by Anna Hackett
She looked at the hole, realization crossing her face.
Sharp, black projectiles peppered the wall between them. Caze jumped back, but one clipped Lara, spinning her around.
“Shit.” She slapped a hand over her arm. “I’m okay. Just grazed me.” She pulled in a breath. “I’m up for a romantic spacewalk, hot stuff.”
This woman. Courage and steel.
He grabbed her hand, and his sword morphed to a blaster. As they moved toward the hole, he fired on the Kantos to drive them back.
His helian morphed space helmets for them, the thin, clear covering sliding over their faces. He nodded at her, then fired on the Kantos again. Lara turned and dived through the hole. No hesitation.
Caze got off another round of laser fire, then dived after her.
She was right in front of him and he grabbed her hand. They pushed off the side of the station, passing through the debris of their ship.
“I’m sorry this mission didn’t end better,” he said.
She smiled. “The gems aren’t in the Kantos’ hands. You and I are together.” Her fingers squeezed his. “I’m pretty happy with that.”
“I…” He cleared his throat. “If we made it back, I would have liked you to teach me about love.”
“I’ve never had much experience with it myself. Watching my mother’s struggle, I guess I saw a bad example of it.” Lara gripped him tighter. “Now I know that love, the real thing, makes you stronger. It nourishes you, sets you free.”
He pulled her closer, their helmets clunking together. He could see the blue of her eyes. “We could have learned together.”
She cupped a hand to the side of his helmet. “Whatever or wherever we end up, I’ll find you, Caze. This life, the next, heaven, hell, Valhalla.”
He didn’t know all the words, but he understood the meaning.
“I realize now that I’m not like my mom. I’d prefer to have love, for even a short time, than never have felt it at all. Never have had you in my life.”
“Cren, Lara.” He tightened his hold on her and his helian pulsed.
Then he felt an impact on his back and searing pain. He jolted.
“Caze!”
More projectiles fired past them. Another hit his shoulder and he grunted.
“Fuck, they’re shooting at us.” She turned him frantically.
Then a projectile hit her and she cried out. The slim bolt had pierced her arm.
No. Caze wrapped his arms around her, turning his back to the hive. He wouldn’t let them hurt her.
“Caze—”
He commanded his helian, and a burst of propulsion from the symbiont sent them flying away from the station.
More projectiles peppered his back, his body jolting with each hit. Pain rolled through him and Lara cried out. His head was turning foggy and he felt blood pooling inside his armor.
“Lara… Mine. My mate.”
“Caze.” She pressed closer. “Hold on, warrior.”
“Protect…you.”
Another projectile hit him and Lara screamed.
“No!”
Then, with the feel of his mate against him, Caze lost consciousness.
Chapter Eighteen
Lara could barely breathe. Caze was slumped against her.
She felt another jolt hit his body, knew another projectile had torn into him. A tear slid down her cheek.
He’d shielded her. Was still shielding her and taking hits to keep her safe.
No one had ever protected her like that before. Most people in her life expected her to keep them safe.
They drifted away from the hive station, and soon, the projectiles stopped. She let out a shuddering breath. They were out of range.
She knew Caze was bleeding. She felt his chest rising with short, shallow breaths.
The best, most magnificent man she’d ever met, the man she was falling in love with, was dying in her arms.
She screamed in her helmet at the helplessness. Then she felt him stir against her, agitated, and realized she was upsetting him.
“Shh.” She smoothed a hand down his arm, careful not to touch where a projectile protruded from his bicep.
She started to sing a Japanese lullaby that her Grandmother Kimiko had sung to her as a little girl, back when things were still happy in the Traynor family. It was about sunny days and green grass, cherry blossoms and laughter.
She and Caze hadn’t had any of that in their lives. Sunny days and laughter. She felt a pain in her arm where a projectile had clipped her, but ignored it. She poured everything she felt into the song.
Lara pulled him closer. She wasn’t letting go. Even when her arms started to ache, she held tight. She lost track of time, her throat turning raw from the singing.
She wasn’t sure how much longer the helian could supply air for her. And any second, she expected swarm ships to surround them.
Caze’s helian was trying to heal him, she could sense it. But she also knew it was failing. Her warrior was dying.
She kept singing, her voice turning hoarse. God, she would have loved a lifetime of adventures with him.
More minutes passed, and she suddenly realized she couldn’t feel his chest rising and falling anymore. The agony made her bite her tongue. Her throat was so tight.
Silent tears streamed down her face.
“I’m sorry, Caze.”
Then brilliant lights speared into her eyes.
Lara blinked. A ship was approaching. Her stomach dropped. The Kantos had found them.
Holding a hand up against the light, she stared, her vision slowly adjusting.
The hull of a huge, black ship was heading toward them.
A scaled hull.
Her chest hitched. An Eon warship.
“Lara, hold on. We’re coming.” Eve’s urgent voice rang in Lara’s helmet.
She saw a flare of light as a side door opened on the ship. Two large, muscular silhouettes, wearing black-scale armor and helmets, pushed off. They kept their arms by their sides, flying toward her.
“Help’s here, Caze.” Her voice was a croak. “Your warriors are here.”
“Lara?” Eve’s voice.
“Hey, sis.”
“Hold on.”
Lara let out a wet laugh. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Then Eve cursed. “Davion, we have swarm ships incoming. Hold tight, Lara. Davion will bring you aboard.”
Lara turned her head to look away from the Desteron. In the distance, hundreds of shapes filled her vision. Swarm ships raced toward them from the hive station.
Suddenly, a squadron of sleek, black fighters shot out of the side of the Desteron. Lara gasped at the sight as they whizzed overhead.
They all had strips of glowing blue and silver light on them. The Eon fighters raced toward the swarm ships. Lasers lit up the blackness of space.
“Lara.”
The deep voice made her look back. The two warriors had reached them.
Through the helmet of the closest warrior, she saw a sharply masculine face. The “man in charge” vibe throbbed off him, even through his armor.
“War Commander Thann-Eon.”
He smiled. “Davion, remember?”
Then his gaze swiveled to Caze hanging in her arms, and his smile vanished.
“He’s badly hurt—” her voice broke. “Please. Please help him.”
The other warrior moved up close. He gripped Caze’s arms, but Lara couldn’t make her fingers let go.
“My name is Brack,” the warrior said. “I’m Davion’s second-in-command. We’ll take care of Caze.”
But Lara still couldn’t let go. If she held on, she could still pretend he was with her, that he was okay.
Brack looked over at Davion. “I’m not detecting any life signs—”
Lara cried out, a terrible sob catching in her chest.
“Brack.” Davion’s tone held a sharp warning. “Lara, we need to get him to medical.”
She swallowed and looked at Brac
k. She remembered she’d seen him before on screen. She couldn’t tell what color the strands in his eyes were.
“I’m his friend,” Brack assured her.
“He mentioned you. Said you were annoying.”
She felt a throb of emotion from the warrior. “He can be equally exasperating.”
Davion’s arms wrapped around her from behind. “Let go, Lara.”
She forced herself to let Caze go.
Brack gripped Caze under the arms, turned, and zoomed back to the ship with a blast of propulsion from his helian.
Taking Caze away from her.
Lara tried to control her tears and failed. Gently, Davion maneuvered her so he had one arm wrapped around her.
“Hold on.”
She nodded dully. They flew back toward the Desteron.
Ahead, she saw Brack enter the airlock.
A sob escaped. “Sorry, I never cry.”
“I’ve heard this before.”
“Eve’s lying. She cries when she watches horror movies. It’s so weird.” But Lara couldn’t force a smile. “He protected me.”
Davion’s gaze dropped to her scale armor. “And he shared his helian with you.”
She bit on her lip to fight the pain. “Yes.”
They reached the Desteron and Davion helped her inside.
Then Lara saw Eve waiting for them.
Something broke inside Lara. Her helmet retracted and she fell into her sister’s arms.
Caze woke with a roar. Sitting up, he tore at the tubes sticking into his body.
“Take it easy,” a deep voice said. “Calm down.”
Confused, his brain struggled to pull everything together. He sucked in a deep breath, fighting for some control. His helian was throbbing—not in pain, but clearly agitated.
Caze felt a heavy hand on his shoulder and he turned, snarling. Memories of agony washed over him. Projectiles hitting his body.
“Caze, it’s Aydin.”
Caze stared at the strands of green in the man’s dark eyes.
“You’re in medical on the Desteron.”
Desteron.
Caze reached up, touching his shoulder, then his chest, his side.
“You were badly injured,” Aydin continued, the doctor checking a screen attached to the bunk. “Your helian had shut down almost all your body’s systems. We thought we’d lost you.”
Pushing through the fog in his head, Caze tried to remember what had happened. There was something. Something important that he was missing.
“I removed the Kantos projectiles. Your body had partially healed around them and—”
In the background, Aydin’s voice turned to a drone. Kantos projectiles.
Caze sucked in a breath.
Lara. Lara. His mate.
He swung his legs off the bed. Machines beeped angrily.
Aydin cursed. “Take it easy.”
“Where’s Lara?”
The doctor smiled. “I see the important things are coming back to you.”
Caze felt something rising inside him, hot and urgent. He needed to see his woman. “She’s okay?”
“She’s fine. She’s been by your bedside ever since she came aboard. Only Eve’s bullying got her to shower and let me treat her injuries.”
“Injuries?” Caze pushed to his feet, and dizziness swamped him. He clamped a hand on the edge of the bunk to stay upright.
Aydin huffed out a breath, gripping Caze’s arm. “Her injuries were minor. She’s fully healed. I don’t suppose I can convince you to get back in the bed.”
Caze just shot the doctor a look.
“Right.” Aydin started removing the remaining tubes in Caze’s skin. “Eve and Davion ordered Lara to the bridge. They needed her assistance with recovering the gems. She and Eve are also working to find her sister and the Rengard.”
Caze grunted. He wouldn’t feel better until he saw her with his own eyes. “Did they locate the Rengard?”
“Not yet. Davion did manage to get a partial message through to War Commander Dann-Jad. Eve and Lara are hoping enough information made it through that he doesn’t kill their sister. It appears she still has control of the warship.”
Caze grunted again. Nothing about the Traynor sisters surprised him anymore. “And the gems?”
“We should almost be at their location.” Aydin shook his head. “I can’t believe you tossed the sacred gems of the warriors into space.”
“At the time, my options were limited.” Caze felt the Cren-cursed dizziness clearing. Once he was sure that his legs would hold him, he let go of the bed. “I need to get to Lara.”
Aydin rolled his eyes and ran a scanner over Caze. “Everyone around here seems to forget that I’m the doctor. I’m the one that clears patients to return to their duties.”
Caze raised a brow. “Are you finished?”
The doctor’s face changed and he stared at the scanner. His head snapped up. “By Eschar’s bow, you’re entering the mating fever.”
Caze smiled. The mating fever was intense. An Eon male would keep his mate for days of sex and bonding.
Aydin stared at Caze with a stunned expression. “You’re smiling.”
“My mate makes me smile. She makes me laugh.” Caze strode toward the door. He wasn’t waiting another ship minute to get his hands on his woman. “I’m going to find her.”
The doctor let out a choked laugh. “Ah, perhaps before you head to the bridge, you should put some clothes on.”
Caze looked down. He was completely naked, with a rampant erection. “Perhaps.”
Aydin laughed again, heading for a supply cupboard.
Soon, Caze was striding down the Desteron’s corridors, headed for the bridge. He wore a pair of black trousers, but hadn’t wasted time pulling on a shirt.
Several warriors in black uniform spotted him, moving to the side and standing to attention. Caze didn’t slow down, just nodded at them.
Then he saw the double doors to the bridge. Anticipation licked at his insides. Lara was in there. The doors slid open.
The Desteron’s bridge had multiple tiers, ringed by workstations manned by warriors. Caze ignored them all. His gaze went straight to the dark-haired woman standing in front of the large viewscreen.
She was standing beside Davion and Eve.
They turned.
Eve smiled and Davion studied Caze intently, then his shoulders relaxed.
Lara stared straight at him, her eyes widening and her lips tilting up. Her gaze moved over his bare chest and he could see the hunger ignite in her eyes.
He watched her shift her feet. He knew that she was feeling the edge of the mating fever, too.
“You’re okay,” she murmured.
Then he saw something else he never expected to from his tough warrior. A sheen of tears in her eyes.
Caze strode to her. There was so much emotion on her face and he felt the echo of it in his chest.
“Caze,” Davion said. “I’m very happy to see you up and healed. We’re following the tracker you placed on the gems—”
For the first time ever, Caze ignored his war commander. He didn’t give a cren about the gems.
He swept Lara into his arms, yanking her off her feet. She made a small sound of surprise, then she threw her arms around his neck and clamped her legs around his hips.
“Hey there, hot stuff,” she whispered.
He kissed her. He didn’t hesitate or make it soft. No, it was hot and hard, and he poured all of his emotions into it.
She moaned into his mouth and he drank her up. They were alive. They were together. And that was the only thing that mattered in Caze’s world.
He pressed his face to her hair and breathed in her scent.
The bridge was silent. He glanced up and saw warriors staring, their mouths hanging open. A smiling Davion had an arm around Eve.
Then Lara cupped Caze’s cheek. “Caze?” She stroked his skin. “You’re truly okay, baby?”
“Yes. I’m completely h
ealed.”
Her lips trembled. “You were hurt so badly—”
“I’m not now.”
“You shielded me.” Her voice was a soft whisper.
“And I’d do it again.” He pressed his forehead to hers. “I would die for you.”
“Please, don’t.” Her voice cracked. “I held you for hours, not knowing if you were still alive.”
Warmth filled his chest. “You didn’t let go. You held on to me.”
“Always.”
Caze tightened his hold on her, then looked at Davion. “If you need me, my mate and I will be in my cabin.”
Lara gasped and lowered her voice. “Warrior, you just told everyone we’re going to have sex.”
“Yes. A lot of it.”
He strode off the bridge, Davion’s laughter echoing after them.
Chapter Nineteen
She was about to come.
Lara drove down on Caze’s cock, sensations ricocheting inside her.
“Get there, my mate,” he growled.
They were face-to-face in the center of his bed. She was riding him hard, and he was still being bossy.
“I’ll get there when I’m ready.” She rose up and slammed down, filling herself with him again. Her moan echoed around them.
Her big, strong, protective warrior filled her up. His groan was long and loud. Music to her ears.
His hands slid down between their bodies. He touched where they were joined, where his cock was buried inside her.
“You’re stretched so prettily around me, Lara. My big cock making your body work to take me.”
God, she loved when her usually stoic mate talked dirty. She lifted up and sank back down again. “I’m taking you just fine, hot stuff. I’ll take everything you’ve got to give me.”
She moved faster, and Caze found her clit, working it with his thumb.
She was whimpering now and she didn’t care one little bit. “Yes, baby. Don’t stop.”
Her orgasm hit her like a detonation. She slammed down, a strangled cry ripping from her.
Caze groaned, thrusting his hips up. His hands clamped on her hips.
Lara felt his helian flare and was hit with an intoxicating mix of both her pleasure and Caze’s. A second orgasm hit her by surprise, her body clamping down on his cock. She cried out.
