Saving Sara: Warriors Of Kelon Book 5 (3 page)

She stared up at him,
ignoring her throbbing arm, while pushing herself back with her feet in an
effort to distance herself from the huge man in the menacing black uniform and
sword.

“Don’t hurt me; please, don’t
hurt me…”

He looked confused at her
soft plea.

Her back hit something,
halting her retreat. She glanced around the room for an escape. She saw a
little gap between the
paneling
. Twisting her body
onto her hands and knees, she scuttled through the gap and away from the large
man.

He crouched down, peering
into the gap.

She pressed herself tighter
into the corner, praying he couldn’t reach her and pull her out.

“Little female, I will not
harm you. I am your guard,
Borlon
. Please, come out.”

Why did she need a guard? To
make sure she did not escape? Her eyes fixed on the blade attached to his belt.
Her body shook in fear, knowing if he got his hands on her, he would hurt her.
They always did.

Others made false promises,
but then laughed when her screams filled the room, while they tortured her for
their amusement.

More heavy footsteps sounded
in the room. “
Borlon
, why are you on the floor? I had
a report the female was screaming.”

A deep, gruff voice boomed,
making Sara cringe and shake harder.

“She is hiding under the med
paneling.”

Borlon
moved aside and another face appeared, peering at
her.

“Little human, I am
Te-Commander
Rell
. I give you my solemn vow that no
one will harm you.”

“That is what I told her,”
Borlon
said. “She is frightened. I want to tear those
Xerson
dogs to pieces.” He growled again.

“Do not growl and frighten
her further. She suffered greatly at the hands of the
Xerson
.
Go, fetch
Solron
.”

More footsteps sounded in the
room. “Te-Commander
Rell
,
Borlon
?
My monitors alerted me of my patient’s elevated heart rate. Where is she? Where
is Sara?”

“Under here.”

The two huge men moved back
and away from her hiding space. Another crouched down. Right away she
recognized his face and remembered waking up and his kindness toward her, his
touch gentle without malice or cruelty. She remembered his name,
Solron
. He called himself a doctor.

“Hello, Sara, what are you
doing under there? There is no need to be afraid. Will you please come out?”

She shook her head.
Solron
, she
trusted,
the others
she didn’t. “No, they will hurt me,” she whispered, “make them go away,
please.”

Solron
glanced up.
“Commander,
Borlon
, would you mind leaving us?
Sara is
frightened by your presence.”

She heard their grumbles of
complaint and their boots on the floor, but they complied with
Solron’s
request. He turned his attention back to her,
cocking his head slightly to the left and regarding her with a curious expression.

“They are all gone; it is
just you and me. Come, no one will harm you.” He reached out his hand towards
her.

She inched herself forward on
her bottom and reached out her uninjured arm, placing her small pale fingers in
his large darker hand. At the first moment of contact, she experienced a jolt
of heat searing through her cold hand, seeping up through her arm spreading
like slowly creeping lava.

She never felt like this
before. Yes, she had been cold, even before her abduction from her frigid
Tasmanian farmland home. She jerked her hand back, staring at it, and the
warmth filtered away. The sensations confused her.

With care, he moved back,
tugging her until she was out from the panel.

She glanced around.

“See, they are gone. I will
introduce you to Te-Commander
Rell
. He is in command
of the entire ship. Every crew member onboard would give their lives to see to
your protection, Sara. Never would anyone on this ship harm you. Please believe
that. All
Kelon
men have a fondness for human
females.”

“Why?”

“They have beauty to rival
the galaxies themselves.”

His smile made her breath
catch. He was handsome, but even more so when he smiled.

“Oh, um, okay.” She lowered
her gaze, noticing his clothes were slightly rumpled. His shirt gaped open and
she got a glimpse of his sleek tanned skin with fine muscle definition. His
ink-black hair was unbound and fell about his shoulders, giving him a wilder,
sexier look. Her breath hitched in her throat, not sure if beautiful was the
right word to give to a man, well not this
Kelon
man,
but she couldn’t help her attraction to this handsome alien.

With one knee bent, he placed
his hand on her arm and she winced in pain. Instantly he drew back and frowned.

“Your arm is hurt. Did
Borlon
—”

“No, I was scared. I fell off
the bed and hurt myself.”

“I should not have left you
alone. I am sorry, Sara.”

He stood and in one quick
move scooped her up into his arms.

“I had your monitors relayed
to my quarters so I would be alerted if you woke during my sleep cycle.”

He placed her on the bed
before turning his back to her. He opened panels and drawers,
then
pulled out several instruments.

“Sorry I woke you.” Sara bit
down on her lower lip.

“There is nothing to forgive,
star shine; I am here whenever you need me.” He smiled warmly at her.

She blinked, not knowing what
to say. His smile soothed her like a soft blanket enfolding her.

“Here, this will take away
the pain.”

He pressed something against
the skin of her upper arm and it hissed. She felt nothing but relief as the
pain in her arm melted away. Next, he ran a sleek black scanner, the size of a
cigar tube, over her arm.

“You have bruised your elbow
joint, nothing serious. You will be fine.” He smiled reassuringly at her.

Sara swallowed hard. “Thank
you. I think I was having a bad dream when I awoke.”

She stared into his dark eyes
and didn’t flinch this time when he lifted his hand, and brushed away a wayward
lock of her white-blond hair.

“I am so sorry, star shine. I
can only heal your physical injuries. I wish I could heal your memories and
take away the pain of your suffering.”

A lump formed in her throat.
She didn’t want to cry again. She needed to think, to ask questions. “Why…why
are you…you
Kelons
are friends with humans?”

“Many
Kelon
men have claimed, or in your human terms, married human women and are now also
proud parents. I have helped birth many twins.” He pulled his hand away and
turned.

“During the war, we protected
your planet from attack and we now have a treaty with Earth, but it seems we
did not protect your people well enough.”

He glanced over his shoulder
as he set down his scanner. He walked to another wall panel,
then
pressed it with his fingers to make it open. He pulled out a cup.

“Do you know if there are
other human women? We found you, but…”

“I never saw anyone else, but
I did hear them talk about breeding slaves; I…I was of no value to them, except
to…amuse them.” Feelings of being unworthy and a burden washed over her. She
lowered her head, not wanting this kind alien man to see her shame.

“It should have never
happened. I have examined you thoroughly, Sara, and I know you cannot have
younglings.”

Pain sliced through her
chest. Why did it hurt so much to hear those words from his lips? Did he think
less of her because of it? The
Xersons
did. All she
was good for was a slave for them to torture for their amusement,
then
left to rot like yesterday’s trash.

“I am useless to everyone.”
Her voice was small, barely a whisper.

Solron
placed a finger under her chin, lifting it, his dark
gaze penetrating, making her shiver and not from cold.

“No, you are precious and
beautiful. You are a human and a survivor. Feel pride in that.”

He thought she was beautiful?
Heat from his touch and his words spread through her, making her want to
believe him with all her heart. No one had ever called her beautiful, let alone
precious. She struggled to believe him.

He removed his hand, before taking
a step back and she mourned the loss of his heated touch. He placed a cup into
her hands.

“Drink this.”

She raised her hand, curling
her fingers around the cup and lifted it to drink, pondering what it was about
Sorlon
that made her belly quiver, despite her weakened state.
It wasn’t just his kindness or saving her life. They could easily have left her
to die on the space station.

Sweet, thick liquid rushed
over her tongue, reminding her of a honey and orange juice mix. A soft moan of
pleasure escaped her from the lovely flavor.

“
Here.
”
Sorlon
chuckled, taking the empty cup from her hands.

Sara felt the rush of blood
heating her cheeks from her overeager behavior. It was a sign of weakness to
her masters. Any pleasure or comfort she showed, they would tease her about,
and then they would deny her.

Solron
only smiled and refilled the cup from the open panel.
Greedily, she accepted the second helping.

“A little slower this time;
we need to allow your stomach to adjust to having sustenance again.”

She sipped, savoring the
sweetness this time. “It’s very nice, what is it?”

“A nutrient pack, but I
flavored it. Otherwise the taste is rather bland. It has everything your body
needs to help it return to a healthy state and weight.”

She glanced down at her thin
arms, covered by an overlarge black shirt. She never used to be so thin. She
was always a little on the plump side.

He leaned against the panel,
watching her as she finished her drink. “We will have you eating solid foods before
we reach Earth.”

“When will that be?”

“As you are doing much
better, Te-Commander
Rell
has decided to continue the
mission of searching
Xerson
and Federation bases, in
case we find more abandoned humans and other species. It should take about
three to four weeks, Earth time.”

Abandoned,
just as she was.
“Why was I…
”

“Left?”

She nodded, handing the cup
back.

He took it from her and
placed into the panel before closing the door. “The war is over.
Kelons
is a part of the Alliance. We have won the war over
the Federation, and now we are left to clean up the mess the war and the
Alliance left.”

Chapter 3

Alien war.
The words bounced and her stomach rolled at the
thought of Earth as a whole. If they were in a war against such aliens as the
Xersons
, they didn’t stand a chance. “Are, or were humans
involved?” She heard the tremor in her own voice.

He shook his head.

“Earth became the war’s
catalyst. Our last battle was fought over your planet and it is now a protected
planet of the Alliance.”

She almost felt dizzy from
the flood of relief that knowing Earth was not involved, but they were a
target.

“Do not fear
,
humans were not directly involved. It is a long story,
star shine, and you need to rest and take in more food,” he stated a little
more firmly, as a father would to his child.

Sara found herself pouting,
then
realized she was overstepping her bounds. She quickly
lowered her head. These
Kelons
may seem nice, but
could turn on her if she started demanding things. “I’m sorry.”

“Sara, do not lower your
eyes. Look at me. I only have your best interests at heart. I will tell you all
you want to know, I promise. I just want to make you more comfortable. You are
my patient and I take my duty seriously.”

She startled when he laid his
warm hands on her upper arms. Again she felt a jolt of white-hot heat,
startling and confusing her.

What is going on?

She glanced up at his face,
seeing only kindness and something else. He was staring at her, as if she was
something edible. Warmth spread through her belly, a soft shudder ran down her
spine, and she felt her nipples harden. Her eyes widened in surprise to feel
her body reacting against her will. Yet, in no way was she frightened by her
reactions. It was wonderful to feel anything other than pain.