The King and I: Celestial Soul-Mates, Book 1 (2 page)

“Welcome.” A rich baritone voice came from her left.

A tremor rippled along her spine. She spun around.

At six foot four and all muscle, he was the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen. His dark, slightly wavy hair brushed his shoulders and his silver-gray eyes glittered like moonlight rippling on water. Her heartbeat accelerated at the sight of him. He would definitely be the star of any sexual fantasy. Her insides seemed to melt into a pool and her vagina tightened.

Good heavens, she had to get a grip on herself. This man had kidnapped her!

“Who are you?” she asked.

“I’m Captain Tai Gaman. And you are Aria Jenkins.” He pointed to a chair. “Sit.”

She perched on the edge of the chair, keeping a wary gaze on him. He strolled to the couch and settled onto it, his masculine aura filling the room.

“I’m sure you’d like to know why we’ve brought you here.”

“Yes, please.” With her hands folded in her lap, and her tight, prim words, she must look like a schoolgirl summoned to the principal’s office. She noticed her hands trembling, so she clasped them tighter.

“Relax. I’m not going to bite.” Warmth emanated from his smile.

Relax?
Was he kidding?

She stared at him with wide eyes, waiting. He leaned forward slightly.

“There is a power in the universe that takes a hand in our lives—we call it
nata’tai.
It provides the means to keep us healthy, as individuals and as races. To stay healthy, a race must grow. It must embrace other cultures. It must open its gene pool to other races, otherwise it will stagnate. Physically, emotionally and culturally.”

A shiver raced down Aria’s spine. Had she and the others been brought here as breeding stock? Were they to provide genetic material to keep his race healthy? Nausea tightened her stomach into a quivering ball as she imagined herself chained to a bed, a trail of men lined up to impregnate the alien female.

She imagined him first in line, his mouth capturing hers in a passionate onslaught, his naked body compressing her breasts tightly against his chest. She felt her cheeks flush and she tried to drive the thoughts from her mind as she concentrated on his words.

“As a race matures,
nata’tai
gives its people the ability to sense their
tanash’ae—
what you would call their soul-mate—even over great distances. To ensure a mingling of races,
nata’tai
directs the spirits of
tanash’ae
—soul-mates—to be born in different races on different planets.”

“Are you trying to tell me that you’ve brought me here because you think I’m one of these tannashays?” She sucked in a breath. “Do you think that you and I…” Her finger flicked between them. “That we are…soul-mates?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Would that be a problem for you?”

No,
a voice inside insisted, but she ignored it and sucked in a breath.

“Yes! Of course it would. I don’t even know you. I don’t intend to marry a man I don’t even know.”

He flashed a devil-may-care grin. “Who said anything about marriage?”

“Oh, I see.” A blush crept up her cheeks. “When you said soul-mate I assumed you meant, you know, love and marriage.”

This was all too much for her. The reality of the situation was finally sinking in. She didn’t even want to think about what he actually meant. That image of the chain and the bed swept through her brain again and not as an attractive fantasy this time. Her head sagged forward as tears pooled in her eyes.

“Aria, I’m sorry. I was teasing you. I’m not your
tanash’ae.
”

“Then why—?”

“Your
tanash’ae
is our king.”

Her head jerked up.

“I’m supposed to marry a king?”

“Does the thought appeal to you?”

“If I believed you, which I don’t, I would be honored, of course. It’s like a fairy tale, in a nightmarish sort of way, but I’m not going to marry some stranger on another planet, king or not. I don’t want to leave my family and friends behind.”

He leaned toward her, his silver gaze piercing her delicately maintained composure.

“Aria, you don’t have a family. You were separated from your mother at a very young age and she refuses contact with you.”

She felt as though he’d stabbed her heart. The pain of long, lonely years in an orphanage, then a group home and foster care, slammed through her.

Of course, anyone would understand why her newly widowed mother might decide to give up her young baby when she barely had the resources to care for her other four children. It had been the responsible thing to do, given the situation. Supposedly, she’d wanted Aria to have a better life than she could provide—but wasn’t being surrounded by brothers and sisters and a parent who loved her a much better choice than leaving her all alone in the world, rejected by the one person who should love her no matter what?

Logic dictated that her mother could not have truly loved her.

Aria stiffened her back against the debilitating pain, refusing to meet the man’s gaze.

“I don’t want to leave my world behind.”

He leaned toward her, his hands folded between his knees. “If he weren’t a king, you could have negotiated where you’d live. Our home world or yours. But in this case,
nata’tai
has given you no choice.”

No choice. Déjà vu
or what? She knotted her fingers together and sighed heavily. “Will I be expected to have sex with this guy?”

He smiled, kindness lighting his eyes. “That’s usually what two bonded people do.”

She glared at him. “Why do you think I’d have sex with a strange man after being abducted?”

He smiled broadly. “You mean, you’d have sex with a strange man if we hadn’t abducted you?”

She stared at him blankly. She couldn’t believe it. This alien captain was teasing her.

Alien
.

Oh, God. Although he looked quite human, he was an alien. A man from another planet.

She felt trapped. Fear and pain built inside her as she realized this was really happening. This man—this alien—had kidnapped her and intended to drag her untold light-years from Earth. She was being torn from her home, again, regardless of what she wanted.

All the tension that had been building in her ever since she’d taken that strange elevator ride curled around her chest and tightened painfully. Dizziness overwhelmed her and breathing became difficult.

Everything went black.

Chapter Three

Tai watched her expression go blank, then her lower lip start to quiver.
Gattra,
she was going to faint. He jolted forward, catching the slumping woman before she hit the floor. He scooped her into his arms, and her softness and warmth pressed against him, magnifying the already intense feelings thrumming through him ever since she’d come aboard. The result was instantaneous. Adrenaline jolted through him. Every cell in his body screamed its need for her. His groin tightened and his penis hardened.

He gritted his teeth against the onslaught. This was his brother’s woman. She would soon be his queen.

He laid her on the couch and tucked a cushion under her head.

He’d been aware of her for a long time—the residual effect of the psychic link he shared with his brother—but he hadn’t expected that awareness to increase so dramatically with proximity. It was Zander’s link, and he was still many light years away.

Tai stroked long strands of dark blonde hair from her face, ignoring the rush of arousal her silky skin triggered. His gaze lingered on her perfect oval face, pretty, curved nose and delicate, full—and very kissable—lips. Her closed eyelids hid her beautiful, cobalt blue eyes and made her seem very vulnerable.

Damn this business. He’d hated the look of fear in her eyes when he’d explained why she was brought here. Clearly, she believed she would be mistreated. The pain lacing her eyes when he’d reminded her of her unfortunate past still scoured his heart like steel wool. With a history like hers, stealing her from her home
was
mistreatment, but as much as the thought tugged at his heart, there was nothing he could do about it.

He fetched a cloth and dampened it with cool water. He knelt by the couch and pressed it against Aria’s forehead. Her eyelids flickered open, revealing two vivid blue pools speckled with gold.

“How are you feeling, Aria?”

She pushed his hand away. As her fingers brushed against his skin, he felt heat rush through him. She started to sit up, but he restrained her gently with a hand on her shoulder.

“Relax. You’ve had quite a shock.”

“I don’t want to relax. I want to go home.” Despite her protest, she slumped back against the cushion. Although she no longer fought to sit up, he couldn’t draw his hand away from her shoulder. The need to touch her was too powerful. The sharp sparking of his senses seemed addictive.

“I’m afraid that’s not an option.”

She scowled. “Of course it’s an option. It’s just one you choose not to consider.”

Her scent, an exotic, spicy musk, filled his nostrils. He found himself easing toward her, his voice softening.

On the edge of his consciousness, a part of him worried that these wild, erotic feelings might swamp his well-trained, highly controlled restraint.

“I’ve already explained why. Once you’ve joined with your
tanash’ae
, you will thank me.”

“I highly doubt that.”

Silence hung between them.

He knew her hormones must be raging. That’s what happened when a
tanash’ae
bond was awakened. Her need would intensify to an intolerable level as they traveled closer to
Sa’oul
and her
tanash’ae
, Zander. He did not intend to allow her to suffer.

She licked her lips. He couldn’t help following the motion with his eyes, watching her now glistening blush-pink lips in fascination.

“So what happens now?” she asked.

Now I taste your lips and show you the heights of ecstasy.
He found his head dipping toward hers and stopped, pushing aside the urge to sweep her into his arms and kiss her senseless. “Well, that depends. I’m sure we can find ways to entertain you.”

Her eyes narrowed. “What do you mean by that?”

“Are you at all curious what it would be like to make love with someone from another world?” The words escaped before he could edit them.

She stiffened, her eyes widening. Many emotions swirled through those blue depths—curiosity, confusion,
arousal
—but fear overshadowed them all. He drew away.
Gattra,
he hadn’t meant to be so blunt.

Dahran
, he never thought he would regret the strong link he shared with his brother, but right now he wondered how he would survive the trip home with this woman.

Not that there was anything taboo about sharing a bed with his brother’s woman before they wed. Unfortunately, he wasn’t sure he would survive making love with her, then having to let her go.

He wished he could sense his own
tanash’ae
, but unfortunately,
natat’ai
had not seen fit to bless him with a mate just yet.

She sucked in a breath. “Umm. Would your king approve of that suggestion?”

“Until you are joined with your
tanash’ae
you are free to enjoy physical pleasure with anyone you like. In fact, you are encouraged to experience as much as possible. This special time leading up to meeting your
tanash’ae
is a time of celebration. We feel that sexuality is a wonderful way to celebrate, just as your people enjoy wine and food.”

“Gee, your Christmas parties must be a real blast.” She shifted and glanced around. “So is that why you brought me to your quarters? So we can
celebrate
together?”

Aria felt an electric quiver simmer in her blood at the thought. The heat of his hard, hot body so close to her, the caress of his velvet voice, the musky male scent of him—oh, heavens, she wanted to lean close and breath him deep into her lungs—all threw her senses into scorching chaos.

She returned her gaze to the pair of intense, sterling eyes staring down at her and she drew in a deep breath. Something in those eyes made her fear he saw past her defenses. Could he see the heady arousal swarming through her?

The yearning that had haunted her over the past few weeks had expanded by tenfold since she’d met him. His touch seemed to trigger wild, uncontrollable images. Like his hands stroking her naked breasts, his lips tasting her peaked nipples. She wanted to feel the weight of his body on top of her, the heat of his naked skin against hers, to feel him inside her.

And more… She wanted his arms around her, holding her.

She felt terribly alone. She would welcome the comfort of being in someone’s arms. His arms. She sensed in him a gentleness she could lose herself in.

It also didn’t hurt that he was a truly gorgeous hunk. Despite this crazy situation, all she wanted to do was throw off her clothes and tumble him onto this couch right now.

She swallowed hard.

But he was an alien. And she was supposedly destined to marry a king. Her head just couldn’t get around either of those concepts right now.

He leaned toward her and her pulse thrummed in her ears.

Oh, God, was he going to kiss her? And if he did, would she be able to resist the demands of this crazy lust?

As he got closer, the heat of his body brushed her awareness. As her lips tingled, anticipating his touch, he reached past her and pushed a button near her head.

“Casey, summon the senior crew to my quarters.”

“Aye, aye, Captain,” Casey’s voice sounded through a speaker.

Chapter Four

Aria watched in amazement as he stood and moved away. Her chest deflated as she released her suspended breath. She sat up and straightened her clothes, breathing deeply to clear her head. It seemed they were going to have company.

A few moments later, a buzz sounded. Aria stood and moved to the end of the couch, facing the door, as Captain Gaman signaled the door to open. Four men and one woman—Casey—filed into the room and lined up along one end of the room. Casey stood on the far left and Terrien, the other crew member Aria recognized, stood second from the right.