded his understanding and came to her side to help.
There was a loud commotion when Prime Leader RendEL ran into the room. Prime Medic SydEL called for security and for Prime Commander KydEL. They came and removed the Prime Leader. Kat didn’t have time to see what all was going on, but she did recognize that the situation had gotten dangerous. She kept her concentration on Cassie and the twins.
She watched as JadEN injected Cassie with something that helped steady Cassie’s heartbeat. He ran another scan with the medical scope. “Okay, we can move her to the Medical Wing. Twins. I just can’t believe it.”
As several medics came over to help lift Cassie and carry her, Kat glanced quickly up at the Prime Medic. Her heart beat faster. He was watching her a little too closely. Something sparkled in his eyes. Anger, curiosity, desire? She wasn’t sure.
SydEL watched the small female assist Medic JadEN. Despite her short haircut, she was exceptionally beautiful. Her facial features were delicate. Her pale skin looked soft and silky. Her lips were a plump pale pink. She wore none of the facial covering that he had noticed the other Earth females wear. She had strange eyes. They were soft brown with black pupils. And her scent . . . The moment she had entered the bedroom and he caught her scent, it called to him on a level he did not understand.
“Let me help you up.” JadEN offered his hand to Kat. When she stood, he held onto her hand a moment longer than necessary. They both jumped when they heard a threatening growl from the side. They turned to find Prime Medic SydEL glaring at them. What the hell was that about? Kat removed her hand from JadEN’s and headed for the door. JadEN and SydEL followed her out. They all three got into the lift together. Awkward.
“You never told me your name, female,” SydEL stated to Kat, ignoring JadEN.
“Dr. Katrina Morris, from Earth,” she replied putting her hand out automatically, forgetting that Katierans didn’t shake hands.
