Wereplanets
Wereplanets
Series Bundle, Books 1-4
by
Crystal Jordan
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Wereplanets
Copyright 2017 Crystal Jordan
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Acknowledgments
In Ice
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
In Heat
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
In Smoke
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
In Mist
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
More from Crystal Jordan
Excerpt from Viking Fire
Acknowledgments
As always, my first acknowledgement must be to my best friend, Michal. And this time, she had a partner in crime, Leslie, who helped invent the “vampire pig mermaids in space.” I cut off the first bit, but the rest stuck. I can only hope I’ve done their brain-child justice.
To my family, who does not always approve, but supports my dream of writing naughty stories anyway. And to my friends, Adriana and Elia, for letting themselves be sucked into my work.
So many wonderful writers have crossed my path, guiding me, giving me a swift kick to the backside or a hand to hold (as needed), or shoving my head between my knees when I had slight panic attacks and couldn’t breathe. Not that I ever panic, but these ladies would totally push my head down if I did. They are Dayna Hart, Loribelle Hunt, Melissa Blue, Kristen Painter, Jennifer Leeland, R.G. Alexander, Lacy Danes, Karen Erickson, Robin L. Rotham, and all the Romance Divas. I’m sure I’ve missed someone and will feel awful about it later, so if you’ve ever performed one of the aforementioned duties for me, consider yourself deeply appreciated
~Crystal
In Ice
Wereplanets, Book 1
Chapter 1
“Help me! Please…somebody help.”
Jain’s teeth chattered as she scanned the foreign landscape. Snow covered the rocky ground in a thick layer, and massive trees surrounded the clearing on all sides, hemming her in so she couldn’t get her bearings. Night began to fall, and the temperature dropped rapidly. Crossing her arms over her breasts, she rubbed her numb hands over her biceps to try to stimulate circulation. God, she was so cold. Ice bit into her legs, scraping the skin away and leaving her feet raw and bleeding.
She’d been wandering around naked since her ship crashed, and her personal pod had released her from cryogenic freeze. Had anyone else made it out? The ship had held a full crew and one other passenger besides her. It had exploded in a fiery array of reds, yellows, and oranges, but she’d seen no one else from the ship. The roiling smoke had spun through the towering trees and into the afternoon sky in twists of black soot. Since no rescue party had responded to the crash, she assumed she’d landed in an uninhabited area.
“Hellooooo!” Her voice echoed over the frozen landscape.
With each moment that passed, she felt her strength draining, her ability to reason slipping away. She struggled to collect her wandering thoughts, to plan how to save herself. Fading in and out of consciousness, she wondered how much longer she could last without shelter. She had no idea what planet she was on. She should have landed on Aquatilis, where her brother worked as a marine geneticist, but Aquatilis was almost completely covered in water, and she was in the middle of a mountain range. Something had gone seriously wrong. There weren’t supposed to be any other inhabitable planets in this solar system, but she could breathe and the gravity was almost normal. Where the hell was she?
Kesuk had seen the fiery explosion in the distance and had come to investigate. His sentries fanned out to surround the clearing. The feud with the Browns had just been settled, but it looked as though they wished to start again. He heaved a weary sigh, his paws crunching through the thick sheet of ice as he drew nearer the inferno. Would they never learn?
Their leaders smiled and bowed to his face while their warriors slaughtered his livestock and stole his women. He slid his tongue over his long fangs, enjoying the idea of catching them breaking the pact. His young daughter might enjoy a Brown slave. A low growl of pleasure rumbled through his chest at the thought. He hadn’t started this feud, but he’d finish it.
Relishing the prospect of a good fight, he quickened his pace. Rolling his shoulders, he stretched into a lumbering run, his long strides eating the distance. Pricking his ears, he stayed alert for signs of an ambush.
“Help me.”
The ragged cry sounded to his left, bringing him up short. His breath snorted clouds in the icy air as he waited to hear it again. Padding lightly, he crept between the trees, winding his way toward the origin of the noise.
A woman. A woman unlike any he’d ever seen. Naked, glorious, tiny, her short tufts of brown hair sleek against her skull. Her eyes drew him, greener than the leaves of a Sitka tree. He ran his tongue down a curved canine tooth, eyeing her softly curved form, the thatch of tight dark curls between her slim thighs. Perhaps it was not his daughter who would gain a slave this day. Her sudden appearance and odd coloring demanded he examine her more closely. His men would investigate the explosion and seek him out to report their findings. They knew their duty because he trained them well.
Foolish of her clan to allow her out alone. What was she doing in the borderlands? Her skin was too pale to be a Black or a Brown. He sighed in regret as he drew near. Perhaps she was addled; such birth defects or misfortunes were known to happen. She wandered through the snow, her broken gait and dazed expression making it obvious she would freeze to death. And soon. He raised his nose to the wind, trying to catch her scent. She wasn’t of his clan, that much he knew, but she was on his land.
She belonged to him.
Chapter 2
She dreamed of a polar bear. Massive and frightening, it blurred and shifted, somehow turning into the most beautiful man she’d ever seen. Unfortunately, the man was also frightening. His white-blond hair glinted in the wavering sunlight
while his coal-black eyes tracked her like a predator after prey. She squirmed under his gaze, uncertain how to proceed.
Neither of them wore any clothes, and they stood in a great green forest. He towered over her, forcing her to tilt her head back to maintain eye contact as he drew closer. Without warning, he thrust a huge hand into her hair and drew her forward, slanting his mouth over hers, muffling her weak protest against his lips. Hot excitement spun through her, dampening her pussy, making it clench with want. Her breath rushed out, panting against his lips as their kisses grew more urgent. His heavy masculine scent caressed her nose. She couldn’t explain her fierce reaction, but she didn’t want to, was content to follow his lead.
He forced her back into a snowbank, his big body heating her front as he came down on top of her. Her legs parted to accommodate him, and she gripped his shoulders to pull him closer. She wanted him. She wanted him now. Her fingers slid down his smooth chest, flicking over his flat nipples. He reciprocated by closing his mouth over the tip of her breast and drawing on it strongly. She moaned, sucking in frigid air as her body raged with unbearable heat. Her fingers tangled in his pale hair. The dense, silky texture was unlike anything she’d ever felt before.
Spreading wet kisses up her chest, he bit the side of her neck. She jumped at the sharp sensation, and then tilted her jaw to allow him greater access. The head of his cock rubbed against her pussy lips, probing for entrance. Lifting her hips, she forced him into her. Her slick sex stretched to admit his huge length, making her moan as he thrust deeper and harder, again and again. She wrapped her legs around him, moving with him, their combined body heat melting the cold snow. Hot pleasure came in rolling waves, building—
She jerked awake, still shivering with unspent desire. Panting for breath, she waited for her heart to stop pounding. The dream repeated in her mind. She frowned. She’d never fantasized anything like that before. Not ever. She’d always controlled the sexual encounters with her ex-husband, however unsatisfying those encounters had been for both of them.
Putting thoughts of her sad love life aside, she focused on her surroundings. Gray-striped pelts lined a massive bed, cocooning her in warmth. A fire crackled in a stone hearth, reflecting light in a round room. Leaning forward and twisting her head around, she saw the only entrance was an arched wooden door right next to her bed. The entire room looked like something out of a medieval holostory, except the walls were smooth and curved with laser precision. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to blink away the remnants of her dream. Where was she now? Pinching herself hard, she winced. Definitely awake. Well, this was a far better scenario than the last time she’d been conscious, when she’d dropped into hypothermia. At least she was warm and sheltered. Lethargy weighed her limbs. She must have been given painkillers of some sort, because her feet ached a little, but not as much as they should. When she tried wiggling her toes, she found they were too swollen to move. Tugging the huge pelt up, she saw that someone had wrapped them in neat bandages.
The sweet, high-pitched sound of a child’s giggle pierced the quiet as a little head poked up from the foot of her bed. Maybe six years old, the girl was paler than a moonbeam, her dark gaze dancing with merry laughter.
“You’re awake.” An odd accent spiced the child’s voice, but she was speaking Earthan Standard. Curiouser and curiouser.
Jain decided to gather as much information as she could from the only human she’d seen since she landed on this planet. “Hello. Where am I?”
“Sea Den.”
“Seaden?” She raked her memory for a city called Seaden. Nothing came to her.
“What’s your name?”
“I’m Miki. Who are you?”
“Miki, that’s a pretty name. My name is Jain Roberts.”
“My brother’s name is Nukilik.”
“And how old is Nukilik?”
“We’re both seven.”
“Seven! That’s very grown-up.”
Miki nodded, sending her cloud of hair flying. Her smile showed an adorable gap in her front teeth.
Jain found herself smiling back. “And what about your parents? What are their names?”
“Mama’s dead. And Papa’s name is—”
“Lord Kesuk.” A sub-bass voice boomed from the door. “That’s enough, Miki. You know you’re not supposed to be in here. Go find your nurse.”
Miki’s little face scrunched up in consternation. “I forgot, Papa.”
“We’ll discuss that later. Go on.” Disapproval laced his deep tone.
Miki scurried away, pausing at the door to give Jain a jaunty little wave goodbye.
Jain tucked the furs under her armpits and attempted to sit up, not wanting to meet the man flat on her back. After a few moments, she admitted defeat. She didn’t have the strength to rise. The bed dipped and a large hand settled between her shoulder blades, supporting her with ease, while another hand brought a cup of steaming liquid to her mouth. Her stomach growled, distracting her as she realized she was starving. She cupped her hands around the mug he offered and sipped at the hot liquid.
“Oooh, that’s good.” It tasted like some kind of spicy chicken stew. She turned to thank Miki’s father and came nose-to-nose with the man from her dream. Her very explicit dream. Her heart skipped a beat before racing ahead at a gallop when she realized he was naked to the waist. He wore gray leather pants and laced moccasins, but his chest was bare and as smooth as she’d imagined. His hair was damp, but she’d bet when it dried it was the same silver-blond she recalled. Her mouth felt suddenly dry, and she drank more of the broth to stall a moment so she could collect herself before speaking. “Th-thank you.”
“You are welcome.” His gaze dropped to her lips as he spoke, his hand burning against the bare skin of her back.
She flushed under his scrutiny, smoothing her hand across the pelts, fully aware that she was naked. “What is this place?”
His eyes narrowed, assessing her. “You are not addled.”
“Well, I may have hit my head in the crash, but I think I’m all right now.” Had he just insinuated that she was stupid? Not knowing where she was made her geographically challenged, damn it, not moronic. It wasn’t as though she’d crashed the spaceship. She was just a passenger, not the pilot. Who the hell was he to call her stupid? So, fine, he was huge and intimidating and gorgeous, but that didn’t make him some kind of super-genius. She really didn’t need to deal with some rude jackass today. Things were already bad enough without any help from him. She squelched her anger as she always did, pulling back from feeling too much. She pasted on a bright smile. “Were you the one who rescued me?”
“I did.” Rising, he folded massive arms, triceps standing out in relief. He shifted, raised an eyebrow, and seemed to be waiting for something.
“Um…thank you?” She gritted her teeth over the sentence, hating even the slightest admission that she was incapable. She hated that she’d needed saving at all. She could take care of herself when things went according to her meticulous plans.
He grunted. “What clan are you, and how did you come to my land?”
“I don’t understand.”
“Don’t toy with me, little bear.” He stalked closer to the bed, looming over her.
She shrank back into the pillows. “I…I’m not from a clan. Am I in Scotland?” Relief sang through her. This explained everything. Her spacecraft had landed back on Earth. Someone could tell her why her ship had crashed and if anyone else had survived. Clans, indeed. “I was on my way to Aquatilis.”
He snarled, his upper lip curling in disgust. “The fish people.”
Assuming he must be one of the purists so adamant about not mixing human genes with animal, she sighed. This would be an ugly argument. She put on her best lecturing teacher face. “It’s necessary for the survival of humanity to adapt to the conditions of other planets before the sun dies. Gene-splicing is the best way to make that happen.”
Shock flashed across his face for a moment, followed
by swift calculation. “You are Earthan?”
“Of course I’m Earthan. What else would I be?”
He leaned against the footboard, staring at her in complete disbelief. It was the most human expression she’d seen on his face since he’d walked in the door. “You left Earth before the sun died? That was a ship that exploded?”
“Yes, of course it—wait, what do you mean before the sun died? Scientists say it will be around for at least another hundred years.” What the hell was going on here?
“No, our loremasters teach that the sun died too soon. All but the humans on the four experimental planets perished. That was nearly five hundred Turns ago.” He watched her closely, waiting for her reaction, something akin to awe in his dark eyes.
Shock and doubt roared through her. Her ears buzzed, making her sway. “That isn’t funny.”
“It is not a jest, little bear.”
“This is a joke. A horrible joke. It isn’t funny! I don’t know what kind of sick game you’re playing, but I want my brother. Right now, do you hear me? Right now.”
He clamped his hands over her shoulders and shook her in short little jolts. Then he wrapped his fingers around her jaw, forcing her to meet his steady gaze. “Calm yourself.”
“Five hundred years…no, that can’t be. I’m supposed to meet my brother on Aquatilis. He works there. He…he’s my only family. The only one I have left. Please…please, tell me it’s a mistake.” She tried to jerk from his grasp, but he was too strong. Hot tears flooded her eyes, and she choked to fight them back. She couldn’t cry in front of this emotionless man who’d just ripped her whole life away with a single sentence.
He released her, stroking the skin along her jaw. “I’m not sure how it’s possible, but it is true.”
“It’s not. I won’t believe it.” Irrational, unreasonable rage pounded through her, made her glare at him. She knew this wasn’t his fault, but he was the only one here to blame. Everything was spinning out of control, and that couldn’t happen. This was unacceptable.