King and I (Abducted 1)

Good God, where is my brain? This is real, not some sexual fantasy. Yet she felt heat flush through her, hotter and hotter, as they progressed.

They stopped in front of a door and her captor pushed a button beside it. A bleep sounded.

“Send her in, Casey,” a deep voice said.

The door slid open.

“You heard the captain. Go on in.”

Fear cooled her blood a little as Aria stepped through the doorway, peering ahead of her to see a sitting room but no captain. The door swooshed closed behind her. She stepped farther into the softly lit room, which looked like private quarters. A big, comfy-looking armchair and couch occupied most of the room. Not exactly how she’d pictured a spaceship.

“Welcome.” A rich baritone voice came from her left.

A tremor rippled along her spine. She spun around.

At six foot four and all muscle, he was the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen. His dark, slightly wavy hair brushed his shoulders and his silver-gray eyes glittered like moonlight rippling on water. Her heartbeat accelerated at the sight of him. He would definitely be the star of any sexual fantasy. Her insides seemed to melt into a pool and her vagina tightened.

Good heavens, she had to get a grip on herself. This man had kidnapped her!

“Who are you?” she asked.

“I’m Captain Tai Gaman. And you are Aria Jenkins.” He pointed to a chair. “Sit.”

She perched on the edge of the chair, keeping a wary gaze on him. He strolled to the couch and settled onto it, his masculine aura filling the room.

“I’m sure you’d like to know why we’ve brought you here.”

“Yes, please.” With her hands folded in her lap, and her tight, prim words, she must look like a schoolgirl summoned to the principal’s office. She noticed her hands trembling, so she clasped them tighter.

“Relax. I’m not going to bite.” Warmth emanated from his smile.

Relax? Was he kidding?

She stared at him with wide eyes, waiting. He leaned forward slightly.

“There is a power in the universe that takes a hand in our lives—we call it nata’tai. It provides the means to keep us healthy, as individuals and as races. To stay healthy, a race must grow. It must embrace other cultures. It must open its gene pool to other races, otherwise it will stagnate. Physically, emotionally and culturally.”

A shiver raced down Aria’s spine. Had she and the others been brought here as breeding stock? Were they to provide genetic material to keep his race healthy? Nausea tightened her stomach into a quivering ball as she imagined herself chained to a bed, a trail of men lined up to impregnate the alien female.

She imagined him first in line, his mouth capturing hers in a passionate onslaught, his naked body compressing her breasts tightly against his chest. She felt her cheeks flush and she tried to drive the thoughts from her mind as she concentrated on his words.

“As a race matures, nata’tai gives its people the ability to sense their tanash’ae—what you would call their soul-mate—even over great distances. To ensure a mingling of races, nata’tai directs the spirits of tanash’ae—soul-mates—to be born in different races on different planets.”

“Are you trying to tell me that you’ve brought me here because you think I’m one of these tannashays?” She sucked in a breath. “Do you think that you and I…” Her finger flicked between them. “That we are…soul-mates?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Would that be a problem for you?”

No, a voice inside insisted, but she ignored it and sucked in a breath.

“Yes! Of course it would. I don’t even know you. I don’t intend to marry a man I don’t even know.”

He flashed a devil-may-care grin. “Who said anything about marriage?”

“Oh, I see.” A blush crept up her cheeks. “When you said soul-mate I assumed you meant, you know, love and marriage.”

This was all too much for her. The reality of the situation was finally sinking in. She didn’t even want to think about what he actually meant. That image of the chain and the bed swept through her brain again and not as an attractive fantasy this time. Her head sagged forward as tears pooled in her eyes.