Just a Kiss [The Tiburon Duet]

by Lara Santiago

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  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.sirenpub.com

  Copyright ©2006 by Lara Santiago

  First published in February 2006, 2006

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  NOTICE: This work is copyrighted. It is licensed only for use by the original purchaser. Making copies of this work or distributing it to any unauthorized person by any means, including without limit email, floppy disk, file transfer, paper print out, or any other method constitutes a violation of International copyright law and subjects the violator to severe fines or imprisonment.

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  Warning

  This book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language and may be considered offensive to some readers. This book is for sale to adults ONLY as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. Please store your files wisely where they cannot be accessed by under-aged readers.

  LARA SANTIAGO

  The Tiburon Duet

  Just A Kiss: Just One Embrace

  What would a woman do, and how far would she willingly travel, to love a man who made her climax with his chocolate-flavored kiss?

  Gabrielle travels to Tiburon unwillingly with Keller after an improper kiss. Will she be forced to reside on a planet of warrior aliens who hate her?

  Ellie travels to Tiburon willingly to be with Crag. When another female claims their top military commander, will Ellie be considered a worthy life-partner or will she lose Crag forever?

  Note: Each book is written to stand alone.

  "Lara Santiago delivers lust, laughs and love every time!"—Roxanne St. Claire, National Bestselling Author

  Just A Kiss

  What is the definition of a kiss? Is it universal? What if it wasn't?

  Gabrielle runs for her life from a madman and stumbles straight onto the departure platform of an alien ship on its way back to Tiburon, a distant planet two galaxies away.

  Keller, the future king of Tiburon, rests on a marble structure, obviously ailing from unseen wounds. He wakes enough from his delirium to plead with Gabrielle for a kiss. So she places her lips on his, kissing him in the only way she knows how. The kiss ultimately rocks her heart and soul and delivers a powerful orgasm directly after as she tastes a rich chocolate flavor.

  However, a kiss has an entirely different meaning on Tiburon, and Gabrielle may have just mouth-touched her way into a permanent relationship with the powerful future leader of a planet of aliens.

  JUST A KISS

  The Tiburon Duet

  Lara Santiago

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ABOUT THIS E-BOOK: Your purchase of this e-book allows you to one LEGAL copy for your own personal use. It is ILLEGAL to send your copy to someone who did not pay for it. Distribution of this e-book, in whole or in part, online, offline, in print or in any way or any other method currently known or yet to be invented, is forbidden without the prior written permission of both the publisher and the copyright owner of this book.

  JUST A KISS

  Copyright © 2006 by Lara Santiago

  www.LaraSantiago.com

  First E-book Publication: February 2006

  ISBN: 1-933563-08-7

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  Cover art by Jinger Heaston

  All cover art and logo copyright © 2006 Siren Publishing, Inc.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  Dedication

  To my very good friend and critique partner, Carolyn O. Without you, Just A Kiss simply would not exist. Thank you so much for encouraging me to write this book, and then pressuring me to re-write it all those times to make it better. Most of all, thank you for twisting my arm until I agreed to send it out to a publisher. Your friendship means everything to me.

  To my family for their endless support, especially my darling husband who keeps me steady through all the chaos life presents with just awesome kisses.

  Lara Santiago

  Just A Kiss

  By Lara Santiago

  Copyright 2006

  Chapter One

  "Hello. Hello! Can you hear me, now?” Gabrielle Miller shouted into her worthless cell phone as she pushed it against her ear. She pressed her finger hard against the opposite ear, trying in vain to hear the voice from Bob's Tow Service.

  She bent over the center console because the passenger seat sported a single bar of signal strength versus none in the driver's seat.

  "I need a tow truck sent to...” She was talking to herself. The ensuing silence she registered meant the call just dropped. Again.

  "Damn it all to hell.” She lowered the phone to dial again and saw the problem. The low battery warning no longer blinked or beeped. The screen was completely blank. Crap! She snapped her useless cell phone shut and pitched it to the passenger side floor board.

  "What am I doing here?” Gabrielle sighed.

  She'd gotten lost on her way to a party where an acquaintance wanted to introduce her to someone perfect. She blew out her tire racing around like a mouse in a maze in this desolate industrial area, trying to follow directions given by someone obviously more geographically challenged than she was. All for what amounted to a blind date selected for her by someone she barely knew. What could she have been thinking?

  You thought you were lonely, said a sad voice from deep within her.

  Straightening from her crouched position bent over the stick shift, Gabrielle caught a disturbing image out of the corner of her eye and strangled a shriek. A man stood outside her window. A glance to her rearview mirror showed a car now parked behind hers.

  "Need some help changing your tire?” he asked politely. His face was lowered to her window level. He rested one hand casually on the roof of her car; the other was hidden behind him. He looked like an average guy, but something in his tone felt off.

  "No, I've already called a tow service. Thanks, anyway."

  She waved him off with her best fake smile plastered securely in place. Her sixth sense, which she largely ignored, sent a punch to her stomach.

  "Why don't I wait here with you?"

  "Oh, you don't have to do that. They'll be here any minute,” she lied through teeth clenched very tightly, trying to hold the grin now fading as quickly as the light of day surrounding them.

  "I don't mind.” The disturbing edge in his tone of voice sent a tendril of pure dread snaking down her spine.

  Gabrielle dropped her fake smile. “Get away from my car!"

  "You want me, don't you?” the man asked and smiled suggestively. “I can tell when a woman craves domination. You'll be on your knees tonight, you whore.” His eyes shone with a mania now unmistakable.

  "I have a gun,” she lied, hoping it would at least make him step back.

  He didn't step away. Instead, he bashed in her driver's side window with a tire iron he had been hiding behind him. She shrieked when he grabbed hold of her hair through all the broken glass. She fought to disengage her seatbelt.

  She yanked her head from his grasp, losing several strands the hard way. Eyes watering from the bruising sting, but free from her restraint, Gabrielle dove for the passenger door handle. He reached through the broken window and caught the sleeve of her blouse in his fist. The sound of fabric ripping motivated her to kick him in the face and escape through the now—thank heavens—open passenger door.

  Gabrielle
scraped her hands and tore a hole in the knee of her slacks as she scrambled out of her car. She wobbled unsteadily to her feet at first, but once she gained her footing, her palpable fear motivated her to run as she never had before.

  Thankfully clad in fairly comfortable low heels, she fed on the adrenalin powering her system. She sprinted down the deserted street searching for any available help.

  "I'm gonna catch you, bitch, then I'm gonna punish you for your sins!” the pervert shouted in her wake as he ran after her. Unfortunately, he was faster and already gaining on her. Damn it!

  The sidewalk she traveled on ended at a ten-story brick structure a few blocks ahead. There were several doors along the ground floor, but she knew her pursuer would overcome her before she could even reach the nearest one.

  Instead, she caught sight of an opening on her right and headed for it. Gabrielle rounded the corner into an alley, never slowing her pace. She prayed for a miracle with every urgent step she took.

  After only a few strides into the alley, the muscles in her thighs cramped at the exertion she demanded. If there was a miracle to be found tonight, this alleyway wasn't it. All she could see was endless bricks and absolutely no evidence of humanity whatsoever.

  Not even a stray dog or cat to add drama.

  So, she simply kept running, wondering if this was how too-stupid-to-live heroines in horror movies felt as they ran from monsters.

  Abruptly, she realized the walls were closing in on her. She couldn't see any gap at the end of the alley. Only bricks. Everywhere. Surely it was only her imagination? She squinted into the darkness closing fast around her. The walls of this opening were narrowing to an inevitable dead end.

  There were no doors, no windows, and ultimately, no hope of escape. Gabrielle didn't slow down, though. She found a reserve of strength and used it to propel her even faster—possibly to her death.

  If she ended up smacking a brick wall at full speed, then she wouldn't be conscious for whatever the evil man behind her intended. Her rock-or-hard-place choice fast closing in gave her mental pause. This was so unfair, yet so unavoidable.

  The madman was catching up. Gabrielle could almost feel his foul breath on the back of her neck, but she refused to look behind her. She pushed onward.

  Fifty feet. Forty feet. Thirty feet.

  Her eyes welled up. She glanced toward the darkening sky for any sign of help. Not even an alien craft for her vivid imagination to latch onto for help.

  None. Nothing. Nada.

  But when she focused forward again, a miracle appeared. A beam of light suddenly spilled forth ahead of her.

  The blue-tinted glow brightened, as if from a big television, and a shaft of light arrowed toward what was surely her salvation. Was it a door? A window opened in the endless brick? A contingent of law enforcement tucked away ready to help her?

  Twenty feet. Ten feet.

  It was a narrow opening between the brick buildings. Gabrielle turned and embraced the light, throwing herself through the gap. She didn't slow her pace as she twisted her upper torso to accommodate the narrow space and charged through at full-steam-ahead mode. If she'd been a D-cup instead of a C-cup, she would have surely left part of one breast behind on the corner.

  Without a doubt, the hulking monster giving chase couldn't fit, right? Gabrielle sneaked a glance behind her but couldn't see anything as her hair blew into her face and covered her eyes.

  When she turned back to the courtyard surrounded by the tall brick buildings, she couldn't quite understand what her eyes registered. A small group of tall, massively built, commando-looking figures stood silently in a circle. The blue light emanated from somewhere in the center of their loose human ring. Gabrielle, elated to find someone else in her barren nightmare to possibly save her, dove for the center of the group and the hope-fulfilling light, intending to do a tuck and roll once she hit the ground.

  However, as her body slid into the circle and the soothing light enveloped her, something remarkable happened. As she flew between two of the figures, she realized they surrounded a massive marble, coffin-like structure. It looked like solid rock. Another impressive warrior figure lay on top of the slab in repose.

  Gabrielle, thinking she was aimed to smack into the rock, braced for impact, but she didn't crash. Everything stopped moving, including her body. She hung suspended in midair several feet from the slab.

  Then a wall formed around everyone, including her. She heard a loud thump behind her and hoped with all her heart the noise came from the pervert chasing her. He deserved to be a smear on the newly created wall.

  Poetic justice, she thought smugly.

  She remained in midair, wondering if she would be stuck like this forever, but it was only for a moment. Gravity returned without warning, and she crashed. She hit the side of the structure in a very clumsy tuck and roll. The circle of warriors stationed around her looked surprised.

  They were very dark. Or was it merely their clothing that was dark? And they were very tall. Or was it just that she was gazing up from the ground which made them look so tall? And they were big. Okay, there was no mistaking the muscles they all had.

  Was she dreaming? Was she dead? Were they about to do something worse than what the madman she escaped from had in mind for her?

  Gabrielle closed her eyes and counted to three. It was childish to believe they'd be gone if she simply wished hard enough, but she tried it anyway. When she opened her eyes again, the dark warriors were still in a circle around her, but she was no longer in a courtyard surrounded by tall brick buildings and a newly formed steel wall. Gabrielle gasped in surprise. She was now on an aircraft of some sort.

  Gabrielle groaned and rubbed her aching shoulder. She was surprised all right, but apparently so were the warriors, as evident by the wary astonishment on their faces as they closed ranks around her.

  She was so grateful to have escaped the madman, she didn't register the frightfully aggravated looks her rescuers now directed at her. Dangerous looks. They drew their weapons as she stared up into their weary, unmistakably angry faces.

  And so, Gabrielle did what any self-respecting, too-stupid-to-live heroine in a horror movie would do.

  She fainted.

  * * * *

  "What will we do with the human?” Crag, the male leader of the alien explorers, asked Sybille, his female second-in-command. He had directed the rest of the dwindled crew to their stations to pre-flight the craft for the journey home. They already faced challenges with Zelda gone and Keller incapacitated.

  "Leave her here,” Sybille responded distantly as she watched the female slumped on the floor next to Keller's resting place for the journey.

  "Is that wise? What if she wakes up? Our mission parameters were clear. No contact whatsoever."

  "It's already too late for that. The human made contact by jumping into our circle of departure. Besides, we don't have time to return her to Earth and still ensure Keller is healed in a timely manner. We'll bring the human back once Keller's safely attended to by his wife, Maura."

  "The human won't stay asleep for that long. Surely she'll wake before we dock."

  She shrugged. “The room will be sealed. She won't escape. I already checked her for weapons and found none. Besides, she's puny, even by Earth standards."

  Crag folded his arms over his massive chest and took a deep, calming breath. Sybille immediately recognized the look on his handsome face. He was about to protest, but they didn't have time.

  "Do you want to risk the damage of a royal prince to return a foolish human who shouldn't have been where she was in the first place?"

  "I hardly think it's her fault, Sybille."

  "Perhaps not, but I don't imagine you want to explain to our queen that her son spent extra time in excruciating pain because of an earthling who caught us departing."

  "Putting her back will be complicated."

  "Perhaps, but unavoidable. We'll deal with it when the time draws closer. Come, we need to make final pre
parations for our departure out of orbit.” Sybille turned and exited the room, urgency driving her steps.

  She closed the door on their way out of the quiet chamber to allow their wounded friend peace. If Keller woke during the journey to their home planet Tiburon, he would need it.

  Chapter Two

  Gabrielle woke up lying on her back. She opened her eyes, looked up at what she presumed was the ceiling of the room she was in, and saw stars flying by. How odd, she thought. She couldn't remember where she was at first. A planetarium? No. It looked sort of like an alien spaceship. Then she remembered.

  Oh, crap!

  Gabrielle bolted upright and found herself in the exact same place as when she fainted directly after the warriors drew their fierce-looking weapons on her. How long had she been unconscious? Had they done anything to her? Gabrielle ran her hands quickly across her torso and legs, patting herself down looking for ... she didn't even know what.

  Probes? Recent surgery? An alien baby?

  Get a grip, Gabrielle.

  She stood up slowly, brushing imaginary dust off her clothes as she took in her surroundings. There was a door all the way across the room, maybe twenty feet from her, and yet the space seemed difficult to measure. If she actually started walking to the door, Gabrielle fearfully imagined it would be like a circus funhouse where the journey never ended, and she would be hopelessly lost traveling the short distance. Calm down. Getting hysterical won't help anything. She took a deep breath to still her wild imagination.

  The ceiling was a dome of stars, so she figured she was either in a planetarium or flying through space in an alien craft. Where are Mulder and Scully when you need them? she thought, and then jumped nearly a foot in the air when someone moaned.

  Gabrielle turned to look behind her and almost fainted again. In the center of the spacious room was a large, rectangular, cubical slab of marble. On top of this sarcophagus-shaped rock was a man lying on his back, eyes closed, arms resting to his side. A gorgeous man.