To make up for her sister’s lack of enthusiasm, Kyla crouched down to pet the dog, who wiggled his body ecstatically. When she stood up, Hall was smiling at her, and Cain was giving her a nod.
Evidently, treating his dog well was the way to Cain’s heart.
They had very little luggage, but Cain and Hall carried it in for them to a clean, pleasant house that looked simple and comfortable but without any of the luxuries they were used to.
“Wow,” Patrice said, looking around.
Kyla knew what her expression meant. She’d probably never imagined that anyone could live in such a primitive way. To cover for her sister, she smiled at Riana, “I love it. Thank you so much for having us.”
“Of course,” Riana said with a returning smile.
Kyla aimed a discreet glare at her sister before she turned back to Riana. “It’s really nice of you to have us, when we’re fugitives.”
Riana chuckled and wrapped an arm around Cain’s waist when he came to stand beside her. “We’re fugitives too. And Hall must be a fugitive about a dozen times over.”
“What’s that?” Hall asked, coming out of the bedroom where he’d been setting their stuff. “Did you just say a dozen times? Don’t insult me. I’d say at least two dozen.”
“If you keep this up, you’ll have a planet full of fugitives here,” Kyla said.
While the others laughed, Cain gave a soft grunt and muttered, “I could live with that.”
***
That evening, the moment Kyla climbed under the covers, Hall pulled her into his arms and rolled over on top of her.
She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Well, hello to you too.”
He was smiling as he kissed her. “So what do you think?” he asked, as he pulled back enough for them to look at each other.
“About sex?” she asked. “I’m in.”
“That’s good to know, since I’m going to be in very soon. But I meant about this place, about Cain and Riana. Will you be all right staying here for a few weeks?”
“Of course! I think they’re great, and I love this ranch. Cain said he’d show me how to make leather.” She could barely contain her excitement at this possibility.
“Good. Good. He really likes you.”
“How can you tell? The man almost never smiles.”
“That’s just his way. You know it’s not real, don’t you? Once you get to know him—”
“Oh, I know. I could tell right away. He’s a good guy, and I really like Riana. You don’t have to worry about me. Now, Patrice, on the other hand…” She trailed off, torn between amusement and worry.
“I’ve got to say,” Hall murmured, “I wouldn’t have missed for the world Cain telling her to help Riana muck out the stable.”
Kyla giggled, not even feeling guilty for laughing at her sister. It might do her good, to see what the rest of the world was like. Patrice seemed so lost right now. Far more lost than Kyla felt. “And when he reminded her that she wasn’t an empress anymore. You should have seen her expression.” She sighed then. “Poor Patrice.”
“She’ll be fine. If she doesn’t want to work, she could always hook up with a rich man. I know Charlon was interested in her. She’s gorgeous. Other men will be interested too.”
“Yeah, but I don’t really want her to sell herself that way, just so she could live comfortably. She’s got a lot more to offer than that.”
“I know,” Hall agreed, his tone changing. “But you can’t always control what other people do—even the people you love.”
“Yeah.” She sighed again. “I know you’re right. Hopefully, she’ll find her way.”
Hall kissed her again, as if trying to comfort her. “I’m sure she will.”
Kyla decided they had better things to do right now than talk about her sister. After all, she had a big, warm, strong, handsome man between her legs—a man who loved her and never wanted to leave her. “So you really think she’s gorgeous, do you?” she teased.
Hall shook his head, his eyes very soft. “Not nearly as gorgeous as you.”
“Good answer,” Kyla said, right before she pulled him down into another kiss.
Epilogue
A month later, Kyla was on a horse—a real, Earth-pure stallion rather than the animals engineered through hormones and hybridization that she’d always known on Evalon.
She was riding at a gallop, trying to keep up with Hall’s larger stallion.
They were still on Cain and Riana’s ranch, and Kyla had never been happier in her life. She loved this planet, and she loved both Cain and Riana. She’d gotten to know some of the other families in the community, and she’d never before felt like she was really a part of things the way she was here.
She’d made several pairs of boots already. A few she’d given away, but the rest she’d sold—for a surprising amount of money for a community that wasn’t particularly wealthy.
Plus, there was Hall. She loved him most of all.
He was grinning at her over his shoulder, and he called to her, “Can’t you get your nag to keep up?”
Kyla dug her ankles into the horse’s side, and the stallion responded by speeding up.
She laughed out loud as she and her stallion moved up beside Hall. She felt like she was flying, like she was completely free, like nothing could hold her back.
Nothing could hold her back, except the fatigue of her horse, who eventually had to slow down.
Hall slowed his down too, and they cooled the horses off at a trot and then a walk as they reached the top of a steep hill.
“Are we almost there?” Kyla asked, breathing in wind and the fresh scent of dirt and grass.
“Yes.”
“Where exactly are we going?”
Hall pulled his horse to stop, so Kyla did too. Hall nodded down the other side of the hill. “We’re here.”
Kyla looked at the landscape in front of them. It was beautiful, the hill sloping down toward a broad river, with fields beyond it that looked like a farm. “Why are we here?”
“Because that piece of property is for sale. You like it on this planet, don’t you?”
“Of course. But that’s a farm, isn’t it? You don’t want to be a farmer, and I don’t want you to do something you don’t really like, just so we can stay here.”
“I’m not going to be a farmer. Not really, anyway. I’ve been doing some tests on the soil. The climate is a little colder than ideal, but I think the soil there would work for some really interesting kinds of grapes.” His eyes were sparkling the way they did when he had a really good plan.
“Grapes?” She gasped when it processed in her minds. “A vineyard? You want to start a vineyard?”
“And a winery.” He was watching her closely, as if checking her reaction. “I’d have to hire some help, but I could start small. I could do what my parents did. I think I would like it, if that’s all right with you.”
She was almost choking on her joy and excitement as she realized that Hall could be happy, he could do something he wanted to do, and they could stay on this planet. She scrambled off her horse, almost stumbling when she reached the ground.
Hall was dismounting too, and he caught her and pulled her into a hug. “So that’s a yes, is it?” he murmured into her hair.
“Why don’t you feel for yourself?”
He pressed his mouth against her neck, opening a connection that filled them both with each other’s love and joy and excitement and hope.
It was so strong it rocked her. She could barely stand up. Tears were streaming down her face when he finally broke the connection.
She was flushed and gasping as she said, “Promise me you’ll never do that particular thing with anyone else.”
He’d been smiling, but his expression sobered as he looked at her. “Of course I won’t. You know that, don’t you? It’s as intimate as sex is to me now, and you’re the only one I’ll ever share that with.”
She brushed away her tears. “Good. Th
at’s what I thought.”
He shook his head and took her hand as they led the horses down the hill and tied them up so they could explore the piece of property.
“Do you have enough money stashed away to afford this place?” Kyla asked as they approached the big house that overlooked the river.
“Yes. Prices here are cheap compared to the rest of Coalition space. I’ve got enough. Lenna said she’d be in this general area next week, so she could pick us up and we could go collect it.”
“Perfect. I’ll be glad to see Lenna again. How is she doing?”
“Same as always. She told me that I might have settled down, but she’s not about to cave on that.”
“At least she’s having a good time with it. Hopefully, she won’t get in trouble with the Coalition.”
“She has a way of making things work for her. I think she’ll be all right.”
Kyla cleared her throat. “When we’re collecting your stash, if we’re in the area, maybe we could stop and visit Patrice?”
“Of course, we can,” Hall said, brushing a hand down her hair in a silent, comforting gesture.
“I can’t believe she went back to Charlon. I mean, she’s basically his mistress now.”
“Yeah, but it’s as close to the life she knows as she can get. People don’t always change that quickly.”
She sighed, letting out her anxiety and disappointment with her breath. Patrice had left two weeks ago, after giving up on living a primitive life on an uncivilized world. Kyla was getting used to the idea at last. “But what happens when he gets tired of her? She won’t be that beautiful forever.”
“She’ll have to figure it out then. She can always come and live with us. You know that, right?”
Kyla leaned over and kissed Hall’s shoulder. “Yes. I know that. It means a lot, since I know you don’t really like her. Thank you.”
“I’ve never been bound to anything as tightly as I’m bound to you. I’m hopelessly shackled for the rest of my life.” Hall’s eyes were warm and soft. “But it’s the kind of bondage I’ve spent my life looking for. What’s yours is mine. Including your sister.”
“Same here,” she whispered, too emotional to say anything more.
Hall gave her a little hug before he said, “All right. So do you want to look at this house? The owners let me borrow the key so we could go in.”
“Yes, I want to see the house. I can’t wait! I’ve always wanted a house of my own.”
“So have I,” Hall admitted. “So have I.”
***
If you haven’t yet read it, the first book in his series is Hold, about Cain and Riana. This summer, I’ll have another follow-up book about Lenna. You can find an early excerpt from that book on the following pages, and the pre-order links should be up by the end of May.
If you’d like to stay up-to-date on sales and new releases, then you can sign up for my monthly newsletter, in which I share news for both my Noelle Adams and Claire Kent pennames. You can sign up through the link here.
Excerpt from Fall
Lenna couldn’t understand anything the men were saying, although she listened carefully, trying to detect any familiar words. They looked so much like humans that she couldn’t believe they were a true alien species—at least, not completely. But, if they were human or part-human, they would have had to get to this planet somehow, long enough ago for any memory of civilization to have vanished.
Lenna couldn’t recognize any words at all, so she had no evidence of their ancestors originally speaking an Earth language. But she was able to discern that they were discussing the death of the first man. The Gorgeous One even stepped over and spit on the body.
It wasn’t a hard gesture to interpret—on any planet.
Lenna was starting to wonder if she’d been rescued at all. No one seemed to care that she was unharmed. Maybe the Hairy Man had killed the first man just to kill him. Not to save her life.
She was glad to be alive—whatever the motivation for her rescue—but she would prefer for someone to acknowledge her presence. After all, she was hoping these strangers might be of some help to her.
She was so distracted by the conversation that she didn’t notice the short, revolting one had approached her from behind, until she felt his hands on her shirt. He pulled away the torn fabric to reveal her skin, making a noise that was recognizably one of sleazy interest.
Lenna gasped in surprise and reacted instinctively. She turned on her heel and kicked out her right leg, hitting him squarely in the groin with her foot. At least, it should be his groin, if he was made like a human male.
Apparently, he was. He huffed out in pain and bent over, just as any man on any planet in Coalition space would have done.
Lenna was used to taking care of herself, and she wasn’t about to put up with any victimization, even if she was abandoned and alone on this freakish, primitive world.
But, after she’d lashed out, she realized how vulnerable her position was. She had no protection here, and she’d just struck one of the six males surrounding her. The others might not appreciate it. After all, by all appearances, these hunter-gatherer types had rather old-fashioned sensibilities.
But the others didn’t defend their comrade. They looked over curiously, and the Gorgeous One sneered at the man she’d kicked, muttering something snide.
The Hairy Man made a series of snorts and huffs. It wasn’t until she looked in his dark eyes that she realized he was actually laughing.
Evidently, seeing his revolting companion hit by a female amused him.
Lenna looked back suspiciously at the one she’d kicked, who was still bent over and moaning. She figured he’d be mad about being so humiliated, and she had no idea how he’d react.
She tensed when he straightened up and snarled at her, taking two steps over with obvious aggression
But the Hairy Man barked out a sharp word that brought the other to a sudden stop.
Lenna looked back curiously, trying to figure out if the Hairy Man was trying to protect her or if he just despised the other man. Since the Hairy Man was glaring coldly at the other one, she leaned toward the latter interpretation.
Even now, none of them appeared particularly concerned about her, but at least they hadn’t decided to let that disgusting half-animal have his way with her.
The others were still talking, completely disregarding her existence. During the discussion, the Hairy Man went over and retrieved his spear from the first man’s back. Then he yanked the body up by the matted, bloody hair.
Lenna cringed and looked away. If he was going to scalp the corpse or cut off another part of his anatomy as a trophy, she was definitely going to walk away.
When she darted a look back over, however, she saw that the Hairy Man had just yanked off a necklace—made of beads and what looked like teeth. Then he dropped the body back to the ground.
Still talking, all six of them turned around and started to walk away.
Lenna blinked. “What the hell?” she muttered.
Were they actually going to leave her here?
“Hey!” she called out, running after them. “Hey! Wait! Wait!”
They turned around, and the Gorgeous One’s mouth curled up in annoyance. He said something to her, but she obviously couldn’t understand what it was.
“Can I come with you?” She ran over to him, looking up at him pleadingly, searching for some way to make her request clear.
They didn’t seem to be the most generous of people, but at least they might be able to protect her from wild animals, and they might give her something to eat. She wasn’t a fool. She’d stand a much better chance of surviving with them than she would by herself.
The Gorgeous One—who she was now suspecting was the leader—gave her a cursory once-over and sneered again.
Lenna had always known herself to be an attractive woman, and she’d had plenty of male attention over the years. But, evidently, nothing about her face or body was appealing to the ma
n in front of her.
Since he wasn’t going to be swayed by attraction or kindness, she racked her mind for something she could offer him. All she had in her possession were the berries she’d found earlier. So, just before he turned away from her again, she stuck her hand in her pocket and thrust the half-crushed berries out at him.
He jerked back in surprise and peered at the red berries with narrowed brown eyes.
The Hairy Man grunted out some sort of question, which the leader answered dismissively. Then the leader turned away from her again.
Lenna, realizing she was losing her last chance at protection, noticed the Hairy Man was still looking at her curiously.
So she ran over to him and offered the berries. She felt like an absolute idiot—trying to give smashed berries to a dirty caveman—but she was too frantic to care.
The Hairy Man carefully picked one of the berries out of her hand. Then he lifted it higher to study it, the upper part of his face—the only part that wasn’t covered with hair—conveying obvious confusion.
Realizing that he didn’t even know what the berry was for, Lenna took one of them and put it in her mouth, with exaggerated slowness. “Mmm,” she murmured, as if she was dealing with a child.
The Hairy Man frowned and raised the berry to his mouth. As soon as he tasted it, his expression changed. He grunted something, and then looked at her, as if she were supposed to understand what he said.
Lenna shrugged and offered him the rest of her handful of berries.
He took them, eating a couple more.
Nodding, he called out something to the others, who had already started walking away.
The leader stopped and looked back at the Hairy Man. After some more discussion, he finally came over and ate one of the berries himself.
After even more talk, he went over and took something off the belt of one of the other groomed men. Then he brought it over to Lenna.
It was an empty leather sack. The handsome leader handed it to Lenna with a few words she didn’t understand.
He turned away and started walking again.