Koop's Spark Read online

  “Look at me, Maggie,” Koop’s voice demanded. “Hover? What’s going on?” he asked worriedly.

  Hover was there? Maggie couldn’t understand why Koop had called for a medic.

  “Hover! Talk to me,” Koop ordered.

  “Stand to the side, Koop. Let me scan her and find out what’s going on.”

  Maggie’s mind filled with confusion. Koop’s heated body disappeared from atop of her. She was suddenly filled with a maelstrom of emotions. Pain, guilt, lust. She couldn’t work through them all, and finally, panic overtook her.

  “It’s okay, Maggie. Open your eyes for me. It was just a dream.” Hover’s calming voice entered her ears.

  A dream? She hadn’t just orgasmed with Koop? Oh God! Mortified, Maggie opened her eyes to see the handsome doctor staring down at her with concerned, swirling, brown eyes. Memories, and everything that had happened, blew back in her mind like a bomb going off.

  She’d been kidnapped, taken by some four-armed, blue alien beings, and then rescued by these Gracians. She’d been sitting on a ship, staring down at her planet, unable to see or speak to her sister for two months. Looking around, she saw she was in medical again. How had she ended up here this time? She turned her head and saw Koop. He’d touched her. He had his hand underneath her neck now.

  “Is it my energy? Can she not take it?” Questions flew from Koop’s mouth, directed at Hover.

  “What’s going on?” Maggie asked.

  She glanced down at herself and noticed with relief that she wasn’t naked as she’d been in her dream. She pushed herself up, leaned on her elbows behind her, and stared around for a moment, taking everything in. Hover and Koop didn’t say a word, allowing her to do so.

  The door to the medical bay opened, and Amelia came inside the room. “You’re awake.” She grinned as she walked toward Maggie.

  “She had some kind of fit. Should she be sitting up?” Koop asked Hover even though his hand supported Maggie’s back, aiding her to sit up. It felt both comforting and annoying.

  “She didn’t have a convulsion, Koop. She…” Hover looked at her, his words halting. “I’m sorry, Maggie, I don’t want to disconcert you. From what I’ve read, and what Amelia has informed me of, human females sometimes find talking about sexual situations a little embarrassing. But you didn’t have a fit, you orgasmed. I would say it was caused by the mating heat.”

  Maggie’s cheeks flamed with heat. Amelia quickly appeared as her side, her small hands covering Maggie’s.

  “They are mind-blowing, right?” Amelia whispered with knowing eyes.

  Maggie’s cheeks heated more. She swore if she had some bread, she could turn it into toast.

  “Are the dreams always like that?” Maggie whispered back.

  “Not just the dreams.” Amelia giggled. “The reality is so much more.”

  Maggie thought back over her fading dream. Blimey! If Koop had made her toes curl like that in a dream and her body rock, what would he do for real? She raised her gaze from Amelia and stared straight into Koop’s fast-swirling eyes.

  “No.” Maggie shook her head, pushing the lust-filled thoughts from her mind. “I can’t. What about my sister? She’s all I have. I can’t, Amelia.” Unshed tears stung the back of Maggie’s eyes when she thought of her sister and how worried she must be.

  “Well, that’s what I came to tell you. Trian, the other captains, and the council members have agreed to an idea I had.” Amelia smiled. “How would you like to take Koop and a team of security down to Earth?”

  “To see my sister?” Maggie asked warily.

  “Not just to see your sister, but to ask for her help.”

  Maggie briefly wondered how her sister could help a bunch of technologically advanced aliens, and then the answer came to her. “You want her to help find you some land?”

  “I knew you were brilliant!” Amelia exclaimed with a smile. “We also need for you and Koop to not only work on building and designing the area on the ship for the ladies, but to help build us a site on the ground that can accommodate a large number of warriors and help them be more…human-like.”

  Maggie quickly thought over Amelia’s suggestion. She was being asked to help these aliens, but she would get to see her sister too.

  “But wouldn’t that mean May would have to know about…” Maggie lifted her chin toward the two males still standing close and listening to the conversation.

  “Yes.” Amelia nodded.

  “But—”

  “No,” Amelia interrupted Maggie. “I know what you’re going to say or ask. No, May would not have to stay here aboard the ship. Trian and the council will allow you to tell her about what happened and of course about the Gracians and their ships in space. But she can’t talk to anyone else about us except you. If she attempts to, then I’m afraid she will be brought aboard the ship. We can’t risk people knowing about the Gracians just yet. You and Koop will be able to stay on Earth in the small colony you will be creating. If that’s what you wish for.”

  Maggie looked at Koop. As much as her body yearned for her to lick him from top to bottom and get him to make her scream like he’d done in her dream, her mind was still denying he was anything to her.

  The medical doors suddenly whooshed open and a tall woman came striding in. Maggie instantly knew that she was Gracian because of her eyes. Seeing her, Koop gasped and walked over to her. His hands cupped her shoulders. Jealousy rose deep in Amelia’s mind—he had his hands on another woman. She looked away in reservation but listened to their conversation.

  “Are you okay, Twirl? What are you doing here?” Koop asked.

  “I came as soon as I heard,” the woman answered. “Why are you in medical and not your cabin? Is that her? Your spark?”

  Maggie wanted to turn her head and look at the Gracian woman. Maggie’s heart wanted her to speak out and admit she was Koop’s spark. Tell the woman to get her mitts off her man.

  “Yes, she is my spark. And we’re here because Hover was watching over her.”

  “Is she sick? Surely it can’t be because she can’t withstand your energy, or that it isn’t enough like it was for me, frater. Mates are supposed to be ideal for each other.”

  Maggie wondered what frater meant. The word wasn’t translating through the device that had been planted behind their ears when they had first boarded the Gemorph. Did it mean husband? Lover? Father? No, father couldn’t be right, because Gracians could only have a child with their spark. Maggie’s panicked mind quickly went to he’s already mated before she pushed that thought away and continued listening.

  She could hear the closeness between Koop and the woman, and she couldn’t stop the sudden possessive feelings inside of her that this Twirl was close enough to Koop that she called him by a friendly name. By the sounds of the conversation, the pair had exchanged energy before. Was this woman a lover?

  “Things aren’t what they seem, Twirl. Maggie is human, and they have different customs. It might take time, if she is to accept me.”

  Twirl’s voice deepened with a growl. “Not accept? Doesn’t she realize what she will do to you if she does not accept you? I can’t lose you, frater, as I did my parents. Even through all the yarns of being ill, you kept me going. Please, allow me to speak to her and explain.” Twirl’s tone changed to one of begging. “Please.”

  Maggie could hear how upset Twirl was becoming and couldn’t resist turning her head and looking toward the pair. Koop held Twirl close, his arms wrapped tightly around the woman’s shoulders. Jealousy rose and then anger. See! You can’t trust men! They just cheat. Humans, Gracians. they are all alike.

  Amelia suddenly stepped into Maggie’s line of sight. “Don’t even think that,” she warned as if reading Maggie’s mind. “Koop,” Amelia called out. “Would you like to bring Twirl over and introduce her?”

  Koop turned his head, then gently pushed Twirl away from him. Taking the woman’s hand, he pulled her over to Maggie’s medical bed. Maggie threw Amelia an ang
ry glance. Why the fuck would Amelia want Maggie to meet Koop’s lover or ex, or whatever Gracians called their sleeping partners. It was clear the pair had exchanged energy.

  “Maggie, meet Twirl.” Koop smiled. “She is my nepti.” He turned fond eyes onto his Twirl. Seeing the love he had for the woman made Maggie grit her teeth.

  Amelia laid a hand over Maggie’s. “Nepti means niece,” Amelia said as if she’d read Maggie’s jealous mind.

  Niece? Shame and guilt, along with a flutter of other emotions, swam through Maggie. “But…they shared energy? Didn’t you say only parents and mates did that?” she asked, confused.

  “My parents died when the Gange attacked our planet,” Twirl said, taking a step toward Maggie. “I was only a youngling, and when Koop found me I was barely alive. I wouldn’t be here today if he hadn’t fed me his energy for all the yarns my parents should have,” she explained with tears running down her cheeks. Her light brown eyes swirled with emotion.

  Maggie wanted to apologize for her bad thoughts a thousand times over. She couldn’t stop the relief she felt though upon learning they weren’t lovers. But then again, even if they were or had been lovers, Maggie wondered if she had a right to be envious anyway. After all, she had yet to accept Koop, and in fact, she had even denied the male. He had a right to be with whomever he chose.

  “My energy left Twirl sick for numerous yarns as I wasn’t one of her parents.” Koop’s chocolate voice was filled with his own grief as he gazed toward Twirl, explaining a little more about their past.

  “I am here today because of you, frater,” Twirl said, turning to face her uncle. “I have a mate and a child now that wouldn’t be here today either if it wasn’t for you.”

  Twirl suddenly turned toward Maggie, her eyes swirling faster.

  “Why will you not accept him?” Twirl spat out with unexpected vehemence. “He is a good male. He has a high status on this ship as a bridge officer. Are things so different on your planet that a male who can provide for you, one who would give his life for you if needed, is not good enough? He is all I have, and I won’t allow you to take him away. You will be killing a good male if you don’t at least try to be his mate.”

  “Twirl!” Koop admonished with one word.

  Twirl turned her eyes back to her uncle. “She will though if she doesn’t accept you, frater. You will flare and die. Doesn’t she know this? You kept me alive all those yarns and now, because of her, your life could be extinguished.” Her brown, fast-swirling eyes looked darker the more she looked at Maggie. “He will make a good mate. You will be the only female he will ever touch and love intimately. No other female will ever grace his bed besides you. You are the only one! I’ve heard that some of the other human females have accepted their sparks and are happy. He will give you anything he can if you give him the chance. Please,” she begged.

  “Twirl. Come here, nepti. I think it is time for you to leave,” Koop urged. “I will call your mate to come be with you for a while.”

  “I can’t lose you because of her!” Twirl said angrily, staring toward Maggie. “You realize he will die, don’t you?” Twirl snapped, taking a step and approaching Maggie. Koop’s arm snaked quickly around the woman’s waist and pulled her back against him. “What kind of selfish person are you?” Twirl screamed.

  The pain in the woman’s eyes and voice was raw. Maggie’s guilt overwhelmed her. She tried to remember everything Amelia had told her about these Gracians. How could Koop die because she didn’t want him?

  Maggie looked at the male holding Twirl. Her first response when he had his niece in his arms was jealousy because she’d thought they were lovers. Maggie had allowed herself and her ex to taint other men. Maggie mentally reviewed everything the other sparks had shared with their small group of kidnapped women. It was obvious they were in love. Their tone of voice, body language, and smiles told her how much they were loved and returned that love back to their men. Maggie herself had witnessed numerous times how the Gracian men held their sparks in their arms, holding them close.

  “Twirl, enough!” Koop shouted.

  Koop pressed his comm then call out a name. Maggie heard a mumbled reply before another tall Gracian male suddenly appeared in the medical bay, his attention immediately on the weeping woman in Koop’s arms. The new male quickly picked her up in his arms. He gazed around the room as if seeking out the reason his mate was distressed. Possessiveness, love, and anger swirled in his eyes. Maggie withdrew into herself and lowered her eyes, not meeting his. She didn’t want to announce that it was because of her Twirl was upset. She did, however, through lowered lashes, see Koop touch the male on the arm.

  “I will visit later and explain,” Koop said.

  The other male nodded and zapped from the room with Twirl still in his arms.

  Maggie couldn’t speak; she was stunned into silence. A huge array of emotions rocked her once again. Koop would die if she didn’t become his mate? Twirl was his niece? So many questions, so many emotions. Maggie suddenly felt tired beyond belief.

  “Hover?” Maggie called the medic.

  “Yes?”

  “Is what she said true? Will Koop die if I do not take him as a mate?” Maggie raised her eyes to meet the brown, swirling ones of the medic. Before he even answered she saw her reply.

  “Yes, Maggie. At this precise moment, his body is producing more energy than before. This is because of the—”

  “Mating heat,” Maggie interrupted.

  As if the words summoned a reaction, Maggie felt an overwhelming flush of heat and lust start at her core and flood through her body. Her clit thrummed, and she clenched her legs tightly together, along with her vagina muscles, to try to stem the ache, but it did nothing. She gasped when the top of her gown rubbed gently over her suddenly sensitive nipples, causing them to stiffen. She wanted to place her hands under the skirt of her dress and touch herself to stop the staggering feelings.

  “Oh God.” She moaned. Sweat dampened her forehead.

  “Stay calm, Maggie. The wave will dissipate in a few seconds.”

  Through gritted teeth, Maggie asked, “How long will this continue?”

  “If you’re asking how long the wave will continue, not long. If you’re asking about the whole mating heat...” The medic’s sad eyes met Maggie’s. “I am sorry, Maggie, they will continue for a while. Without your male’s assistance, it may even last several days.”

  “In other words, I’m going to be a sex addict going through withdrawal.” She groaned.

  Amelia placed a hand over Maggie’s. It felt wrong, too light, too… Maggie couldn’t find the words until she glanced up at the other sexy, worried man in the room. Koop. It wasn’t his skin, it wasn’t his body touching hers. She hissed a breath through her teeth at the irritation she felt at having Amelia’s hand on top of hers. She withdrew it quickly.

  “Please don’t touch me,” she said.

  Amelia gave her an apologetic nod. “I’m sorry, honey. There is a way to stop this, Maggie, but that’s not the reason I came back here. What do you think of the idea about asking your sister for help?”

  Maggie felt a little better as the seconds went by. Her nether regions settled to a less intense reaction to wanting sex, and her body, although more alert and sensitive, calmed so she could think more clearly.

  Her sister! Amelia was giving her a chance to head home, back to her sister. It was something she had tried, screamed, and cried for from the moment she had awoken and discovered she’d been kidnapped.

  “I can go home?” she asked, a little frazzled.

  Amelia nodded. “As long as Koop and a security team go with you and you warn May not to tell anyone about the Gracians.”

  Maggie was certain her sister wouldn’t say anything. Between the pair of them, May was the soft touch. She helped anyone and everyone she could. The woman was practically a saint. May would be fascinated by the whole situation as she had wanted to see the stars close up since childhood.

  “
She won’t say anything,” Maggie assured Amelia.

  Amelia smiled. “So, you will go and ask for her help?”

  Maggie again raised her eyes to Koop, who stood beside Hover with an intense look on his face. What about him though? Was she truly his spark—the only one meant for him? If so, and she denied him and he…something happened to him, would she be able to live with herself, knowing she could have prevented it? Everything Twirl had said about Koop not straying and so forth went through Maggie’s mind. He wouldn’t be like her ex. He would never touch another female in an intimate way.

  “Could I get a few minutes to…” Go through things? To adjust to the situation? She wasn’t sure what to say.

  “We can do that, Maggie.” Amelia patted Maggie’s hand.

  Maggie winced when her skin contacted with Amelia’s again. It just felt wrong. Amelia stepped away, mouthing sorry, and walked toward Hover and Koop, taking them into a nearby corner. All three of them kept turning to look at her, as if they were unsure if she would freak out again. Maggie felt oddly calm inside.

  She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, taking in her body’s reaction. Her nipples were still as hard as pellets, and they were pressing against the lace of her gown. The soft material didn’t feel as comfortable as it usually did; it felt coarse and scratchy. Maggie’s mind drifted lower down to her core. Her panties were damp, her pussy as sensitive as her nipples and achy. Her clit even felt like it had its own pulse. Her body thrummed with a sexual energy that she had never felt, not even on her wedding day.

  Maggie had been a virgin until that night. She’d read books about passionate nights with a sexy man holding the woman he loved in his arms all night long. About a man giving his wife multiple orgasms over and over. But it wasn’t like that for her. Sex had hurt on her wedding night, but Maggie had gritted her teeth and given Todd something she’d given to no other. Her sex life over the years had been adequate, but it had never been like it was in the books she read.