Bound: A Sci-Fi Alien Warrior Romance (Tribute Brides of the Drexian Warriors Book 6)

by Tana Stone

  A lump formed in her throat, as she thought of the beautiful, sea-green eye being cut out of him. Shreya gave her head a sharp shake and blinked away tears. Was she actually feeling sorry for the hybrid cyborg who’d kidnapped her, and was planning to impregnate her? She knew she shouldn’t, but then again, he hadn’t always been a part Kronock, part cyborg creature. He’d been taken, as well, and clearly brainwashed, as well as physically altered. She’d seen the records of the experiments they’d done on him, and had a pretty good idea of what the barbaric alterations were gradually doing to him.

  He rolled over again, so that her only view was of his Drexian side once more. Seeing his face like that—handsome and peacefully sleeping—made her feel a flood of sympathy for him. Before all this he’d been a Drexian, and she knew the Drexians valued honor and loyalty above all. Vox never would have done this if he hadn’t been made into a monster by the Kronock. And now, he would die because of them, as his DNA degraded and his body collapsed.

  She tightened her hands into fists over her head, understanding more and more why the Drexians were so hell-bent on defeating the Kronock, and feeling grateful they’d pledged to defend Earth from the violent aliens. She may not call the planet her home anymore, but she would be devastated to think of the Kronock getting their claws on it.

  Vox mumbled in his sleep and thrashed his arms. Shreya rolled herself out of his way, knowing that having one of his huge, muscular arms land on her would hurt, even if it was accidental.

  “Are you okay?” The soft whisper made her jerk around.

  Cerise stood by the bed, her small stature placing her at eye level with Shreya. Her iridescent-blue skin had undertones of pink, and reminded Shreya of mother of pearl, the way it shifted color as it caught the light.

  Shreya darted a glance at Vox before turning back to her. “Should you be here?”

  “Probably not,” Cerise said, her bright-pink bow of a mouth stretching into a smile. “But he should be out for a while.” She jerked her head toward the food. “I saw he ate at least one piece.”

  Shreya followed her gaze. “One piece of what?”

  “The only Drexian thing over there. Padwump. I thought he might be drawn to it. Even though he claims to be with the Kronock empire, I know a Drexian when I see one.”

  Shreya listened to Vox’s deep breathing. “You drugged it?”

  Cerise nodded and giggled.

  “Thank you.” Shreya’s admiration for the tiny alien grew. She wiggled her arms. “Can you untie me?”

  Cerise’s face fell. “Untie you? No, not yet.”

  “What do you mean, not yet? Why did you drug him, if not to help me get out of here?”

  Cerise glanced behind her at the door. “I needed to talk to you first.”

  Shreya tried not to snap at the woman, even though she wanted desperately to be free of the restraints. “Okay, what do you want to talk about?”

  “You came to Lymora III on a ship, right? A private ship?”

  “Yes, it was a private ship. Why?” Shreya snuck a peek at Vox, grateful he still slept soundly, but knowing that might not last for very long.

  Cerise leaned closer. “Can you fly it?”

  At that point, Shreya would have claimed to be able to do anything as long as the little alien would free her. “Pilot the ship? Sure, I can.”

  “Then we can escape, and you will take me with you,” Cerise said.

  “Absolutely. Untie me and we can get the hell off this planet.” She was perfectly fine with bringing the woman with her. Actually, the thought of liberating a possible sex slave from the fairy madam gave her a bit of a rush. It would serve Zylia right for enslaving other women.

  Cerise beamed. “Do you promise?”

  “I give you my word,” Shreya said, meaning it with every fiber of her being.

  Vox grunted and shifted on his sleep.

  Cerise jumped. “Now isn’t the time, but I will return.”

  “Wait,” Shreya whispered, as she watched the creature’s ruffled skirt swing back and forth as she hurried toward the door. “You can’t leave me like this.”

  Cerise’s garishly-made-up face twisted into a frown as she paused at the door and turned around. “I’m sorry, but we can’t give him any reason to suspect.”

  Shreya understood, but she still hated to be left so helpless. A single tear snaked down her cheek as Cerise pressed a palm to the large door, and it opened for her. Then she was gone.

  Lying on the bed, she steadied her breathing as she listened to Vox’s rhythmic exhales. Thankfully, he’d slept through everything. He had no idea there was a traitor in the bordello, or that he’d been drugged. Most importantly, he had no clue that Shreya now had someone who was going to help her escape.

  She didn’t know when Cerise would be back for her, but she knew she just needed to hold out until she did. Since Vox had given her his word that he wouldn’t force her, all she needed to do was grit her teeth and get through anything he might try to weaken her defenses.

  She wanted to think that would be easy, but she couldn’t forget how her body had betrayed her earlier. Shreya hated to think she might be attracted to this part-cyborg alien, but she knew it was the Drexian part that made her pulse flutter. That, and the fact that she hadn’t so much as touched a man in years.

  She’d been honest when she’d told Vox that she’d only been with one guy, and it hadn’t been anything to write home about. She honestly didn’t get what the big fuss was about sex. In her experience, it was awkward, fumbling, and quick. Her one and only partner had been a nice guy, but she suspected he’d had about as much experience as she had. Each of their few encounters had lasted less than five minutes and had barely elevated her heart rate.

  She’d have no problem resisting that, although there was something about Vox that made her worry. Shreya hoped it was a combination of nerves and fear that made her pulse quicken and her skin tingle when he touched her.

  She tried to steady her heartbeat and relax. She needed to get rest if she was going to stage an escape. Closing her eyes, she was aware of the heat radiating off her captor’s massive body as she drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter Nine

  Vox looked down at her, his head swimming. Why did he feel so groggy? He knew the day had been exhausting, but Shreya didn’t look sleepy, even though she’d woken up right after him.

  He closed his eyes, put a hand to his implant, and pressed on it. Was his cybernetic optical processor malfunctioning? That would explain the pains, and why he felt so tired. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about an issue with his implant. Until he returned to Kronock space, that was, and he had no intention of going back until he’d completed his mission.

  He opened his eyes. The human female still stared up at him, her breathing almost silent, as if she was hoping she could be quiet enough that he wouldn’t notice her.

  Impossible, he thought. Not when she was so desirable. And completely at his mercy. General Krav’s instructions rushed to the forefront of his mind, the sharp words echoing in his brain.

  Females are to be dominated. They must submit.

  He would like this pretty female to submit to him, but he would not take her as he knew Krav would have. He would not be rough and bruising, spreading her legs and forcing himself inside. That was not the way he wanted her. No, he wanted her to be willing.

  Vox inhaled, breathing in the scent of her hair. He took a strand between his fingers and stroked it, hearing her draw a quick breath. Even though her hair was thick, it was deceptively silky. He imagined it falling across his bare skin, and heat flared in his core.

  “You slept,” he said. A statement, not a question.

  She nodded without speaking.

  “I thought you might be afraid to sleep next to me.”

  Her eyes narrowed slightly. “I’m not afraid of you.”

  “Good.” He dropped her hair and traced a finger down her cheek, stopping at her mouth. “I will not hurt you.”
>
  Running his finger along the seam of her lips, he fought the urge to taste her. He wanted to crush his mouth to hers, but he knew it was too soon. He needed to go slow.

  Vox scanned her body lying prone on the bed. He had so much to explore, and so many ways to arouse her. He may not have frequented this particular pleasure house, but he had the insatiable aliens of Tybor’s notable houses of pleasure to thank for teaching him how to take his time.

  Using only the tips of his fingers, he stroked the skin down her neck until he reached the gentle swell of her cleavage. He lowered his mouth and kissed softly between her breasts, feeling her heart pounding.

  “Why don’t we talk some more?” she said. “You know, get to know each other.”

  “I am getting to know you.” Sitting back, he began untying the straps of her dress.

  She jerked and pulled at her restraints. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “Nothing you didn’t agree to.”

  “Please stop.”

  The pleading tone of her voice gave him pause, and he stopped. “I thought we already got to know each other.”

  He already knew he desired her. What more did he need to know? Drexians were assigned human mates, and the Kronock reproduced artificially, so the entire concept seemed strange to him. He had to admit to being curious about her, however, so the idea of knowing more about the human did not repel him.

  “Where did you grow up?” she asked, before he could resume undressing her.

  Vox closed his eyes, the question bringing up hazy memories. “A colony on Ferngor. It’s a planet with significant resources that my father helped defend from the…”

  “What was it like?” Shreya asked, ignoring him stumbling over admitting that it was the Kronock his father had been defending against.

  “Wet. The planet is mostly water, with thousands of islands linked together by bridges or underwater tunnels.”

  “We have one of those on Earth.” Her face brightened. “The Chunnel. It goes between England and France. I’ve been in it a couple of times. Terrifying to be under so much water.”

  “I’ve never been afraid of water,” Vox said, realizing this about himself as he said it, and recalling memories of himself swimming as a boy.

  Shreya’s expression clouded. “You’ve never been in a tsunami then.”

  “What is a soo-na-mi?” he asked, sounding out the curious word.

  “A giant wave.” Her gaze dropped, as did her voice. “So much water rushing in, you think it won’t ever stop.”

  He watched her pull her knees up to curl into a ball. “You were in one of these tsunamis?”

  A single nod. “My whole family was. I was the only one who made it out.”

  Even though Vox had been conditioned not to have emotional responses, his stomach tightened as he watched the female try not to cry. “Then you were lucky.”

  She laughed weakly. “Yeah, you can see how lucky I am. No offense, but being kidnapped and tied up by a part-cyborg alien isn’t what I’d call winning the lottery.”

  He didn’t know what that meant, but he flinched at her description of him as part cyborg. He touched the metal on his face. “Does my implant bother you?”

  She flicked her eyes at it, then away just as quickly. “Not much. Does it hurt you?”

  “Not much.”

  “What about when they put it in?” she asked.

  His body jerked unconsciously at the memory. “That was painful, but Kronock can withstand a great deal of pain. Did your body augmentation hurt?”

  She tilted her head at him. “My body augmentation?”

  He touched her earlobes, and the small, gold earrings she wore.

  “My pierced ears? No, that stung for about a second, but I was really young so I barely remember it.”

  “These pierced ears are only for ornamentation? No practical purpose?” he twisted the gold studs. “They are not transmitters?”

  “I wish,” she muttered. “No, it’s just for ornamentation, as you call it. I know some of you guys do body ornamentation.”

  “Our implants are not for ornamentation.”

  “I meant tattoos,” she said, her gaze moving to his bare chest. “I’ve seen some Drexians with some pretty serious tattoos.”

  “Inferno Force. They prefer markings. I never had them, since I was in military intelligence.” He hesitated, momentarily startled that the information had flowed so freely from him. For a second, his mind had cleared, and he’d felt like his old self again. He’d felt Drexian. Then he heard General Krav’s voice in his head, and what was left of his former self drifted away again.

  Hearing the rough, guttural commands repeating in his mind made him frown. The human was distracting him from his mission. The past was irrelevant. There was only the future. A future where the Kronock had dominion over the galaxy. A future that depended on destroying the humans and the Drexians. A future that depended on Krav’s plan. And her.

  Vox leveled his gaze at Shreya. “That is enough ‘getting to know each other’.”

  Her body stiffened, as he turned his attention to the ear he’d been absently touching. He leaned in, taking one lobe and sucking it while he finished untying the straps of her dress.

  Shreya emitted a soft gasp, and her body jerked. Vox traced his tongue around her ear before sitting back and pulling down the top of the dress. His breath faltered when he saw the globes of her breasts, the warm brown of her skin begging him to touch it.

  Her pupils darkened. “This isn’t going to work, you know.”

  “What isn’t going to work?” He dragged a finger along the soft skin, barely grazing her nipple, which hardened in response.

  She drew in a jagged breath. “It doesn’t matter what you do. I’m not going to want you.”

  His finger brushed her pebbled skin, and he noted her breath quickening. “I am not sure if your body agrees with you.”

  Chapter Ten

  She closed her eyes and pressed her lips together, in an attempt to stop her body’s response. You do not want this, she told herself. You do not want him. Cyborg aliens with scales are not your type. You like nice, nerdy guys. Not huge, hunky aliens with split personalities.

  Blowing out a long breath, she gritted her teeth and tried to ignore the feel of his fingers on her skin. For such a massively muscled guy, his touch was surprisingly gentle.

  “What if I asked you to stop?” she said, her eyes still tightly shut. “What if I told you I didn’t like this?”

  His breath was warm against her neck as he kissed the hollow of her throat, and she was unable to control the shiver of pleasure that passed through her body.

  “I would not believe you,” he whispered.

  He kissed his way down her chest as she pulled at the restraints. Shreya desperately wanted to cover herself. Even the one guy she’d been with had never seen her like this, since they’d fooled around mostly in the dark. She didn’t think he’d ever seen her undressed, which had been fine by her. She was usually embarrassed by the thought of being naked.

  “You are perfect,” he said, his moth reaching her breasts and capturing one nipple in his mouth.

  Her eyes almost rolled up into the back of her head as he swirled his tongue around the hard nipple, and she fought the urge to arch her back so he could take more of her in his mouth.

  What is wrong with you? You’re supposed to be fighting against this, she told herself through the haze of desire clouding her brain’s attempts at reason.

  The sensations of his hot, wet mouth on her were almost too much to take. How did this hybrid alien know how to make her body respond the way he did? She fisted her hands over her head and tried to regain control, focusing her mind on anything but the gorgeous alien sucking her nipple.

  When he switched to the other side and began flicking at her with the tip of his tongue, she gave up. She couldn’t fight her body’s traitorous response—the short breaths, the hot skin, the wetness between her legs. At this rate, she w
ould be begging him to fuck her.

  He cupped the breast that was not in his mouth, rolling the hard nipple between two fingers and matching the rhythm with that of his tongue. She pressed her legs together, feeling the tingle that shot through her body.

  “Vox,” she gasped, her words escaping between pants.

  She knew she was close, although she didn’t know how since he’d never shifted his attention from her breasts. Without slowing his pace, he pressed his free hand between her legs, his thumb rubbing her clit through the gauzy fabric. It was enough to send her careening off the edge.

  Jerking against her restraints, Shreya cried out as she bucked up, her body convulsing as the sensations barreled through her, leaving her panting and limp.

  Vox kissed her breasts softly before he sat back.

  Her eyelids were heavy as she caught her breath. “I didn’t know that was possible.”

  “Many things are possible,” he said. “Would you like me to show you more?”

  She bit the edge of her bottom lip. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  He nodded as if he agreed with her, while he shimmied the fabric up her thighs. “You sure you want me to stop?”

  Instead of answering, she let out a small, breathy sigh. She knew she should want him to stop, but it was hard to think clearly with so many endorphins careening through her body. Her scientist mind tried to remind her that it was all chemical. She didn’t feel anything for the alien who’d made her come just from sucking her nipples. It was the endorphins she was into. Not him.

  Before he pushed the dress up to the top of her thighs, a voice made her jump. It was not his, but came from his implant.

  “Vox of Kronock. Status update.” The Kronock voice was guttural and sharp, making him flinch as well.

  That broke the spell. She tried to sit up, imagining hordes of the scaly aliens breaking through the door.