Hollow Space (2 page)

Chapter Two

Don
’
t
look for trouble where there is none
.

“How is it that so little is known about Dareaux?” Leanderus asked from his place opposite Michaelerus.

Jada smiled. She set down her fork on the barely touched fare on her plate and made a great show of wiping the corners of her mouth with her linen napkin. “We aren’t at all secretive. It is more a case of what need do we have to leave our planet? Dareaux is rich in natural resources. The air is clean. The water pure.”

Michaelerus sat back in his chair and listened to the exchange. So far Leanderus had shown no signs of being mated to Jada. Crossing his arms over his chest, he did admit, albeit silently, that he was growing weary of Leanderus’s suspicious nature and his incessant questions.

Still, he’d let his half-brother dominate the conversation, preferring to enjoy the sound of the princess’s lyrical voice mixing with the music hanging in the air. A bit stunned he was the sole mate, Michaelerus wondered how Jada would react to his touch, how she’d taste. Would she scream his name as he pounded her into Oblivion? Would she moan prettily or rake her nails down his back while she begged him to give it to her harder.

“Then why is it that you require League ships to escape your planet if it is practically a Nirvana?”

Michaelerus cocked an eyebrow. The Dareauxsians’ use of other species’ ships was a question that had burned a long and hot path through the League of Sentient Beings and the Community of Modernized Planets. Personally, he didn’t care one way or the other. Princess Jada’s kind wasn’t the first species that had decided not to build their own star-worthy crafts.

“Our planet’s primary resource is D-crystals, and the technology we’ve built for its use. We sell much of this to other species.” She took a tiny sip of her water. “Rather than have ships clogging the stratosphere of Dareaux, we merely ask for transport to trade conferences and such. It’s much easier not only on the traders this way but also the inhabitants of my planet. We appreciate the tourist industry; we just don’t want Dareaux to become an interstellar hotspot for family holidays.”

“You also don’t want robbers stripping the crystal mines bare, I suppose.” Leanderus flashed a cynical smile at Michaelerus as if to say, “See, they’re no different than any of the other juvenile species the Council of Kings would have us mate with.”

She didn’t bat an eye. Instead, she twirled a lock of her raven hair around her finger. “Actually, no. It has happened in the past where another race has transported whole fields of the crystals to their ships.” Her smile glimmered, and light flashed in her unusual, nearly translucent blue eyes. “The crystals’ properties cannot be activated anywhere besides the planet.”

“It’s amazing that you haven’t been conquered.”

“We are not without our wiles.” She stood. The men followed her lead. “Thank you for the wonderful meal, Supreme Commander.”

Through the empathic connection wrought from the sand, Michaelerus sensed she didn’t mind the conversation, but she’d grown bored with Leanderus. It also informed him she was telling the truth—mostly. “Allow me to escort you to your quarters,” he offered. “The
Vor Marran
is vast, and a guest is easily lost in the maze of corridors.”

A flash of light flickered in her eyes. She gathered her long hair in her hands and tossed it over her shoulder. The move was probably purely innocent, but it had the power to harden his cock.

“Thank you, Supreme Commander. I’d enjoy the company.” A note of seduction etched her intoxicating accent. The way her gaze flowed down him made him bite back on the growl rising in his throat.

“But—” Leanderus didn’t have a chance to begin a lecture regarding ship’s protocol or spout self-righteous rhetoric regarding his mindset.

Michaelerus leveled his glare on his half-brother. “You are dismissed,” he ordered in a no-disobedience-allowed tone. He steered his gaze to her face once they were alone. “Forgive Leanderus.”

“He believes your kind should remain pure,” she stated softly. “A noble ideal, but far from realistic considering the Navorains’ diminished populace.” She strode to where he stood and placed her hand on his chest, over his heart. “I am sorry for what happened to your homeworld.”

“So, the reports about your kind being strong telepaths are accurate.”

“Very much so.” She bowed her head. Her hand fell to her side. A pause passed between them. A sparking energy crackled across the ether. “Normally, we attempt to not invade other kinds’ minds, but Lieutenant Fis Marran thinks quite hard. Forgive me for eavesdropping, so to speak.”

“There’s nothing to forgive.” Intimately familiar with the younger officer’s wayward tongue, Michaelerus could only imagine the direction of his musings. “I’m sorry if he offended you. He’s…”

He
’
s—what? What can I say?
A hundred excuses dashed through his head, but none of them were worth a counterfeit interstellar credit. Leanderus was guilty of not only being a damn arse but insulting the Dareaux by thought and cross-examining their delegate.

“Don’t worry. I’ve heard worse.” Her smile came rushing back as she tilted her face up. “Far worse.” Her eyes glowed. “If you know what I mean.”

He chuckled around the clog of lust tightening his throat. “I can only imagine.” Motioning toward the door, he escorted her out of the formal dining room and down the corridor.

“I’m used to hearing the thoughts of others.” She faltered for a split tic as they passed the Supreme Commander’s sanctuary. Her hand came up. The aura crackled with raw energy. “This place has special meaning to you.”

He took her in again. The woman wasn’t just soft spoken with a voice that reached out to his beleaguered heart, but too lovely for words. A smattering of sand slid from the vents.

Steering her toward his private sanctuary, he pressed the button to open the door. “This is the Supreme Commander’s haven. Most of those who are in charge of the War Galleys use this room for meditation.” In his case, he came to his private place to reminisce about days better left alone.

“You loved her very much.”

“Are you always so forthright?”

“All my kind is. We don’t believe in falsities and half-truths.” She fingered the crystal suspended from a thin silver chain hanging around her neck. “In fact, outright lying is forbidden for it affects our kind’s abilities.”

“Empathy and telepathy?” He held his hand out, beckoning her to enter the room first.

A serene smile slipped across her lips as she took in the sanctuary. In fact, he’d always been amazed by the live plants and trees, the bubbling creek and the sounds of birds contained within the sanctuary. The purpose of the haven was simple. It was the Supreme Commander’s slice of Navora during his long trips away from the home planet. Now it was the only place he felt at peace.

She sobered when she leveled her gaze on him. “It’s a bit more complicated than that and not something most species understand.” Her fingers released her crystal pendant. “The Dareauxsians are companions to the crystals we charge. They give us knowledge and peace, while we are their conveyance across the universe.”

He stared at the crystal sitting placidly against her skin. The gem pulsed a few times before returning to its normal brilliance. He lifted his gaze to her face in time to see a flicker of light shift across her irises. “Please, continue.” He denied the inherent instinct to pull her against him and take her lips in a deep drugging kiss.

“There’s not much to tell. The old scholars have said that we were once a part of the D-quarteline Crystals. I guess you could call us their soul. Many of the less educated believe that we rose from two parent strains and have learned to live in an almost symbiotic relationship. Truthfully, it makes no difference in the end. We are what we are.”

Noting how she said “less educated,” he strode toward the pool at the center of the sanctuary. “What do you believe?”

“I believe it is what it is. To try to come up with a story or an argument when there is no need to is a waste of time and energy.” She shrugged and joined him on his stroll.

Sensing she was holding something back, he clasped his hands behind his back and stared at the water. “What aren’t you telling me?”

She nibbled on her lower lip for a moment and slid her gaze to the pool. “You are my mate. At least my
infanteum crystallae
believes so.” Her fingers returned to clutch the gem hanging around her throat. She focused her gaze on his face. “I will not lie to you. This is nearly unheard of on my planet. Normally we do not mate with others who aren’t a conduit or an energizer.”

He brushed his fingers down her cheek. Tiny sparks of energy shot from her skin to send a tingle racing up his chest to shiver through his body. His cock went rock hard in the blink of an eye. “I am aware we are mates,” he admitted.

Another sprinkle of sand dripped down on them. He watched the flickering dust cling to her hair and clothes before being absorbed into her body. “You have a relationship with the crystals that grow on your homeworld; the Navorains have a relationship with the sand from our parent planet, Lazarus Seven.” He sighed. “It has drawn us together.”

“Then we are not as different as we seemed.” She took a step toward him. Tilting her head to the side, she frowned. “Or are we still worlds apart?”

The thud of her heart pulsing in her chest thrummed at the borders of his psyche. The defining
thud, thud, thud
struck through him like the hit of a mallet against a timpani drum.

Pulling her against his frame, absorbing the warm, soft waves of energy thrumming off her, he considered her question. He wanted her, but it wasn’t as easy as just getting her naked and moaning. He needed more than that. He needed her to complete a part of him he couldn’t name.

On top of that, a decade of self-abuse and guilt couldn’t be let off so easily.

He’d failed his mate. He wouldn’t ever forget that burden he carried.

There was no denying she had died cursing him to nothingness. Hell, if it had been her, he would have done the same.

“Are you here with me, or does she still own your heart?”

“We’ll see.” He cleared his throat. The compromise slid from his lips as another bitter pang of guilt struck him hard in the chest. Dipping his head, he laid a gentle kiss to her forehead before taking her lips in an openly carnal kiss.

Desire raced through his veins. Molding her curves to his, he pushed away the memory suddenly rearing up in his mind’s eye. His first night with Shaunna. Her terror—her distrust. It all lent credence to the waffling he was doing now.

Stop.

“I am here with you. Not her.”

Lifting his head, he investigated Jada’s face. “Yes. You are.” There was no going back. He’d take her body, lead her into the abyss called Oblivion, the only place where he could find his satisfaction, and pray for the best.

He’d trust in the sand.

Jada laid her gloved hand on his shoulder. She moved around him. Her gaze inspected every inch of him. She’d never met a man so self-tormented before. Her telepathy honed in on his thoughts. What he envisioned she’d call normal “first night” behavior. His mate had been terrified of the act—fearful of the pain. “She is not here anymore.”
She is no longer in pain.

“No.” A small smile lifted the corners of his lips, but his gaze remained steely.

“Let me help you.” She reached up and stroked her gloved fingers down his cheek. She opened her mouth to tell him, “Let me save you,” but stopped herself.

She couldn’t make this decision for him. He needed to want to move forward with her.

As much as she wanted to take away his pain, he had to give it up to her first. Only then, after he’d bared his soul, could she defeat the memories.

Her fingers traced a long path down his neck and then headed farther south. “I’m here. With you.” The throb in her crotch began to pulse. She skimmed her hand across his chest as she slowly walked around him.

Energy crackled in the air. The hairs at the back of her neck prickled. Goosebumps rose on her arms. Her respirations turned shallow.

She came back around him.

Not known for taking control of sexual situations or her intimate partners, she faltered for a moment. Her palm came to rest on his chest, directly over his heart. She peeked up at him through the veil of her lashes.

Part of her hoped he’d lead her down the merry trail that would end with both of them naked and moaning. Another part of her told her plainly he was waiting… testing her.

Testing her for some unknown reason. She drank in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Her head dipped. Her intention had been to lift his tunic over his head. The sight of his erection tightening his pants stopped her gentle caresses and made her body go haywire. Her throat went desert dry when she pictured herself licking his cock, taking it down her throat. An ache settled itself in her pussy.

A small gasp of longing whispered from between her parted lips. “I want you.” The words broke from her throat before she could call them back.

“And, you shall have me.”

Gripping his shoulders when he dipped his head, she sucked in a sharp breath when his lips moved slowly over hers. It wasn’t a demanding kiss. If anything, the gentle pressure he exerted when he brushed his lips over hers once then twice made her feel oddly cherished.

The pulse pounding down her channel came quicker—harder. The feel of his hands gripping her waist and pulling her against his strong, rigid frame only served to up the heat. The thick ridge of his cock pulsed against her belly.

Somewhat surprised that such a large man could be so gentle, she wriggled her hips, her body instinctively wanting to get closer to his. Low-keyed waves of energy flowed off him. Her body absorbed them.

The deep-seated hunger, another warning that she’d met her mate, grew. This need had a mind of its own. If he didn’t get her naked and moaning soon, she might just lose her mind.

The kiss turned openly carnal when he licked the crease of her lips. He tasted of wine and something else that she couldn’t identify. It was a heady flavor.

He smelled good too. Like a storm-tossed sea and manliness.