Tesia snorted. “Anyone who knew him wouldn’t have believed that crap in the first place.”
“You’re right.” Alex answered that charge. It needed to be said, dealt with. She felt Tory’s gaze on her but she focused on the woman who accused her. “I was afraid.” Tesia’s eyes widened and Tory hissed a quick intake of breath. “I had discussed a courtship contract for Tory and myself with my family.”
“You did?” Tory burst out and Alex glanced at him.
“I did. I was insistent.” She bit her lip. “Two weeks later, my brother presented evidence that Tory was a traitor.” Her chin rose. “Tory had no alibi, no defense. My brother had witnesses, vid evidence that the Tribunal said was genuine. I had no reason to doubt them.” Her stomach clenched. There was much more to it than that, but she wasn’t going to talk about it. “I was an idiot. I thought my feelings for Tory had blinded me.” She couldn’t hold Tesia’s gaze anymore. She stared at the floor. “I questioned my own judgment.”
“Because you loved him,” Tesia stated.
Loved him? She blinked and stared at the woman. “I don’t know. I cared about him enough to ask for a courtship contract.”
“But five years? You never doubted it for five fucking years?” Tesia’s hands clenched into fists.
“No, I never did.” To her ever-loving regret. “The Tribunal found him guilty.”
“Your Tribunal was wrong.” Tesia clenched her fists at her side. “You let them exile him. You didn’t defend him.”
“That’s not true,” Tory interrupted.
Tesia and Alex both turned to stare at him. He met Alex’s gaze as he spoke. “I read the transcripts after I heard Darius say you defended me. I should have gotten them sooner. I was so hurt I—” He stopped. He didn’t have to say it. She remembered. He’d begged her to run away, to make a life with him. Instead, she’d chosen to side with her family. He glanced at Tesia. “She told the Tribunal I was a hero and she’d fought by my side. She didn’t believe I was capable of the accusations presented.” He met her gaze. “They showed you the vids. Was that the first time you’d seen them?”
She nodded. “And the bank accounts.”
“Your brother was thorough.” He gazed at Tesia. “What you don’t know is that the Tribunal recommended a death sentence. It was Alex’s testimony that changed it to exile.”
“How did you find that out?” Alex stared at him and he grasped her hand.
“I have sources who obtained the notes from the Tribunal Judgment.”
“So you saved his life,” Tesia said with a frown.
“And he saved mine. That’s what this is really all about.” She twined her fingers with Tory’s.
“Only one more ordeal, dear heart,” Tory said. Ordeal? Another man stepped forward with a bow. He had jet-black hair like Tory’s but it was cut very short. And his eyes were an eerie green. An Ardasian? Serving on The Pinnacle’s crew? She glanced at Tory. “I am Jezar Rysa,” the man said, his voice deep and pleasant.
She bowed. “I am honored.” What was he doing here? Ardasians were known for having a strict code of conduct. Stealing, pillaging and pirating were not on the list of things for them to do.
Jezar grinned. “Our code is more complicated than it seems.”
“Get out of her head, Jezar.” Tory glared at the man.
“My apologies.” He didn’t look apologetic.
“We have work to do.” Tory stared at his crew. “Let’s get to it.”
“Are you going planetside?” Pulzer asked Tory.
Her mate glanced at her with one eyebrow raised. “Alexandra?”
She frowned. “You’re suggesting we take a jaunt down to the planet’s surface to play tourist with all this going on?”
Tory’s smile was soft and gentle. “No. We have an appointment with someone who needs to see us. But she won’t be ready to see us for a few hours.” He raised his eyebrows. “We could use that time to ‘play tourist’. Have you ever been to a planet as anything other than a military attaché?”
He knew she hadn’t, damn him. It was tempting. Ardasia was a puzzle, a planet with a rich history, and was well known for its preservation of alien history.
With a sigh, she gave in. “Okay. You win.”
Tory grinned. “Of course I do.” Alex rolled her eyes.
He clapped Dink on the shoulder and nodded to Pulzer. “You’re in charge until I get back.”
They strode across the bay, Jezar walking beside them. Tory kept his voice low and spoke to the Ardasian. “Get the box loaded onto the shuttle.”
“The box?” Dread suddenly slammed into Alex’s stomach.
“Yes,” Tory said and kept the smile on his face. “We have no intention of selling the contents to anyone.”
“You’re giving it to the Ardasians?” Bad idea. Her gaze shot to Jezar. Did they all know it was the Old Earth plague? It gave the Ardasians a weapon against the Terans, didn’t it?
No, Alex, it doesn’t. The words floated through her mind. Jezar? She knew they were telepathic, but they could talk to a non-telepath?
Why not just destroy it? She knew the answer, but asked this voice in her head.
Because we want to find an antidote so that whoever has the other batches can’t use it ever again. Our scientists can do that.
How are you able to talk to me?
I’m gifted.
Bullshit. There was more to it than that. The chuckle in her head only added to her irritation.
“It’s annoying when he does that, isn’t it?” Tory whispered in her ear.
“How did you know?” She kept her gaze on Jezar as he moved away.
“I recognize the frustrated expression.” He shook his head. “He’s a mystery to me too.”
“He says the Ardasians are going to come up with an antidote.” She followed Tory toward one of the shuttles.
“That’s what we hope.”
“Do you trust them?” She knew a little about the Ardasians, but not enough to believe they wouldn’t use the plague against the Teran planets.
“I do,” he said firmly. “You’re a history buff, right?” Tory asked.
“Yes. My grandfather encouraged me to keep track of Teran One bloodlines.”
“Then there’s something on Ardasia I think you’d enjoy,” he said and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
His touch, his attitude, all implied they were a couple. They were mated, but Alex wasn’t sure of Tory’s true feelings. Wanted her? Yes. Needed her to help him stop a civil war on Teran One? Probably. Anything else? Despite what the Judge of Light revealed, there was too much…history between them. Perhaps Tory had deeper feelings for her, but she still doubted it.
They rounded the corner of the shuttle and she glimpsed two other vessels in the bay. “Are those Rama Fighters?”
“Yes,” Tory said shortly.
“Who flies them?” She loved Rama Fighters. Quick, fluid and responsive, the ships were deadly in space. Teran One only had a few. The fighters were made by Teran Five but she had mastered the controls.
“I do. And Jezar.”
She tore her gaze away from the pretty, shiny fighter ships and observed that Jezar and Tesia climbed into one of the Rama’s cockpits. “Who is Jezar anyway?”
Tory shrugged and stepped into the shuttle. “I don’t know. He’s an Ardasian. His family lives on Teran Five and he’s got a clean record. He’s never balked at any of the questionable things we’ve done so somehow doing them must serve some higher purpose.”
“You mean, there’s a bigger reason why he’s here than just making money.” She took Tory’s hand and he helped her into the shuttle.
“That’s the only way it makes sense. What would you like to see on Ardasia?” Tory changed the subject and Alex got the idea he didn’t want to discuss Jezar anymore.
“I’ve heard of the Olani Falls. They’re just outside the capital, right?” She decided to go along with him. Maybe that trust thing the Judge of Light had mentioned needed to go two
ways. She had to earn his trust too.
“They are. And they’re everything that’s reported about them.” Tory sat in the pilot’s seat and bent over the controls of the shuttle.
She sat in the copilot’s chair. “Shall I?” she asked politely. When they’d fought at Sevu, on Teran Three, she’d been his copilot on a rusty bucket called The Clipper. The two of them had worked together like a well-oiled machine, anticipating each other, complementing each other. His aggression and her caution combined on that mission to make it a success. The man they’d extracted from the enemy camp that time now had five kids on Teran One.
“Go ahead. We’ll be on auto for most of the trip, but I’d love your touch when we leave the bay.” He didn’t glance at her when he answered. Did he remember too? He had to.
She flicked buttons and levers to prepare for disembarkation. “This is Shuttle Two. Estimated time for departure?” she asked the bridge.
Dink’s voice came over the line. “The Ardasian shuttle The Lightning will disembark first, Commander, in five minutes. Please stand by.”
The Judge’s shuttle roared and the bay doors opened. Alex noted that one of the dashboard lights blinked, indicating the magnetic locks were weak. She quickly transferred power to the magnets before the shuttle door opened. A heartbeat later, Tory adjusted the power couplings above the locks. It was as if they thought as one person. It had always been that way for them.
Many of their missions had succeeded because of Tory’s ability to anticipate her and vice versa. When he was exiled, she’d missed him sorely. No one in Teran One ops had been as compatible for her. Or as disturbing. It had always seemed that Tory read her mind, knew her as well as she knew herself and enhanced every move she made on a mission. She had wondered how someone so different could resonate with her so well.
“The Lightning is away, Shuttle Two. Stand by.” Dink followed procedure. She had always thought these rogue ships followed their own protocol, but Tory’s ship seemed to keep to the military forms.
“Shuttle Two cleared for takeoff,” Dink said.
“Firing engines,” Alex informed him and Tory flicked the engines wide open. The familiar shudder of the ship and the soothing whine of the engines relaxed her. She loved to fly. It was her one talent. Most of her fellow soldiers could outshoot her and many of them were better at hand to hand. But none of them could match her in the cockpit.
Except for Tory.
“Shuttle Two taking off.” She matched Tory’s calculations with her own and they slid the shuttle out of the bay like butter, slow and smooth.
“We’ll be back in five hours, Dink.”
“Acknowledged, boss. Say hello to Kera for me.”
“Will do.” Tory flicked on autopilot and turned to her. “We have to wait for the right window in the atmosphere. I’ve set the trajectory. It’s going to be about an hour before we land.”
She clicked out of her seat’s restraints and relaxed. “Who’s Kera?”
Tory’s fingers froze on his restraints. “She’s a friend.”
A friend? A lover maybe? She glared at him. “Could you clarify, please? I really don’t want to be caught flat-footed.”
His gaze met hers. “I told you. She’s a friend.”
Damn it. Alex threw off her restraints and stomped into the back of the shuttle. How the hell was she supposed to adjust to this if he wouldn’t be honest with her?
She heard his step behind her and whirled around to face him. “You want an awful lot, don’t you, Tory Ingle? You want me to believe this mating is something more than just your personal satisfaction.” She ticked off her fingers. “You want me to believe someone on Teran One is trying to kill me. And you want me to believe there’s someone on Teran One with the Old Earth plague.” Her hands closed into fists. “How am I supposed to trust you if you won’t answer simple questions?”
He ran a hand through his hair and let out a quick breath. “Because your questions are never simple, Alex.”
“Bullshit. If we’re going to see someone you’ve been fucking, I think I should know.” Great. Now she sounded like a jealous mate. Well, fuck, she was a jealous mate.
His eyes narrowed. “If I have been fucking someone, it’s none of your business.”
She gasped. “So, this mating is just about your revenge. Thanks for clearing that up.”
His hand shot out and gripped her arm. “What did you expect? That I’d remain celibate for all those years?”
“Of course not,” she scoffed. “But I don’t really want to meet the women you slept with either.” She was being pretty fucking reasonable.
“So mark your territory,” he said in a low, purring tone.
The way he said it, the feral expression on his face, the way the air between them crackled made her ache. “You want me to fuck you now?”
“Yes. Make me smell like you. And you’d smell like me.” He pulled her in his arms. “I’m a man who likes sex, Alexandra. You’d better realize that right now.”
Without ceremony, he swooped in and took possession of her lips. She wanted to fight him, stand her ground. But when his tongue swept inside her mouth, she forgot everything but the feel of him, the taste of him.
Her hands lifted, at first to shove him away, but instead buried in his hair and pressed him closer. He shoved her back against the shuttle wall, his hands tight on her hips, his mouth fused to hers. The cold metal against her spine and the heat of his body on her breasts created an erotic contrast that sent fire along her veins, burning through her token resistance.
He crowded her, pressed her flat against the wall and lifted her legs until she wound around him like a vine. His cock fit at the junction between her thighs and she moaned.
The sound seemed to set off an explosion in him. He broke the kiss and his hands yanked on her clothes until she was naked. His mouth captured one of her nipples and scraped it with his teeth. Her whole body jerked, electricity crackling along her nerves. When had he taken off his shirt? She didn’t care. She just wanted to touch him. Her hands ran along the lean lines of his shoulders and down his chest, exploring every dip, every hard plane of his broad expanse. Stars, he was perfect. Solid, dominating, sexy. Another moan escaped her lips and his hands tightened on flesh.
His fingers wandered lower and flicked over her clit. She thrust her hips into his hand, desperate for his touch, his cock, everything. She was mindless under the expert hands of her mate. “Tory,” she begged.
He lifted his head and met her gaze. The swirl of desire and need in his eyes made her ache. Her pussy throbbed and pulsed.
She didn’t wait. Her fingers reached his pants and yanked on the buttons. His eyes closed when her hand found his cock and stroked him. The way he fit in her hand was perfect. But then he shifted and thrust two fingers in her pussy and she panted, unable to keep the rhythm going as her body tightened like a bowstring. She closed her eyes and held on. He added a third finger and rubbed his thumb around her clit with every thrust. He played her like an instrument, his fingers magic on her body. His other hand palmed one of her breasts, sending sparks of pleasure shooting through her.
The sensation of the solid wall behind her and his large frame pinning her against it spurred her arousal. She didn’t know what it was about him, about them together, that created these reckless and borderline violent moments, but she reveled in the collisions. All those years of correct behavior, following the rules, being completely in control were swept away by his hands, his mouth, the press of his body on hers. The past, the future and even the dangers of the present seemed far away and unimportant in the face of their connection.
No one had ever made her this mindless and no one else ever could. Tory was the only man who had inspired passion in her and the only one who could rip away her control. Some of her response was rooted in her anger at him and at herself for the years they’d been apart. The fact that another woman might have tasted this, could have been in his arms, made her wild. In concert with her thought
s, she struggled against him, straining to get closer, yet fighting to get away from him.
He growled, his mouth pressed to the sensitive skin under her ear, and tightened his hold, refusing to give her any space at all.
It was his mouth on her neck that sent her spiraling into an orgasm. He sucked the taut flesh there and she convulsed around his fingers, stars floating behind her eyelids.
Chapter Nine
The feel of her pussy, hot and tight, almost made Tory spill his cum all over himself. Stars, she smelled so fucking good. He marked her with his mouth, sucking on her neck. She gushed her release on his fingers and he slid them out to taste her. Her hot breath blew out as she watched him lick every drop of her cum from his fingers.
She arched her back and rubbed her slit along his cock, making him gasp. He resisted, his cock throbbing and desperate, while she tempted him, dared him to slam inside her. She was so strong. Her hands gripped his hair and she pressed closer to him, her heels digging into his back, urging him to take her.
For a moment, he just stared. Her brown hair framed her face like brown silk, her eyes, lit with desire, were golden and her skin flushed an enticing pink. The mark on her neck was already a dark red and gave him a primal sense of satisfaction. She was his. She belonged to him.
He grabbed her hands out of his hair and slammed them over her head. His body pinned her to the wall, his cock ready to complete them, join them.
One hand encircled her wrists and his other hand captured the soft flesh of her ass. She had no idea what he was capable of, what he wanted. His fingers sought and found her anal entrance and circled it with a firm touch. She didn’t tense, or try to pull away. Instead, she moaned and shifted her hips to slide her wet pussy over his hard cock. God, she was all he ever wanted or needed.
He slipped a thumb inside her ass slowly, so slowly. As he did, he slammed his dick inside her pussy. She screamed and convulsed, her ass and her pussy both squeezing him, tightening until he thought he wasn’t going to last another second.
In perfect rhythm, he slid his thumb in her anus and held it there, filling her, while he thrust his cock inside her pussy. He watched her face, contorted in pleasure, her sweet lips parted and her eyes half closed. His release pressured him, making his balls ache, but he didn’t want it to end. He wanted to hold them both there, in the shimmering pleasure that blocked the rest of the universe out.
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