15 Targeted (16 page)

That wouldn’t be easy though. He could still vividly remember the feel of her in his arms—the brief taste he’d had of her lips. Gods, she had no idea how lovely she was—how absolutely irresistible. Still, he had to resist somehow. If he meant to keep her safe he would have to guard her from both the outside forces trying to kill her, and a too-rapid acceleration of her Shift.

To the list of possible threats, Tragar now added himself. If he couldn’t resist her sweet scent—the scent of a
Khalla
in heat and needing to be bred—he might as well just fulfill his contract and kill her now. A shot with a sonic rifle would be less painful than a wrong and premature breeding. Especially since she’d already been through it once and the trauma was still lingering with her.

He shook his head grimly. It was a wonder the rape she had endured hadn’t killed her. But it
had
delayed her
Tenrah
considerably. He was certain, however, that she would not be spared again. If he couldn’t control himself, if he took her the way ever fiber of his being urged him to, she would not survive a second premature breeding. Emily
must
be allowed to go through all four stages of her Shift and then be paired with a proper chosen mate. It was the only way she could be safe.

I will be strong,
Tragar promised himself sternly.
I will protect her from everyone…including myself.

Chapter
Ten

“What am I going to do now?” Emily paced up and down the small but comfortable room the big Kindred had left her in. She wanted to leave it and explore the rest of the ship but she was afraid he might not like that. Was she a prisoner here? She wouldn’t have thought so before. He’d seemed so kind…so understanding there for a while. The way he’d talked to her about what Grayson had done had made her feel better about herself than she’d felt in ages. And then…

Then I was stupid enough to ask him a personal question and set him off. God, how could I be so dumb?
Emily rubbed at her temples which were aching fiercely. She was a lifelong migraine sufferer and she felt a headache coming on—a really bad one. She knew the only cure would be to lie down and take a nap. But she didn’t want to do that—she wanted to be up and around finding things out. She was being taken to a whole other solar system—possibly a whole other
galaxy
. How could she just lie down and let it happen?

Then again, what was she going to do? Go and demand that the big Kindred turn the spaceship around and take her home? She remembered how he’d seemed to grow into a monstrous shadow before the fire and his growling words,
“I…am…Death.”

God
! She shivered again. No, demanding anything was clearly out. But then what could she do?

She walked around to stand in front of the small fireplace and stared down into it. A fireplace seemed like a strange thing to have aboard a spaceship but then again, it wasn’t a regular fire at all—or at least, she’d never seen one like it. It seemed to be made of floating golden-red bubbles rather than flames but it gave off heat and light and the bubbles stayed contained in the small space—it was actually rather beautiful. Not that she was interested in it right now. Right now she just wanted to—

“Ow!” She put a hand to her temple again as a particularly sharp pain stabbed through her head. Okay, this was going to be one doozy of a migraine if she let it keep building. As much as she hated to admit it, she was going to have to go lie down on the vast bed at the other end of the room. If she didn’t, the pain would soon be so bad she’d be seeing double and puking her guts out.

“Well, at least I’m still wearing my nighty,” she muttered resignedly, leaving the fireplace to climb back onto the huge bed with its red and gold spread. She shrugged out of her robe and laid it across the end of the bed. As she got beneath the covers and laid her head on the crimson colored pillowcase, she thought she caught a whiff of a familiar scent. Putting her face to the pillow, she breathed it in—leather and smoke and spice.

Wait—this is
his
bed!
She sat up quickly to avoid the intoxicating male aroma but the answering spike of pain in her temple left her groaning and clutching at her head. She sank back down onto the pillow, helpless to move despite her fear that the big Kindred’s scent would affect her the way it had last time. Still, if the
other
wanted to come forward in the middle of a migraine, let her. It would be better than enduring the pain herself, Emily thought miserably.

Unable to help herself, she closed her eyes and tried to lie still and quiet, begging the pain to recede and not take over her brain completely. Strangely, the warm, intoxicating fragrance of the big Kindred actually seemed to help. As she breathed it in, she felt more relaxed and the invisible vise that had tightened around her temples seemed to loosen.

It had been a long night and Emily was completely worn out. The pain and fear and uncertainty she’d been feeling for the past twenty four hours finally turned into an overwhelming weariness she could neither deny nor resist. Her breathing slowed and she finally drifted off to sleep.

* * * * *

I wake in the night. I am thirsty. I go to the bathroom and run some water from the sink into my favorite blue mug. As I raise it to my lips, I look in the mirror and see that I am naked. Naked and pale in the moonlight streaming through the window…

But the girl who stares back at me from the mirror is not me—it is the other. She has my lips and cheekbones and nose but she gazes through me with golden eyes, her lustrous, black hair swirling around her shoulders.
She looks like a princess—no, a queen coming into her own. I think she doesn’t see me or else I am completely beneath her notice. “You’re already gone,” that faraway gaze says, “Why should I even bother with you?”

A male comes up behind her—it is the big Kindred. Though the other is somehow taller than me, he still towers over her. He is also naked—the moonlight caresses his muscular chest lovingly. The other turns to him with an eager smile. The look he gives back is uncertain—uncertain but hungry. There can be no doubt he desires her. She goes to him and he takes her in his arms, holding her as if she was fragile…delicate.

But the other doesn’t want to be
treated with care. She wants to be taken…
bred.
Her need is overwhelming. I feel it welling up within me as she pulls him to her, standing on her tiptoes to demand a kiss. He resists at first but then his mouth covers hers and he pulls her close. Though it is the other he is kissing, I can feel the heat of his big body against mine. I can smell his warm, rich scent—the scent that means danger and safety at the same time.

The scent fills me with
need—the same need the other is feeling— and somehow I know he is making it just for me. It kicks my desire into overdrive making anything I’ve ever felt up ‘til now seem like a pale shadow—a mere whisper. My nipples are suddenly incredibly sensitive—my breasts full to overflowing. I feel the swollen lips of my sex part as my pussy blossoms with lust and my juices wet my inner thighs.

I feel the need to fuck—to
breed—
filling me as it fills the other and I know it is because she
is
me. She has taken over completely. Breaking the kiss with the big Kindred, she turns her head and looks me in the eye for the first time. Then, very slowly she smiles…

* * * * *

Emily woke up in a kind of sexual panic. Her heart was drumming against her ribs and the dream was fresh in her mind—a nightmare she couldn’t be free of. Yet, her breasts also felt full and tender and her pussy ached—throbbing with the same deep need to be filled and bred she’d felt in her sleep. Her eyes were burning too and though the headache was gone it felt like someone had lighted a fire inside her—waves of heat were rolling over her so fast she could barely breathe.

My eyes!
Emily ran a trembling hand over her face as though she could feel the color change. Had the
other
taken over? Had she changed in her sleep?

She stumbled out of bed and looked wildly around for a mirror. She found one in the corner—a full sized 3-D viewer that showed her from all angles. Was she a little taller than she had been? The hem of her nighty seemed to be riding higher up her thighs than it had before. Or was that because her breasts were bigger? Because they
definitely
were—she was sure of it. And they were tender to touch.
Oh my God, what’s happening to me?

But it was her eyes she was most concerned about. As she leaned forward, she saw the familiar flicker of gold. The
other
was trying to come forward, all right. Doing her best to take over Emily’s body…to steal her life.

“No!” Emily shouted at the viewer. “No, you can’t do it! I won’t let you!”

But how could she stop her?

A sudden thought came to her—she, Emily,
couldn’t
stop what was happening. But the big Kindred
could.
He had before, just by spanking her. Yes, it had been scary and humiliating but it had worked—the pain had driven the
other
underground.

Have to find him—have to ask him to get rid of her again. Before she takes over completely.

Panic made her lose all fear of the huge alien. She tore open the bedroom door and went running down the long, unfamiliar metal corridor looking for him. Only he could help her. Only he could put the
other
away, pushing her back like a malevolent jack-in-the-box that had popped out and was trying to escape.

* * * * *

“…that is unacceptable and you know it,” Tier Shan was saying from the viewscreen. He was a Vash`aran and his mandibles clicked as he spoke, the anger evident in his compound eyes. He was also Tragar’s superior in the
Verrak
and the only hope he had of rescinding the death sentence that currently hung over Emily’s head.

“You don’t understand,” Tragar said, trying to control his anger. “The contract was given erroneously. This female has done nothing wrong—she does
not
deserve to die. I was misled by the one who hired me.”

“That matters not in the slightest.
Click-click.
I know you have your own personal code of ethics and I have allowed it as long as it did not clash with the
Verrak
way. However, now it has become a problem.
Click-click.
You know perfectly well that a
Verrak
assassin does not care if his target is innocent or guilty, young or old, male or female. When you take a contract, you
must
fulfill it.”

“I cannot,” Tragar said thickly. “Tier Shan, she is a
Khalla.
Everything within me urges me to protect her.”

“Then you will die with her…or for her. You know the law of our order.
Click-click.”
Tier Shan’s mandibles worked angrily. “A death is needed to satisfy the contract. If you cannot do the job yourself, I must send another after you to take care of the matter.”

“No!” Tragar sat forward. The last thing he needed was another assassin as ruthless and deadly as himself after Emily. He could fight off other would-be killers with ease but another of the
Verrak
would severely test his resources.