by Viki Storm
“Sure,” Auvok says. And is the magnificent bastard actually smiling? He is. His fangs are sharp and pointed, like a feral beast’s as it closes in on its prey. “Let’s get down to business. You are not getting the jewel. There is no sequence of events in existence that would result in you getting your greasy hands on the jewel. Anything you do will result in failure—and, yes, physical agony coupled with the weight of regret at not heeding my warning. Perhaps even cursing your mother for spreading her legs and the drunken cur who tossed her half a P.C. for the effort.”
“Do you recognize the voice?” Auvok asks.
“No,” I say. “It’s not Hal or Ason.” Auvok frowns as if he somehow doesn’t believe me.
“You have one chance,” our pursuer continues. “Give us the jewel and we will let you pass undisturbed.”
“I already said that—”
“I know, I heard, pain, regret and puerile insults to my patronage. Now listen to me. I require this jewel. I will have it. That’s not up for debate. The only variable in this situation is whether or not you lower your landing strip and I send my flier in to retrieve the jewel peacefully—or I board forcefully by breach of the hull and take the jewel off your charred corpse.”
“Gonna have to be the second option,” Auvok says.
“Hey,” I say. “I was already charred enough for one day.” My hand reflexively touches the clump of melted hair and singed skin.
“I am not letting this brigand take anything from me,” Auvok says. “And that includes you.”
“Is that Vela I hear?” the voice asks. Do I know him? I don’t think that I do.
“Who are you?” I yell into the comm mic.
“You don’t know me,” he says. “I know Ason, however.”
“Ason set me up?” I ask. If I ever see that bastard again, I’m going to start cutting—and let’s just say he’s going to lose something more valuable than his hair.
“Not quite,” the voice says. “His only crime is being a dullard. I told him I was working for The Boss on Mutza’s World and needed to check the shipment. He couldn’t spill the details fast enough. Probably could have gotten him to massage my feet and wash my ship if I’d asked.”
I let out a breath that I didn’t realize I was holding. Ason, I’m still going to kick your ass, but at least I know that you’re not a traitor.
“I needed you to get the jewel off of New Europa. But that’s where your usefulness ends. You proved pesky to kill. Your ship was supposed to go down and my agent was supposed to retrieve the jewel. That was your good luck, I suppose, because I’m willing to let you keep your miserable little life in exchange for the jewel.”
“What did you say?” Auvok asks, his voice steady, barely above a whisper.
“Don’t make me repeat myself,” the voice says.
“You’re the one who sabotaged Vela’s ship?” Auvok says. “You tried to kill my mate?”
Wait, what the fuck did he just say? Mate?
I don’t have time to process that just now, but that little comment is definitely going into the mental filing cabinet for later investigation.
“Yes, and let me guess, you’re going to avenge her? How sweet. But unless you also have The Rod, there is nothing you can do that will stop me. I’m a skilled and—”
Auvok cuts the connection.
His eyes might actually be on fire. A vein is, no shit, throbbing at his temple. I can see it under the skin like a burrowing worm. His fingers fly over the instrument panel and I hear the mechanical grind that I know is only one thing: the cannon unfolding and locking in on its target.
The ship jolts as the cannon blasts. “Where is he?” I ask.
“Look,” Auvok says. He activates one of the vid screens and I see the enemy ship. It just took a pretty good hit to one of its wings. Did Auvok miss? Are Virixian warriors capable of missing?
Before I can ask, he’s unbuckling his harness.
“Where are you going?” I ask.
“To kill that bastard,” he says. “Anyone who threatens you does not get to live.”
That comment goes into the mental filing cabinet too.
“That didn’t quite answer my question,” I say. “Where are you going?”
“On board his ship,” he says. “To kill the bastard.”
“You can’t just kill him from here?” I ask.
“You’d prefer your male to act as a coward, to take a life with the push of a button?”
“Well, when you put it like that, it sounds bad,” I say. “But boarding his ship seems a little excessive.”
“A Virixian warrior is taught to always look a foe in the eye before taking their life. All life—even the ones ill-lived and squandered by miscreants—is valuable. Taking it is not supposed to be easy. Stay here. I’ll return.”
And he’s off.
There’s no way I’m staying here alone. This could be a trap, a way to lure Auvok away. That guy seemed to know an awful lot about me, and it’s extremely unsettling.
I unbuckle my harness and follow Auvok. He’s at the rear of his ship, about to descend into an emergency pod. He’s stepping into it, and I hop in too.
“Stay,” he says.
“That’s so condescending, I can’t even begin to explain it,” I tell him. “But I’m not going to stay because it’s creepy as fuck staying in this ship alone.”
“No,” he says.
I almost can’t believe the words that are coming out of my mouth. “If I’m with you, no one is going to be able to get me, right?”
He grumbles. “But this is battle. There’s no place for spectators during a battle.”
“I’ve got a particle blaster,” I say, gesturing at my belt.
“I will not be able to devote all of my attention to the enemy if I am worried about protecting you.”
“Good thing that you’re a Virixian warrior and you won’t need your full attention to take down that asshole.”
He does the thing I expect the least: he laughs.
“Alright, come on,” he says.
I squeeze into the seat, not realizing just how small it is, how my entire left side is pressed against his right side. Was it only a few hours ago that he got me out of my clothes and ran his hands all over my naked body?
And why the hell is it so hot inside the escape pod?
“Your scent is distracting,” he says.
“Sorry,” I say.
“It’s a mix of fear and arousal, and it’s absolutely intoxicating.”
“Can you stop saying creepy things for like ten minutes?” I ask.
“No,” he says and fires up the engine. We speed across the Black and approach the enemy ship. It gets even hotter when we fly near the gaping, flaming hole where the left wing used to be. I brace for the laser blast that will disintegrate the two of us, but it never comes.
Auvok slows and gets us right to the other ship’s docking port. He maneuvers the pod into position and opens our dock port. The reciprocal port on the enemy ship is, of course, closed, but he enters a command on the pod’s control panel and gets it to open.
“How did you get it to open?” I ask.
“Almost all ships have an override code,” he explains. “I’ve memorized them all.”
“Let me guess, during your training they made you memorize every ship model’s emergency override code while pelting you with hot stones and stropping the back of your legs with a diamond-infused whip?”
“No,” he says. “There’s only seventeen codes, and Taxuu, my brotherhood’s sort of unofficial leader, put a copy of the codes in the latrine so we’d learn them eventually.”
“That’s not what I was expecting,” I say.
“I’m full of surprises,” he says. He lifts himself up with ease that would be impressive, except he’s like ninety percent muscle, so of course it was easy. He scopes it out and then reaches down into the pod and lifts me up.
“Stop right there.” It’s the voice. I turn and see a human male pointing
a particle blaster at us. On his hand, he’s got the same weird tattoo that the other pirate had, an eye with a spiral at the center.
“I warned you,” Auvok says.
Everything happens slowly. I can smell the leather as Auvok draws his weapon from the shoulder-sling sheath. I can see the veins ripple on the back of the enemy’s hand, distorting his tattoo as he grips his blaster. The air itself has the tang of adrenaline as it passes over my tongue with each ragged breath I take.
Auvok aims Fear Shard at the enemy and one of those strange crystalline fragments whizzes through the air and lodges into the enemy’s chest. Auvok leaps to him then rips the crystal from the downed foe’s chest and then checks for a pulse. He sits perched above his fallen enemy for what feels like forever until, apparently satisfied, he stands up.
“Let’s go,” he says.
“That was easy,” I say when we’re back in the escape pod. But the truth is I’m shaking all over and close to hysterics. Auvok puts his arm around me and pulls me even closer. He’s solid and comforting, lending me some of his warrior essence until I can compose myself.
“We’ll go back and talk to my sworn brothers before we figure out what to do with this jewel,” he says.
“Okay,” I say. My job on Mutza’s World seems like a faraway dream. This damned jewel. What the hell did I get myself into?
“I’ll protect you,” he says, large hands stroking what little hair I have left. “Don’t worry.”
“I know it,” I say. And that might be part of the problem. This alien warrior is scaring the crap out of me. He’s violent and barbaric and devoted to me for some reason.
But that’s not what scares me the most.
What scares me the most is that I think I might be falling for him.
When we get back on the Vulp, he lifts me out of the escape pod because my legs are too weak. He carries me into the main area of the ship and I let him. I’m too exhausted to put up a brave front this time.
“Auvok?” I ask, looking up into his face. Gone is the lethal warrior with the fiery eyes and violent heart. In its place is my alien warrior, my protector.
He looks down at me with such tenderness in his eyes that I can’t let him respond. I’m tired of talking.
I tilt up my face to his and kiss him.
Chapter 9
Vela
Like when I plummeted in my fiery ship, I’m falling again. Surrendering. Letting go.
Auvok does not do anything gentle. He seizes my mouth with his, claiming my lips with all the feral urgency I’d expect from a Virixian warrior. I gasp for breath, wondering if I’m getting in over my head. I’m about to let this huge beast ravage my innocent body—this is crazy.
Except it’s not. Everything about it feels so right.
“Urzk Vix,” he says. “That’s what we call Proof of Life. After battle, after taking a life, a Warrior needs Proof of his own. A warrior needs to feel alive.”
He carries me into his captain’s quarters and throws me on the bed. His yellow eyes fix me with a stare that leaves me rooted to the spot.
“What?” I ask. Did I displease him somehow?
“I’m trying to decide whether I take your mouth first or your pussy first,” he says. “I’ll let you choose.”
Before I can say anything, he takes down his pants and unleashes his huge cock. It’s studded along the bottom ridge and the head is elongated and curved. It’s the same deep red as the rest of his skin right now.
I can’t fit that monster inside my mouth or my pussy.
“My mouth,” I stammer. I can’t take my eyes off his cock. I wonder how it will feel to run my tongue along the studs, to swirl it around the tip. He takes a step towards me.
“Have you ever taken cock before?” he asks me. “You smell so innocent and sweet.”
“No,” I say. My heart is thudding in my chest. I never ran around with guys on New Europa, even though it was common for girls to run wild and have lots of boyfriends. “I was always too nervous, too shy,” I say by way of explanation.
Auvok kneels on the bed and fists his cock, guiding it to my mouth. There’s a droplet on the tip and I dab it off with my tongue, relishing his musky taste.
“Too shy?” he asks. “Look at you now, an innocent little human about to be ravaged by a Virixian warrior. Open your mouth.”
I comply and he slips his cock inside my mouth. His hot girth stretches out my lips. He groans with appreciation. I move my head up and down as much as I can, but I can’t fit very much inside my mouth. His hand wraps around my hand and he places it on his shaft. I pump my fist up and down as I suck, my moans stifled by his length.
Hunger possesses me. I want more. I speed up, moaning as I consume his strange red cock.
He growls and suddenly pulls away from me. “Spread your legs,” he says. He traces his claws up my thighs and then pushes them apart, unfolding my sex. “I’ve wanted to taste you since the moment I saw you.” He grips my hips and plunges his face between my legs, devouring me with the same urgency as our kiss. He grunts as he licks me, like a beast. I never thought anything could feel this good. I’m close to orgasm already. I reach down and put my hands on his shoulders, digging my fingers into the hard, plated scales.
“Come for me,” he urges. “Come all over my face and get your little pussy ready.” His low, deep voice sends vibrations, and his lips brush against my sensitive nub as he speaks. The pleasure explodes and I scream out, unashamed at my wanton behavior. He holds me tight as I convulse with wave after wave of spasms.
“Holy crow,” I say when I’m able to speak.
“That was nothing,” he says. “That was mere play. Now’s the time for you to become my female.” He leaps on top of me, covering me with his body. The tip of his cock presses against my opening.
“You’re so fucking wet,” he says. He rubs his cock up and down my seam. It’s slippery and he teases my clit back into a hard little nub. “Your pussy craves my cock. You want to submit to my lust. Are you ready to let me defile your innocent little cunt?”
“You’re a barbarian,” I moan. “An utter fucking beast.”
“I am,” he says. “And you’re my sweet little human.” He pinches my nipple and I scream, but he doesn’t let go. He rolls it between his fingertips, pulls it. I’m going to lose it; the building desire between my legs might actually make me lose my sanity.
“Don’t hurt me,” I say. “Please be gentle.”
“Vela, you’re too delicate for a brute like me,” he says, then thrusts hard and deep inside me. I feel as each studded bump on his cock glides over my slippery flesh. The curved head of his cock rubs on my sensitive inner wall. But it’s happening so fast, I don’t have time to savor everything. He’s stretching me, pushing me to my limits. There’s pain somewhere, but it’s distant and somehow only serves to enhance the fervor with which he claims me.
He pushes into me, thrusting savagely, and my body adjusts to accept his entire length. Each thrust I scream louder, climbing higher and higher towards the peak of ultimate pleasure.
“I knew you could take it,” he growls in my ear. He kisses me again, nibbling at my lips with his fangs. I pant, consumed by desire. I wrap my arms around him and pull him closer, pull him deeper inside me.
“I’m going to come again,” I whimper. He lifts up a little and stares down at me.
“I want to watch you,” he says. But I’m not listening, not really, I’m lost in the sensations, reeling from how motherfucking good it feels. I close my eyes and drift, letting each thrust take me closer and closer until my whole body’s racked with ecstasy. “You’re so damned beautiful,” he whispers. “And I’m so damned lucky.”
He pushes harder, faster, then releases inside me in great, exhilarating spurts.
We lie spent for a while. He cradles me in his arms and I doze. I’ve never been more pleasantly exhausted.
I let my fingers walk all over his shoulders and chest. The scales are slinky and sleek. Except in one
spot. When my fingers probe the edges, he guides my hand away.
“What’s that?” I ask.
“A scar,” he says.
“From a battle?” I ask.
“It’s a brand, marking me as exiled.”
“Oh,” I say. “That’s… terrible.” My words sound so meaningless.
“I used to think so,” he says. “Ten orbits ago, six of my sworn brothers and I were tried and found guilty of treason. We were given the Mark and three hours to leave. I thought my life was over. Everything I’d worked for, gone in the blink of an eye.”
“You’re talking about all this in past tense,” I say, noticing the slight change in language.
“You, Vela,” he says, pulling me close and burying his face in the hollow between my neck and shoulder. He breathes deep, makes a satisfied noise then kisses me. “My exile has brought me to you—my fated mate.”
“Your fated mate?” I ask.
“I’m more attuned to my senses than you,” he says, “because of my training on Virix. I can sense things—feel things. We are mates. The Universe has already decided.”
This is something new.
I can almost feel what he’s talking about, like my mind can see the shape of the thing, can probe the edges, but can’t quite take in the whole picture.
Mates? Would the Universe really decide to pair me with a barbaric warrior? He’s not even human. You’d think the Universe would at least keep the species together.
“The Universe only looks at the soul of the creature,” he says, as if reading my mind. “Not the species or any other arbitrary metrics.”
It doesn’t feel that arbitrary to me.
Still, in Auvok’s arms, it doesn’t seem all that crazy.
Chapter 10
Vela
“That was…” I pause, struggling to find the words. Mostly because there are no words. Humans do not bang aliens. Well, human guys can bang aliens, because no matter where you are in the galaxy, guys can do whatever they want. But girls? No way. If any human guy ever found out that I did this, there’s no way he’d ever want me.
