by Anna Hackett
She ran into Rillian’s office and almost crashed to the floor. As air sawed in and out of her lungs, her gaze moved over the room. The lights were dim, the only illumination coming from a wall covered in several clear, thin screens. They all showed live feed from the busy casino below. The black desk in front of the windows was empty.
Her gaze went to the screens and the people on them. So many people. She swallowed, pushing at her tangled hair. So many heartbeats. Even from here, on the highest penthouse level of the building, she felt the throb of energy coming out from the mass below.
She was a danger to all of them.
“Dayna.”
The deep, masculine drawl made goose bumps break out on her skin.
She turned her head slowly and spotted him sitting in a chair in the dark. With her newly enhanced vision, she could easily make out his silhouette. He still wore the white shirt from earlier, and it shone in the darkness while his face remained hidden by the shadows.
“Bad night?” he asked.
She took a step toward him. She hated that tone—so smooth and unruffled. So controlled, when she was out of control.
He reached out and set a glass down on the side table beside his chair. The only sound in the room was the tinkle of ice. Even from across the office, she could smell the alcohol. The alien inside her gave her increased strength and enhanced senses that she’d never had as a human.
Rillian rose in a single, elegant move.
He took one step toward her, and suddenly Dayna was aware that she wasn’t the biggest predator in the room.
“I hate this,” she bit out. “I hate being out of control. I hate not being myself.”
“Your symbiont is hungry. You need to feed.”
“No.” Her stomach churned.
“You can’t ignore it.”
The command in his voice made her anger spike. Something twisted inside her. The pain grew in her chest and hunger exploded. She made a choked sound and everything that she’d been fighting to hold back unleashed.
All rational thought gone, Dayna rushed at Rillian.
He caught her as she flew at him.
The symbiont living inside Dayna made her strong…but Rillian’s was stronger.
He held her as she snarled and struggled. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her up against his chest, making sure she didn’t hurt herself.
He’d been expecting this. She’d worked hard to get healthier, but she kept ignoring the major change to her body.
She shoved at him and he used more strength to hold her. A fighter, this one. He’d known all manner of women during his life, but this one defied logic. The symbiont should have killed her, but instead she’d survived. Still, instead of accepting it, she continued to fight.
She fascinated him.
He tried not to notice how her sleep shirt rode up, baring long, smooth legs. Rillian clamped down on his body’s response. She was in his care. He let her struggle and fight against him until finally she sagged, exhausted.
“Dayna—”
“Don’t say it.”
“Being silent won’t change things. You need to feed.”
She tipped that strong, interesting face up to his, and gold flashed through her eyes. “No.”
“I’ve energy to spare,” he told her. “Take it. It will help you control it.”
She jerked away from him, stumbling back. “I’m not a leech.”
Spinning, she faced the windows and wrapped her arms around herself. She stared through the glass, but he knew she wasn’t looking at the view. Her chin dropped to her chest.
“Dayna, in the two weeks you’ve been here, you’ve been adjusting well. You suffered a terrible ordeal—”
Her head jerked up and she looked at him over her shoulder. “I can handle it. I was a cop. I’ve been through tough situations before.”
“You don’t have to handle it alone,” he said.
She spun. “Did you? When you got your symbiont? Did you get help and lean on someone?”
His jaw clenched. No, he’d writhed in agony alone in the darkness. “This isn’t about me.”
She turned away. “I just want…”
He waited for her to finish, but she didn’t say anything else. He took a step closer, watching her reflection in the window.
“You want things to be as they were before? To be the same woman you were before? Going back isn’t an option, Dayna.”
“I know that.” She gave a harsh laugh. “I learned that lesson as a little girl.”
Again, Rillian felt the strange and unfamiliar need to ease this woman’s hurts. He fought not to shift restlessly.
She pushed a hand through her hair. “God, I hate that you always see me at my worst.”
“Funny, I always think how strong, competent, and courageous you appear.”
She turned, her gaze on his face. Those eyes reminded him of polished stones from the moon of Anarlia, and were so direct, he found himself feeling strangely exposed.
“I’ve been planning an exhibition fight with Galen—the House of Galen against the House of Rone. It’s in two days’ time. You’ll get to see your friends.”
A flash of panic appeared in her eyes before she looked away. “I don’t want to go.”
“Dayna—”
“I…I don’t want to hurt them.”
Of course, her first thought was for others. “You won’t.”
“You don’t know that!” Her voice rose. “You don’t know how I feel sometimes. So hungry, so on edge.”
He met her gaze in the window. “I know.”
Her body shuddered. “I feel like the leash is slipping.”
“Because you need to feed.”
“No!” But then her eyes flashed gold and she moved fast, spinning and leaping on him.
Her speed took him by surprise and she managed to take him down. They crashed to the floor and her legs straddled his hips. She gripped his wrists and slammed them to the floor above his head.
Dayna’s eyes were shifting, brown turning to molten gold. Her symbiont was fighting for control.
Rillian thrust his body upward and they rolled across the floor of his office. She snarled and pushed to get on top again. They strained against each other. Drak, she was stronger than he’d thought.
They rolled again, legs thrashing. They smashed into a cabinet and it toppled beside them, glass shattering.
Suddenly, the doors flew open and his security guards rushed in, laser weapons raised.
“Stay back,” Rillian roared at them. “Get out.”
Dayna made a pained, animalistic noise and went for his throat. This time, he rolled, and pinned her beneath him.
“Do you want your friends to see you like this?” he asked harshly.
She bucked up against him.
He held her down and tore his shirt open. Fastenings bounced across the floor. Her gaze flickered, sliding down his body. He grabbed one of her hands and pressed her palm against his skin.
“Feed.”
She let out a sob and shook her head wildly.
He watched, with stunned admiration, as she fought for control. She gulped in large breaths and he watched the gold slowly bleed from her eyes.
Her fingers flexed on his chest and now he felt a rush of desire. His cock hardened, like he was a drakking untried teen, not a man in full control of his body.
Oh, he wanted Dayna. Wanted her spread out beneath him, naked and taking him. But he had vowed to help her, not take advantage of her. He’d promised Galen.
Rillian shifted, pulling them both up to sit. She didn’t need to feel his cock digging into her belly. She sat there, still a bit dazed, and fighting to pull herself back together.
“Thank you.” Her words were stiff.
“You will need to feed your symbiont eventually, Dayna. You know I’m here to help you.”
She hunched her shoulders. “We both know you’re my prison guard.” There was acid in her voice.
“Your guardi
an.” Rillian would never allow himself to take advantage of a woman at her most vulnerable, and he would never allow himself to lose control. He would take care of her, no matter what. Studying her face, he saw how tired she looked. Dark smudges underscored her eyes. “Are you sleeping?”
Her lips pressed together. “I…I have nightmares. Of the underground fight rings, of Zaabha, of the witch.” Brown eyes met his. “Of what could be happening to Ever and Sam.”
“You need to rest. You can’t help them if you’re exhausted.”
She shook her head. “And I can’t rest knowing they aren’t safe.”
He reached out, his fingers pressing to her cheekbone. “You don’t even know them.”
“I know what it’s like to worry about someone. To not know where they are, to wonder what they’re going through, to wonder what you could have done differently.” There was old pain buried in her voice.
She needed to rest. If she wouldn’t willingly help herself, then he would have to ensure it. Fortunately, his symbiont granted him several abilities. He stroked her cheek and watched her eyelids flutter closed.
As she collapsed, Rillian swept her into his arms, checking her brain wave patterns. She’d sleep soundly for several hours. He rose and headed for her room.
I will protect you, Dayna Caplan. Even from yourself. He shifted her and her head fell against his shoulder. Her lashes were dark against her cheeks. And especially from me.
Chapter Three
“We can’t wait to see you at the arena fight.”
Dayna smiled at her friends on the screen. She was sitting in her new office, after several hours spent pouring over all the information on Zaabha.
“Me, too,” she told Mia and Winter. She mostly meant it. She wanted to see them. Desperately. They hadn’t known each other before their abduction, but the three of them had forged strong bonds in the darkness and nothing could break that.
But last night’s horrible episode left Dayna feeling shaky.
“You look great, Dayna,” Winter said.
She focused on her friend. Dark hair framed Winter’s face. She had one blue eye and one milky white. The Thraxians had experimented on the former doctor and left her blind, but thankfully, the House of Galen healers had restored some of her sight.
“I had a good night’s sleep.” Thanks to a sneaky, bossy casino owner. The man had knocked her out and she’d had her first good night’s sleep. Still, it didn’t mean she liked his methods.
Winter nodded. “Essential for healing.”
“Did you talk to your father?” Mia asked.
Dayna nodded. “A few days ago.” She’d made the call using Zhim’s fancy wormhole communication technology. “He was upset, but glad I’m alive.” It had been an awkward, sad conversation. She and her father had never been close, but their relationship had been damaged long before the Thraxians had taken her. Dayna shook off the old sadness. “So, enough about boring old me, how’s life for you guys being all loved up with alien gladiators?”
Blonde-haired Mia grinned. “Ah-mazing.”
Winter’s nose wrinkled. “Mia’s man does everything he can to make her happy. Spoils her rotten.”
Mia snorted. “And Nero doesn’t do the same to you?”
“Nero has grumpy and overbearing down to an art. He likes to do things he thinks are in my best interest. Without asking me first.”
Sounded like someone else Dayna knew.
“He loves you,” Mia said. “And you’re educating the barbarian gladiator on a few things.”
Now Winter smiled, love in her eyes. “He does, and I sure am.”
The women both looked over their shoulders. “Hey, we have to go,” Mia said. “We’ll see you at the fight. Nothing like watching half naked, muscled gladiators battling each other to make you feel better.”
Dayna laughed. God, she was so thrilled these two women were safe and happy. “See you then.”
But when the screen winked out, she sat back in her chair, worry niggling at her. She was stronger, fitter…but this thing inside her meant she didn’t trust herself. She blew out a breath. She needed to get a handle on controlling it.
Eyeing the time, she realized the casino would be starting to get busy. She usually did a lap of the place, testing her ability to be in a crowd. Besides, the cop in her liked checking out Rillian’s security. There were a few improvements she’d make if she owned the place.
She headed out of the conference room. Rillian was shut up in his office, no doubt wheeling and dealing. She’d heard him earlier chewing someone out with an icy, cutting voice. Dayna had almost felt sorry for the poor sucker. She made it to the elevators and stepped inside.
As the elevator descended, Dayna pulled in a deep breath. She ran her hands down her fitted, black trousers. The doors opened and she stiffened her spine.
You can do this.
She stepped out onto the main floor of the Dark Nebula Casino.
The rush of sounds and sensations hit her and she closed her eyes, breathing deeply. One. Two. Three.
She would control this thing inside her. She was no danger to the people here. Her two shadows stood behind her. Everywhere she went, two of Rillian’s security guards appeared out of nowhere, as they always did when she left the penthouse.
She scanned the casino. Black walls were accented by huge vases of flowers in purple and red. The alien gaming tables were all red as well, and packed with people. She looked up, wonder making her chest tighten. Didn’t matter how many times she saw it, it was still the most beautiful thing she’d seen. The ceiling was covered in twinkling stars and the gorgeous hues of a multicolored nebula. It looked so real.
The place was all glitz and class. It was filled to the brim with people…or rather, aliens. She glanced at a tall woman, over six feet, who was wearing a stunning silver dress, with space for a tail that flicked back and forth behind her. Not far away, a tall red-skinned alien was laughing as he threw something on a table. He made her think of the biblical demons from her Sunday-school classes. She turned and came face-to-face with another alien male. He towered over her and sported a set of horns that made her gut tighten. His skin was pearly white, but he still reminded her far too much of the dark, horned Thraxians.
Her throat tightened, memories rising up like dark bubbles. Turning away, her gaze fell on a neatly hidden camera. The place was riddled with them and she’d spent several hours mapping them all out. She imagined Rillian up in his office, watching those screens. Nothing went on in his domain without him knowing.
All too easily, she recalled that chaotic, wild moment in his office the night before. Their fight, the blood pumping through her veins, the energy pumping off him. When he pressed her palm to his warm skin…
She shifted, pressing her thighs together. She was acutely aware that her panties were wet.
Dayna closed her eyes. Rillian’s handsome face filled her mind. When she’d been rolling around on the floor with him, she hadn’t missed the hard bulge in his trousers.
She crossed her arms. It had probably just been a reaction to the heightened emotions. She straightened her shoulders, determined to put it out of her mind. The last thing she needed in her out-of-control life was a man.
She strode into the casino, steeling herself against the onslaught of sensation.
If she narrowed her eyes, she could almost imagine she was back on Earth. She’d taken a trip to Atlantic City once with some friends from the forensics lab. She’d hated the tired, worn casino they’d stayed at. It had been so seedy. There was absolutely nothing tired or worn or seedy about the Dark Nebula.
Dayna did a lap of the floor, looking at the different games on offer. People were flashing medallion-like coins, which she knew acted as a sort of credit card on Carthago. Others were piling coins up on the tables. She shook her head. She couldn’t understand tossing good money away for the spin of a wheel, the roll of the dice, or the…she wasn’t even sure what the dealer was throwing.
“
Dayna,” a bright, cheery voice called out.
She turned and saw one of the casino cocktail waitresses standing nearby with an almost empty tray of drinks. The woman was gorgeous, with a long, sleek body sheathed in a black, slinky dress. Her green hair fell in a stunning wave to her waist.
“Briella. Hi.” Dayna smiled.
“Taking your usual walk around?” the woman asked with a grin.
Dayna nodded. She’d spent a fair bit of time meeting the casino staff and discreetly pumping them for information on Rillian. But the man ran a tight ship, and he had his staff’s loyalty. None of them would talk, except to say he was a tough but fair boss.
“How are things?” Dayna asked.
Briella lifted a shoulder. “Great. Busy today and my feet are killing me.” The woman tilted her head. “You look…rested.”
Dayna made a face. She didn’t want to think about her forced sleep. He didn’t have the right to go around zapping people into unconsciousness. She was tired of having her choices taken away from her.
“Something like that. And now I’m hungry.” The regular kind of hungry, thankfully.
Briella grinned. “Oh, I bet Chef Derol has saved something for you.”
Dayna snorted. “He threatened to chop my fingers off if he caught me in his kitchen again.”
The waitress laughed. “That grumpy, temperamental man doesn’t let anyone in his part of the kitchen. Last time you were there, I saw him smile at you. He doesn’t even smile for Rillian.”
Thoughts of the barbs she regularly traded with the slim chef made Dayna smile. Chef Derol took temperamental to new levels.
“I’ve got to get a new load of drinks.” Briella shifted her tray with practiced ease. “I’ll see you later.”
Dayna lifted a hand as the woman hurried off. She turned and headed in the direction of the kitchens. When she pushed through the large doors, she was assailed by the smell of cooking food and a bustle of frenetic activity.
She walked along the long benches, nodding at several chefs she’d met before. Most of the food on the benches, being mixed in bowls or cooked in pots, was unrecognizable. Her stomach did a slow turn. She’d discovered a lot of alien food did not agree with the human palate.
