Royal Protector: Battle Of Love (Celestial Mates Book 8) Read online

  ROYAL PROTECTOR: BATTLE OF LOVE

  CELESTIAL MATES BOOK 8

  MARLA THERRON

  Copyright 2017 by Marla Therron

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced

  in any way whatsoever, without written permission

  from the author, except in case of brief

  quotations embodied in critical reviews

  and articles.

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any

  character, person, living or dead, events, place or

  organizations is purely coincidental. The author does not

  have any control over and does not assume any responsibility

  for third party websites or their content.

  First edition, 2017

  Terrorised by a ruthless regime and defeated in a long and brutal war with the alpha warriors of Zodia, Earth must rebuild itself and begin a new era of peace. For sexy, curvy nurse Kayla, this is easier said than done.

  Worn down by the fighting and facing an uncertain future, she fears she’ll never be happy again. That all changes though, after she meets the sexy and powerful Alien Prince Leos.

  Feeling an instant attraction, the two get closer and Leos invites her to come to his world. Fearful at first, she finds herself bonding with the exotic alien planet of Zodia and falling for the sultry Leos big time.

  Sensing that she might have found the happiness she longs for, she suddenly has to combat against the dark lusts of Leos’ sinister brother Geminus and confront the terrible secrets of her own past.

  Can she find true love with Leos and move into a bright new future? Find out in this steamy alien adventure.

  Chapter 1: Birds Of A Feather

  Kayla went weak at the knees the first time she set eyes on the Raven Prince. She knew he was good looking from how much the other girls had raved about him, but nothing prepared her for the tsunami of desire he suddenly provoked in her. As she moved through the ward, checking on the other patients, she shot what she hoped were covert looks in his direction. His bed was at the far end, next to the window, and he spent most of his time gazing out of it at the dusty compound yard outside.

  Emboldened by his apparent distraction, Kayla’s gaze lingered over the contours of his naked sculpted chest visible above the bed sheets and up to his sleek neck and strong chin. Like all Zodians his skin was extremely pale, almost translucent in fact, and pulsed with a faint, blue light that made him look like some kind of supernatural creature. Kayla was almost hypnotised by the alien warrior, and was finding it hard to focus on her duties. As she was performing a nanobot injection on Riley, the wise-cracking soldier whose bed was only a few feet away from the Prince, she found herself looking over to him again.

  At that precise moment, he turned away from the window and looked straight at her! Kayla’s heart leapt into her mouth and she was frozen to the spot. Time seemed to stand still, and she took in every inch of his sleek, cut glass features. He was smoulderingly handsome, with large, storm grey eyes and an elegant aquiline nose. Dark stubble dusted the lower part of his diamond shaped face, making his full lips more prominent, and his ruffled hair reached down to behind his ears and looked luxuriously soft and feathery. It was the same glossy black as the bird whose name and emblem had been adopted by his royal dynasty and a few rogue strands hung down over his face. It made him look even sexier.

  As they locked eyes, though, he visibly flinched and abruptly looked away.

  “Hey darling, don’t pump me with too many of those little buggers, or I’ll start looking like a trash compactor,” said Riley jovially, breaking the moment.

  Kayla was brought back to the real world again and quickly removed the nano-injector from Riley’s arm.

  “Don’t sweat it,” she said, giving him a cheerful wink. “You talk so much garbage nobody would notice anyway.”

  “You’re so cruel to me,” Riley said in mock-indignation. “You sure you’re a nurse and not a dominatrix? You can tell me the truth. I’m very open-minded and if you are, how much do you charge by the hour?”

  “I’m way out of your price range Riley,” Kayla drawled, pretending not to feel hurt at how the Zodian had so quickly turned away from her. Clearly he didn’t like curvy girls.

  “Come on, babe,” Riley pressed. “As soon as I get on my feet again, I’ll take you out on a date you won’t forget. I’ll even brush my teeth.”

  Kayla giggled. “I’m deeply honoured.”

  Riley yawned and scratched at his jaw with his good hand. “You should be, but something tells me I’ve got competition,” he replied, shooting a meaningful glance toward the Raven Prince. The alien had turned back to looking out of the window, and seemed oblivious to everything else around him.

  Kayla’s cheeks heated and she gave Riley a playful slap on the arm. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said primly.

  Riley waggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Sure you don’t,” he chuckled. “No need to be embarrassed, you got good taste.” Unlike many other Earth soldiers, Riley did not hold a grudge against their Zodian conquerors. In a strange way, the Zodians had actually liberated the Earth. The six-year conflict the two worlds had been locked in had been instigated by the predatory ambitions of Earth’s Neo-Fascist Supreme Government, and many people on Earth had suffered more at the hands of the Secret Police than they had by the enemy. In fact, the turning point in the war came when a group of Earth officials and a large part of the army had instigated a coup and overthrew the regime. After that, the Provisional Government that took its place had quickly sued for peace.

  “Get some rest, Riley,” Kayla said as she headed off to continue her rounds. “Lack of sleep is making you delusional.”

  “It’s you that’s making me delusional, darling,” he called after her. “You drive me crazy!”

  His vocal declaration provoked laughter and cheers from the rest of the wounded soldiers in the ward, except for the Zodian who continued to stare moodily out of the window. As she carried on with her rounds and got closer to his bed, her anxiety grew.

  Though she’d never admit it to Riley, she did find the alien incredibly attractive. He had been brought in the day before yesterday, during her weekend off, after being wounded in an ambush by Neo-Fascist forces still active in the region. As it was too dangerous to take him to a civilian hospital, he had been brought here, to Camp Hemerton military base, where she was stationed.

  The butterflies in her stomach fluttered like crazy as she came at last to his bed. She made a show of looking at his medical charts while he kept his gaze fixed on the view outside the window. He did not even acknowledge that she was there.

  “So, how are you today?” she said as brightly as she could, when the silence became too unbearable.

  He turned with glacial slowness, and his storm grey eyes flicked over her light blue nurse’s uniform before spearing her face. “You are not the healer from before,” he said, in a voice like crushed velvet. Its deep cadence sent a shiver down her spine.

  “Um no,” she said, not sure how to respond. “My name’s Kayla, um, your highness.”

  The blue glow that radiated out of him grew brighter for just a second, and a frown crested his elegant features. “Why do you call me that?” he asked bluntly.

  Kayla stopped what she was doing and raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Oh, isn’t that how I’m supposed to address you? I’m not sure about Zodian etiquette. I thought you were the brother of the Raven King?”

  “I am,” the Raven Prince said without much enthusiasm. “Though I susp
ect he would wish it otherwise. That does not mean I desire to be fawned over, though. I despise pretentious titles and people grovelling when they wouldn’t give me the time of day were I nothing more than a raggedy pedlar or barefoot beggar. If you have to talk to me use my real name, Leos.”

  “Okay, Leos,” Kayla replied frostily, feeling her hackles rise. Leos might want to be treated like an average Joe, but he had all the airs and graces of a right royal pain in the butt. “Well, if you don’t mind let’s see how you’re doing today, shall we? The notes say you have a plasma laser wound on your upper right thigh.”

  Leos nodded and his eyes brushed over her again before returning to the window. Kayla felt a surge of anger go through her. It felt like he was judging her and finding her not to his taste had become instantly dismissive. A groundswell of paranoid threatened to engulf her.

  She had always been painfully self-conscious when it came to her looks and body. Sure, she had generous curves and big boobs, and her round, wholesome looking face and spiky, pink dyed hair didn’t exactly match the traditional standards of beauty, but she’d never had any complaints so far.

  Many guys had expressed an interest, especially soldiers seeking some comfort from the madness of war, and she had been willing to offer succour to help keep from losing herself to the darkness.

  Most of these encounters had been intense but brief and she had never made a real emotion connection with anyone. It didn’t really bother her. She had never needed a man to make her feel good, but for some reason she was anxious to earn the approval of this arrogant alien.

  “By all accounts you handled yourself well during the ambush,” she said making conversation. It helped keep her fierce emotions from getting the better of her. “The story around the base is that you took down five of the ambushers single-handedly and saved the lives of several members of the escort you were travelling with. Good job.”

  “I take no pleasure in killing,” Leos said gruffly, not deigning to turn away from the window. “It would not have been necessary if your people had effectively neutralised renegade elements still working against the Provisional Government. We were assured the Neo-Fascists had been defeated.”

  His angry speech caused several soldiers to shoot him black looks, and Kayla began to grow nervous. Leos was the only Zodian in the ward, and his haughtiness was in serious danger of getting him lynched regardless of his royal status.

  “Despite how bad we had it under the Neo-Fascists, there are still a lot of Earth people with misguided loyalties,” Kayla replied. “It’s hard to adjust to the idea that you Zodians are now are friends after so many years of fighting. You need to give things time to settle down.”

  “You people are stupid if they cannot see that we want to help you,” Leos declared, now turning to face Kayla. His surly eyes blazed with fury. “My people also suffered and made terrible sacrifices, yet we are willing to forgive. You should have the basic decency to do the same.”

  This brought angry murmurs from the other soldiers. Kayla fixed Leos a fierce look, no longer distracted by his good looks and sexy voice. “I think you should keep your opinions to yourself, my liege. The men and women in this room had been to hell and back and this is not the place for political arguments. If you want, I can have you transferred to a private room. That might be best for everyone.”

  “Are you deliberately trying to insult me?” Leos thundered. “I want no special treatment! I am no better than anyone else!”

  “Hey buddy!” Riley called out, his voice sharp and fiery. “She’s only trying to help you! Show her some respect, or I’ll come over there and teach ya a few manners! If you really want to be one of the guys then take that iron rod from up your bony butthole!”

  Whoops of laughter went up across the ward, and Leos went deadly quiet, a grim expression on his face. Though she was pleased Riley had spoken up for her, she could not help feeling sorry for the alien.

  Leos looked over at Riley and then suddenly burst out laughing. The laugh was surprisingly high pitched and sounded almost boyish. “You’re right, I do need to take the rod out,” he said at length.

  “I apologise for my loutish behaviour. I just hate being out of action like this.” He gazed shyly at Kayla, making her heart jump at how cute he looked. “I’m sorry Kayla. I had no right to vent my frustrations on you. It was unmanly of me.”

  “That’s okay,” Kayla said, getting tongue-tied. She knew the Zodians were a proud race and for one of them to admit their wrongdoing was quite a big thing in their culture. His contrition seemed to go down well with the other soldiers and the tension diffused a little. It was time to get on with her duties, she realised.

  “Let’s take a look at your wound then,” she said briskly, becoming all business-like. She pulled back the bed covers to take a better look at his leg and her hormones began doing hysterics.

  Leos was clad only in a pair of short black briefs that looked so tight they seemed to be sprayed on, and left nothing to the imagination. Heat rose in her face as she took in his smooth, sculpted body and sleek, toned legs. On his upper thigh, a large healing caterpillar, fat and green, suckled contentedly. Kayla studied it thoughtfully.

  “I think this little guy’s almost about done. I’ll take him off and work some regeno-cream into the wound,” she said.

  “Shouldn’t you consult the alchemist first?” Leos said, giving her a hooded look.

  She frowned. “Alchemist?”

  “I think on Earth the term is doctor,” Leos clarified. “Shouldn’t he decide on the best course of my treatment?”

  “She would agree entirely with my assessment,” Kayla said, cocking one eyebrow. “Don’t worry. I’ve treated so many plasma wounds over the last few years I can practically do this in my sleep.”

  “As you wish,” Leos replied quietly, a surly look on his face.

  Kayla shook her head, bemused at the alien’s attitude. Just what the hell was his problem with her? Putting on a pair of disposable gloves, she carefully removed the caterpillar from his leg and placed it in the container at the side of the bed.

  Next, she used a swab to clean the plasma wound, before applying the cream. His skin felt pleasantly warm as she made contact with his leg, and tingles began dancing through her body. From the corner of her eye, she suddenly noticed something was happening inside his briefs and realised he was getting excited too.

  Her cheeks flushed furiously, and she dared not look at him in the face. Pretending that nothing was happening, she finished cleaning off the residue of the caterpillar and then began applying the cream, trying to keep her hands steady as she did so.

  As her fingers rubbed in the ointment, she breathed in his fresh, pleasant scent and wondered what it would be like to touch his skin without her gloves. Her mind drifted as she fantasised about massaging his firm body, easing out the kinks and caressing every inch of him until he moaned with pleasure. As she worked, Leos’ little problem, or should that be ‘big’ problem, didn’t go away, and she wondered whether he did like her after all.

  Once she was done, and pulled the covers back over him, a look of visible relief crossed his face. Kayla hid her smile, and focused on updating his notes on her micro-tablet.

  “Okay, you’re all done,” she said pleasantly, pretending that everything was normal. “I think another day of rest and then you should be able to start walking on it, but one of our ‘alchemists’ will check you over and confirm my prognosis so don’t worry about having to take my word for it.”

  “I have faith in your skills, healer,” Leos said in a muted voice. He was looking surly, and he went back to studying the view outside the window. By now, he must have memorised every inch of the compound yard and the bleak desert beyond the wall.

  When he made no move to make further conversation, she put the box containing the caterpillar into one of the draws of her robo-server, and headed off back to the entrance of the ward.

  She was just at the door, when something made her turn round
. From the far end, Leos was looking directly at her. As if caught in the headlights, he turned away quickly, and his blue aura flashed brightly for just a fraction of a second.

  * * *

  Though she didn’t see Leos for the rest of her shift, he was never far from her thoughts. Their exchange that morning played over and over in head, and though he had come across as a priggish jerk, Kayla couldn’t deny she was still strongly attracted to him.

  There was something about him that pushed all her buttons and it had been a long time since she’d met a man who could do that, either from Earth or anywhere else.

  Yet, there was no real indication that he felt the same. She dismissed the reaction he’d had while she was tending to his plasma wound as purely a physical response to being touched. Human and Zodian physiology was virtually identical, and Kayla knew how frustrated men cooped up in hospital and away from female companionship could get. Still, she beamed with pleasure as she savoured his excitement. He clearly wasn’t as cold or as high-minded as he made out to be.

  As her shift came to an end and she crossed the compound from the medical centre to the living quarters where she had a room, her mind and body still danced to Leos’ tune. His smooth, marble white skin and moody eyes had ignited a fire in her she couldn’t quench and she longed to see him again.

  Lost in her daydreams, she absently greeted base personnel as they went about their business. She took her time, eager to enjoy the fresh air and watched the sunset on the horizon. Though the destruction of the Weather Regulation Satellite and heavy planetary bombardment had left much of the surface of Earth desolate, Kayla had spent the best part of the war aboard space stations and command cruisers and then later in bunker cities deep underground.

  As a consequence, she had come to appreciate being outside in wide open spaces as much as possible. Pausing by the doorway of the residence block she looked out through the open gates as the vast red orb of the sun sank beneath the horizon.