FEARLESS: Alien Sci fi Romance (Invasive Species Control Unit Book 2) Read online

  Viktor clamped his jaws together, finding the soft part of the creature’s neck. He continued tearing through flesh and cartilage until he was able to remove the head from the body. He spat the foul tasting blood from his mouth and resumed a human form.

  The second desquamater threw Brandon’s head to the ground and launched his own attack. Viktor’s anger swirled like a mist before his eyes, as he blindly threw punches and kicks until he’d backed the creature against the wall.

  ‘Your guard begged for his life before I killed him.’

  Viktor growled in fury. Brandon was honourable. He would’ve died in silence rather than give satisfaction to his killer.

  ‘You won’t have time to beg.’

  He twisted the desquamater’s head to the left and then to the right, before snapping it backwards and severing the spinal cord. The creature slumped to the floor. Viktor wanted to tear the body into pieces, but he still had to find Jared.

  He raced out of the room, calling for his guard, as he searched the large house.

  ‘Jared? Jared? Where the fuck are you?’

  Viktor heard a faint groan. It sounded as if it was coming from outside and he flung open the front door.

  ‘Ah fuck.’

  He found Jared, or what was left of him. Both of his legs were bloody stumps and his arms were missing from his shoulder joints. A fresh wave of anger towards the desquamaters rocketed through Viktor and he wished he could resurrect the ones he’d just killed, so he could rip off their arms and legs while they were still alive.

  ‘Viktor?’

  The word was nothing more than a whisper, but it confirmed his guard was still alive despite his injuries.

  ‘Ah fuck,’ Viktor repeated, as he fell to the floor beside Jared’s mutilated body.

  ‘Don’t waste time with me. Go, not safe, go.’

  ‘I’ll call for the healers.’

  ‘No time, Go, Erik, safety.’

  ‘Did you see Erik?’

  Jared didn’t open his eyes, but he grimaced in pain and his breath grew shallower.

  ‘Erik, no safety. Go.’

  ‘I’m sorry, old friend.’

  Jared took his last breath and Viktor roared, sending even the bravest birds fleeing from the trees.

  14

  Viktor found Helen exactly where he’d left her, huddled behind the heavy curtains. She had her hands over her ears and her eyes screwed shut. She was muttering to herself and didn’t seem to notice when he slid down the window frame and sat beside her. He slowly peeled her hands away from her ears, but she shook her head. She kept her eyes shut, as she started to shake.

  ‘Helen,’ he growled. ‘Helen.’

  She tried to pull away from him, but he held her thin wrists tightly in his large hands.

  ‘Helen, look at me now,’ he commanded and her eyes flew open – pale blue and frightened – which caused his heart to constrict. ‘You’re safe now, it’s over.

  ‘I want to go home.’

  ‘I know.’

  She looked down at his hands and then back up to his face.

  ‘You’re bleeding,’ she stated.

  ‘It’s not mine.’

  ‘Are you hurt?’

  ‘No.’

  Her eyes swept over his body, and it had the same affect as if she’d caressed him.

  ‘You’re naked,’ she said, and she licked her lips and looked up at him from beneath her lashes. ‘Why are you naked?’

  ‘I’m always naked when I shift forms, but we don’t have time to dwell on that. We need to go,’ he said, ignoring the raspy tone to her voice. ‘There could be more of them on their way.’

  ‘More?’

  Helen scrambled to her feet and flung open the curtain.

  ‘Take it easy,’ he said, as she swayed slightly on her feet. ‘You’ve suffered a massive trauma.’

  ‘I’m the doctor, Viktor. I know I’m probably having some sort of mental episode but I don’t want to see any more of whatever the hell that thing was.’

  ‘It was a desquamater,’ he replied.

  ‘A what?’

  ‘An alien.’

  Helen laughed, but it turned into a half-sob and Viktor gathered her into his arms. Yesterday he’d protested to hate humans, and today he’d risked his life to save one. Blake had warned him that when he came up against a human woman he would understand how easy it was to fall in love. He didn’t know what love was, but he felt responsible for Helen. He’d stolen her away from the safety of her kind, and thrown her in the middle of a jaktten war. He was an arsehole.

  ‘I’m sorry, Helen.’

  She lifted her head. ‘For kidnapping me?’

  ‘Yes, it was selfish of me to keep you here once I realised you weren’t the woman I needed.’

  He thought he saw a trace of disappointment on her face before she suppressed it.

  ‘Are you going to let me go now?’ she asked.

  His answer should be yes, but Viktor couldn’t bring himself to say it. She might not be the woman he needed, but she was the woman he wanted.

  ‘Not yet,’ he replied. ‘Not until I know you’re safe.’

  ‘And I’ll be safe with you?’

  He considered that for a few moments.

  ‘You’re safer with me than with the desquamaters,’ he said.

  ‘I must be mad, but I believe you. I’m definitely having a mental episode.’

  The fact she trusted him caused Viktor’s heart to swell. He was smarter than Blake. He wouldn’t fall in love with a human. It went against the council’s decree, especially as he was a prince, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy Helen’s company for a while longer.

  ‘Let me get my clothes,’ Viktor said, and her cheeks turned an endearing shade of crimson as she once again allowed her gaze to linger over his naked body.

  ‘Yes, I think you should.’

  ‘Are all humans embarrassed by nudity?’

  ‘Different cultures have different views on it, but where I’m from a woman doesn’t tend to get naked with a member of the opposite sex unless they’re intimate.’

  ‘Are we intimate?’

  ‘No.’

  She said the word a little too forcefully, which only made him want to tease her more.

  ‘Don’t you like what you see, Helen?’

  ‘I’m not answering that,’ she said, and she turned away and looked out of the window while Viktor retrieved his clothes. His shirt was stained with blood, but he didn’t have time to get replacements from his bedroom, which was located in the opposite wing of the house. Jared had warned him to leave quickly.

  ‘You can look now,’ he said, and Helen turned to face him again. He held his hand out to her and she took it without hesitation. ‘Keep your eyes closed and I’ll guide you out.’

  He positioned her beneath his armpit, so she wouldn’t see the mess he’d made. He would send someone to deal with Brandon and Jared’s remains and clean up the chaos. Then he would focus on finding how the desquamaters had gained access to his home. There would be serious repercussions for anyone involved in an attempt on his life.

  15

  Helen pressed her face against Victor’s hard chest, smelling sweat mixed with blood. It reminded her of her days as an intern when people used to come into accident and emergency with broken bones and injuries to fix. Her mind churned, as her body functioned purely on autopilot. That was the only explanation of why her feet were moving, as she wasn’t in control of her path. She was still trying to process how Viktor had turned into an animal and how a monster had burst from a dead woman’s skin.

  ‘That woman was an…’

  Her voice trailed off, as she couldn’t bring herself to say the word.

  ‘Alien,’ Viktor said.

  ‘And you’re an….’

  ‘Alien,’ he repeated.

  ‘But not the same as her.’

  ‘No.’

  ‘I don’t understand.’

  Helen heard his heartbeat, strong and steady
, against her ear. How could he be an alien? He felt like any another man beneath her palms. He’d certainly kissed her like a man. She was a doctor of science and medicine. She didn’t believe in aliens.

  ‘I thought you knew,’ Viktor said.

  ‘How could I?’

  She felt his hand stroke the back of her head. ‘I asked you earlier whether you knew what I was and you said yes.’

  Helen recalled the conversation and his subsequent fury.

  ‘I thought you were a lunatic, not a monster.’

  ‘I am not a monster,’ he said firmly. ‘I may not originate from this planet, but I live and breathe as you do.’

  She opened her mouth then closed it, not knowing what to say next.

  ‘My species are called jaktten,’ he continued, as if compelled to explain. ‘Our natural form is an animal similar to your Earth wolves, but we have the ability to replicate the DNA of other species, which allows me to shift into a human when I need to hide in plain sight. Didn’t you learn any of this from your boss or from your patients?’

  ‘Are they aliens too?’

  Helen’s voice came out a little squeaky, as she recalled the muscular forms of the other agents like Blake Holloway and Matt Sheridan.

  ‘Mainly they’re alien hunters, but not all of them can be trusted.’

  Clarity settled over her like a spider’s web and she shuddered. Things were starting to fall into place. Working at ISCU had been like trying to complete a jigsaw without seeing the picture on the box. The severity of the Carson’s injuries made more sense now. If she’d been fighting creatures such as the mutant that Viktor had killed, no wonder her body was covered in scars.

  ‘So the Invasive Species Control Unit hunts these aliens and that’s why you kidnapped me. You thought I was one of them.’

  ‘You are one of them, Helen.’

  ‘No, I’m not. I already told you I was only helping fill a position within the team as a favour for a friend. I don’t know anything about their strategies or tactics, which is what I told you from the very beginning. Kidnapping me was a waste of time.’

  His hand moved from the back of her head to the small of her back, filling her with warmth.

  ‘I wouldn’t say it was a complete waste of time,’ he murmured, ‘but things haven’t exactly gone to plan.’

  ‘Oh, so you had one,’ she replied, and this time she did pull away slightly so she could look up at him. He stared down at her with an intensity that made her stomach tighten. This man, this alien, had kidnapped her, and all she could think about was how much she’d enjoyed kissing him. She looked down in shame, but then wished she hadn’t as her stomach revolted and she heaved again.

  ‘I told you not to look,’ Viktor said, cupping her chin and forcing her to tilt her head back until she met his eyes again.

  ‘You killed her again,’ she said. ‘I mean it or whatever the hell that strange name was.’

  ‘I had no choice. The desquamaters are sadistic predators. It wanted to kill you and wear your skin for its next disguise. I couldn’t let that happen.’

  Helen tried to ignore the images that his words conjured. Firstly, the woman impaling herself on the chair leg and then the way the alien had burst from her dead carcass. It would probably haunt her dreams and most of her waking life. She bit her lip and allowed Viktor to manoeuvre her towards the door and into the early morning sunshine. She resisted the urge to touch him any more than was necessary. It would have been so easy to wrap her arms around him and bury her head against his chest. She struggled to reconcile her attraction to him without blaming it on some emotional breakdown. He was a dangerous man and an even more dangerous alien. She still needed to escape, but the thought of being alone now terrified her. Viktor had saved her life, but knowing that the ISCU team dealt with eliminating the aliens, she was in as much danger as they were. Viktor might be the only person capable of protecting her at the moment.

  ‘Where are you taking me?’ she asked.

  ‘Somewhere safe.’

  ‘How do you know we’ll be safe?’

  ‘I have another property; no one knows it exists. Everyone thinks I live here in this gaudy mansion, but sometimes I like to go somewhere private.’

  Viktor released his hold on her to open a car door. It was a different model to what he’d brought her in. This one was a black sports car with glossy paintwork. She was about to comment on there being no room in the boot for her, but he beat her to it.

  ‘It’s a two seater, so you get to ride up front this time,’ he said. ‘Don’t make me regret it.’

  16

  Helen once again sat rigid in her seat, only this one was not hard and wooden, but soft and malleable. Her entire body ached with constrained tension and the knots increased as Viktor switched the indicator to merge their car with the other traffic on the dual carriageway. The journey through the sprawling countryside had been scenic, but silent. She had no idea where Viktor had originally taken her after kidnapping her, but all the road signs now pointed towards London.

  Towards home.

  Helen turned her head, so she could observe Viktor. He seemed outwardly calm, keeping below the speed limit and remaining courteous towards other drivers, but she felt his anxiety like an additional passenger. The fact his shirt was covered in blood splatters was reason enough for him to want to stay under the radar.

  Helen held her breath, as Viktor changed gears and slowed to a stop beside a police car. The traffic lights were red, which was perfect timing for her to make her escape. All she had to do was get the police officers’ attention. They would see how distressed she was and arrest Viktor, and she would be free from this nightmare.

  So why was she sitting as still as a mannequin?

  Helen exhaled, as sweat prickled across her top lip. She thought about leaning over and slamming her hand on the horn, but then remembered that Viktor’s reflexes were superior to hers.

  ‘Go on, do it.’

  She jumped, even though his voice was nothing more than a whisper in the confines of the small car.

  ‘Can you read my mind?’

  ‘No, just your body language. Go on, open the door. I won’t stop you.’

  She checked the lock and found it disengaged.

  ‘Are you serious?’

  He nodded and she swivelled in her chair to stare at the officers in the car beside her. If she rolled down the window, they would be close enough to touch, and she felt a surge of courage.

  ‘Tap on their door,’ Viktor said. ‘They’ll make sure you get home safely.’

  ‘What about you?’ she replied.

  ‘The second you get out of the car, I’ll drive away.’

  She didn’t like the idea of him leaving like that, but he was an alien – a killer – she should be grateful that he was releasing her.

  ‘What should I tell them?’

  ‘I don’t think it’s wise to mention aliens, not unless you want to become a patient instead of a doctor.’

  Helen moved her hand so that it hovered over the door handle.

  ‘Go on,’ Viktor repeated. ‘Get out of here.’

  His head was fixed straight ahead. His eyes were trained on the traffic lights, as he waited for them to turn from red to green. She once again willed her hand to grasp the handle, but her fingers didn’t even twitch.

  ‘God damn it,’ she muttered, as some inner-power prevented her from opening the car door. ‘Why is this so hard?’

  ‘Last chance, doc. Lights are changing.’

  ‘Are you really going to let me go? After everything that happened back there. After that kiss…’

  Her voice trailed off, as he slowly turned his head to face her. His blue eyes met hers and her breath caught in her chest.

  ‘I don’t want you to go, Helen,’ he said. ‘But you’re no longer my prisoner. I should never have dragged you into all this in the first place.’

  The traffic light switched to green while Viktor stared at her and her hand wobbled over th
e handle.

  ‘I don’t want to leave you,’ she said, and her stomach knotted as she realised she was probably making the biggest mistake of her life.

  ‘You need to understand the danger you’re in if you stay,’ he said. ‘I’m Prince of an alien species hiding on Earth, not Prince Charming. There’s no happy ever after for us.’

  ‘I’m not Cinderella. I don’t expect a fairy tale ending either.’

  A car honked its horn and Victor returned his attention to the road. Helen even managed to smile shakily at the police officers having got the attention she’d originally wanted, and she hoped it looked sincere.

  ‘I want to stay with you,’ she said softly, and Viktor nodded as he pressed his foot lightly against the accelerator and joined the traffic again.

  ‘Are you sure we’ll be safe at your place?’ she asked.

  ‘I told you before; no one knows where it is. We’ll be alone.’

  That thought terrified her, even as her treacherous body piqued at the prospect of some serious one-on-one time with her alien kidnapper.

  ‘Stockholm syndrome,’ she said, as she closed her eyes and leaned back in her seat. She was unwell, suffering from an illness. That was the only reason she was still in the car and not going home. It had to be that, otherwise she was crazier than the alien beside her.

  17

  Carson sleepily acknowledged the light caress on her inner thigh and the sweep of soft lips against the back of her neck. She didn’t have many erotic dreams, so she indulged the fantasy and arched her back, pressing firmer against the erection prodding her arse. Her nipples hardened and she parted her legs to allow her dream-lover to slip his hand beneath the waistband of her knickers. She groaned and bucked her hips as he teased her slick folds until the stirrings of an orgasm built towards a full-blown climax.

  ‘Good morning, beautiful.’

  Blake’s voice in Carson’s ear caused her eyelids to fly open. She’d expected to find herself alone in the medical bunk, but Blake was pressed tightly against her back. It was his erection she’d been grinding against and his hand between her legs.