Claiming her Alien Warrior

Chapter 1-2

Major Jane Allen, warrioress from Earth, was the bane of Karryl’s life.

Slender and lithe, she had cropped light hair an almost white color he’d never seen before but it was her eyes that mesmerized and frustrated him in equal measures. Different colors, one blue and one green, they met his gaze head on with a firm expression and steely disposition he’d struggle to find in many warriors.

He waited for a second and there it was, the slight uplift of her left eyebrow that either showed curiosity, or she thought he was a freaking i***t. He had no idea half the time which it was. Probably both.

“Why didn’t I tell you I had a mate?” Her voice was low and melodious, with a pleasing timbre that stroked along his senses like a caress. “Perhaps because I don’t?”

He bit back a sigh of frustration.

“Your base records say otherwise. They say you are mated to an Admiral Scott Johnson.”

He almost snarled the words. Fury surged through him at the thought of the slender female in another man’s arms. His woman. He’d wanted her from the moment he’d seen her, crouched behind a makeshift barricade on the base, bellowing orders as she and her men fought the Lathar boarding parties.

Not expecting women on the human base at first, he’d thought the higher-voiced, slender-figured warrior was a youth. Her face shielded by a cap, her body armor had hidden any hint of her female figure. The battle had raged back and forth. He’d been impressed with the youth’s training and command over his men. It wasn’t until she’d removed the cap he realized his opponent was female. Their gazes met across the battlefield and he’d known. This woman was his, sent by the ancestor gods to be the other half of his soul.

His own little warrioress.

He fought the urge to shake his head. That any society with fertile females would send them into battle was incomprehensible to him. Females were to be pampered and protected, cosseted and looked after… Not allowed to put themselves in harm’s way.

But as much as he tried, Jane resisted all his attempts to pamper or protect her. She seemed to delight in thwarting his efforts to claim her, as though she found them, and him, amusing.

“They do, do they?” She folded her arms over her chest and the movement pulled the fabric of her tunic tight across her breasts.

He tried to ignore it, really he did, keeping his eyes level on hers, but the effort cost him. Unlike the other human women, Jane had not adopted the flowing robes of a latharian woman. Instead, she wore an earth top that bared her arms, tucked into a pair of reenaas combat pants, the hardy material conforming to her curves in a way that made his mouth water. Combat boots and a heavy blaster pistol on her hip completed the picture.

His jaw ached and he half lifted a hand to rub at it as he remembered just how fast she could move, and what one of those boots felt like jammed under his chin.

“Yes, they do.”

He folded his arms to match her posture. She was shorter than he was so he had to look down at her to glare, but he wasn’t under any illusion he had the upper hand. Sure, he was bigger and stronger, but she was fast and mean as a liras snake. If she’d been male, she’d have made the perfect warrior.

Humans didn’t call themselves warriors. They used words like soldier and marine instead. It all amounted to the same. From what he could work out, Jane was a famous warrior on her home planet. The standard to which all female warriors aspired to, probably half the men as well.

“Well, I guess we still are then.” She shrugged. “At least until I sign the divorce papers. I was going to, but then these asshole aliens blew holes in my base.”

Her words rocked Karryl. He’d been expecting a denial, some story about records error… that she had never accepted this Admiral Johnson’s claim over her… Not a calm confirmation she was, in fact, mated. Which meant, under the terms of the fledgling agreements between their peoples, she could leave Lathar and return to Earth any time she chose.

Unlike an unmated woman, she didn’t have to consider any warrior’s claim. Even his.

For a week she’d dodged his attempts to claim her. He’d made no pretense of his interest. He’d played nice, been polite, tried to understand her culture was different from his... All the time she’d known she could just laugh and walk away.

“No,” he snarled as rage clouded his mind. “Not his. Mine.”

Reaching out a hand, he cupped the back of her neck and hauled her up against him. She hit his chest with a gasp, her eyes wide. Good. Finally, he’d surprised her.

“Karr—”

He didn’t let her finish, crushing her mouth beneath his. The first taste of her lips almost unmanned him. She might have been forged in the fires of combat, her body all lean lines and toned muscles, but her lips were a different story.

Soft under his, they were as delicate as a quuarrian fruit. She’d frozen, hands on his broad chest and he braced himself for a hard knee to the groin. She was not a woman to let an assault on her person go unpunished.

Determined to experience as much as he could before she pushed him away, he moved his lips over hers. Tasting, exploring… needing. Desperate. He needed to remember this. Imprint what it felt like to hold her in his arms, to feel her soft lips under his. Because she would push him away, he knew she would. If she found him suitable as a mate, then she’d have already accepted his claim.

Her lips parted on a soft moan and offered him a glimpse of the seven heavens. Stunned for a second, he didn’t move, then all his male instincts roared into life. With a growl, he tilted his head and plundered her lips. The warmth and sweetness of her mouth almost brought him to his knees.

Sliding his tongue against hers, he sought her flavors. The sweet fruits and wine they’d dined on for lunch combined with something else…something haunting and unique. Within a heartbeat he knew one kiss would never be enough. He could kiss her for this lifetime and the next, but it still wouldn't suffice. With one kiss, she’d made him an addict, seeking that next hit until the day he died.

“No…” She snatched her lips from his with a gasp, looking up at him with wide, dark eyes. For a moment, he saw desire and need before her expression shuttered again. “No. We can’t.”

“What?” His demand was barked as he gripped her upper arms. She’d surrendered to him, he’d felt it, but now she was saying no?

She looked away, trying to wriggle free of his hold and her cheeks turned bright pink. Since he’d met her, she’d been captured, held prisoner, fought her way out of an enemy ship and almost killed by purists and never once had he seen her bat an eyelid. But now she looked rattled. By him. By what they’d shared.

“You prefer women.”

It was the only explanation that made sense. Her brow furrowed as her gaze snapped to his. “What? Don’t be ridiculous. I was married to a man. I like men plenty enough.”

“Then what?” he demanded, shaking her a little by her upper arms as his anger got the better of him.

Her eyes shimmered with something, but the expression disappeared before he could analyze it. “Have you ever thought I might not be into you?”