No Way Back (11 page)

So far, Suva hadn’t conceived, but he didn’t doubt she would soon.

“Move, move!”

The urgent female voice behind him, punctuated by harsh pants, jolted him from his thoughts. He turned around. There was no room to do anything else on the narrow ledge.

“Kelly?” Every muscle froze as she raced up the stone steps. He’d thought she was dead. Had Vonna survived too?

She glanced up and blinked hard. Her run came to an abrupt halt. “Jake!

What are you doing here?”

For a moment he couldn’t speak, shocked not just to see her alive but to see a fellow Earthling dressed in nothing but a loincloth. She wore her long blonde hair in a ponytail, leaving her heavy breasts open to view. Panting hard, she set her hands on one bent knee and tried to catch her breath.

“I’m living here. I have a position at the --”

She looked up at him, and gaped at his ears. “They’ve gotten to you too!”

She grabbed his arm. “We’ve got to get out of here!” She gave him a push upward.

“What’s the matter?”

He followed her gaze to the ground where an Alishon male began the arduous climb up the cliff trail.

“He’s trying to get me pregnant!”

Jake bit back a smile. Kelly’s main goal in life had always been to obtain the rank of Distinguished Scientist. The path to universal fame didn’t leave a lot of time for children.

He held her firm, not to detain her as much as prevent her from pushing him off the trail. “Where will you go when you get to the top?”

“I can signal a spacecraft. Any ship will do!” With desperate eyes, she looked over her shoulder again.

The Alishon was closing in fast.

Not knowing the situation, Jake felt obligated to protect her, but signaling any passing ship was a dangerous thing to do.

Another twenty feet up, the path spread into a landing with a rock bench and room for more than one to pass. By the time they reached it, the Alishon had closed in fast.

She hid behind Jake’s back. “Don’t let him touch me!”

“Who are you?” the male asked angrily, barely out of breath.

“Jake Santos. I came to this planet with Kelly.”

The stranger puffed out his breath. “I am her mate.”

With raised brows, Jake tried to look over his shoulder at Kelly but she’d crouched behind him and he couldn’t make eye contact. “She doesn’t act like it.”

“She is stubborn.”

“Kelly… did he force you?”

“No,” they both said at the same time.

What the hell was he supposed to say to that?

“He wants to keep me here, Jake,” she said, her voice wobbling.

“You don’t want to stay,” he stated matter-of-factly, thinking he understood.

“Yes, she does,” the male insisted.

“I never planned on giving up my life goals for a man, no matter how much I care for him.” Keeping a firm hold on his arms, she peeked out from behind him. “I don’t want to get pregnant now. I’ve told him that a million times, Jake.”

“Can’t you compromise?”

“No!” She moved to stand beside him, facing down her mate. “The hours required for my work are too demanding. He wants to play all night while I’m trying to study.”

A smile lit up the Alishon’s face. Jake could imagine the type of play the male pursued. Drum and Suva had more sex toys than he’d ever imagined. Alishons weren’t shy when it came to pleasure. Now that Kelly and her mate stood face to face, he could see the strong attraction between them glowing in their eyes. “Do you love him, Kelly?”

“I… well, I… I don’t know!”

“Yes, she loves me,” the male said calmly. He held out his hand. “Come home, Kelly. We’ll work it out.”

Her body weaved forward, but she caught herself. “We will settle it now, or I’m going topside, Rye.”

He dropped his hand with a rush of breath. “I get three hours in the evening. That’ll give you three hours of uninterrupted work time. When children are born, they will stay at the care center until an hour before their bedtime.”

“Sounds reasonable to me,” Jake stated.

Kelly glared at him, and then turned back to her mate. “You propose we’re together in the morning and at midday and three hours at night but I only see my children for an hour a day? No.” She crossed her arms beneath her breasts. “We’re all together at midday and two hours at night. You get one hour of play at night. That’s plenty.”

Rye snarled at her, which startled Jake. “Does he hurt you, Kelly?”

“No. That’s his way of acting tough. It means nothing.”

Her mate stepped forward with narrowed eyes.

“Are you sure --”

“Be quiet, Jake,” Kelly snapped.

He raised his hands in surrender. He’d let the couple settle it between themselves. He had a midday date with his mates. “Look me up sometime, Kelly. I live in Central Square. Number 9533.”

“Two hours at night,” Rye demanded, backing Kelly up against the cliff wall and licking her ear.

Kelly sighed long and loud.

With buoyancy in his step, Jake descended the path. He paused once to look back. It looked like Kelly and Rye were on their way to making up. Kelly’s arms were thrown over Rye’s shoulders and she had a leg hooked around her mate’s hip while he was making love to her ear as only an Alishon could. At the same time, one hand massaged her breast and he rocked his pelvis against her.

Jake turned away as Kelly reached down and lifted up her loincloth. His cock twitched with envy. He wondered if he had enough time to set up the sex swing for Suva before his mates arrived home. He was in the mood to ride her hard. She liked that. Afterward, Drum would probably punish him for treating her roughly by putting him in the swing. He grinned at the thought. Would Drum prefer him face up or face down?

Check out the other books in the
No Way
Out
series…

No Way Home

Stranded on an unexplored planet, separated from the two surviving scientists, Kelly Hatchett is saved from a vicious carnivore by a humanoid alien intent on making her his own. So maybe “saved” isn’t quite the right word. She’s definitely stuck with him until she can figure out a way to get back to Earth. In the meantime, mmm, maybe being detained isn’t so bad after all.

No Way Around It

Is there such a thing as a perfect world? Earth scientists, Kelly and Jake think they may have found it on Alishontakawa where humans are highly valued members of society. However, Vonna King, the third scientist stranded on the planet, discovers a darker side when Alishons abduct her with plans to sell her at an underground auction.

No females that Yale, the auction winner, has purchased in the past have ever been seen again. Some say he harbors a harem of females at his private research facility, others say he performs deadly experiments on them, and a few think he tortures them to death in his sex dungeon. None of the rumors about Yale sit well with Vonna.

Will anyone save her or will she have to save herself?

Elayne S. Venton

I’ve loved writing as long as I can remember. When I discovered epublishing, I started on my way to fulfilling a life-long dream. Whether the characters of my stories are aliens from a distant galaxy, the couple next door, or creatures of the night, their passion will hurl them together and love will bind them throughout time.

There used to be a time when I’d start a book in the afternoon and stay up until the wee hours to finish it. Now those hours are spent researching, writing, re-writing, and occasionally making dinner! In my spare time, I volunteer at the local historical society.

Having lived on the east coast all my life, from New Hampshire to North Carolina, I’ve met characters --oops --people from all walks of life. Currently, I live in the inner coastal area of North Carolina with my wonderful, industrious husband, two teenagers, a lovable golden retriever, and a pet rabbit.

I hope you enjoy my stories as much as I enjoy writing them. Feedback is always welcome at [email protected].

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