He was dead before he hit the ground.
She didn’t care. She rushed over to Geoff and felt for a pulse, letting her tears finally fall when she found a strong beat. He was alive. Oh thank God!
And then there were thumps and grunts, and the sound of fighting came through the door. She knew she had to stand her ground, had to protect her husband, not to mention the other women, who were sobbing behind her. She stepped in front of Geoff and waited, holding her blaster steady as the cargo door was pried open. Her heart thundered so loudly she could hear it in her ears. Her finger tightened on the trigger until her eyes met the golden stare of the Alphan male on the other side of the door. Relief sliced through her.
He was big and muscular, and the moment their eyes met something zinged through her body. His horns sat high on his forehead and curled back toward his skull, the tips disappearing into his thick black hair. His blaster was held in his hand but down by his side, and she saw his golden eyes widen slightly as they took in her protective stance. The Alphan man looked first at her and then at the dead Xyran male at her feet.
“You killed him?” he asked in English, his words lightly accented. Goose bumps dusted across her skin as his deep, sensual voice washed over her.
Keirah lifted her chin. “I’d kill any man who meant to hurt me. Or Geoff.”
Again, the Alphan glanced around, lingering a moment on Geoff and the other unconscious men before looking at the women behind her.
“You must have taken him by surprise.”
“He said don’t hesitate. So I didn’t.”
“Have you ever killed a Xyran before?”
“No.” In fact, it almost made her feel sick how easy it was, but she wouldn’t show that weakness in front of him.
He nodded. “What are you doing on this ship?”
“It’s an auction ship,” she said. “There are some buyers willing to pay for a husband and wife.”
One of his eyebrows went up. He pointed to Geoff. “That’s your husband?”
“It is.”
His brow furrowed. “My name is Captain Krig. Commander Jorg sent out a distress call as soon as the Xyrans attacked, and we were on patrol, which is why we got here so quickly. You can put the blaster down now.”
She took a deep breath and slowly lowered the weapon.
“What is your name?”
“Keirah,” she said. “Keirah DeWinter.”
“You’re a loyal woman, aren’t you, Keirah DeWinter?”
Her eyes narrowed. He almost made that sound like it was a bad trait. At that moment, several more Alphan men walked up behind him, and Captain Krig conversed with them in his own language. She’d never had a reason to learn it, so she didn’t know what he was saying, but the next moment they were coming in the room and helping the unconscious men, including Geoff.
“Where are you taking him?” she demanded.
“The men will be taken to the medical bay on my ship,” he told her. “I would like for you to follow me.”
Did she have to? She wanted to follow Geoff. But the look on his face told her that he hadn’t requested her presence. He demanded it.
She tried to push down some primal instinct that warned her this man would change her world forever.
Chapter Two
She followed Captain Krig back through the shuttles narrow corridor and onto his ship, which was very large. So large they were able to bring the shuttle into their own cargo bay and it boggled her mind slightly where she was standing. Sure, she’d watched sci-fi shows growing up; she just never thought they could be real.
The Alphan crew watched her as she walked behind the captain. Birds of prey keeping vigil on a scurrying mouse, or so she pictured. When she’d first seen Alphan men she assumed they were all alike, but being this close she began to notice slight differences between them. Different facial features, different textures to their hair, even different sizes of their horns. All were tall and muscular and overwhelmingly tough, so she reminded herself not to do anything to piss these guys off.
The ship might be big, but it wasn’t pretty. Alphan men were a warrior type race, and Keirah now saw what that meant by looking at the stark metal design of the ship. Just like its captain, it was bold, tough, and utterly without softness. Captain Krig entered an elevator that zoomed them somewhere reminiscent of military barracks. The floors here were nothing but metal floor plates that made their footsteps echo down the long corridor.
“This way,” he said and led her past the barracks to a door. He entered a code on the sensor pad, and the door swished open.
Keirah followed him in and realized immediately that this was a bedroom. His bedroom. Although he got a door because he was the captain, it was just as sparse as the enlisted men’s rooms. The room wasn’t overly big or decorated. There was a bed, a desk with two chairs and the kitchenette. He was a large man, so everything fit him, but it wasn’t quite what she expected the apartment of a captain would look like.
She stopped, and her mouth dropped open. She should’ve known better than to blindly follow him.
“I didn’t bring you here to have my way with you,” he said with a trace of amusement underlining the words, leaving her to wonder if he could read her mind as well. “I wanted to talk with you for a moment in private. Please, have a seat.”
Keirah took a deep breath and sat where he indicated. He moved gracefully over to a sort of bar slash kitchen area and poured himself a drink. “Keirah,” he said, as if testing out her name. “Do you know anything about the Alphan way of life?”
The question wasn’t what she expected, and it took a moment for her to collect her thoughts. “Um, not really. I know you’re warriors. And Geoff told me that your people have a need for women. We weren’t even going to leave Earth until he found an auction house willing to not separate a husband and wife.”
He took a sip of amber colored liquid as he regarded her. “Our society is based on honor and personal pride. We earn the right to find a human mate. There are no such things as auction houses on Alpha.”
The unease she’d been experiencing since this adventure started rolled through her stomach, making her feel queasy.
“Commander Jorg is a human slave trader, and we’ve been hunting him for some time. He likes to hide in plain sight. He finds gullible humans and sells them to Xyran sex houses, and no doubt your husband would’ve been killed while you ended up working on your back for the rest of your short life.”
Keirah’s eyes went wide, and for a moment she thought she would throw up
“The others families will be treated in medical and then sent back to Earth with a strong warning against trusting offers too good to be true,” he said. “But I have a proposition for you.”
She swallowed the bile down and looked at him, feeling shell-shocked. “What type of proposition?”
He drained the rest of his drink and set the glass down with a click. “I am a career military warrior. One day I plan to make Admiral of the Fleet. I’m a decorated officer from a noble house, but I spend the majority of my life on whatever ship I’m assigned to. However, after every deployment I have a mandatory one month rest period, and during that time I’m usually trying to find some companionship. As you know now, that’s extremely difficult given the limited Alphan women available, so that means I have to go off-world.”
Keirah waited, wondering when he was going to get to the point.
“It’s occurred to me that we could help each other,” he continued, coming over to sit across from her. He held her gaze, his golden eyes seemingly able to reach inside her soul to twist her all up in knots. Why did he affect her like this? “I would like to propose our mating, with certain conditions of course.”
Her mouth went dry. “W-what conditions?”
“During my shore leave you will be my exclusive companion,” he said matter-of-factly. “The time I’m deployed you can be with your husband. I will want two children from you before you procreate with your husband, and, of c
ourse, this is an exclusive deal. I will be your only Alphan, and you will be my only mate.”
“What does that mean?”
“You will be the only female I engage in sex with. I don’t mind giving you that pledge if you pledge the same to me.”
She opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out. Was this really happening? In one day she’d left her home planet, killed a man, and been propositioned. It almost sounded like the plot of a really bad film.
“I will give you a chance to talk it over with your husband,” he said smoothly, and she wondered if anything ruffled his feathers, so to speak. He was so in control, with such a dominating presence, that it was hard for her to think clearly. “I have a rather large house that needs someone to oversee its care. If you accept, perhaps your husband would like to work for me. It would solve many issues I’m having. You can work as well, if you wish, although there aren’t many women in the Alphan work force. Usually women are kept out of sight by their families or mates.”
Dear lord yes, she needed to talk with Geoff, although she had a sneaky feeling she knew what his answer to Captain Krig would be. Was this better than returning to Earth? Could she trust this Alphan male sitting across from her watching her with his intense golden eyes that made butterflies dance in her belly? That seemed to be the question of the day.
“I’ll take you back to your husband now,” he said as he rose and held out his hand to her. “What is his name?”
“Geoffrey. Geoff for short.”
Keirah looked at his hand, at how big and strong it was and couldn’t help but think of the old earth saying about how the size of hands correlated with the size of a penis. If that was true, dear lord, the man was hung. Shaking her head to clear it of the fanciful notion, she took his outstretched hand and let him help her up. Little jolts of electricity shot up her arm and had goose bumps dancing over her skin. Standing this close to him she realized how tall he was, towering over a good foot. Geoff was taller than she was, too, but not quite this tall. She felt the heat radiating off his body and had the craziest urge to touch him. She blinked and stepped back, not liking how his nearness affected her equilibrium. Geoff always turned her on by making her feel safe, and loved, but this man didn’t bring any of those feelings to the surface. He made her feel a little crazy and slightly out of control.
And that terrified her.
****
Krig watched the emotions playing across the human woman’s lovely face and contained the satisfaction he felt coursing deep inside. He knew he had her, and that she would say yes. From the moment he’d seen her standing with the blaster aimed at his head, her arm steady and true, ready to defend her people with every breath in her body, he knew he had to have her. He’d often heard of the intangible feeling of finding a bondmate, but he’d always scoffed at the fanciful notion. It was like falling in love at first sight, completely illogical and moronic. However, he couldn’t deny that something had drawn him to Keirah DeWinter from the start. A connection, for lack of a better word.
With her mass of blonde curls and sky blue eyes, she didn’t look like a fierce warrior. In fact, she looked innocent and doll like, but appearances, obviously, were deceiving because she had the heart of a fighter.
And she was obviously confused about her arousal, which meant she’d probably only known her husband sexually, and he could see she was uncomfortable about having to accept another man into her bed. Virtue, bravery, and strength … all great qualities to breed into his children. He’d never really thought about procreating until recently, until he’d been reminded he had a duty to his heritage, and now that he’d met Keirah the idea of begetting children with her made his blood run hot. He bet her quonum … what did humans call it? Oh, pussy, that was it. He bet her pussy would be nice and tight, like a glove wrapped around his cock. He’d slept with a few female humans during his mandatory shore leave, mostly diplomats assigned to Alpha, and the women had taught him much about pleasuring them. Truth be told, it wasn’t very different from his own species.
He felt himself getting hard and was amused when he saw her eyes widen as she realized he was getting aroused. Her blue eyes went wide as she looked down toward his groin, which only made him harder. He’d love to pick her up and lay her upon the bed and fuck her until she screamed his name in pleasure. He felt his tesak, his fangs, sliding out of his gums and had to force them back. Now was not the time to show her that little quirk of his people’s mating ritual.
She almost tripped over her feet backing away from him. Realizing his fantasy wasn’t going to happen, at least not right now, he let her escape. But he knew there was only one answer she could give him. He had a feeling she didn’t have much of a choice.
He’d have her soon.
Chapter Three
Geoff groaned and opened his eyes, squinting as the light pierced through his head like a hot poking needle. Where the hell was he? He turned his head and saw he was in a bed. Oh, it looked like a medical bay.
And then everything slammed into his head, and he sat up with a gasp. Soft hands gripped his shoulder.
“Geoffrey?”
He turned his head the other way and saw Keirah’s relieved eyes staring at back at him.
“Are you all right?” he asked, running his hands over her face and arms to make sure she wasn’t hurt.
“I’m fine, Geoff.”
Something was wrong. He could see it in her face.
“What happened? Are we prisoners—”
“No,” she interrupted. “An Alphan ship came and saved us. I … it was a trap.”
“What?”
“There wasn’t an auction house, Geoff. It was just a way of getting human women so they could be sold to whorehouses on Xyran.”
As the implication slammed into him, rage obliterated everything else. He’d had to steal for that information, and it had turned out to be bogus. Keirah could’ve been hurt. Abused. Here he’d been trying to protect her and he almost killed her.
“I’m such a fool,” he muttered angrily. “How can I possibly make this up to you?” She slipped her hand into his, and just like that, he knew there was more. “What else, Keirah? I can see there’s something else.”
“I met the Alphan Captain. Captain Krig. He gave me a proposition.”
He swallowed down the bile that suddenly rose in his throat. “What, ah, what did he say?”
“He’s career military and offered us to be his mate,” she said. “Actually, for me to be his mate. Once or twice a year I’ll be his exclusively, and the rest of the time I can be with you. I also have to give him two children before I have any with you.”
The words … were painful. They sliced through his guts with a serrated edge, ripping apart all the security he’d found in her. But he knew this had been coming. It was why they’d been on the shuttle, even if it had been a scam. He wanted her alive; he’d wanted a chance to live his life with her, and they couldn’t do that on Earth.
“You look like you don’t want to accept,” he said, trying to stall. Trying to figure out what was going through her mind.
“We can return to Earth.”
Regret tore through him, and he shook his head. “No, Keirah. We can’t.”
She bit her bottom lip and nodded, as if she knew he was going to say that. “You did something, right? For all that information about Alpha, for the medical cards, and the auction house.”
God, he wished she’d never found out, but Keirah knew him all too well. Shame burned through his heart. “I robbed the leader of my old gang, took a lot of money. I thought I was doing something good for us, but now, well, I can’t go back to Earth.”
He saw the resignation on her face, and it made his heart hurt. “All right. Then Captain Krig’s proposition came at the right time.” She picked up his hand. “At least we can still be together.”
“Is he mean? Do you think he’d hurt you?”
“No,” she said shaking her head. “He seems very … controlled.”<
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There was something not right with her, and Geoff narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out why she was so stiff and upset. “Keirah? What’s going on? Why don’t you want to say yes?”
“Because … because I think I’m attracted to him,” she whispered, and her voice was so achy he could hear the guilt in every word.
Jealousy was a nasty bitch, especially when his hands were tied. But how was he supposed to feel knowing she would be fucking another man? How could he handle it seeing her belly round with another man’s child? He was so afraid it would kill him but what else could he do? He had put them in this situation. Should he leave her? Walk away and let her have a guilt-free life?
He didn’t know. All he knew was that if he had to tell her good-bye he might as well put a blaster to his head and pull the trigger because life meant nothing without her. He took a deep breath and reined in his emotions. He didn’t know any of the answers, so for now he’d stay the course.
“Isn’t it a good thing to be attracted to him?”
“So it makes it easier for me to fuck him, you mean?”
He winced, at the words and her bitterness behind them. Yes, this was a shit situation, but they either gave up and died or they pushed on.
“Keirah, listen to me. No matter how we got here, we couldn’t stay on Earth between the gangs taking over, the government abandoning us, and the food becoming scarce. We saw the broadcasts. New York City was faring better than most places, but it was just a matter of time. This is a fucked up situation, and I don’t like it any more than you. Do you think I want to see you go off with another man? I don’t care if he’s alien or not, if he has a dick he’s a man, one that wants to impregnate you. I’ll be honest, I don’t know how I’m going to feel about that. I know I said I’d love any of your children, but reality is a far blacker soul.”
Proposition Page 2
