Taming Chaos (Darkstar Mercenaries Book 1)

by Anna Carven

  The Bartharran pirate ship was… strange.

  Rusting metal lined brightly lit corridors that were teeming with small furry red creatures. They roamed the ship in packs, making small yipping sounds if she and Torin veered too close. With their glossy black eyes, thick coats, and delicate faces, the animals were actually quite adorable, reminding her of pint-sized foxes.

  “Nak nak,” Torin said quietly, as if sensing her curiosity. He must have eyes in the back of his head, because the entire time they’d been walking, he hadn’t glanced at her once. “On Bartharra, they’re everywhere.”

  She was about to respond, but as they turned the corner, they encountered a group of oncoming Bartharrans. The aliens marched in single file, and there were around a dozen of them; all broad, seven feet tall, and bristling with guns and blades.

  They walked down the center of the corridor. So did Torin. Beneath her cloak, Seph tensed. If they kept walking, someone was going to collide.

  Torin didn’t budge. Neither did the Bartharrans. They all kept moving, and Seph had no choice but to follow, sticking right on Torin’s heels.

  The sight of his broad back—with its muscular planes, crossed swords, and strange symbiote-armor—was both intimidating and reassuring. It reminded her that he was the only thing standing between her and the fierce Universe.

  Despite the imminent danger, Seph couldn’t resist the chance to steal a glance at the rest of him, particularly at that tight, shapely, armor-encased ass. Perfection. It was like a damn magnet for her eyes.

  There was that feeling again, that strange thrill she got whenever she tried to imagine what lay beneath his impenetrable exo-suit.

  What was it about a man who was both supremely dangerous and disarmingly nice, who could kill seven feet tall barbarians in the blink of an eye, and only moments later, reassure her in that warm, liquid-velvet voice of his?

  And now she was staring at his magnificent ass as he walked toward a group of very large, very mean looking Bartharran pirates.

  Torin, what are you doing? We’re going to run into them!

  But remembering Torin’s warning, she didn’t dare speak aloud. She kept her head down, and it really wasn’t too difficult to pretend to be terrified.

  Torin relentlessly marched on, giving no quarter. Seph cringed, fearing another bloodbath, but at the last second, the Bartharrans moved out of the way, letting them pass. They grunted and hissed amongst themselves, but none of them dared meet Torin’s eyes.

  Predictably, the Kordolian didn’t react, didn’t even slow down. He just kept on walking, his long, brisk strides giving off a distinctly military vibe.

  Military. That made perfect sense. The ultra-tech armor, the supreme fighting skills, the way he had absolutely no respect for anyone who dared oppose him.

  Suddenly, Seph was grateful for the brutal fitness training regime she’d put herself through during her final months on Earth. All those hot, sweaty months she’d spent slogging it out on the tree-lined streets of Cayenne were finally paying off, because she wasn’t out of breath as she kept up with Torin’s cracking pace.

  “How do you even know your way around this place?” she muttered under her breath as they passed a series of mysterious doors. The layout of the Bartharran ship was terribly confusing. It had so many damn corners, and the angles didn’t make sense. Instead of everything being at right-angles, the corridors would just shoot off in random directions, like branches spreading out from a central trunk.

  “I don’t,” Torin said softly once the Bartharrans were out of earshot, making her jump. “I’m making a lot of educated guesses. Sooner or later, there will be an access point.”

  Oh yeah. Hyper-acute hearing. I forgot about that.

  Abruptly, Torin stopped, and Seph almost crashed into him. She checked herself at the last moment, stifling a gasp as she skidded to a halt.

  “This is what I was talking about.” He motioned to a dark opening in the wall. “An access point. I will go first. Follow me.”

  Torin entered into the dark space and disappeared.

  What? Seph peered into the shadows, but his armor was such an effective camouflage that he became one with the darkness.

  “It’s clear, Seph. Come on.” Torin’s rich voice echoed from the confined space. Seph took a deep breath and stepped inside, squinting as she tried to adjust to the darkness. All of a sudden, his hands were on hers, guiding them toward something narrow and solid. “Here.”

  In the dim light, Seph could only just make out the horizontal rungs of what appeared to be a ladder.

  “We go up.”

  “This seems a bit… low-tech.”

  “Bartharrans aren’t exactly known for their interior design skills.” Torin guided her other hand toward the rung, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “You okay?” Under the cover of darkness, he let his hard warrior’s mask slip, his voice becoming gentle. Which one was the real Torin? The sweet, considerate man who seemed to anticipate her every need, or the merciless Kordolian who killed as naturally as he breathed?

  Probably both. People had different sides to them, Seph included. Right now, she was quiet and a little bit shellshocked, which was so different to how she was on Earth. Being abducted, rescued, and ejected in the span of a few hours could have that effect on a soul.

  “I’m fine,” she replied, putting her foot on the lower rung. “But do you mind going a little slower? I can barely see where I’m going in here.”

  Suddenly, his hard body was pressed up against hers. “I can do anything you like, Persephone” he whispered, his hot breath grazing her ear.

  You sneaky devil, you.

  Seph froze and slowly exhaled, a pleasant ripple coursing down her spine. Part of her couldn’t believe her ears, but at the same time, she drank up his attention like a fish in the desert. “Are… are you making a move on me, Torin?”

  A pause. “It seems I am.”

  “You have an interesting sense of timing, Kordolian.” She wasn’t denying him, though.

  “If not now, then when?”

  “You have a point.” Slowly, deliberately, Seph leaned into him, just a little. In this dark, secret little pocket of the Universe, she felt as if the laws of reality didn’t exist anymore. She could be anyone she wanted and do anything she wanted, even if it meant following Torin’s lead.

  She was still a little bit afraid of him, but the more time they spent together, the more she realized he wasn’t going to hurt her. In fact, her fear added a little spice to the mix; a sharp edge that she couldn’t resist.

  She was like a moth to a goddamn flame.

  “We can go as slow or as fast as you like, Persephone. Either way suits me just fine.”

  Persephone. Ooh, there it was again, that little growl in his voice when he spoke her name. Seph usually hated it when people called her by her full name, but the way he said it sent a flood of warmth through her core, momentarily turning her legs to jelly.

  He was probably the only person in the entire Universe who could call her by her full name and get away with it.

  Is this really happening, or am I dreaming?

  Perhaps she was still on Earth, passed out on her kitchen table after too many glasses of red wine. If that was the case, Seph didn’t want to wake up from this scary, sexy, vivid nightmare-fantasy just yet. Maybe later.

  “You need take it slow with me,” she murmured. “I have a terrible fear of heights, especially when I can’t see the bottom.”

  “How about we climb together, instead of me going in front? I need to guard against whatever might come from above, but I can haul myself up in a flash if things get tricky. I can’t have you falling off ladders in the dark.”

  “No, I would drag you down with me.”

  “I wouldn’t mind that at all.”

  “You think you could handle all of this?” Seph responded to his flirting by wriggling her ass a little. Maybe she was insane, but she couldn’t help it. When he teased her like that, the logical part of
her brain shut down.

  Torin’s hands dropped to her hips, and he gave her a gentle squeeze. “With pleasure.” His voice was a low, tantalizing rumble.

  Seph mentally pinched herself. They were in a dark, narrow stairwell on a grimy Bartharran pirate ship, surrounded by enemies, and she was flirting with an alien.

  An alien who had just killed a group of vicious Bartharran males without breaking a sweat; who seemed to like what he saw, even though Seph had taken great care to keep herself covered with her travel cloak.

  Julia’s gift was definitely a security blanket of sorts.

  From experience, Seph had learned that her body could be quite… distracting to the opposite sex. At six feet tall and 200 pounds, she was voluptuous no matter how she dressed. Back on Earth, she’d spent countless lectures trying to get the students to pay attention to what she was saying, instead of ogling her damn chest. It wasn’t as if she dressed in a particularly provocative way. Her ‘work uniform’ consisted of dowdy cardigans, long-sleeved work shirts with high collars, and dark tailored slacks.

  Still, she couldn’t hide her curves. Why was it that even in this modern age, people still made an inverse correlation with the size of her breasts and her IQ?

  She’d even attracted looks on Zarhab Groht. As soon as she entered the crowd, she’d immediately noticed the way several aliens had followed her with their intense, hungry eyes. Some weird danger instinct had kicked in, telling her to cover the hell up, and she’d silently thanked Julia, ultra-competitive bitch extraordinaire and sometimes-thoughtful sister, for her unique gift.

  But now she would have to take her precious cloak off, because climbing a ladder with fabric billowing around one’s feet and ankles was never a good idea.

  “I’m going to have to get rid of this.” She touched the auto-clasp at her neck. The cloak loosened, threatening to slip from her shoulders. Seph pulled it off and rolled it up into a small ball, tucking it into her utility belt. Now she wore only her standard-issue Federation travel suit, which was designed to be figure-hugging at best.

  Behind her, Torin inhaled sharply. He slid his hands up to the curve of her waist. “I can see everything, you know.” A certain rasp entered his voice, making her feel vulnerable, aroused, and sexy, all at the same time.

  “Please don’t tell me you have x-ray vision too,” she joked.

  Torin didn’t answer, and for a moment, Seph thought he might actually be able to see through her utility suit.

  Don’t be stupid. That doesn’t even make sense… does it?

  “Let’s go.” There was a hint of mischief in Torin’s voice as he applied gentle pressure to her waist, hoisting her up onto the ladder. “I’m right with you.”

  She started to climb, feeling her way through the shadows. Torin kept pace, his long limbs brushing against hers as he maintained his position behind her, his movements in perfect sync.

  At first, Seph was clumsy, fumbling in the dark. Torin patiently guided her hands when she found nothing to grasp and steadied her when her foot missed the lower rung. The more she climbed, the easier it became. Seph’s movements grew more and more fluid as she figured out the distance between the rungs.

  Now and then, Torin would press a gentle, reassuring hand against the small of her back, encouraging her.

  What he didn’t know was that his touch was doing all kinds of weird and wonderful things to her.

  This had to be the most unexpectedly sexy climbing activity she’d ever experienced in her life. With her morbid fear of heights, she was supposed to be tense and afraid, but how could she worry when Torin’s sculpted body was continually pressing against hers? Delicious warmth radiated from him, mingling with his intoxicating male scent. In the narrow, cramped shaft, Seph was getting all hot and bothered.

  What the hell is happening here?

  Oh, deep down, she already knew what was happening, but the full realization still hit her like a ton of bricks.

  Damn it, girl, just admit it, you’re attracted to the man.

  Well, this was unexpected. Seph thought she would have learned her lesson by now. Her penchant for dangerous men had caused her a lot of heartbreak in her younger years. Oh, they could be thrilling and charming and all kinds of sexy, but in the end, there was always some kind of trade-off, usually in the departments of reliability, honesty, and most importantly, loyalty.

  Seph had been burned in the past by men who were equal parts charming, dark, handsome, and dangerous. Torin had all those traits in spades. He had more of those things than all of her exes combined, and yet there was something different about him.

  He wasn’t as… full of himself. She didn’t sense any ego at all, only a quiet, dangerous confidence.

  He was the real deal, and he knew it.

  As Seph climbed, carefully taking one rung after another, she realized she could see the outline of the ladder. Glancing up, she saw light at the end of the tunnel.

  “The exit,” Torin whispered. Abruptly, he stiffened. “Hold on, Seph. Wait here. I need to sort something out.”

  “What are you going to—”

  “Shh. I’m coming back for you. If anyone threatens you from below, wrap your arms and legs tightly around the ladder, brace yourself, and fire. Watch out for the blowback, and don’t fall, whatever you do. This little gun packs quite the kick.” His fingers grazed her cheek in a gentle caress.

  Then he grabbed the rung above her head and hauled himself up in a single powerful movement, rapidly climbing toward the light.

  He moved with such speed and stealth that Seph realized he had been awfully patient with her as she lumbered up the narrow shaft.

  Suddenly, Torin disappeared from sight, leaving her all alone in the dark space.

  It was only a matter of time before screams filled the air, dampening the warm, fuzzy feeling that had filled her chest. How could he be so gentle one minute, yet inspire such terror the next?

  I am on your side.

  Actually, that warm, fuzzy feeling didn’t entirely disappear. It lingered even as she pictured Torin taking down his opponents with vicious ease.

  Could she really accept that her savior and protector was a stone-cold killer?

  You have to trust him.

  Torin was fighting to keep her safe. He would cut down anything in his path to make sure he won, because he wasn’t bound by the ordinary morals and values of the human world.

  The laws of Earth didn’t apply here.

  She had to accept the situation, or she wouldn’t survive.

  Boom! A powerful explosion rocked the shaft, and Seph almost let go of her handhold. The noise was deafening, making her ears ring.

  Frantic shouts filtered down to her, accompanied by the sound of Torin’s thunderous commands. He spoke Bartharran, and although she couldn’t understand a word of what he was saying, his anger came through loud and clear.

  Boom! The blast of a plasma gun echoed down the shaft.

  Another blast. Footsteps. More fighting. Bartharran shouts. Torin grunting softly.

  Then silence.

  The smell of ash and cinder wafted down to her. Seph was already moving, pulling herself up the ladder as a feeling of dread unfurled in her chest.

  Torin hadn’t come back, and something was wrong.

  The guy seemed invincible, but who the hell could survive an explosion like that, even if they possessed magical symbiote-armor?

  As she neared the top, soft cursing reached her ears.

  Torin! Relief flooded through her as she recognized his voice. He spoke in the melodic tones of his native tongue, and even though it was obvious he was swearing, he still managed to make the words sound refined, almost elegant.

  But there was tension in his voice. He was in pain.

  A flutter of worry entered her chest.

  Seph reached down and made sure the plasma gun was secure in her utility belt pouch. Torin had warned her to stay in the shaft, but there was no way she was just going to cower down here while he riske
d his life trying to save her ass, especially if he was hurt.

  Pulling out her gun, she took a deep breath, climbed up the final few rungs, and emerged into a world of blood, fire, and chaos.

  Chapter Nine

  Torin groaned as he sat up, pressing a hand against the gaping wound in his left side. His hungry nanites were already at work, knitting skin and muscle and tissue together.

  His injury was the effect of a close-range spik-grenade explosion. One of the Bartharrans had tried to lob it down the stairwell, where Seph was hiding.

  It had been a fatal mistake.

  There was no way Torin could let such a thing happen on his watch, so he’d put the strongest thing he could think of—his body—in its way.

  Predictably, the damn thing had exploded right in his face.

  That had fucking hurt.

  Then the Bartharrans had shot him with plasma fire.

  That had fucking hurt too.

  The plasma blast had penetrated his armor right at the point where the explosion weakened it, ripping through Torin’s side. Ignoring the injury, he’d surged to his feet with half his guts hanging out, retrieved his swords, and cut down his attackers.

  And when he was done, when he’d spent every last drop of his anger, he’d fallen to his knees, his chest heaving, his breaths coming in great, shuddering gasps, black nanite-infused blood spilling from his side.

  And now the Bartharrans were all dead.

  “Why doesn’t anybody ever listen to me?” His words fell on dead ears, echoing off the cold metal walls.

  If they’d just heeded his warning, if they’d just done as he’d asked and gotten out of the fucking way, then all this could have been avoided.

  Come on, come on… He willed his body to regenerate, feeling exposed in the wide corridor. As his injury healed, he slid one of his blades back into its sheath and armed himself with a plasma gun.

  The nanites went to work. Soft curses dropped from his lips as a familiar searing pain ripped through his body, momentarily paralyzing him. It felt like a huge barbed hook was being pulled through his side, over and over again.