Alcandian Soul Read online

  Cassandra moved out of his reach and glared at him. His face was tight with strain. He crossed his arms over his chest before answering her.

  “You remembered.”

  “Yeah. So what? I remember that you tied me up and stuffed me in the trunk of a car. What? You thought you needed to show up and give me a second dose of criminal activity? The first time around wasn’t that great, Somerton. I wasn’t looking for an encore.”

  One of his eyebrows rose. The curtain behind him moved as a second maroon-clad man entered. Cole shot him a glance before looking back at her.

  “This is Dyne. He’s a Judgment Official. That’s the law-keeping branch of their armed forces.”

  Dyne was as large and imposing as Cole, but his eyes were dark and slanted, hinting at Asian blood. Another shiver went down her spine as her memory offered up some of the gossip she’d heard while Zeva was working with her.

  Breeding mates.

  The Alcandian warriors wanted contact with Earth in order to seek out mates, and their unions were not monogamous. Cassandra shook off the ideas before they clouded her thinking.

  “I want to go home.” A direct approach just might be the right ticket to getting out.

  Dyne moved closer and she ordered her feet to stand in place. Backing down from the hulk wasn’t going to get her what she wanted.

  “What psychic training techniques have you been practicing?”

  His question caught her off-guard. “What? I tried a little Japanese meditation, if that’s what you mean.” He nodded approval at her answer and Cassandra suddenly understood.

  “Do you mean to tell me, I broke through some kind of…ah…”

  “Memory shifting.” Cole moved forward and stopped, making her shift her

  attention between the two men. “It’s a technique used to move unpleasant experiences to dormant portions of the victim’s mind. Congratulations, Cassandra. Dyne is considered one of the best memory shifters on the planet. Breaking through his work took a lot of skill.”

  More like dumb luck. There was a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as she absorbed Cole’s words. His voice sounded a little too final. She turned her attention to Dyne.

  “Fine. You’ll just have to do a better job this time around.”

  His face tightened with an unrelenting look. “My apologies, darmasha, but you have too great a command of your natural psychic abilities.”

  “My what?”

  Dyne offered her a grin. A cocky sort of male appreciation of her talents. The kind of look you got from a guy when you managed to change a flat tire without asking for help. “You will also become accustomed to understanding that psychic senses are a reality, although not in the manner your movies portray them. They are simply another sense that can be used to deepen your perception of life.”

  Cassandra took a step away from the finality of Dyne’s words. She lifted a hand and waved a finger in a negative motion at both of them. “I am not going to get used to anything. So what if I remembered being kidnapped? I can live with the memory. Send me home.”

  “Send you back to incarceration?” Cole wasn’t trying to be gentle anymore. His voice was edged with harsh displeasure. Cassandra snapped her eyes to his and stiffened as she caught the flare of determination blazing through his.

  “My life isn’t your problem, Somerton. I want to go home, that’s all you need to think about.”

  “Wrong.” Cole wrapped his fingers around the hand she held in front of her like a shield. For some reason, that gesture abraded his temper, demanding action on his part. Any barrier between them felt wrong. There was an urgency ringing through his head to smash every barrier she erected into bits immediately. He pulled her forward as he stepped towards her, to close the space between them. Savage enjoyment surged through him as her scent became stronger. Her eyes were filled with resentment and anger but there was also a flare of excitement that pleased him immensely. He intended to investigate that interest just as soon as possible and the first step was to make sure she stayed in his world.

  “On Alcandar, honor is more important than career advancement. We are warriors, Cassandra, and that means a great deal to us. I will not return you to a place where you are mistreated because of other people’s actions.”

  Her eyes were wide with disbelief. Cole stroked her face with the back of one hand and she shivered as their skin connected. She instantly jerked to break his hold. Cole let her loose before she ended up bruised by his superior strength. That was the warrior in him, that constant control over his body. Alcandian warriors spent their lifetime dedicated to protecting. Even in the grip of passion, a warrior was expected to treat his female gently. One tiny bruise, inflicted without her permission, was intolerable. No excuse accepted.

  “You’re insane, Somerton.” But she wished she were instead. That way, this wouldn’t be real. A little shock treatment and she’d be just fine. A bolt of electricity would snap her mind back into reality real fast.

  Her sarcasm failed miserably.

  Frustration flooded her as she struggled against its suffocating strength. She was powerless to help herself return to Earth. The wound that fact ripped in her heart was raw and painful. She looked at Dyne in the hope of finding some shred of relenting. Instead, the warrior offered her a kind smile. The sort of look you got right before your parents grounded you. Dyne felt superior to her. Both men were justifying their actions by thinking it was for her own good. That cast her into the role of a temper-tantrumthrowing child who had no idea it was being told “no” in order to protect it.

  “My life is my choice. Where is the honor in making me a prisoner here? Isn’t that the same thing you’re accusing Earth of doing to me? That’s not saving me.”

  “You are not a prisoner here.” Dyne’s eyes were filled with determination as he took a step towards her. “Warriors do not imprison females. But you have seen too much to risk letting that information be passed to your dishonorable brethren. It pleases me to see that your mind is stronger than I first believed.”

  He spoke the words like a compliment but they bit into her like a whip. A snarl escaped her lips, and Dyne looked surprised by the sound. A second later he lost some of his control over his features as a grin covered his face. A hint of appreciation crossed his eyes before he forced himself to move away from her.

  “We will end this conversation now. You require time to absorb what has been said. My mother will come and begin to introduce you to the Alcandian lifestyle.”

  Dyne shot Cole a hard look before he turned and left. The curtain remained open as she watched his back descending a set of stairs.

  “This is not over.”

  “Yes, it is.”

  Cassandra jumped, but was too late. Cole was a breath behind her and he captured her body once more. He turned her neatly so that she ended up with her nose pressed against his chest. Jerking her head up, she snarled as one of his hands caught the back of her head. That flicker of blue shot through his eyes again as her belly was pressed up against his hard cock. There was a shout of approval from her clit as it throbbed with sensation so intense, it was almost painful.

  The flare of sexual interest was completely misplaced. Her temper rose but still couldn’t banish the way her nipples complained about their layers of clothing. “Let me go, Somerton.”

  “Cole.” He growled the word an inch over her mouth before he licked her lower lip. She shivered as pleasure, sweet and thick, flowed down her spine. He controlled

  the jerk she used to try and escape his hold before he lowered his mouth and kissed her. A muffled sound of denial got caught as Cole pressed his lips against hers. But it wasn’t a bruising kiss. He controlled it enough to keep their mouths together but stopped short of smashing her lips against her teeth. The hand on the back of her head released, and a second later he grasped her chin to pull her mouth open for his kiss.

  She lost all track of thought after that. His kiss was forceful, yet controlled. He kissed her deeply,
sending his tongue into her mouth to taste her and stroke her own. Pleasure radiated out from the kiss as she actually felt him filling her thoughts, sharing the sensation through more than connecting skin. Panic erupted as she felt every last private thing she valued placed on display. She jerked her knee up, out of reflex and eight years in the Army. She was no Ranger or Special Forces, but she was a damn fine enlisted woman.

  Cole’s arms sprung open as her knee crushed the soft sacs hanging beneath his cock. But the man didn’t yell. He didn’t cuss. All that escaped his lips was a low growl. Cassandra moved away from him as she listened to the tone of that rumble. It wasn’t angry. It was promising.

  “Don’t touch me.” She left off the “Somerton” because she just couldn’t take the chance that he’d call her bluff and kiss her again. Not right now. She had to get a grip on her raging sex drive before that happened. That wasn’t being cowardly, it was pure survival instinct.

  Cole straightened up into a formal stance. He offered her a half bow before he grinned at her. “You enjoy my touch.” There was a flash of male arrogance across his eyes as he considered her flushed face.

  He turned and left without another word. A sharp reply died on her lips as she forced her temper to recognize the wisdom of letting the man leave.

  Warrior.

  In a way, he really was a warrior. So was Dyne. The word was often misused on Earth, but Cassandra knew what its definition really was. She had witnessed firsthand what some men had deep inside them that made them different to a man just trained to use a gun. Some Rangers were warriors. Their dedication went beyond the “tabs” they got to sew onto their shoulders after completing Ranger training.

  It was a mindset, something that was lodged in their spirit so that no matter what happened, they would choose honor over personal choice.

  She turned away from the doorway as the curtain swung into place to offer her some privacy. There was a part of her that needed to curl up and savor the moment while she combed through her fluctuating emotions. Honestly, she hadn’t even known her damn body could be so demanding. Now was one hell of a time to deal with the discovery too.

  And just why did Cole have to complicate the issue by kissing her?

  * * * * *

  “You should not have touched her.” Dyne was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. Cole felt the weight of his disapproval but he wasn’t sorry. He’d needed to taste her, the urge had been so strong, and it had demanded action.

  Dyne shook his head. “I only meant that you should have given her more time before awakening a mating need. She has much to adjust to.”

  Cole felt a tiny twist of guilt move through his enjoyment of that stolen kiss. Oh, he’d taken it from her, no doubt. “You are correct.”

  Dyne slapped a hand onto his shoulder and offered him a grin. “Not that I have any experience with mates, only years of instruction.”

  Dyne offered him a look of comradeship. It was something Cole realized he’d missed since his relocation to Alcandar. There were different levels of friendship. Every now and then, you managed to hook up with a team you forged strong ties with. The sort of bond that would support you in combat. It was the reason he was wearing a maroon coat and training to become a Judgment Official. Maybe he just didn’t know how to live without a team anymore. Hell, he really couldn’t remember life before his military career. There was no glow from that time in his life trying to lure him back. He liked Special Operations, in a way he craved it.

  Slapping Dyne’s back, Cole offered him a guilty grin. “You’re right. But I’m not apologizing.”

  A strange look took over Dyne’s face. A serious consideration of something that Cole wasn’t quite sure about, because the warrior snapped the link between their minds shut. “I wouldn’t be sorry either.”

  Dyne’s voice was hard and almost cryptic. Something burned across Cole’s brain and it felt a lot like he was being crowded away from Cassandra. He shot a hard glance at Dyne and found it being returned. It was a tense moment, one that drew his muscles tight before Dyne broke their eye contact and proceeded down to the eating hall. Cole turned to look back at the piece of fabric hanging between him and Cassandra. Her taste clung to his lips as his appetite began to clamor for another sample.

  “Cole.”

  Dyne’s voice was quiet and gruff now. That was a simple reprimand from one warrior to another to respect the Alcandian way of ensuring females were given time to adjust. In this case, to abduction, so Cassandra did not have to deal with his passion.

  At least not tonight.

  That thought surprised him and Cole turned to join Dyne. His guilt was making more of the flare of lust than he should be. He was the last male on the planet Cassandra might be interested in, but that fact didn’t keep his thoughts away from her. He forced his feet to move away from her as he fell into step with Dyne.

  Chapter Four

  “I’m Jessica Somerton.”

  Cassandra swallowed her snarl because it was really impossible to be steaming mad at a woman who looked like she was due to give birth any second. Jessica offered her a wide smile that betrayed the fact that she knew exactly what Cassandra was thinking. The mother-to-be even placed her hand on her rounded belly to give it a loving pat.

  “Yes, I’m ready to pop. The last month is the longest.” Jessica moved towards one of the chairs and sat down. She opened her hand and indicated the one across from her.

  “I really don’t know where to begin, but I think Cole has the right idea of sending me in to greet you instead of Dyne’s mother.”

  There was a note in the woman’s voice that pricked her curiosity. Cassandra sat on the edge of the seat and glared at her. “Why would Dyne send his mother to deal with me?”

  “Oh, tradition, and the rather hard fact that the mothers around here love making sure their sons get mates.”

  “I am not anyone’s mate!” Cassandra clamped her jaw shut as her voice rose. A little heat crossed her cheeks for yelling at the pregnant woman. Jessica only chuckled and held up her hands in surrender.

  “Like I said, Cole had the right idea getting me over here. It wasn’t too long ago I was in your place. Well, mostly in your place.”

  “What part of my position were you in?” Cassandra’s gaze dropped to Jessica’s distended tummy as she frowned. The word “mate” was bouncing around inside her head, making her mad enough to take another swing at Cole Somerton for getting her into this mess.

  “The kidnapped part. Only the Army assisted with my abduction. I think I looked about as angry as you do right now.”

  Cassandra offered Jessica a wide smile. “Good. That will save me the trouble of telling you how sorry I am about your brother’s imminent death. I hope you don’t miss him too much. But I’m going to break his neck.”

  Jessica laughed, low and husky, then shook her head and rubbed her belly once more. “Just be warned that warriors will enjoy you making any attempt on them. See, they will not touch you first. Honor forbids it right now, but if you take a swing at them, they can…restrain you.”

  And gentle her. Cassandra bit into her lip as her memory offered up the moment Cole had smoothed his hand over her belly. A little shiver moved over her skin as she recalled how much pleasure that single stroke had given her. If she were a cat, she’d have purred. It had felt that good.

  “What do you mean, honor prevents them from touching me?” Forewarned was forearmed. At least if she was stuck on Alcandar, she could turn the culture against Cole. It was the first idea she liked about staying on the planet.

  “Everything on Alcandar revolves around honor.” Jessica pushed her body up out of the chair and moved towards the velvet curtain covering the half of the wall that overlooked the tables below. She reached for a button on a small control panel set into the stone wall and pushed it. The blue fabric swished aside to let them look across the building and down into the hall below.

  “This balcony room is designed to protect first your honor, and
secondly give you peace of mind. Warriors are far stronger than females, even Alcandian females. The blue curtain denotes that you are a maiden.”

  Cassandra offered Jessica a sour look. “I may not get around too often but I’m no vestal virgin. Will they send me home now?” If it was that simple, she was going to find her last asshole of a boyfriend and give him a blowjob out of sincere gratitude.

  “No, you’re not out of here that simply.” Jessica sighed. “The rules were different when I was claimed, but it’s not about the sex. What matters is the mind bridge. Cole was so angry when he found out I was here. I’m sorry, but he brought you here. But there has to be some kind of major reason why he and Dyne were sent after you. I doubt there’s any loophole around it. My brother hated the fact that my mates deceived me in order to get me here. It’s just not the Alcandian way to abduct women a warrior hasn’t mind-bridged with.”

  Cassandra didn’t like the little twinge of compassion Jessica’s words bred inside her for Cole. The man was her abductor, twice over. He was the enemy. The word “mindbridge” only pushed her closer to becoming desperate because she’d already dealt with one form of mind messing and wasn’t eager for another round of anyone on the planet getting inside her head.

  No ripples in the pond… The fish escapes without disturbing the surface of the water.

  “But there was a way out? What was it?”

  Jessica rolled her eyes. “You go below into the warriors’ eating hall and offer your body to any and all takers on those tables below.”

  “You just fuck them in the dining room?” Cassandra slapped a hand over her mouth as the word “fuck” just sailed out. Well, it was the correct word, but it was still a little too harsh for the swollen belly of her company. There were bad things about being an enlisted Army woman. Your mouth resembled a toilet from time to time. You just became immune to it because the predominately male ranks you lived and worked among couldn’t make it through a single hour without cussing. It was an impossibility as far as she could see. If they weren’t actually screwing someone, they were thinking about it. So “fuck” crossed their lips constantly.