Kyele's Passion: A World Beyond Book 4 Read Online Free Page B

their lives in his hands without blinking every time they went out on missions.
    A few months ago, Kyele added another person to his short list. She sat on the other side of the room from him with a smirk on her face as she teased Sylvie. Joni attracted Kyele on all levels. She had an inner strength that couldn’t be denied.
    After her experience as a sex slave, one would expect the Earth female to withdraw or become quieter, but she hadn’t. To Kyele she fairly sparkled. Her clothes. Her hair. Everything about Joni drew him and Kyele reaffirmed his vow right then and there as he watched her enjoying something as basic as being with her friend.
    Nothing would ever happen to Joni. She belonged to him even if she didn’t know it and he’d protect her with his dying breath despite the fact that he never planned to act on the wealth of feelings he had for her.
     
    ***
     
    Joni continued to tease Sylvie as she tried to pretend she didn’t feel the intense stare of the man standing across the room from them. Kyele Bastien. The new Team Leader for Team Two after Faruk’s betrayal and subsequent death. She’d learned his full name after badgering Faye to find out.
    Faye came from Earth to Enotia through the Singles Program as had Joni. SP as they called it was designed to pair women from Earth with men from other worlds due to the shortage of men on Earth. In theory it sounded great if one had the means of putting up the twenty-thousand dollar fee.
    The results came with their own brand of danger, which Joni well knew. She’d been kidnapped by Marenians and sold as a sex slave. The same happened to Sylvie and the two discovered one another at an auction designed to sell women with a more rebellious nature.
    “You went quiet all of a sudden. What’s wrong, Joni?”
    Joni met Sylvie’s inquisitive stare. Something must have shown on her face, because the blonde woman reached over immediately and clasped Joni’s hand across the table they shared in the large eating area. Amidst the background noise and laughter of the Jutaks present, the world narrowed down to a tight bubble that contained just the two of them.
    Sylvie understood what Joni had gone through. Maybe to a lesser extent in some regards but the bond they formed from their experience could never be broken.
    “I’m fine.” Joni forced a smile, not wanting to ruin the moment.
    Sylvia glanced over Joni’s shoulder and her blue eyes glinted with mischief. “Your hot hunk of man love is staring. Better smile or he’ll blame all of us for your frowns.”
    “He’s not my hunk of man love.” Joni kept her voice low and risked another look behind her.
    Heated eyes of emerald clashed with her gaze. Breath lodged in her throat as Joni stiffened and dropped Sylvie’s hand. Dark hair layered about a deeply tanned face, short enough to just graze his scalp but long enough she could imagine running her fingers through the field of black. He didn’t have the smooth looks of an Enotian or the unnatural beauty of Rydak. His appeal lay in his demeanor. The rough hewn features, the scar that screamed danger and those wicked green eyes left Joni salivating.
    Kyele didn’t attempt to turn away, giving Joni an unobstructed view of the long scar carved into his left cheekbone and ending beneath his jaw line.
    Joni had firsthand experience with the medical advances on Enotia and wasn’t sure why he chose to walk around with such a visible reminder of something horrible in his past. The man obviously thrived on his deadly reputation. The first time Joni and he crossed paths, she’d thrown a knife at him. More than one.
    Not her finest moment. Fear had guided her and an overload of adrenaline. But Kyele had lifted his arm and done something to send the blades flying into his hand without flinching. Something about the reckless move had turned her on and she’d been reluctantly attracted ever since.
    Unable to break his stare, Joni wet her lips, her cheeks growing warm.