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

by Tana Stone

Vox got off the bed and strode to the other side of the room.

  “Vox of Kronock here.”

  “Status update,” the faceless Kronock voice repeated.

  “En route,” he said, glancing back at her and lowering his voice. “After a delay that was unavoidable.”

  “You should have arrived at the lab by now, but we see you’ve stopped on Lymora III.”

  “Yes,” Vox said. “Slight ship malfunction. I will be departing soon.”

  “Make sure you do. You are overdue for an injection.”

  “What?” Vox rubbed his temple. “What type of injection? Does this have anything to do with the pains in my head?”

  A long pause from the Kronock. “Affirmative.”

  “Will they get worse if I’m delayed?”

  “A delay would be inadvisable.”

  “So that’s a yes,” Vox muttered.

  “Proceed to the Kronock lab as soon as possible or we will retrieve you for your own safety.”

  Vox released a breath. “Understood. Vox out.” He turned back to the bed.

  “Who were you talking to?” she asked, although she’d heard the conversation pretty clearly.

  “No one.” He shook his head, instinctively touching his implant. “It isn’t important.”

  “Do you get messages through that thing? Can they track you through the implant in your head?”

  “I disabled my internal tracker, but they clearly tracked my ship.” He frowned. “I am too valuable to lose, but they will not come after me. Not yet. For now, they trust me to follow orders.”

  “And will you?” Shreya asked. “Follow their orders?

  He took long steps to the bed. “It depends on how well you follow mine.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Before he reached the bed, a pain tore through his head, and he staggered against a chair. He heard Shreya scream as his hand slipped from the back of the chair, and he crashed to the floor.

  There was another jolt of pain, but he didn’t know if it was from his impact with the floor or his ocular implant. He was vaguely aware of a high voice calling his name, as he fought off the blackness that threatened to engulf him.

  He had to stay conscious. He’d been telling the truth when he’d told her no one would respond to her screams. In a place like this, she could scream for help for hours and no one would raise an eyebrow. Which meant he could teeter on the brink of death with no help coming if he didn’t get up.

  When he’d finally crawled from the floor to the chair and staggered over to the bed, Shreya’s eyes were wild.

  “If you don’t untie me right now so I can help you, I’m going to bite my way through these things,” she said, her voice barely suppressing her fury.

  He didn’t argue, unstrapping her before sinking onto the bed. Vox was only slightly aware of her dressing and leaving the bed, but he was in too much pain to reach for her and pull her back.

  “Here.” She jabbed something cold and hard at his hand. “At least this should numb the pain.”

  He opened his eyes to see her holding a glass of whiskey, the green liquid filled almost all the way to the rim of the squat glass. Pushing himself up onto one elbow, he took the glass and sipped it slowly.

  “Don’t worry,” she said as she watched him drink. “I didn’t poison it.”

  He hesitated with the glass at his lips. It had never occurred to him she would poison him. “Thank you, I think.”

  She folded her arms over her chest. “Listen. We need to make another deal. You can’t keep tying me up if you’re going to pass out and almost kill yourself. I do not want to starve to death strapped to a bed just because you’re paranoid I’m going to murder you in your sleep.”

  “What do you suggest?” He swallowed a mouthful of whiskey, grateful that it burned his throat and made him feel more alert.

  “I’ll promise not to murder you if you stop with the bondage thing.”

  General Krav’s voice thundered in his head with warnings. Do not trust her. Make her submit.

  He shook his head. He could not successfully complete his mission if he collapsed and she was unable to help him.

  “No?” her voice brought him back to reality. “You don’t agree?”

  He focused on her face, her eyes unblinking. “I apologize. I was thinking of something else. Yes, I agree to your terms. You will not murder me, and I will not tie you up while I sleep.”

  “At all,” she corrected. “You won’t tie me up at all.”

  He sighed, too weak to argue further. “Fine.”

  She touched her fingers to his forehead. “Did you hurt yourself when you fell? I don’t see any blood, but you might have a lump.”

  He raised his hand to cover hers, the heat of her skin comforting. “Your pulse is still fast.”

  She pulled away. “Well, I did see you collapse while I was barbarically strapped to a bed. And that was after you took advantage of me.”

  He cocked his head at her. “I do not remember you complaining when I was sucking you.”

  Her cheeks flamed red.

  He wanted to touch them and see if they felt as hot as they looked, but his arms still felt sluggish. “Does it bother you to talk about being pleasured?”

  She jutted her chin up. “No, but I’m not used to hearing someone talk about it like that.”

  “Like what?” He did not understand humans very well.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “Like it’s no big deal.”

  He drained the rest of his whiskey. “I think it will be a very big deal when I claim you as mine.”

  She jerked away. “And all this talk about claiming and mates is so dramatic. The way you guys talk about it, it’s like medieval meets cave man.”

  “I do not know what either of those things mean, but claiming a mate for life is a big deal. When I take you, you will be mine. No other Drex…no one else will be able to claim you.”

  “I thought the Kronock were in charge of this whole ‘plan’.” She made gestures in the air with her fingers. “You think they’re going to play by the Drexian honor system?”

  Her words were like barbs, awakening his own fears. Even though he was now Kronock, he knew he would never be free to take her as a mate the way he would have before. Before. He cringed at the word, trying not to think of life before he’d been taken and changed. There was no point. They’d made him into one of them and even implanted him with one of their devices. They could reach him anywhere, their words piercing his brain no matter how far he ran. He knew what they could do to him if he resisted. The Kronock had no problem delivering pain, and he’d been on the receiving end of much of it.

  “They will not touch you if you are mine,” he said, although the promise was hollow to his ears.

  He knew she was right. The Kronock would take what they needed. They had taken him and they would take her, no matter how much it hurt, or how much she begged for them to stop. He squeezed his eyes shut to stop the memories of his own screams.

  “I don’t belong to anyone,” she said, her voice soft but steady.

  “If they take you, you will wish you belonged to me.”

  Vox watched her recoil, then stand and cross to the bed, sitting on the edge with her back to him. He felt the familiar tug within himself as voices echoed through his head, at war with his instincts. He knew he couldn’t take her anywhere near the Kronock. Not if he wanted to keep her for himself. But if they were right and he needed treatment, then he might not last long enough to fulfill his mission. At least not the way he wanted to.

  His gaze went to Shreya—her hair dark spilling down the low-cut back of her dress. His instincts rose up and overtook the Kronock programming. He would not let them touch her. She was his, only his, and he would die before he let them lay one clawed hand on her perfect body.

  Chapter Twelve

  She had to get out of there. Shreya peeked over her shoulder at Vox and shuddered. It wasn’t even the thought of him that scared her anymore; it was the ide
a of the Kronock. He was delusional if he thought they wouldn’t show up and demand he turn her over. Or insist that he mate with her right then and there. She suspected the scaly creatures would have little use for their deal or even for the concept of foreplay.

  She didn’t know what Cerise’s timeline was, but she needed to move it up in a serious way. At least she’d gotten Vox to agree not to tie her up, but he seemed obsessed with the idea of claiming her and making her his mate. It seemed like the Kronock hadn’t been able to brainwash all the Drexian instincts out of him, after all.

  Shreya hadn’t rejected being a tribute bride and gone to live in the low-rent section of the Boat just to be forced to be someone’s mate. Not that she thought for a minute the Kronock would allow Vox to keep a mate in the traditional way, and the idea of being used for whatever sadistic plan they’d cooked up to bring down the Drexians and Earth was not appealing.

  As much as he vowed to protect her, she knew Vox was still under Kronock control. The glimpses she got of his former Drexian self didn’t mean he wouldn’t be forced to do what they wanted him to in the end. They could literally transmit commands through his cybernetic implant, she thought with a disgusted shake of her head.

  Escaping was her best option, and Cerise was her ticket out of the bordello and back to the ship. If she could just get a message to her.

  She thought for a minute, then turned around. “I have an idea.”

  Vox looked up. The way his head was turned, and the implant obscured, he looked completely Drexian.

  Shreya continued without waiting for his response. “It’s a game.”

  He looked confused. “A game? Why would I want to play a game?”

  “I don’t know.” She opened her arms wide. “Maybe because there’s nothing else to do in here.”

  “There are many things we can do.”

  Her throat felt dry. She knew exactly the things he meant, her eyes drifting to the contraption hanging in the corner. “This will be more fun.”

  “I doubt that.”

  She ignored him. “I need some supplies. Can you call for Cer—for the little alien who delivered the food?”

  He eyed her with suspicion. “You will not ask her for a blade or a blaster?”

  Shreya rolled her eyes at him. “Do you think anyone in this place would bring me either of those, since they know I’m your captive?”

  “No, I do not think they would.” He stood and walked to the door, opening it and leaning out.

  After a few moments, the tiny alien entered the room, her pink bouffant bobbing as she walked. “You needed something?”

  Shreya jumped off the bed. “Yes, we need supplies for a game.”

  Cerise’s lavender, arched brows lifted as she produced an electronic tablet from a fold deep within her ruffled dress.

  Shreya took it from her. “Here. Let me write it down.” She paused with her finger on the screen. “Will you be able to translate it?”

  Cerise exchanged a quick look with Vox that told Shreya her question had been silly. “Of course.”

  She finished her list and handed it back to the woman. “If you can’t source all of it, don’t worry.”

  Cerise swiped the screen a few times, the corners of her mouth twitching up for a beat then her expression becoming blank again. “I will be back very soon, miss.”

  When she’d left, closing the door behind her, Vox folded his arms across his chest. “There is no point to this.”

  “Of course there is. It’s something to distract me from the fact that I’m being held in a weird bondage room and to distract you from the pains in your head. Plus, I’m hungry.”

  “Hungry? This game involves food?” He scanned the picked-over plates on the table. “We have food.”

  “Different food.” She grinned. “Fun food.”

  Vox wrinkled his brow.

  “Come on,” Shreya said. “Didn’t you play games when you were a kid?”

  “We played many water games, but none involving food.”

  Actually, Shreya had never played food games as a child, either, but this was the fastest way she could think of to get a message to Cerise and to get Vox out of the way. She’d already seen that Cerise was skilled at drugging food. If Shreya could convince Vox to eat a larger amount this time, he should be down for the count. He’d woken up too quickly the last time, and she knew they’d need a serious head start to get through the city and to the ship.

  She hadn’t worked out all the details of her new food game, but she suspected that he’d go along with it if she made it a little kinky. A guy who requested a room decked out with restraints would probably be up for that.

  There was a knock on the door before Cerise entered again, rolling another multilevel cart. Shreya hurried over to her, inspecting what was beneath the shiny domes and nodding with approval.

  “Thank you,” she told the alien. “This looks great. Now all we need is a blindfold.”

  Cerise reached into the ruffled mass of her dress, producing a black blindfold with a flourish.

  Shreya’s eyebrows shot up, but Cerise only shrugged. “All the girls here carry one. And a whip. Do you need one of those?”

  “No,” Shreya said quickly, taking the blindfold. “Definitely no whips.”

  Cerise shrugged again, rolling the cart over to the table and switching out the used dishes for the new ones. Vox walked over and tried to lift one of the domes off a plate.

  Shreya swatted at his hand. “Oh, no you don’t. You’ll spoil the game.” She caught Cerise’s eye and gave her a pointed look. “I don’t want it to be over in five minutes.”

  “Minutes?” Cerise giggled. “How many beats are in a minute?”

  “Beats?” Shreya looked at Vox.

  “Heartbeats,” he said, touching his bare chest. “On Lymora III, they measure time in standard heartbeats.”

  Shreya put a hand to her own heart. “I guess a minute is about sixty heartbeats.”

  Cerise’s face lit up. “So a minute is a thrum.”

  “Okay,” Shreya said. “Then I don’t want the game to be over in five thrums.”

  Cerise nodded and finished loading the dirty plates, touching one finger on the top of a shiny, gold dome as she passed her hand over it to put the last plate on the cart. “Will there be anything else?”

  Shreya shook her head, making note of the dome the alien had touched. The drugs must be in whatever food was under there. Her pulse quickened, and her palms felt sweaty, as she watched the tiny woman leave again.

  “Are you going to explain this?” Vox asked.

  She jerked her head up. “What?”

  “The game. Are you going to explain the game or should I just start eating.”

  Shreya steadied her breathing. He didn’t suspect anything. He only wanted to move things along, since he was no doubt humoring her.

  Be convincing, she told herself. Make him believe you.

  Smiling as brightly as she could, even though her face felt like it was trembling, she led him by the hand to the bed, patting the edge. “Sit and let me blindfold you.”

  He narrowed his eyes at her. “How do I know you won’t try to escape?”

  She sighed and tried to sound exasperated. “I’m not tying you up. Besides, the door is still locked. All you have to do is pull off the blindfold and grab me.”

  He circled one arm around her waist. “I could grab you now, and we could forget about this silly game.”

  She wagged a finger at him and tried to wiggle away. “Not yet. First, let’s see how good you are at this.”

  He released his grip. “After your game, we will play mine.”

  She tried to ignore the dark purr of his voice. She knew exactly what his game entailed. Fastening the blindfold around his head, she returned to the table for the plate Cerise had indicated. Pulling off the dome, she saw that it was filled with fluffy cream.

  Whipped cream, or at least the closest thing they had to whipped cream in this place. She suspect
ed this wasn’t the first time a guest had requested this.

  She sat next to Vox with the plate in her lap. “The object of the game is for you to guess what I’m feeding you.”

  He grunted. “This does not sound like much of a game.”

  “That’s because you haven’t played yet.” She scooped some cream onto the tip of her index finger. “Open wide.”

  He did as she was told, and she teased the edge of his lips with her finger before sliding the fluffy cream into his mouth. He moaned as he sucked the cream off, and she dragged her finger out.

  “See?” She tried to keep her voice even as her own heart began to beat faster. “Isn’t this a fun game?”

  He made a move to remove his blindfold, but she caught his hand. “Not yet. You haven’t guessed the food yet.”

  “I have never tasted anything like this before.”

  “Then you get another taste.” She used two fingers this time, getting a bigger scoop in his mouth and pumping her fingers back and forth a few times before drawing them out. She’d only used about half the mound of airy cream on the plate. She didn’t know how potent it was, but he was a big guy, so she wanted to use all of it.

  His moan became a growl. “I think it is time for my game.”

  “Not yet,” she said, hearing the desperate tone of her voice and modulating it. “One more special taste and then you can give up.”

  She looked down at the remaining pile of white fluff. Unless she tried to pour it down his throat, which she doubted he’d go for, there was only one way to get him to eat all of it before he lost patience with her.

  Here goes nothing, she thought, untying one side of her dress. She smeared the rest of the cream on her breast, her nipple hardening into a tight point as it was hit with the cold, wet fluff.

  Standing so her breast was at his eye level, she took a deep breath and moved closer so that her nipple brushed his lips. Almost instantly, he sucked in a quick breath, pulling her closer. Vox groaned as he started to suck the whipped cream off her nipple, swallowing and taking her deep into his mouth.

  Her hands went to his hair, clutching it as her knees almost buckled. She knew this was all part of her game, and that her game was to get away from him, but his mouth felt so good on her that she almost forgot the objective. Her head fell back as ripples of pleasure rocketed through her.