End of the Line (5 page)

The note that accompanied the clothing
asked her to be ready after lunch. It was worded politely, hand
written in a bold cursive that she had to believe was the captain’s
own handwriting. Val. He’d told her to call him Val. She’d thought
a lot about that in the past two days. His family name was
Fedroval, so maybe Val was a nickname for that? Or could his given
name be something that shortened to Val? She’d have to ask him, if
she got the chance.

She wanted to know ever little
intimate detail about him. She had it bad. She was downright
obsessed. Any minute now she’d be drawing little hearts and
doodling their names inside.

Disgusted with herself, she checked
her appearance one more time. It was about as good as it was going
to get.

Promptly after lunch, a chime sounded
near the door alerting her, as it had for the past day and a half,
that someone had come to take the empty tray. She looked toward the
door, but when it slid open, the silent guard was nowhere to be
seen. Instead, Val filled the doorway with his presence, his gaze
holding hers as he walked into the room.

He stalked toward her, speaking not a
word. His gaze took in her new outfit with obvious approval before
returning to face, her eyes, holding her attention as he walked
across the room and took her in his arms.

There was no hesitation in his
movement. No question but that he had a right to embrace her. His
head dipped and his lips claimed hers. She didn’t protest. She
wanted his kiss as much as he appeared to want it. She’d thirsted
for him over the past day and a half, waiting for this. This
moment, when he would kiss her again. Hold her as if he would never
let her go. Make the two of them complete… together.

The thoughts raced through her mind.
She’d never thought such things about a man before. She hadn’t
known she had such a romantic imagination. Maybe this alien was
bringing things out of her that had remained hidden with the other
men she’d known. And maybe her fascination with him wasn’t all
one-sided. Judging by the hard feel of him against her, it most
definitely was not.

Val reveled in the kiss of
his true mate, glad to know the positive response to his
nij’ta
he had perceived
a day and a half ago had not been a desperate attempt at
self-delusion. No. This was the real thing. This surprising human
woman was his true mate.

Now he only had to convince her of
that fact.

He’d spent the last day and a half
pulling every string he knew how to pull. He’d contacted the High
Priest of the Zenai Brotherhood. If anyone would know the legality
and sanctity of mating outside his species, it would be the High
Priest. What he had learned had given Val the first hope he’d had
in years.

Reluctantly, he broke the kiss,
knowing the time had come to speak his heart to the woman of his
dreams. Would she be as receptive to mating with him as she was to
his kiss? The High Priest had reminded him that the Goddess worked
in mysterious ways.

Her faint protest as he pulled away
from her luscious lips renewed his hope.

“
There are matters we must
discuss,” he whispered against her lips, finding it hard to let her
go completely.

It was she who moved back, going to
the couch and dropping onto it with her arms folded. She’d gone
from receptive to combative in a flash and Val admitted to himself
that he was worried.

“
What did I say to make
you wary?” He moved over to the couch and seated himself sideways,
facing her.

“
When someone says ‘we
need to talk’ it usually means trouble.” She turned her gaze to him
and he perceived hurt in the depths of her eyes. Hurt he had put
there. Val couldn’t help but reach out and take her into his arms,
holding her against him as he spoke. He couldn’t bear to see the
hurt in her eyes.

“
You’re not in trouble. I
might be, but you’re not, sweet one.” He kissed the crown of her
head, loving the feel of her in his embrace. “I have kept away
until I was certain we could be together.”

She drew back, surprise replacing the
hurt in her expression. “What?”

“
I realize you are not
used to our ways, but you had to feel the magic in our first kiss.
It was the
nij’ta
, though I didn’t mean to kiss you. I couldn’t help myself.
Your kiss proved we were meant to be.”

“
Is that what that was?”
Her words were soft, as if she were unsure.

“
I’m not sure if it’s the
same for humans is it is for us, but I knew the instant I kissed
you that you were meant to be mine. You’re my perfect mate, Lisbet
Duncan of Earth. Crazy as that may seem.” He knew he was smiling
but he still couldn’t quite believe it himself. “I’d given up ever
finding you. The one woman destined to share my life. I sank my
efforts into building this ship and dedicated myself to my people’s
cause of conquest. Without a wife or a future, I had no other
recourse. But now that I’ve found you, everything’s
changed.”

“
Just like that?” She
sounded as incredulous as he still felt.

“
Just like that,” he
agreed, dipping to place a quick kiss on her lips. Sparks seemed to
fly whenever they touched and he reveled in the response only she
could evoke in him. “We’re out of the Milky Way and on our way back
to my home planet of Solaris Delta. It is my right and duty as
Liege of Fedroval to quit the battle now that I have found my
perfect mate.”

“
Wait a minute. You’re
taking me
home
?
To your home? Don’t I have any say in this?”

Her anger set him back. He
moved away, facing her as they sat on the couch. “Do you wish to
part from me? Do you believe you can—what is that human
word?—
divorce
me
so easily?”

“
We’re not married,” she
said, causing pain to lance through his heart.

“
In the eyes of my people,
you are already mine, Lisbet. I would have you come willingly, but
if necessary, I will give you little freedom and no opportunity to
desert me.”

“
I’m your prisoner?” Her
beautiful green eyes went wide with dismay.

“
Only if you want to be.
I’d rather have you as my bride. My loving wife. The mother of my
children, if we are so blessed.”

She sat back, air puffing out of her
as if in shock. “This is a lot to take in.”

“
Don’t you want to be with
me?” He knew he sounded desperate, but he couldn’t help the way he
was feeling. He had to do everything in his power to convince
her.

She looked at him and he saw the
uncertainty in her eyes. “This has all happened so
fast.”

He tried a different tack. “Do you
believe in a power higher than our own? I believe most humans call
it God.”

“
I believe God is female.”
Her brows knit, trying to follow his jump in conversation, no
doubt.

“
You do?” He grinned
again. This was a good sign. One might even say a sign from the
divine. “Jit’suku believe in the Goddess. It was She who allowed us
to find out destined mates by means of the
nij’ta
. It was She who guided me to
you, I now believe. I have conferred with the High Priest of the
Zenai Brotherhood, an order dedicated to Her service, and I’ve
learned there is some precedent for human women being the true
mates of jit’suku warriors. Now that our races have come into
contact with each other, ours is not the first such pairing, though
it is the highest ranking. Still, those who came before us will
ease our way.”

“
Other human women have
been taken to the jit’suku galaxy as brides?”

“
Yes, and I will invite
those who have had trouble with their mate’s clans to join ours.
Such things have been done in the past and since House Fedroval has
suffered such great losses in the recent past, we are well able to
support a few more families under our banner. It would also allow
you to have friends from your home galaxy nearby.”

“
Is that why you’re doing
this? Are you that hard up for a wife that you’ll take any
foreigner who happens along? I remember what you told me about
being the last of your line. You said no proper jit’suku woman
would have you. Is that why you’ve come to me with this proposal?”
She looked angry and he had to make her understand.

“
No, my love. If you were
jit’suku you would know, one cannot fake the
nij’ta
. I never expected to find a
mate. I’d given up. And then there you were. Now I’m being to
understand why the Goddess led me on such a difficult path. She was
leading me to you, Lisbet. Only to you. Always to you.”

“
I must be crazy,” she
muttered as if to herself, but he heard her. She faced him squarely
and spoke in a clear voice. “I can’t get you out of my mind, Val. I
don’t know what you’ve done to me, but I’m crazy about you and if
you think we can make a go of this, I’ll agree to be your
wife.”

“
Thank the Goddess,” he
whispered as he dragged her into his arms for their first kiss as
declared mates.

A kiss that would have led to so much
more if he hadn’t had an interplanetary call standing by. He drew
back and stood, holding out one hand to help her up. She accepted
him eagerly and he was amazed again by the blessing the Goddess had
bestowed on him to allow him to find such a mate when he’d thought
all was lost.

“
We have a few formalities
to take care of before we can celebrate in true mate
style.”

He led her out of her quarters and to
the bridge where they would stand together in front of the com
station. Their images and words would be broadcast to all within
the ship and a special few on Solaris Prime and many others on
Solaris Delta. There would be many witnesses as the Liege of House
Fedroval—King of Solaris Delta—officially introduced his
queen.

# # #

About the Author

Bianca D’Arc
has run a laboratory, climbed the corporate
ladder in the shark-infested streets of Manhattan, studied and
taught martial arts, and earned the right to put a whole bunch of
letters after her name, but she’s always enjoyed writing more than
any of her other pursuits. She grew up and still lives on Long
Island, where she keeps busy with an extensive garden, several
aquariums full of very demanding fish, and writing her favorite
genres of paranormal, fantasy and sci-fi romance.

Bianca loves to hear from readers and
can be reached through Facebook, her Yahoo group or through the
various links on her website.

Website

WWW.BIANCADARC.COM

Other Titles by Bianca
D’Arc

Now Available:

Jit’Suku Chronicles:
Arcana

King of Swords

King of Cups

King of Clubs

Jit’Suku Chronicles: Sons of
Amber

Ezekiel

Michael

Brotherhood of Blood

One & Only

Rare Vintage

Phantom Desires

Sweeter Than Wine

Forever Valentine

Wolf Hills

Wolf Quest

Tales of the Were

Lords of the Were

Inferno

The Purrfect Stranger

Rocky

Dragon Knights

Maiden Flight

Border Lair

The Ice Dragon

Prince of Spies

Wings of Change

FireDrake

Dragon Storm

Resonance Mates

Hara’s Legacy

Davin’s Quest

Jaci’s Experiment

Grady’s Awakening

Gifts of the Ancients

Warrior’s Heart

String of Fate

Cat’s Cradle

StarLords

Hidden Talent

Print Anthologies

Ladies of the Lair

I Dream of Dragons Vol. 1

Brotherhood of Blood

Caught by Cupid

Sons of Amber: Ezekiel & Michael

Guardians of the Dark

Half Past Dead

Once Bitten, Twice Dead

A Darker Shade of Dead

The Beast Within

Dead Alert

Coming Soon:

Dragon Knights

Keeper of the Flame

Available in ebook – February
2013

Jit’Suku Chronicles:
Arcana

King of Stars

Available in ebook – Spring
2013