Star Kissed by Lizzy Ford Read Free Book Online

Its effect was the same as the first time: it made her want to close the distance between them and feel his skin.
    His words registered, and she frowned.
    “Where I’m from, we don’t sell people.”
    “We do here. Anything I want is instantly of more value to those around me. I paid too much for you.”
    “What did I cost?” she asked and arched an eyebrow.
    “You see the craft running to the planet?” he asked, looking away from her out the window.
    She turned to see the spaceship without understanding if it would be expensive to a man who Urik claimed was a god.
    “Five of those,” he said. “I warned Urik not to let you out of his sight and I warned you to stay with him.”
    “It wasn’t his fault,” she replied. “He took care of me the best he could.”
    “If that were the case, you wouldn’t be here, and I wouldn’t be in this position.”
    “Send me home,” she said, irritated with him. “I’ll be out of your hair for good.”
    “I can’t.”
    Mandy faced him again and resisted the urge to move away. Something more than his striking features was compelling enough to make her feel jittery. His nearness distracted her thoughts, made her notice the shape of his full lips and the smooth skin of his jaw.
    “There’s the star gate. Urik was taking me there,” she said.
    “If you survived such a foolish journey, the star gate would be useless without me to activate it.”
    The words almost took her breath away, and hope bubbled within her. Mandy stepped closer to him.
    “Will you activate it?” she asked.
    “I can’t.”
    “Why not?”
    “I can win a war or I can activate the star gate. I can’t do both.”
    “I don’t understand.”
    “The energy I need to open the star gate is too great.”
    “More than five spaceships worth?” she asked, struggling to understand.
    “Much more.”
    “How do I get home?”
    He said nothing. He touched her hair, fascinated by the blonde curls. She pushed his hand away, not about to be distracted.
    “Can someone else open the star gate?” she pushed. “Anyone?”
    “There are three of us who can. Myself, my father and sister, both of whom are away from the station right now.”
    Mandy stared at him, registering his words. He alone had the power but wouldn’t use it.
    “You’re saying I can’t go home? Ever?” she whispered, panic and tears replacing her hope.
    “Not in the immediate future.”
    “My family, all my friends. They’ll notice I’m not there.”
    “They’ve been dead for ten thousand years.”
    The words made her head spin and tunnel vision form. Mandy sank against the window, no longer able to quell the sensations.
    “How did I get here?” she managed. “Whatever brought me here, it can take me home.”
    “It was most likely a natural phenomenon, a temporary wormhole. We can’t control those except through the star gate.” Akkadi crouched beside her, bringing his warmth and spices with him. “Calm, human.” His tone softened, and he touched one hand to her cheek. Warmth spiraled through her.
    He was systematically shooting down her options with methodical patience that made her want to slam her fists into the window and scream. He was unaffected by the loss of her world and everything she knew.
    “You should’ve let them throw me into space,” she said.
    “You would prefer death? I’ve gone to great expense to ensure you survived.” The first emotion she’d heard from him entered his voice: anger. “The medallion I gave you hid what you really are from those around you, except Urik. You would be dead without it. You would be dead if I hadn’t rescued you from the slave trade.”
    “You kept me alive for what? To become a slave? To just accept I can’t ever go home to family?” she replied.
    “You should be grateful.”
    “Grateful,” she repeated. Anger gave her renewed strength and cleared her mind. “If you were flung into the future ten thousand years and turned into a slave, would you feel