by Tana Stone
“Maybe we can find a place to hide here,” she said, moving down the street and peering through makeshift doors. She reached what looked like a mechanic’s shop, with a rusted gate that looked low enough to climb over and a battered metal roof. Through the bars, she saw broken-down cruisers and engines of all types, most pockmarked or covered thickly in rust. Before she could climb over the gate, however, a creature appeared on the other side, his brown muzzle set in a fierce growl.
She pulled her hands back from the bars as if they were electrified. “Never mind.”
Vrax knelt beside her, extending his hand. “Are you afraid of it?”
“Do you see its teeth?” She gaped at him as he extended his fingers through the gate toward the approaching animal. She wasn’t scared of dogs, but she wasn’t crazy about them, either. It had taken her ages to tolerate Pog, her crew mate Bexli’s shape-shifting alien dog, and he was just a tiny ball of green fluff. This guy looked like he could tear her arms off with a single bite.
Vrax twitched one shoulder up. “He is scared of you.”
“Me?” Tori let out a snort. “I’m not the one growling.”
“Maybe not now.”
She glared at his back, but didn’t say anything else as the alien guard dog walked forward, his broad back hunched and his yellow eyes locked on Vrax. The last thing she needed on top of everything was a Dothvek minus one hand.
When the dog reached him, the animal sniffed his hand and then licked it. Vrax patted his head and then scratched his neck, and the creature flopped onto his back, exposing his paler belly.
“See?” Vrax began pulling himself over the gate. “Harmless.”
“You used your mind magic on him, didn’t you?” she asked, as he dropped down onto the other side of the fence and rubbed the dog’s belly.
“I communicated to him that we meant no harm. It didn’t hurt that he’s lonely.” The dog made high-pitched noises as he twisted on the ground, clearly enjoying the belly rubs.
Tori glanced behind her, as she heard a sound at the end of the street, then she pulled herself quickly over the gate. Better safe inside with the dog, than out there with D’Vos looking for her. The dog barely glanced at her when she landed next to him.
She walked behind one of the broken-down cruisers so she was out of sight of the gate and sank down onto a dingy tarp bunched on the ground. Her heart raced, and her hands shook, as she pulled her knees into her chest. Now that they were safe, the terror she’d felt when she saw D’Vos again rushed over her. She pressed her eyes shut tight, trying to push away the memories of his heavy body on top of her, his foul breath hot on her face, his meaty hands groping her.
She jumped when Vrax sat next to her, but she didn’t fight him when he wrapped his arms around her. She didn’t even flinch when the dog settled himself across their feet.
“I will never let him hurt you again,” Vrax whispered.
Tori let herself relax into his arms and, just for a moment, she believed him.
Chapter Fifteen
Vrax shifted, the tarp he’d slept on doing little to buffer him from the cold floor. He inhaled the scent of scorched fuel as he opened his eyes and remembered where he was, the morning light coming in through the patchy metal roof. The only thing warming him was the female he held in his arms and the dog sleeping on his feet.
Tori lay curled up against him, her body nestled against his, and the back of her head tucked up under his chin. He loved how perfectly she fit alongside him, her smaller body almost completely enveloped by his larger one. He thought about how tight her body had felt around his cock, and it twitched to life.
Despite the distraction, he was aware that the city outside was beginning to stir. Even though he imagined parts of the city were deep in slumber and recovery, this section—filled, he suspected, with those working hard to eke out a meagre existence—was waking. There were rough voices and heavy footsteps, and the distinct scent of food being cooked. It was a far cry from the gentle sounds and savory scents of his oasis village, but it gave him a pang of longing. A longing that was echoed by his cock. Even though his swollen length pressed against her ass, straining painfully against his tight pants, he remained still.
It had taken her a while to fall asleep the night before, her mind a torment of fear and anger, and he didn’t want to wake her, even if his cock ached. Vrax thought back to her shaking body, and anger swelled in his chest.
The male with the scar had hurt her. Even worse, he was the one who’d tried to force himself on her. Not only was it clear from the expression on her face when she’d seen him, but her thoughts had been easy to read. So had the other male’s.
Vrax steadied his breathing as he remembered feeling the desire radiating off the scarred male. The desire to dominate and cause pain. The desire to humiliate. He almost wished Tori hadn’t wanted to get away so badly. He would have enjoyed inflicting some pain of his own on that male.
He hated to admit that she’d been right to want to escape, instead of staying and fighting. They’d been outnumbered, and he would have fought to the death to avenge and protect his female.
His female. He grinned in spite of himself. Tori would not like to know that he thought of her as his, but he could not help it. He felt like she’d always been his, even before he’d known her or she’d crashed on his planet. And now that they’d mated and their mind connection was stronger, she was even more his.
He knew he would never be able to relinquish her. Not when they returned to his planet, and not even if she decided to leave it. He’d never encountered a female who made him feel as alive as she did, even if she often drove him to the point of distraction. She was maddening and impulsive and deadly. And she was his.
He opened himself to her mind, even as she slept in his arms. Even though he didn’t have to ability to see her dreams, he knew they had been peaceful because he hadn’t sensed any anger from her. Tori’s anger was not something easily ignored.
No, she was feeling pleasure. He could even sense a warm arousal coursing through her, and she shimmied her ass against him in her sleep.
Vrax’s eyes almost rolled up into the back of his head, but he didn’t respond to her movements. It was enough to let her feelings wash over him, his cock throbbing every time she brushed against him. When she made a soft gasp and arched her back, he bit down hard on his lip, his hand almost instinctively moving up to cup her breast.
Instead of jerking awake and slapping him, as he fully expected her to do, her nipple hardened into a tight point, and she moved so that the soft globe filled his palm. Vrax was sure it was the only part of her body that was so soft, aside from her hot folds.
Just thinking about how wet and tight she’d been for him made him groan and roll her nipple between his thumb and finger. Her emotions were a muddle of desire and wanting, making him nearly dizzy when mixed with his own pounding need. She wiggled again, and the dog at their feet lifted his head drowsily, then stood and walked off. Smart animal, he thought.
“Vrax.” The sound of his name uttered in a breathy sigh as she slept, her ass grinding against him, made his restraint crumble. He slid his hand from her breast down past the waistband of her pants until he found her swollen nub. She inhaled sharply as he parted her folds then slipped his hand farther, thrusting one thick finger inside her. She bucked against him, her hips moving restlessly. He shifted his hand so that his thumb could caress her slick nub while his finger explored her tight heat.
Even though she moved against him, her body responding, he knew that she was still asleep. He also knew her mind was filled with thoughts of him, working his hands on her body into her dreams.
Vrax moved his finger in and out, swirling his thumb the entire time, and hearing her breath becoming ragged and her moans grow louder. He could also hear the movement on the street. Residents were walking past where they lay, hidden behind the rusted equipment, with no idea that he lay pleasuring his female, his finger buried inside her. But how long could t
hey stay hidden before they were discovered? How long until her sounds drew attention?
He felt her body quiver and then contract around his finger, and he clamped a hand over her mouth before she let out a scream. Her body jerked as pleasure crashed over her, and he felt it, as well. His body buzzed with her release, and his cock pulsed, hard and desperate.
Then he felt a sharp burst of irritation. She was awake.
Chapter Sixteen
Tori blinked hard as she struggled in his grasp, taking a few moments to realize where she was and who was holding her. The dirty, dingy shop they’d snuck into the night before was now illuminated with morning light. They were surrounded by mechanical parts that looked even more rusty and useless than they had in the dark. The near silence of the night had been replaced by the sounds of people clomping down the street, of wheels rolling across paving stones, and of voices raised in greeting.
“Shh,” Vrax whispered in her ear, his hand still inside her pants.
Despite wanting to hit him, she had to admit she hadn’t woken up that well in, well, maybe ever. She wasn’t usually one to stick around after sex, so morning cuddling or foreplay hadn’t been something she’d experienced before.
She was so wet, it was hard to argue that he’d taken advantage of her. Even now, her body quivered as he moved his fingers.
She jerked her head so that his hand slipped from her mouth. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Getting you warmed up,” he whispered back.
“Warmed up for what?” she shot back. Now that she was awake and coming out of her orgasm stupor, she was very aware of how close they were to all the activity on the street. Her pulse fluttered at the thought of being caught with Vrax’s hand down her pants.
Moving quickly, he rolled her to her back and braced his arms so that he hovered over her. “You like that, don’t you?”
Her cheeks warmed. Had he known what she’d been thinking? “Like what? You’d better not be pulling any of that mind crap like you did with the dog.”
His hair fell down on either side of his face, and the corners of his mouth twitched up. “Mind crap? You mean our mind bond?”
Tori’s heart thumped as she looked up at him. “We do not have a mind bond.”
He traced a finger down the side of her cheek. “Then how do I know that the thought of being caught excites you?”
Her mouth fell open, but she glared at him. “That kind of thing excites a lot of people. It’s not an unusual turn-on.”
Now, his cheeks flushed and his eyes narrowed. “Have you been caught with other males?”
Was he seriously getting jealous? They’d only fucked once, and he was going full caveman on her. Just what she needed.
“Actually, no. I haven’t had much occasion to fuck in public. Not that it’s any of your business. This is the first time I’ve ever run through a city with a guy before that turned into screwing against a wall, and then sleeping in a not-so-hidden hiding spot.”
He looked like he wasn’t sure if he should be happy with her answer or not. “I do not want you fucking any other males.”
She almost rolled her eyes. This shit again?
“First of all, you don’t own me.” She stared him down before he could argue. “But if it makes you feel any better, I can promise you that I’m not interested in fucking anyone else.”
She would be lucky to get off Kurril alive, so agreeing not to get with anyone else while they tried to escape the planet seemed a pretty safe promise.
He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her softly. “If you did, I would have to kill them.”
It was hard to fight with him when he was kissing her, and his kisses went from soft and sweet to hard and needy, his tongue parting her lips and tangling with hers. The hard bar of his cock pressed between her legs, and she was surprised to hear a moan of pleasure escape from deep in her throat.
He pulled away, gazing down at her. “Tori.”
The way he said her name, his voice a dangerous purr, sent shivers down her spine. He was right. She loved that they were so close to being caught, her skin tingling with excitement.
She yanked his mouth back to hers, letting her tongue fight with his the way it so desperately wanted to, and wrapping her legs around his waist. He ground his cock into her, and she met his movement with an urgent one of her own.
When he tore his mouth away from her again, his eyes were wild. “Need to be inside you.”
She nodded, her desire making her claw at his pants. She tugged them down until his cock was free, letting out a hungry noise as she looked down at it. She’d barely seen anything last night in the dark, and when she’d seen Meridia holding it as she’d been sitting on top of him, she’d been too enraged to focus on how thick and long it was. Of course, she’d felt every bit of it when he’d been inside her last night, but she wanted to really look at it.
Rolling him roughly onto his back, she straddled him. “Now, it’s my turn.”
He looked startled, but when she fisted his cock, his wide eyes fluttered. “Sons of the goddesses, your hand feels so good.”
She grinned down at him. “If you think that feels good…” She shimmied herself down his body and took the crown of his cock in her mouth.
Vrax put his hand to his mouth and bit down, and she knew it was to keep from crying out.
Tori circled her tongue over the hard, smooth skin, letting her fingers bump down the raised rings of his shaft. Those rings had felt so good when he’d been fucking her. Heat throbbed between her legs at the memory. Not yet, she told herself.
She moved her mouth down his cock, not able to take all of it, but fisting the base in her hand and pumping it up and down. He arched into her, one hand tangled in her hair as she sucked him, being careful to keep the points of her teeth away from his skin.
“I’ve never…” His words were a choked whisper.
She looked up to see his face contorted in ecstasy, and she loved that she was the cause of it. She squeezed her throat before pulling her mouth away for a moment. “You’ve never fucked a girl’s mouth before?”
He tightened his grip in her hair, and she felt him about to lose control at her words. “Not so fast, pretty boy. I want to ride that cock while it’s still hard.”
Vrax moved so quickly, the air rushed out of her lungs. He flipped her onto her back and yanked her pants down, then she kicked them off the rest of the way.
“This is what you want?” He notched his cock at her opening while she was still catching her breath. “You want it hard?”
Before she could tell him she did, he’d thrust inside her, swallowing her loud gasps with his mouth and holding himself deep. Each of his rings stretched her, and she held her breath as her body adjusted.
“Okay?” he asked, his face so close to hers their breath mingled.
She nodded, meeting his searching gaze.
He started moving, slowly at first, dragging his cock out a bit before thrusting back in. She held onto his bare back, her fingers digging into his ridges, and she couldn’t help feeling a rush of smug pleasure that the huge warrior wanted her. That she was the one who got him hard. That every bit of the muscled, fierce fighter desired her.
“Only you,” he whispered in her ear, reminding her that her feelings were no longer her own. She wanted to be angry, but the thought actually thrilled her.
“But that means you are also mine,” he said, lodging his cock so deep she bit her bottom lip. “No one else’s. Ever.”
“I don’t belong to anyone forever,” she managed to say.
“You’re my mate,” he growled.
She’d never argued as much with someone while she was fucking them. Before she could snap back, she heard a sound at the gate.
Vrax must have heard it too, because he knifed up and clutched her hips, driving into her with a ferocious rhythm as the noise behind him them grew louder.
Tori wanted to tell him to stop, but he dropped his hand to her clit, flickin
g it as he stroked into her. The thought of being caught with her legs spread wide as his cock split her was almost too much to take. She lost all ability to think, her body shattering around him. She dug her fingers into the hands that were gripping her to keep from screaming as her body convulsed. Vrax reared up and surged into her one last time before exploding.
The gate creaked and the dog greeted someone with barks that were much friendlier than the growls she’d originally gotten last night. Obviously, his owner. An owner who was about to get more than an eye full, as he shuffled toward them.
Vrax gave her a final, hot look before pulling out and sitting up. He helped her tug her pants on, and then pulled his own back up. Grabbing her hand, he hurried around the other side of the workshop, then snaked around more broken machines until they reached the open gate, ducking out without being seen.
As they headed down the street, Tori glanced back and saw the dog standing outside the gate, his stumpy tail wagging almost as fast as her heart was pounding.
In the light of day, the neighborhood was even more run-down than it had looked last night. She noticed the curious stares coming their way, and realized that she and the half-naked, enormous Dothvek made an interesting pair.
“Where are we going?” she asked, picking up her pace to keep up with Vrax’s.
He stopped and stared down at her. “I do not know. Where will we be safe?”
Tori peered around at the dilapidated houses and dirty streets. Even if they found a better area, they still needed to avoid Mourad’s crew, and now D’Vos, as well. “We won’t be safe until we can escape from the Den of Thieves.”
Vrax clasped her hand tighter, meshing his fingers between hers. She wasn’t usually much for holding hands, but the warmth of his big hand enveloping hers sent a comforting pulse up her arm and made her forget for a moment how hard it was going to be to get off the planet without getting caught.
