Lissi groaned and plopped down on the blanket beside Faye. She ruffled Boid's hair and smiled at his younger sister Aya's triumph in beating Faye in a card game. "My Chosen is hot as you say."

They all laughed. Truthfully none of them would think of crossing that sort of line. Faye and Sylvie loved their Chosens, men who'd sacrificed and proved time and again their love for the women at their side.

Sylvie, her best friend, had Arak. The half-shifter cuddled next to his mate any time they ended up in a room together. Joni thought it cute, though she wouldn't want a guy in her breathing space constantly. Faye, Joni considered the bravest. Her Chosen was Marenian by birth. Initially Joni kept a wary eye on Torkel Alonson, but he proved to be as honorable as he appeared. He had to be since he led the Jutak warriors, a team of elite soldiers. Military alien men with abilities a person could only imagine.

Joni bet there was more the men didn't share. Specifically those on Team Three or as Sylvie commonly referred to them, the 'scary as hell guys'. Joni agreed. Aside from Lissi's Chosen, Rydak, she made it a point to avoid Team Three. The rest of the men from Team One and Team Two made all of them feel more than welcome on a world where Earthlings were the aliens.

Enotia. If Joni had to end up on a planet not of her choosing, she couldn't have picked a better world than the one inhabited by the peace-loving Enotians. Sometimes it creeped her out that the majority of the populace was blond with blue eyes. But their openness made up for it.

"What are you over there thinking about so deeply?" Faye asked, as she reached into a basket and pulled out a container of what looked like dessert.

Food on Enotia was different, but Joni hadn't eaten anything not delicious. Especially since Sylvie often brought food from her Chosen's family restaurant. Arak's father should have his hands bronzed for the things he whipped up in the kitchen and sent over.

"Maybe she's thinking of Kyele. The guys have been gone for a week now," Sylvie chimed in with a knowing smirk.

Flushing, Joni threw a wadded up napkin at her. "You're the one missing your man."

"I am, too," Faye admitted, brown eyes dancing.

"Me, too." Lissi grinned. "I like when Rydak comes home after being away. His adrenaline needs an outlet."

"Boooo, hiss," Joni teased, not at all upset at their happiness.

After her experience with slavers, it felt good to relax and joke, though Joni didn't completely lower her guard while they picnicked outside the Jutak facility. The building offered the highest level of security for the men who lived here. Torkel had gone so far as to add more sensors and cameras after repeated attempts in the past to kidnap Faye. The man was crazy protective over her. Joni didn't know their full story but if Faye hinted at wanting something the Jutak leader made it happen.

Like finding Faye's friend Lindsey. Torkel used every resource and then some to make sure the Earth woman held hostage with Faye was eventually found. Joni bet he'd crossed a few lines and butted heads on that one, but it worked in the end and Lindsey's husbands happened to be powerful men in the political side on their world. Now the Jutaks had another source of funding for their specialized program.

Lissi snagged a piece of fruit and stretched out on her side. Today's picnic was for Lissi, who often admitted her fascination with Earth culture.

Joni believed it had more to do with the young Enotian not having many friends. Growing up with a Marenian brother, a father in the top secret military portion of the government and then Chosen to a soldier on an elite task force didn't lend itself to easy friendships. Not exactly things a girl could share with anyone.

"Kyele will make sure to stop in and see her. He always does when she's here," Sylvie commented as she rolled to her back to stare at the sky.

Kyele. Jutak warrior. No, more than that Joni corrected. He was the man who'd rescued her and her feelings had developed beyond gratitude. Still if there could be anything between them as Sylvie implied, Kyele wasn't helping. When possible the walking green-eyed temptation kept his distance from her. After the sparring match, she noticed his increased efforts. Joni wasn't stupid. Kyele had the potential to rip her heart out if she risked opening herself up.

When all of the men and women got together, his gaze always sought hers. He watched her with an intensity hard to ignore. And everyday it was getting more and more difficult to do so. But. And that was the biggest dilemma. He seemed reluctant to pursue the attraction they shared. Plus, everything about Kyele began with too.

Too handsome. Too intriguing. Too much.

"Nothing's going on between Kyele and me." All three women stared. Joni sat up and returned their look evenly. "Sure he's nice to look at." Understatement.

Sylvie snorted.

"But," Joni emphasized, holding up a hand. "I'm not looking for a man. It may have been a few months since the escape but sometimes I feel like it was yesterday."

Although Kyele helped with that, too. He showed up at her place when she least expected. Once he appeared in the middle of her living area while she sat curled on a sofa reading. Those enigmatic green eyes studied her as if assuring himself of her safety.

"You tempt me beyond compare." He'd confessed in true confusion.

Joni didn't know what to say to that but she made sure to lock her doors and windows afterwards.

That didn't stop him. Kyele was a freaky devil with an aptitude for sneaking. Joni couldn't put her finger on how he managed it. The swirling mist thing he'd done when they'd sparred probably helped. She'd considered complaining to Arak to get his friend to back off.

Except there were times when she wanted him there. He helped with the dark dreams Joni suffered. Whenever she struggled with her reoccurring demons caught in the deep web of sleep, Kyele would appear and lay in bed beside her. Staring. Touching her hair.

She would be forever grateful for his midnight visits, though neither of them ever mentioned it. The vivid images of the past haunting Joni's sleep fell to the wayside as if magically banished by Kyele's presence in her bedroom. His arrival always disrupted the one nightmare she couldn't fight by herself. The one that focused on her final sale to a research lab. A sale that almost broke her completely.

At the time Joni had thought being sold as a sex slave was the worst that could happen. Dr. Kirkem, the brilliant scientist at the labs, changed her mind. He did what none of Joni's other owners could.

He gained her trust.

After being returned when her first owner, an elderly man interested in gardening, died, Joni locked every emotion tight. Her next three sales didn't go well due to her refusal to submit to the sexual advances of her owners. When she arrived at the labs, Joni had expected more of the same. Instead the soft spoken doctor paid for Joni to be his special project.

He asked her to be his assistant. As always she planned her escape from the ebony skinned scientist with excruciating detail. This time if she failed, she would die trying.

But Dr. Kirkem talked to her. Nicely. Calmly. He didn't tear at her clothes or finger her roughly like the others. Always wearing a charming smile, he fed her and gave her clean clothes, never once making any sexual overtures. He promised to help her. She just needed to help him. During those days Joni's battered spirit wanted to believe in what he offered. She'd been desperate for a kind word. Desperate for hope.

The moment she acquiesced became the moment of her downfall. Kirkem got off on the psychological aspects of torture. He threw her in a different cell and the experiments began. Horrible, painful experiments.

He threatened.

He taunted.

He laughed.

Then waited until she recovered from the mental breakdowns to repeat the process all over again with increased frequency.

And all the while Joni plotted. Plotted to escape and one day pay him back for the ultimate betrayal.

For making her trust him.

The good doctor had recorded her during his scientific experiments and played the vids for Joni to watch as he bragged about his plans to kill her if she ever managed to escape. But Joni did escape when he released her restraints for another torture session.

Only she'd been caught by the horned bastards again. Marenians. She hated them with a passion. Then the Jutaks rescued her and the green-eyed soldier with the scarred face saved her in more ways than one.

He saved her from reliving the conclusion to the vicious nightmares which left Joni screaming-sometimes until her voice went hoarse. Now she woke from her terror filled dreams to Kyele threading strands of her red hair around his fingers the same way he did when he played with his knives. Her sleep dazed brain could just make out his whispered, "I've got you, little Earthling. I've got you."

Joni shook away her thoughts with a toss of her hair. No way she'd tell Sylvie or anyone else the truth about all she'd suffered. "Like I said, he's got appeal but I'm sticking to self-gratification for right now."

Their gazes grew serious. Sylvie scooted closer, an arm curving about Joni's shoulder. "We support whatever you decide. We're goofing around about Kyele because it's clear he likes what he sees in you."

Clinging to humor like a shield, Joni gestured toward the skintight green dress that stopped at her mid-thigh and showed off her ample cleavage. "What's not to like?"

Chapter 7.

"Kyele, what's your call?"

The question came from his team mate, Creed. It wasn't Kyele's first time leading a mission but it was his first as the official Team Leader for Team Two without Jaron along. Team Leader wasn't a role he'd wanted but Kyele couldn't turn it down once he knew Torkel had more than likely worked hard behind the scenes to secure the spot on his behalf.

"It's pretty simple." Kyele met the gaze of each of the males kneeling in a semi-circle around him. "We move in quiet. No weapon fire if possible."

Kyele checked the time. Less than thirty before their shuttle would return to take them away. They were on Ruandin to rescue the Ambassador of Trin's daughter. The war between Bexe and Trin had been going on for nearly a year but both countries were close to coming to an agreement for a cease fire.

Revolutionaries from Bexe had snatched the little girl right from her bedroom in the Ambassador's secure residence three days ago. The kidnappers hoped to influence his decision in the upcoming election by holding Suravi Ilamon hostage.

Kyele pointed upward to the barely visible balcony. Jaron's intel confirmed it as the room the captors assigned little Suravi. "I'm going in that way to make the grab."

"Where do you want me?" Creed asked, his blue eyes narrowed beneath the hooded mask they all wore.

"You're covering the front door. Markus, Stefin and Savi will secure the perimeter."

They all nodded and faded back into the underbrush, the darkness aiding their efforts. Kyele tapped the comm in his ear and activated his mic for one last sound check. "Ready on three?"

"Ready." Markus and Savi's voice.

"Affirmative." Stefin's response.

Creed's trademark tap came across the line. Kyele rose to his feet and slid his sniper laser over his shoulder in the custom holster. He wasn't as good a shot as Faruk but he didn't often miss his target. The decision to not use weapons if possible was a last minute change. Kyele didn't want to scare the child more than necessary. He focused on his inborn gifts and assumed his other form, reaching the thin ledge of the balcony moments later.

A quick twist and the cheap lock on the glass door snapped between his fingers. He dropped low as he entered.

"H-hello?"

Kyele froze as soon as he crossed the threshold.

"Is anyone there?" the tiny voice asked and a side light flickered on.

Kyele rose from his crouch and came face to face with Suravi who knelt at the bottom of the bed. Her nut brown skin blanched at the sight of him. Someone had twisted her midnight colored mane into a single braid that lay over the shoulder of the blue sleep gown she wore. Thin blue stripes bisected her face denoting her lineage.

"Jutak warrior. Don't be afraid," Kyele whispered for fear she'd cry out.

He assessed her condition to determine if she was well enough for travel. Then taking him by surprise, Suravi flung back the covers of the narrow bed and shot toward him with a high pitched squeal. Only his quick reflexes had him catching her slight weight in his arms before she tumbled to the floor.

"Did my pita send you?"

Keeping his voice low, Kyele cradled her in his arms and glanced around the room decorated for a girl's comfort. "Yes, and we need to leave right now."

He didn't have Arak's shifter senses but his gut warned him that they needed to go.

Suravi's brown eyes sparkled as she looped her thin arms around his neck. Her relieved smile reminded him of another brave woman in the face of her rescue. "I'll be so quiet the bad men won't hear me."

"Too late."

Kyele didn't hesitate. He palmed one of his knives from his thigh, flinging it in the direction of the voice in the doorway. The shaft buried itself in the intruder's throat and he hit the floor with a thud a second later.

Suravi didn't cry out but she tucked her face close to Kyele's neck and her entire body trembled.

"Fuck." He propped her hip on one arm and tapped his comm. "Coming out with the Ambassador's daughter."

"You shouldn't use bad words." Suravi's mumble overlapped the acknowledgement of his team.

The need to hurry prodded at him. He spun on his heels and retraced his steps. Easing the cracked door to the balcony wider, Kyele scanned the trees and their surroundings to make sure all remained clear. "Hold tight."

Her arms squeezed in a punishing grip and her long slender tail curled around his waist but he didn't complain. She wasn't strong enough to do him any real harm. Kyele's steps shuffled to the edge as he leaned over the barrier surrounding the small space. The distance to the ground seemed greater with the precious burden in his arms. He cancelled his original plan to rappel down.

"The two patrolling guards outside are out," Markus announced in his ear. "I must have tripped an alarm though. There's activity in the house."

"Lights are going on," Creed added.

Steps thundered up the stairs from inside along with muffled shouts.

"Hurry, Kyele," snapped Stefin.

Kyele set Suravi in the furthest corner of the balcony and pointed a gloved finger in her face. "Stay here and close your eyes."

She giggled, brown lids closing. "Eyes closed."

Her sweet voice did something to him and rage gathered like a gale force wind. This wasn't his first mission dealing with children but it was his first with one this young. She couldn't be more than five and was smaller in size due to her race. Terrorizing children was a sore point for Kyele. He patted the top of her head, then made sure to close the door behind him as he re-entered the room.

Calm settled over his nerves. Bending to grab his knife from the dead man, Kyele stepped over the body into the main hall. At the top of the stairs three men halted abruptly, bumping into one another. Definitely Bexe. They wore they hair shorn, eschewing the natural lengths of their mane. Harsh yellow stripes bisected their feline features, drawing attention to their glaring dark eyes.

"Who are you?" The one in the lead barked out, his tail whipping about.

Kyele gave them their only warning. "Jutak warrior, lower your weapons."

They didn't listen, much to his satisfaction. Kyele misted before their eyes and tore into them. They screamed and begged. With nothing more than the energy it took to breathe, he slid from one form to another, pausing only to swipe out with his blade.

One of them coiled his tail about Kyele's leg and slammed him against the floor on his back. His attacker sneered and leaned over him thinking he had the upper hand. Kyele stared and raised his right arm, deliberately taking his time. The dark eyes shifted, following the motion and Kyele brought his knife down into the meaty flesh of his throat. Blood spurted as Kyele turned his face away and pushed the limp body off of him.

He jerked his leg back and the tan-colored tail fell from his booted ankle. A roar of misery and anger sounded behind him. Kyele ducked and the second kidnapper flew over his head to plow into the railing. An ominous crack followed and the body continued over the edge falling to his death on the lower level. Kyele shifted to his alternate form and faced the next.

The last man dropped to his knees, palms up. "Please. You're Jutak. I'll face the justice system."

Kyele stopped, and resumed his physical form, chest heaving. Jutak code dictated he take the man in to face formal charges for kidnapping and a barrage of other claims. He thought of the little girl tucked away in the cold, far from her family and her home because of this man.

Forcing back his personal feelings, Kyele straightened and sheathed his weapon. "You will be remanded under Jutak custody. We will take you in for the kidnapping of Suravi Ilamon, daughter of Ambassador Ilamon of Trin. Do you confess your crimes?"

Eyes wide, the kidnapper nodded eagerly. "Yes. I confess."

"You will be restrained for transport." Kyele gestured for him to stand, never letting his gaze stray from his target. "What is your name?"

"Sooner."