Royal Defender: Her Space Guardian (Celestial Mates Book 9)

by Therron, Marla

  “You have changed my life completely. I never thought I’d ever meet someone I could trust the way I trust you. You make me feel as if there is good in the universe and in the hearts of men. Being with you is like basking in the sun.”

  Jenna trembled, scarcely believing what she was hearing. “You, you have feelings for me too?”

  Tawn gave her an incredulous look and then burst out laughing. His huge body shook. “Have feelings for you?” he chortled. “I love you, don’t you see that?”

  “I love you, too,” Jenna confessed, overwhelmed with joy. “I’ve never loved anyone like this in my entire life. I never want to spend a single day without you.”

  His huge hands left her face and he pulled her to him, his powerful body enveloping her in its musky heat. “You are my universe,” he said in a heated voice.

  “I want you by my side or my life is meaningless, but what about the Earth? You have to go back?”

  “I’ll tell them I want to stay,” Jenna replied.

  “If they become obstinate about it, I’ll remind them of my close friendship with the queen, and how I could influence the negotiations of those mineral rights they are so keen to get hold of. I’m sure that will be enough to let me do as I please.”

  Tawn squeezed her tight and planted kisses along the curve of her neck. The touch of his soft lips ignited white heat in her belly. “I’ll never let you out of my sight,” he promised.

  “You will be a high lady of Kastra and live in the finest mansion. Marna has promised that I will have a great estate as Lord Protector. I didn’t care if I had no one to share it with, but now everything is different. You will enjoy luxury for the rest of your life, I swear it!”

  “I don’t care if we’re beggars on the street, Tawn,” Jenna said hotly. “I just want to be with you.”

  He smiled and brought his mouth to hers. She parted her lips and surrendered to his kiss. Every fibre of her being tingled with new energy, she was with the man of her dreams and he wanted her as much as she desired him.

  The soft breeze off the water tugged her skimpy clothing, and the fires of desire burned brighter, refusing to be quenched.

  They surfaced from the kiss and Tawn gazed lovingly into her eyes. He was magnificent, so beautiful in the moonlight, she wanted to cry. This was a moment of perfection she wanted to preserve for all eternity.

  She leaned forward and kissed the patch of skin beneath his neck left open by the tunic.

  “You know, we should really celebrate this pleasing development,” she said playfully. “Can you think of anything we can do to mark the occasion?”

  Tawn’s lopsided grin spread uncontrollably across his face. He locked his mouth against hers in a fierce kiss and she wrapped her arms around his neck. The scent of him filled her senses, intoxicating her and taking her to the heights of passion.

  Still kissing her deeply, he brought his arms down to scoop her up and carried her across the beach. He headed further into the rocks and found a secluded spot to set her down.

  Jenna closed her eyes and listened to the gentle susurrus of the ocean as Tawn planted tingly kisses all over her skin. His hands moved over her, exploring her body tenderly and removing her clothes.

  She opened her eyes and sat up, taking off his own tunic and moving on to his breeches, hungry to feast her gaze over his Adonis like body.

  Soon, they were both naked and she let him take the lead. Despite the fire in his eyes, he was torturously gentle, teasing and caressing her until she could stand it no longer.

  She was no laggard either, knowing all the right tricks to send him into a frenzy of passion. They danced on the precipice of desire for hours, refusing to let go completely. This was their special night and they wanted it to last as long as possible.

  Eventually though, neither of them could fight the tide. They made long, sweet love to the sound of the waves while the bright moon looked on, and Jenna moaned throatily with pleasure. After the final moment came, they lay blissfully in each other’s arms before Tawn stirred again.

  The second bout was as wonderful as the first, as was the third and the fourth. Dawn was breaking as Jenna fell into a contented sleep against Tawn’s warm chest. They woke an hour or so later, and swam naked in the sea.

  Though Jenna enjoyed the warm waters of the underground grottos, she preferred the salty touch of the ocean. She felt at one with Kastra and she dived deep under the surface, moving down to hear the thunderous heartbeat of the planet that she had chosen as her home. More correctly, Kastra had chosen her. She had helped its people and now this was her reward.

  Emerging from the waters, she slipped her hand into Tawn’s and they padded back to their special spot amongst the rocks. She was just in the mood to go another round, when she spotted Marna and a group of soldiers coming their way. Instantly, she hid her nudity behind the nearest rock. Tawn, red faced, struggled to put on his breeches.

  “There you are earthling,” Marna called out. “We thought you had been kidnapped.”

  She paused when she realised Jenna had nothing on, and her rosy cheeks when a shade redder. “Oh, sorry earthling, I should have known you would have wanted to say goodbye to Tawn.”

  “Not goodbye,” Tawn said, looking at Jenna with pride and passing over her dress. “Jenna has consented to be my life mate.”

  Jenna blinked in surprise. “I have?” she asked.

  A look of anxiety crossed Tawn’s chiselled features. “Yes, only I hope you will. Can I have the honour of being your life mate? You would make me the happiest man on Kastra.”

  Jenna slipped on her dress and stood up. She went to Tawn and kissed him.

  “I’d love nothing better than to be your life mate.” She looked at Marna and grinned. “If you have no objection, your majesty, I would like to stay on Kastra and be with Tawn.”

  “No objection?” exclaimed Marna. “By the Sea God girl! I’m going to make you both as my heirs! You’ve made me the happiest woman on Kastra!”

  The queen whooped with joy and started running to the waters, pulling off her clothes. Jenna stared at her in shock and then collapsed in fits of laughter. Tawn stared at them both before guffawing himself.

  “What have I let myself in for?” he asked to no one in particular.

  “Come on in!” Marna called out ecstatically.

  “We need a naked swim to celebrate, and then I’m going to hold the greatest wedding feast this side of the galaxy! I’ve never been so happy!”

  Jenna looked up at Tawn and then around at Kastra in all its rugged splendour and knew that she had never been so happy either. She had finally found what she’d been looking for.

  ***

  Bonus book

  ALIEN LORD’S DESTINED

  CELESTIAL MATES FOREVER (BOOK 1)

  MARLA THERRON

  Copyright 2017 by Marla Therron

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced

  in any way whatsoever, without written permission

  from the author, except in case of brief

  quotations embodied in critical reviews

  and articles.

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any

  character, person, living or dead, events, place or

  organizations is purely coincidental. The author does not

  have any control over and does not assume any responsibility

  for third party websites or their content.

  First edition, 2017

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter One

  Rachael stared out the window of the spaceship, biting nervously at a hangnail as she caught the first glimpse
of the planet Saveithya.

  Her mind started reading off the facts that she knew about the planet: Atmosphere- very similar to Earth's. Soil: 35% iron, 25% carbon, 10% hydrogen, smaller quantities of other elements. Plant life: mixed, but nothing too interesting to report. Inhabitants- the fearsome Saveithya, a barbaric but advanced race that for some reason wanted to discuss the sharing of technologies with humankind…

  She had seen gruesome pictures of the sorts of things the Saveithyans did to foreign inhabitants who happened to land on their planet. It actually reminded her of the sorts of accounts they had of ancient Rome, with its gladiatorial contests. Only these were fought between different types of aliens, whatever type of matchup was guaranteed to draw a crowd.

  When she'd first heard about the mission, even though she hadn't been involved in it, she had been one of the main people pushing to get the Saveithyans to agree to a diplomatic meeting on neutral ground. But her fears had been ignored, and despite the fact that she wasn't qualified for this mission—or for any sort of diplomatic work, for that matter—here she was, on her way to meet the Saveithyans on their own territory.

  It wouldn't be so bad if she knew what she was really bargaining for, but the Saveithyans had been cryptic in their messages. She knew there must be a specific reason for them to contact Earth and propose these negotiations, but no one had been able to suss out what it was. And she didn't know what the government thought they would get out of agreeing to these negotiations. As far as they were aware, the Saveithyans didn't have any resources or technologies that would really be useful to humankind, unless there was some way to learn their telekinesis—but most scientists thought that was a skill the Saveithyans were somehow wired for in a way that humans were not.

  Regardless, Rachael wasn't supposed to be there. In fact, the only reason she'd ended up there at all was because of her relationship with Damien Trent.

  She scrubbed her hands back through her hair, remembering the start of their relationship, and her personal reservations…

  Damien had come to Illuminations to give a lecture. He and Rachael had been in close contact via email for weeks now, ever since she'd hatched a plan to get him to attend their seminar. She'd been so excited to meet her idol in person.

  Meeting the legend in person was more than she had bargained for, though. Not only was Damien incredibly intelligent—and that was obvious even from their initial interactions—but he was charming and handsome as well. He had an infectious laugh that made Rachael feel weak in the knees, and the witty banter that he paired it with was too much for her.

  When he'd suggested they get a drink after the seminar concluded for the day, just the two of them, she hadn't thought twice before agreeing.

  They'd gone to get drinks at his hotel, in the top-floor bar that looked out over spectacular views of the city on one side and the ocean on the other. He'd been a gentleman the entire night, buying her drinks and making her laugh. When he'd asked her to dance along to the slow waltz that was playing, she had agreed, giggling at him.

  But when the dance had ended and he'd moved to kiss her, she'd shyly ducked her head.

  “What's wrong?” Damien asked, cupping her cheek in his palm.

  Rachael blushed and shook her head. “You're the head of the Intergalactic Diplomacy Committee,” she reminded the man.

  “You think you're not famous enough to be consorting with me?” Damien asked teasingly.

  “It's not that, just...” Rachael shook her head again. “There are certain things I want out of my career.”

  “And being with me could jeopardize that?”

  “Well...yes,” Rachael said. She sighed and led the man back over to their seats, taking a big sip of her drink. “Damien, you're a great guy. You're everything I could ever want in a guy, in fact. But as the head of the IDC, you're my superior. If you wanted to, I'm sure you could even have me fired.”

  Damien scowled at that. “Please don't accuse me of mixing my personal and professional life unless you have hard facts, Ms. Leventhal.”

  “It's not that I think you would,” Rachael said hurriedly. “But don't you understand what the public would think? Any promotion I got after this, they'd view it as nepotism. I want to move up in the field because I'm talented, not because I'm sleeping with the head of the IDC. No matter how much I'd like to...” She blushed and cut herself off, putting a hand over her mouth.

  Damien stared at her for a long moment and then took a slow, considering sip of his drink. “What if no one knew about us?” he asked.

  Rachael frowned. “I don't think it's possible to keep something like this entirely out of the public eye,” she said. “The media is everywhere at this point, especially with the Anaari Trade Mission looming.”

  “Definitely,” Damien agreed, inclining his head. “But there are ways to go undetected. There are technologies that the public isn't aware of.”

  Rachael frowned at the man. “Such as…?”

  The man had smiled and held out a simple key ring to her. “This is the key to my suite,” he told her. “The one I keep back in Tucson, the one that the media isn't allowed into.”

  “But how would I get there without the media seeing me?” Rachael asked, her hand reaching for the key even though she knew this was a terrible idea.

  Damien smiled at her. “This isn't the traditional sort of key,” he told her. “No matter where you are in the world, you simply have to click the button on the side of the key and you will be transported into my front hall. When you're ready to leave, you'll click it again and it will bring you back to wherever you were just before you pressed that button. It's that simple.”

  Rachael eyed the key with new interest. “So it's a sort of teleportation device—but how do you make it so tiny?”

  Damien shrugged. “It's a bit difficult to explain. Put simply, all the device is transporting is your consciousness, which doesn't take up space in this dimension of being. It fashions 'your' body from whatever it finds in the physical surroundings that you end up in. So of course you couldn't use this device to beam yourself to the moon or someplace, but for Earth-to-Earth travel, it's pretty handy. I use a similar device to travel to my events.”

  “Why aren't these made available to the general public?” Rachael asked, her fingers skimming over the device.

  “Ethical considerations,” Damien responded. “Can you imagine how easy it would be to pull off some sort of criminal activity if you were carrying the getaway car in your pocket?”

  Rachael frowned a little. “But it's been tested, right?” she asked worriedly. “I don't want to just, I don't know, key myself into oblivion or anything like that.”

  Damien smiled at her and reached out to brush her hair back. “I wouldn't be giving it to you if I thought you were going to key yourself into oblivion,” he said sincerely. “Not only are you one of the most talented scientists I've ever met, but you're also sweet and absolutely adorable—plus, you're not a bad dancer!”

  Rachael smiled back at him and ducked her head a little, a blush staining her cheeks.

  And that was how things had gone: they'd communicated via email and met in secret back at Damien's house over the course of a year and seven months. It had been the best relationship Rachael had ever had, and she'd woken up every morning feeling so incredibly lucky to be with such a brilliant and handsome man.

  Over the course of their relationship, she'd been able to advance in her career as well, until she and Damien were working in the same lab, albeit on different projects—he was involved in discussions with the Saveithyans, and she was involved in studies regarding the viability of life on Mars given certain modifications to the planet's atmosphere. There was constant sexual tension between them now that they were working in such close proximity, and it had given their relationship a kickstart that she hadn't realized it needed.

  In the past few months, she'd had some of the best sex that she'd ever had in her entire life, and she couldn't picture waking up with anyon
e else. She'd started thinking it was time to go public with their relationship: there clearly had been no nepotism involved in her advancement, given the incredible paper that she had just co-authored on the properties of labinium in changing the atmosphere of Mars over to an oxygen-based atmosphere suitable to human life.

  That was when he had broken up with her, claiming that it was too difficult for them to continue their relationship given the professional relationship that they needed to have elsewhere. Not only that, but because it would be too difficult to have her around the lab and because she had just proven how invaluable she was at assessing foreign environments, he had personally selected her to go on this mission to Saveithya.

  Alone. With very little idea of what she was supposed to be doing.

  She wondered if there was another woman, if that was why her relationship with Damien had suddenly taken a turn for the worst. But she had a feeling the man had just...grown sick of her. She knew she had been spending too much time at his place recently, but she hadn't realized that he minded. The fact that he felt the need to send her on such a dangerous mission, though, to get rid of her entirely…

  She swallowed hard and turned away from the window, looking around the spaceship in search of something to occupy her until she landed. They had sent her off with minimal cargo, though, and everything that she had was meant to be used for scientific purposes.