Koop's Spark Read online

  Koop watched Maggie lower her hand, a blush coloring her cheeks with embarrassment. He so badly wanted to reach out and touch her, to see if her skin felt as soft as it looked but also to let her know she hadn’t done anything wrong. When Maggie look down at her feet, no longer meeting his eyes, guilt swamped him.

  “Sorry. It’s an Earth custom,” she said. “We…uhh…shake hands when we greet each other.”

  “I’m Koop,” he said, raising his right hand before shaking it in the air in front of them.

  Maggie raised her eyes back up to his, they seemed to shine with amusement, and a small giggle slipped past her luscious lips. Her face suddenly shined with carefree emotion.

  Koop liked that and smiled back, but seeing her amusement, he asked, “Did I do that wrong?”

  “A little yes,” Maggie replied with a smile. “We normally touch right hands and shake.” She raised both of her hands and clasped them together in front of her and then moved them up and down before dropping them to her sides. “Like that, but with your hand in mine.”

  She reached out her right hand again and went to touch his hand. Suddenly, everything Amelia and his captain had warned every male on the ship about concerning the human females ran through his mind. Gracian men were not allowed to touch them without their consent in case they were their sparks.

  As Maggie’s hand moved toward his, Koop opened his mouth to warn her that they shouldn’t touch. But his words died on his lips as he watched, both in satisfaction and horror, when a single, thin, blue energy spark left his fingers and came into contact with hers.

  Maggie glanced at him with glazed eyes as her body began to slump to the floor. It felt like a lifetime had passed before he moved to catch her. He swept her up into his arms, swearing like a dying man in his mind. Frinx! Frinx! Frinx!

  Koop ran through the corridors, carrying Maggie tightly in his arms. It would be so much easier, and quicker, if he could zap them to the medical bay. But some of the human females didn’t react well to that. It made some of them extremely sick, and in some instances it was even bad enough to make them becoming unaware for a time.

  Everything Amelia had said muddled in with his thoughts. Frinx! Had he messed things up? How was…had he been supposed to work with Maggie and ensure they never touched? They would spend much of their time working in close quarters over a chrono screen, designing the buildings needed. A simple, accidental touch as they passed each other was all it would have taken. He’d never even thought he’d be lucky enough that one of the kidnapped females might be his spark.

  Men stopped what they were doing to stare at Koop as he ran past them. Finally, he reached his destination. Medical. Rushing through the automatic door, he cried out for the head medic. “Hover!”

  The medic appeared from a side room. His face had been unemotional at first, but when he saw Koop standing there with Maggie in his arms, Hover frowned, and his lips curled into a sneer.

  “What did you do, officer?” Hover glared at Koop and quickly walked across the room. He lifted his hands to take Maggie from Koop.

  “No.” Koop snarled.

  Frinx! Why had he brought Maggie here? He should have just taken her to his quarters. No! He had to think logically. He had to bring her here to make sure she was okay. It was the right thing to do. Every cell inside of Koop called out to the unaware female in his arms. She was his. He didn’t want another male touching her.

  “Release her, officer,” Hover ordered.

  But Koop just tightened his grip on Maggie, afraid if he allowed her to be taken from him, he’d never see her again.

  “Trian,” Hover called out to his comm.

  “Trian here,” the captain’s voice came back.

  “Report to the medical bay. We have a situation.”

  No reply was returned, instead Koop watched his captain suddenly appear in the medical bay.

  “Hover?” Trian asked, walking toward the head medic, but he stopped when he saw Koop standing there with Maggie in his arms.

  Koop eyed his captain. “It was an accident. I didn’t do anything,” Koop blurted out. “She reached for me, an Earth custom or something of shaking hands. I did it wrong, and she touched me to show me. It wasn’t on purpose, Captain. But she is mine. I brought her here when she slipped unaware.” Koop tried to explain as much as he could and as fast as he could. His words rolled into each other, panic overcoming him.

  “Release her,” Hover ordered again.

  Koop glanced at the medic. Possessive feelings toward Maggie had him shifting his gaze to the limp human in his arms. He looked at her lovingly. He knew he had to allow Hover to check her over, but the thought of any male touching his spark had deep, dark thoughts rising in his mind.

  “I’ll put her down on a table,” Koop said, defying the doctor’s orders. “At this precise time, to have any other male touch her…I can’t be held accountable for what I may do.”

  He held his chin up boldly and walked over to one of the medical beds and gently placed her on it. He was always the calm warrior, calm in every situation thrown at him. But this? He couldn’t deny how he felt. Intense feelings of sexual hunger, longing, infatuation, swamped him, filling every cell in his body.

  “Are you going to allow Hover to touch Maggie, Koop, or do we call security?” Trian asked, appearing at his side.

  Koop looked between his captain and Hover. Again, ominous thoughts rose in his mind at the prospect of anyone touching his spark.

  “Call security,” Koop spat, holding onto what sanity he had. He’d never felt this way while bringing up his nepti. His feelings were so strong and possessive he feared he might hurt Hover if he laid a single finger on Maggie.

  Within moments of Trian ordering a security team to medical, three of his fellow officers arrived. With gritted teeth, Koop moved to stand between the three men. He knew without a doubt they would stop him from harming anyone.

  “Hold him a moment,” Trian ordered his security.

  Three pairs of hands grabbed hold of Koop in a gentle but firm manner.

  Hover glanced at Koop and then back to his captain. Receiving a nod from Trian, Hover moved toward Maggie and ran a scanner over her. He’d didn’t touch her, which was the only thing keeping Koop from striking out.

  But then the medic moved Maggie’s hair to the side and placed his hand underneath her neck. Koop growled and went to lunge at the male. No one should touch Maggie. No one but him. One of the officers kicked the back of his knee, causing Koop to buckle to both knees on the floor. Everything fought to be with Maggie. It was his fault she was lying so still.

  Trian bent low, placing his body and face in front of Koop’s, blocking Koop’s view of Maggie. “It’s only for a while,” Trian said as if he’d read Koop’s mind. “She will wake up in mating heat and will need you. Did you know she was your spark before you touched?”

  Koop shook his head, denying he knew, but then he paused, thinking back on the situation, and he nodded. “When I first set eyes on her, I was mesmerized. She was stunning. At first, I wondered if maybe it was just seeing another of the human females that made me feel that way. But then I remembered seeing Amelia for the first time and how it was so much different. Maggie was beautiful, and her eyes were even more so.” Koop sighed. “It was like looking into the clear waters at home in the Dervious mountains. I was taken home instantly. But I didn’t have enough time to analyze how I felt before she touched me.”

  Koop stopped talking and tried to look around his captain’s body to see his spark. He growled low before speaking once more, knowing full well, but not caring, that he could be reprimanded for his next words.

  “Captain, get out of my way so I can see her.” He had to make sure Maggie was still there. He had to lay his eyes on her.

  “Koop, look at me.”

  Koop stared up at his captain.

  Trian’s eyes swirled fast with intense emotion. “The human females are different from ours.”

  “I know,” Koo
p barked back. “I read all the reports. I did as much research on them as I could before I met Maggie. You know me.” Koop snarled. “I am no juvenis. I do my work well.” Koop stopped pulling against the security team and collapsed into himself. “I admit though that I didn’t know about the handshake. It never came up. It wasn’t intentional, Captain, I promise. Now please, move and allow me to see her,” he begged. “It breaks me not to have her in my vision.”

  “It’s okay, Captain,” Hover called out. “As you know yourself, after the first initial exchange of energy, the feelings are intense for our males.”

  Trian turned his head toward the medic but remained where he was, still blocking Koop from seeing Maggie.

  “How is Maggie?” Trian asked the head medic but didn’t receive his answer because the medical bay door opened.

  Every head turned to see a rather irate Amelia walking into the room. Trian quickly straightened and turned around. Koop hadn’t heard anyone call for the captain’s spark.

  “What is it with you Gracian men?” Amelia said, annoyed, before any male in the room could speak. “and not liste—Koop?” Amelia halted in front of Koop, staring down at him, surprise in her voice. “You of all people should have known not to touch before asking.” She shook her head.

  Guilt swamped Koop, followed by anger at not being able to get to his mate. He should be with her, helping her body adjust and be ready to accept his energy. He growled and tugged fiercely against the hands holding him down.

  “It wasn’t his fault.” Trian spoke up, ignoring Koop. “You have an Earth custom that requires you to shake hands?” the captain questioned.

  “Oh crap. Yes. Maggie did this?”

  Koop stopped pulling at the hands holding him and nodded. He moved his head to seek out his spark. He could just make out her unaware form lying on the medical bed behind Trian. Both Amelia and Trian moved toward Maggie, and they spoke quietly with Hover. Koop strained his ears, trying to hear any of their conversation.

  “You can release him,” Hover said suddenly.

  As soon as the order was given, Koop was free. He climbed to his feet and rushed to the table Maggie was lying on. He lay a hand possessively on her stomach and ran his gaze over her sleeping form. He moved a stray lock of her hair from her face. She looked so peaceful. He wanted to know every little thing about her. He ran a finger over her chilled cheek and down her neck in wonderment. But there was one thing he had to find out first before he could claim her with his heart and soul.

  He turned his eyes to Hover. “Does she have an iungo growing?” Koop asked.

  Hover nodded. “Yes. It isn’t fully formed yet, so do not pass any energy until I say it’s ready or it will hurt her. Potest solum unum,” Hover said with a slight bow to Koop.

  Koop’s eyes stung with unshed tears. There can only be one. Fortunae was with him again. She had been with him when he’d found his nepti and she’d lived. Now she was with him again. He had a spark! A mate. He would never flare or worry about doing so ever again. He already had a nepti, and her child, for a family. But now he could have more, something every Gracian male dreamed of—a spark, and maybe younglings of his own.

  “Don’t build your hopes up yet, Koop,” Amelia said to him. “Maggie was struggling before, and I don’t know how she’s going to react to this.” Amelia sighed, shaking her head in dismay.

  “I will do everything in my power to make sure she’s happy,” Koop vowed.

  “You may not be able to, Koop. She has a twin. Maggie misses her so much. It’s the main cause of her heartache.”

  “What is a twin?” Koop asked after mentally reviewing everything he’d read and learned about the humans so far and not coming up with an answer.

  “They can have multiple births on Earth,” Hover answered. “They are a fantastic species,” he said in awe.

  “Oi.” Amelia nudged the medic with her elbow.

  Hover blushed. “I apologize, but you are, Amelia. For a female to give birth to multiple younglings at the same time is amazing. Not one of our females has ever done that. I have only read about this from other planets, I have yet to see it.”

  “Twins can run in the family.” Amelia smiled. “Being Maggie is a twin, she could have a multiple birth herself.”

  Koop stared between Amelia and his mate. “She…I… We could have two younglings at once?”

  Amelia chuckled. “Some couples have had more. I think the most babies born without needing fertility medical assistance has been six or seven.”

  “Good grief,” Hover muttered. “I must seek out this information after we are done here. I knew about multiple births, but six younglings at once? How does the female cope carrying such an amount?”

  “With a lot of rest, I imagine.” Amelia sighed, placing a hand over her lower stomach. “What do we do now?” she asked. “I guess if her iungo is growing, she will wake in mating heat. But from the little of her past she has shared and her reaction to being on the ship, I’m not sure how she will cope with this new…situation.”

  “My recommendation is she be kept in medical until she is fully aware of what will and has happened,” Hover said, staring at Koop as if waiting for him to argue.

  Everything inside Koop demanded he take her back to his quarters and wait for the mating heat to begin and then claim her fully as his. But knowing the struggle Maggie was having settling in on the Gemorph, he knew Hover was right.

  “As long as I can stay with her,” Koop stated firmly, staring at his captain in the eyes.

  “What if she doesn’t want you?” Amelia asked. “She has been through a rough situation recently, and right now, she’s not fond of males in general.”

  Koop swallowed before answering. Looking down at Maggie once again, he knew no matter if Maggie accepted him or not, he would abide by what his spark wished. Even if it meant walking himself into space.

  “I will do as she wishes. Being human she doesn’t need my energy, does she?” Koop asked Hover.

  “From what we have learned so far, the human sparks develop the iungo needed for you to transfer your energy during sex. She will initially need your energy transfer to help her become aware. After that, however, we have discovered she can cope on food alone with only a small energy transference. But without experimentation or more research, I cannot say, even if you were to wean your energy from her system if she is to deny you, that the iungo or her need for your energy will dissipate. After a while of not providing her your power, her iungo may disappear like it does in the teenage males of our species. I am unsure.” Hover shrugged.

  “I will do as she wishes. If it means my life will expire, I will do so,” Koop vowed. “May I sit with her please until she becomes aware?”

  “I don’t see a problem with that, but I do suggest Amelia be here when she wakes.”

  “I have a question,” Amelia said. All eyes turned to the young female. “After the first energy transference the male starts building up extra energy to take both of them through the mating heat, right?”

  “Yes, that’s correct,” Hover replied.

  Koop wondered where Amelia was going with this.

  “Well, now that this has happened...” She waved her forefinger between Koop and Maggie. “If she does choose to deny Koop, won’t that bring his life to an end quicker?”

  Koop didn’t care to know or hear the answer. If Maggie denied him, he would gratefully give up his life. His nepti was happy and mated. Although they were close, and he knew she’d miss him, if his life was to end because his spark didn’t want him, it would be better to end his life sooner than later. Now that he knew Maggie was his, he didn’t want to live without her.

  Koop ignored the voices behind him and gazed down at Maggie. A hand slipped onto his shoulder and gripped it a little. Turning his head, he stared straight into Amelia’s eyes.

  “I will talk to her, Koop. Don’t give up. It may take her time to accept this new situation, but hopefully we can get her there.”

 
; Koop couldn’t find the words to reply. He looked back down at Maggie, waiting until he could see her green eyes gaze at him once again.

  Chapter 3

  The sound of voices, and a slight buzzing sensation at the back of her neck, pulled Maggie from her sleep. For a few precious seconds she was at home in her bed on a lazy Sunday morning, relishing the sublime, restful feeling, before her world crashed down and brought with it everything she’d been through for the last year. Her cheating husband, her new business, her divorce, and her kidnapping.

  She opened her eyes slowly and was surprised to find herself in the medical bay again. Had she had another panic attack? Why was she there? She dug deep into the recesses of her mind to figure out what had happened.

  Something warm and dry slid from the nape of her neck, and she turned into the direction it was moved to. She was met with a muscular torso covered in the usual black Gracian uniform. She followed the uniform all the way up until she met the worried face of… For a second the male’s name eluded her before she remembered.

  “Koop?” she asked, frowning.

  A smile broke out on his handsome features. The mere lift of his lips on his sexy face had her body thrumming in excitement. Her nipples tightened and peaked under her gown. Her body tingled, along with her clit. She could already feel her juices dampening her panties. This man was nothing like her ex. He was tall, muscular. Every female would drool over him.

  That single thought dashed all her sexy feelings toward the man. There was no way this Koop would want her, and if he did, there would be nothing to stop him from cavorting with another woman. It would be her ex all over again!

  “Hello, Maggie.”

  She turned her head to see both Hover, who’d just spoken to her, and Amelia standing at Koop’s sides.

  “What is the last thing you remember?” the medic asked.

  Maggie thought back. She remembered being nervous about meeting Koop. She was to help him make an area for the women to feel more settled in, along with some sort of teaching area where the Gracians could learn how to be more human in order to find their sparks. She remembered opening her door, and she saw herself shake her hands in the air because he didn’t understand the Earth custom. Then…