His fists clenched and every muscle trembled. A fierce scent overpowered her, reminding her of dark spices and desert nights.
“A Sheon command ship overtook my vessel.” His voice carried to her, thick with strain and fury.
Kendra tapped into her mind, coming up blank on the command vessel. She had no solid memories of military rank structure in the Sheon regime. Only the family assassin line. It had kept her alive.
“We were on a scout mission to find out why our mining satellite wasn’t sending regular updates.” His voice was ragged, harsh. “My people are a fiercely loyal and devoted one.” He paused and drew in a breath. “The captain of the vessel had all the female,” he cleared his throat, “companions of my men slaughtered. We could do nothing.”
Horror twisted in her stomach and her heart ached. She could see how the memory weighed on his shoulders, or he was a damn good actor. Instinct told her otherwise, but something about him was getting under her skin, and she didn’t like it.
“The Sheon were merciless.”
Her parents’ murders were violent, but she thought that isolated to an individual, not a legacy. “Why would they do that?”
“They wanted us to mate with them.”
Kendra moved slowly around, staying in his line of sight. She tugged at her suit. It was getting warm. Likely a reaction to the slime run. “I don’t see how killing a loved one would make you a desirable mate.”
Azros gave a rough laugh. “They didn’t need our cooperation. Only our bodies. We were drugged.”
Kendra froze. A curse flew from her lips. Then another. She put her fists down on the table, wanting to hit something. “How many are left?” She didn’t need to ask him if he escaped. The pod was obviously battle-damaged. It was the same style of pod the man back at Destiny’s Palace had been found in. That meant the Palace could be in danger. She wouldn’t ask him if he’d been taken. Wouldn’t ask him if he’d lost a mate. It wasn’t her business. So why did it burn so much in the back of her mind?
“In the pens? Too many.”
Destiny would lose her mind. Consent was ingrained deep in her moral code. Why would the Sheon revert to capture and rape? Had things really fallen so far from the teachings? Kendra observed the weather screen. “I have to get word to the Palace. They have to know someone may be looking for you.” She brought up the message interface. The windstorm was in early fury. It would be hours before it would move on. Hours with no word back to the Palace. A part of her said to tread with caution. He may not be telling the truth, but the gut instinct that kept her alive told her otherwise. Her fingers flew across the keys. She tapped out a message and sent it encrypted to the Palace. It would arrive when the windstorm ended.
She clenched her fists. It would have to be enough.
Flashes of her parents’ death, their suffering, and her inability to save them broke free of the chains in her segmented memory. She shoved them back in the compartments she’d created long ago in the depths of her mind. “We can’t do anything about it right now. Trust me when I say this facility hasn’t seen a Sheon citizen in over ten standard years.” It wasn’t exactly a lie.
Sweat pearled on her spine and slid down, tickling the sensitive skin. She unzipped the suit. It was getting ridiculously warm. The rake of cloth against her skin was almost too much sensation to bear. Shit, what if they’d fallen into some unknown danger. An allergic reaction, maybe? She shrugged out of the top of her suit and stalked out of the lab and toward medical. The suit top hung at her hips, brushing against her legs with every step. She hated the full-body ensemble, but it was necessary.
“Where are you going?”
“To medical. There’s something wrong.” There was an edge of anger in her voice. “Besides, we need to get you scanned for further damage.”
He reached her in the lounge, catching the bare skin of her arm. “Wait.”
His touch burned her like sensory overload. She jerked back from his hold and rubbed it. “Stop manhandling me, or next time you’ll end up on your back.” Why did she say that? And why did it sound so suggestive?
Her nipples tightened. This close his spiced scent wrapped around her. Maybe she was allergic to him. “Stay away from me.” She ground the words out through clenched teeth.
His gaze burned into her. “I think I know what’s wrong.” He looked apologetic, and damn him, sexy as sin. He leaned close.
She jerked her head back. “What are you doing?”
The white gleam of his smile showed a little something she didn’t expect. Fangs. “An experiment.” He moved closer and she backed away a step.
“What kind of experiment?” Her back hit a wall and she dragged in a breath.
“A very simple one.”
He moved so close she could see the specs of green in his eyes, the near feline slits of his pupils. His scent surrounded her. “You’re causing this.” She meant to sound angry, not breathless.
“Likely.” His gaze wandered over her face. “Your pupils are dilated.” He pressed his hands on either side of her head. Her breath hitched and her pulse raced. “I can see your heart racing. Can taste your scent on the air.” His breath blew across her hair. “You are so hot for me, it’s almost unbearable.”
She choked on a laugh, irritated and growing angry at the accuracy of his words. “Yeah. That’s it. Or, maybe I don’t like having anyone close to me. I have this personal space thing.” Her fingers unclasped her weapon.
“You know what I think?” His lips hovered close to hers.
“No. What?” She couldn’t stop the breathless hush of her voice.
“I think you want to kiss me.”
She pressed the barrel of her weapon under his chin. His lips thinned and a muscle on his cheek tightened, but other than that he could have been carved out of stone. “I said. Back. Off.” She pushed harder.
“You’re not going to shoot me.” His arrogance was ridiculous. She wanted to snarl. Bite. Where’s that spine of steel Destiny always accuses you of having?
“Why not?”
“You’ve had plenty of opportunities if that was your aim. You didn’t have to rescue me in the first place.” Damn him for his smile. “I’d hate to see all that effort go to waste now.” He was smug.
“I don’t like this.”
His smile turned rueful, tired. “Do you think I do? I can’t help what’s happening any more than you can.”
“We can fight it.”
He gently pushed the barrel of the gun away. “To what end? For how long?” His fingers caressed her jawline.
It was the softest touch. She bit the inside of her cheek to stop the moan from escaping.
“This is temporary for you. For me, it’s part of what I am. Who I am.”
She let her arm drop to her side, the weight of her weapon a nuisance, nothing more. His touch was so nice. A warm burn of lust began deep in her core. She let her head fall back against the wall and stared up at the stark ceiling. “How long can you hold off?”
His fingers stopped their exploration, resting gently against her collarbone. “How long will the windstorms last?” She could hear the restraint in his voice, feel it in the rigid way he held his body away from her.
“Another six hours. Maybe more. It’ll be another three or so after that before we can leave. We can’t trek out until nightfall.”
His laugh was rough, filled with frustration. “I’ve survived this long.” His hands left her skin and pressed back against the wall. She ached at the sudden loss of his heat, fighting the urge to reach for him. She clenched her fist and gripped the pistol tightly with her other hand.
“Come on, tiger, let’s see to those wounds. Then we’ll see where it leads us.” She holstered her weapon.
He paused and smiled, the sight of his fangs a bit more disconcerting than she’d like. “So, you have fangs.” Sharp, gleaming and oh so dangerous. Her pulse leapt, and not from fear. “Are they cosmetic?”
“It’s unique to our race. They’
re quite effective. Can you think of a place you’d like me to nibble on?” Pure mischief lit his eyes.
“That smile should be outlawed.”
His lips brushed against the sensitive shell of her ear. “Lead the way.”
She gently pushed against his chest, ignoring how desperately she wanted to see what wonders his suit held. His hands fell away with a gentle caress of her throat. Kendra clenched her teeth against the need to arch against his touch. Her eyes traveled down his chest to his obvious erection. His cock strained against his suit, hard. Ready. Her pussy slickened with desire.
Stop thinking about it! She was acting like a randy teenager for fate’s sake. Her gaze jerked back to his face and the look he gave her was pure male arrogance.
She cleared her throat and wiped damp palms against her suit. “Follow me.”
The corridor was stark and painted in leftover gray mining paint. Azros filled the space, making her feel almost claustrophobic.
“Come here often?”
Kendra chuckled at the suggestive way he asked the question. She chose to ignore the bad pickup line to give him more of the truth. “I came here with my parents. They were commissioned to track terraforming anomalies on this planet.”
They reached the medlab and she turned the crank. The door creaked open and air pressure rushed out. Kendra checked the door’s seal out of habit.
“Very low tech.” His voice traveled away from her side, but he made no sounds when he walked.
“If you mean not having all the bells and whistles like automatic doors, then yeah. Low tech. When you’re in the middle of a terraform shitstorm, having the power go out is a little bit more than inconvenient.” She palmed the light switch. Light flooded the sterile room.
“So your parents worked for the Sheon Empire?”
Kendra rolled her eyes. “You make it sound like the empire is a great nameless entity.” She walked over to the console and initiated the D.O.C. interface. “My parents worked for the science and life consortium.” Again, not a complete lie. She unbuckled her belt and gently laid it beside the console. Her holster followed. “We were going to build a new Sheon home planet. Split from the old ways.”
She could feel his gaze, like the eyes of a predator. Weighing her every move. His charm had hidden depths. Something was changing. Tension crackled between them. There was no doubt sex with Azros would be legendary. She licked suddenly dry lips. This was not the way to stop thinking about him.
Please remove your garment. A disembodied male voice spoke in gentle and soothing tones.
Couldn’t have said it better myself. She grinned at the shock on his face. “Apparently Bob thinks it’s time to get this scan over with.” Kendra picked up her gear and hauled it behind the protective shield. She hesitated a micron before locking her weapons in the key-coded cabinet. Being unarmed around a stranger made her uncomfortable, but his ability to take her weapon earlier still burned in the back of her mind. Her cheeks flushed and a spark of anger coiled. He was obviously combat-trained, and she wasn’t at her best. She wasn’t dead yet, so he wasn’t a Sheon assassin.
Please remove your garment.
Each of them would undergo a complete exam. “You should do as he says. He has a really mean voice when you ignore his commands.”
“Who is Bob, exactly?” Kendra almost missed his question. He was unzipping his suit. Well, what was left of it, anyway. His disrobing was too much of a temptation to ignore. Dark skin with sparse fur on his chest. Just the way she liked it. Her fingers itched to run along the ridges of his abs. That’s it! I’m definitely getting some downtime after this mission. Drooling all over a stranger? I am way overdue for an appointment in the pleasure dome.
She had to clear her throat to be able to speak. “He’s the terraform lab’s AI.”
His arms shrugged out of the flight suit. It gave her a moment to consider his raw, masculine beauty. Azros was breathtaking. His neck and shoulders had tiger stripes of darker skin. She wanted to see his back, touch the stripes. How far down did they actually go? Was it a tattoo? A birthmark? Would it have a different texture if she ran her fingers…or tongue over it? Her gaze followed his fingers down to the waist, where either his butt or his dick held up the suit. Kendra was betting on both.
“Should I get a sheet?” There was laughter in his voice, but no matter how hard she tried, Kendra couldn’t drag her gaze away.
“For what?” Her husky question was followed by a shrug of his powerful shoulders.
His hands slid the suit over his massive erection.
“Right.” She cleared her throat. Kendra quickly averted her eyes and walked over to a cabinet. His quiet laughter chased her. She slid open a drawer and pulled out a sheet. Everything was getting to her. Even the normally soft material felt unusually scratchy against her hands.
Get a hold of yourself. You’ve seen it all before. Hell, sex was a regular part of her life. She happily defended the men and women who chose the oldest profession, so why was he getting under her skin?
She turned and smacked into a hard body. Awareness and shock mixed. How did he sneak up on her? I must be more exhausted than I thought. His hands steadied her, but all Kendra could do was inhale the rich scent of him.
He gently extracted the sheet from her hands. Her gaze followed the line of his arm and zeroed in on the wound on his side. It took only a moment to recognize old skin burns of a Sheon slave weapon. Long-buried memories flashed in her mind. It had marred her mother’s broken body in the same way. His skin was torn along his rib cage. Her fingers traced the outside of the burn pattern. “Looks like this came from the crash.” Why did she say that? She gently pressed on the bruised area and heard him suck in a breath. Any excuse to touch him, huh, Kendra?
“And your fist.”
A small spurt of satisfaction lit up her mood with that reminder. “Yeah. Looks like you’re going to hurt for a while.”
Please lie down on the table. The scan will commence.
Kendra stepped away and clenched her hands into tight fists to keep from touching him again. “Looks like that’s my clue. I’ll go get the esskin.”
“Running away?”
Kendra put all her attitude in the way she raised her gaze to his. The sexual awareness shining in their depths upped the heat coiled in her body. His grin told her it was only a matter of time. “Just weighing the options. Now be good for doctor Bob. I’ll prep the esskin and see if there are any clothes you can wear.” She patted his arm and used every ounce of her willpower to walk away. For now.
Chapter Three
Water blasted against her shoulders and back. Kendra groaned as the much-needed shower washed grime down the drain. Azros was dangerous. She placed her fists side by side on the tile and leaned her forehead against them. He moved like a military man. The marks on his body were recent, and brutal, lining up with his story. Aside from Destiny, Azros was the only other being in the galaxy to earn her trust on a gut level. And that’s what worried her. Was it some weird mating instinct that made her trust him? Could it bypass her normal caution?
If there wasn’t this hormone stuff to deal with, she could get Azros out of her system. What did a mating consist of anyway? It had to be more than sex.
Streams of water poured along her neck to flow down her chest. Everything had a distinct scent—the water, the sanitizing soap, even the disinfectant she had in a bottle on the sink. It was as if all her senses were on overdrive. The shower was roomy, large enough to fit several people. Her mother had called it their only luxury.
The lights dimmed and Kendra sighed. The windstorm was picking up. She turned off the water and hit the autodry. Wind battered at her body, reminding her of aches and bruises on top of last night’s security shift. Her scuffs and scrapes were minimal, but her legs were going to be screaming tomorrow. She hoped her team fared better than they had.
She opened the door and stepped out of the shower before her hair could completely dry. Would Azros be able to find h
is way around?
A tap on the door brought a smile to her lips. “What is it?”
“I’m done with the exam, but I need help applying the esskin.”
She slipped on her light undergarments, wishing for something less…serviceable. A little more feminine maybe? “I’ll be out in a moment. The esskin is on the table.” She gave her appearance a quick glance. A shower couldn’t do anything about the scratch on her cheek or the way her lips always looked as if she were pouting. Her tangled mane of hair tumbled down her back in a damp mess. She pulled it back in a ponytail and dreaded brushing it. A set of her personal loungewear completed the ensemble. Kendra nodded at her reflection. Train wreck. At least her clothes fit. She doubted any of the shirts she’d found would fit across Azros’ massive chest. She clenched her eyes against the mental image of the bare-skinned Valorian. Way to be professional, Kendra. Seven more hours until nightfall. She could hold out.
Another knock sounded. Kendra took in a shaky breath and opened the door. Azros leaned against the doorframe, all hard muscle and strength. And bare from the hips up. Her heart slammed in her chest. She was definitely a goner. “None of the shirts fit, I take it?” She was surprised at how easily the words came out of her dry mouth. Lust formed a hard knot in her core, one that ached to be filled. Oh yeah, she was definitely a goner.
“No.” The dry tone of voice told her he didn’t even try. An appreciative gleam in his eyes kicked the heat up a notch.
She shrugged a shoulder and breezed past him. Sexual awareness tingled down her spine at the close brush of her skin against his. “Let’s get you bandaged.”
Synthetic skin, or esskin, was efficient for most wounds, but it was tricky when you were dealing with high-stretch areas, like the side, knee joints, hands. If it wasn’t applied properly, esskin could cause terrible scarring, improper healing, or in the case of her feet, muscular atrophy. It had taken years to undo the damage she’d accidently caused, but there was no doubt it had saved her life.
PrimalHunger Page 3
