Gravity (Dark Anomaly Book 1)

by Marina Simcoe

  Screams and growls reverberated through the room behind me. Then, the sounds of clawing and slamming at the wall began.

  Someone must have yanked at the belt with enough force to rip it because it slackened then started moving much faster. The males were pulling it out of the tunnel, probably hoping to get me out this way. They would succeed at that, too, if my arms or feet slipped, and I fell onto the belt.

  I clung harder to the walls, afraid to think about what would happen if I fell. The shoulder that the centipede had mauled ached. The mandibles of the creature hadn’t been able to pierce through the reinforced material of my suit, but it still hurt.

  Something wrapped around my thigh—one of the long, segmented tails of a kreer. My heart leaped into my throat. Shoving the loose belt aside, I propped my hand on the floor of the tunnel, then used the other hand to get the knife out of the sheath on my belt.

  “Get off me,” I hissed through my teeth, slicing the tail off my thigh.

  A screeching sound of pain came from outside of the tunnel as the tail limply fell away from me. Clenching the knife between my teeth, I kept moving up the tunnel, eager to get out of reach of all their tails, feelers, tentacles, and other appendages.

  My arms and legs shook uncontrollably when I finally came upon the loose piece of paneling in the wall, up the corridor from my old room. There was no way I could make it all the way to the garden by crawling up the tunnel like this. Making sure there was no one around, I climbed out into the corridor, instead.

  Like a woman possessed, I ran back to the gardens, and from there, to the small room behind the library.

  Chapter 22

  MY HEART POUNDED HARD when I made it back to the room. Disappointment, worry, and fear filled me at finding it empty.

  Vrateus wasn’t there.

  From the few words exchanged between Crux and the others, I understood that Vrateus had been captured and escaped. The question remained—had he kept his freedom or had he been re-captured?

  Part of me wished I’d immediately run back out there in search of him. The other part held me back out of caution. I was much more useful to Vrateus free and alive, than captured and potentially dead or used as a pawn by his enemies.

  Pacing the tiny space, I listened to every small noise while trying to decide what to do next.

  A screeching noise outside the wall shared with the library startled me. Sparks flew, and a line formed in the paneling, with melting plastic dripping on each side. Someone was cutting through the wall from the outside.

  I darted for the tunnel to hide.

  “Svetlana.” Vrateus kicked in the piece of the wall he had just cut out.

  “You!” Relief spread through me, making me weak in the knees.

  He tossed the cutting tool aside and shoved a shelf in the library over, to cover the opening he’d just made.

  I threw myself at him, and he caught me in his arms.

  “Why cut the wall?” I asked, between the frantic, messy kisses I showered his face with. “Why didn’t you use the tunnel?”

  “I couldn’t get to that section of the corridor,” he replied, looking somewhat stunned by my wild affection. “Someone was there, I didn’t want to lead them to the tunnel.”

  “You’re alive. Are you okay? I can’t believe you’re free.” I grabbed his shoulders, touched his neck then cupped his face, all the while kissing him wherever my lips would land. “I was so scared for you. What happened?” I slid my hands inside his shirt, needing to feel more of him. “They caught you?”

  “Blocked me off, in a dead-end hallway...” He walked me backwards until my back pressed against the opposite wall. “They barricaded me in. I used the laser of the gun to cut through the paneling of the wall and escaped in the gap behind it. You...” Holding me tight, he blinked and smiled as I kept showering him with kisses. “Did you miss me?”

  Missed him? That was the understatement of the century.

  Taking his face between my palms, I stared into his bright eyes.

  “Vrateus. You are my treasure too, you know? You turned out to be the best surprise of the Anomaly, and I’m not letting you go.”

  With a groan, he pressed his body to mine. Digging my fingers into his back, I drew him even closer.

  His kiss was hot and frantic. I yanked my bodysuit open, wishing to climb out of it completely. I yearned to feel all of him with every inch of my skin.

  We had no time, and it was the wrong place. So much about this situation might be wrong, but I didn’t care. Being with him felt right.

  He was here, with me, and that was all that mattered.

  The glide of his hands over my skin filled me with life. I yanked at the waistband of his pants, and he opened the fasteners for me.

  Sliding my hand in, I found his hot, straining erection. Under my fingers, thick grooves swelled and pulsed along his shaft. He hissed under his breath as I stroked the ridges.

  “Does it hurt?”

  “No, my treasure,” he rasped. “But it’s a different kind of torture.” He lifted my leg to his hip, sliding his hand inside my panties. “There is no way I can stop this now.”

  “Don’t,” I replied breathlessly. “Please, don’t stop.”

  I needed this badly. The adrenaline still coursed high inside me. The lingering fear of losing him urged me closer to him. I rocked my hips against his hand between my legs, letting the rush of desire wash away the worry and fear.

  “Let me see you,” he demanded, leaning back.

  One hand on my neck, the other rubbing between my legs, he kept his gaze on my face. I stared back at him, losing myself in the vivid orange of his eyes, until the tide of approaching orgasm made me drop my eyelids.

  “Oh, I want you...Vrateus,” I panted.

  Before the pleasure crested, he entered me, sliding in firmly, in one smooth thrust.

  A shudder rolled through his body, resonating through me with another wave of sweet heat.

  “Better than I could’ve ever imagined,” he groaned.

  His arms pressed into the wall above my head, he moved his hips slowly. The thick ridges on his shaft tugged at my opening, pulsing through my core with pleasure.

  I moaned, rolling my head along the wall. My temple touched his arm, and I sensed his body tremble.

  “Let it go, honey,” I whispered. “Don’t hold back.”

  Even in the frenzy of passion, I trusted him not to hurt me more than I would enjoy.

  With a deep growl, he shifted his hand behind my head, grabbing my ponytail. Hiking my leg higher, he brought us closer, plunging deeper.

  I slid my hands behind his neck, gripping the fur on his nape. He drew in a sharp breath as my hands fisted tight. A guttural moan came from deep inside his throat.

  His thrusts grew faster, more urgent, desperate.

  The achy pressure building up inside me threatened to explode any minute.

  Yanking my ponytail back, he latched onto the side of my neck, his teeth scraping my skin, without breaking it. The brief pain of his bite skittered with pleasure down to my chest and lower belly, setting off an explosive orgasm.

  With a muffled, tortured growl against my neck, he came, taking me with him. Ecstasy rocked me in swells as I clung to him, letting the pleasure consume me.

  Our bodies fused together, we remained at the wall, coming down from our climax together.

  “You’re mine,” he murmured into my hair. “I want all of you, Svetlana. Just for me, alone.”

  “Yours,” I echoed, feeling it in the deepest places of my heart.

  “Every moan of yours is mine.” He licked over the bite on my neck, then hugged me closer, kissing the side of my face. “I’m not sharing your pleasure with anyone else ever again. I’m keeping you all to myself. I don’t know how I’ll do it, but I will make it happen.”

  VRATEUS GAVE ME A LONG, penetrating stare.

  “You’re coming with me?” He obviously struggled with the idea of me going out in the open.

&nb
sp; Since Crux had been unwilling to negotiate, Vrateus was now going to openly challenge him to a fight.

  “Well, I have gone out on my own once already, searching for you.” True to my word to share everything with him, I’d told him about my trip to the waste processing room. I’d tried not to get into the gruesome details, but Vrateus was still horrified. “Instead of sitting here alone, dying with worry, I’d rather be out there with you.”

  “You almost got caught.”

  “So did you.”

  His expression grim, he drew in some air to argue with me.

  “Listen,” I didn’t give him the chance to respond. “They caught you unawares this morning. As smart and strong as you are, you don’t have a pair of eyes in the back of your head. You could use someone to watch your back. You said you trust me, let me help you.” He hesitated, and I added hurriedly, “I can’t sit here not knowing if you’re dead or alive. I’m armed. I’ve proven I can handle myself. Let me come with you, please.”

  I knew Vrateus would rather keep me in hiding while he did everything on his own. A few days ago, I would have probably preferred to wait it out, too. The mess hall was not my favorite place to visit.

  As strong as Vrateus had always been, however, I’d also witnessed his vulnerabilities. In the past couple of days, he had been nearly poisoned to death then almost decapitated by his own crew. He needed me, and I needed to be with him.

  I closed the distance between us, circling his waist with my arms.

  “What if someone finds me hiding here while you’re gone? Can’t you see?” I rubbed his nose with mine. “Together we’re stronger than apart.”

  His chest heaved with a long breath.

  “Stay close.” He tightened his arms around me. “Do not let anyone come between us. And if you have to shoot, aim to kill.”

  “Don’t worry about me.” I exhaled in relief, glad he was giving in and we didn’t have to part again. “Focus on what you need to do. I’ll take care of myself.”

  He moved his hands over the belts and holsters strapped to my body, inspecting all my weapons.

  “Don’t let anyone close.” He stuffed a spare power cell for my gun into my boot.

  “I won’t.”

  “There are benefits to keeping you with me, considering the circumstances.” He nodded somberly, as if trying to convince himself. “It’s best to stay together.”

  He shoved aside the shelf unit in front of the gap leading to the library, then turned back to me quickly. His hand on the back of my head, he kissed me, fast and passionate.

  “Be safe.” He leaned his forehead against mine.

  “Good luck,” I whispered, smiling as encouragingly as I could manage.

  Chapter 23

  I’D PROMISED TO WATCH his back.

  Now, as we walked down the corridor, I paid close attention to our surroundings. We weren’t holding hands, keeping them free for weapons. I held my gun in my right hand and a knife in my left. Vrateus had both of his guns out of their arm holsters and in his hands.

  The stench of decomposing bodies hit my nostrils as we approached the doors to my room. The dead aliens that Vrateus and I had killed yesterday lay in the same positions we’d left them. No one had bothered to dispose of them, though some bodies showed clear signs of cannibalism.

  Vrateus’s jaw muscles clenched as he made his way around the corpses. I followed less than a foot behind him, glancing over my shoulder once again.

  As we turned around the bend in the wall, the entrance to the mess hall came into view.

  It was much quieter here than I remembered. Some males lay by the wall in the corridor, impossible to tell whether they were alive or dead.

  One rose to his feet at the sight of us.

  “You again...” he gaped at Vrateus, quickly giving a sign to someone inside the mess hall.

  More crew members rose from the floor, joined by a few rushing out to join them. Armed with long, jagged pieces of metal, they menacingly moved our way.

  “Keep back, or I’ll shoot,” Vrateus warned, raising his weapons.

  Snarling—their teeth bared, jaws and mandibles snapping—they kept advancing on us.

  Vrateus opened fire. I jumped aside, ducking from a piece of metal hurled my way. The sharp edge caught my upper arm. Thankfully, the material of my suit held. The blow hurt but left no cut.

  I bit my lip, swallowing the cry of pain, afraid it would divert Vrateus’s attention to me. He couldn’t afford to be distracted right now.

  Two aliens snuck up behind us somehow, rushing us from the back. I aimed and shot quickly, leaving neither of them a chance to throw the long rods they wielded.

  “Are you all right?” Vrateus asked over his shoulder, his attention on the entrance to the mess hall.

  “I’m fine. Let’s go.”

  Holding both guns up, he moved forward. A few of the males piled by the wall stirred.

  “Down,” Vrateus ordered, pointing one of his guns in their direction.

  Either realizing the threat or out of the habit of obeying his authoritative tone, they froze.

  He entered the mess hall. Keeping my gun pointed at those in the corridor, I quickly glanced around him and into the hall.

  The room looked like an explosion had taken place. Every piece of furniture had been upturned. Debris, spilled wine, and remnants of food littered the floors, along with puddles of vomit and who knew what else.

  The aliens lay and sat everywhere, some still chewing or drinking, others already motionless. A few of the climbing species clung to the walls at various heights.

  A huge pile of scrap metal had been erected in the center with a chair placed on the very top of it. Crux reclined in his makeshift throne with the other errocks lounging below him. Leaning against the pile, Wyck was chewing on what appeared to be a vasai leg. Chained to him, Lesh lay at his feet. All three of his heads were gnawing on a long bone.

  Everyone who was still alert snapped to attention as Vrateus entered.

  “What a mess you’ve made, crew.” He curled his lip in disapproval. “It’s disgusting. You’ve been without your captain for barely a day and look at this place!”

  A few of them shifted uneasily, glancing around the trashed mess hall.

  “They have a new captain.” Crux rose to his feet.

  Due to his massive size, he looked impressive, towering over the room from the height of the metal junk pyramid.

  There was no graceful way to climb down it, though. Crux scrambled to the ground, sliding and tripping over his feet. Once on the floor, he stood tall again, his fists on his hips.

  “Great to see you here,” he smirked. “Now, you’ll finally be executed. The female is mine, as she should’ve been all along.”

  Other errocks moved closer, flanking their leader. The rest of the crew, however, stayed where they were, staring with confusion at the two men who both claimed the title of the captain.

  “Relinquish your claim to my position,” Vrateus said calmly. “Or deal with the consequences.”

  “I’m relinquishing nothing!” Crux spat on the floor. “Hey boys!” he shouted, “Grab this phoney. As your captain, I give you my permission to do with him as you please.” He shifted his weight to another foot. “And bring the girl here. Will you?”

  Everyone in the room seemed to freeze for a moment. Back to back with Vrateus, I moved my gun in a slow arch, gauging where the next attack would come from.

  One of the kreers let go off the wall. With a high-pitched wail, he grabbed a loose cable dangling from the ceiling and swung our way.

  I shot. The kreer crashed to the floor, blood trickling out of the smoldering wound in his chest.

  “You’re good?” Vrateus asked me, keeping his gaze on Crux.

  “Fine,” I bit out, forcing myself to relax my grip on my weapons, since my hands had started to cramp and shake with tension.

  He addressed his rival, “You can’t just proclaim yourself the captain, Crux.”

 
“Well, you did.”

  “Right. After I’d killed Raex in an honest fight. I didn’t poison him in secret, like a coward.” He swept the room with his gaze, raising his voice to get the attention of anyone who could still focus on what was happening. “You have to earn the title by winning it.”

  “Do you want to fight me?” Crux folded his arms over his chest.

  “Yes.”

  “Well, you’re too late, I’m already the captain.”

  It surprised me that Crux wouldn’t jump at the chance to fight. He seemed to be the one who would welcome any opportunity for aggression. I wondered if he felt intimidated by Vrateus, despite the errock’s obvious size advantage.

  “You’re not.” Vrateus shook his head. “I’m still here. And I challenge you to fight for the title if you want to keep it.” He spread his arms wide, slowly turning around the room. “What say you, the dwellers of the Dark Anomaly? Do you want to watch me fight Crux for the chance to be your leader once again?”

  Crux twitched uneasily.

  “He’d force you to work again!” he yelled quickly. “He’d lock up the wine and make you fight under his rules. He’d forbid you to eat whatever and whoever you want!”

  He said all of that as if those were all bad things. How could forbidding them from eating each other be viewed as a negative?

  It boggled my mind.

  “I will bring order and discipline back,” Vrateus said, loud enough for his voice to carry across the entire room. “With me, you will never have to worry about running out of food or wine. We’ll always have lights on and enough oxygen to breathe. If you follow my rules, you will not have to fear for your life or your safety.”

  Now, these promises sounded appealing to me. The males, however, didn’t jump at his words. They weren’t rallying behind Crux either, which was better than nothing.

  “Do you want to see a fight?” Vrateus knew his people better than I did, for they all perked up at that opportunity. Even some of those who had appeared to be corpses piled up by the walls stirred, coming to life. “No rules. The winner becomes the one true captain, with no further challenges from the loser.”