by Tana Stone
He didn’t answer her, but he also didn’t take his eyes off her. Her movements were so sinewy he wouldn’t have been startled if she slithered between the bars.
“My husband, the king, tells me that you’re a Drexian.” She walked up to the bars—so close he could have reached out and grabbed her. Her pupils dilated, and she gave him a slow smile. “From the tales that reach us, Drexians are notable warriors and strategists. You must know that there are guards close enough to come to my aid at the slightest cry.”
“I have no intention of attacking you, Queen…”
“Ligia.” Her smile brightened. “I suspected you were as clever as you are physically appealing.”
Brok tried to return the smile, remembering what Madeleine had said about her interaction with the Spartosian male. She had been pretending to distract him. As much as he despised the thought of deception, he wondered if he could use the queen to his advantage.
“I am flattered that you find me appealing, your grace.” The words felt false, but he hoped she would not notice his discomfort. Drexian warriors did not worry themselves with appearances, and it felt strange to discuss himself with a stranger.
Her gaze wandered to his bare chest and then down lower, and she quirked the corner of her lips. “Your species is so large.” She looked up to lock eyes with him. “And dark.”
“I must look very different to you, since your people are fair.”
She nodded. “You are different in many ways. But I am not one of my people who believes that differences are bad. I think we should welcome different species.”
“Is this a popular view?”
Something flickered across her face briefly. “It is one that is growing in popularity, especially since we have started searching out other species to add variety to our pleasure.”
Brok thought about Madeleine, and the type of pleasure the prince had most certainly been expecting from her. “And what about the king? Does he agree with you?”
She fluttered a hand at him. “Let’s not talk about him. I’m much more interested in learning more about you.” She reached her fingers through the bars and touched his chest. “These markings. Do all Drexian warriors have them?”
He forced himself not to cringe from the coolness of her fingertips. “Not all.”
She stroked her finger down one thick swirl of his chest tattoo. “I like it.”
Brok shivered from her unwanted touch, but the queen only smiled in response. “Your skin is more sensitive than ours.”
Up close, her skin appeared even more shimmery, with hints of the palest blue and green flashing as she moved. It was also cooler than Drexian or human skin, and sent a chill skittering down his spine.
“I believe you and I can help each other.” Her finger lingered on the swell of his chest muscles.
Brok’s stomach tightened. He may not have been an expert on females, but he recognized the sultry tone of her voice. She wanted something from him, and he suspected it was not something he was willing to give.
“Drexians negotiate, don’t they?” She cooed as she moved her hands lower.
“We believe in diplomacy before war.” Although the Drexian empire was known throughout the galaxy for their skill as fierce warriors, they did not attack unprovoked.
Her long eyelashes fluttered. “As do I. It would be a shame to lose such a valuable chance at…” Her fingertip traced the edge of his boxer briefs. “…diplomacy.”
Brok clenched his jaw, resisting the urge to push her hand away. His tight smile quivered.
She slid one finger underneath the black fabric and sucked in a quick breath. “If you agree to my terms, Drexian, I will make sure your life is spared.”
That caught his attention. Although he’d been captured, he had not assumed that they would execute him. Even though their intelligence on the Spartosians was scant, he’d never heard of them being a punitive species. “Is my life in danger?”
She twitched one bare shoulder up and down. “You were taken outside the administration building after an act of sabotage. You have broken the non-interaction pact. The punishment for that is harsh.”
He didn’t know if he should point out that they were breaking their own non-interaction pact by obtaining aliens from other species for their own pleasure-seeking purposes, but he decided not to push his luck. If the queen wished to save his life, he did not want to dissuade her from that.
“It’s bad luck that you were captured so near to the sirenatos,” she continued, stroking her finger lower. “Naturally, everyone wants to see a mighty Drexian in the arena.”
“So, this sirenatos is a battle?” A wave of relief passed through him. He liked his odds in any sort of battle with the Spartosians. As the queen had pointed out, he was larger than them, and significantly more muscled. As long as they didn’t use their electrified tridents on him, he would welcome a fair fight.
“Of sorts,” the queen said. “It is one of our oldest traditions, but it has become tiresome. I would much rather be entertained in different ways.”
Brok refused to drop his eyes, although her finger drifted even lower. He did not find her touch arousing, but it was almost impossible for his body not to react in some way. Gritting his teeth, he thought about the least sexy things he could—a Krenji ring filled with smelly warriors, a bowl of Gartolian beetle stew, Serge in his snug jumpsuit.
Her fingertip circled the crown of his cock, and he gave an involuntary jerk. “So, what will it be? Would you prefer to engage in diplomacy with me?”
Brok took a step back, and she lost her grip on his cock. “I’m afraid I’m a better warrior than a diplomat, my lady. I will take my chances with the sirenatos.”
Her face contorted viciously for the briefest of moments, then her placid expression returned. “That is too bad, Drexian. I was so looking forward to enjoying you.” She sighed. “Now I will have to watch you be ripped apart. What a shame.”
She spun on her heel and her skirts swirled around her long legs as she glided down the dank corridor and out of sight.
Brok relaxed his hands, unaware that he’d been fisted them so hard there were indentations in his palms, and turned away from the bars. Had he just lost his only chance at survival?
“I think that officially makes us even.”
Maddie’s voice from behind made him whirl around and peer into the emptiness of the dimly lit corridor, his mouth dropping open as the female materialized outside the bars, her hands on her hips and her eyes narrowed.
He’d never been so happy to see a furious female before in his life.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Can I just say what a total hypocrite you are?” Maddie glared at him, with her arms crossed over her chest. She’d crept into the dungeons behind the queen and had been waiting for her to leave so she could reveal herself to Brok. She’d never imagined the Spartosian female would try to seduce the captain, although knowing what she did of the species, she probably shouldn’t have been surprised.
He strode to the bars, looking at her like he didn’t believe she was actually there. “Madeleine?”
“In the flesh.” She stomped over to him. “Oh, and speaking of flesh, how long were you going to let that creature rub up on yours before you stopped her?”
“What? You saw that?”
“Every painful moment.” She tapped the device she’d hooked to the waistband of the ridiculous skirt she was still wearing. “I have your cloaking device, remember?”
He frowned. “Yes, and you were supposed to use it to get to the ship. Not to follow me into a dungeon.”
She glanced around at the deserted arched corridor, the stone walls shiny with condensation. She’d had to go down lots of spiraling stairs to reach the subterranean prison, and she was pretty sure they were underwater. It would explain why it was so cool, and why the air held the faint tang of salt.
She swung her attention back to the Drexian captain. “Don’t try to change the subject. You have some nerve to
lose your mind at me about pretending to seduce that guy so you could do your sabotage, but then you turn around and let the queen put her hand down your pants.”
He gripped the bars. “You think I wanted her hands on me?”
She shrugged. “I didn’t see you do much to stop her.”
His eyes glittered dark as they met hers. “The only hands I want on me are yours, Madeleine, but I didn’t think it was wise to anger the queen of Spartos. Not if she could get me out so I could return to you.”
Maddie felt some of the fight leave her. “But you turned her down.”
His own shoulders twitched up. “I couldn’t do it. I’d rather be sent to the sirenatos arena than be with a female who isn’t you.”
She pursed her lips, then let out a huff of breath. “Either you’re a romantic or an idiot. I can’t decide which one.”
He gave her a crooked grin. “You followed me into a dungeon. Which one are you?”
“Apparently both,” she grumbled, stepping closer and putting her hands over his on the bars. If she’d been smart, she would have gotten off the planet. But she never left a man behind, especially when it was the guy she’d fallen hard for.
“I apologize if it upset you to see the Spartosian female touching me.” He entwined his fingers with hers. “I know how it feels to see someone try to take what is yours.”
Her cheeks reddened. “I don’t think of you as mine.”
“But I am yours, and there is no one for me but you, Madeleine. That will never change, no matter what happens.”
A lump formed in her throat, and she cursed herself. This was the problem with getting emotionally attached. It made you weak when you needed to be tough. “What’s going to happen is we’re going to get you out of here.”
“Do you have the keys to the cell?”
She bit her lower lip. “No. I didn’t see any keys, but I’m sure there’s another way out.”
Brok glanced around the corridor. “Where is Serge?”
“I left him at your ship.”
Brok let out a breath. “You found my ship? It’s still there?”
“We found it. I left Serge there to work on some things while I came after you. It was easier than the pair of us trying to walk so that we were both covered by the cloaking device.”
The corners of Brok’s mouth quivered. “I’m guessing it wasn’t an easy journey to the ship.”
Maddie fought back the urge to laugh as she remembered Serge’s litany of whispered complaints as he rode on her back. “You guess correctly. He doesn’t do well when he isn’t in charge.”
Brok squeezed her hands. “You know you shouldn’t have come. I gave you both devices so you could get off the planet.”
“And leave you behind?” She shook her head. “No way. I don’t leave men behind.”
Brok eyed her. “You really would be an excellent candidate for Inferno Force.”
She smiled at that. “Let’s get out of here, then we can talk about my future on your ship.”
The captain leaned back against the bars, but they didn’t budge. “These are iron, and they don’t seem to be going anywhere. My best bet at this point is winning the sirenatos.”
There was that word again. “The guards mentioned that after they shocked you. Do you think they have some sort of gladiator culture going on here?”
Brok’s brow furrowed. “The Drexian empire tracks most of the species who traffic in fighters and run gladiator rings. As far as I know, we’ve never heard of Spartos having anything to do with the practice.”
“The queen said it was an ancient tradition, and it sounds like it doesn’t happen often. Maybe it’s something they save for special occasions, or they do it so rarely that word hasn’t gotten out.”
“We do know very little about their culture.”
“What I don’t get is that gladiator fights don’t seem to fit in with their pleasure-first philosophy. Unless you consider watching people get the crap beaten out of them to be pleasurable.”
“Many cultures do, including Earth.”
She cocked her head at him. “Look who knows about my planet. You’re right, though. Humans have enjoyed watching people fighting and sometimes dying for a long time.”
“But you are correct that Spartos appears to be focused on sexual pleasure,” Brok said, then his eyes widened. “You do not think the sirenatos is some sort of sexual display, do you?”
She thought about it for a moment. That would definitely make more sense, but she could see that the thought of it terrified Brok more than the idea of a gladiator match. “Of course not. The queen said it was a battle, didn’t she?”
“Of sorts,” Brok reminded her.
Maddie did not like the sound of this sirenatos, or the fact that it was so mysterious. It was too risky to wait and let the captain be thrown into some sort of arena. No, she needed to find the key to his cell and sneak him out while she still had the chance. She cared about Brok too much to risk anything happening to him. Even the thought of it made her feel ill.
She swallowed the taste of bile in the back of her throat and steadied her voice, so he would not know how his situation was affecting her. “As much fun as it would be to watch you kick some Spartosian ass, I think it’s time to break you out of here, Captain. The keys have to be somewhere. I’m going to activate the cloaking device and go find them.”
His grip on her hands tightened. “I do not want you to risk being discovered. You should go back to the ship and get off the planet. Once you reach the Inferno Force ship, you can send a team down to get me out.”
She gave a brusque shake of her head. “By then it might be too late. There’s a lot of hustle and bustle in the city, and I think this sirenatos—whatever the hell it is—is happening soon.”
“All the more reason for you and Serge to go. They’ll be distracted by preparations. They think they’ve captured the saboteur, which has distracted them from the fact that you and Serge disappeared from the party.”
“I told you, I’m not leaving you behind.”
His face darkened. “What if I ordered you to go? You promised me once that you would obey me.”
“That was before I fell—” Her voice cracked. She pulled her hands away from his and returned them to her hips, as she cleared her throat. “I think we’ve already established how good I am at following orders.”
He growled low. “Not good at all.”
“Right, so—“ Her words were cut off by the sounds of heavy footsteps stomping toward them. Maddie glanced over her shoulders at the shadows approaching. “Shit.”
“Go,” Brok insisted, reaching an arm through to bars. “Please, Madeleine.”
She ignored his hand and pressed herself up against him, kissing him hard as the bars dug into her skin. His lips were soft but moved eagerly to capture hers. Maddie was dazed when she forced herself to tear her mouth from his. “I will never leave you.”
He pushed her away, pain in his eyes. “Run!”
She touched the device and disappeared from sight, as the Spartosian guards appeared from around the corner. Backing away so as not to be stepped on, she flattened her body against the far wall, watching helplessly as they threw open the cell door and pulled Brok out.
The lead guard grinned as four Spartosians attempted to subdue Brok. “I am very much looking forward to seeing you in the arena.”
Maddie clamped a hand over her own mouth to keep from calling out as Brok was dragged away. He craned his head over his shoulder as if to get one final look at her even though she knew he couldn’t see where she stood. When he was gone, she leaned back against the damp stone wall, her heart hammering in her chest.
It didn’t matter that she knew he was right, and that she should get herself and Serge off the planet while she could. It also didn’t matter that she knew this was what happened when you let yourself care for someone. It was too late to undo that colossal fuck up. She’d fallen hard for the Drexian, and now there was no way she was goin
g to lose him.
She guessed she was going to the sirenatos.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Brok eyed the sharp tridents pointing at his bare skin as he was led up the wide, twisting stairs from the dungeons. At least Madeleine had cloaked herself before the guards arrived. He wasn’t foolish enough to expect that she’d actually headed back to the ship, but he hoped she was smart enough to stay hidden. Even together, they were no match for the electrified weapons of the Spartosians.
The eerie silence of the underground jail soon gave way to the sounds of cheering and chanting, as he was led down a long, narrow tunnel. The ceiling above him trembled and dust sifted down over his head.
“They are eager to see you,” the lead guard said, twisting around from his position leading the procession and giving Brok a malevolent smile.
Brok steadied his breath and hoped his heart rate would follow. It was only a fight, he told himself. He’d been in enough fights to know that he could hold his own against just about any opponent. It was what he’d been trained for, and what years on Inferno Force had prepared him for. It wasn’t the fighting that worried him. It was what came after.
Once he defeated his Spartosian opponents, would he be freed, or would he be summarily executed, regardless of the outcome? He suspected the leaders of Spartos would not let him go so easily, although they may not want to bring a war with the Drexian empire onto themselves.
At the end of the tunnel, he was pushed roughly up a short flight of stairs.
He shot a murderous glance behind him. “I’m going.”
As they emerged from underground, Brok expected to see a large gladiator ring. What he was met with instead was an enormous sunken pool, surrounded on all sides by seating that extended up into the open air. It was nighttime, and the planet’s four moons were high in the sky and appeared to be almost on top of each other, sending light spilling onto the shining surface of the water.
Grek. He might have been a seasoned fighter, but he was not a skilled swimmer. One disadvantage of spending most of your life in space was the general lack of places to swim. He’d only seen oceans in holodeck simulations, and his water training consisted of being able to keep himself afloat by treading water.
