The Rebel and the Rogue

by Grace Goodwin

  I grazed my teeth over her swollen, sensitive clit.

  “Zenos!” she growled in response to my silent warning.

  I flicked her clit, curled my fingers that were in her pussy and breached her back entrance with a wet finger all at the same time. That was all it took for her to come, that triple gesture. I’d held off until now, until she was beyond reason. Why? Because I could. Because I wanted her to know what it was like to be at someone else’s mercy. To suffer. Because I knew in that instant she was mine completely. Under my control. My spell.

  And yet the sounds of her orgasm, the feel of her body as it succumbed, the taste of her… everything, made me weak. Vulnerable. Because this was everything and it could be taken away. I was powerful, yet completely powerless to Ivy Birkeland of Earth. I would do anything and everything I could to make her happy. Whole. Mine.

  Except bite her.

  Her body wilted into the bed, her breathing ragged. I smiled, content to see her so blissful. I’d done this to her. My cock throbbed, patient for this long but unable to hold off a moment longer from sinking into her.

  I crawled up her body, nudged her thighs wide with my knee, found her entrance with the broad crown of my cock and slid home.

  Yes, home. In her, with her was where I belonged. Where she was, I was. Where she began, I ended. Buried deep, we were one.

  My fangs ached to sink into her as well. My mating fist wanted to swell, to lock us together. The basest biological instincts in my DNA called to me in this moment to mate with her. I wanted to. Fuck, I wanted it more than anything in the world. No, not anything. There was only one thing I wanted more.

  Ivy.

  I began to move, to fuck, to give her my cock and my body. To take from her as she took from me.

  I wasn’t going to last, she felt too good. After the battle with Cerberus, I needed this connection, needed to know she was whole and healthy, safe and protected.

  I saw the throbbing pulse at her neck, my mouth watered for more of her taste.

  I craved the desire to sink into her soft flesh with more than just my cock.

  “Zenos,” she murmured. A hand hooked behind my neck, and I met her gaze. My hips continued to thrust, to push us higher and higher, closer and closer to the joint pleasure we would find. “Bite me.”

  Her words were like an ice bath, numbing my desire. I couldn’t. I shook my head, continued to fuck her but without the mindless abandon.

  “Bite me,” she repeated, her words harsher, more insistent.

  I dropped my forehead to the pillow beside her, breathed in her scent. “No.”

  She stilled. “What?”

  “I’ll give you everything else. Someone’s blood on my hands. My protection. My cock. I’ll give you my seed. I’ll give you more pleasure than you can imagine, but I won’t give you my fangs.”

  Her hands went to my chest, and she pushed me up. I planted my palms on either side of her head, stilled my hips, but remained deep inside her.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “You won’t claim me?” Her voice was small, so unlike her.

  I was inside her, and yet I felt her withdrawal, felt her emotionally pull away from me.

  “No. I can’t.”

  She pushed even harder, and I sat back on my heels. My hands cupped the back of her thighs, held myself in her. If she slid up the bed, I would come out of her pussy.

  “You mean you won’t.”

  “Same thing,” I replied.

  Turning to her side, she moved so I did slip from her. She climbed from the bed. She had red marks on her pale skin where I’d kissed and licked, sucked and grabbed. Her arousal coated her inner thighs. Her nipples were hard points. Her cheeks were flushed, her damp hair a wild tangle.

  “It’s completely different.” She paced the room, looking down at the ground. All at once she turned and left the room.

  I followed her to the bathing room. She’d been searching for her clothes. They were in a pile on the floor.

  “What are you doing?” I asked. I was still aroused, my cock hard and dark with my blood. Engorged. Glistening with her pussy juices. Pre-cum oozed from the slit.

  “I’m getting dressed. What does it look like I’m doing?” she snapped.

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know how many times I have to say the same thing. I won’t die from your bite.”

  I shook my head. “I won’t risk it.” I ran my hand through my hair.

  “There is no risk.” She looked to me, her eyes bleak. “You don’t trust me.”

  “I don’t trust me,” I countered, setting my hand on my bare chest. “I won’t risk it. I almost lost you once today. I won’t risk it again.”

  She tugged her shirt over her head, stalked out and straight for the exit. The door slid silently open, and she stepped out. Turning on her bare heel—she hadn’t put on her underwear, only her shirt and pants—she stood before me, her face emotionless. Flat.

  “You already did.”

  With those three words, she slapped her hand on the exterior wall and the door closed between us.

  15

  Ivy

  * * *

  “I’m sending this comm to notify you that Gerian Eovara, of Cerberus Legion, Rogue 5, has been captured. He was running a Quell production lab. Sending vids now.” I looked to the comm tech and nodded. He did some fiddling with the controls in front of him, sending the recordings Barek and Nev had taken in the destroyed lab. I’d learned early on that the Coalition wanted proof to claim any bounty, and I would not let something like lack of proof or evidence of capture make this one null and void.

  This bounty, the destruction of the lab and Cerberus’s death closed the case on my unit. It brought finality to the Coalition, which they liked. With proof. They would contact my teammates’ next of kin and let them know justice had been served. Perhaps it would bring them closure to what happened to their loved one, or at least allow them to grieve knowing the perpetrator was no longer free to harm others.

  As for me, I felt no closure as I’d expected. I’d been driven these long months for it, so the pain at the loss of my friends would go away. The pain and suffering I’d survived had been for something. That my remaining alive had been for something.

  Lately I’d thought I’d survived because I was meant to be with Zenos, to live on Rogue 5 and be a part of Astra Legion. To belong. With one word from my lover, that had been shot to hell.

  No.

  Zenos wouldn’t bite me. Wouldn’t claim me as his. He didn’t believe the tests that had been conducted that proved the serum would work. He didn’t trust me with the truth. Didn’t love me enough to believe in me, to believe in us. I couldn’t remain here. I felt like an Earth mistress, a woman a guy would fuck but not commit to. I’d never wanted commitment before, but I’d never met Zenos before. Never realized what he meant to me until I thought him dead.

  I’d never been in love. I hadn’t known what I was missing. And now I did, because it was so close, so attainable, especially the night before. Zenos had been deep inside me, his head right beside my neck. He only had to turn, sink his fangs deep into my shoulder. Somehow a mating fist would have swelled and locked us together, the combination of fangs and fucking would have been a claiming. A hybrid Forsian marriage of sorts.

  So close, but never further away from a true bond.

  Fuck that. Fuck the Coalition. Fuck everything. I was a rebel. Wild. Free. A fucking bounty hunter. I’d been alone all my life. I could remain alone. It would hurt, but it was better than being unloved.

  That was why I’d walked out. I couldn’t have slept in his bed, in his arms, knowing it was less than everything. I’d found someone in the hallway and asked him to find me empty quarters for the night. He’d been courteous—I was somewhat infamous within the legion—and took care of me. I’d climbed into the cold bed, cried. Sleep wouldn’t come, but surety of what I had to do next had.

  If Zenos didn’t want me, then I wasn’t staying
. I’d take care of the bounty and be gone.

  Astra came through the door into the comm room. Behind her was Gerian Eozara, primitive chains restraining his wrists and ankles. Behind him were Barek and Nev, ion pistols raised and ready to use. The prisoner was remarkably sedate, and I had to wonder if they’d stunned him into compliance.

  I tilted my head toward the comm screen. “This is Elite Hunter Sabir with the I.C. He’s the contact for external projects.”

  Astra’s pale brow went up. “He handles the off-the-record investigations.”

  “Exactly.”

  The guy on the comms was Everian. He was serious, his gaze intense. Not like Zenos when he looked at me with unflinching arousal, but with a seriousness indicative of an I.C. operative.

  “This is Astra of Astra Legion.”

  She nodded at the screen, then stepped to the side.

  “And that is Gerian Eozara. You received the vids?” I asked.

  His gaze dropped, and I knew he was reviewing what had been sent through. “Yes. Excellent work. The Coalition is pleased to hear about the capture and the termination of that channel of Quell production.”

  “The lab is destroyed. Not only do you have a prisoner, but the leader of the Cerberus Legion is also dead,” I told him.

  “I see. Well done, Lieutenant.”

  So official. So formal. So without feeling. He didn’t know my team, didn’t know their names, their lives, anything. He didn’t know how I’d been left for dead. How I’d been discharged from service. Well, he knew about that but didn’t care, and still called me by my rank. There were hundreds, thousands… fuck, tens of thousands of fighters out there. Too many to care about. Or he was just too jaded.

  “I shall send the transport coordinates, and the prisoner can be immediately sent.”

  Something distracted the Everian, and he spoke to someone off-screen. He moved to his right, and someone joined him.

  “I am Dr. Helion, commander of the I.C., Lieutenant Birkeland. I commend you for your actions in bringing Gerian Eovara to justice and the toppling of the Cerberus Legion.” He wore a dark green uniform, indicating he was in the medical field. I wondered how the Prillon was the head of the I.C. but in the health services. Actually I didn’t give a shit.

  “I’m not a lieutenant any longer,” I countered.

  “I have reviewed the vids of the destroyed lab, and I have to say, Lieutenant, that your performance was exemplary.” He cocked his head to the side. “Yet you’re human. Like my other favorite operative. She is small, like you. From Earth.”

  “I have no doubt you have all the information you need about me on your screen.”

  If he knew my rank, he knew my connection to the killed unit, to the crash, to my discharge. To the fact that I was from Earth. Everything. Just not how a human could pretty much lift the weight and heft of a refrigerator without breaking a sweat—or her back—and take out a dozen wild hybrid Hyperions with ease.

  “The bounty is yours, Lieutenant. Well-earned.”

  He was fucking baiting me with my rank. I hated it, but I refused to fall for his continued ploy. He was an asshole, plain and simple. I didn’t need to do more than look at him to know he was calculating. The I.C. had put a bounty out, which meant they were willing to go beyond the bounds of Coalition rules to track down Gerian. Helion played outside the rules to get desired results and used those results to his advantage. Like right now, with me.

  “I would like to offer you something besides the bounty.”

  And here it was. “What a surprise.” I crossed my arms over my chest, remained patiently silent.

  He ignored my remark. “Your record with the Coalition was exemplary until the crash. Your discharge was honorable. It is evident you have more than recovered from your wounds. I am willing to offer you a new commission, Lieutenant. I need good people like you. I need you back in the Coalition.”

  “Working for the I.C.?” I clarified.

  “Correct.”

  “And what would I be doing exactly?”

  “You will go where I need you. You will have the latest technology, shuttles, support, everything you could possibly need at your disposal.”

  “You want a bounty hunter?” I asked.

  “That would be a waste of your skills. I need someone who can operate behind enemy lines. Someone even the Hive will fear.”

  I thought of how I’d fought against Cerberus. Wild, pretty much unhinged. I’d used my newfound integrations to my advantage, killed the legion members without mercy. Without thought. I had almost died at his hand.

  Yeah, I was a fucking mess. But I was also free.

  “You want an assassin, then. One you control.”

  “If you want to call it that.”

  “I’m to return to the Coalition and do your bidding? Be your puppet? No, thanks.”

  “No?” Helion asked. From the tenseness of his jaw I could tell he wasn’t used to being told no.

  “No,” I repeated. “Not interested.”

  “You’re going to remain a bounty hunter, roaming the universe and taking on contracts that may or may not support you when I can offer you so much more?”

  “That’s right.”

  “You are skilled. Experienced. You should be where you could be of most use. You should help us win this war. Protect the Coalition. Protect Earth. Protect your people.”

  I turned and looked to Astra.

  “I am.”

  Her eyes flared, and she nodded.

  She understood what I hadn’t said aloud, that I wanted to be a part of Astra Legion.

  “Lieutenant,” Helion said, the one word laced with a tone used for kindergarten teachers who were disappointed in five-year-olds.

  “I’m not interested, Helion. I’m saying it in English, but I’m sure your NPU will allow you to comprehend in any language. I’m not interested in working for the I.C., and I’m not interested in the bounty on Gerian. You can keep your money.”

  His eyebrow went up in a small show of surprise. “You don’t want your bounty?”

  I sighed. “You run the entire I.C.?” I questioned. “Really? I wanted justice for my crew. I got it. I won’t put a price on their lives. The bounty does. If you want to give it to someone, split it among my team’s families. They deserve it.”

  I looked to Astra. “I brought in Gerian. Shut down the lab. Finished Cerberus. I did what I set out to do. The help from you and your legion was instrumental. For that, I thank you. For that, the prisoner is yours.”

  Helion understood what I was saying. “Lieutenant!” he snapped.

  I didn’t turn back to face him but said, “Watch as justice is served, Helion.”

  Astra pulled a blade from some hidden place in her boot and swung. With one swift and efficient slice, Gerian Eozara was cut open. Blood sprayed across the comm room’s walls as the male dropped to the floor, dead before he hit the hard surface. Barek and Nev didn’t even flinch, just watched as the blood spread.

  Only then did I look back to the comm screen. “Got that, Helion? You will serve as witness. Rogue 5 justice has been served to Gerian Eovara. To my unit. Give the money to their families. It’s over.”

  I could tell he was pissed. Beyond furious. “Work for me.”

  God, it was as if blood lust aroused him. That made him want me even more for his team. My ruthlessness in allowing Astra to finish Gerian Eozara only made me more of a commodity. It showed I was as heartless as he.

  No, that wasn’t the case at all. I’d given my heart to Zenos, but he’d refused it. I was numb to love. Perhaps that was the same thing to Helion. But I wouldn’t go and do someone’s bidding just because my heart got sliced from my chest with the same ruthless precision as Astra’s blade through Gerian Eozara.

  I’d offered myself completely to Zenos. I would give myself to no one else.

  “As they say on Earth, bite me.”

  I reached out and slapped the comm tech’s controls, ending the call.

  Astra wa
s smiling as she cleaned her knife.

  “That can be arranged, you know,” she said. “Because of you and your antidote.”

  With her free hand she hooked her fingers in the collar of her shirt, pulled it to the side. There, at the juncture of her neck and shoulder, were two angry red dots. I immediately recognized them as bite marks. I looked from her to Barek, who had a ridiculously smug expression on his face.

  There was a dead hybrid Hyperion whose blood was spreading across the floor at our feet, and yet Astra and Barek looked as pleased as could be.

  “You… the two of you, I mean, you’re claimed?” I asked Astra.

  She had to be at least fifteen years older than me, her time for finding true love should have happened a long time ago. And yet it hadn’t happened until now. Until the antidote.

  Barek stepped over the body and put his arm around Astra.

  “Yes,” Astra said. I’d never seen her look so… happy. “I’ve wanted him for so long, but without the antidote it was impossible.”

  “Until now,” Barek added, smiling. He was actually… beaming.

  I was happy for them, so happy.

  “Zenos can claim you now.”

  I shook my head, the smile slipping from my face. “No. He doesn’t love me. He won’t claim me.”

  “What?” Astra asked, confused. “Why isn’t he here with you?”

  Had she just realized he was missing?

  “Because he isn’t with me. I don’t belong to him. I never will.”

  Her eyes widened. “He won’t bite you.”

  I shook my head. “No. He doesn’t trust me.”

  Her lips thinned. She glanced up at Barek, then back at me. “You’re leaving.”

  “Yes. With your permission I will transport to Zenith. I love it here. I love Astra Legion, how you made me belong. How I feel like one of you. But I won’t stay and be less than everything to Zenos.”

  “I understand,” Astra said. “Go with my permission. With the thanks of everyone in the legion. You may not remain on Rogue 5, but you are one of us.” She set her hand over her heart. “In here.”