Just a Kiss [The Tiburon Duet]

by Lara Santiago

  Her hand touched the cold, smooth marble top in an effort to steady herself while she gasped for air. The madman came to his feet and chased her again.

  "You fucking whore!” he screeched. “Stop and kneel before your master. Ready yourself to receive your punishment!"

  She panicked when she realized her legs were bruised and did not want to cooperate any longer. She'd used up all her reserves. She braced her hips against the monument as he sprang forward to kill her.

  He was leering now, his hands wildly reaching out for her. Gabrielle used the solid marble to launch forward and attack him first. She grabbed his wrist and used one of the only two karate moves she knew. She yanked on his arm while bringing up her foot to plant it squarely on his kneecap. Then in rapid succession, she used her second move to lift her throbbing leg and kick him in the balls.

  He screamed from each kick, but unfortunately, lunacy was apparently its own pain reliever. He launched forward and pinned her to the monument with his body. The marble edge bit into her lower hips as he bent her backwards over it with his forearm across her throat. She tapped the back of her head on the smooth surface and was stunned for a moment. She stopped fighting.

  "Open your mouth wide and ready yourself for me, whore,” and again he laughed maniacally. She panicked when she felt what she presumed to be his already hard dick against her leg, pressing disgustingly into her.

  Gabrielle took a deep breath and readied herself to lunge up and escape, but she found a filthy cloth in her face. She turned her head to the side when she caught a whiff of something sickly sweet wafting off the cloth he tried to press to her face. She turned but could not escape the strong smell. A wave of nausea assailed her.

  Was that chloroform?

  Oh, God. She was so screwed.

  Well, then. Game over. He'd won.

  Gabrielle managed to get a deep breath of air without chloroform, but he promptly smashed the cloth onto her face again. Once she used up this final lungful of air, she'd suck in the fumes.

  When she woke up ... if she woke up ... the madman would have done whatever mad men did. Even if she survived, she'd be left without even the possibility of a life with Keller.

  Life is a big, fat bitch, and then you suffer alone, and then you die. The end.

  Her lungs burned for air. Any air. Even tainted air. A reserve of panic rose, and she fought, wriggling back and forth. Side to side she moved, but he held tight to her.

  Gabrielle was ready to accept her fate. She looked up to the canopy of stars above one last time to remember Keller and bid him a fond farewell.

  I love you, Gabrielle. Don't ever doubt my feelings for you.

  I love you, too, Keller. I'll never forget you.

  Gabrielle blinked. She thought she saw the figure of a very tall man descending the rickety fire escape ladder. She decided she was past hallucinating and well onto delirium. For an instant, she thought he looked like Keller. Just as quickly, the figure disappeared. It was surely a pity-induced vein of hope her subconscious sent her because she was oxygen deprived while thinking of him.

  Definitely a fantasy.

  As her mind reeled from lack of nitrogen-rich air, she pondered the possibility Keller had never been real. Had she dreamed him, or was he real and living a zillion miles away with Lena as his new queen because they'd been betrayed? What had Crag told him about her surprise departure? Did he think she left him willingly? Would he believe she abandoned him?

  Gabrielle thought she heard the fire escape groaning again.

  Wishful thinking. Probably the wind.

  Big black blotches swam across her vision relentlessly. She blew out the air in her lungs into the cloth smashed against her nose. She inhaled as shallow a breath as possible, but the drug knocked her out.

  Game over.

  * * * *

  Keller materialized on Earth with a determination born of panic. He darted to the edge of the building where he'd landed on and stuck his head out into the open space, cursing many things about this second journey to Earth.

  He cursed the location of his arrival. The rooftop was not ideal for rescue because Gabrielle was several stories below, but he couldn't materialize in the clearing because he'd departed from there on the last journey. He waited several endless minutes while his body in the first journey cleared the atmosphere.

  Damn paradoxes.

  Keller made out the flimsy metal staircase attached to the building and bolted over to it, flinging himself over the edge. Landing on the fire escape, he rapidly descended the rickety metal staircase attached to the building, which made atrocious noises as he traversed it.

  At each turn of the steps, he watched Gabrielle's attacker pursue her to the solitary structure centered in the clearing. By the time he'd gotten to the last set of stairs, Gabrielle was pinned underneath the bastard and not moving.

  Keller jumped off the outer building stairs, landing on the balls of his feet to absorb the shock. He sprang up into a practiced sprint and hoped he could stop himself from killing Gabrielle's attacker with his bare hands. He wasn't allowed to change the future by killing him. He could only stop the man from hurting her further. He'd left his sword behind with the certain knowledge that if he brought it, he'd use it. Repeatedly.

  Keller barreled up to her attacker, grabbed him, and launched him over his shoulder. The man made frightful noises when Keller pulled him into the air.

  Gabrielle wasn't moving.

  The lunatic went airborne for a few seconds before crashing to the ground with gratifying force. It should have stopped him, but the man bounced right back onto his feet and came at Keller. The look in the man's eyes reminded Keller of the look on his mother's face the last time he saw her—when she realized he wasn't going to bend to her will in the matter of Gabrielle or his future as King of Tiburon.

  The look was a demented one.

  "The whore is mine! I saw her first! You can't have her!” the lunatic screamed.

  Keller didn't respond. He dodged when the man charged. He noticed the blood dripping off the man's forehead and more from his hands when he turned. The thought that those drops could be Gabrielle's precious blood made Keller act before thinking. He balled up his fist and powered it into the man's already bloody face, hoping to knock a few teeth down his throat.

  The blow sent the attacker reeling backwards until he lost his balance and fell on his ass. He rolled back and forth trying to get up as Keller walked over. The crazy monster managed to gain his footing and stand on unsteady feet until Keller punched him again. Same fist. Same power behind the punch. Same resulting fall to the ground.

  Keller couldn't believe it when the crazed man wrestled himself onto all fours and tried to get up a third time. He kicked the man solidly in the face before he made it to his feet. Grabbing him up by his coat lapels, Keller slammed him against the nearest brick wall. The man managed to cuff Keller in the head. Several seconds later, before he could stop himself, Keller found his hands jammed around the man's throat. Then he applied pressure, and then more pressure.

  Don't kill him. Just render him unconscious, Keller repeated to himself, squeezing until the man finally and mercifully slumped over unconscious.

  Releasing him, Keller turned and sprinted back to Gabrielle. She had slipped off the monument and lay on her side motionless beside it. Heart in his throat, he knelt beside her and turned her so she rested on her back. He felt for a pulse and, to his relief, found it beating faintly.

  Picking up the dirty rag next to her, he wondered why the attacker held it over her face. There was a strange odor coming from it. Poison perhaps?

  Keller put a hand on her forehead to brush a stray lock of hair from her eyes. He scanned her body and felt for broken bones. She had three metal splinters in one hand, which appeared to be the worst of her injuries.

  Reassured she was not badly hurt, he leaned in and placed his mouth next to hers, not quite touching as she'd done to him the last time they'd been together. A rush vibrated
his body, but it was more a feeling of relief that she was alive. Her attacker hadn't had time to kill her or do any serious damage to her lovely body.

  "Please, wake up, Gabrielle,” he said, willing her eyes to open for him. He'd have to carry her out of here and find help. He'd yet to retrieve his cellular phone and all the other components of his Earth persona in his zeal to make it to Gabrielle's rescue on time. He moved to pick her up when he heard the footsteps of someone approaching.

  "Freeze!” came an agitated yet authoritative voice from the opening at the clearing.

  Keller looked up to see two uniformed police officers pointing guns at him. One was tall and skinny with curly hair. One was shorter and heavier with not very much hair. The skinny one moved towards the monster lying unconscious in a bloody heap.

  "Now, stand up and step away from the woman slowly,” the shorter police officer said, directing his comment to Keller and motioning with his weapon.

  Keller stood up with his hands away from his body. He was glad he'd left his sword behind. It finally occurred to him that, from their point of view, he was the one who'd wrought all this mayhem.

  The tall, skinny officer keyed a radio attached to his collar. Keller heard him calling for an ambulance for the filth resting where he'd left him.

  "She's hurt,” Keller informed him and nodded at Gabrielle. “She needs an ambulance, too."

  "What'd you do to her?"

  "I pulled that guy over there off her. He was the one who chased her in here and tried to hurt her."

  "Oh, yeah. Now, why would I believe that?” The officer maintained the large gun on him and walked over to Gabrielle.

  She wasn't moving and was impossibly frail looking. Keller knew he needed to remain calm now that Earth's law enforcement was involved, but a part of him wanted to scoop her up and run her to safety.

  "It's the truth."

  "Uh-huh. Where were you?"

  "Up on the roof.” Keller nodded towards the building he'd come down.

  "What were you doing on the roof?"

  Keller pushed a deep breath slowly out of his lungs in an effort to calm his raging nerves.

  "Stargazing,” he replied.

  Planning my invasion of your planet, puny earthling, was his second choice of response.

  "You got any identification?"

  Keller sighed deeply, again cursing in his mind the manner in which he'd come back to Earth. He didn't have any identification on him at this particular moment.

  It was back at the residence his group had used while studying Earth. Keller didn't think it would be prudent to explain to the officer he was an alien from another planet several trillion miles away. Earthlings were prone to panic regarding alien invasion.

  Keller was prepared to resurrect permanently the persona he'd used while on Earth the last time, but he hadn't the time to retrieve the documents. He'd come back to this time and place to spare Gabrielle a long, painful recovery if she were left to suffer at the hands of a madman.

  Keller formed his words carefully. “My name is Keller. I'm an Earth scientist..."

  Chapter Twelve

  Gabrielle woke slowly and painfully to find she was lying on her back on the cold ground. She saw the circular canopy of stars surrounded by brick walls.

  Crap! Where was the asshole who'd tried to drug her unconscious? She could still smell the scent of the chloroform around her nose and mouth.

  Gabrielle hoped the creep had given up and gone home because she couldn't move to fight him off right now. On her left was the blue marble monument. It calmed her somehow, probably because it reminded her of Keller. Her last thoughts were of him before she conked out the last time fighting for air.

  Keller. She missed him already. She closed her eyes to remember. She'd never find a man like him on earth, a man who kissed like a wet dream come to life, kisses that brought her to climax with sensuous intensity. She welled up at the realization he was gone forever. Did he even exist? Had she dreamed him up? Probably.

  Gabrielle moaned and opened her eyes. She squinted to read the writing she hadn't noticed earlier on the sculpture. It was a memorial to a group of nine heroes. They were firefighters who'd died saving others from a fire in the building that stood here once. Had she seen tall, warrior-like, firefighter ghosts? Well, it made as much sense as tall, warrior aliens departing for their planet.

  Gabrielle sensed someone close to her and flinched, expecting to see the loathsome man who'd been chasing her. Instead, it was a police officer who stepped into her view. He was young and skinny with curly dark hair.

  "Hello,” he said with concern. “You're awake. I'm Officer Brooks. We've called for an ambulance, so you just sit tight, okay? It'll be here before you know it."

  Gabrielle nodded. She swallowed and tried to speak, but no words came out. Her whole body hurt, which was second only in intensity to the pain in her heart. She hadn't processed her anger over losing Keller to betrayal before she'd been forced to run for her life from a lunatic bent on her destruction.

  Her mind was still full of vivid memories about an alien race who brought her to their planet by accident on their spacecraft. She'd managed to violate their future king a couple of times, and when she was all set to life partner with him, she was betrayed by his best friend and returned because she was an unsuitable, puny earthling. Crag told her he hoped her memories would become dreams. Were they really memories, or had she been dreaming all along?

  Gabrielle had an epiphany right then as she lay on the cold, hard ground. She felt like she did when she woke from what seemed like a perfectly rational dream, only to recite it out loud when she was awake and discover she sounded like a complete idiot.

  Of course, she'd been dreaming. She was such a dork. Of course, it was only a vivid, wonderful dream. There wasn't, in reality, a Keller. That made her sad enough to cry. She was probably crazy. She couldn't stop her tears.

  Officer Brooks gave her a concerned look. “Aw, now, don't cry. It'll be okay. You're a very lucky girl. Can you tell me your name?"

  She swallowed hard. “Gabrielle,” she managed to croak out, barely recognizing her own grief-stricken voice.

  "Is there anybody I can call for you, Miss Gabrielle?” he asked. She shook her head and resisted the urge to have him call Skippy, who still wasn't trained to answer the phone.

  "Thank you, but there's no one,” she whispered quietly.

  "Now, I think that's a shame, ma'am,” he said and then looked over his shoulder.

  There was a very tall man dressed in black standing next to another police officer. Gabrielle turned her head to see the stranger more clearly as Officer Brooks stepped away.

  The man in black looked very familiar. He looked almost like ... Keller? But it couldn't be. Keller was a million, zillion miles away, getting ready to life partner with Lena so he could be king of his planet.

  "Is it you?” Gabrielle sucked in a deep breath of surprise before she could stop herself.

  "Is this the guy who attacked you, ma'am?” the other officer asked her. His tag read Officer Flanders.

  The man resembling Keller sighed with a perturbed look on his face. He looked like an Earth version of her dream Keller dressed all in black. He wore a black leather jacket, black turtleneck, and black jeans instead of black body armor.

  "No, it wasn't him,” Gabrielle said quickly. Would she sound crazy if she identified him as an alien warrior king from another planet? Yep. Not a doubt in her mind.

  "We found him hunched over you holding a chloroform-soaked rag when we arrived,” Officer Flanders accused.

  "Well, he didn't chase me in here. Look at his hands. The man who broke my car window was bleeding."

  Officer Brooks nodded. “That's right. We found your car with the window bashed in, and a stolen car parked behind it. We followed the blood trail from your car into the alley here and found you."

  The gorgeous man in black, who couldn't possibly be Keller, held his hands up, flipping them back and forth t
o show he wasn't bleeding. Officer Flanders huffed his acknowledgment but still didn't look convinced.

  Gabrielle rose on her elbows, trying to sit. Earth Keller, as she was going to call him, took a step towards her, but Officer Flanders stopped him.

  "You stay here. Just because your hands are clean don't mean you didn't help the other guy. You still haven't produced any identification to prove who you are."

  "I told you, I left it at home. Call the Scientific Research College and ask for Professor Ambrose. He'll vouch for me."

  Gabrielle couldn't believe there was a doppelganger for her luscious Keller right here on planet Earth. Before she could ponder the coincidence of two Kellers, she heard more footsteps as an ambulance crew arrived.

  The police officer called for two rescue vehicles, which both miraculously arrived together. No moral issues of whether to take the victim or the attacker first. Gabrielle reached out to touch Earth Keller's arm when the emergency team wheeled her past him on the portable gurney.

  "Thanks,” was all she had time to say before they took her away. He reached for her, but Officer Flanders held him back. The officer dialed a cell phone to call the place Earth Keller told him would vouch for him. “You said your name was Keller, right?"

  Gabrielle tried to bolt upright on the gurney when she heard the question, but they pressed her back and strapped her down lightly. She lifted her head to stare at Earth Keller, whose name was also coincidentally Keller. The paramedics pushed her back down, trying to be comforting as they took her away.

  On the trip to the hospital, Gabrielle pondered her sanity. What were the odds of two gorgeous, identical guys with the same name?

  Astronomical, she surmised.

  * * * *

  "What hospital did they take her to?” Keller asked Officer Flanders.