Kyele's Passion: A World Beyond Book 4 (15 page)

Joni screamed and arched up to her knees. Kyele caught her, his arms going under her own to hold her tight as the pressure built below. He cupped the bouncing globes of her breasts and bit her nape. “Again. Give it to me again, little Earthling. I want it all.”

***

Slumped in his arms, Joni sucked air into her lungs. Her body trembled against Kyele. “I can’t. Too much.”

She extended an arm behind her and looped it around Kyele’s bowed head as he nuzzled her inner wrist. His hair was dampened with sweat and still he continued to move. To pump in and out in a slow dance that lit another fire in her loins making a liar of her.

“What do you need to make it happen?” he growled in a raspy voice while his fingers tweaked her nipples.

Oh, God. Joni shivered. She should have known once the gates opened they couldn’t be closed. He slowed further and parted his thighs so her weight rested further on the thick intrusion abrading her internal muscles.

“No more,” Joni gasped. She said the words but already her body readied itself for another explosion.

“I want it. Need it,” he practically begged, breath warm on her skin.

Joni shook her head, loins pulsing but unable to state what would help her returning desire. Embarrassment burned her cheeks.

“Tell me, Joni,” came the guttural demand. “What do you need,
tesa?
”

She didn’t think she could give him what he wanted. The insistent demand in his gaze promised she would. Warmth suffused her face but her hand drifted down her torso. Jittery fingers brushed the damp curls between her legs. Kyele leaned over her shoulder to see what she did and Joni froze. Heat filled eyes stared back.

“Do it,” he dared in a low throaty tone. “Show me.”

Joni slid her fingers lower and choked back a cry at the first questing touch. Wetness soaked her hand. Another stroke and her head dropped forward as she moaned. If not for his grip she would have fallen forward. Never had Joni been this aroused before.

“You’re beautiful,” he murmured. “So beautiful. Keep going. Give me everything you have.”

His open mouth danced across the back of her neck. Licking. Tasting. Leaving a tingling sensation behind. Her fingers rubbed faster, his voice providing the impetus for her frantic motions.

“Yes, take me deep. You feel good,
tesa
. Unbelievable.”

Goosebumps dotted her shoulder. Joni clenched her teeth as Kyele thrust against her. His shaft slid in and out, burning a path each time he hit her sensitive nerves. Her fingers bumped his length, adding to the building pressure. Only the power of Kyele’s hold kept her on her knees when she wanted to collapse on the bedding. She was close. Wet and dripping. Her fingers slipped along her bud.

“Don’t stop, Kyele.” She’d beg. Plead. Anything as long as he never stopped.

His lips brushed her ear and Joni convulsed. The sensuous act was opposite what she’d expected from the dangerous soldier. “You feel so good. I’ve dreamed of you. Dreamed of touching you all over.”

She sucked in a sharp breath, her senses scattered as she writhed on his lap. “I’m…I’m close to coming.”

“I’ve got you, Joni. Let go.” His pace picked up and the familiar words, the reassurance, triggered her release.

Pleasure crashed into her in waves. Joni screamed, neck arched back and Kyele groaned behind her, his release jetting inside of her. Joni slumped forward with a muted cry. Kyele kept his arm around her waist and gently lowered them both to the bed. Her head hit the soft sheets as she panted.

There were no words to describe what they’d shared. He got up and turned off the sensors, plunging the room into darkness. The bed shifted from his weight as he climbed back in. Her eyes drifted closed.

“Don’t leave me.”

He didn’t answer but his arms slid around her and eased them close. Joni never had anyone to hold her while she slept. Most people probably assumed her too tough for snuggling but she’d always imagined it. Dreamed about how nice it would be to let someone else be strong for her.

“Rest,
tesa
. I’ve got you.” Lips brushed her temple.

Joni’s lips curved up in the corner. “You always say that.”

Were her words slurred? Sleep crept on her but not before she heard him say, “I’ve always got you.”

Joni smiled at the perfect response that was so Kyele. “Thank you.”

His arm tightened. “I should thank you, Joni.”

“We can thank each other.”

He snorted a laugh, stirring the hair at her nape. Joni continued to smile as she succumbed to sleep.

***

Kyele released the breath he’d been holding as Joni nodded off. Strands of red snagged on his chin. Liquid fire like the woman herself. He smoothed the hair from her face, drawn as always to the beauty of her. Inner and outer. There was no one like Joni and she was his. He’d kill anyone who tried to take her from him.

“I am not good for you, Joni,” he whispered, kissing her lightly so as not to disturb her much needed sleep. “But no one else is either.”

Chapter 19

Hours later, Kyele, body too keyed to truly sleep continued to rest behind Joni. He’d considered relocating to the sofa in his living area but he’d been unable to separate from her. Having her safe in his arms meant more than preserving the barrier between them.

The light musk of passion lingered in the air and his cock stirred. If she hadn’t been through such an ordeal tonight the hunger in him would have demanded to be satisfied. Instead he allowed her touch and scent to soothe his inner beast which clamored for more.

When he thought of the earlier events of tonight, he tensed. As soon as she woke they’d talk. The attack on the facility and the assassins sent to her home were worrying. Anything she could think of would help when he reported to Torkel in the morning. The Unit Leader would want every detail. Hopefully it would give them a place to start to eliminate the threat to her safety.

Joni whined, drawing Kyele’s gaze. Her brows pinched tight and her body went rigid. He leaned up on his forearm. She jerked in his embrace moments before her arm swung backward and her leg shot out almost unmanning him. Kyele rolled Joni onto her back and cupped her jaw.

“Joni.” He shook her shoulder slightly. “Joni.”

A tear tracked down her cheek, breaking his heart. Nightmares. Her lips moved but he couldn’t make out the words. Kyele gentled his touch and began caressing her tangled hair. He smoothed out the knots, allowed his fingers to graze her scalp. He kept up the rhythmic motion as he had in the past when she slept fitfully. Joni sat up abruptly, a scream lodged in her throat.

Kyele sat up too, his arm wrapping about her to offer shelter. Joni pushed and kicked. Worried she’d cause one of them harm, he let go as she scrambled from the bed, sheets twisting about her feet and fell.

“Joni!” He jumped up, fearful she’d injured herself.

Joni snatched the sheet from the floor and covered her front. Her gold eyes scanned the darkened room. She missed seeing him in the dim lighting. “K-Kyele?”

Her frantic voice seared him as Kyele rose to his feet, unconcerned with his nudity. “Right here,
tesa
.”

Relief loosened her hold on the sheet, which dipped to her waist. Kyele’s gaze dropped.

“Hey.” Joni snapped her fingers.

Hey.
The females used the Earth word often to cover a multitude of things. Kyele approached her slowly, hands gentle and slid the sheet back around her shoulder. “I think it’s time we talk.”

Joni stiffened and stepped back. “I’m not sure there’s anything to talk about. We had sex.”

Kyele masked his flinch. According to Torkel and Arak, their Chosens referred to the act as making love. They didn’t use the term sex sharing but perhaps Joni had not considered what they did to be on the same level as what his friends experienced.

Taking a deep breath, he nodded. “Very well. That does not dismiss the fact that we need to talk about what happened at your place tonight.”

Her gaze darkened. This time she closed the distance between them. Her hand feathered over his scar, then the ends of his hair. Like silk grazing his skin. There was severe nerve damage varying from sensitive to the lightest flicker or completely numb. Kyele didn’t move from her touch.

“You first. Tell me about how you got this and why you don’t want your hair pulled.”

Kyele stilled. He’d known the moment would come when she’d ask. The corner of Joni’s mouth dipped, believing he wouldn’t answer. Kyele scooped her in his arms and put her back on the bed. Joni squealed in surprise as he came down over her, pinning her arms to the bed.

“When I was younger I believed myself in love with a female.” The fight went out of her instantly. She zeroed in on his face and Kyele swallowed the distaste from retelling this story. “I shared things about myself because I wanted her as my Chosen.”

Joni tugged on her wrists and Kyele let her go. He’d never hold Joni against her will unless it was for her safety. She didn’t move as he expected. Once more she surprised him as her finger traced his scar. “What happened?”

He’d been unprepared for the female’s actions. While kissing him, she’d gripped his hair tight to keep him close and sliced his face. Shock held him immobile as she claimed he’d disgraced her.

***

Joni focused on Kyele’s eyes and mouth as he recounted an obviously painful story. The green of his eyes swirled with pain and bitter acceptance. Then he blinked, hiding the deeper emotions once more.

“I told Gita that my birth maman was a sex slave. I never had a chance to reveal the heritage of my papan before she reached for the knife I’d placed on a table beside the bed we shared.”

Joni knew where this was headed and wished she could go after Gita with her Marenian knives and show her what a fool she’d been.

Kyele rolled to the side and made as if to rise. Joni grasped his forearm halting his escape. “Tell me the rest.”

He sat on the edge of the bed with his back to her. “You are not bothered by this knowledge?”

Joni hated his toneless voice. She smacked his back and pinched the taut skin. “Watch it! I was a sex slave too.”

Kyele twisted around, eyes wide. He reached for her hand. “I wasn’t insulting your past, Joni.”

She bit her inner cheek, regretting her inappropriate humor and squeezed his hand. “I was kidding.”

He studied her with a bemused expression then continued. “Gita was not pleased. She held my hair, pulling it tight as we kissed. Before I could react, she used my own weapon on me and shoved me away.”

“That bitch,” Joni spat as she scooted closer to Kyele and curved her arms around him from the back. She placed her mouth on the cool skin of his spine. His muscles twitched but he didn’t move. She teased the salty flesh with her tongue and he jerked. “What did you do?”

Kyele didn’t move away but he fairly vibrated beneath her kisses. “I left. Gita taught me a good lesson that night.”

Joni’s head snapped back from her ministrations as she frowned and peered around the bulk of his shoulder to catch a glimpse of his face. “What lesson?”

His chest rose and fell within her arms, the flex of his lower stomach brushing the fingers she had resting there. “I will never have a Chosen. My birth right makes me an unlikely match. Females wish for someone honorable when they walk the sands—a male with a lineage they can respect. I can not offer that in a presentation.”

Joni’s mouth fell open at the garbage he spewed. She scrambled up to her knees and with creative pushing and shoving, managing to get him to face her as she slid in front of him. Her legs parted and wrapped around his waist, but she overestimated and lost her balance. Kyele caught her at the hips and pulled her close. The action was almost innate, his care for her second nature. Foolish alien.

“I think we might have to disagree on that point.” She poked at his chest with her fingertip. “Where I come from men are in limited supply and anyone with a grain of sense would be happy to have you as a Chosen. Besides I have good taste and I wouldn’t have let you near me if I thought you weren’t an honorable person. You’re a Jutak warrior and that’s worthy of respect right there.”

***

Kyele mused on Joni’s words. He wanted to believe what she said. No one was that fortunate. His past, the females of Enotia and elsewhere would never consent to choosing him. Only Joni saw him as worthy and the possibility of being her Chosen was too precious for him to contemplate.

In self-defense he brought the topic back to one they needed to discuss. “I gave you what you asked. Now you will tell me what I need to know.”

“I don’t know where to start.” She looked to the side of him refusing to face him as she spoke.

“I want to know it all. What happened during your time with the Marenians? And not the story you told us when Dr. Maku asked.”

She shook her head and pushed away until she’d cleared his lap. Since she stayed on the bed next to him, Kyele let her get away with it but his lips thinned in frustration. “Answer me, Joni.”

“What do you care?” she snapped, dragging a hand through her tangled hair.

He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Anger was not the solution. He reached for her hand and entwined their fingers. “I want to help you, Joni. We need to figure out how to protect you.”

The fight went out of her. He knew the moment she decided to give him the truth. He braced himself to prepare for what she’d say.

“The first person to buy me wanted a companion.” She dropped his hand and folded in on herself. The desolate pose bothered him but he left it for now.

“The gardener.” Kyele remembered everything about the day they’d rescued Joni and Sylvie. Both had been distraught and abused.

“Yes. But then he died and someone in his family sold me back to the Marenians.” She gritted the words out and her eyes blazed. “There were three others…they wanted to force me but I escaped. I refused to be a sex slave. No one owned me. Except I kept getting caught and sent back to the Marenians.”

Kyele stroked his thumb over her knuckles. He couldn’t stop touching her when it was clear she hurt. “You’re a strong female for all you went through.”

Joni fingered the thin chain about her neck. “This belonged to my grandmother. All of the things I brought from Earth were lost or stolen and this is all I had to remember I was
me
.”

Her voice wobbled on the end and Kyele gave up on keeping his distance. Using her hand, he tugged until he could ease her back onto his lap. Once there, he wrapped his arms around her waist. She curled into his chest and he lost the last of his resistance to his fight. Joni
was
going to be his.

He pressed his mouth to the top of her head. “Tell me about Dr. Kirkem, Joni.”

She faltered then firmed her lips. “Dr. Kirkem was the last.”

Her words caused Kyele to stiffen. It didn’t make sense nor did it align with someone sending assassins for her. The motive was unclear. “Then who is The Collector and why does he want you?”

“Dr. Kirkem,” she said so softly he almost missed it. “Dr. Kirkem is The Collector. He promised to kill me if I ever escaped him.”

Kyele’s eyes hardened and his fists curled. He spoke carefully, taking his time with each word. “He will never have you again, Joni. I promise.”

Her breath hitched from the declaration. She knew he meant it. “I need you Joni and I will kill anyone who tries to take you away.”