Koop's Spark Read online

  Maggie scrambled off the bed and grabbed a piece of clothing on the back of her bedroom door and wrapped it around herself, tying a belt in front of her. She walked through the doorway, but stopped when Koop went to follow her.

  She held up her hand. “Stay here,” she whispered. “I can open the door and pretend to be May, but there is no explaining you.”

  Maggie glanced up and down his body with lust-filled eyes, which only made his now soft cock harden. With a smirk, she kissed her hand and blew the kiss at him, then hurried down the stairs.

  Koop wasn’t at all happy about leaving Maggie on her own. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her to not mention anything about himself or his fellow Gracians, it was because he didn’t want anyone hurting her. She was his spark, the one he would forever protect and care for. His heart was hers. Without her he was nothing but a ball of energy.

  He followed her to the top of the stairs then sat a few steps down, just out of view of the front door. Peering through the bars on the stairs, he watched his mate open the door. He heard Maggie’s small gasp when she saw the tall, thin male on the other side of the door. He had very little body mass compared to what a Gracian had; Koop could have snapped the male in half with a flick of his finger. Was Maggie’s shock at seeing someone she recognized?

  “Hello, Todd,” she said.

  Todd? Koop ran the name through his mind a few times, then he realized where he’d heard it—this was Maggie’s ex-mate. Wow. That was the male she had spent ten of her human years with? Koop looked down at his body, comparing it with this Todd’s. He smiled to himself. No wonder Maggie was happy with him, Todd was nothing. He looked like a stick insect humanoid from the planet Kull, and he even had the beady eyes of the thing.

  “May.” The male scowled back at Maggie. “I went to your work first, but they said you hadn’t come in. So I came here.”

  “Why are you here?” Maggie asked, her tone indicating she was pissed.

  “I wanted to know if you’ve heard anything.”

  “About?”

  “Maggie,” Todd snapped. “Where the fuck is she? Why the fuck is she missing? I was hauled in again two days ago and questioned like a common criminal. They think I’ve murdered her!”

  One of the wooden bars Koop had hold of tightly creaked at the male’s growling tone.

  “Go away, Todd. I have company, and you’re intruding.”

  Maggie pushed the door, but it rebounded on something, keeping it from closing. Looking down, Koop caught a glance at the male’s foot over the threshold.

  “I want answers, you fucking bitch!” The man’s face twisted in anger. “Your sister is causing me shit, and I—”

  Again Maggie tried to close the door, only for it to once more bounce off the male’s foot. The pole in Koop’s hands creaked louder until he heard it crack.

  “Go away, Todd, before I call the police,” Maggie shouted.

  “I want answers,” he screamed and shot an arm out, grabbing Maggie through the gap. Maggie cried out in surprise when the man’s pale fingers clapped around her slim neck.

  Koop stood and jumped over the banister rail, ready to rescue his mate, when to his surprise, Maggie suddenly opened the door and kicked at the male’s shin. She hit the mark, and he howled in pain, pulling his foot from the threshold. The door slammed shut, making the man’s scream of pain die away.

  Three quick strides along the small hallway and Koop had Maggie in his arms. She was shaking so hard he could hear her teeth chatter.

  “I never knew he could be such a dick!” Maggie exclaimed. “I mean, he was always someone who hid behind others. But he was…” She gazed up at Koop, and her green eyes shined with unshed tears. “He was so angry, so very near hitting me. I’ve never seen him like that before.” A small tear slipped over the edge of her bottom lash and fell down her cheek.

  “You are so brave, me unum. He is lucky it was you who dealt with him. If I had reached him before the door closed, I would have killed him.” Koop could still go after the male and seek his revenge for the harm Todd had caused Maggie. But Maggie’s welfare came first. She was safe in his arms where she needed to be.

  “I can’t believe I spent ten years of my life with a man I didn’t really know.”

  Koop tightened his arms around his spark’s body, pulling her closer to him. Maggie released a small sob. His heart beat with her pain, with each of her sobs. He was about to open his mouth when the sound of glass shattering broke the silence between them. It came from the rear of the house, perhaps the back door?

  Koop immediately grabbed hold of Maggie’s shoulders and pushed her behind him.

  “Where are you, you fucking bitch!” a male voice screamed out.

  “Todd?” Maggie whispered. Koop could hear her confusion. He turned to see the same emotion written over her face. “He wouldn’t do this…surely?” She shook her head in disbelief. “Plus, I didn’t realize just how stupid he was—the back door was unlocked, which I’d momentarily forgotten. All he had to do was open it.”

  “Maybe I should shout out Maggie?” Todd yelled as he crunched his way over the broken glass.

  Koop remained standing in front of Maggie, making sure she was protected behind him. He could tell her to run upstairs or perhaps open the front door and shove her out of it until he could take care of the human male, but something inside Koop wanted to keep her close, where he could see her and protect her. He cursed mentally when he realized he was still naked. His clothes and weapon were upstairs.

  Chapter 9

  Koop’s body tensed as he prepared for the confrontation with their unwanted guest. After a few moments Todd appeared through the living room door and into the hallway.

  He stopped still, his eyes all but bulging out of their sockets when he spotted Koop. “What the fuck? Who are you, and what the hell is up with your eyes?”

  Koop remained silent but alert. He cursed inwardly, remembering that his contacts were upstairs, along with his clothes and weapon. How could things have suddenly gone so wrong? One moment he was near fucking his mate, the next he was having to handle an angry human male. Koop knew he’d screwed up. He should have been on constant alert. Trian was going to have his neck!

  Maggie’s hand slid up Koop’s arm and held it for dear life.

  “Get out, Todd. I’ll call the police, it’s breaking and entering now. You will be arrested,” she said, still hiding behind Koop.

  Todd stared, his eyes boring into Koop. He shook his head, his top lip curling to show his teeth. “I shoulda realized when I first saw you at the door. Your sister isn’t as fat as you are, your hair is shorter, and well, to be honest, your sister is better looking. Maggie.”

  Maggie quietly gasped behind Koop, her shaking growing worse. Was this male blind or just stupid? The two siblings looked alike in every way. It was only because Maggie was his spark that Koop could tell the difference between them. He allowed his anger to show in a low, menacing growl.

  “Hey, Maggie,” Todd said, emphasizing her name. “Tell your pit bull to simmer down. Who are you anyway?” He addressed the question to Koop. “A new fuck toy? Someone to help her frame me for her disappearance?” He gazed up and down Koop’s body. “How much is she paying you to lay her? You can’t be sleeping with her voluntarily.” Todd laughed. “Call the police, bitch, or I will.”

  Koop had really had enough. He could hear his little mate’s sobs behind him. He could feel her belief in the cruel words her ex was spouting off. Koop’s muscles bunched as he readied himself to leap at the man.

  “I fucking wouldn’t if I was you!” Todd warned. He withdrew a metal object Koop identified as a gun from behind his back. “I think we need to talk, don’t you, Maggie? Step out from behind your guard dog, or I’ll shoot him…and then you.”

  With all his years of training, Koop knew how to take another down, and seeing how small, thin, and gangly this male was, he knew it wouldn’t take much. But the man had a weapon pointed at them, and Koop had
no idea how it worked, he had to be careful. Could he and Maggie delay this male long enough for help to arrive? Maggie shifted, popping her head out from behind his back.

  “Don’t shoot him,” Maggie cried. “I’ll do whatever you want.” She stepped to the side of Koop, her hands held out in front of her.

  “I want my life back!” Todd screamed, waving the gun. “I want to not be hauled in by the police for questioning. Do you know how many hours I’ve had to sit in a miserable, filthy, little room because of you. Huh?” Todd began to pace, the gun in his hand lowering or raising a fraction with each step. “I’ve had people quit working for me, thinking I’m a murderer. My business is going down the swanny, and why? Because my whore of an ex-wife decides to disappear with her…” Todd swung the weapon toward Koop and waved it in the air at him. Todd stared, surveying Koop from top to bottom. “Whatever you are,” he said, waving the gun about again.

  The male seemed to be unable to contain his anger. He was getting more agitated by the moment. When Todd’s turmoil reached breaking point, he would attack. Koop knew he had the skill to unarm the human and subdue him, but he could only hope he could do it before the man discharged the weapon.

  Todd turned the gun onto Maggie. Koop’s first instinct was to step in front of her.

  “No!” Todd screamed. “Let her face me. I want answers!” he yelled.

  Koop shook his head. “I will not let you harm the female,” he said, finally speaking.

  “What?” Todd asked, confused. “What did you say? Can you speak English?” he asked, raising his voice in a patronizing tone.

  “He can’t understand you, Koop. No translator.” Maggie stared up at him, stepping out from behind him again.

  “Frinx,” Koop swore. “I forgot.”

  Todd once again started pacing. “I’ve had enough of this.”

  He pulled another thin, square, metal object out of his pocket. It looked similar to a small chrono screen. Koop wondered briefly if that was something the humans called a phone. For the first time since landing on the planet, Koop felt real fear. If the man called for the human security, he and Maggie could well be in for a lot of trouble.

  Amelia had gone into some rather gruesome details about how the planet’s government might see the Gracians. She had advised that if one of their warriors were captured, they could be treated like specimens and examined. They might even be killed just so those men could see what was inside of them and made them tick. Koop had wondered what Amelia meant by seeing if they ticked. Gracian warriors didn’t tick! But before he could question her about it, another subject had been brought up.

  “Last chance,” Todd snarled, standing still and staring at Maggie.

  Maggie sighed. “Koop rescued me when I was kidnapped.”

  Todd stared blank-faced for a moment before suddenly releasing a full-blown laugh. “Fuck off! Kidnap you?” Todd asked. “Who the fuck would want you?” He laughed again. “Someone would only want you for the holes you provide.”

  Koop had really had enough of this male bad-mouthing his mate. His anger was rising with each word the male spouted.

  “You are such a liar,” Todd snarled. “Well, fuck it, if you can’t tell me the truth, you will tell the police.”

  Todd’s attention shifted away from Maggie and to his phone. He pressed the screen with a finger on the hand holding the gun. Koop knew this was his chance. Recalling every bit of his yarns of training, he moved.

  Koop moved silently and swiftly. Todd only had the chance to raise his head and widen his eyes before Koop managed to place one hand over the male’s thin arm, pressing his finger harshly into the male’s muscles, hoping the pressure points on humans were the same as Gracians. With his other fisted hand, Koop swung and punched the male in the temple, dazing him. Satisfaction won through when Todd cried out, releasing the hold he had on the weapon, leaving it to fall onto the hallway floor with a thud.

  “What the fuck, man?” Todd cried out, looking up at Koop. “Oh crap!” The male paled until his skin almost seemed see-through. “You really aren’t human, are you? What the fuck are you?”

  Koop snarled, and with another swift move, he punched the male in the temple again, knocking him out. Koop released Todd’s arm and watched him crumple to the floor.

  “Are you okay, me unum?” Koop asked, glancing at Maggie. She was holding her arm against her body, and he could see some bruises already forming on her fragile neck.

  A small, weak smile raised her lips a little before she nodded. “Bruised a bit, I think. But okay. What do we do about him?”

  Todd was slowly coming to on the floor. Koop growled and hated himself for not putting more force behind his fist and knocking the… What was it the human women often called someone they didn’t like? Nob-head? In the research Koop had done, he had never seen a human with a phallus-shaped head. Why would humans call another nob-head? Most of all, why was he standing there wondering that?

  “I fucking knew you were alive, you bitch,” Todd slurred out, forcing Koop out of his wonderings. “Just wait, you’ll be done for wasting police time! You won’t see a damn penny from me now.”

  Koop didn’t like seeing Maggie pale at the male’s words. Kneeling down, he gave Todd’s head another thump, this time with more force and to the back of the male’s head. Todd went limp again. Standing, Koop pulled his mate into his arms and held her tightly, until the small but noticeable shivers subsided.

  “He saw you. Oh God, he saw me.”

  An idea was already forming in Koop’s mind about how to deal with the male, but he wanted to wait until Maggie was calmer to mention it.

  “It will be all right, my little spark,” Koop said. “Let me put restraints on the male and I’ll tell you about my idea.”

  Maggie gazed up at him with trusting eyes. “Okay,” she replied quietly.

  With one last look down at the prone male, Koop walked Maggie from the hallway, into a room the humans called a living room. The whole house was lived in, so why was just one room named living room? So bizarre!

  Seating Maggie on one of the large, plush, brown sofas, Koop quickly ran to the back door of the house where two habitums had been left with some of Maggie and his items inside. Amongst his habitums were two Gracian items he’d hoped he wouldn’t need but had brought just in case. Seeking the white restrains, he pulled them out and ran back to the hallway where the male was coming to again. How hard do I have to hit him for him to stay down?

  Koop pulled the man’s hands behind his back and placed the restraints on his wrists before hauling him up into a standing position. With a push, Todd walked rather unsteadily and quietly to the living room. Shoving the male down in a chair, Koop made his way to his spark and pulled her against his body.

  “You’re still naked,” Maggie whispered.

  “I know.” He chuckled.

  “But what about him?” Maggie nodded toward Todd.

  “I’m not interested in him. It’s only you that makes me rise to the occasion.” As Koop hoped, Maggie chuckled. He knew what she had meant, but had wanted to replace her worried look with a smile.

  Her smile didn’t last long though. It disappeared when she glanced at Todd again. “Seriously, Koop, what are we to do with him?”

  Even though Koop hated to suggest, it he said, “We could take him with us to the isle? Once there he would have no way to contact any other humans. Or perhaps we can take him back to the Gemorph and place him in the brig.”

  Maggie shook her head and paled even more. “No. The thought of him anywhere near me, on or off the island, just isn’t… No. Not even on the ship. No, Koop, we can’t.”

  “He wouldn’t be anywhere near you, me unum.” Koop would make sure of that. “If he were to stay on the island, he would be locked inside one of the small buildings and a guard placed with him.”

  “No,” Maggie said again. “That wouldn’t be fair to the males watching over him. The idea of you getting the isle is so your men can learn how to beh
ave being human, not to stand watch over some dick!”

  “There you go again, my little spark, talking about another male’s manhood.”

  Maggie blushed, and her lips tightened together in a thin but creased line as if she were trying to hide a smile.

  “I have read about this human thing called spankings, where a male can slap his mate’s bottom until it turns a pleasing pink. I understand that although it is a punishment, it can also be somewhat pleasurable. Do we perhaps have to engage in such a thing to not have you thinking of other males’ balls and cocks?”

  Maggie glanced down at Koop’s dick, which hardened under her gaze.

  He had indeed read about human bondage and such, before he’d ever met Maggie. At first just the thought of harming his potential mate was appalling. But watching some of the chrono screen clips on the human internet was surprising to say the least. It would seem humans, like the Gracians, enjoyed a diversity of sexual positions, but some humans went as far as creating small groups of something called BDSM where spankings and such took place. Koop wondered what it would feel like to see his handprint on his mate’s bottom, almost like a statement that she belonged to him.

  Seeing Maggie’s cheeks turn a deep red and her lips raise into a small smile, along with her eyes dancing as she gazed up at him, was even more interesting. She seemed to like the idea, but when her gaze returned to Todd she frowned. Her eyes narrowed and her frown deepened as she looked at him intently.

  “His mouth is moving, and it looks like he’s shouting at us, but there is no sound.”

  “He does look quite funny, doesn’t he?” Koop admired Todd as he sat red-faced, screaming silently at them.

  Maggie raised her eyebrows in question at Koop.

  “Are you worried about him?” Koop asked, suddenly feeling a sensation he couldn’t identify, but one he was uncomfortable with. Maggie was his. His spark. This Todd was nothing.