Page 50 of Kidnapped from the Paradise Resort

“I do not speak of your ex-mate—he was wrong for you,”the Goddess informed her.“The one I sent to you is J’orn.”

“But…but he’s too young for me!” Kara protested. “I mean I like him—I think I might even be falling in love with him,” she added, admitting it out loud for the first time, both to herself and to the Goddess. “But I don’t know what he’ll think of me now, after…” She broke off, blushing.

“You need have no shame for what happened between the two of you, Daughter,”the Goddess assured her gently.“None of it was your fault and J’orn will not think less of you for it. He will still love you with his whole heart.”

“But he’s too young for me!” Kara protested. “He might be happy with me for a little while, but then he’ll see someone he likes who’s younger and he’ll leave me!”

“Fear is the stumbling block between you and the love I have planned for you,”the Goddess told her.“You must trust in yourself and in J’orn, Daughter. His love for you will be constant. Once your Bond is formed, you will understand.”The Goddess’s voice was soft but persuasive.“Do not let fear hold you back from a love that knows no boundaries.”

Kara sighed wistfully.

“A love that knows no boundaries—that sounds beautiful,” she admitted.

“And so it is—if you allow yourself to experience it,”the Goddess assured her.“Trust me and leave your fear behind.”

“I’ll try,” Kara promised. “But how…how do I even get started? I mean, I’ve rejected J’orn so many times. I don’t even know how to go about talking to him now.”

“You will find the words to say,”the Goddess assured her.“Let your heart guide you. Farewell, my Daughter. I have faith in you.”

“…making our final approach to the Kindred Mother Ship,” a loud voice blared from overhead, waking her and shattering the dream. “I repeat, we are about to dock with the Kindred Mother Ship. Please be certain you are buckled in your seat.”

The dream faded completely and Kara blinked her eyes, wondering what had just happened. All she could remember was that she’d had a strange dream—something about someone talking to her and telling her that J’orn loved her. Telling her she should trust him…and trust herself.

Could that be right? Had she really had a dream that told her what to do? Or was it just wishful thinking because of the way she was falling for the big Kindred?

Kara had no idea. But she did know one thing—she had a lot to think about before she saw J’orn again.

33

J’ORN

J’orn took a deep breath as he stepped up to the door of Kara’s suite aboard the Mother Ship. It had been a full twenty-four hours since he’d put her on the Shuttle and he hoped she’d had a good night’s sleep and some time to recover from her ordeal. He gripped the handle of her carry-all cube in one hand tightly. It contained her belongings and was his excuse for coming to see her, one last time.

He was sure this would be the last time because of how roughly he had used her. He’d lost control and forgotten how fragile she was—humans were so delicate compared with the Kindred—especially the human females. The marks he’d made on her hips when he gripped her and the way he’d pounded into her, using her like a whore?—

J’orn tried to push the image away. He was ashamed of himself—and angry that he’d lost control. He’d taken some of his fury out on the bastards who had sold Kara to the brothel, but much of it still remained.

“Brother Nono” was rotting in the swamp behind the Fem Lovely resort. As for “Lady Winthrip” she was currently experiencing the exact same treatment she’d had planned for Kara.

J’orn refused to kill a woman, but he’d had no problem delivering her to one of the brothels in the Red Light district. Let her feel the terror that Kara must have felt—and learn the horror that she had inflicted on the woman he loved and so many others.

Before J’orn had broken his neck, Nono had admitted to selling dozens of hapless women to the brothels to be used, abused, and ultimately killed. He’d sworn that he and Gaela were the only ones in the kidnapping ring. Apparently they always worked together—posing as a couple in some way to lure an innocent, unsuspecting woman into their clutches and then deliver her for a price to The Exotic Beauty Lounge.

The kidnapping ring was now broken and so his job on Paradise Prime was finished. He had nothing more to do but return Kara’s belongings and ask her forgiveness…and then promise never to bother her again. His heart ached at the thought, but he was pretty sure that was going to be how things went.

He just hoped she would open the door to him. He wanted to see her one last time before he left her alone forever.

34

KARA

The sound of her door chime startled Kara. It was the second time she’d had someone at the door today and the first time she’d gotten a very strange delivery.

“What is that thing?” she’d asked as the two Twin Kindred warriors came into her suite, carrying a piece of furniture between them. It looked like an odd kind of rocking chair. Or maybe more like a glider-type chair, she thought, as she watched it move smoothly as they sat it down in the middle of her living room area.

“Special delivery for Kara, suite 12956,” one of them said, reading off a translucent clipboard with glowing red letters on it. “That’s you, right?”

“Well…yes. But I didn’t order any kind of rocking chair!” she protested. “I certainly didn’tpayfor it.”

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