Blackstar: Future Knight Read online

  And yet, from the fire lighting her green eyes to the angry set of her mouth to the softness of her fair skin… She smelled of peaches and springtime, felt small and soft within his arms, and he could easily imagine how much pleasure he could give her.

  He couldn’t help the feral smile that curved the corner of his mouth or the throbbing of his cock. To tame this one would be both interesting and pleasurable.

  At the sight of his smile the female stilled. For the first time he saw genuine fear in her green eyes. “Are you going to hurt me?”

  Frowning, Adan shook his head.

  Her throat worked as she swallowed. “You’re not going to rape me, are you?”

  His frown turned into a fierce scowl. “I would never.”

  The woman took a deep breath and relaxed in his arms. “Then just let me go. Take whatever you want, I don’t care.”

  Anger stirred in his gut and he growled at the insult. “I am no thief.”

  “Then what the hell do you want?” True confusion passed across her features and her voice climbed an octave. “Why are you in my home?”

  With a sigh, Adan placed his fingers over her face and she flinched. “I am ensuring you will not remember what you saw…or me.”

  Her eyes widened, but as he used his thoughtpower, her eyelids drifted shut and she went limp in his embrace. For a moment he just held her, enjoying the feel of her soft body in his arms. He lowered his head and drew in the scent of her hair and felt his cock grow harder against her belly.

  With another growl, he scooped her up in his arms, taking care not to bump into the squat table in front of the couch and upsetting the glass forms upon its surface. He laid the woman gently on the couch’s cushions and she gave a deep, shuddering sigh.

  Adan sank to one knee and studied the woman who so greatly intrigued him. Her hair hung in honey-blonde curls about her face; she had a delicate nose, and now had a slight pout to her full lips as she slept. He brushed his knuckles over her cheek, enjoying the feel of her skin against his. She gave a little sigh and a soft smile touched her mouth.

  “What is your name?” he said, allowing his thoughtpower to draw the response from her.

  “Kara,” she murmured. “Kara Marks.”

  “A beautiful name,” he said as he stroked her cheek again, “Kara Marks.”

  Her chest rose and fell with her deep even breathing, drawing his attention to the full breasts beneath her blouse. Unable to help himself, he trailed his fingers down the curve of her neck to her shoulder and paused. He longed to cup one breast and tease the nipple with his thumb, drawing it to a tight peak. Then he would suckle it through her shirt and she would moan and beg him for more. He would slip her jeans from her body and lap at the nectar between her thighs.

  Aye, he could give her pleasure even as she slept.

  But he would not. This woman would give herself to him willingly, or not at all.

  Adan frowned at the turn of his thoughts. He wasn’t here to have sex with any woman, and he would certainly never see this one again. He had to locate the crystal before the Ice-Witch Echna’s warriors found it, and he had to do it soon.

  Damn the ice-ghost bitches. The Ice-Witch’s warriors were nearly as feral as their master.

  He rose to a standing position and closed his eyes, trying to focus on the magic of his sword. His weapon hummed and the runes upon the blade glittered, but it told him no more than the fact that he was near the crystal. It could be feet away or a mile for all he knew.

  Can it be in this woman’s home?

  Slowly he worked his way through the house, careful not to disturb any of Kara’s possessions. The sword continued its light humming sound, but never gave him any indication that he had neared the crystal.

  After he searched the home from basement to attic with no luck, he stopped at Kara’s side and studied the sleeping woman. Desire rose up in him hard and fierce and he had the urge to scoop her up in his arms and spirit her away to Blackstar and to his bed. On his planet she would be a fair flower in a world of ice and snow. Would she wilt, or would she thrive?

  What the devil are you thinking about Valnez?

  With a growl he turned on his heel and strode toward the front door. He had to get his mind off his cock, back on his duty, and find that damn crystal.

  * * * * *

  Kara toyed with her linguini as she listened to Sheri’s and Jan’s chatter. It was early Saturday evening and they were at their favorite Italian restaurant. The serious one of the trio, Sheri had long, strawberry-red hair, as straight as Kara’s was curly, and her eyes were a clear shade of gray. Jan on the other hand had freckles, wheat-brown hair, and blue eyes, and was the mischievous member of the group.

  While her friends talked about their current boy toys and work, Kara’s thoughts turned back to this morning. She’d woken on her sofa with her jeans and shirt on instead of her nightgown, and had no memory of how she’d gotten there. The last thing she remembered was sitting on her window seat, staring out into the darkness, thinking about getting off with her vibrator. Apparently she’d fallen asleep there and then dragged herself to the couch, she just didn’t remember it.

  But her dreams last night—the erotic visions kept replaying in her mind, over and over and her panties grew damp just thinking about them. In her dreams, a tall, dark, and rugged man had held her, stroked her, set her body on fire for him. She squirmed in her seat, her short, silky skirt riding up her thighs as she remembered the throbbing sound of his voice, the light brush of his knuckles…Adan. Her dream man had been Adan.

  “Kara.” Sheri’s voice jerked Kara’s attention from her daydreams to her friends who were staring at her.

  Kara dropped her fork to her plate. It clattered and bounced onto the red tablecloth, splattering a bit of white sauce from her linguini. Jan’s mouth curved into a gamin grin, and Sheri raised her eyebrows.

  “So who’s Adan?” Jan asked, and Kara realized she must have said his name out loud.

  She shrugged and tugged down on the hem of her short skirt. “No one.”

  Jan and Sheri exchanged glances before Sheri said, “No secrets, honey. You know the rules.”

  With a resigned sigh, Kara smiled. Yeah, she knew the rules. They’d been best friends for over twenty years, since they were toddlers, and had been through everything and anything together. “All right. This is going to sound silly, but it’s just some guy I dreamed about last night.”

  Jan snickered and Sheri gave a motion of her hand telling Kara to go on. “This is a guy you met?”

  “I wish.” Kara picked up her fork and fidgeted with it. “He was totally hot.”

  “If a dream man is doing it for you, you really need to get out more.” Jan gave a toss of her wheat-brown hair and signaled the waiter. “I think you need a drink and then a night out on the town. And probably a good fuck.”

  Sheri gave a solemn nod. “Definitely.”

  Kara had to laugh. “No doubt.”

  The girls giggled and chatted some more. Kara mentioned how much fun she’d been having with the kids at the orphanage, and Sheri and Jan were enthusiastic about going with her the next time.

  After the waiter returned and had poured each of them a glass of wine, they raised their glasses to their favorite childhood toast. “All for one—except if we get caught in the boys’ bathroom and then it’s each girl for herself.”

  Just a few short hours later, Kara found herself tipsy and on her front doorstep with Paul, a guy she’d dated a few times and had run into at the nightclub. Paul was her height and sandy-haired, and he had an entirely sexy, lean and muscled body. Since she’d ridden with Jan and Sheri to the club, she had let Paul drive her home. But even as she dug her keys out of her purse and unlocked her door, she knew she didn’t want to let him in.

  The lock clicked and Kara let the keys dangle from it as she hugged her leather jacket closer around her and turned back to Paul. His blond hair gleamed gold in the streetlight and early fall wind teased the
fine strands. He was definitely a good-looking man, but tonight he just wasn’t doing anything for her. All night she had wished she would run into someone who looked like her dream man—tall with long dark hair and a hard edge, but sensual, too.

  “Thanks for bringing me home.” She leaned forward and gave Paul a light kiss. “Good night.”

  “Hey.” Paul caught her arm and drew her closer to him. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?” He moved her hand to his crotch and she felt his raging hard-on. “Let’s fuck,” he murmured.

  Paul was one of the few guys she’d enjoyed having sex with, but right now the thought left her empty. “Not tonight.” She tried to back away, but he placed his hands on her buttocks and jerked her tight against him, causing her short skirt to ride up her ass. The odor of beer and stale breath nearly made her gag as he moved his mouth closer to her.

  Kara frowned, placed her hands against his chest, and tried to push him away. “I said not tonight, and I meant it.”

  “You want it,” he insisted, backing her against the door at the same time he reached for the doorknob. “You need a good fucking.”

  “Damn it, Paul.” Kara tried to push him off again, but he had her pinned too tightly. She was sure he wouldn’t force himself on her, but he was majorly pissing her off. “I said no.”

  A sudden glow haloed Paul’s hair as his lips neared hers. “Come on, babe, let’s—” His words were cut short. He was there and then he wasn’t, as if he’d been suddenly ripped away from her.

  Kara stumbled forward with the movement and barely kept herself from falling when she saw what had happened. A tall and intimidating man held Paul by the scruff of his neck.

  The man scowled and said in a voice that reverberated through the night, “Touch Kara again and I will slice your dick off at the balls.”

  Kara’s jaw dropped as she stared at the man who’d just peeled Paul off of her.

  It was Adan, the man from her dreams.

  The man who’d invaded her home last night.

  Chapter Two

  “What the fuck—” Paul was saying as he struggled to free himself from the man who held him at arm’s length.

  Adan. The name rolled around in Kara’s head as she stared at the tall and angry-looking warrior-god. He’s real. From the nearly waist-length dark hair to the sword hilt glinting from its sheath. The man was real.

  And what was even stranger was that she felt relief and excitement at seeing him, rather than fear, and her body went on full sexual alert. For cripe’s sake, this was the man who’d broken into her home last night. What was wrong with her?

  Adan tossed Paul onto Kara’s front lawn, a look of distaste on his dark features. Paul landed on his ass with a thump, then scrambled to his feet, his gaze darting from Kara to Adan.

  Paul seemed to come to his senses as he brushed his sandy hair out of his eyes. “Do you know this asshole, Kara? Are you going to be all right?”

  Adan growled.

  Kara raised an eyebrow at Paul. Even though she was confident he wouldn’t have raped her, she wasn’t in the mood for him. He had royally pissed her off by not taking the hint the first time. “Good night, Paul.”

  Even in the pale glow of the streetlight, she could see him flush. “Whatever,” he said and gave her a brush-off wave as he turned away.

  “Stay away from Kara,” Adan said in a low rumble to Paul’s back.

  Paul’s “Fuck off” rang clear through the night as he got to his Porsche, but he didn’t look back. Kara saw Adan clench his fists and his jaw and she knew only a fine rein on his control held him back from kicking Paul’s ass.

  “That went well.” Kara watched Paul drive off, the wheels of his sports car screeching before it shot into the night.

  When the street was quiet again, she turned her gaze back to the giant of a man standing just feet from her. He had his intense eyes focused on her again, and she felt another flush of desire from her nipples to her pussy.

  Now that she was alone with Adan again, she wasn’t so sure she was safe, yet she still felt no fear. Now she remembered everything from last night. From the time she watched him appear on the sidewalk until he’d put his hand to her forehead and made her fall asleep. How had he done that?

  “Thanks,” she finally said. But then her lips twisted into a frown. “Why are you back? What do you want with me?”

  Adan stepped within inches of her and she found herself backing up against the door again. Hell, he was tall. She was wearing her highest heels, yet he towered over her.

  He stopped and came no closer and murmured in that unusual accent, “I do not understand it, but I am drawn to you, Kara Marks.”

  She didn’t understand it, either, but right now she wanted to jump his bones. Everything about him attracted her, from the fire in his eyes to his long hair that flowed over his shoulders and down his back. He had an aura of power about him, yet gentleness, too. And damn, but he smelled good.

  “I’m losing it.” Kara sighed and shook her head. “Come in and we’ll talk.” She turned her back to him as she slipped the keys out of the lock and dropped them into her purse.

  The last thing Adan wanted to do was talk, but he gratefully followed Kara into her home and shut the door behind him. The beautiful woman looked nervous yet confident all at once. She flicked on the lights then raised her chin and led him from the door into the finely decorated living room. She headed through the arched entryway into the kitchen, her heels clicking along the tile. He didn’t know why the sword had drawn him to her again, or why he couldn’t stay away. He just knew he had to be near her.

  “Why did I remember you when I saw you, but not before?” she asked as she walked.

  “I used thoughtpower to unlock your memories.”

  She glanced over her shoulder. “What about Paul? Why did you let him remember you?”

  Adan shrugged. “He did not see me appear, and I used thoughtpower to ensure that he thought me only one of your suitors.”

  “Talented,” she murmured.

  As she strolled ahead of him, he watched the sway of her hips and her honey-blonde curls brushing her shoulders. She was a beautiful creature and just the thought of being more intimate with her made him so hard he could barely breathe.

  “Have a seat.” She gestured toward a dining table as she tossed her purse onto a countertop and shrugged out of her leather jacket. “Would you like something to drink? How about a wine cooler?” She dumped the jacket on the counter beside the purse and eyed him. “You look more the Jack Daniels type, though.”

  “No.” He closed the few feet between them and she gave a soft gasp as he caught her by her shoulders. “I want you.”

  Kara’s heart pounded as she stared into his black eyes. Challenge filled his gaze as he just watched her, as if waiting for her to take the next step. His mere touch made her want him so badly her panties dampened more than they already were. “Well that’s getting right to the point.”

  He brought his face closer to hers. “I want to know you.”

  She caught her breath, unsure whether to let him kiss her or to punch him in the jaw. Clearing her throat, Kara backed away and he let his palms slide down her arms to her hands. He caught her in his grip and gently squeezed.

  The way he held her hands and looked at her made Kara feel as if he had decided he owned her. That same flush coursed her, a glittering sensation throughout her body, but she did her best to ignore it. She cocked her head to one side. “Well then, tell me who you are.”

  Frowning, he gripped her hands tighter. “Love, I have no doubt you would not believe me.”

  “Who the hell are you to decide what I will or won’t believe?” She jerked her hands away from him and scowled. “You’re definitely different. You can appear out of nowhere and you carry a sword. What’s not to believe?”

  “All right.” Adan nodded and his look remained serious. “I am a knight from the future, nearly a thousand years from now.”

  Trying to absorb w
hat he was telling her, Kara leaned back against the counter and crossed her arms tight against her chest. Okay, so he was certifiable—the guy was freaking nuts.

  Yet she had seen him appear out of thin air…although that glow could have been an illusion.

  Kara shook her head. “You can’t have traveled through time. It’s not possible.”

  He smirked, no doubt from the fact that she hadn’t believed him after all. “It was not possible in your time. Not even in mine.” Adan’s gaze never wavered from her as he spoke. “But we now live upon a planet where the people have that capability.”

  “So you’re telling me,” she said slowly, “that you’re from the future and that you live on another planet.”

  He nodded.

  Taking a deep breath, she counted to ten and then let it out in a deep sigh as she ruffled her curls. “Jeez. Couldn’t you just be some normal guy instead of Mr. Nut Case?”

  “Thoughtpower did not evolve until approximately six hundred years from now.” Adan held out his hand, his palm up. “Perhaps you will believe this.”

  Kara’s knees nearly gave out as she watched her purse rise from the countertop and float toward his hand. When it landed on his hand she reached out and took it from him. It was real and solid with no strings attached.

  “Okeydokey.” She brought the purse tight to her chest and swallowed. “So you can pop in from the future, you have mind-powers, and you’re totally hot. We’re a match made in heaven.”

  The corner of Adan’s mouth quirked into a grin and she thought she’d never seen a sexier man in her life. “And what are your powers, enchantress?”

  “I’m a hell of a loan agent, a workaholic, I’m a little artsy, and I have curls like springs.” She set her purse aside and her gaze returned to Adan’s. “Other than that, my life is pretty dull.”

  “You are anything but dull, Kara Marks,” he murmured and caught her chin in his hand. “Do we know one another well enough that I might kiss you now?”