by Siren Allen
He eyed the garment. “I don’t think you have my size. No offense, but the males here are puny.”
“They are not puny,” she defended her males. A low growl built in his chest. Did she think the other males were attractive? “You’re just extra big,” she told him as she reached into the locker once more.
“And big is a bad thing?” Raynor asked, holding the garment up to inspect it.
“Big is… big. It’s not bad, it’s…” She was blushing.
Raynor smiled. “And you’re sure this is going to fit?” He’d give her a break this time.
“Yes, it’s engineered to fit any guard. It adjusts to your height and weight. It also protects you against the solar flares.”
“I thought your people were immune to the effects of the flares.”
“We are, but when rulers from other planets visit, we provide their guards with uniforms to wear while they’re here. Last year we decided to upgrade all the uniforms to thermal ones like these.”
Raynor nodded. “And you’re sure they’ll fit someone such as me?”
“Well, we’ve never had anyone your size here, but it should fit. You have to try it to see.” She pulled out a plastic container that had the word cleansing wipes written on the front of it. “Now, turn around while I wipe away this blood and get dressed.” Her blush deepened. “You can dress too. I promise not to look.”
“I don’t mind you seeing me unclothed.”
“Well… uh… just dress.”
With a nod he faced away from her, throwing the garment over his shoulder. He slipped his shoes off. Next, he removed his pants. The garment she’d given him was a ‘one piece’, similar to the uniforms her males had worn.
He was still skeptical about the item fitting him. Like she said, there was only one way to find out. Raynor stepped into the uniform. It was no struggle to pull the fabric over his muscled thighs.
In fact, the item fit him loosely, like the clothes had fit those guards. So why the hell didn’t Lark wear uniforms like this all the time instead of the tight fitting ensemble she normally wore?
After they were bonded he would convince her that it was better to wear clothing like these thermal uniforms. Once he had the whole thing on, zipped up and his shoes back on, he turned around to tell Lark she was right, the garment did accommodate his size.
“You were right, it…” Raynor started then stopped, his eyes on Lark.
She was already fully dressed in her outfit. Her face and hands were now clean. That wasn’t what stalled him though. It was the way she was looking at him, the heat in her gaze. It made his darkness hum, the sound vibrating across his body. That had never happened before.
“Did you watch me dress?” he asked her.
She started to shake her head then stopped. “A little.”
“And…”
“And what?”
“And, you saw me naked…”
“Only the back of you.”
“You’ve seen the front,” he reminded her.
“Well, uh, yeah… not on purpose though.”
“And?”
“I don’t understand. And what?”
“What did you think of me?” He probably shouldn’t have asked that. Yet, he wanted to know. He needed to know.
“You’re big, muscular.”
The smell of her fear returned to the air. The scent left a bitter taste in his mouth. Damn, he shouldn’t have asked her that, especially not now, so soon after she’d been attacked. What the hell had he been thinking?
“I would never hurt you, Lark. Not in any way, especially not in the way those males were attempting to.”
She pushed her hair behind her ear and sighed. “I know, I think I know. I mean, you saved me and all. I heard Aron offer to share me with you.”
“He had no right to offer up something that wasn’t his.”
“True. When he asked you, I knew you would say no. I knew you weren’t like that. I can’t explain it. I just, knew. I guess what I’m trying to tell you is that, here on Venus, we have a saying about mating. When you find your other half, you’ll know because they make your hands tremble, but also because they bring you peace. The moment I heard you roar, I felt peace. I knew I was safe.”
Stars, this was the moment he’d been waiting for.
“Are you admitting that you’re my mate?” Would she agree to bonding with him and spending the rest of eternity by his side?
“I don’t know.”
Frustration welled within him. He tapped it down. Be patient, he told himself.
“There are things you don’t know about me,” Lark said as she leaned against the locker. “I’m rude, and sometimes downright mean. It’s not that I like being that way, it’s just that… I’ve seen things others haven’t. I’ve been hurt and afraid before. And I still have nightmares about what happened.”
She paused and he waited on her to finish. He wanted to ask her what happened, but knew now was not the time. She would tell him when she was ready. Patience, he reminded himself and would continue to do so until it was like a reflex.
“What I’m trying to say is, I still have these fears. Keeping beings, males at bay haven’t caused them to go away.”
Males. “What males hurt you?” So much for patience. He wanted to know now. He would find them and destroy them. He would destroy their families. He would…
“It doesn’t matter, Raynor.”
“It does,” he took a step forward. “It matters to me. And it matters to you too or you wouldn’t still have nightmares about it.”
She didn’t deny it. “They are dead now. My father and his guards disposed of them.”
“Good.”
“But the tragedy of that night still lingers, here.” She touched her hand to her head. “And here.” She pressed her hand over her heart.
He didn’t know what to say. He’d never comforted a female before. He wanted to wash away all of her fears. Yet, he knew that wasn’t something he could do. Even the darkness inside of him was quiet, unsure of what to say.
“I…” Frustrated, Raynor rubbed his hand over his face. “I need to take this pain away from you.”
“You can’t. No one can. Look, I don’t want you to feel sorry for me. I’m okay. Really, I am. I just wanted you to know why mating isn’t something I’m eager to embrace. I mean, I want a mate. I’ve always wanted one, though I’ve tried not to think about it. It scares the hell out of me. If I’m your mate that means we have to… we have to… you know. And, well, you’re so…”
“Big,” he finished for her as he realized what she was getting at.
She nodded. His gaze roamed over her. She was right. He was much bigger than her. Would he fit? Were they even compatible? He didn’t know. What he did know was that he would never let her go, even if he couldn’t be with her… that way?
“Your other male lovers were much smaller than I?” He hated to ask, hated to think of her with another.
Her blush returned. “Uh, yeah, much much smaller.”
“The males who attacked you, were they my size?”
Lark nodded.
“Were they vampires?”
“No,” she shook her head. “They were just big, like you. But not as big as you.”
No wonder she was leery of him. He was a reminder of a past she desperately wanted to forget. He couldn’t change who he was or how he looked. If he could, he would gladly do so for her.
Shit. If Lark couldn’t get past her fears she might never learn to trust him, to want him. The darkness inside of him grew colder, freezing his heart. He would see her to safety, and then he would find a place where he could be alone to ponder over what he’d just learned.
“We have to go.”
Lark opened her mouth then closed it.
“We will discuss this more later,” he told her. “Right now, we need to go.”
She nodded. “Wait, let me load up.” She bent over and retrieved two small hands guns. After checking the clips, she
slid the guns into the side pockets of her uniform. She reached for a bigger gun.
“That’s too big,” Raynor told her. “If we have to run, it’ll slow you down.”
“You’re right.” She instead picked up two knives and slid them into a compartment on the side of her pants. Turning to him she announced, “I think I’m ready.”
Raynor held his arm out. She hesitated briefly and then grabbed hold and they walked over to the yellow door, the door that was keeping them locked in. “You can open this, right? Or we can go through the hole I created.” Raynor pointed to the end of the hall where a gaping hole should’ve stood. Instead the hole was filled with chunks of concrete.
“There’s no going that way,” she told him.
“It won’t take me long to dig us out.”
“Save your strength. I can open this door. I’m the one who designed it.” Lark smiled, it was a shaky smile, but it was still beautiful.
Yes, he was more than willing to stick with this female, no matter whether they fitted together or not. Stars, he hoped they fitted.
Chapter Fourteen
Stars, she shouldn’t be this comfortable around him.
Not after the fear and nervousness she’d previously felt when he was near. Something had changed when she watched him kill her tormentors. Something inside of her bloomed. Yeah, describing it like that made it seem poetic.
Yet the feeling hadn’t been poetic at all. In his eyes she’d seen anger, and that had brought the fight back to her bones. Giving up had seemed ridiculous the moment his eyes connected with hers.
Watching him kill her guards delighted her. Even the gruesome way she finished off Aron made her happy. She knew she should be ashamed of her behavior. She wasn’t. And she wouldn’t allow herself to feel that way when all of this was done either.
Those bastards deserved to die and she was happy she’d gotten to watch and take part in their demise. That didn’t make her heartless, it made her the leader her people needed right now.
Thanks to Raynor, her vampire, she felt stronger. Lark hid her smile as he followed behind her down the corridor. When they reached the dungeon exit Lark placed her hand against the touch-lock and waited for the scanner to recognize her.
Click.
The door made a terrible groaning noise then slid open. What she saw on the other side made her gag. Raynor touched the small of her back. Lark swallowed the bile that rose to her throat. Countless bodies littered the hall. Her people, gone.
“We have to keep moving.” Raynor gave her a gentle push to get her going.
It was hell putting one foot in front of the other, somehow she managed. “We should check them, to see if they’re still breathing.”
“They’re not.” He pushed her again when she stalled, staring down at people she recognized. Her guards, those who hadn’t betrayed her, those who’d fought to the death to protect this planet and its people.
“We have to at least try.” There was no stopping her voice from shaking. She wasn’t even embarrassed by the tears streaming down her cheeks. This man had seen her battered and almost violated, what was a few tears compared to that?
“We can’t help them.” Raynor grabbed her arms and pushed her forward. She struggled against him, needing to try to help. “Lark, if they were alive I would see their auras. Only darkness surrounds them, death. If I see anyone with light around them I will tell you and we can stop and help them. Until then, we must keep moving.”
He could see auras. Why hadn’t she known that? Lark let him push her forward. The more bodies she stepped over, the weaker she felt. Depression took hold of her and she leaned against Raynor for support.
“I got you.”
She knew he did. They journeyed until they reached the other end of the building. “I need to get to my sister’s lab. I left her there. Stars, I hope she locked herself in.”
“She’s not there.”
Lark stared up at him. “How do you know?”
“I saw her on B block, with one of my brethren.”
“Why was she with one of your brethren?”
“He is her, they are… she’s his mate.”
Lark stared away from him, not wanting him to see the anger in her eyes. Hell, seeing it didn’t matter since he could smell it.
“You do not like that she’s mated to one like me.”
Yep, he could smell it. Lark straightened up, removing some of her weight from him, but still too weak to walk on her own.
“He would never hurt her,” Raynor assured her. “He would die before he allowed anyone to harm her. She is safe with him.”
Lark took a deep breath and exhaled. The action caused her chest to ache. If Raynor’s friend was anything like him, Lark knew her sister was safe. Still, Lola was shy, fragile. She couldn’t handle a vamp. Or was Lark simply projecting her own fears onto her sister. Just because Lark was afraid of mating didn’t mean Lola would be.
“We will find them,” Raynor spoke softly. “And you will see for yourself that your sister is fine.”
Lark could feel his eyes on her. She was glad he couldn’t smell everything she felt. Yeah, she was afraid for her sister. Yet, she was also jealous. Lola didn’t have the hang-ups Lark did. Lola could mate without fear. Lola was the lucky one.
“I’ll find her for you Lark, this I swear. Right now, we need to go.”
Not looking in his direction she nodded, eyes forward as she stepped over bodies.
“Would you like me to carry you?”
Shaking her head, she continued on. No need for them to bond any more than they already had. She wouldn’t be keeping him. She couldn’t. He truly wasn’t as monstrous as she thought he was.
But that was no longer their biggest issue. She was. She was damaged, in ways he couldn’t imagine. Her fears ran deep. No, she wouldn’t make a good mate for Raynor. It was best that she kept her distance and not get used to having him around.
She ignored the voice in the back of her mind that told her it was too late for that. They walked in silence, both seemingly deep in thought. When they made it to B block she was shocked to find the emergency door ripped from its hinges.
Raynor stepped in front of her, blocking her from any threat. Following close behind him, they stepped over the broken doorway. On both sides of the hall, cell doors were open and the chambers were empty.
This day was getting more fucked up by the second. Her head was pounding, but she ignored the pain. Her people came before her. And right now, her people were in grave danger.
“Who the hell freed all of the prisoners?” Though she’d said those words aloud, it was more of a thought than a question. That didn’t stop Raynor from answering.
“I’m thinking it was the ones who betrayed you. They released the prisoners as a distraction, knowing the guards who were still loyal to your family would battle the prisoners. While they were being overrun by prisoners, those against you could further infiltrate your defenses.”
“How do you know all of this?”
“It is what I would have done.”
There was no point in getting angry over that. The book from her father’s library had said that Raynor’s kind were hired guns, mercenaries. This meant he knew a thing or ten about destruction.
“If you were me,” Lark asked, “what would you do now?”
Stopping, Raynor stared down at her. Without hesitating he said, “First, I wouldn’t trust anyone, other than me.”
“That sounds like something the villain would say.”
“I’m telling you what I would do if I was you. Second, I would log into the central server to see who freed the prisoners.”
Suspicion threaded through her veins. “How do you know about our central server?”
“Before coming here I was the second in command of a powerful army. I know all about central servers and secret monitoring devices. If I was you, I would log onto those devices and see who really is for you and who’s against you. The ones fighting prisoners, they�
�re for you. Those battling your other guards are against you. Simple.”
Why hadn’t she thought of that? Aron and his crew of lawless renegades couldn’t be the only ones in on this plot to overthrow her family. The bodies littering the hall were proof of that.
“It’s true we have devices that monitor our guards and all the corridors under the dome. Only a select few of our personnel know about them. Yet, what if one of the people trusted with that information is in on it?”
“Then the server will be down. They would’ve destroyed it, not wanting any evidence left behind. If it’s down, that helps you narrow down who’s against you.”
True, only Manuel, Lola, Luna, Farah and Logan knew about the monitoring devices.
“Okay, so we have to get to my office, which has probably been trashed by now.”
“You keep the server in your office? You must have a huge office.”
“No, oh, you must be used to the old school servers.”
“So your server doesn’t take up a whole room?”
“Nope, it fits in the palm of my hand. And it’s locked away in a safe that I designed myself. No one can break into it.”
“Does anyone have a key to the safe?”
“It doesn’t have a lock. My friend, Farah, bespelled it. Only the blood of my family line can unseal the box.”
Raynor smiled at her. “Smart girl.”
His praise shouldn’t thrill her. It did. “Follow me,” she informed him. He wrapped his arm around her, supporting her and they continued down the hall. When they reached the end of the corridor Lark stared wide eyed at a gaping hole where a door used to be.
“They’ve raided our primary weapons room. A hole like that could’ve only been made with a Desald 36.”
Raynor touched his hand to the edges of the burnt hole. Smoke still rose from what was left of the door. “What’s a Desald 36?”
“Are you familiar with Blasters?”
“Yes.”
“It’s ten times worse.”
“We need to hurry.”
“I agree.”
He lifted her and sat her on the other side of the door before stepping over the threshold then wrapping his arm around her once more. Again she led the way to her office. Once they made it out of the prison, Raynor’s steps slowed.
