by Kate Rudolph
They heard more guards, and this time Vita chose the path, and then more guards, another turn down a hallway, and then they were out of places to run.
Roski stood with two guards with huge blasters, and he seemed just as surprised to see her as she was to see him. He recovered quickly. “Shoot them,” he commanded.
Her ears popped and the lights flickered before dying. She heard one of the guards curse as his weapon failed. “What’s going on?” one of them asked.
The other one didn’t wait. He launched straight at them and Vita had her knife in her hand without a thought. The scuffle didn’t last long. Two well placed jabs and the man was on the ground, clutching at a wound as blood pooled under him. She held herself loose, waiting for the second guard to come, but Doryan took care of him.
It was hard to tell in the dim light, but she thought Roski had gone pale. “You should have remembered what I do to my masters,” she sneered. And for a moment she was that scared little girl who’d wrought so much violence that the hallways had run red. She’d barely been human that night, and it had taken long years to become who she was now. But if she had to throw it all away to take her vengeance on Roski, she would. He couldn’t get away with what he’d done.
She stalked towards him, her knife out, such a puny little length, but it looked longer as blood dripped off of it. It would do.
Roski scrambled and reached for his weapon, but it was just as useless as the guards’. Whatever Brax had done had killed the blasters and given her this shot.
And the thought of Brax brought her back to herself, just a bit. Her mate was out there, was waiting for her, had come for her. She was more than just a being of vengeance. And though Roski deserved to pay for everything he’d done, she didn’t need to drag this out.
“I’d give you a chance to defend yourself, but there’s no defense for what you’ve done.”
“I saved you!” he scrambled back, but there was a wall behind him. “You owe me your life.”
“I saved myself,” Vita scowled. “You’re nothing but a fucking slaver. And I’m done with you.”
She didn’t take her time. She didn’t make it hurt. She didn’t even savor watching the light dim in Roski’s eyes.
“It’s done,” she said to Doryan. “Let’s get out of here.”
“There are still at least a dozen guards,” he pointed out.
She wiped her knife on her pants and rolled her neck. “Then we’ll move quickly.”
They did. No sense of triumph went through her at the thought of what she’d done to Roski. She didn’t feel bad about it either. Maybe that made her a bad person, but she’d dwell on that once she was safe and could feel Brax’s arms wrapped around her once more.
She tried not to remember what had happened the last time she’d run out the loading dock as she and Doryan found the exit. She didn’t see Brax anywhere, but she could feel him. He was close.
“Make for the shuttle,” Doryan said.
The little green speeder must have been Roski’s, but he had no use for it anymore. She didn’t waste time asking questions, instead making a break for it just as the door behind her burst open.
“Vita. Doryan. Down!” Brax yelled, voice booming out from somewhere.
Vita threw herself down next to the Detyen and felt as the heat of blaster shots fired overhead. She stayed down another few seconds, but she didn’t hear the guards. And a mad scramble to the shuttle showed her why. Brax leaned out the hatch, blaster clutched in his hands, ready to fire if the guards came back for them.
“I was shielded from the EMP—”
She would have let him explain, but she needed her lips on his. And as she sealed their mouths together she was willing to believe that everything was going to be okay.
Chapter Twenty
BRAX LET HIMSELF BREATHE once they breached the orbit of Jaaxis and were safely speeding away from the planet. The quarters were tight with four people on his mate’s tiny ship, and he’d officially moved his things into her quarters to give Manda and Doryan a place to stay. They were forced to share the bunked cots in Brax’s old room, but neither of them were complaining. Manda hadn’t outright said it, but it had been a long time since either of them had been able to sleep in a bed.
“We wouldn’t have gotten out of there without you,” Vita told him, lacing their fingers together as she let the autonav take over. They were holed up in the cockpit, taking some time for themselves now that everyone was settling in.
At first Brax hadn’t been willing to believe that. Standing next to his bounty hunter mate and the warrior they’d rescued, it was easy to believe that his skills didn’t measure up. He was just a mech from a lousy space station. But Vita didn’t look at him like he was somehow lesser because he didn’t come covered in weapons and military knowledge. “Is that what it’s always like?” He didn’t know what he would do if Vita said yes, if she told him she got captured all the time and had to improvise escapes on the fly. But he’d find a way to live with it. Anything for his mate.
He was relieved when she shook her head. “No, thankfully no. And...” she leaned forward and pressed a few buttons, “I think it might be time for a vacation.”
“Yeah?” He lifted their joined hands and kissed her. “Where were you thinking?”
“Earth? You said you wanted me to meet your family.”
“I thought we didn’t have enough fuel to get there.” He’d offered his credits, but she’d rejected them. His mate had her pride, but she needed to realize that they were in this together now.
“We can make it work, but I’ll need your help.” She bit her lip as she asked.
“You have it. Always.” If it weren’t for the electronics in front of them he’d have her on the dash and show her just how much he’d give her, but he wasn’t about to risk his handiwork.
Later.
“I love you.” The words rocked him. He hadn’t expected her to say it. It had been a struggle to get her to accept the bond between them, and he’d known she didn’t trust easily. But the words set his heart on fire.
“You’re my denya,” he responded. And then, because she was human and she deserved just as much, he added, “I love you.” The certainty had settled in his soul days ago, but he’d been holding it back, ignoring it as best as he could to keep from scaring her away.
She grinned. “I’m lovable. Ask anyone.”
He growled as he remembered the way that Addex and Kya had looked at her. “You’re mine.”
Vita tipped her head back and laughed. “Barbarian.” She tugged him close and kissed him. “And if you haven’t figured it out yet, you’re mine.” She kissed him again and Brax’s cock made him forget that he was supposed to wait. He had his mate in his arms. Why were they waiting?
She surged forward and straddled his hips, and Brax didn’t bite back his groan. She was perfect, sitting on top of him, teasing him as she pressed against him, devouring his mouth. He wanted to claim every centimeter of her, to show her that he knew her unlike anyone ever had or would. They’d been made for each other and they would never again be parted. He sank all of that certainty, all of that emotion into the kiss, sweeping his tongue against hers and reveling in her taste.
Denya.
This was perfection, everything he’d ever wanted and never thought he’d have.
Her palm pressed against his hard cock and Brax thrust up against her, searching for more pressure. He needed all of her, needed to be buried in her tight heat and release himself deep inside her, he needed them to be joined in the most timeless of ways until their two souls were twined together. He’d already claimed her once, but he needed to do it again.
And again and again and again.
The fabric of her shirt ripped as he tried to get it off and he let his claws shoot out to slice it the rest of the way. Vita’s eyes widened and then darkened with desire as she watched him. “Beast,” she teased. And then she pulled his hand up and kissed the top of his claw, careful to avoid th
e razor sharp tip. “My beast.”
Hers completely. He retracted his claws to prevent any more damage and let his hands roam over her naked chest. She bit back a moan as his fingers pressed against her nipples and Brax took his time, trying to coax the sound out of her. He didn’t care that they weren’t alone on the ship, he wanted to hear the sounds of his mate’s pleasure.
His lips followed his fingers and he swept his tongue over the stiff peak of her nipple, swiping around, sucking, lapping until she writhed on top of him, her hands gripping him tightly as he showed her all he could do.
And then he did it all again, showing her other breast just as much attention.
“More,” Vita urged him on, thrusting her hips against him. “Need you inside me.”
Still Brax took his time to savor her, letting his fingers drift down her body as he rained kisses across her skin. He shifted off her pants, which took a bit of work given how she was straddling him, but both of them were determined to close the space between them, and soon he’d freed himself from his pants, a sweet torture as he prepared her.
His fingers found her entrance and played in her wet heat, stretching and teasing her until the words coming out of her mouth were no longer in a language either of them recognized, instead a babble of desire and demand. One that Brax was more than happy to fulfill.
If their space hadn’t been limited he would have laid her out and feasted, but when she gripped his shoulders and their eyes met, he saw she was done waiting. “Now,” she demanded.
And Brax obliged. She rose up until he nudged at her opening, and when he breached her, she slid down his shaft, and they moaned together. Her tight heat was paradise and he never wanted to leave, never wanted anything besides this moment where he had his mate in his arms and everything was perfect. There were no enemies, no threats, nothing but pure pleasure between him and his denya.
And then they moved together and somehow perfection got even better.
The pressure on his cock was almost too much. Brax thrust up into her but held tight to his control, unwilling to spill until his mate was rippling around him and crying out.
He reached between them and played with the nub of her pleasure, watching as her eyes went dark and her mouth opened in a silent moan. Watching her was too much. Her face showed every stroke, every bit of need she had for him, and it threatened to push him over the ledge.
Brax buried his face in the curve of her neck, and an ancient urge rose up within him. He wanted to mark Vita as his, wanted the whole world, all the world to know they belonged to one another. It was an old ritual, one that had fallen out of fashion long before the destruction of Detya, and yet tales of it remained popular enough that even Brax knew what it meant.
He held onto his control. He couldn’t bite her without her permission, but his teeth ached with the need and his cock swelled impossibly further.
“Need you,” he said against her skin, his tongue swiping against the long tendon there.
“Anything,” Vita said on a gasp as bliss ripped through her and she convulsed against him, finding her pleasure.
Anything.
Brax bit down, his teeth nipping at her skin just hard enough to draw blood, just hard enough to bruise. The taste of her, the feel of her flesh around him was too much and Brax came, flooding into his mate and claiming her in the most primal way a Detyen could claim another. He felt her deep within his soul, and he knew that this was exactly where he was meant to be.
VITA ACHED IN ALL THE best places and she reveled in Brax’s scent all around her. She’d made him give her his shirt after they’d made love in the cockpit and she couldn’t help but close her eyes and breathe him in when no one was looking.
Except her mate caught her and his eyes flashed that blinding blue. If Doryan and Manda hadn’t been in the room with them, there was no doubt she and Brax would be on the table, replaying exactly what they’d done an hour ago.
A brilliant bruise was in the process of forming where he’d bit her, and Vita was still wrapping her mind around that. It was weird, sure, but it was Brax, and she was ready to go along with anything so long as she got to keep him. Doryan had given them a strange look when he spotted the bruise, but he hadn’t said anything, and Vita knew she’d ask Brax more later. But that was for later.
Now it was time to figure out what to do with Doryan and Manda.
All four of them sat at the table in the galley and they were silent for a long time. Vita realized it was up to her to get this thing started. “Brax and I are heading to Earth. He has family there. We haven’t really figured out what happens after that. You’re welcome to come with us. But we will be stopping soon to fuel up for the rest of the journey. If you’d like off the ship, we understand. I can’t give you more than the spare clothes you’ve found and the names of some reputable crews that might be looking for workers. It’s up to you.”
She still didn’t know much about where the two had come from. Manda looked human, but humans were spread all over the universe. And Doryan hadn’t shared much about his capture either. They didn’t owe it to her, but she was curious.
“Earth?” Manda asked, her voice almost a squeak. “Earth?”
“Yes,” said Brax. “My family has a small place there. We just arrived before I...” he cut a glance at Vita and chose his word carefully, “left.”
Vita had to bite back a smile. It wasn’t funny. She shouldn’t be amused. What she’d done to him had been terrible. But he was hers now and neither of them had regrets. “Is that where you’re from?” Vita asked gently. “Is...” she stopped herself from asking if someone was looking for Manda. After all, Vita’s own parents had sold her into slavery, it could easily be the same for the girl.
Manda nodded, but she cut a glance to Doryan before talking. The Detyen nodded. “I was walking to school. Seventh grade. These guys drove up and started asking for directions. And then one of them got out of the car. I tried to run, but something happened and the next thing I knew I was tied up in a dark room and,” she shook her head and shrunk in on herself. “It was bad. It’s been years. I think. It’s hard to keep time.”
“Do you want to go home?” Vita asked. Some people wouldn’t have given the girl a choice, but she’d lived through horrors. She could make this decision for herself.
Manda nodded furiously. “I miss my mom.”
“We’ll do our best to find her,” said Brax. “You’re safe with us until then. I promise.”
“What about Doryan?” she asked.
The stoic Detyen leveled his gaze at Vita. “I’ll stay with the girl.”
“The Detyen Legion has settled on Earth,” Brax told him. “You’ll be able to find your people as well.”
Doryan’s expression didn’t change. “I’ll stay with the girl.”
And it looked like they weren’t getting his story anytime soon.
Vita wasn’t going to push. The soldier would share when he was ready, if he ever was. “Earth it is.”
She met Brax’s eyes and he smiled. “You’re going to love it.”
Chapter Twenty-One
A FIST POUNDING ON the door jolted Vita out of her sleep, and she jerked in Brax’s arms. The air around them still held the faint smell of their lovemaking from the previous night, but on top of that was the smell of wood and fresh air that permeated everything on the planet. She hadn’t spent long on the planet before abducting her mate, and she hadn’t really had a chance to appreciate the place. It was so green and bright, vibrant and alive, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to leave.
But they hadn’t gotten that far yet. All she knew was bounty hunting, bouncing from planet to planet and searching out scumbags who owed the wrong people. Or, well, she hoped that’s what she’d been doing. She wanted to believe that Roski hadn’t completely lied to her about everything, but with him dead and his data destroyed, there was no way to know.
She pushed it out of her mind. Maybe he’d used her. He’d definitely lied. But she could g
et past that. It was time to start this new portion of her life, and she wasn’t going to get hung up on mysteries that would never be solved.
“Go away,” Brax muttered into his pillow. “We’re sleeping.”
She could hear the snort come through the door. “Not likely, brother. Wake up!” He gave a final knock and then there was silence.
“He does understand we have to sleep sometime, right?” They’d arrived on Earth the day before after a bumpy ride back to the planet. Shayn, Naomi, and Deke had welcomed them all with open arms and made room for them in the house. There hadn’t been enough time to hunt down Manda’s family, and Doryan hadn’t shared anything more about his past, but she had hope that they’d know more in the coming days.
Brax blinked his eyes open and turned to her. The heat she saw in his gaze took her breath away and blazed a path straight to her core. She’d never felt this depth of need before Brax and she didn’t know if anything would make it go away. She didn’t think she wanted it to, not when he made her feel like a goddess with a single glance.
“We’re not sleeping now,” he said, his voice going husky.
She didn’t know what Deke wanted and she didn’t care. Brax’s family could wait while she showed her mate just where he belonged.
She sealed her mouth against his and swiped against his tongue, luxuriating in the alien texture. She and Brax hadn’t been together for long, but she’d already managed to memorize the feel of him and knew that no one could ever measure up. She’d thought she’d known pleasure, but Brax’s kiss was more satisfying than anything she’d experienced before. She could have laid there all day making out with him, pressing up against him and enjoying the heat of his body.
But the rest of her wanted more. Vita let her legs fall open and hitched one over his hip, holding him close to her, but not close enough. She needed them joined on the most fundamental level, and once he was inside her, she knew she’d never want to let him go.
