KW- The Krinar's Obsession Read online

  “You are kind of old to be in college.”

  Great, his driver was a chatty kind of guy.

  Ralen was annoyed until he realized the driver might be an asset in what humans called a stakeout.

  Wanting to get his attention, he replied, “I’m way older than you might think.”

  The old guy peered at him through the rearview mirror, and Ralen let his Krinar identity shine through his eyes.

  “Do you know what I am?”

  “You’re one of them Krinars, aren’t you? What do you want from me?”

  Ralen instantly admired the driver because he didn’t cower like so many other humans he encountered.

  Hoping to put him at ease, Ralen kept talking. “All I need is for you to get me close to the entrance of the bookstore, then let me sit here and watch. You’ll be compensated for doing so.”

  Their eyes met in the mirror, and to his credit, the driver didn’t flinch.

  “What are you looking for?”

  Ralen tried to keep the growl out of his voice. “One of your males has something of mine. I want her back.”

  A look of alarm crossed his new friend’s face, so Ralen reached in his pocket and pulled out the Earth money he was carrying. Counting out three one-hundred-dollar bills, he pushed his hand through the small opening in the plexiglass separating him from the driver.

  “For your cooperation.”

  Taking Ralen’s bribe/gift, the cabbie placed it in his wallet and asked, “What do they look like?”

  At that point, Ralen knew he had the driver’s loyalty.

  Swiftly, he described both Jessie and Edgar, then settled in to watching for the couple.

  The door to the NYU library opened, revealing a laughing couple with their arms wrapped around each other’s waists. Ralen knew it was Jessie and Edgar before he could even see their faces. He would know Jessie’s body anywhere.

  Hidden in the confines of the cab, Ralen studied the couple for several seconds. They were oblivious to everyone around them, never noticing he was watching them from a parked car, close to where they were standing.

  Their body language was utterly comfortable, nothing like the awkwardness he had seen in their hug at Jessie’s apartment.

  Ralen could see a deeper bond had formed between them.

  Fuck. He wanted Jessie, and if Ralen was truthful with himself, he needed her.

  How could he make it work? Korum had hinted he might support him, should “an attraction” take place between them. Except he made it entirely clear it must be mutual.

  Ralen knew Jessie wasn’t immune to him. However, she was fighting it because of her attachment to Edgar.

  There was only one solution to this problem. Edgar had to be removed from the equation. With him out of the way, Jessie would feel free to act on the chemistry between them.

  Excitement grew within him as he realized he could have her, exactly as he wanted.

  At that moment, Edgar leaned down and passionately kissed Jessie, causing the previous excitement to turn into blood-boiling rage akin to hot lava overflowing from a volcano.

  Without any sense of self-preservation, Ralen threw the door open and was out of the car before he had time to logically think through his next steps. He only had one thought circulating in his limbic brain. No one touched what was his!

  “Sir, don’t you want your change?”

  The cabbie’s voice filtered through the anger, bringing Ralen back to the present. Had he reached Edgar, he would have torn him limb from limb not only in front of Jessie but all of New York due to humans and their fixation on recording everything and uploading it to YouTube.

  Thankful to his savior, he reached in and gave him another hundred-dollar bill.

  “I appreciate your help. No change needed.”

  Extending his hand in thanks, the old man replied, “I don’t care what people say about you K’s. You’ve been very kind. I won’t forget it.”

  Ralen shook his hand, and then closed the door behind him. Just as he was about to leave, his advanced Krinar hearing picked up Jessie inviting Edgar to come home with her and him accepting.

  The time had come to neutralize the problem.

  Making himself turn away, Ralen jogged toward the building where he originally landed. Thinking of his new friend calling him, “kind,” had his lips twisting cynically.

  Somehow, he doubted anyone would give him that label ever again once he got rid of Edgar and kidnapped Jessie.

  Jessie

  Jessie responded as Edgar kissed her with more passion than he had ever shown before. She was thrilled to feel a spark between them because he had always been so reserved in the past. Though she never voiced her fears, she had been worried they were good friends who kissed occasionally.

  Yes, there were sparks, but nothing like what you’ve experienced with Ralen.

  Shut up! Ralen is not an option, Edgar is my future.

  Jessie shook her head slightly. Now, she was fighting with herself internally over Ralen, again!

  As if to make a point to herself, she cuddled into Edgar. “Want to come home with me? I can make something for dinner. We could watch a movie or whatever.”

  Edgar smiled, “I’m good with dinner…and whatever.”

  Butterflies took flight in Jessie’s stomach as she realized he was referring to sex or at least fooling around. Jessie wasn’t sure if she was ready for that yet. She wasn’t a virgin, but she was extremely selective in who she let into her body, so the number of men she’d been with was quite small.

  “We better get going then. Do you want to take the subway this time?”

  “No, the Uber driver is waiting for me to let him know when we’re ready to leave.”

  “Ok, then, I’m ready if you are.”

  Edgar pulled out his phone and contacted the driver who pulled up to the curb in minutes.

  Soon, they were on their way back to her apartment. Jessie and Edgar held hands, grinning like crazy at each other, both anticipating the upcoming evening.

  “Oh no, Edgar, I need to stop at a market. Do we have time? This ride must be costing you a fortune.”

  Their driver spoke up, “No worries. Edgar helped me out a while back, so I’m returning the favor by driving you two around today.”

  “You’re such a good guy, Edgar.”

  Edgar blushed at Jessie’s compliment, muttering, “It was no big deal.”

  Not wanting to make him uncomfortable, she switched gears. “What would you like to eat tonight? I was thinking of grilling some Portobello mushrooms with Asiago cheese and red onions.”

  “You have a grill in your apartment?”

  Jessie grinned, “No, silly, not a real grill. You know, like a George Foreman type grill except it’s an off-brand model. It works great though, and I use it all the time.”

  “Cool. So, what do you need at the market?”

  “I’ve got the mushrooms, I need the cheese and onions. And if you want dessert, I can make a zucchini cake. You would never know it was made of vegetables, it tastes so good.”

  “Anything you want, Jessie. All of it sounds amazing.”

  Squeezing his hand in gratitude, Jessie was so glad she made the right decision.

  Edgar was a great guy, and while the sparks she felt may not be the encompassing fireworks, Ralen caused her to feel anytime he was in the vicinity, she was happy with him.

  More importantly, they were happy with each other and nothing else mattered.

  Ralen

  Ralen landed the pod on top of his apartment building, yet rather than unbuild it, he kept the cloaking feature enabled and climbed out. He would need the pod later for when he and Jessie made their escape and didn’t want to risk precious minutes building a new one.

  Once, in his apartment, he took a quick look around to see if there was anything he needed. No, he would leave it all behind. He had a fabricator and could create anything they needed.

  Grabbing the device, he closed the door behind him an
d made his way to Jessie’s apartment. While taking the stairs, he activated the recording device in her apartment and ascertained, no one was there.

  Still not wanting to take a chance, he leaned against the door, using his enhanced Krinar hearing to make sure he was correct. When he was satisfied, he gave the knob a hard turn, releasing the lock, and stepped in.

  Jessie had no idea when she asked him to “fix her door,” he had made it easily accessible for him to enter her apartment when she wasn’t around. He hadn’t worried about anyone breaking in because humans didn’t possess the same strength as Krinar’s, therefore, they could have never released the lock.

  Stepping inside, the air was cool and scented with citrus, a scent he would forever associate with Jessie.

  Ralen walked through the small apartment, looking for the best place to wait until Jessie and Edgar arrived.

  He decided he would take a seat on her sofa and wait. He wasn’t going to hide like a criminal. Besides, it was best to get it all over with quickly rather than attract a lot of unwanted attention.

  While he waited, Ralen realized he was going against a direct order from Commander Jakar and Councilor Korum. He was content to lose his Guardian career to have Jessie. However, he was aware there were more severe repercussions such as mind rehabilitation if he could not make Jessie want him.

  Making Jessie love him or at least want to stay with him was the key to this whole situation. While Jakar might want to kill him, Ralen was counting on the fact Korum would be pleased if his charl’s best friend was happy because in turn, Mia would be and that was all Korum was concerned with.

  He knew he was building a shaky house of cards and one wrong move would send everything tumbling down.

  While he hated the idea of having his mind taken from him, the one positive aspect would be not remembering Jessie. If he couldn’t have her, then he would suffer less not knowing she existed.

  Time moved slowly until Ralen saw the deadbolt turning and heard voices at the door.

  From the location of her sofa, Ralen knew he wouldn’t be in sight until one of them closed the door +and then it would be too late.

  Standing quickly, he pulled out his Nano-blast weapon and went into battle mode, prepared to take out his nemesis and whisk Jessie away from New York.

  “Edgar, I’ve got to run to the restroom. Can you set the bags down on the counter? I’ll take care of them when I get through.”

  “That’s fine, Jessie. And while you’re in there, I’ll unload the bags…”

  Edgar’s voice stuttered out as he spotted Ralen holding a gun.

  Jessie was much more verbal. “What the fuck are you doing in my apartment, Ralen?! And what’s that in your hand? Have you lost your mind?”

  Ralen knew he had to make his next move quickly.

  Ralen stepped over to Jessie, pushing her behind him.

  While Ralen was distracted, Edgar rushed him. Instantly, Ralen resurrected his invisible shield, making sure to keep it at its lowest strength, one which would only stun Edgar rather than kill him.

  The moment Edgar touched him, he fell to the floor, twitching as if he was zapped by a human stun gun.

  Jessie shrieked, beating on his back.

  “What have you done? Oh my god, you killed him!”

  Ralen turned, grabbing her fists and pulled her to him. “He’s not dead. He’s unconscious because he grabbed me when my shield was up. Be glad I had it at the lowest strength or his body would be fried.”

  “Why, Ralen? Tell me why you’re doing this?” Jessie pleaded with him, tears pouring down her cheeks.

  Dispassionately, Ralen answered, “He was in the way.”

  “In. the. way?” Jessie stared at him as if he was a psychopath.

  Hating the way, she was looking at him, he tried to explain. “I’ve been given orders to return to Krina. The Resistance is no longer a threat. You no longer need protecting.”

  “Then why are you doing this?”

  “Because you’re mine and I’m not leaving without you.”

  “Ralen, you’re crazy. I’m not going to Krina with you!”

  No, she wasn’t, and he wasn’t either. He had nothing left to return to now. His Guardian career was sure to be over once Jakar found out he disobeyed a direct order.

  “We’re not going to Krina, we’re going to Kauai.”

  “You’re completely insane. I’m not going with you anywhere, Ralen. And you can bet, the next time Mia calls me, I’m going to speak to Korum about what you’ve done.”

  Ralen and Jessie were locked in a staring contest, waiting to see who was going to blink first.

  Knowing they needed to get going, Ralen pointed his gun at Edgar. “If you don’t, then I will kill him. Right now, he’s only going to wake up with a headache, but we need to be gone when he does.”

  “You’re not thinking, Ralen. Do you really believe he’s going to wake up, walk out my door, and never tell anyone what you did to him? Even you can’t be that arrogant?”

  “I’ll take care of it. Now, go and get your purse. We need to leave.”

  “No, not until you tell me what you’re going to do.”

  Ralen sighed, knowing his next words were going to make her hate him. “I’m going to make him forget either of us existed. He will have no memory of what happened or why he was in this apartment.”

  “I hate you,” Jessie yelled viciously.

  “Yeah, I figured you would. Now, go.”

  Jessie left the room with a mutinous expression, letting Ralen know the extent of her anger.

  Left standing over Edgar’s body, Ralen wondered if was indeed crazy. Had he gone too far?

  He didn’t have time to figure it out. Pulling a device out of his pocket, he placed it on Edgar’s forehead. This version was much less powerful than the ones used in mind rehabilitation.

  Laira had given the prototype to the Guardians in case they were in a situation where they needed someone to forget their involvement. Ralen liked this model even better than the original because it allowed the user to pinpoint what memories they wanted to remove.

  Ralen had already programmed it to remove his and Jessie’s existence as well as the last seventy-two hours from Edgar’s memory. He hoped it would be enough to keep Edgar from ever revealing what happened in Jessie’s apartment.

  “Are you done terrorizing my boyfriend’s brain?” Jessie stomped into the room, carrying a tote bag and her purse.

  Without answering, he removed the device and held out his hand to Jessie, “Give me your bag.”

  Smiling sweetly at him, she answered, “Drop dead.”

  Ralen ignored the jibe. “Let’s go.”

  “At least put him on the sofa, Ralen. Don’t leave him on the floor like a dead body.”

  Closing his eyes and sighing, Ralen wished he could use the device on Jessie and make her forget Edgar as well as her hatred of himself.

  “Fine. Then, you and I are going to the roof and getting out of here.” Ralen’s frustration threatened to boil over at her behavior.

  Pocketing the device still hidden in his hand, he leaned down and hefted Edgar over his shoulder. Placing him on her sofa, he looked back at Jessie. “Would you like for me to get him a pillow and a blanket too?”

  He knew she was about to say yes, whether literally or sarcastically and Ralen wasn’t waiting around to find out.

  Opening the door, he motioned for Jessie to precede him, which she did with a flounce and a lot of angry muttering.

  “Why are we going to the roof?”

  Ralen didn’t answer, he pushed the rooftop door open and stepped over to the pod, releasing the uncloaking device.

  “Holy shit! Are we really going all the way to Hawaii in that thing?”

  “Yes, we’ll be there in minutes if you would get inside and take a seat. How are we going to get in, Einstein, there’s no door?”

  As if it heard her words, the pod’s wall disappeared, creating an opening for them to board.

/>   Looking slightly afraid, Jessie climbed in and sat down on one of the floating benches.

  “Hey, what’s it doing to my butt?”

  Ralen had to grin at her question. “It’s conforming to the shape of your ass. The technology makes for the most comfortable seats in the world.”

  “Great. That’s just what I need, a seat in the shape of my giant ass.”

  He decided not to touch that subject. Instead, he climbed in after Jessie and settled himself to fly.

  Ralen waved his hand, and the pod closed up, then lifted into the air, taking them away from everyone who would try to keep them apart.

  Jessie

  Jessie and Ralen arrived in an isolated part of the island of Kauai. As they exited the pod, the sun was beaming down, confusing her, until she remembered the state of Hawaii was six hours behind New York City.

  The entire trip had taken minutes, yet she had flown almost five thousand miles in less time than it took to walk down the stairs of her apartment building.

  Fear and anger seized Jessie when she remembered what happened in her apartment. Shame was even more prevalent, knowing Edgar was lying on her sofa and would wake with no memory of how he got there or who’s home he was in.

  “Come on, Jessie, we need to go this way.”

  Jessie scowled at the overly bossy, obviously insane yet gorgeous alien who had decided she was his.

  “I’m only following you because I’m exhausted and have no idea where I am, other than somewhere on the island of Kauai.”

  Ralen only grunted, which served to piss her off even further.

  A short time later, they arrived at a small yellow cottage set back in a copse of trees, facing the beach. As angry as she was, Jessie had to admit it was gorgeous. The porch extended out with steps leading to the front door, and the front windows faced the incredible view of the beach.

  Following Ralen up the steps, she entered an open concept room, which included the living room, eating area, and kitchen.

  Forgetting everything for a moment, she walked around, touching everything while exclaiming over the beauty of the little house.

  Ralen stayed quiet while she explored, then guided her to a bedroom. This room was just as fantastic as the rest of the cottage, and she exclaimed over all the decor, trying to ignore the massive wooden platform bed taking up most of the space.