Star Kissed (9 page)

The exotic woman in his quarters, though, was something different. She’d be physically compatible with him in the way very few Nakis were. From her large breasts, small waist and rounded hips to her trim body and flawless features, she was the ideal bedmate. Her long blonde hair hung down her back in an unruly display no Naki woman would permit but which he found unusually appealing. Everything about her stirred his interest.

She was definitely not what he wanted in his life.

“Are you rested?” he asked.

She jumped then glanced back at him. “Yes, thanks.”

She had no regard for him or his world. Still, Akkadi’s intrigue with the woman kept him from outright rejecting behavior he’d never tolerate from anyone else, except maybe his mother.

He approached until he could smell the light scent of her hair and skin. Her obvious distress made him want to comfort her once more, an instinct he didn’t like in the least. Nakis in general were groomed never to display emotion. Emotion poured off this human. Combined with her stunning beauty, it compelled him to her when all he wanted was to walk away.

“The oceans were blue once,” she said, clearly mourning her world.

“Most are empty now.” His gaze flickered to the dead world the station orbited. He had nowhere near her level of interest in it, regarding it as part of his duty.

“If you could open the star gate, we could go back and warn people.”

“That’s not possible,” he said. “We can’t always determine when in time the wormhole will open on the other end.”

“You mean even if you opened it, you couldn’t send me home?”

“There would be no guarantee.”

She rubbed her face and turned. She gazed up at him, their bodies separated by less than a hands width. It still seemed too far. He wanted their bodies to touch, to feel the firm, feminine shape and warm skin against him.

This human had no fear of him when even his own people wouldn’t approach him without permission. Mandy was breathtaking and vulnerable. He was too aware of the movement of her breasts as she struggled to control her breathing and the memory of her body against his when she leaned against him on the planet. He had the urge to take her face once more to calm her.

“I will find an appropriate place for you, Mandy,” he said.

She frowned. “Because I’m your
slave
.”

“For now. ”

Red crept across her face, and anger sparked in her eyes. She had a temper. He liked what the emotion did to her features and how it made his body warm in response. Dealing with human anger wasn’t something he was accustomed to, but he preferred her angry to sad.

“You couldn’t possibly let me stay here,” she said and crossed her arms. “Wouldn’t want someone like me sullying your world. You go to great lengths to keep me alive and then toss me out.”

“It’s a natural position to disguise you. I have to hide you until I find the right place for you,” he explained.
With one of my cousins. Definitely not with me.

“I don’t understand any of this.”

“I am a Naki prince. You are a human. You are in danger here, and I am charged with protecting you.”

“Send me back!” she exclaimed. “Please, Akkadi. Just send me home.”

Her pleading gaze and palatable distress disturbed him. Akkadi took her face in his hands once more. Mandy calmed at his touch. She leaned into him and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in the nape of his neck. Her breathing was hot against his skin, and he shivered.

Startled by the brazen show of intimacy, Akkadi found himself hugging her back, if for no other reason than because he wasn’t certain how else to handle her raw feelings. He breathed in the sweet scent of her hair, its curls tickling his nose and cheeks. Her breathing was rough, her frame trembling. He forced himself to ignore the large breasts and hips resting against him. Nakis only touched if they were mated or consorts, and he reminded himself she was neither and never would be.

Despite her height being close to his, the size difference between them became evident with her in his arms. Her narrow shoulders, slim torso, and tiny waist … she was slender enough for him to wrap his arms all the way around and pull her completely into his body. She fit against him as if they had been molded for one another. Her unguarded emotions left him off-balance, yet holding her, he was suddenly aware of how delicate she was. How did someone so feminine and fragile survive the wormhole and the Ishta in the first place? She needed his protection more than anyone he had ever met.

Keeping his hands in place was difficult when they wanted to roam down her body to feel every part of her. He could imagine tracing her delicate collarbone with his tongue, running his hands down her shapely back to the dimples that would be at the small of her back, just above her bottom. He’d squeeze the firm rounded cheeks of her derriere and trail his fingers along the insides of her long thighs. She had a body that made him want to do more than his normal, uninspiring routine of seeking physical release with Naki consorts.

She calmed, her breathing growing steady. Too distracted by the thought of her in his bed, Akkadi focused on the sight of space out the window behind her.

“If our roles were reversed, what would you do?” he asked.

“Help you go home.”

“What if doing so would interfere with your fight to save humans on the planet?” he challenged. “Because the amount of shards it takes to open a wormhole is incredible.”

She hesitated. “There has to be a way.”

“This time and place is your home now.”

Mandy said nothing. She was gripping his shirt as if it was the only thing holding her in this time. Too much longer, and he was going to need to seek Hichele out for physical release.

The mere thought of his betrothed in his bed managed to deflate his desire. Akkadi dwelled on the thought that Mandy roused him with a look while Hichele chilled his ardor the same way.

Duty first. Always.

“I’ll situate you with one of my cousins,” he added.

“What do you mean?”

“At the right time, we’ll tell them about you. There are five of them; you can pick which you want for a mate.”

“What? No,” Mandy said. She looked up at him, a mixture of sorrow and anger in her face. “I’m going home.”

He almost sighed. “It’s not possible, Mandy. I am sorry to say it.”

“Then I want to stay with you.”

“A moment ago you were ready to walk out again,” he pointed out. He meant it to tease, but the sudden flash of fire in her eyes told him she didn’t take it the way he intended.

“Then send me to Urik!” she snapped. Mandy pushed at him.

At the warrior’s name, Akkadi bit his tongue. He released her with some reluctance, not liking the sudden loss of her warm body. Holding her was too natural. The intimacy of their embrace was imprinted on his mind and the compelling urge to touch her even stronger now.

Urik said he wanted Mandy. The idea
she
might want to be with the disgraced cousin confined to the war zone of a planet below bothered Akkadi even more.

“It’s not safe for you there. I will let you know when I decide where you are to go,” he said.

Mandy rolled her eyes at him and walked away. He stared, startled by the most blatant display of disrespect yet. He couldn’t believe she had the audacity to act this way, not after all he’d done to keep her safe!

“Visitor,” his guard said. “The queen.”

Akkadi needed the company to keep from either strangling or making love to the infuriating human in his quarters.

“Welcome her,” he replied. He glanced towards Mandy, who was staring out a window on the far side of his quarters. He faced the doorway.

His mother entered a moment later, walking with her characteristic grace. She wore their family’s grey uniform, her skin and eyes bright. She acknowledged his bow with a disapproving look. After his long day, he was in no mood for her motherly expressions of emotion.

“I spoke to Hichele’s family,” she said. “They are in agreement.”

“She came here already, mother,” he said.

“She was excited, son. Allow her some leniency.”

“If you advise it.”

“I do.” She studied him. He sensed she was still unhappy with him and debated how many more humans might show up in his quarters to lecture him this day.

Akkadi motioned for her to sit in the area where he received the few visitors allowed in his personal quarters. She turned towards the seating and stopped, staring at the figure of Mandy across the room. His mother moved with alacrity he’d never seen from her, hurrying towards the human.

The last thing he wanted was the two of them unifying into one angry super-human. Akkadi took a deep breath, aware of how tired he was but more aware of how important it was to maintain his Naki discipline, even in his personal quarters with his mother and a lost human from another time.

“Where are you from?” He heard his mother ask.

He trailed her, pausing with his arms crossed to watch the two interact with some interest.

Mandy turned, surprise on her face. For once, the vexing woman appeared to have nothing to say.

“Country?” His mother prodded at the silence.

“California.”

“Is it a country now?”

Mandy smiled hesitantly and shook her head.

“They’re large enough to be their own country, aren’t they?” his mother asked.

Akkadi drew near, not understanding the conversation.

“Yeah. Ninth largest economy in the world,” Mandy agreed. “How do you know about California?”

“I … spoke to other humans before,” his mother said. The fact she was a pureblood from a different time was a family secret.

Akkadi could feel her delight at meeting another human. He had often seen his mother overjoyed before, usually when dealing with her children, but this was somehow different. He realized she’d never forgotten her world, even if she was fully a part of his.

“You’re not what I expected,” said his mother to Mandy. She looked towards him, disapproving once more.

“Did he tell you I had two heads?” Mandy asked, giving him the same look. “It’s how he treats me.”

“Something very close to that,” his mother said, amused. “My son has a different view of things than I do. It makes for interesting conversation.”

“You’re his mother? I figured he was a cyborg built in some science lab.”

“I’m Helen.” His mother was smiling. “Believe it or not, he’s not a cyborg.”

“He’s very …” Mandy met his gaze, considering.

Akkadi had the sense she would complete her sentence, if he wasn’t around, and also that what she wanted to say wouldn’t be pleasant.

“Dutiful,” his mother supplied. “Honorable to the core but immersed in his duty, as are all Nakis.”

“Hmm. I guess,” Mandy allowed. “He kept me from getting killed a few times. Not sure why, since he seems like he regrets it now. He’s almost ready to toss me back where he found me.”

“You want to stay?” His mother sounded far too pleased by the possibility.

Mandy shook her head. “I want to go home. He says it’s not possible. So I might as well just go hang out with Urik.”

“Urik is a brave, kind man,” his mother agreed.

Akkadi moved closer, irritated.

“Still, it’s safer here with Akkadi than on the planet. My family is here. We only visit the planet when necessary.”

“How many kids do you have?” Mandy asked.

“Four girls, six sons, though five are adopted. Akkadi is my only genetic son.”

“Wow,” Mandy said. “Are they all like Akkadi?”

“Honorable, yes. I spoiled him more, though, because he’s my youngest,” his mother said with an entertained glance at him. “He has a milder temperament than the others.”

“That doesn’t sound promising if I’m stuck here,” Mandy said.

“Mother,” Akkadi prompted, at his limit with the exchange between her and the human.

“Very well, son,” she said. She addressed Mandy. “It was a pleasure to meet you. Welcome.”

“Thank you,” Mandy said quietly. “I’m glad I got to meet you, too.”

His mother moved away from her, joining him once again. They walked towards the seating area, and she sat with her back to Mandy.

“Not compatible?” she asked in a voice low enough for Mandy not to hear. “Are you daft, son?”

He raised an eyebrow, not accustomed to such an open rebuke from her.

“She is beyond compatible and handling this tolerably well. Healthy, young, strong, gorgeous,” his mother said. “She’ll bear you as many children as I did your father.”

“You’ve already made arrangements for Hichele.” Akkadi sat down next to his mother. “Mother, you are only blinded by the
idea
of a human. You fail to see what makes her incompatible. She’s the first you’ve seen since soon after you arrived, isn’t she?”

“She is,” his mother admitted. “What an absolute delight to meet her after so long.”

“Your life here has been good, has it not?” he asked.

“I don’t regret anything, son, except not meeting Mandy before contacting Hichele’s family.”

“You think I erred.”

“I think it’s too late, even if you did. You are right. An agreement made cannot be broken.”

“As I said.” Akkadi’s gaze went to Mandy. “Hichele will come to you in the morning for you to show her some of her new duties.”

“Send Mandy as well,” his mother instructed. “I have a use for her around my quarters. It will be better for her to stay with me than you, anyway. Taking a consort while betrothed may not be looked well upon.”

“I have no intention of taking her as my consort.”

“A girl that beautiful?” His mother shook her head. “Perhaps I spoiled you too much. If I were half as stern as your father, you’d be married to her already.”

Akkadi said nothing. Occasionally, his mother said things he didn’t think she meant. This was one of those times.

He’d given no thought to taking Mandy as an official consort. While not customary for a Naki betrothed, it was also not completely unheard of. At the mention, he was surprised to find the idea of her shapely body in his bed far more appealing than he expected.

Which was why he wouldn’t. The human side of him was too compelled. He was Naki, not human. He wasn’t about to acknowledge his human nature, even for a woman like Mandy.