by Lucas, Naomi
“You’re my princess,” Raul cooed.
“Then what does that make you, Raul?” Pigeon asked. “You can’t just give up her secrets without repercussions. She may have wanted to keep her princess status on the down low, you fool!”
“I’m just a lowly frog that wants her to kiss me!”
Hysterian tensed. A cacophony of laughter filled his audio. The wires seized inside him, pulling his body taut. Raul’s words were too close to the mark, and a strange needling of dread wormed its way through Hysterian’s systems.
But it was the picture of Alexa kissing Raul that rocked him. Waves of red washed over his vision.
“She’ll never kiss you, Raul, so get those thoughts out of your inebriated head,” Horace taunted. “But a fucking frog you are. Maybe you can get one of the cleaning bots to kiss you, ‘cause that’s the only thing on this ship that will.”
“Let’s change the subje—” Alexa started to say.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Raul quipped. “I think I’m more enticing than that. This is our third date, is it not? And a third time’s a charm. But I can wait!” Raul quickly added. “Twelve time’s a charm too or even the twentieth.”
Red burst in Hysterian’s eyes like wildfire. He pushed off the wall and stepped into the lounge.
But no one was looking in his direction. His crew was gathered around a table in the back corner in various positions. They all stared at Alexa. Was that a blush on her cheeks?
A heated blush that made Hysterian’s skin run cold with need.
“You don’t say?” Horace muttered.
“You guys dating?” Pigeon asked when Alexa didn’t answer, deciding to bury her face into her hands instead.
“Well…” she started but trailed off.
“Alexa wants to take it slow, and so slow we shall go.”
Muscles straining, fingers twitching to break bone, Hysterian growled. “What’s going on here?”
The easy camaraderie of the group dissipated. They turned to look at him as one. Raul got to his feet, Alexa dropped her hands and went white, and even Pigeon’s smile fell.
“Captain,” they said, and the last of the easy laughter vanished into the ship’s buzzing.
“We’re enjoying a drink, Captain. Why don’t you join us?” Pigeon pushed a bottle in Hysterian’s direction.
He didn’t want a drink; he wanted relief. He wanted Alexa to meet his eyes instead of staring hard at the cup between her hands. Was what Raul said true?
Dating? Who the fuck dates? And three of them?
How had he missed that?
His ship wasn’t that goddamn big, for fuck’s sake.
What else had he missed?
“Captain? Can we do something for you?” Pigeon asked, a little uneasily.
Hysterian stared at Alexa, waiting for her to answer. She sat beside Pigeon, and not Raul. Hysterian was pretty sure if she had been, Raul’s blood would be dripping down the walls already. Raul was still close, too close, and Hysterian couldn’t remove him without someone else getting hurt.
This was why he fucking hated ships.
Without destroying everything Hysterian strived for, he couldn’t break Raul’s neck in front of everyone. He wanted to, but the risk was too great.
There was no way he was going to have Alexa if he traumatized her.
His crew shuffled uneasily when he didn’t answer. They glanced at each other.
“Yes,” Hysterian said after a minute. “You can leave.”
Horace gulped down the rest of his drink and strode out of the lounge. Pigeon offered his hand to Alexa to help her rise, but she shook her head. Pigeon sighed as he walked out.
Hysterian turned to Raul. “I said leave.” Leave or die. Right now, Hysterian couldn’t decide which choice he wanted Raul to make more.
Raul glared at him, unmoving. “I’m waiting for Alexa…sir.”
Hysterian stepped forward. “When your captain gives you an order, you follow it. Anyone teach you that in basic training?”
“I plan to, sir.” The disgust on Raul’s face couldn’t be more evident. “When she’s ready.”
“Raul, go. I’ll be right behind you,” Alexa said, and with good timing too, as Hysterian was about to snap Raul’s neck.
“I’m not leaving without you.”
“I’m not giving you a choice,” she said. “Go.”
Raul turned to Alexa. “He’s telling us all to leave. We’ll leave together.”
“Raul,” Hysterian said, his voice lowering with menace. He did not like the familiar way Raul was addressing Alexa. Or the gleam in his eye when he looked at her. “She’s not your fucking princess, and she’s never going to fucking kiss you, you drunken piece of shit. The bruises on your neck are gone, and I’m finding I’d like to replace them.”
Raul straightened and scowled. He reached up and rubbed his neck, but he backed away from Alexa and, with a final show of defiance, downed his drink and slammed the cup on the table.
“You’re right, Captain. You always are, aren’t you?” He strode toward the exit. “Except she has kissed me, but of course, you’re right. She’s a woman, not a damsel in distress.” Raul glanced at Alexa. “I’ll wait up for you. I hope you know what you’re doing.”
Before Hysterian could drag him back and drink his blood, Raul was out the door and gone.
Twelve
He planned to take care of Raul. Later. Where there were no witnesses.
In a flash, Hysterian was on Alexa, pulling her from her seat.
She gasped and grabbed him as he sat her down on the table, blocking her in and pushing his body between her legs. To his surprise, her hands went to his face as she pummeled him.
“No!” she cried.
Hysterian jerked back before her fingers made contact with his brow.
“Stop!” he ordered.
She continued to squirm and fight him, though she didn’t make another sound.
He caught her wrists before she reached for his face again. “I said stop! You’ll hurt yourself!”
Then he noticed the fear in her eyes.
She kicked him hard and twisted away with a terrified shriek. He held her, confused. No matter how fiercely she tried to get away from him, it would never be enough. Never. No human could match the strength of a Cyborg.
She’s fighting like she’s about to die.
His brows furrowed. “Do you think I’m about to kill you?” Hysterian released her, horrified. “Stop it!”
Stop it or I might. On accident.
Alexa hit him several more times before stopping. Panting, she went as still as stone, staring wide-eyed at his chest. He forgot about the kiss between her and Raul as Hysterian took her in.
She was already near transparent, but now any sign of color was gone. Had he done this to her? He waited until she calmed, until he could hear her beating heart tone down before he demanded answers.
He opened his mouth to speak and promptly shut it. Alexa pressed her forehead against his chest.
His chest. For comfort, no doubt.
Words left him.
What the hell is happening?
No one had ever sought comfort from him before, or used him for comfort. Hysterian didn’t know what to do. His hands twitched. He wanted to touch her, but knew if he did, she might lash out again. He didn’t want her to get hurt.
He stared, unable to look away.
She was so small against him. Had he ever noticed that? How small, weak, and soft she was? The woman perplexed him. He could crush her like a bug, tear her to pieces on a whim, and she was still using him as comfort.
Something this small, this delicate, needs to be taken care of. How had she survived so far without protection? Maybe that’s why he noticed her.
I could protect her.
Once the thought hit him, his systems vibrated. He swallowed, trying to clear the tightness in his throat.
“You dyed your hair,” he said softly.
And cursed himself f
or choosing those words over others. Shit words.
She didn’t respond. She still trembled.
He needed a response, demanded one. “Why were you fighting like I was about to kill you?”
Had he really frightened her that much?
She slowly leaned back, and he missed her against him but relaxed knowing he didn’t have to offer comfort anymore. He didn’t know how. His immediate response was to offer her his touch his flesh, and that was the last thing he wanted to do. Ever. Especially to her.
He could make her feel good, real good if he did that. He could blow her mind and fuck it sideways, but he’d end up losing her in the process. She’d eventually come back for more, again and again. He couldn’t do that to her. Even the good stuff was still poison in the end.
She leaned back even more but still wouldn’t look up at him.
He knew he should give her space but he didn’t fucking want to. If she ran from him and went to Raul, Hysterian would lose his mind.
“I was startled,” she said, quiet as a mouse.
“That was more than being startled. You were fighting for your life,” he corrected.
“I want to go. Please move, Captain.”
Irritation surged. She was acting like nothing strange had just happened. “You’re not going anywhere until you explain to me exactly why you reacted like that.”
“I…” She turned her head to the side, exhaustion etched into her face.
“You?” he prompted.
“I was scared.”
His fingers curled into his palms. Of course she was scared. He’d grabbed her, and for what reason, he had no idea. It wasn’t like he could touch her, strip her, kiss her. He’d grabbed her so she would be in his arms, not Raul’s. Hysterian’s jaw ticked.
The only solution, he decided, was to get Raul out of the picture and off his ship. Hysterian couldn’t have her running to someone else, especially another man.
“I’m scared of you,” she whispered.
His gaze narrowed. “Have I done something to frighten you enough that you would think I would kill you?”
She shuddered, and his brow creased.
Did I?
“It doesn’t matter.” She pushed at his chest; he didn’t budge. “I just reacted, and now I’m tired. Please let me leave.”
“No.”
Her eyes finally found his. “No?”
“If you won’t tell me what’s wrong—and I will find out, Alexa—you can’t leave. I don’t plan on hurting you, nor can I recall a time where you might think that I might.”
“And telling me we’re going to fuck and that there’s nothing I can do about it isn’t frightening?”
“Is that why you’re scared? Of the goddamned inevitable?”
Her lips pressed together tight.
Hysterian placed his hands on the table on either side of her. “You’re afraid that I’m going to lay you low, strip off your clothes, and push my body upon you? Is that it? That I’m going to nudge your legs open like I’m doing now, and stick my fingers deep into you so I can feel you from the inside? That when I’m done, and you’re squirting into my hand, I’m going to press my cock into that tight space and ride out the rest of your orgasm?” His voice lowered. “That scares you?”
“It scares me because I don’t want you!”
Fuck what she said; he was happy enough to hear anger in her voice again and not the gasping fear from minutes ago.
“That’s a lie if I’ve ever heard one,” he said.
She pushed at him again. “I could never want you. I don’t want you. I don’t even want to…”
“To what?”
“Look at you!”
“Would you rather look at Raul?” he snarled.
“Yes!”
He cupped the back of her neck. “Then why didn’t you fucking leave with him? Why did you stay?”
Her nostrils flared. “Would you have let me?”
Hysterian narrowed his eyes. “Why haven’t you fucked him?” he asked, low and menacingly.
“How do you know I haven’t? We sleep in the same room, don’t we?”
“Because I don’t fucking smell him on you!” he shouted. She startled, really startled this time, and his hold on the back of her neck tightened, keeping her where he wanted her. “But I smell your arousal.”
Her lips parted, and he slammed his covered mouth on them. His tongue shot out, licking at the cloth between them, moving his lips on hers, taking whatever he could from the kiss. He didn’t care if her lips moved back. This was for him and his need. His sanity. Hysterian pushed into her until she was forced to lean back against the table.
Cups and bottles fell aside as he released her neck with one of his hands and cupped her sex.
Alexa moaned and jerked, and he groped her sex hard, pressing the pads of his fingers where her entrance would be, cursing the layers of cloth between them. Cursing because he couldn’t remove them. Her sex was so warm, so welcoming, that he groaned, dying for more. Instead, his palm slickened with secretion under the confines of his glove.
He tore his mouth off hers and enjoyed her breathy gasp. He rammed his fingers as hard as he could against her. His thumb searched for the spot where her little clit would be.
Alexa’s hands came up and gripped his shoulders. Her hips jerked with a moan.
“You should be glad I don’t smell him,” Hysterian hissed, rubbing her sex. “You wouldn’t like it if I did.”
She whimpered. “Why are you doing this to me?”
His thumb pressed hard into her clit, and she jumped. “Because you do worse to me.”
Another moan filled his ears, and her face shuttered. Her tongue came out to moisten pretty, raw lips.
I did that. Hysterian slid his hand from her neck and rubbed them. I made them raw.
“Then take me and be done with it,” Alexa cried, pushing her body up against his. “Do it now!”
He cupped her hard as her hips bounced. “You’re not ready.” I’m not ready...
“Fuck you—I am! Just do it already. I can’t stand this anymore! I need you out of my head.” She started tearing at his suit. “I need you out of my head,” she said again with more desperation.
Hysterian surged back and caught her hands.
“No,” she whimpered. “Keep touching me. I need more.” She writhed, trying to pull her hands out of his grasp but unable to.
He licked his lips. “You need more, is it?”
“Yes!”
“You need me to stick my cock in you?”
“Yes,” she cried again. “Please.”
“Say it.”
Her gaze implored him.
“That was a fucking order, Dear, say it.”
“I need…”
“Go on.”
“I need you inside me.”
“Who?”
“You.”
“Glad to hear it.” He moved her hands above her head and held them there. “I’m really fucking glad to hear that, Alexa,” he groaned. “Because when it happens, it’s going to hurt.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Desire surged through him, erupting power through his systems. He looked into her eyes and saw pain and desperation within them. He saw what he often caught on his own face when he was alone: misery. Misery for wanting something you can’t or shouldn’t have, shame for being unable to be a better person, and the acceptance that you’re a little fucked up in the head.
Alexa had secrets. He knew that now.
He wanted to know them… He wanted to fuck them out of her.
Hysterian reached up and pulled at her half-fallen bun. Rich black hair, silken and slightly wavy, fell over her shoulders and down her back. No longer was it stiff and unnatural. He’d added sweet-smelling scents to the dye, scents that he enjoyed.
Beautiful. He slid his gloved fingers through a strand at her shoulder. Alexa Dear had beautiful hair. Long, soft, and easy to grab.
To yank.
&nb
sp; “Please fuck me. I don’t know how much longer I can take this.” There was pain in her voice. A lot of pain.
His eyes found hers. He would love to do just that. But couldn’t. If she just looked at him hard enough, she’d see that his entire body was growing damp and that his undersuit was sticking to him.
“I don’t want you going near Raul again,” he said.
Her brow creased. “I work with him—we share a room.”
“Not anymore.”
Hysterian straightened, and Alexa rose on her elbows. She reached between her legs when his hand left, pulling at the clothes bunched up there. He’d tried hard to pierce her cunt…
“Where am I going to sleep then? My things?” she asked.
“You can stay in my quarters.” The words left his mouth before he could stop them. Hysterian backed up another step, putting space between them. He continued to watch her hand between her legs as she adjusted herself. “It’s clean. I don’t use the bed.”
“Your…quarters?”
Her hand finally fell away. She closed her legs with a sad moan.
“Yes,” he snapped. “My quarters.” He pivoted away before he attacked her again. Because all he wanted to do was give in and take what he craved, regardless of the damage that would cause.
“You’re leaving?” she asked, when he rubbed his face and made his way for the exit.
“It’s late, Dear, and we have a warp to prepare for. Get some rest.”
“Wait!”
He turned to see her standing, hugging herself, the very picture of haunted confusion. It didn’t make sense. Her reaction tonight made no sense at all. She was combative, desperate, even scared, and he had no idea why. He needed to get away, for his sake, but for hers more.
She should be fucking scared. I’m not well…
Hysterian deleted the thought before he could finish it.
“Can I see your face?” she asked, curling into herself further.
My face?
He tugged down the part of his suit covering his nose and mouth. Secretion was all over his skin, but it wouldn’t look any different from sweat. He faced her fully and she stared at him, hard, harder than any normal person should be. Like she was trying to figure him out…
“Well?” he prompted when she just continued to look. It was time for him to escape and lock himself in the bridge tonight. If he didn’t soon, he was certainly going to risk her life and touch her.
