DarkRevenge (18 page)

Tory? Little help here
.
Jezar sounded
desperate.

You’re on your own, buddy. Sorry.

Alex kept her gaze averted. “I imagine Tesia found out some
stuff she wasn’t ready for.”

He longed to touch her, but thought it best to let her
alone. The bridge had been a revelation for both of them. Normally, they could
have revealed themselves to each other slowly, tentatively. The mental
connection ripped through the walls that they both hid behind. Even though they
both found a solid ground to stand on, the connection wasn’t comfortable. Too
much information too fast meant no time to process the things revealed. And it
didn’t eliminate doubt about the other person’s feelings. Human beings were too
complicated and the maze of emotion didn’t make for clear answers.

“I imagine she did.” He wondered if Alex found out things
she wasn’t ready for, but he was afraid to ask.

“I wasn’t ready for what I found,” she answered his unspoken
question and his chest tightened. He had suspected she’d been surprised and
confused by their connection, still it hurt to hear her say it. She continued,
“But if we hadn’t connected, I might have doubted you to the very end.”
Finally, her gaze met his. “I couldn’t believe, after everything I’d done, that
you could love me.”

He stared at her. Was that true? He thought about the fear
and guilt surrounding the rock-solid emotion of her love for him. Perhaps, it
was true. “There was nothing you could have done to change that, Alexandra. It
has gotten more complicated, a little twisted—”

“That’s exactly what I saw,” she said excitedly. “A twisted
skein, tangled, complicated.”

He nodded. “I know this isn’t how you wanted to be courted—”

Her hand reached out and stroked his cheek. “I don’t care
how.”

“I wanted to do it our way, with the contract and the
ceremonies.” He knew women on his planet loved the ritual, the safety of the
courtship rites. She would miss that.

“Did you know that I had never asked for a Courtship
Contract before you and none after you left?”

He blinked. What? But men must have been clamoring to court
her, possess her. “No, I didn’t.”

“Why do you think my father and my brother objected so
strongly?” She smiled. “They both knew I’d made up my mind to have you.”

Stunned, he found that words failed him. Damn it, he didn’t
want to be navigating a fucking shuttle right now. He wanted to get his mate
naked and do things to her she’d only glimpsed. Up to now, he’d given her a
taste of his dark, delicious intentions. All those years of searching for a
sexual release, frustrated without her, thwarted from having her were going to
pay off. If he could stop flying the damn shuttle and touch her.

She met his gaze and grinned. “I love it when you’re speechless.”

Fuck the shuttle. His hand whipped out and yanked her out of
her chair into his lap. He plundered her mouth, reveling in the sweet softness
and marveled that she was his. All his.

She broke the kiss and slid off his lap. “I think I’ll keep
us from crashing,” she told him, laughter lacing her tone.

The sound he made was feral and involuntary. She reduced him
to a fucking animal. He focused on getting the damn ship docked so he could
rush her back to their quarters.

No more fighters appeared as they traveled the rest of the
way and docked in the bay of
The Pinnacle.
He’d managed to get blood
back to his brain but it was a near thing. Once they stepped off the shuttle,
he had one thing in mind.

Unfortunately, he was a Commander on a vessel supposedly
carrying a level-four containment box that every Teran government clamoring to
get their hands on. The minute his feet hit the bay, Pulzer was by his side
with several communiqués for him to inspect.

Alex walked by his side, her silent, fluid grace solid and
comforting. The bidding had continued despite the general announcement that it
was closed. The message from Teran Four was clear. Take their bids or be
boarded by Teran Four soldiers. Teran Five was less aggressive, more cajoling.
But ultimately, their message was the same. Teran Three objected to the bidding
at all on moral grounds. Which they would, the religious fanatics. Teran Two
had nothing to say at all. Which they wouldn’t, being completely uninterested
in technology of any kind—even a plague that didn’t differentiate between a
peaceful human being and a warmonger.

The one message missing was from Teran One. But then, they
had sent their message in the form of fighters.

They reached the elevator and Alex stopped as if she was
going to go to their quarters without him. He gripped her arm. “Come to the
bridge with me.”

Her eyes widened for a moment, slid to Pulzer and then she
nodded. Pulzer said nothing, but his gaze stayed straight ahead and his lips
tightened. Tory’s second probably thought he was being replaced. “At the
moment, we only have one navigator, Jezar.” He met Pulzer’s gaze. “Alex will be
the relief navigator. We need one.”

The slight relaxing of Pulzer’s muscles told Tory he’d been
right. “Yes, sir.”

Tory put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I couldn’t do a
thing without you, Pulzer.”

“Thank you, sir.”

The doors opened and they entered the bridge. Dink grinned.
“You have made an impression on the Teran One military.”

“He always did,” Alex quipped.

“Send Teran One a message. Tell them the price has gone up.
Tell them it’s now— What was that last bid, Pulzer?”

“Two hundred million leders.”

Alex’s sharp intake of breath was the only sound on the
bridge. Two hundred million leders was the entire budget of Teran One.

“Tell them, Dink. Two hundred million leders.”

“What the fuck is in that thing?” Dink asked.

“Something the Teran One government wants badly.” He didn’t
like keeping his crew in the dark. He felt better knowing the box was off the
ship. The decoy was in place. Only Jezar, Tesia and Alex knew the box wasn’t
the one from Alex’s shuttle.

“Something Teran Four wants badly as well,” Bud spoke up.

“Be prepared for an attack from Teran One or Teran Four.”
Tory instructed them.

Jezar entered the bridge. “What is our heading?”

“We’re heading to the Teran system. I imagine we’ll have
company.” He glanced at Tesia, who had slipped in behind Jezar. “Keep the
weapons hot and the shields ready.”

“Will do.”

“Pulzer, you’re in charge.” He strode toward the elevator
and took Alex’s arm along the way.

Once inside the elevator, Tory slammed Alex against the
metal wall. He gave her no chance to resist or say a word, but took possession
of her mouth with his. The hour from Ardasia to the ship had been excruciating,
wanting her, needing her. He loved the way she shifted to rub against him. His
tongue thrust inside her mouth, dominating her, taking all she had to give. His
pulse pounded, his hands itched to rip her clothes off right there in the
elevator.

The ping indicating they’d reached their destination managed
to penetrate his sexual fog and he broke the kiss. The dazed expression on her
face and the way her lips were parted drove him insane. He practically dragged
her down the corridor toward his quarters.

Slow down. Slow down
. He took a deep breath as she
stumbled into his quarters ahead of him. He clenched his fists and inhaled
again.

Fingers pulled at his clothes and Alex’s mouth pressed
against his. He moaned as she yanked his clothes off, tearing his uniform in
her haste. Stars, he wasn’t going to last two seconds. He’d be buried inside
her before he had a chance to savor her. “Alex.” His voice was hoarse with
need.

She dropped to her knees and his cock was in her sweet mouth
before he regained control. “Oh fuck. Alex!” His hands buried in her hair and
he thrust inside the hot cavern of her mouth. When her hands stroked his balls,
he gritted his teeth. His cum boiled and churned, ready to explode from him. He
controlled it, forced it back. Barely.

He pulled out of her mouth and she groaned in protest, which
almost made him come all over himself. He lifted her to her feet and she began
to nibble on his neck. If she continued to torment him, he wouldn’t last. And
he wanted this to last. “Alex, you remember what you saw when we were bridged?”

“You mean—”

“I mean the rack.”

“And the flogger.”

“And much more.”

She leaned back and a hungry look tightened her features.
“Yes.”

Her acceptance was almost too much for him. He yanked her
closer and captured her lips with his, his hands ripping and tearing at her
clothes. Naked. She needed to be naked. Now.

Once they were skin to skin, he resisted the urge to plunge
inside her, to drive her to pleasure again and again. This need to possess, to
connect with her was so overpowering, so intense, he barely controlled it.

His hands shook as he pressed the button for the rack and
his other hand rolled one of her nipples. She shivered and, a flush spread over
her neck and chest. God, she was so beautiful. Her braid was loosened, but he
undid the braid slowly and buried his face in the thick tresses. She smelled
like the water at Olani Falls, fresh and clean.

Her head dropped back and he scraped his teeth along her
neck, all the while backing her up to the rack. His cock was iron-hard at the
thought he would have her restrained, aroused and naked in his contraption. A
fantasy come true.

Chapter Fourteen

The cool metal on her wrists and ankles sent shivers down
Alex’s spine. This time, there was no fear, no pride. Only need and desire. Her
skin burned, and her pulse was erratic and she felt as if she was floating in a
pool of liquid. Tory clicked the restraints in place and stepped back. She
opened her eyes and met his gaze.

His were dark indigo, desire and need deepening the lines
around his eyes. He’d kicked his uniform away and she drank in the sight of her
mate. His muscles showed the dangerous life he kept prepared for and his chest
narrowed down to his hips. His cock, encircled by his hand, erect and long,
mesmerized her. She licked her lips, the taste of him still on her tongue, and
wished he was in her mouth again.

“If you keep looking at my dick like that, I won’t last very
long.” He slid closer to her, the heat from his body warmed her skin and she
arched toward him. He ran his finger from her earlobe along her neck, her
shoulder, the side of her breast, down her rounded hip and finally flicked her
clit just once. She groaned. Why didn’t he touch her, take her, fuck her? She
bit her lip.

He moved behind her, his hand still warm on her skin. His
lips touched her ear. “I’ll stay here where you can’t tempt me.” He tempted
her, though, his finger slipping along her slit with a featherlight slide that
made her whimper.

That teasing finger dipped inside her pussy and probed her
until she gasped.
There! Oh stars, there.
She held her breath and he
added a second finger, pressing on the spot he’d found within her like a key to
a lock. Her body jerked and tensed. A wave of pleasure washed through her, over
her, tightening her whole system like a bow ready to release.

Just as she began to slip over the edge, his fingers on his
other hand pressed against her anus. The skimming of his fingers around her
tight entrance only increased her tension. He controlled her response with
every twitch, every thrust of his hands. When he stopped teasing and slid two
fingers into her, matching the pace of the two in her pussy, she gasped.
Impaled on his seeking fingers, she rotated her hips, thrusting him deeper into
her pussy and her ass. Her orgasm hit her hard and she yanked on the wrist restraints,
the sting of the metal pinching her skin adding to the explosion until she felt
the rush in every single nerve of her body. Control didn’t matter and she let
the sensations take her wherever they led. No one else had ever had this kind
of hold over her and no one ever would. Though she tried to deny it, her heart
had been his before he had claimed her. She should have been shocked by his
dark desires, but she wasn’t at all. If anything, it was as if hidden fantasies
of her own were clarified and sharper because she knew his.

Behind her, his breath was warm on her skin. His cock was a
rod of iron against the back of her leg and she felt him leave a trail of
wetness there.

His fingers slipped out of her pussy and he kissed her
shoulder. “I have a present for you,” he said, his voice low and seductive.

She shivered and blinked when he walked around to stand in
front of her. He opened a drawer and removed a belt with a small, round button.
She didn’t even care what it was. She’d do whatever he wanted. She thought of
the flogging she’d seen in his vision. Even that. She wanted that.

“I bought this on Sethos Five.” He slid a finger over her
nipple and she tried to move closer. “You know what Sethos Five is, don’t you?”

Did she? She couldn’t put two thoughts together. Her brain
was fuzzy. “A…pleasure planet?”

“That’s right,” he said and he palmed her breast with his
free hand, the belt dangling from the other hand. “They provided me with this
rack and many other…toys that fueled my fantasies.” He brushed her lips with
his. “My fantasies about you.” He slipped the belt around her waist and she
realized small spikes dug into her skin and vibrated gently. It echoed through
her whole body and sent more fluid rushing to her swollen labia. Oh stars. She
was one raw, exposed erogenous zone.

The front piece of the belt dipped down over her pussy, the
straps following the crease between her thighs and her torso. The button on the
belt rested directly over her clit and Tory flicked a switch. It hummed on her
throbbing flesh and she cried out. “Tory!”

“That’s right, my
Saria
, my mate. You’re going to
come so many times you’ll be exhausted. You’ll think you can’t have another
one. And then I’ll slam my cock inside you and you’ll go supernova, like a new
star.”