Illicit

By Marteeka Karland

Gabrielle is willing to risk her life for a future away from a dying Earth, even if it means giving herself to a man she’s never met. With her best friend Lyra, she takes the leap, volunteering to help the alien Cluath repopulate their world. Bacia is determined to end the violence on Lunar Colony 1, but when she’s captured by mercenaries, she fears she’ll be blindsided by her undeniable attraction to the handsome stranger, Jaxon.

When Lyra’s captured, Kil vows he will get her back, no matter what. Now Kil has to save his brother and protect LC1 from invasion while winning the confidence of a woman who trusts no one. Drac doesn’t expect one of the mercenaries threatening LC1 to offer him a bribe he can’t refuse. Celestine doesn’t count on falling in love with the dreaded Cluath warrior.

Their passions blaze hot, but without trust, doubt will burn through them all. Will their illicit love be enough to bring down a conspiracy and save both their worlds?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Changeling Press
• Release date: Apr 22, 2023
• ISBN: 9780759602441

Marteeka Karland

Erotic romance author by night, emergency room tech/clerk by day, Marteeka Karland works really hard to drive everyone in her life completely and totally nuts. She has been creating stories from her warped imagination since she was in the third grade. Her love of writing blossomed throughout her teenage years until it developed into the totally unorthodox and irreverent style her English teachers tried so hard to rid her of. Want to see what's up with Marteeka? Website www.marteekakarland.com Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/735869533214213/ Facebook Page: facebook.com/experiencethemagicmk/ E-mail at [e-mail] Blog: marteekasdreams.com BookBub: bookbub.com/profile/marteeka-karland Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Marteeka-Karland/e/B004FZT1IS

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Illicit

Marteeka Karland

All rights reserved.

Copyright ©2023 Marteeka Karland

BIN: 07596-02449

Second Edition

Formats Available:

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Publisher:

Changeling Press LLC

315 N. Centre St.

Martinsburg, WV 25404

www.ChangelingPress.com

Editor: Katriena Knights

Cover Artist: Marteeka Karland

Adult Sexual Content

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Table of Contents

Illicit

Illicit Mating

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Illicit Sex

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Illicit Craving

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Epilogue

Illicit Love

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Marteeka Karland

Illicit

Marteeka Karland

Gabrielle is willing to risk her life for a future away from a dying Earth, even if it means giving herself to a man she’s never met. With her best friend Lyra, she takes the leap, volunteering to help the alien Cluath repopulate their world. Bacia is determined to end the violence on Lunar Colony 1, but when she’s captured by mercenaries, she fears she’ll be blindsided by her undeniable attraction to the handsome stranger, Jaxon.

When Lyra’s captured, Kil vows he will get her back, no matter what. Now Kil has to save his brother and protect LC1 from invasion while winning the confidence of a woman who trusts no one. Drac doesn’t expect one of the mercenaries threatening LC1 to offer him a bribe he can’t refuse. Celestine doesn’t count on falling in love with the dreaded Cluath warrior.

Their passions blaze hot, but without trust, doubt will burn through them all. Will their illicit love be enough to bring down a conspiracy and save both their worlds?

Illicit Mating

Marteeka Karland

The need to save his species brought them together. Will corruption and intrigue tear them apart?

Gabrielle is willing to risk her life for a future away from a dying Earth, even if it means giving herself over to a man she’s never met. With her best friend Lyra, she takes the leap, volunteering to help the alien Cluath repopulate their world.

Worr of Cluath has his own misgivings about Gabrielle. But she proves to be just as formidable an opponent as anyone he’s ever faced. Their passion proves volatile, their quickly formed bond becoming the first line of defense when mysterious forces attack the lunar colony Worr is pledged to protect.

Chapter One

Are you sure about this? Gabrielle followed her best friend and resident lunatic into the Georgia Dome where testing facilities had been established for the visitors from Cluath, a distant and dying world.

Of course I’m sure! This is our future, our one chance to get outta here, Gabby. Grab it with both hands.

Somehow, hearing Lyra say it was way more exciting than actually committing to leaving Earth. Gabrielle was as adventurous as the next gal, but this was one Southern Belle who wasn’t so sure this was the adventure for her.

I still think there’s got to be another way. Lyra might be her best friend, but she was impulsive sometimes. Gabrielle wasn’t altogether certain she’d thought this through carefully.

What other way? There’s nowhere left to go. Well, except maybe the Antarctic, and even that’s getting overcrowded. Besides, it’s melting. If they stayed on Earth, they’d eventually starve to death. There was no land left to farm and nothing seemed to grow, anyway. The rationing was bad enough as it was, with the majority of their intake being a Spam-like meat and canned beans. What do you think’s going to happen when the food reserves run out? We’ve got one chance to get off this rock. I have no problem having babies on another planet if they’ll feed us.

Your mom would have a fit if she knew you were here. You know the church is completely against this.

Lyra snorted. Which one?

All of them were against it, and they were in the heart of the Bible Belt. They’d probably be burned at the stake for witchcraft or consorting with the devil or something. Gabrielle didn’t want to think about what would happen if some religious zealot decided to pay them all a visit. They’d probably try to blow up the place.

Lyra shrugged. They can stay if they want. Personally, I’m into living. A long time. With a full belly.

And many fat, healthy alien babies. But Gabrielle didn’t say that part out loud. Look at all these people! We’re going to be here for days just to make it to the testing process. Do we really have time for this?

Gabby, there’s free food while we’re here. Besides, we’re unemployed. What else do we have to do?

Look at this. Gabrielle thumped the questionnaire they were both working on. Last employer. Reason for leaving. Ahh… computer hackers. Got busted for insider trading when the great investment firm of Jackson, Jackson, and Lee went under in the great crash. Never mind we were doing what we were hired to do. Now no one will touch us.

Shh! Try for something more… diplomatic. We’ve got degrees from MIT -- ought to be good for something. We list ourselves as cyber investigators. We never got arrested, and no one’s working in this economy.

I suppose you’re right. But do we really want to do this? I mean, what if these Cluath people are horrible? Once we’re off the planet -- even under the jurisdiction of Earth or the Moon or Mars -- what protection do we really have?

Would you rather stay here and starve? If I have a choice, I’d rather meet death on my own terms. Lyra had that hard look Gabby remembered from their trader days. Gabrielle might worry, but Lyra could manage on her own.

Then Lyra grinned, looking devilish and mischievous. Besides, have you heard the rumors?

You mean about the sex?

I’ve heard they can give a woman multiple orgasms. A few of the women who’ve come back for visits have let it be known they’ve never had a human lover to compare, Lyra whispered, like it was a big secret or something.

The rumor was widely known and was probably the main reason most of the women in the Georgia Dome were there. For a computer geek, you think about sex more than any woman I’ve ever known. Gabrielle tried to sound stern, but she was on the verge of a really good belly laugh, and it was hard to chastise her friend.

Hey! Geeks need love too. Personally, I plan to find out what all the fuss is about. Besides, look at where the men of Earth have gotten us. Nowhere. We’ve both dated just about every type of guy a woman could conceive of. Tell me even one of them really satisfied you.

Gabrielle sighed. I’ll admit my sex life hasn’t exactly been cream of the crop lately.

I’m not just talking about sex. I’m talking about every single man either of us has ever dated has turned out to be a complete shithead. Tell me you’ve met even one man you even thought about spending the rest of your life with. Ever.

Well, there was Brad. I was completely in love with him.

And he was already married. Something he neglected to tell you.

That had been a particularly dark time for Gabrielle. From that point on, she’d used every one of the considerable computer resources at her fingertips to vet any man she dated. Unfair? Probably. But if one of them was going to try to play her again, she’d damned well know about it before she fell in love. Good point. Just promise me, if we make it past the selection process, we’ll try to stay together. I don’t want to do this alone. I’m not as brave as you are.

Lyra flashed her a quick smile, dispelling the mantle of ice as quickly as it had formed. Don’t worry. We’ll make it a condition. Surely we can find some kind of binding solution with these guys. Every advanced society has its own values of what crosses the line of trust. We just have to find it and use it to our advantage.

Gabrielle hoped Lyra was right.

* * *

Those two. Worr indicated on the monitor. Zoom in. Amplify.

Would you rather stay here and starve to death? If I have a choice, I’d rather meet death on my own terms.

Good point. Just promise me, if we make it past the selection process, we’ll try to stay together. I don’t want to do this alone. I’m not as brave as you are.

In the months since the selection process had begun, Worr had seen every male and female physical type this planet had to offer. Diverse as it was, their overall psychic make up was relatively limited. Everyone wanted something. The reasons anyone would volunteer for the undertaking the Cluath were asking of them were usually one of three. Wealth. Power. Desperation. These women seemed to fall into the latter, but not quite.

Especially the one called Lyra. That woman had a vicious streak. Maybe not physically, but just the look in her eyes could cut a man to shreds if he wasn’t careful. No. She was more Kil’s style. His brother would enjoy the challenge. Worr was more interested in the other one.

She wore typical fashion for the area -- jeans and a loose-fitting blouse. But she was curvy where many of the women here were thinner. Even her friend wasn’t as generously built as Gabby. Somehow, that name didn’t fit her. He frowned. Would she be strong enough?

His mind lingered on their conversation and the man she’d named Brad. If the man had played with her heart -- and it sounded very much like he had -- winning her trust wouldn’t be easy. Looking at the woman, with her large, dark eyes and wealth of chestnut curls, Worr couldn’t imagine anyone intentionally hurting her. Especially when she smiled. Something Worr had thought long dead seemed to melt and puddle at his feet like so much goo when he saw that smile. Then he looked at all that hair and thought about what it would feel like sliding through his fingers…

Great Mother! He needed to get a grip. But the more he watched her the more fascinated he became.

Earth’s inhabitants had a variety of coloring. Where Cluath’s people were generally deeply tanned and dark headed, people of Earth could have skin as dark as night or so white it appeared to glow under the sun. Hair color had the same range, but included rich browns, golds, and even orange. And every variety in between. And that wasn’t counting those who chose to enhance their looks with chemicals and dyes.

Gabby had long, rich, earthen tresses that spiraled down her back in unruly curls. Her skin was a golden tan, as if she’d spent a good deal of time in the sun. She wasn’t a breathtaking beauty, but she was striking. The kind of woman a man could come home to seek his pleasure from, yet not surrender his heart to. She wasn’t thin like most of Earth’s women either. Generous hips and breasts were molded lovingly by her clothing. He’d never seen a woman quite so… plump. He frowned. She was odd-looking at best. Maybe.

At least, that was his first impression. Then he let his mind wander to how all those curves would look in red lace and black satin sheets…

Well. He wasn’t going there. He would find a mate for himself and his brother. They would do their time building the lunar and Mars colonies, then take their women and leave. He was looking for practicality. Having a woman as sexy as that vision entailed wasn’t part of the priority. All that was required was that she be physically compatible with him, and fertile. Everything else would work itself out. Or not. It mattered little to him.

Unfortunately, once he got the visual in his head, it was damned hard to let it go. This instant attraction blindsided him like a punch to the gut. And lower. It had been a really long time since a woman had affected him like this, and he hadn’t even met her yet. This was getting complicated.

Let them go through the process. Once they’re done, have them wait. Don’t let them leave. Assuming they pass, I will have a few tests of my own.

Should I alert the commander then?

Worr thought about that for a moment. Good question. If he did, Kil would undoubtedly find every reason why this was a horrible idea. He’d do something to offend one or both of the women and they’d be gone. Worr had a feeling this was their chance. Assuming the two women didn’t quit once they figured out why there was a personality profile done on them.

Every man or woman who applied for the program was mentally and physically screened. Their home world of Cluath had been all but destroyed by biological and chemical warfare a generation before. It had taken many years before the totality of the devastation had been known, but with their extensive transportation infrastructure, disease and chemicals had combined to form deadly combinations that had scattered over their entire planet. All the deadly bacteria had eventually been eradicated but the disaster left them with such a small gene pool, there was no way for them to survive their current generation without mixing with another race. So far, Earth seemed to have the only populace both genetically compatible and willing to intermingle with them. After all, the Cluath had been a feared race in the more densely populated inner systems of the quadrant. More than one planet was glad to see them fall from power.

Worr had studied every single profile on the thousands and thousands of people flooding into the Georgia Dome. He had used his tech implants to upload the information straight to his brain, filtering through the vast amount of data until he found what he sought. Seeing these two women interact in such a candid way only reinforced the notion -- they were what he needed. They should be compatible on a physical and intellectual level. With them wanting to stay together, Lyra would be agreeable to being with Kil. The women would have each other. The men would have the women. Problem solved.

No. I will interview the women myself. If they pass the trials and the interview goes well, I will notify Commander Kil. Worr walked out of the room knowing the soldier would follow his instructions to the letter.

* * *

The discernible path worn from the straight-backed chair at the nondescript interview table to the door she was locked behind made Gabrielle wonder how the floor had held up. She had paced back and forth so many times over the last hour, she was surprised they hadn’t marked her off the list completely. A battery of psychological tests was mandatory, after all. She’d thought she’d completed them all the day before, but maybe she’d been wrong. If this excessive waiting with not a word from anyone was part of the psych testing, she was failing miserably.

Just as she was about to pace to the door again and jiggle the knob just to make sure it was still locked, the thing opened. It took every ounce of self-control Gabrielle had not to squeal like a girl. She wanted to throw something at whoever walked through that door, but changed her mind quickly.

Mainly because she’d never seen a man who personified the term badass motherfucker quite as completely as the man entering the room. He looked human, but what did she really know about the Cluath, after all? They were helping Earth build colonies off world in exchange for… what? People? Women? She was, in effect, volunteering to be sold to the highest bidder. Kind of. What rights would she really have once she left Earth?

This has been a big mistake on my part, she blurted out before the man could say anything. She had to shove her hands behind her to keep from wringing them. Who could blame her? The Cluath were larger than most men she knew. Larger by quite a lot. Gabrielle might have come up to this one’s chest. If she were wearing heels. He was wearing some kind of leather armor, so it was hard to tell his body type, other than big, but the harsh angles of his face suggested there was little, if any, excess body fat on him. No beer belly for the man, that was for sure.

Please have a seat. He gestured to the chair, closing the door quietly and taking a seat opposite her with the table between them. He studied her then, as if looking for something, some clue she desperately didn’t want to give away.

Had it not been for the piercing, steel-gray eyes, he might have had a kind look about him. But those eyes seemed to drive into her soul, delving deep inside and ferreting out her darkest secrets. They gave the rest of his face a vaguely sinister quality that sent shivers down Gabrielle’s spine. Long, dark hair fell to his waist, pulled into braids to leave his face uncovered. The raven tresses gleamed shiny blue-black under the harsh overhead fluorescents, and Gabrielle found herself staring at the unique highlights instead of focusing entirely on the man.

You’ll be pleased to know you’ve passed the physical and mental requirements for the selection process to begin. He laid a moderately thick packet on the table between them and slid it slowly in her direction, never taking his eyes from her face. You’ll find your rights outlined in this packet. I’m sure you’ll want to read it thoroughly, but rest assured, you’ll find you have more rights and freedoms with us than you do here.

Gabrielle was spellbound by his soft, rich voice and penetrating eyes. She felt a little like what she imagined a mouse caught in a cobra’s stare might experience. Managing to moisten her lips slightly with the tip of her tongue, she murmured a thank you before dragging her gaze from his to the packet under his hand.

Tomorrow, he continued, you will begin the selection process, should you choose. However, I should tell you that you and your friend Lyra have been pre-selected. We are aware of your desire not to be separated and have a place we believe you’ll fit with nicely.

That got her attention. We’d be together?

He nodded, but hedged slightly. Most of the time. You’ll not live in the same dwelling, of course, but your… sponsors -- He used the term the Cluath had adopted instead of something more domestic sounding. -- are brothers and work closely together. They are never far from each other for long periods of time.

What if we hate it? Once we leave Earth, what guarantee do we have we’ll be brought back unharmed? What if you just keep putting us off and never let us go home?

He tapped the packet with one finger. It’s all in there, but the contract says you agree to stay six months barring any extenuating circumstances. After that, if you wish to come home, you will be brought immediately. With all haste. We only ask for six months to introduce you to our way of life and show you what you’ll be expected to know. It also gives you a specific time frame to adjust mentally to your new home. As with anything new, it can be overwhelming at first. Given a short amount of time, I am confident any anxiety you have will be overcome.

So, assuming we agree to this, then what? We just leave for your planet?

Cluath, he supplied. No. Not for the two of you. Your chosen have agreed to stay with a group of our finest engineers to establish your first lunar colony. The project may or may not be completed in the six months you have to decide. In the event it is not complete, you can still change your mind any time before you actually leave for Cluath. Otherwise, you’ll have the standard six months as outlined in the packet.

"You said we’d been chosen. Does that mean we have no say in who we decide to spend the next six months of our lives with?"

No. You either accept your chosen, or you will be placed back on the list of available candidates. Once you reject a chosen, that sponsor looks elsewhere, and you will not have the opportunity for him to select you again. He leaned back in his chair then, a casual ripple of his body in the leather armor. We are very good at the choosing, Gabrielle. We would not place you with a sponsor you had nothing in common with. I realize it’s a huge leap of trust on your part, but you came to us. No one forced you here. Give us just a little bit of faith until we prove we don’t deserve it.

Well, when he put it that way…

Chapter Two

Worr noted her display of nerves. Her hands shook ever so slightly, and her voice wavered. She twisted her hands in her lap when she couldn’t figure out what to do with them. For all his bravado about them being very good at the choosing, he was beginning to wonder if he’d misjudged this one. She was too timid to fare well on Cluath by herself. Hell, he wasn’t certain how she functioned by herself on this world.

Could he have been that wrong? She scored exceptionally high in intellect as well as ingenuity. Nothing they threw at her seemed to frustrate or fluster her. She simply worked at the problem until she’d solved it to her own satisfaction. Physically, she was above average. Not terribly strong, but agile nonetheless. She had even requested to repeat a couple of the tests as she figured out different ways of completing each task quicker or better. She wasn’t afraid to try new things or to learn from mistakes.

But this… Gabrielle was looking at him as if he might eat her for breakfast. And not in a good way, either. More like a small animal might a potential predator, never taking her eyes from him, never seeming to blink. It made his skin itch. It made him want to make sure he didn’t have something on his nose he needed to wipe off. At the same time, he wanted to pull her into his arms and assure her he wasn’t really a monster, that he would protect her. Take care of her. All the things men said to a woman that made the man look like a fool.

Damned woman.

With more force than strictly necessary, he shoved his chair back and stood. Poor Gabrielle squeaked and stood too, taking a couple of steps away from him. Worr tried not to scowl, but it was damned hard. This was the woman he thought to take as his mate, and she jumped like a scared golibear when he was near. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.

As if on cue, the door burst open and Lyra stalked across the room to grab Gabrielle’s hand. Come on, Gabby. We’re leaving.

I -- Lyra?

Is this one your ‘sponsor’? Lyra made quotes in the air with her fingers, lacing her words with more sarcasm than Worr had ever heard anyone use.

"I don’t think so. We didn’t actually get that far. Lyra, what are you doing?"

Lyra looked him up and down, as if he were some kind of maggot beneath her feet. He looks like the other one, and our sponsors are supposed to be brothers. I’m guessing he’s chosen you and just hasn’t bothered to get around to telling you yet.

Lyra Clover Davis! I refuse to go anywhere with you until you tell me what the hell is going on!

Okay, that got Worr’s attention. He stayed perfectly still, wanting to blend into the background so he didn’t disturb the exchange between the two women. This could very well prove he had, indeed, chosen wisely.

Except, about that time, Kil burst into the room. "I told you to stay put! Do you not listen to anything?"

The woman, Lyra, actually hissed at his brother. Hissed. Like an angry kalifel, all claws and teeth. She had her hands curled into fists and her lips parted to reveal those teeth.

"I told you this was a bad idea, Worr. No good could ever come of buying a