Alcandian Soul Read online

  So who?

  The answer sprang to mind as she looked at the bedroom window. Her blinds were closed but light flickered against the sealed slats. Right across from her housing was the entertainment and relaxation depot. A sort of unwinding spot for the Special Forces coming in. Any team fresh from a mission was restricted to this section of base for a few days in order to reintroduce them to civilian life.

  Sure, the men who were around heard the stink about her, but right over there were guys fresh in from the field. All she had to do was snag herself an officer equal to Rinehart. That wouldn’t guarantee freedom but it would drag the mess into a larger forum.

  In the bathroom, Cassandra pulled out a small makeup bag. She eyed her face as she unpacked the bag. It’d been weeks since she bothered to critique her appearance, but tonight she was going to bait her hook and catch an officer. If that meant playing dirty and dangling sex appeal in front of a bunch of newly returned Rangers…well, no plan was perfect.

  The club was full of smoke. Apparently, none of the Special Operations guys had heard all the scientific data linking cigarettes to cancer. Or maybe they just figured their lives were far too dangerous to worry about something that might kill them thirty years from now.

  It wasn’t hard to grab their attention. The moment she arrived, Cassandra became the instant beacon of every set of eyes in the place. Her father would have been proud at the way she walked right through the press of hard, muscle-packed bodies to the bar for a drink. Her eyes slipped over chests and shoulders, looking for a pair of oak leaves instead of stripes. Wrapping her hand around the drink the bartender produced, she turned and lifted the glass to her lips so that she could stare over the rim of it at her companions.

  They weren’t staring at her. No, these sorts of men were more practiced in the art of observation. They continued to talk in soft tones as their eyes cut away from their companions to inspect her. It was a waiting game. They waited on her and she searched the room, looking for the officer who had to be there. Ranger units were tighter than many families. Their commanding officers always unwound along with their men. Segregating themselves by using their superior rank upset the team mentality. That translated into survival for men like these. There was a major in the place, more than one by the number of men lounging around.

  Cassandra caught her first high-ranking officer as the man was leaving. Despite the smoke filling the place, the man was stepping outside to light up a new cigarette. The front door of the club stood open and she watched him lean back as he lit the end and enjoyed a long drag off it. He rested against the side of the building as he looked at the night sky. The bond between him and his men kept him there, she was sure of it. There was something in his body language that told her he wanted to be anywhere but in the club.

  A little twinge of guilt hit her, but Cassandra pushed it aside. She didn’t have enough options to be soft. She needed the man and she was the only female in sight, which was the only card she had in her arsenal to play. Besides, he was a Ranger, it wouldn’t be the first time someone tried to get him to lend weight to their case.

  She was finished waiting on Rinehart.

  Turning around, she walked towards the back of the club where the restrooms were. She walked right past and ducked out the back door. The night had turned dark, the base lights turned down, so that everything was in shadow. Her eyes hadn’t adjusted, so she paused for a moment along the back of the building. A breeze blew her hair and she grinned as the strands floated and swayed. It had been a long time since she’d left her hair down. A really long time, and a little ripple of sensation moved down her spine as she felt the silky-soft strands against her cheek. Maybe it was the hope of changing her circumstances that was firing up her spirit. Cassandra didn’t know and she didn’t much care. All that mattered was the surge of possibility rising in her. That need to climb back onto her feet and demand her fair share.

  She was going to get it, but the face that unfolded inside her mind wasn’t Rinehart’s as he went down, it was something far more addictive. Cole Somerton paraded through her thoughts like he owned her. That shiver shot down her body again and this time it went straight into her nipples. The tender flesh tingled before each one tightened into a hard point beneath her shirt. She bit into her lower lip as she felt that zip of sensation moving lower until it touched her clit. She was acutely aware of the spark of arousal as it moved through her flesh. She shuddered as she felt a soft throb from the top of her sex. The sensation was deep and completely real. No dream-spun lust that she could attribute to normal, healthy hormones. This was need, and it stemmed from a man she was never going to see again.

  To hell with it! Maybe she’d just see if the major wanted to join her in a quick round of hot sex. That would take care of her Cole-inspired lust.

  “You will not do anything of the sort.”

  Cassandra jumped away from the voice but a large hand jerked her to a halt. Strong fingers curved around her wrist and turned her towards a huge man. She knew him, recognized his scent. Her body shivered as he turned her and bound her to his body. The throb in her clit increased as Cole Somerton emerged from the night like a demon sent to snatch her soul while the world was at the mercy of night creatures.

  She shook her head as her body bucked against the hold on it. His hand clamped over her mouth as she tried to let out something between a demand and scream. Ten feet away was a group of Rangers. It was insane to think that she was being captured so close to them.

  Cassandra shook her head violently as she struggled for freedom. Somehow, she knew that Cole wasn’t just playing with her. The note in his voice had been too commanding. Like an order that she’d regret disobeying. There was no logic to her thinking, only response to the hard body holding her against it.

  “Stop.” Cole offered her another command in his firm tone. His lips were so close to her ear she felt the brush of his breath against the skin of her face. His head moved so that he was staring down at her face once again and his eyes flashed with a blue light. Cassandra froze as she stared at him. Her mind was playing tricks on her, people’s eyes did not have electric currents running through them. At least not in real life.

  “You need to delay this until we are back on Alcandar.”

  She jumped as the second voice came from over her shoulder. Another hard body moved behind her and kept coming until she was sandwiched between both men. Her head didn’t reach either pair of shoulders and a spike of true fear went through her as she strained against them but didn’t gain even a millimeter of space.

  “Until later.” Cole whispered the word as he stroked his thumb down her cheek while keeping his hand firmly over her mouth to keep her silent.

  Two more hands grasped her head as something touched her bare neck, right over her carotid artery. Cole watched her as that crazy blue light went through his eyes again. Cassandra stared at it as her body became light, so light she was floating through air. A little sigh got caught as Cole’s hand trapped it against her lips. She pressed a kiss into his palm as the tender surface of her lips enjoyed the warm press of his skin against her own. Her eyelashes fluttered as the hand over her mouth moved and Cole stroked her cheek. She floated right into contented slumber as he caught her sagging body.

  Cole savored the feeling of Cassandra’s compliance. Something surged though him, and it felt a whole lot like possessiveness. He bent one knee and lowered his shoulder to take her collapsing body. Dyne replaced the syringe he’d used to administer a sedative inside his pocket to hide any evidence of their presence. Cole listened to the sounds of the men inside. His senses were keener than when he’d last been on Earth. He detected more scents, heard tiny details as his body responded to new skills the Alcandian diet had unlocked. Every human held the capacity—accepting that was the first step.

  Moving away from the building, he laid Cassandra in the cargo space of a flatbed Hummer. A quick jerk of his wrist sent a tarp over her body before Dyne used his wristband to override the
electronic ignition system. The engine purred to life as Cole took the driver seat and pulled onto the road. Their stolen base identification cards barely gained a second glance from the sentry on duty at the restricted border before the gate opened and they drove through onto the main base.

  Cole kept his hands on the steering wheel but he wanted to be in the back stroking Cassandra. Being in contact with her was strangely comforting as they proceeded towards the main gate of the base. He should have been tense, more concerned with making it off base and off Earth. Instead, his brain was focused on the fact that he was going to succeed, almost like he was able to will it into reality.

  But that wouldn’t get him through the main gate. He forced his face to look calm. Gate sentries looked for current tags and body language. He and Dyne looked like a pair of enlisted men carrying out their duty. Their key to success was making sure the man on duty believed that image. If he looked in the back, they were screwed. Running the gate wasn’t a good option considering the number of helicopters behind him. The Rangers would consider it a little evening entertainment to run them off the road.

  Cole slowed down and stopped. The soldiers on duty considered them before flashing them a large “C” formed by his right hand. With a bored nod he waved them through the gate and Cole felt his anticipation rise. He shouldn’t have been so pleased with becoming a kidnapper but a grin threatened to curve his lips.

  They cut through the night, Cassandra oblivious to the journey. That sour taste invaded his mouth again as Cole considered the reality of his completed mission. It meant Cassandra was going to become a prisoner on Alcandar.

  Despite his distaste for that fact, his body surged with anticipation of battling her emotions on the subject. Anger and desire were close cousins.

  That was a harsh idea, but it sprang up from his newly emerging senses. While advancing, Alcandians had discovered triggers hidden in the brain that could be hit to reconnect the logical, evolved male with the hunting instincts that had helped him survive during primitive times. Harnessing both parts of the brain allowed Alcandians to become the warriors they were today—males who cherished honor, and with the ability to be deadly fighters. Their bodies were an extreme meshing of both sides of evolution—the primitive and the advanced.

  Tonight Cole was enduring the first rush of emotion from those primitive instincts. Learning how to use his extra-keen hearing and improved eyesight hadn’t prepared him for the level of intensity connecting with Cassandra was producing. Her scent was still lingering in his senses. The feel of her lips remembered across his palm. At the moment, he would have torn another man limb from limb for looking at her.

  His cock was rock-hard and impatient for the drug to release her. He wasn’t thinking, emotion flowed through his veins, sweeping logic away in the current. It was hot and primitive and it felt damn good.

  He couldn’t wait to tell Cassandra that.

  Chapter Three

  Alcandar

  She felt wonderful.

  Cassandra stretched and smiled as she filled her nose with sweet spring air. Her eyes popped open and she looked around. It was November. Even in California, spring was a distant dream.

  Reaching up, she rubbed her eyes and looked around once again. There was no stark little room with its dreary mid-Seventies chest of drawers. Instead, her gaze roamed over a polished tile floor that looked like stone. There was a thick area rug cast over the middle of the room, where three huge padded chairs were faced towards each other, forming a triangle. A window was slid open, explaining the fresh air. Dark blue transparent lengths of some silky fabric fluttered as the breeze blew into the room. The walls were another sort of stone-looking material, like some Greek temple. Rustic, but classical in its beauty.

  Pushing her body up, she investigated the bed she was lying on. At least she figured it was a bed, but it was round and all the bedding was round as well. There was no headboard and the thing wasn’t touching any walls. It was also huge. She was lying in the center of it, and her feet were a good two feet from the edge and her head three feet from the opposite side.

  Cassandra rolled to the edge and stood up. A little shiver shook her because lying in the center of the large circle felt a little too much like a sacrifice being positioned on an altar.

  There were curtains in front of her too. These were thick, velvet-looking in another shade of blue. Moving across the stone tile floor, she ran a fingertip over one and smiled at its smooth texture. Wherever she was, even a coma, it was a feast for the senses. The air smelled so…clean. No hint of car fumes, nothing but that sweet-smelling air you only found outside wineries and in national parks.

  Sound drifted up from behind the blue velvet curtain. Pressing lightly on it, Cassandra discovered that there was only a half wall running the entire length of the room. Plucking the fabric gently, she peeked under the hem as it rose above the top of the half wall. It was finished up like a balcony, with a wide lip to prevent any accidental diving off the second floor.

  Her breath froze in her lungs as she looked out of her room. Below her was a large open area. There were balconies going around the building, all of them with curtains. Some of the curtains were pulled back to let her see into the rooms. But below was a gathering hall of some kind. Long tables filled it, with benches and chairs. Several huge men sat at those tables. Some were eating and others were talking. Most of them wore maroon-colored clothing of some kind. There wasn’t a crew cut in sight. Shoulderlength hair crowned each male below. Cassandra dropped the blue velvet as she jumped away from the wall.

  She needed to think! And fast!

  Fear bubbled up as she looked around the room again and noticed the little foreign details of technology. But her curiosity refused to be drowned by fear. She moved towards the open window and gazed down into a huge courtyard, bounded by graceful columns soaring thirty feet into the air, that would have made the Parthenon blush. Plants were held in large urns atop each column and they were dotted with blue flowers while thick vines twisted down those columns.

  More of the maroon-clad men walked through that wide expanse of gleaming white stone a floor below her. Their coats were three-quarter length and split up the sides to their hips like those seen in some kind of Japanese martial arts movie. The only thing missing was the katana sword strapped to their backs. Even from her distance, Cassandra noticed how huge they were. There wasn’t a flabby tummy in sight. Having lived the last year among the elite of the Army, she noticed the same stance and powerful motion in these men.

  Wherever she was, she was back among their Special Forces.

  “Hello, Cassandra.”

  She shrieked. Cassandra snarled a second after the feminine sound escaped her startled lips. She landed neatly in a balanced stance as she popped around to face the owner of that voice. It was oddly familiar but richer and deeper than her memory.

  That wasn’t the only thing that had changed about Cole Somerton.

  Cassandra ran her gaze over the sight in front of her as she resisted the urge to step away from him. Cole had never been a small man or a weak one, but the male waiting just inside the doorway curtain was huge. He had to stand over seven feet tall and his shoulder span was incredibly wide. Seeing others like him from the window hadn’t really impacted her with the true immense size of these people.

  “I thought you were human.”

  One side of his mouth twitched in response. He stepped forward and her feet moved away from his imposing stature. She detested the impulse but was too late to stop her body from responding to his presence.

  “The Alcandians have improved a great many things, including food. While they learned that nature shouldn’t be tampered with often, a little enhancement isn’t misplaced from time to time. I am human.”

  Well, he didn’t look it. He was wearing one of those maroon coats, but you could just see the amazing condition of his body. She felt petite just sharing the room with him.

  “Are you hungry?”

  Her s
tomach said yes. Cassandra shook her head as she forced her attention to the real problem. She suddenly realized exactly what he’d said.

  “How in the hell did I get here?” To Alcandar. It was a huge idea. It went beyond journey because talking about another world out there in space was a far cry from embracing the reality of being able to place your feet on it.

  “I abducted you.”

  Three little words. Cassandra glared at Cole as he closed his mouth and offered her nothing else. No explanation, no reason, just a confession.

  “Well, you can just ship me back, Cole Somerton. And I mean right now!” Her temper overrode any caution signals her brain might have been sending out. She stomped across the room and stuck a finger out at him. “Overgrown pectorals and all…you will send me home!”

  She was too close. Cole stiffened as his next breath drew her musk deep into his lungs. He identified her particular scent and his cock twitched as it began to swell. He enjoyed the burn as his eyes narrowed and he remained in place out of sheer willpower. She hissed as he remained silent, and actually stomped her foot in outrage. The finger hovering over his chest tightened into a fist. It was all the excuse he needed to touch her. Every instinct he had was urging him towards her, into contact with her, where he might discover what she tasted like.

  Her fist was gripped as he turned and wrapped her own arm around her body. His hard body pressed up against her back as his second arm clasped her around her hips to hold her steady. A deep shiver shook her as her back identified his hard erection. It should have been the last thing she wanted to know, instead her clit throbbed approval.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Boy, Somerton, you’ve got a gift for keeping your statements short!” She struggled against his hold, but froze when he stroked her belly with the hand sitting over it. A soothing gesture, meant to gentle her like some kind of unsettled doe.

  “Why am I here?” She didn’t like the desperation lacing her voice, but she needed to understand. Her body was heating up and her heart was accelerating as her nipples tightened. Maybe it was some form of trauma from being his hostage, but she couldn’t control the ache in her clit. The arousal was gaining force as he stroked her belly once again before spinning her out of his hold.