Torch (Galactic Cage Fighters Book 7) Read online

  Torch

  Number VII of Galactic Cage Fighters

  KD Jones

  JK Publishing, Inc. (2014)

  * * *

  Tags: Erotic, Fantasy, Romance, Scifi

  Warning: For Mature Adult Audiences. Contain language and actions some may deem offensive. Violence. Sexually explicit content. MF

  In book seven of Galactic Cage Fighters: Left with no choice, Isis flees her home world and goes to the one place her own people would never think to look for her. She signs on as a fighter for the Galactic Cage Fighters Association on the halfsie side. A new start for a new life, in a career she loves and friends she adores. Unexpectedly, she finds herself attracted to the wrong male. Her only problem, her new life may be threatened as those that wish to control her and return her to her old life close in on her.

  Torch is a Voltan halfsie fighting for the Galactic Cage Fighters Association. He joined the GCFA so he could get to know his niece that he never knew existed. Torch knows he has a tendency to self-destruct but can’t seem to stop drowning his loneliness in alcohol and females. That was until her—Isis. The one female who refuses his flirtations, which drives him crazy. How could any female deny him?

  Torch is fire and Isis is ice. The moment Torch sees her he knows he has to have her. And he is the one temptation Isis cannot deny. Do they give in to their mutual attraction or will their passion erupt and burn them both? Alternatively, will the truth of who Isis is pull them apart forever?

  Torch

  Galactic Cage Fighters

  Book Seven

  by KD Jones

  © Copyright August 2014 JK Publishing, Inc.

  ISBN#

  All cover art and logo © Copyright August 2014 by JK Publishing, Inc.

  All rights reserved.

  Edited by ML Hill

  Artwork by Jess Buffett

  Published by JK Publishing, Inc.

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales are entirely coincidental.

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  Dedication

  I would like to take the time to thank my friends. You guys support me, promote me, and kick my butt when it needs kicking. Thanks for always being there for me. I will always have your backs.

  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  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

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Epilogue

  Books by KD Jones

  Excerpt from Katieran Prime

  Excerpt from Rage

  Excerpt from Inter-Galactic Bounty Hunters

  JK Publishing, Inc.

  Prologue

  Today was her twenty-first birthday. A day that should have been full of joy and celebration. A day she dreamed about as a child. Instead, it was the most dreaded day of her life.

  “She will mate with Prince Ishop. It has been decided.”

  Those words put fear in her heart. Isistania ran down the corridors of the Royal House of Isia. What was she going to do now?

  The Council had just declared her Ishop’s property. He had always treated her like that, like something he owned. She hated Ishop and she hated Isia’s council for forcing her to mate with him. It should have been her choice to make. If her parents were still alive, it would have been her choice.

  She stopped by a window and looked out on her home world. The surface of the Isle of Isia was made of freezing temperatures, the terrain mostly of icebergs. Not a livable place. Most creatures burrowed underground. Those that lived on the surface lived a short life.

  Most of her people didn’t live on the surface; they dwelled within a multi-level dome that went down below the surface almost to the center of the planet itself. The further down you traveled the warmer it became. At the core level, the planet was almost like a rainforest with trees, plants, exotic flowers, lots of animals, and warm water from waterfalls. It was considered the paradise level. But she didn’t get to live there.

  As a royal, one of the last princesses born on the Isle of Isia, Isistania had to live on the upper levels, closer to the harsh surface. She hated it. As a princess, she was treated like property. Her every move monitored and criticized. All she wanted was a day away from the royal responsibilities.

  She hadn’t lived on the upper levels all the time. When her parents were still alive, they had vacationed on the lower levels. Her favorite had been a spot closer to the core. It was wonderful. She had gotten to go to school with all her friends, played, and just enjoyed her young life. But that all changed when she turned twelve years old.

  Her parents had been killed when a warring nation attacked their planet. Her and her parents had come to the surface levels to perform their royal duties. They were killed and she survived. The
Council placed her into the care of her mother’s distant cousins, Disa and Crep. They weren’t royal but they wanted the power and prestige that went along with it. So they made Isistania move to the upper levels for their benefit. All decisions on her life were made by her guardians.

  At age thirteen, Disa and Crep began entertaining offers for an arranged mating for Isistania. Her feelings and thoughts were never considered. She was a princess and her worth was in the royal offspring she could provide.

  By age fifteen, her guardians had selected the male they would promise her to. Again, she had no say in the choice. Their criteria were the male was either royal or came from a high political family. He also had to pay a mate price big enough to satisfy them. Prince Ishop met those criteria.

  Her first impression of him from a distance was that he was beautiful with his tall, lean body and blonde hair. But after being formally introduced to him, and the years of seeing him, she began to see that his beauty was superficial.

  Ishop was ten years older than Isistania and acted as if the world revolved around him. Her only reprieve was he had to wait until she was twenty-one, which was the legal adult age for all Isians. Isians had rituals and procedures they were adamant to maintain.

  Today, the day of her birth, marked her adulthood. She received her marking as well. Isians grew markings, similar to tattoos, that appear at different stages of life. She had a Birth mark on her inner knee shaped like a star that appeared within an hour of her birth. She received her Puberty mark at fifteen years of age, which was shaped like a moon on her shoulder. Today she received the Adulthood mark, which was shaped like a triangle, located on her back between her shoulder blades, it had shown up before she woke from her sleep. It also meant she was ready to mate. Her time was up. But she was not ready for this. She wasn’t sure she would ever be ready to mate Ishop. She wanted more time. She froze in place as she felt someone step behind her. Ishop.

  “Tonight you will finally be mine," he told her, touching a strand of her short, curly, silvery blonde hair. “I cannot wait to train you." His father interrupted him and they walked off laughing.

  She hated him with a passion. He had tried to take her innocence multiple times through the years hoping to force an early mating. However, her father, before he died taught her fighting skills, which she used to protect herself. If she stayed, she would have no choice but to let him mate her. It was expected of her, her royal obligation to her people. She just couldn’t do it. But what else could she do?

  She looked out at the surface spaceport. Everyone coming and going. As a child, she would wonder where people went or where they were from. A game she played with her mother sometimes. They made up little stories about each person. She really missed her parents. A ship docking caught her eye. It had a familiar logo on it. She grabbed a servant that was passing by.

  “What can I do for you, Princess?”

  “What ship is that?" She pointed out the window.

  “Oh, that’s the Galactic Cage Fighter Association ship. They are only stopping briefly between flights and will be leaving in a few hours. I hear they are hiring new fighters for the next season.”

  “They are having tryouts here on the Isle of Isia?”

  The servant shook her head. “No, they are only stopping here to refuel before leaving to head for the Beta Region where the tryouts will be.”

  “Thank you." She dismissed the servant. She looked at the ship with longing. A thought so ridiculous crossed her mind. Could she do that? Did she have any other options? She had none. This was it. Her one chance at freedom. She had to take it.

  Chapter One

  Six Months Later…

  “You need to knock her out!" Zara yelled out from outside the cage.

  “I am trying to knock her out!" Isis yelled back. Damn practice was kicking her ass. She was going one on one with Gana. Big mistake. Gana was one of the strongest female fighters besides Zara the Amazon. Not to mention Gana was a Priman halfsie and could hang upside down out of her reach.

  “Come on down here, monkey girl!" Isis taunted her. That was another big mistake, to taunt a pissed off Priman.

  Gana growled and let go of the bars she was gripping with her feet and landed right on top of Isis. It happened so fast she didn’t have time to move out of the way. They both landed hard on the floor.

  Isis tried to catch her breath and focus. But Gana was more experienced and recovered from the fall they took. She punched Isis over and over. Isis couldn’t move her arms because Gana was sitting on them with her knees.

  If her hands were free, she could touch Gana and freeze her. But that was not doable in her position. Her only other option was to freeze her own body but Isians were taught at an early age to never freeze themselves, it could stop their heart rate and they might not ever recover.

  “Tap-out, Isis, you’re done!" Zara yelled at her.

  No...she…wasn’t. Isis lifted her legs up and wrapped them around the front of Gana’s chest. She used her legs to pull the woman backwards. She just needed a little space to free her arms.

  She didn’t get all the way loose but was free enough to reach out and touch Gana with her fingertips. Gana’s movements slowed down and Isis shoved her off her and stood. She glanced over at Zara with a smile. “I win.”

  Zara grunted. “Everyone, go to lunch. We’ll meet back here for afternoon practice." When Isis was about to get out of the training cage, Zara stopped her. “Not you. You will stay.”

  They watched as Gana rose slowly to her feet and limped out. She grumbled the whole time and glared at Isis. Gana was not the most friendliest female fighter on their team.

  Isis looked at Zara questioningly. “What? I won, didn’t I?”

  “Yeah, you won a practice match. Barely. It’s not good enough. You can’t rely completely on your Isian abilities. It has become a crutch for you. From now on, you will not use your Isian abilities during practice matches.”

  “What? You can’t do that!”

  “Oh I can. The GCFA has given me complete control over the training for the female halfsie fighters. They didn’t want to have another incident like the last time.”

  “But that’s not fair, everyone else uses their abilities!” Isis frowned.

  “Yes, but they don’t rely on them like you do. You can use your abilities during live fights, but not during practice. We need to build up your real fighting skills and strength. You will do ten laps around the training facility before you go to lunch." Zara walked off.

  “Shit." Isis climbed out of the cage and jumped down to the floor. She thought she had been doing better with her fighting. Obviously not. She stretched before she started her laps.

  “Don’t let her get to you," a male voice said from behind her.

  Isis jumped forward startled. She hadn’t heard anyone sneak up on her. She turned around and frowned. “Torch, don’t sneak up on me.”

  He gave her a half smile. “I wasn’t sneaking up, you just weren’t paying attention.”

  She continued to stretch, raising her arms over her head. It brought the sports bra she was wearing tighter against her chest. She lowered her hands when she saw Torch eyeing her body. “Was there something you wanted?"

  Oh yeah. But he didn’t think she would want to hear what he really wanted. “I just wanted to tell you not to let Zara get to you. She’s bossy and all, but tell her to back the hell off if she keeps it up.”

  “Look, I don’t have a problem with Zara. She has stepped in to help train us and some of her pointers are really helpful.”

  “Like not using your abilities at practice?" He moved closer to her.

  Isis looked around the training facility and realized they were the only two left there. Everyone else had gone to lunch. She needed to hurry up and get away from him. She didn’t like the way he made her feel. Her body got all hot and...wet. When he was up close to her like he was now, his height seemed to tower over her short stature. She knew she was the shortest fighter in the GC
FA but she didn’t want the constant, uncomfortable reminder. She was so caught up in her own thoughts she didn’t realize he was still talking to her until he touched her arm.

  Isis jumped back out of his reach. “What are you doing?”

  He held up his hands to show her he was no threat. “Easy. I was just asking how you felt about Zara banning you from using your abilities in practice. Seems kind of harsh to me.”

  “I understand why. She is making me improve my fighting skills,” she told him.

  Torch looked her up and down. “Your abilities are your fighting skills.”

  She frowned at him. “I can fight without freezing people.”

  “Sure you can," he snorted and gave her another look like he didn’t believe her.

  She was angry now and narrowed her eyes at him. “Come on then, I’ll show you skills." She walked to the fighting mat on the floor. She turned and motioned him forward with her hand.

  “I don’t think this is a good idea, honey. You might get hurt." He stepped closer to the mat warily.

  She quirked up her eyebrow. “Are you scared?”

  He smiled at her clear challenge. “Oh it’s on.”

  They circled each other. Torch swung out but she was short and easily dodged underneath his arm. Then she stepped forward at the same time she kicked back with her foot hitting his leg hard almost, but he didn’t go down like she wanted him to.