Training the Warrior (3 page)

“Let me go, please.” Lydia broke into their
disagreement in a desperate attempt to talk Kern out of whatever he had planned
for her. “He’s right. I’m not one of those. I’m just a human. That’s all. You
don’t want me.”

“Listen to her, Kern. She doesn’t know
anything about our kind. There’s no latent period after the first time. Are you
sure about this?” Braedon took a step closer.

Kern spun away, presenting his back to
Braedon. He growled louder. The sound came from deep within his chest and
vibrated through Lydia it was so forceful.

“Any closer and I will kill you!” Kern
snarled again.

The other man drew in an audible breath. “The
stench is upon you.” Lydia listened to Braedon’s response with a sinking
feeling. “Ten minutes, Kern. No more. If you aren’t back at the ship in ten
minutes with her, I’ll return with a stunner and knock you out. Then I’ll drag
your stinking, stubborn carcass to the ship.” Braedon’s voice faded along with
his footsteps.

Oh my, god, no
.
He’s leaving
me here with
…she couldn’t even think anymore. Numbing terror was in control
of her body and mind. Nothing in her life experience could have prepared her
for this.

Unexpectedly, Kern relaxed his hold to turn
her around so she faced him. He kept his grip secure around both her upper arms
to prevent her from escaping. Lydia’s fear kept her from laughing like a crazed
idiot at his caution. If the huge man released her, she’d most likely fall in to
a heap at his feet since she was pretty sure she couldn’t trust her body to
obey her frozen mind even if it ordered her to flee. He pulled her against him
again and circled his arms around her. To her shock, he hugged her closer,
restraining her within a gentle embrace.

Lydia was confused. She’d expected him to
beat her and then rape her. Wasn’t that standard procedure for angry pissed off
men?
He still might
, her mind cautioned. And if he was anything like the
other huge giant, he might very well shred her with the same kind of arm
weapons. The mere thought added to her mounting terror.

The heat of his body scorched her skin
where they touched, and her bare nipples pebbled as they raked against the
rough leather straps crossing his chest. Lydia trembled. Gradually, she
realized he ran his fingers through her hair, tugging strands up to his face
and taking deep breaths.

Once he seemed satisfied with smelling her
hair, he looped one arm under her bottom and slid her up his body. Her feet
left the metal flooring. The tawny skin stretched tight across his wide
muscular chest heated her naked flesh. The giant pushed his face into her neck
once again. His breath was hot against her skin, his lips soft. Sharp teeth
grazed her neck. She gasped, fearing the sensations his touch roused within
her.

He licked her and said with a growl, “Mine.”

Galvanized into action by his bizarre
behavior, Lydia kicked and squirmed in one last ditch effort to break away. He
chuckled at her attempt, restraining her with ease.

“Oh, just kill me and get it over with!” she
screamed in desperation before dropping her forehead against his hard chest. “Please
don’t shred me piece by piece and eat me alive,” Lydia whimpered, completely
defeated. Begging seemed like her only option. She took a deep breath.
Oh my.
The humungous bastard smells good.

“Don’t fear me, little female. I’ll never
hurt you,” Kern said. He drew his head back and ordered, “Look at me.”

Lydia lifted her face to gaze at him. His
former expression had disappeared. Anger and annoyance had been replaced by
lust and desire. Pale tan-colored eyes, filled with needy determination, stared
back at her. She noticed how his lips were too close to her own. And they were
almost smiling. Her mind registered he was actually quite handsome for a tall,
dark and dangerous alien. Damn, he smelled wonderful too, and those lips of his
seemed soft and inviting.

She almost kissed him before she came out
from under his spell. She put her hands flat against his chest and pushed away
as far as he would allow. It was less than an inch, but it helped her gain some
control over herself. She absolutely couldn’t let him lure her that way.

“You’re not going to hurt me?” Her voice
quivered.
Dammit.
The last thing she wanted was to let him know for sure
just how scared she was. He terrified her in many ways.

“Never.” The corners of his lips turned up
into a wolfish grin. “But very soon I’ll discover if you taste as good as you
smell.” Her entire body trembled at his words. Maybe she was on the menu, after
all. Mr. Demanding appeared very determined. The bastard chuckled, as if he
knew some deep secret. “You’ll feel no pain when I taste you. Only pleasure.”

Oh no.
He couldn’t mean he was going
to…well, actually “taste” her there? She was a jumble of emotions. Fear was at
the top, but her traitorous body reacted to his words. A clenching spasm curled
deep inside her, sending moist warmth shooting to her core.

 How could she respond to this Neanderthal?
Be afraid, Lydia. Be very afraid,
she scolded herself.
Look, see? He
has sharp fangs like a vampire. And he has pointy teeth on his lower jaw, just
barely hidden by that sexy bottom lip.

No. Not vampire at all. He’s some kind of
man-beast alien and he wants to do you. He wants to
use that scary
mouth on you. The horny son of a bitch intends to screw you
. She screamed
the mental warning to herself.
Oh, god.
Her body wanted it and her mind
wasn’t helping the situation at all.

“What’s your name?”

My name? What is my name? Why does he want
to know that? He expects you to answer him, you idiot. Say a name.

“Lydia,” she croaked, finally remembering
the correct answer.

“Lydia,” he repeated, still smiling. “A
nice name.” Kern’s head lowered a fraction, bringing his mouth much closer. “You’re
frightened, Lydia. I won’t harm you.” His rough voice managed a soft whisper.

The sexy masculine tone helped calm her
fear. She didn’t want to even think about what his voice did to her elsewhere.

“Please…” She didn’t get a chance to add “don’t”
because his lips were already touching hers.

With slow determination, he used his mouth
to softly caress hers, at first. Shocked, she opened to protest and his tongue
swept inside. His kiss turned heated, devouring her in a rush of passion.
Before she was even aware of what she was doing, Lydia eagerly matched him. He
tasted good. Like nothing she’d ever experienced before. His flavor was alien
spicy sweet. And his smell was addictive, all male.

Drowning in his scent, she moaned in
pleasure. As if they had a mind of their own, her hands slid up over his thick
shoulders so she could circle her arms around his neck. She pressed closer. His
half-naked body enveloped her in delirious warmth, and she didn’t care that his
hands roamed all over her. Each touch set her on fire.

His palms cupped her bottom and he pulled
her up higher. When he tore his mouth away from hers to suckle one of her
breasts, Lydia moaned louder and arched her back, giving him full access. She
wrapped her legs around his hips as if it were the most natural reaction in the
world. It brought her pussy too close to his enticing loincloth-covered
erection. He felt enormous, a perfect match for his huge body
.

Oh, god. What’s he doing to me?

In seconds, he pressed her back to the
wall, bracing her tight against his chest while he brushed aside his loincloth
to free his massive erection. The alien beast ground against her, rubbing his
long, stiff cock up and down in slow strokes over her exposed clit. His mouth
slanted over hers once again in a penetrating kiss, which stole her breath
away. He slipped one large hand between them. The tough-skinned palm covered one
of her breasts, kneading the mound possessively before his rough fingers teased
the nipple, not stopping until it formed a hard bead. He pinched and twisted,
applying gentle pressure until she let out a moan against his mouth. One
insistent tug to the sensitive nub sent a spike of pleasure directly to her
pussy where his cock continued to glide over her swollen clit. The sensations
were too much.

Lydia cried out in ecstasy as she climaxed,
not caring if anyone heard or saw their wanton display. She collapsed in his
arms, resting her head against his solid chest in the aftermath of her orgasm.

Kern surprised her by letting her slide to
the floor so she could stand. He tucked his cock away beneath the loincloth
before she could snag a glimpse of its true size. Lydia closed her eyes, all of
a sudden embarrassed by her nakedness as she stood exposed and defenseless in
front of him. And to make her shame more complete, she’d let him hump her into
the best orgasm she’d ever had in her life.

 The light touch of her discarded robe
wrapping around her startled her. Lydia’s eyes flew open. In silence, she
watched the huge alien, who seemed intent on covering her. It helped that he
was completely absorbed by his task. She assisted his efforts by putting her
arms through the armholes.

He could have taken her easily only seconds
ago. Fucked her into oblivion and walked away without another thought. She’d
been willing. Hell, she would have been begging for it if he hadn’t already
made her come. Truth be told, she wanted him again. Just thinking about how
huge his cock had felt when he’d rubbed it against her sent a warm rush of moisture
to her traitorous pussy.

“Patience, small one. We’ll continue this
on the ship,” Kern whispered. “Now we must hurry before my partner returns.
Braedon was serious about the stunner.”

Lydia was astonished when Kern picked her
up and cradled her in his strong arms. She didn’t have the presence of mind to
object. He headed in the direction where the women had fled earlier. A very
impatient-looking Braedon rounded the corner and stopped to wait for them, stun
gun in hand. Suddenly embarrassed, she buried her face against Kern’s chest.
How could he possibly know what she’d been thinking? Was he some mind reading
alien?

“How did you know…?” She repeated the first
words of her question out loud before her brain could stop her.

She heard and felt his amused chuckle. His
vibrating chest seemed quite comforting.

“I smell your arousal, Lydia. The scent is
almost more than I can resist, but I want to taste your sweet cream before I
claim you.”

She lifted her head to stare at him. The
giant had some kind of oral fixation for sure, but she was more worried about
his last comment.

“What do you mean claim me?”

“You’re mine, my mate.”

“Like your wife?”

“I don’t know the meaning of your word. But
you are mine.”

“Yeah, I got that. Am I the only mate you
have?”

“Yes. You’re the only one.”

“Only one right now?”

Kern’s sexy lips turned up into a sly
smile. She suspected he’d figured out exactly what she was asking.

“Until death, we’re mates. I’ll kill anyone
who tries to harm you or take you from me, Lydia. I’m your mate. You’re mine. I’ll
never want to touch another female. You’re the only one I want.” A concerned
expression crossed his face. “Do you have a mate or another male you desire?”

“No.” She almost shouted the answer.

He seemed pleased by her answer.

“Good. If you did, I’d challenge him for
you. I’ll kill any male who tries to claim you. Do you understand my words?”

Lydia gulped. The translator in her head
seemed to be working quite well. “Yes,” she managed. “Do you have any old
girlfriends waiting around to challenge me?” She felt ridiculously brave and
possessive all of a sudden. Something about this man boosted her courage.

“None,” he said in a tone filled with
confidence.

“Good. I might have to kill them if they
don’t stay away.” She watched for his reaction.

Kern threw back his head and laughed
heartily. The sound of his deep voice soothed her raw nerves. Lydia tightened
her hold around his neck and pressed her face into his massive chest to avoid
Braedon’s curious stare.

She didn’t know where her relationship with
Kern might be heading, but he made her feel safe, made her willing to try to
trust again, even though he was a man. And she couldn’t believe how much she
liked hearing him refer to her as his mate. To be sure, her distrust of men in
general was still present, but Kern had breached her defenses so easily, and
she feared it wouldn’t be long before he conquered her heart.

Chapter Two

Present day

Lydia’s only close friend on Fortress was
in mourning also. Takoora’s mate, Braedon, had been killed in the same accident
that had taken Kern. Both warriors had been riding in a shuttle sent to
retrieve one of the royals from a planet near the edge of the Tauran Empire.
They’d known it was their last mission together, and once they returned to
Fortress, their partnership would be over. They were both mated now, and
according to clan rules, it was time for them to choose unmated young warriors
as new partners. The orders couldn’t be ignored. The paperwork was completed.
Sadly, their last mission became their final one. An unprovoked attack by
pirates or mercenaries was what the report stated. The shuttle had plummeted to
the planet’s surface. There were no survivors.