Exclusive Sneak Peek ~ Operation Escape ~ Chapter One

As Sera Kain lifted a hand to shield her eyes from the glare reflecting off the water’s surface, her heart thumped in her chest. Her uncle had described this emotional reaction before. The first time a person sets eyes on something is when it’s the most beautiful.

From the bright green of the trees swaying in the wind, the perfect temperatures, and the scent of fresh water from her perch on the boardwalk, she truly wished her reason for being here was a vacation.

This was her first adventure away from the mothership. Her first trip to a planet of any kind, and Kafgar was living up to its name as the world of a thousand wonders. She’d tried to keep control of her eagerness to embrace every new food, fabric, and invitation to fun she’d received.

Because that’s not my mission.

Disheartening that she could never have come here for a vacation. Her superiors didn’t approve of shore leave for desk jockeys. Other people, in other departments, got the privilege but not Sera, who always had more restrictions than a prisoner.

Not anymore.

“Looking for a good time?” The offer came from a grinning, green-and-blue-skinned Kafgarian. Their perfect smile and fond, gray gaze made Sera stumble a step. They ran a hand over their hair and the distinct light green dorsal crests peeking beneath their blond waves.

She’d never interacted with this species. They didn’t serve in Space Force, the military arm of the Terrain Galactic Federation. They were human allies but offered their planet as a safe haven for multiple species to vacation, relax. Kafgarians revered pleasure and fun above all else.

“Thanks for the offer, but I’m afraid I’m already engaged.” She had to maintain her cover. I’m a Space Force envoy, seeking a discharged soldier.

The Kafgarian towered over her, their lean body covered with a pair of baggy shorts and a tight sleeveless top that showcased their muscular torso. This species possessed double lidded eyes—a protective layer covered the pupil during the day to guard their sensitive retinas from the yellow sun. “If you change your mind.” They held out a card to her between their four fingers. “You can find me at Klub Fantazi.”

Sera accepted the card and murmured a thanks before stuffing it in her pants pocket. The Kafgarian had already abandoned her for another couple walking along the wooden boardwalk. She wasn’t shocked at their quick move. Kafgarians were all about the next good time and seeking until they found a willing partner.

She grinned at the notion she’d been propositioned by a Kafgarian as she tapped at her wristband and peered at the map that popped up into the air in front of her. The location of her pilot wasn’t far, just down the dock and around a corner. Her heart rate picked up a little at how close she was. She’d come so far since she’d begun planning this mission. Now to be near the end goal, to executing the most important parts… I’ve got this.

Marching her way down the dock with a singular focus, she ignored the tempting carts of food and beverages, the Kafgarian sellers calling out to passersby. The clothing store owner, a Dihorn with pinkish skin, offered discounts on tunics and relaxation wear. Sera’s embedded translator chip allowed her to hear every sales pitch, every tasty description, but she refused to be deterred.

If everything works out, I can spend a few hours exploring.

Once she turned at the T in the dock and headed right, the cacophony of sound died down. Here there weren’t any shopkeepers, pleasure offerings, or food vendors. The visual feast died, replaced with the plain metal and wood sides of the very buildings she’d seen the front of. This drab display masked her destination but only for a couple feet.

Then she saw the big wooden sign hanging over the entrance to red-and-green-painted building that announced Engle and Doscher Luxury Flights. Tour the sights of Kafgar in style. She’d researched this place a little. The business model offered flights that varied in price by length and would take tourists to the Doxia Mountains with their mirror domes or to the Trevill waterfalls with the holographic surfaces. Too bad I won’t have time for extensive sightseeing.

She reached the front door and rubbed her palms against her pants. Before opening it, she took a deep breath to calm herself. So stupid how she always got as nervous as a cadet on the first day of training with every new situation. What will I say?

“I’m looking for Captain Markus Engle. Oh, he’s just someone my uncle knows.” Mumbling those words didn’t help. She reached for the twin red door handles. What if they refused to let her talk to him? What if he was out on a tour? What if… too many of them. Get ahold of yourself, Sera.

Wrenching open the metal doors, she summoned up her courage and then she heard the moans, the groans, and a male voice growl, “Fuck me harder, Engle.”

Sera blinked once then twice, her feet glued to the floor as a burst of wind rushed behind her and swept into the room where a human male and a Kafgarian were half naked and engaged. Completely engaged.

There was no telling where one ended and the other began. Kafgarians were dual sex beings. Whatever random thoughts she’d given to how that worked was officially confirmed at the visual of these two penetrating one another. The tan-and-black Kafgarian had a longer, thinner cock, penetrating the human’s ass. Said human in return was driving forward into what had to be the Kafgarian’s female organ, though she couldn’t see it from this angle with both parties face-to-face.

The human seemed perfectly at ease thrusting home while the Kafgarian returned the favor. Her view offered the rear profile. She drank in the sight. From the human’s spiky black hair to sweat beading on their neck as their back muscles rippled underneath the tight shirt, and the Kafgarian’s perfect tan cock thrust between two gorgeous ass cheeks. She was a little jealous as she ran her finger around the collar of her suddenly-too-tight top.

“I’m looking for Captain Markus Engle?” Her hand was still frozen around the doorknob. She couldn’t believe she’d even spoken.

“You found him.” The human’s reply came at the tail end of a grunt. “You like watching? Then shut the door and take a seat. Otherwise get out of here.”

Engle kept his back to her, and the Kafgarian moaned beneath his continuous movements, driving forward as Engle pumped into them. The pair was like a long-lost symbol from humanity’s planet days, the yin and yang, both completing each other. The concept, the mechanics were extraordinary.

She’d never admit aloud there was also a low curl of arousal between her legs, moisture pooling thanks to this sensual display. “I’m here to speak to you about a business proposition. Whenever you’re done.”

Somehow, she found the strength to shut the door, even as she registered that the good captain never gave her a response.

“I’ll come back… after I get something cold to drink.”

* * * *

“She’s gone, heard the door close. Now, give me everything,” Doscher harshly whispered.

The Kafgarian was a greedy, demanding lover, but Markus Engle had always preferred his sexual partners to be vocal about what they wanted from him. The problem was that as soon as that female had opened the door and her scent washed over him, all desire for Doscher had waned. He hadn’t seen her, only smelled her honeyed musk, a thick, intoxicating scent that made him want to run after her.

“Afraid her arrival killed my performance.”

Doscher slowly pulled his cock out of Markus’s ass then reached up and gave each of his cheeks a squeeze, which normally would refocus his desire. No luck.

 “Seriously? And right as I was getting close too. Who is she?”

Now free from Doscher, Markus moved away and began to pull up his pants. “Part of the past I left behind.”

When Markus turned around, Doscher was fully covered and grinning from ear-to-ear. His damn business partner loved three things: sex, showing off his planet, and gossip.

“You know I’m never going to settle for that basic explanation now.” The tan-and-black Kafgarian sat down in a chair behind the main counter where they’d just been fucking and propped his sandaled feet up. He shook out his shoulder-length black hair that fell evenly around tan dorsal crests before giving Markus a pointed look.

“You’re a modern marvel. How you can hop from sex to wanting story time without even getting off.”

“I’m good at multi-tasking. All my lovers have told me so. Now, quit trying to sidetrack me, unless you want to suck dick, and tell me more.”

“Well, prepare to be disappointed. She said she wanted to talk with me, and unfortunately, I’ll have to speak with her.” He couldn’t refuse, not since the pheromone-triggered bond had activated the moment the wind carried her scent in through the door. There was no other explanation for this sudden reaction he had to a person he had never seen before. She was most likely human. If she was, then she’d return with a summons of some sort. Further proof that no matter how far he ran from Space Force and the Terran Galactic Federation he’d never truly escape.

“Wait, you’re honor bound to give her the time of day?”

Markus moved to the fridge and pulled out a cold bottle of Kafgarian seltzer, a sweetened drink that for some reason had an intoxicating effect on humans. “Honor’s got nothing to do with it. I don’t want to waste time explaining, but let’s just say this is hardwired. I refuse and physically I’ll suffer until I don’t. Make sense?”

“That’s some messed up trafolly. Is this going to interfere with our work here? We’ve got tours on the books for months.”

Markus popped the top on the bottle and took a long drink. Even now the woman’s scent lingered in his nostrils, pairing with this urge to go to her straightaway. He never got a look at her, but she’d needed help. Fuck. “We’ll see… if push comes to shove, I’ve got someone who can cover for me.”

“Are they willing to fuck too? I liked that part of our arrangement… business partners with benefits.” Doscher chuckled. They had a mutual agreement that worked, until today. Markus only hoped he could figure out what this woman wanted from him, satisfy her fast, and send her right back to the mothership before the bond became permanent. He had to answer to her, to protect her, but that didn’t have to mean forever; at least so he’d been told.

“I doubt they’d want to keep the same thing going.”

Doscher gave another wide smile and winked at him. “You know I can be pretty persuasive.”

“I’m familiar.” Which was exactly how Markus had ended up fucking the pleasure slut on the counter a half hour before. But Markus had a weakness for handsome people, didn’t matter the sex. Only thing that mattered was that they could both get each other off.

Except now.

“Just record our numbers and log the path flights for tomorrow, will ya?”

Doscher waved him away. “Yeah, yeah. You know, this is why you should have finished. You’re grumpy when you don’t ejaculate.”

Markus wouldn’t disagree, but nothing could be done about that now. The arousal he could have summoned in a heartbeat before had withered and died. The stupid connection to this random human female had killed his libido.

“I’ll be back, but if you get done before I do—"

“Oh, I’ll be gone and off to find some satisfaction. I am definitely coming today. If you can’t seal the deal, there’s someone who can.”

Same old Doscher. The man had a singular focus outside of work, and it revolved around fucking, though Markus wouldn’t hold Doscher’s sexual drive against him. There was something refreshing about knowing exactly where their relationship stood. Markus could appreciate Doscher’s blunt honesty. Coming from a life where every action came with double meanings, Markus learned not to take such open candor for granted. Especially, when he was used to people lying to get what they wanted.

“Have a good night then.” Markus walked outside and let the door slam shut behind him to drown out any smart-ass retort from his friend.

A glance to the left and the right revealed no one. The sun was already low in the afternoon sky, and music drifted across the lake from the multiple resorts. The cocktail hour was upon them, then the buffet dinners, followed by the orgies. Markus gave a half-hearted chuckle at the absurdity of it all, but he enjoyed this little slice of heaven he’d found away from Space Force and the Terran Galactic Federation.

Humans are killjoys.

Leaning against the railing that went up around the edge of the boardwalk, he kept sipping at his seltzer. No sense in chasing after the woman who wanted to talk to him. Not when her scent, this combination of sweet honey cakes and a hint of musky bitters, hit his nose and grew stronger by the second.

She was coming back, and with each inhale, the bond solidified in his bones.

He cursed the day he’d been indoctrinated by Space Force at the age of twelve, then they’d taken it a step further with their “special mission”. At sixteen, he’d been told he could opt into a procedure that would allow him to become a bodyguard for one of the Terran Galactic Federation leader’s children.

Nothing would be required of him except to continue his training and serve Space Force, along with receiving an injection. This injection would trigger a latent protection genome if he ever came in contact with his assignment. At that moment, they would be mated in a sense.

If given the chance, he’d kill the scientist who convinced him this was a good idea. He struggled to recall the details and risks he’d been told about the experiment. Though, he’d falsely believed quitting Space Force meant he’d freed himself from this stupid pheromone-induced pact.

“Well, that was quick.” Her voice washed over him, flooding him with a sense of relief. If he had a visceral reaction every time she spoke, it would get damn annoying.

They never explained what would happen. Hell, they didn’t know.

He still faced away from her. “What?”

“You finished already. I mean, human males typically don’t have the kind of stamina…”

Pivoting on the heel of his half boots, he turned, fists clenched, shoulders tight and mouth open to tell her exactly where she could shove her backward notions and facts. The nerve of this judgmental woman... then his gaze caught hers, and all rational thought fled. She was human and gorgeous. Brown hair in waves framed her face, but that wasn’t even all of it with a good chunk up in a ponytail. She wore plain-style clothing, not form-fitting, providing a mystery to her exact figure. Her boots, the three-quarter length shirt, and the pants were all in varying shades of neutral standard issues, Space Force gray, which he wanted to peel her out of. For being on a vacation planet, she stuck out like a newbie tourist, like a cadet on their first shore leave.

He rubbed the pad of his thumb over his lips then bit the tip. The pain a good reminder to wake the fuck up from this pheromone haze.

“You didn’t research this very well, did you?”

“Excuse me?”

He pointed to her and then waved his hand up and down. “Your outfit. If you wanted to look like a vacationer, you got this all wrong.”

“My stay on Kafgar will be brief.”

“Only long enough to ruin my life.” Shit. He hadn’t meant to let those words slip out, but it was difficult not to resent her arrival. She’d ruined all his plans because he’d sworn from the moment he discovered the truth about Space Force that he would never meet her.

“I understand.”

So, she did know about what was happening to him. His entire frame stiffened up again as the desire to crawl out of his skin started to spread through every nerve-ending. He wasn’t a pawn for Space Force to move when they chose.

“Really?”

She crossed her arms in front of her, highlighting her breasts, which when propped up by her arms looked like damn more than a handful. “You don’t want to give up your life of fucking and drinking to help me, but my uncle is missing, and you’re the only person I can turn to.”

Wait… “Who’s your uncle?”

“Dr. Garsett, of Space Force Science Research.” She then took a long sip from a cup, the concoction a dark red that was the color of her lips. He’d missed her hands holding anything.

He shook his head. He couldn’t afford to be sidetracked. Don’t be distracted by tits and a pretty face... maybe Doscher was right, and I should’ve come. “Why me?”

“My uncle always told me that if I was ever in trouble or needed anything that Captain Markus Engle of Space Force Special Ops would be the one to reach out to. Said you were the elite pilot, the best at everything.”

And her personally selected bodyguard, drafted by Garsett himself as part of the project. Her uncle, huh? “And how is he your uncle?”

“I’m Sera Kain, and I work in Communications and Provisions. But my father is the head of Space Force.”

“What else did he tell you?”

She frowned. “All compliments, but you’re not living up to your reputation.”

Top brass Kain. Shit... I missed that part where Garsett had a brother. “I’m not special forces anymore. No longer enlisted, discharged without honors. Consider me damaged goods, reputation shredded, unless you’re seeking a tour of Kafgar and its moons.”

He’d already lost too much to humanity, sacrificed love, liberty, and years of good times, and for what? No way would he get dragged back into the mess. “I’m sure your uncle has the top commandos looking for him.”

“That’s just it… they aren’t. All the searches were called off after only three months. No one is investigating his disappearance.”

Markus wasn’t the least bit surprised. “If they’re done, there is a reason. Leave it lie.”

She’d finished her drink and crushed the paper cup in one hand. “No… I can’t, and I need your help. There’s proof, I found it in the communication—"

“Shush, not here. Not another word. Follow me.” Markus led her back to Engle and Doscher but around the side of the building and right to one of their docked ships with its landing struts keeping it afloat on the water.

He heard her behind him, those boots clomping against the wood. Wrenching open the ship hatch, he stepped to the side and motioned toward the entrance. “Step inside my office.”

“Then you’ll listen to what I have to say?”

“You’ve got my attention for now.”

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