Chapter 4

Caitlyn

I had never been in a crash before, and I did not want to experience it ever again. The noise of the ship breaking around us, or the free-falling feeling in my stomach, they were engraved on my brain. They were things I was certain would feature in my dreams for a long time to come, just like my abduction as a teenager had disrupted my sleep for years. Unlike then, I hadn't gone through it alone this time though, and surprisingly, that made a difference.

Strong arms were warped around my middle, and a cocoon had formed around the rest of me in the form of big, leathery wings. I was cradled against a muscular chest, surrounded by a musky, masculine scent that hinted at home, at the lovage plants my mother used to grow. Kalzudaud, the King. My adrenaline filled body thought that his kingliness was exceptionally funny right now. I was in the arms of an actual king. How bizarre was that?

He groaned, his chest moving against mine as he inhaled with a shakiness that jerked me out of my near hysterical state to the here and now. He was hurt; I was sure of it, and it was because he'd shielded me from it all.

No longer was the ship spinning, sounds roaring as we plummeted to the ground. I could not recall the blow, the jolt, when we struck the planet, but we must have, because we were stationary now. "Kal?" I asked, stroking a clammy hand up his bare chest so I could locate his jaw in the darkness. I did not know if it was his wings that shut out all the light, or if it was truly dark around us. I just knew that I could not see anything.

Another groan preceded what had to be him, rousing to full awareness. I did not think I'd lost consciousness at any point during the crash, but he must have, and I worried what it meant for our survival. What kind of medical supplies could we get our hands on? If this was an assassination attempt like he suspected, we could not trust anyone to be on our side should they approach the crashed ship. I was suddenly struck with the urge to get out of there right now. What if they came back to finish the job?

"I'm up!" he growled, and I saw his eyes open above me. Two glowing pools of quicksilver with a cat-like pupil. He probably had great vision in the dark. "Caitlyn, are you hurt?" he demanded as soon as those eyes locked onto mine. Any remaining haziness faded in a heartbeat. Then his hands started roaming, stroking along my back, my shoulders, down my arms, and they would have continued down to cup my freaking butt if I hadn't latched onto his wrists to stop him.

"I'm fine! Are you? Kal, what just happened?" I might regret it a teensy, tiny bit that I hadn't let him touch my ass, but his worry flattered me. This was probably all kinds of silly, but I was starting to really like this guy, not in the least because of how much he cared about his niece. I was not above admitting that he was sexy either, and that seeing him so frantic for my safety was really nice. I felt coveted, cared for, and somehow, like I was no longer alone in this big, scary universe. But he was a king, and I had a lab and research to get back to when this was over; this was not the time for a fling.

"The traitor shot us out of the sky," he said, answering my question with a hint of laughter in his voice that was entirely out of place. "Come, we must gather supplies and get out of here." His wings opened from around me at those words and just enough light penetrated the space to allow me to see by.

The interior of the spaceship was a mess of broken panels, scorch marks, and debris. We were lying not on the floor, but what used to be a wall, and a hazy smoke was slowly filling the space around us. Kalzudaud rose to his feet next to me and carefully assisted me upright; not disoriented in the topsy-turvy space like I was.

I tried to scan him for any sign of injuries when he located a panel and yanked out a bag with emergency supplies. The darkness and the smoke did not help. I did not get a chance for a proper look until he'd shouldered open the warped and broken airlock and guided me outside. It was daylight, but the light was slowly fading and giant trees cast shadow over almost everything.

His dark gray skin did not make it easy to spot bruising or marks, but I was pretty sure that he had some scratches. Tarkan like he had a way of hardening their bodies when they prepared for a fight or danger. They called it their battle-form and he must have assumed it as we crashed, preventing him from getting badly injured. Then he twisted his head to glance at me and I caught a shadow along his jaw that curved around his head toward his ear, partially hidden behind his luscious black hair. That was the injury that had knocked him out.

"I need to check that," I said to him, and gestured with my hand toward his head. His mouth quirked in a half-smile that had my heart rate shoot through the roof. What was it about this guy that made my libido kick into overdrive? I was sure he knew of the effect he had on me. Most alien species in the quadrant had unfairly good developed senses compared to my human ones.

He took my hand, his tufted lion tail swishing eagerly behind his back, and guided me to a felled tree nearby. I was pretty sure our spaceship had recently toppled that tree; a huge clump of dirt still clung to its roots. He sat down, pulled me between his legs like that was the most normal thing in the world, and then he handed me a handheld medical scanner and a tissue regenerator. His expectant grin made my stomach flip.

Against my outer thighs, his legs were warm and firm. The ground was uneven beneath my feet, so I rested my palm on his shoulder for balance, the tactile heat beneath my fingers singing through my arm down to my core. Focus, that's what I needed. Focus on the subdural hematoma on his occipital lobe and temporal lobe. The medical jargon only helped so much when I had his scent in my nose and all that power surrounding me. I wanted him to kiss me again.

He had a hard head at least, minimal bruising that was easily healed by the devices I held. Nothing too complex that required thinking. Then he raised his palms and wrapped them around my waist and everything feminine in me woke up. I felt positively dainty and small when his hands spanned nearly all of my body. I kept in shape in between my work at the lab, but long hours hunched over a microscope, munching on reheated meals meant I was softer in the waist than I would like. But that grip didn't make me feel that way; I was tiny beneath those fingers, sexy.

When he covered my mouth with his, I was so ready for it, melting in his arms. Tissue regenerator forgotten, I breathed for his touch, his taste, and nothing else. Kal's wings shuttered around me, cupping me to him as he took his slow, easy time to seduce me with little nibbles and nips, with the stroke of his tongue along mine. A moan escaped me and briefly that made me wonder why I was giving into this madness, but then those thoughts were lost on a wave of desire.

One big hand boldly slid up and cupped my breast, his thumb flicking over my nipple to lance sensation through me in bright, sharp ribbons. My gasp he devoured, then echoed back at me with a deep rumble in his chest that sounded much like the purr of a great cat. Although not so helpful, my mind tried to inform me that big cats did not actually purr, only their small cousins could. There was just nothing about Kal that could be labeled as cute, domestic tabby; he was all wild, primal heat.

"That's it, sweet Caitlyn," he said, and what sounded like a purr before turned into a deep, erotic groan. I didn't even realize it was because I'd caught my hands in his hair and raked my nails across the back of his scalp until he arched into the touch. Then it was all I could do, feeling his hair, making him make that sound again for me. I didn't even remember that I'd been holding a pair of medical devices before.

His hands pushed me closer, one stroking along my breast, flicking pleasure through my veins with each stroke of his thumb. The other moved down, cupping my ass and kneading the needy flesh. I found myself on his thigh when he lifted me, straddling that bare, muscular limb and finding sweet heady pleasure at the pressure on my clit. "Give me all of it," he urged, and it was that sinful demand, that hint of ruthlessness, as he pleasured me that sent me spiraling. I came for him with a shout, from surprise as much as pleasure, as the orgasm crashed through me.

I was still reeling from it, my breathing rapid, my heart racing, and my head spinning. My fingers were digging into his shoulders, clutching him tightly as if he was my anchor in the storm. His wings cocooned me, but they suddenly rustled and then parted in a rush. It allowed the last rays of sunshine to hit his face; strong jawline, the sharp mercury eyes, and that regal brow. He was handsome, and he was alien, but he was not looking flushed and amorous like I was. It was the harsh alertness I saw in those swirling orbs, and it caused an answering wave of dread to settle over me that rapidly replaced the post-orgasm haze. "What's happening?" I whispered.

He rose, dislodging me from his thick thigh, but his hands were gentle as he sat me on my feet. I felt his tail curl around my hip to anchor me when he turned and picked up the medical supplies and stuffed them back in the emergency kit. "A vehicle approaching through the woods," was his only explanation. I found myself thrown over his shoulder like he'd done with the backpack, and then his big wings unfurled and we went up; up into the sky.