DarkRevenge (28 page)

With their minds wide open, she felt everything he did,
every thought about her, every single thing he wanted to do her but couldn’t
because he had to fuck her right this very second or die. Her body ached for
his cock inside her. That’s what she wanted. The connection of his cock to her
pussy, key to her lock.

He caught her broken thought and lifted his head to stare at
her. His gaze was still locked with hers when he towered over her and thrust
inside her. She exploded, her orgasm pounding her over and over, her muscles
strained. Her keening cry echoed in his mind and reflected back to her,
extending her pleasure.

She couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t think. Feeling, slipping
into a world of intense erotic ecstasy, falling, drifting. In that moment,
there was only him, only his touch. Nothing else existed for her. But when he
came, lights cascaded in her mind like fireworks and heightened the sensations
until they were sharp and needy. Like echoes on a canyon wall that went on and
on, his release amplified hers, which augmented his until it seemed as if there
was no end.

How long they were held there, she had no idea, but finally
their bodies gave out, a sudden collapse, and he lay on her, his hot breath on
her skin. She whimpered, her entire system unraveled, quaking beneath him.

Thoughts, sensations, floated between them. The intense love
he felt for her, the way she always amazed him, the way her body fit his. She
purred and wrapped around him like a vine. Stay just like that and don’t move.
Ever.

Rest. Together. Connected.

And still buried inside her, his breathing deepened and
lulled her into a comfortable, warm sleep.

* * * * *

I don’t mean to intrude, Commander, but we are nearing
Teran One. So far, we have not been identified
. Jezar’s voice woke Tory up
out of an erotic dream. Unfortunately, or fortunately, he wasn’t sure which, he
got a massive hard-on from those dreams. Still buried inside his mate, Tory
gasped when she squirmed beneath him just as he received Jezar’s mental nudge.

He growled, his thoughts fuzzy and uncoordinated. Damn it.
Alexandra,
we have to wake up. Jezar says we’re almost to Teran One.

No time for a quickie?

He almost laughed out loud at the severe disappointment in
her mind.
No, but I promise, my
Saria
, I will make up for it.

They groaned in unison when he backed out. Visions of
showering together slammed into his mind from Alex. He groaned again and caught
a mischievous grin on her face. He blocked her, his mind creating a wall. Her
grin disappeared and she pouted. “It’s not fair. You’re better at this shit
than I am.”

He stroked her cheek with his finger. “You’ll have to keep
practicing.”

They dressed and headed for the bridge. In the elevator, he
shot a glance at her. Her braid was ruthlessly in place, her uniform perfect
and unwrinkled. No one would ever know how completely out of control she’d been
only hours before. Somehow, it turned him on, that this woman, so straitlaced,
so perfect, had been undone by his hands.

She caught his glance. “Your wall is down.”

He smiled. “So?”

She rolled her eyes. The doors opened and the bridge crew
immediately relaxed. Dink spoke first. “The news on Teran One isn’t good.”

“What now?” Tory strode to the Commander’s chair and Alex
stood at his right.

“The vid of the woman being tortured has been released on
viral stream and everyone is up in arms about it.” Dink shot Alex a nervous
glance. “We didn’t put it out there, but someone did. Pontoon has begged Darius
to come back and the whole planet is on the verge of civil war.” Dink clicked a
few buttons and a news story appeared on the screen.

Fighting in the streets, still fairly localized, but
intense, filled the stories. Old family ties were strengthened and newer
families were being targeted as if they were the threat. The tenuous peace
between the First Families and the lesser bloodlines had broken down. The old
bloodlines had realized they were being eliminated, but they didn’t understand
who was behind it. Their violence was too random, indicating an underlying
panic. It was like a sight from ancient days before the advent of the
Saria
contracts, back when families aimed for bloodline genocide. Alex’s fists
clenched.

Tory reached out and took one of Alex’s tight fists in his
hand and gently stroked the knuckles. “Ena Solly has made her first move.”

“Also, Alex has been reported as dead,” Dink announced.
Another button and another vid appeared.

Her death was attributed to Darius Stender.

What the hell was Ena doing? Eliminating the possible
survivors of course. The story went on to say that a memorial was planned
during the Shoshani celebration.

“What does Ena gain by declaring Commander Zeerah dead?” Dink
asked.

“A power shift,” Alex answered. “My death forces some
political factions to choose a side.”

“She’s very popular with the Teran One people,” Tory added.
“Ena probably wants to use Alex’s death to discredit the royal government.”

“How do we proceed?” she asked Tory, though he had already
leaked several thoughts.

“Nothing has changed. The confusion works in our favor.
We’ll slip in easier and make contact. Let Ena think she’s succeeded in
elimating Alex as a threat.” Tory studied his crew. “Pulzer send any
transmissions about Darius?”

“Only that Darius was barreling down on us in two warships.
That must be where Ena got the idea to spread the word that Commander Zeerah
was dead.”

A very ugly thought slammed into Alex. Oh shit. Not that. It
couldn’t be. She met Tory’s gaze, her thoughts totally open to him. He shot a
glance at Jezar.

The three of them came to the same conclusion.

She saw the vision.

That meant there was another person involved in this mess.
Someone who wasn’t Teran One. Someone who saw visions of the future.

An Ardasian.

Jezar, is that why you signed on with me?
Tory didn’t
want to believe it. For Jezar to hide the fact that another Ardasian was
involved from Tory hurt him deeply.

No. I signed on with you because I saw that you would
save us all. This other person is a surprise to me, Tory, I swear.

Her mate was silent, but his reluctance to believe the
Ardasian and the conflicting desire not to have been wrong about someone else
warred within him.

Open up, Jezar,
she demanded
. It can go both ways.
Open up
. She pressed, her new-found mental talents expanding to dig at
Jezar’s brain.

Surprisingly, he did.

He only allowed her into certain parts, neatly sectioned,
but she wanted his reasons for being on
The Pinnacle
. She found them.

He’d been sent by the Judges of Ardasia.

Find the bonded pair that would save humanity from genetic
destruction. For a moment, she was there, in the Judge’s chamber on Ardasia.
They told Jezar that the humans were needed to save Ardasians from a genetic
dead end, that inbreeding on Ardasia had created a crisis that only human
beings had solved. Her own ancestor, married to the famous Dudley, had bred the
future of Ardasia and saved Jezar’s planet from stagnation and eventual death.
But the plague could wipe out the so many humans that the gene pool would
shrink. The Ardasians had become dependent on humanity, which was why the
aliens had interfered when the Huacan released the plague on Old Earth and why
they insisted Jezar interfere now. If the Teran planets fell to the Ardasian
line of humans, they were all doomed.

They told me my own personal future depended on your
success.
But that avenue was firmly blocked in his mind.

Right. An Ardasian who wanted the Old Earth plague released,
who apparently didn’t care that it was genetic suicide. And someone who could
see the future.

They were fucked.

“We have to adjust our plan,” she said out loud. Tory sent
her a startled look but it was important to let the crew know what they faced.

“We’re in trouble, aren’t we?” Bud said and sighed. “It’s
never as easy as we hope.”

“There’s another person involved. An Ardasian.” She dropped
the bomb but Dink and Bud took it well, almost casually.

“There had to be some way they anticipated almost every move
you made.” Bud shook his head.

“Whoever it is, do you think they know we switched the
contents of the box?” Dink asked.

She marveled at these men. No surprise, no protest. They
just accepted it. “We have to assume they do.”

“Are the vials safe on Ardasia?” Bud stared at Jezar.

The Ardasian sighed. “It’s only accessible to the ten
Judges. That means someone would have to go through them to get into the lab
where the plague is being stored.”

“We still have to go to Teran One and deal with Ena,” Alex
insisted. “This changes very little.”

“Except now we know Ena will be expecting us.” Tory’s lips
tightened. “I don’t like it.”

“Well, this way we don’t have to take Pulzer,” she quipped.

“Oh, he’ll still have his uses,” Tory responded.

“Okay. The plan holds then.” She stared at Dink and Bud.
These two were their best hope if they failed.

Tory also frowned at them. “When we disembark, take
The
Pinnacle
out of Teran One space. In fact, get it out of Teran Space
entirely. If we don’t make it out, I want you guys on your way to Ardasia to
make sure the Judges know what happened.”

None of them mentioned that if they failed, the Judges would
likely know anyway.

“We leave in one hour. Notify our two volunteers,” Tory told
them. He turned to Bud. “You’re in charge.”

Dink rose stiffly and stuck his hand out to Alex. “It’s been
an honor, Commander.”

“The honor was all mine.” She shook his hand.

The way Dink’s gaze swerved to Tory’s made Alex’s heart
clench. Tory was so much more to them than just a ship’s commander. He was
their friend, their father, their brother.

No handshakes for them. Tory clapped him in a hug that made
tears prick her eyes. Bud rose.

Would there be hugs for the Teran Four native? It shocked to
Alex to see just that. Who knew? Then, Dink and Bud both hugged Jezar, a
bizarre sight for anyone who had met any of these men.

The moment passed and the three of them stepped into the
elevator. Dink met her gaze. “Bring them back, Commander.”

“I will, Dink.”

The doors closed and Alex gritted her teeth. She hoped she
could live up to the faith Tory’s men had in her.

Tory reached over and clasped her hand in his. Whatever
happened, they’d face it together.

Chapter Twenty-Three

The shuttle bay was almost empty when Tory, Jezar and Alex
arrived. Tory hadn’t even checked to see which two men volunteered for this
suicide mission. They hadn’t pulled any punches when they’d informed the crew
about it. Survival? Probably not. Reward? None, unless you gave a shit about
humanity.

With Pulzer trussed up between them, the two volunteers
waited for them by the shuttle. One was Marak Foche. Alex had met him briefly
during the trip. He was an expert on engines and was often seen with the second
volunteer—Tesia.

“No.” Jezar breathed the word out so softly Alex wondered if
she’d heard it.

“Thank you, Tesia, Marak.” Tory nodded to both of them.
“Jezar will fill you in on the details of our plan on our way to Saladian.
Marak, I know you’re familiar with the Shoshani customs on Teran One. Will you
help Tesia out with that?”

“No.” This time Jezar’s voice was loud and emphatic.

“I’m going,” Tesia said and glared at him.

What was going on here? Alex glanced at Tory who shrugged.

“This mission is too dangerous,” Jezar ground out, his jaw
clenched.

Tesia stepped up, a red flush spreading over the bridge of
her nose, her eyes shards of blue glass. “I volunteered for this. I saw what
would happen if you lose.”

Jezar gripped Tesia’s arm and thrust his face close to hers.
“If we lose, you’ll be dead.”

Alex stared at the Ardasian. Where was his famous cool? He
had clearly lost his mind if he thought Tesia was going to sit calmly on the
sidelines while Jezar ran off to get killed. And she’d seen the vision. She
knew what was coming.

It was Tory who made the decision. “She goes. Jezar, fill
her in.”

Jezar whirled around, quick for such a big man, and his gaze
narrowed on Tory’s face. “Get someone else.”

Tory took a deep breath and let it out. “She has the right
to take the risk, Jezar. It’s her life.”

Something painful glittered in Jezar’s eyes for a moment and
then, it was gone. His hands clenched into fists and Alex wasn’t sure if Jezar
was going to relax or not. Finally, the man shook his head and strode onto the
shuttle, his back stiff and his chin jutted forward.

Tesia stared after him. “What the fuck is wrong with him?”

Alex’s eyebrows rose. “If you don’t know, I’m not telling
you.”

Oh, Tesia knew what was wrong with Jezar. From the
uncomfortable shuffle of her feet and the way she turned away from them, she
had to know. She glanced at Tory.

He’s in love with her.
She sent the thought to Tory.

I think so.
But Tory’s thoughts were distracted from
Jezar and Tesia. He was focused on the plan, the details, the things that could
go wrong.

She took his hand, aware that Foche watched them. “Ready?”

In the shuttle, Alex strapped herself into the copilot’s
seat. Jezar put Pulzer by the escape hatch and tied him in. Then Jezar gave the
man a shot. Alex nodded at the Ardasian. Pulzer couldn’t know their plans.

Her fingers flew over the flight check and then she relaxed
as Tory did the rest. She glanced back at the other three people in the
shuttle. Jezar’s tight lips and clenched jaw matched Tesia’s narrowed eyes and
tilted chin. Foche frowned and listened carefully as Jezar began to explain the
details of their plan.