Forbidden Touches: A Xeno Sapiens Novel (Genetically Altered Humans Book 6) Read online

  FORBIDDEN TOUCHES

  Rena Marks

  Forbidden Touches

  A Xeno Sapiens Novel

  Rena Marks

  When futuristic Earth finds alien DNA and creates a new species of hybrids in hidden labs, Dr. Robyn Saraven helps the “creatures” escape. She uses her connections to establish their own city on Earth-Ground where they can learn, grow, and avoid the corruption and greed that created them.

  Dr. Irina Mescar joins the team soon after their establishment in the new city, Xenia. Her first day is anticlimactic, encountering a stunning Xeno Sapien with rolling waves of pain underneath the skin of his back. She discovers the movement is wings—and sets them free. But what the doctor really wants to study is the possibility of procreation between the Xeno Sapiens and humans. She tells herself it’s science—and not the fact that the sexy man has her hormones in a surge.

  Blaze has been called an angel because of his glorious white wings, but the real angel is the tiny human doctor who freed them from his skin. Now he just has to convince her she’s his, despite her protests over inappropriate relationships between a doctor and patient.

  And if it’s winged Xeno Sapien babies she’s interested in, he’ll do anything possible to provide them.

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Epilogue

  Xeno Sapiens

  Alien Stolen

  Abducted

  Space Babies

  Artificial Intelligence

  Stargazer Series

  The Hunter

  Also by Rena Marks

  Prologue

  Being a doctor to the Xeno Sapiens—people created in underground laboratories using human and various alien DNA discovered in the lost city of Atlantis—meant Dr. Irina Mescar was well aware of their telepathic abilities. Today, the mess hall was abuzz with excitement with the upcoming arrival of the latest Xeno Sapien babies.

  Twins.

  And Irina wasn’t going to miss this for the world. She’d been studying up on the compatibility between Xenos and humans, and so far, only miracles had occurred in order to procreate. Such as the case with the latest babies. Their fathers—twins themselves—had discovered unique healing capabilities called cocooning or hibernation. The healing adapted their DNA to allow them to become compatible with their very human mate, Heather. Not only was it amazing that their bodies allowed this to happen, but the baby twins seemed to have three parents. Scans showed evidence of them being created by both fathers.

  Irina wanted to find out how.

  As soon as she cut through the crowded room, she had to elbow her way to the center. It seemed everyone turned out to get a glimpse of the babies. But then a body shifted, and she got a glimpse of the center table where the parents sat, along with a gorgeous man with a shock of red hair. Not the orange shade of hair a human would get. But a glorious, thick mane of blood red that marked his heritage as other. A sense of relief shot through her. He was right there in the thick of things.

  Blaze. Her first patient. Her favorite patient. If truth be known, her sexy patient.

  She’d met him her first day inside Xenia. He’d collapsed, writhing in pain outside. She’d quickly helped, discovering what they first thought was a parasite roving under the muscles of his back.

  Turned out, he’d developed wings that were itching to rip through his flesh. She’d taken a scalpel to his back, and glorious white wings that made him look just like an angel emerged.

  Blaze was sitting down across from Heather, holding one of the newborns in his arms. There were no words for the way her heart nearly burst. His thatch of blue-red hair, always tousled just so, his strong, muscular arms, his flat, ridged belly—holding a tiny newborn so tenderly.

  The babies were male, indicated by the fact they were a yellowish green color that resembled their Xeno Sapien parents, who were also male.

  Irina hurried to her patient’s side, placing her hand casually on Blaze’s shoulder. He looked up at her and grinned, sending her stomach into flips. She turned her attention to the infant instead.

  “Oh, you are simply precious,” she cooed at Logan, whose name was clearly displayed on the tiny shirt.

  “Thank you,” Blaze rumbled.

  It was so like him. Irina burst into laughter. “I meant the baby.”

  “Did you?” Blaze flexed his shoulder, making her hand jump under the strength of the bulging muscle.

  She ignored the instant wet that tingled between her legs. “Stop being a tease,” she chided. “Scoot a cheek.”

  She squeezed onto the seat next to him and ran her finger down baby Logan’s tummy. He gurgled lightly.

  “Do you mind if I give him a quick looksee with the scanner?” she asked Heather. “I have one in my bag.”

  “Not at all.”

  Irina pulled out her scanner and ran it over the newborn. “Healthy as a horse,” she said, her eyes widening as she took in the data. “Oh, that’s interesting. He can see in full color. Normally infants don’t have a wide range of eyesight right away. He weighs in at six pounds, eight ounces. A healthy enough weight.”

  “They were the size of my palm when the egg expelled,” Heather said.

  “Fascinating way to give birth,” Dr. Irina said. “So much easier on the figure.” It was another area she studied. Though these were only the second babies born, Heather had been pregnant for a few months with an egg which expelled. The membrane had quickly hardened into a shell for the remainder of the pregnancy until the twins hatched.

  Heather grinned. “Right? It does take away the ‘eating for two excuse,’ though.”

  Next to her, Jett fished a now-awake Brody from the stroller, showing him to the small crowd of gathered people.

  “I find the concept of babies fascinating,” Irina said. “I’ve been studying the how and why since Robyn got pregnant. I hope you don’t mind, but I delved into your files, too. We’d like to see if we can help other Xeno Sapiens reproduce.”

  “Not at all,” Heather said. “Amanda mentioned that you were the one to figure out what the sex of the babies would be.”

  “If it’s babies you wish to explore, I am also available for study.”

  Suddenly, the babbling of voices froze with Blaze’s loud declaration to her.

  Oh, god, they knew. They all knew of her silly, schoolgirl crush on her own patient. They knew why she continually set him up with appointments under the pretext of medical care when he was as healthy as a horse.

  They knew she got him naked and into a medical exam robe so her eyes could rove over his perfect male form while she pretended to study his wings. How could he not know? How many people manipulated firm male buttocks with their fingers under the pretext of wing-studying?

  Frozen, Dr. Irina tried to play it off. “Don’t be silly, Blaze. I need to study already procreated files.”

  “Why? When you can start from square one with someone willing to explore genetics from the ground level?”

  “Because that would be experimentation at that point,” she said softly. Very deliberately, she moved slightly
away from him and Logan, separating herself subconsciously.

  He watched her carefully, seeming to notice how she removed herself from touching him. Of course, he narrowed his eyes and continued on.

  “I don’t think you understand, doc,” he said. “I am willing to put myself out there for you. I am willing to experiment with you. I am willing to make you a mother.” His voice dropped to a whisper.

  No ifs, ands, or buts. They knew. Irina froze. “Blaze, this is not the time or place for this discussion.”

  “I don’t think you’re willing to hear the discussion at all. Every time I try to bring it up privately—”

  “Because it is not an appropriate conversation between a doctor and her patient.”

  He continued on as if he never stopped speaking. “—you shut me down. Therefore, I am bringing it up in public where you are forced to respond.”

  “You won’t like the answer,” she warned, aware of all the curious faces and desperate to make him stop.

  “Your passion is genetics. You have a willing avian species of DNA at your fingertips. You have two families with children. Give me your answer, doc.”

  Her voice went cold and professional all at once. It was the voice that carried her through medical school and into the field beyond. “I am a professional. I refuse your offer. I don’t mix business with pleasure. I think you need to look for another one of the doctors to service your medical needs from now on.”

  She almost sobbed. She hadn’t meant to go so drastic as to shoot herself in the foot, but what was done was done.

  She turned her attention back to Heather, who barely had time to snap her mouth closed. “Heather, your children are beautiful. Good luck. I would love if you would bring them by to visit me from time to time.” With that, she swept up and, head held high, eased gracefully from the mess hall.

  Everyone was still quiet as she walked away. Of course. They were all telepathic, not just Jett and Brax. They were probably consoling the infuriating Blaze.

  To her amazement, he smiled broadly. Angry with herself for caring, she forced her attention away as she returned to her office.

  Chapter One

  Once there, she sat down on shaking legs. What was she going to do now? Now that everyone knew of her interest in Blaze and the pathetic attempt she’d made to tamp it down? How could she go on?

  In a flash, it was ten years earlier when she was in her residency under the prestigious Dr. Frank Mcklintoch Chenowitz. Ten years earlier when she’d destroyed her patient Ralph’s cancer—and their love had taken off. It was frowned upon to have those kind of feelings for a patient, but hell, Irina was one of the few privileged born to Theta Eight. She was used to doing what she wanted, and she wanted the first man she’d saved.

  But Ralph saw more to her than the spoiled doctor who could go by the title Lady Mescar or as Doctor Mescar. Ralph was tender and loving—and she missed his recurring cancer. She missed it until it was in stage three. A recurring cancer couldn’t be treated after stage three just the original cancer could. But then again, a recurring cancer shouldn’t have progressed to stage three before being caught.

  She still remembered her superior’s smug face. Dr. Chenowitz wasn’t a kind man. He seemed rather nonchalant that she had to experience Ralph’s death. How could someone be so callous? Then the nonchalance evaporated, and he all-out blamed her. Pointed out how—if she had been focusing as his doctor instead of his lover—Ralph’s life wouldn’t have been wasted on the whims of a spoiled child who wanted her first conquest.

  It was a harsh lesson, but a true lesson. Ralph would still be alive if he’d had another doctor who hadn’t had such an ego complex that she seduced her first successful patient like a prize.

  A soft knock at the door carried her back to the present.

  “Come in,” she said.

  The door opened slightly to reveal the handsome man she’d just left behind. Her lip tightened.

  He smiled easily and opened the door wider to reveal the bundle he carried in his arms. “I brought Brody. Heather thought since you scanned Logan, you might want to follow up on his brother.”

  All anger at Blaze melted away. Of course, the twin. How could she examine one and not the other at the same time? She almost slapped her forehead. What the hell kind of doctor was she?

  Oh, yeah. The kind who had a man undress and wear an old fashioned paper robe with an open back so she could stare at his beautiful bare ass without him knowing.

  “Please. Bring him in.”

  The door opened all the way, and Blaze entered in all his glory, a tiny infant nestled in the crook of his arm.

  She was about to indicate that Blaze place him on the padded exam table, but instead he carefully placed the newborn in her arms—forcing her to touch his warm, delicious skin. Her nipples hardened at the brush of his forearm against hers. Damn her traitorous body.

  Brody was just as beautiful as his brother. Awake now, he cooed softly at her while she scanned his tiny body, recording the measurements. When she was done, she undressed him and manipulated his tiny limbs, rotating them gently, checking his joints and his flexibility. He was simply adorable, so perfectly formed. Her ovaries were on sweet overload.

  So far, Blaze was silent as he watched.

  She dressed the baby, giggling softly when he kicked his arms and legs to avoid being confined. She wrapped him back in his blanket, and he relaxed when he was tightly swaddled, his eyes flitting sleepily back and forth between her and Blaze.

  “Oh, yes,” she cooed softly. “You’re about to lose the battle with staying awake, aren’t you, little man? Go ahead. Take a nap. The world will still be here when you wake up.”

  And then it was time to deal with Blaze.

  * * * * *

  They watched as Brody’s eyelids fell, a small smile plastered on his face as he slept. Irina patted his little thigh gently and watched as he softly breathed.

  “I think our professional relationship has been compromised—” she began.

  “Yes.”

  She stopped. “Did you say yes?”

  “I did.”

  Huh. She expected him to argue. She was kind of stumped now. “So you agree with me?”

  “Yes. It was what I was aiming for.”

  She felt her jaw go slack. “Why?”

  “Because I don’t want a professional relationship, doc. I want you. As a woman. Warm and willing under me.” With a wink, he scooped up the sleeping Brody and leaned in toward her. “Close your mouth.”

  She snapped her jaws closed.

  He deposited a swift kiss to her lips, and before she could blink, he was gone. She was alone in the office with tingling lips.

  And tingling lady-parts.

  “Hey, are you doing okay?” Her friend, Amanda, poked her head around the corner.

  Amanda Becker was the doctor who’d brought her to Xenia, the exclusive city created to house the Xeno Sapiens. They’d attended med school together. Amanda was well aware of the scandal that also cost her the position she held at the United Matschessi Medical Program.

  “Yes. I’m fine.”

  “I just saw Blaze. I understand you examined the new babies.”

  Blaze. It was time to pawn him off as a patient to another. There were plenty of other doctors. “Yes, I did. Speaking of which,” Irina took a deep breath to give her time to collect her thoughts. “I’d like to focus on genetics until we can make a decision about the new program and when it will be implemented.”

  They’d talked about the new program at a staff meeting—how to go about delving into studying each Xeno Sapien’s alien species and figuring out any procreation compatibilities that could be done. They weren’t successful—well, unless you could count one case out of dozens. One of the species, a Chi’ant, was close enough to compatibility. Unfortunately, the subject was male, and a human female would not be able to carry their young. They could fertilize in a petri dish, and grow the infant using an artificial womb, but many of
the Xeno Sapiens balked at the idea. It was too close to how they’d been created in the lab. No one wanted to produce a child with these means.

  “That would be great,” Amanda said. “But how is it different than what you’re already doing?”

  Here was the difficult part. “I’ll need to give up a few of my patients. Specifically, Blaze.” She didn’t look Amanda’s way during the speech, but she was aware of how Amanda’s gaze focused on her. “It’s just that, Blaze requires a lot of time…”

  “I thought you two were friends?”

  “We are. I mean as much as I’m friends with any of my patients. But he has regular appointments, as many as three a week sometimes, and he has pain that I haven’t been able to pinpoint regarding his wings. I think maybe someone else can help him figure it out.”

  Amanda shrugged. “I’m sure Dr. Eric can take him on.”

  A strange plummeting hit her belly. Well, that was easier than she expected. And because it was unexpected, she wasn’t sure how to feel about that. She wanted to avoid Blaze—but at the same time, she felt a sense of loss. She tried to shake it off.

  “Okay. It’s settled then.”

  Amanda smiled brightly. “And, the program unofficially termed Program Procreation as of one hour ago is officially launched. You already have one volunteer signed up.”

  “Excellent! Who is it?”

  “Your first patient? Blaze.”

  “Blaze?! No way. No how.” Even she was aware of how unprofessional she sounded.

  Amanda lost her smile. “Look, Irina, we’re going to have to deal with the elephant in the room. Xeno Sapiens form attachments. How can they not? They had nothing their entire lives, being caged until Robyn thought to create Xenia. It was why we needed more doctors. Once one gloms on to you, well, it’s hard to deal with anything else. Blaze may consider you his, but it’s no different than Tempest refusing to deal with me and only dealing with Robyn. I swear, the woman would bleed to death if Robyn was busy and Tempest had to wait her turn. So, as doctors, we have to figure new ways to deal with the situation. You have to leave all your training from the outside world outside the gates where it belongs. Being within the gates of Xenia has a completely different set of rules.”