DarkRevenge (7 page)

She jumped to her feet, color blazing along her cheeks. “At
least I know what duty means.”

“Do you?” he shot back. “Then do it. You are my
Saria.
Help
me to continue my bloodline and yours.”

Her chin shot up. “If you want to fuck me until I’m pregnant,
I will lie down and let you.”

He ground his teeth together. This was what she wanted. She
wanted him to force her, try to break her so she could lie to herself that he
had raped and coerced her. “Well, then, you’d better eat something. Lying down
takes a lot of energy.” He meant to remind her that she hadn’t remained a
passive lump of flesh beneath him as he had fucked her and by the way the color
left her face and her hand tightened on the back of the chair, he was pretty
sure he succeeded.

She sat in the chair and picked up her fork. He leaned back
and watched her eat. Everything she did was smooth and confident. It was a
pleasure to observe the way her hands moved and how her lips closed over the
fork. She shot a glance at him and flushed. He allowed the silence to stretch.
Let her break it. After all, he was a rapist.

“This is very good,” she murmured, not raising her eyes to
look at him.

“Thank you.” He loved the way her hair curled around her
shoulders and how her freckles dusted the tip of her nose along the bridge to
her cheeks. Funny. Those two years they’d fought side by side, he’d respected
her mind and abilities. He saw her as a woman, certainly, but admired her more
for the way she fought. It wasn’t until he kissed her that he’d fallen for that
smattering of freckles. Five years ago, she’d been an up-and-coming officer,
sure of herself as a soldier, but less confident as a woman. He’d thought that
kiss was the beginning of something much more. How could he know that the very
next night he’d be drugged and then accused of treason?

“I wish you wouldn’t stare at me.”

“I’m a rapist. What do you expect?” He couldn’t help it. He
sounded bitter.

She raised her eyes. “I didn’t mean that,” she said in a low
voice.

“Didn’t you? But it’s so effective, isn’t it?” He bit the
words out. “It absolves you completely for everything and it keeps me at arm’s
length.”

Two lines appeared on her forehead. “I…Tory…” She couldn’t
seem to find the words. “I’m sorry” would have been nice but, considering how
they had been reunited, was probably too much to ask.

“Finish eating. You have some lying down to do.”

“Tory…” Her teeth worried her lower lip. “What help did you
need?”

Something unwound in his stomach. She didn’t really think
he’d raped her. He took a deep breath. “You’re better at history than I am.”

She blinked. “History?”

He nodded. “When was the last time a bloodline was
extinguished?”

“Not since the implementation of the
Saria,”
she said
immediately.

“Then why are there bloodlines disappearing now?” He leaned
forward. “Your bloodline is almost ended, with only you and your sister left.
Mine ends with me unless I have children. I know two other bloodlines in danger
of becoming extinct.”

She stared at him. “Stender being one of them.”

He nodded. “Darius is the last of his line. He lost two
brothers before he took the throne, right?”

She nodded. “Both of them were killed—” She stopped dead and
all the color dropped from her face. He resisted the urge to take her hand in
his to comfort her.

Tory nodded slowly. “In battle?”

Her right hand closed into a fist. “You think this is
deliberate? That would mean someone has been planning this for…”

“For at least twenty years.”

“I don’t believe it,” she said, shaking her head sharply.
Color came back to her cheeks. “You’re just trying to manipulate me, scare me.”
Some of her old commanding demeanor came back.

He sighed. “And my motives would be?”

“I don’t give a shit about your motives,” she snapped.
“You’ve gotten what you wanted. A mate. Too bad you had to get it by using the
Saria
law.”

Just once, he’d like to have a conversation, not an
argument, with the woman. For a moment he saw red, his anger blotting out
rational thought. But isn’t that what she wanted? He took a deep breath and let
it out. Now was not the time to inform her of his reasons for using the
Saria
law to protect her. She didn’t even recognize the danger she was in. “My
sources say your sister is being married to Antony Gregor.” Her fork slipped
from her fingers and clattered on her plate. He’d never seen the commander so
unsettled, so off balance. Granted, he’d tried to keep her that way but she
wasn’t treating this situation like a battle. And she needed to. Soon.
That’s
right, Alexandra
, he thought.
Antony Gregor, who has gone through
three
wives.
Apparently, his women couldn’t live through the ordeal of marriage
to the man. Brutal, powerful and rich, what Gregor wanted, he got. And Celeste
was next on his list. From what Tory had found out, Celeste had rejected the
big brute and her life wasn’t worth half a leder. Whoever was out to destroy
Alexandra’s bloodline was thorough.

“How do we stop it?” Her voice sounded small and frightened.
Damn it, he didn’t want that. He wanted her in fighting form.

But she’d said the word “we”. That was encouraging. “Two
ways. We announce our mating and Celeste becomes a ward of our family. The
second way is to expose who planned to transport that cargo.”

“You didn’t have to choose mate to do either of those
things.” Alex kept her gaze on the table, her fingernail running a pattern over
the surface. She needed to snap out of it.

“Are you suggesting I should have chosen slave?”

Her features tightened into a bleak mask. “It would have
been preferable.”

He lost the fight with his tenuous control and rose to his
feet, his chest tight. He gripped her arm and yanked her to her feet. “Mating
to me protects your sister. Your slavery wouldn’t. You know that.” He dug his
fingers into her arm. “So I can only conclude you’re complaining about sharing
my bed.” He shoved her toward the door. “I’m going to give you an opportunity
to put your money where your mouth is.”

She glared at him. Finally, a little of the woman he knew
was back. “It’s not like I’ve had a choice in this.”

“Right,” he bit the word out and slapped the door open.
“After you, Commander.”

Instead of moving, she put her hands on her hips. “Are you
going to take me to the Judge of Light?” He could and she knew it. He wouldn’t,
but if he chose to nullify the contract because she refused to cooperate, he
could take his revenge on Celeste. It was his right. Somehow, it infuriated him
she implied he would.

“No,” he said through gritted teeth and yanked her into the
corridor. “We’re going to see what you’ll do when you’re given a choice.”

Chapter Five

Not adapting well
. In the past, Alex had written
these words for soldiers who responded to crisis with weakness or hesitation.
Now, she could use these words for herself. She’d been hesitant, ineffective
and
stupid
. Faced with a crisis, she let the enemy throw her off.

Desperately, she attempted to build her crumbling courage.
The idea of Celeste with Antony Gregor made her blood run cold. The man was a
killer, a hater of women. Celeste wouldn’t last a month with the asshole. Hell,
she wouldn’t last a month with
this
asshole. Alex shot a sidelong glance
at Tory Ingle.

Why couldn’t he be a big, ugly brute like Gregor? It would
be easier to reject him, toss his offers back in his face. Instead, her pride
lay in tatters and she couldn’t seem to find that reservoir of strength that
had made her respected among her men. Instead, this…
mercenary
manipulated her with sex, with lust.

Shame made her stomach sour. It wasn’t like her to pass the
buck. To hurt him, she’d called what happened between them rape rather than
admit the truth.

She’d wanted him.

He hadn’t had to work all that hard to get a response from
her, either.

Humiliating.

Others passed them in the corridor and she glanced at them
briefly. Several officers nodded to Tory and then, surprisingly, to her.
“Commanders,” they’d said.

Rumors after Tory had been exiled had labeled him a
criminal. She’d collected every bit of information she could without revealing
her intense interest. He’d cheated every businessman who served the royal
family. He’d double-crossed Dividaon Teran Four, who’d put a price on Tory’s
head. He’d raided a corrupt Teran Five corporation’s space station and sold its
goods to the highest bidders. The stories about his crew were outrageous. They
were cutthroats, only interested in money, without loyalty.

But the people she saw on this ship seemed well-trained,
taking pride in their appearance and following military precision. The
respectful demeanor of the non-officers showed their loyalty to Tory. And it
seemed by their salutes that their respect extended to her, as well.

After the fourth crewman showed her this courtesy, she asked
Tory, “Why are they respectful to me? Aren’t I the enemy?”

“You’re my mate,” he answered. “They’re proud to have two of
the best Teran One officers in charge of their ship.”

She blinked. They were? Who the hell were these men? She’d
thought they were criminals, outcasts, thieves, murderers.

Tory opened a door to a large exercise room. Pads covered
most of the surfaces. Various weapons were on two of the walls and she noted
the console inside the door had a myriad of controls. This was a military-issue
training program. She didn’t want to know how Tory had gotten his hands on it.

The door snicked closed behind her and she whirled to face
him. He stared at her as he verbally programmed the security controls. “Ingle,
level ten security. No access except by vocal command.” He stepped to the
center of the room, his blue eyes challenging her. “You can’t kill me or you’ll
be a prisoner in here. The only person who might be able to get you out is Dink
and he won’t be too sympathetic to you.”

“So I still have no choice,” she sneered.

“Oh, you can hurt me, maim me or make me bleed, you have the
right. I give you my word that you can do anything you want except kill me.”

She cocked her head and studied him. Did he mean it? Because
she wanted to make him hurt. She hated the helpless feeling he’d inspired in
her since he’d captured her shuttle. He was handing her the means to escape
this prison he’d created.

“Why are you doing this?”

“Because you say you had no choice,” he said and clasped his
hands behind his back as if he stood at attention.

“You mean because I said you raped me.”

His blue eyes blazed. “Yes.”

“And you’re giving me a chance to kick your ass.”

He stalked her. She retreated, but circled so he didn’t back
her into a wall. His voice was low and menacing. “I’m giving you a chance to
surrender gracefully.”

Her chin shot up. “And if I don’t you’ll nullify the
contract and go after my sister.”

The way his eyes narrowed made a shiver run down her spine.
“See? That pisses me off.”

“I’m crying for you,” she said sarcastically.

“After Baslet and Wysister? I can’t believe you’d think I
would betray Teran One. And I can’t believe you’d think I’d want your Goddamn
sister.”

In a way, he was right. At both those battles, she and Tory
had stood side by side, fighting the enemy. He’d never balked or complained. He
fought smart and he fought to the death.

Didn’t he understand that to believe him back then, she
would have had to disbelieve her brother, her family? “My brother—”

He changed the subject. “Here’s your chance, Commander.
Disable me. Take me out. Hurt me. It’s what you want. If you win, you go free
to get killed by some asshole on Teran One.”

She licked her lips. There was so much at stake here. Part
of her wanted to get back to Teran One and protect Celeste. Part of her wanted
to lose. Surrendering to Tory, being his mate, wouldn’t be so bad, would it?
She shook her head. What was she thinking? She was going to kick his ass.

But he was as well trained as she had been. She needed an
advantage. Then a very wicked thought occurred to her. Slowly, she unzipped the
borrowed uniform she wore.

His gaze remained steady on her face as she slid the
material down her body. He appeared unaffected, but she didn’t believe it for a
second. His pupils dilated and his breath came a little faster.
Gotcha
.
The cool air in the room made her nipples tighten. Adrenaline made her heart
beat faster. Naked, she had no barrier against him except for her fighting
skills. Goosebumps rose on her skin and her breath caught.

She assumed her fighting position, her hands raised, her
feet apart. For a moment, he stared at her, unmoving. Then, he removed his
t-shirt and tossed it aside. His pants he left on, but he kicked his shoes off
and faced her.

They circled each other and she watched for weakness. The
fucker didn’t seem to have any. His arms were muscular and tight. His stance
showed absolute vigilance, his abs rock-hard. The only chink in his armor was
the telltale bulge between his legs.

She made her first move. The blow, aimed for his carotid,
never made it. He deflected it and his answering blow was a shock.

Flat-handed, he smacked her exposed breast.

The sting shot through her and warmed her body.
Oh shit.
It turned her on. How the hell did he know that? Shaken, she whirled around and
aimed a blow to the inside of his right thigh.

This time she connected, but only to his hipbone, which made
her hand throb dully. Again, he answered with a slap to her left breast and
again, pleasure and pain combined, making her nerves sizzle and her heart skip
a beat. Her breath hitched and she backed away, wary. Her nipples tingled in a
dangerous, titillating way.