Sex, Love, and Aliens 2 (21 page)

“Let me take care of that.” He quickly guided her through the halls to a nearby exit.

“Why would I do that?” The question hung in the air like an accusation. Although her heart whispered that he’d come back for her, she couldn’t ignore the fact that he’d already successfully fooled her once.

He opened a door and light blasted into the compound. Damon ushered her out into the intense heat, but remained inside. “Because your father is inside the vehicle, unconscious. It’s probably hotter than hell in there. Drive it due east, there’ll be a cave where you both can stay cool.”

“You should have taken him there in the first place.” Still, she sighed in relief that her father was out of the compound.

“I wasn’t going to drive farther from you. That was never an option.” He looked down at her, his eyes a storm of emotions, and Angela knew she wasn’t just looking at a clone, Damon was also a man. He felt just as deeply as she did, and now she had to wonder, did she still feel something for him other than betrayal?

Damon turned his back on her and descended down the hill toward the compound. As worry coursed through her veins like ice water, Angela realized the answer might not be one she expected.

* * * *

When Damon returned to the compound, it wasn’t hard to find Rogue and Elara, he just followed the trail of dead bodies. At the end of the bloody trail, he found them backed into a corner by the remaining Base 23 guards. Rogue stood in front of Elara with a menacing tightness in his fists as he clenched his hunting knives. His woman stood tall behind him, sword in hand. The guns were cast away at their feet. Judging from the dead bodies surrounding them, the clips had been emptied of their ammo.

Damon rushed the guards. “Go!” He barreled into the group like a wrecking ball, causing enough of a distraction that Rogue was able to slay several of the guards and get Elara through the fray. “Get Angela off US-2.”

The words barely escaped his mouth before the guards recovered and kicked him to the ground. When he hit the floor, more blows descended, but he exhaled in relief when Rogue disappeared down the hall.

“You three, go after them!” Crool’s furious roar made Damon shake off the dizziness caused by the multiple blows he’d taken to the head. Damon rested easy though, knowing that Rogue and Elara could easily dispatch three soldiers. “Get him up!”

Damon looked into the commander’s eyes, a desperate gleam promising much pain in Damon’s near future.

“Tell us where they’re going. Where is the ship?” Crool demanded to know.

Hauled up by three men, Damon had no choice but to stare at Crool’s visage. It was the perfect opportunity to let the bastard know how he felt. Damon spit some of the blood that’d gathered in his mouth. It hit Crool in the face, but he didn’t blink. Instead, he grinned.

“Break his leg.”

Damon fought as several clones wrestled him to the ground, but eventually, he was overpowered. A clone appeared above with a large club in hand. Damon fought, but the club came down hard, shattering the bones in his right leg. Pain exploded through his body like adrenaline, and Damon successfully grabbed one of the clone’s daggers and drove it through his eye.

Crool disregarded the screams of his soldier. “Tell me where the ship is.”

Damon launched the dagger before it could be wrestled from his grip. It lodged in the commander’s chest, inches from his heart. Crool roared in pain, but yanked the blade out with purpose.

“Where is it, you bastard?” Crool drove the knife down into Damon’s thigh.

Damon gritted his teeth through the agony. “I’d rather rest easy knowing you’re rotting away on this planet.”

“Well then, if you’re not going to use that mouth to talk, there’s no reason not to ugly up that face of yours.” He motioned to the clones. “Have at him.”

Damon was yanked up from the ground, his crushed leg unable to support his weight. Punches exploded against his face as the remaining clone soldiers took turns brutalizing him. Agony spread through his face in a wave of heat. When his eyes swelled shut, he focused on the one image burned into his brain that could bring him peace.
Angela.

Chapter 11

Angela kept her fingers against her father’s pulse, letting the steady beat reassure her. At the moment, her own heart was raging between her ribs with worry for her friends. She gazed at her father’s injuries and contemplated the savagery of the clones.

But they weren’t all like that. Rogue loved Elara with all his heart, would die before he ever let her be hurt. And Damon… When Angela had found him, he’d been hiding in the darkness of a cave to avoid violence. Maybe his betrayal wasn’t as deep as she’d thought. It was true he’d lied to her about being a clone, but he hadn’t lied about being sick of the brutality he’d been surrounded by. When he’d said that, she thought he’d meant brutality
against him
, but he was compassionate enough to be sick of the brutality against his human counterparts.

Angela sucked in a deep breath, a tear sliding down her cheek.
Don’t cry for him.
She tried to remind herself that even if Damon had a conscience, it didn’t take away the fact that he was a clone. She could never trust a clone after the race had caused so many of the nightmares that still haunted her. And Damon was still a clone.

A sound at the foot of the cave alerted Angela to a presence, and she grasped the gun Damon had left for her. She aimed it into the darkness, but gasped with relief when Rogue and Elara came into sight.

“Elara!” Angela ran into her best friend’s arms and held her tight. “You escaped.”

“And your father? Is he okay?”

“Yes, thank God. He just needs time to heal. We should have what we need on the ship to clean his wounds.”

“Let’s go.” Rogue started toward the general to carry him to the car.

“Wait.” Angela’s breath hitched. “Did you see Damon?”

“Yes.” Elara placed a steadying hand on Angela’s shoulder. “He came back. Damon caused a distraction long enough for us to escape.”

Damon had sacrificed himself for her friends? “He’s still in there?”

Elara nodded. “He wanted us to get you back to the ship. Angela, I know you think he betrayed—”

“We need to go back for him.” Angela’s ribs threatened to break from the pounding of her heart within its cage.

“No,” Rogue uttered. “We need to go, now. It’s what he wanted.”

A tear slipped down Angela’s cheek when she contemplated all he’d done for her even while she’d condemned him. Damon was the man she’d fallen for…and more. “Would you leave Elara?” She glared at Rogue, disregarding the tear that left a hot trail down her skin.

“I love Elara.”

“I love Damon!” The exclamation echoed through the cave, followed by a stunned silence. The only sound Angela heard was the beating of her heart, each thump confirming what she’d long denied. She couldn’t live without Damon. If he died thinking she hated him… “I’m going back.”

Rogue nodded. “Let’s arm up.”

Elara smiled. “Let’s go get your man.”

* * * *

Damon’s consciousness waned with each blow he took to the face. His breaths escaped in ragged, painful exhalations with each boot that kicked his ribs in.

“Where is the ship!”

The question had long since become a curse because Crool had realized Damon wasn’t going to talk. By this point, Damon wasn’t even sure if his jaw still worked.

“Where is the fucking ship?”

The roar caused the pain in Damon’s brain to explode in another wave of agony.

“Out of your reach.” The soft, lethal tone made Damon’s body lurch upward.
Angela.

Before he could react, the thunder of gunfire exploded in the space. Bullets ricocheted all around him, the sound drowning out the screams and curses of men as they fell to the ground. Several bodies landed on top of Damon. He fought to move and free himself from the cage of carcasses, but it was no use. His leg was shattered, most of his ribs broken, and likely he had a concussion.

“Angela.” He hoped the word escaped and it wasn’t just his imagination. More explosions deafened him. “I love you.”

His already black world went silent. His time was done.

* * * *

Thump.
A steady drum woke Damon from his slumber. As a peaceful silence lingered, he realized it was the beating of his heart. Instead of the cold cave floor he was used to, he rested on something soft and warm. His body ached, but he’d never been so elated to be in agony. Pain meant he was alive.

“Damon?”

The soft tone was enough to make him fight to pry open his swollen eyelids. His reward caused his pulse to spike, sending a wave of heat through his body. “Angela.”

She smiled, a bright white light that took away all his pain. A tear slid down her cheek. He tried to lift his hand to wipe it away, but his limb wasn’t ready to move. Angela smiled through the tears and Damon couldn’t help but wonder at his luck.

“You’re okay,” he breathed in relief.

She sobbed through a laugh. “I could say the same about you.” She cupped his cheek and bent down to kiss his lips. Her softness melted against him and he had the only medicine he’d need to recover. She pulled away much too soon. “Don’t worry, you’re safe.”

“Why did you come back?” His voice sounded weak, startling him.

“Because I realized I couldn’t leave this planet without you.” Happiness gleamed in Angela’s eyes, causing elation to spread through his chest like a magical drug. “I love you, Damon.”

“I love you so much.” The declaration took any remaining weight from his shoulders. “I can’t deserve you. I’m so sorry I lied to you.”

“Shh.” You need to rest. She silenced him with a long, lingering kiss. He felt more and more alive by the moment. When she pulled away she smiled again, a sight that he’d never get enough of. “You’ll need to be in tip-top shape when we arrive.”

He looked around, dragging his eyes away from Angela for the first time. “Where are we?”

Angela climbed into bed where Damon lay. She fit perfectly into the crook of his arm and gazed up at him with a planet-shattering smile. “I’m taking you home, Damon.”

As the space shuttle propelled past stars toward a planet that might not accept him, Damon feared nothing. His life lay beside him, a precious warmth that he would cherish no matter where in the galaxy they ended up. Damon found the strength to place his arm around her. “I’m already there. I love you, Angela.”

About Jaye Shields

Jaye Shields is a flight attendant by day and romance author by night. Her addictions include reading, travel, and other activities not even a romance writer will confess to. She’s in a committed love affair with her readers so don’t be shy!

Jaye’s Website:

www.jayeshields.com

Reader eMail:

[email protected]

Bond

by Beth D. Carter

A woman who has nothing to lose, and a man with everything to gain.

They had known each other a lifetime ago, but love while serving as slaves to the TEV, the aliens who rule Earth, wasn’t something that could ever last. When Freya’s family escaped, leaving the only home she’d ever known, she left Kory behind, but she can’t forget him.

When she meets him again, Kory isn’t the human boy she remembered. He has survived a horrific scientific experiment that has changed him into a hybrid—half human, half TEV. Can she trust this man who has now, essentially, become a member of the enemy?

Content Warning: contains sexual content and some violence

Dedication

For the other lovely ladies I share this book with: Ashlynn, Imogene, and Jaye. This book happened along during a rough patch in my life, and the message I write about in Bond is one of hope and perseverance. I cling to both now as I journey into an unknown future.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Pamela and everyone at Beachwalk Press for greenlighting Volume 2. I hadn’t thought of a future for
Gravitation
, and now I’m glad I got the chance to write Freya’s story.

Prologue

From the advantage of the rocky shelf she lay on, Freya was able to spy on the meeting her parents had hurried to attend. They stood talking to Adam, his wife, and two other couples, and none of it sounded good.

A warm body slithered up her side, and she startled before Kory’s mop of dark hair popped up beside her.

“You scared me,” she whispered.

“You’re scared of everything,” he teased, tugging on one of her curls. “What have I missed?”

Freya looked back down on the grown-ups. “Adam and my father are trying to convince your parents to leave.”

“Leave? Leave for where?”

“To the outside. Leave the mountain.”

“That’s crazy,” he said. “There’s nothing outside this mountain.”

“Apparently, Adam has found a way to get out. He’s been there.”

Outside.
Both knew the significance of that word. They’d been told the world was contaminated, filled with poison gas since the terrible war between the humans and the invaders. Nothing had survived.

“It’s a wasteland,” Kory said.

“He said there’s a world out there,” she whispered. “Trees. Grass. He calls it freedom.”

Silence fell between them as they watched the adults argue.

Freya felt lost. Bewildered. How could her parents want to leave on the word of one man? The elders told stories of a time when people lived above ground, with no aliens to herd them like cattle, but no one had been alive at that time. No one remembered, so to Freya they were just bedtime stories to induce pleasant dreams.

However, the more Adam talked about the world beyond the mountain gates, the more intriguing it sounded. He talked about how the invaders controlled the masses and fear was the best weapon, especially for people who knew nothing else. It made sense. If her family, or Kory, were being threatened, there wasn’t much she wouldn’t do for them. They might only be fifteen, but Freya loved her friend with all her heart. In the darkness, she grabbed hold of his hand and held tight.