by Tana Stone
He took the pebbled flesh in his mouth, and the wet heat made her moan. He sucked her so gently that she thrust her breast higher, wanting, needing more.
“Harder,” she begged, tangling her hands in his long hair and tugging at it.
Cupping both breasts in his large palms, he sucked one tight point and then the other until she was writhing beneath him. Digging her nails into his scalp, she jerked his head up. “I want your cock in me now.”
He only gave her a crooked grin as he moved down her body, kissing her stomach lazily. He slipped her pants down over her hips, and she kicked them off the rest of the way. When he finally parted her legs, he settled his head between them. “Not before I get to taste you, mate.”
Tori moved her hands to his shoulders, trying to yank him up. “You’re doing this on purpose to torture me.”
He spread her folds and dragged his tongue through them. “This is torture?”
Her eyes fluttered. “It is when I want you to fuck me.”
“Anyone can fuck.” He found her clit and flicked his tongue over it. “I want to feel you come on my tongue. I want to see you lose control and surrender to your own pleasure completely. Then I will fill you with my cock and watch you surrender to me.”
“Cocky bastard,” she whispered, her hands dropping to the blanket underneath her and fisting large handfuls. “You’re assuming I want any of that.”
He ran a finger through her folds and slipped it inside. “I know you want it, mate. I can feel you, remember?”
Damn empath. She moaned as he swirled his tongue over her clit, moving his thick finger in and out at the same time. Sensations barreled through her, his pleasure filling her mind as well as her own. She could sense how much he loved the taste of her, and his arousal as he savored her slickness only fired her blood even more.
Tori wrapped her legs over his shoulders and let her knees fall open.
“That’s right, mate,” he said, his words buzzing against her sensitive skin as he slid his hands under her ass cheeks. “I want you hot and ready.”
He slid a second thick finger inside her, and she wiggled her hips as he stretched her.
“Such a tough warrior, but so wet and tight for me.” He put his mouth back on her clit and sucked hard as he pumped both fingers.
Her release hit with startling force, her body bucking against him as she clenched tight around his fingers. She grew her head back and screamed his name as pleasure roared through her. It was like her entire body was shattering, the ecstasy ripping her apart as she knifed up.
When she finally sagged back on the bed, she was trembling. “I’ve never…”
“I know,” he said, crawling up next to her on the bed and pulling her into his arms. “No one’s ever tortured you like that.”
“No one,” she agreed, knowing deep in her heart that no one else ever would.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Vrax curled his arm underneath his head as the sun warmed his face. It must be early, he thought, because the air was not yet hot and dry.
The sands felt firmer than usual, and he didn’t hear the soft jingle of the bells that lined the flap of his tent. Taking a deep breath, his nose twitched at the flowery scent. His tent had never smelled flowery. It had occasionally smelled musty when he’d left wet animals skins out, but it had never smelled like blossoms.
He opened his eyes. He was not staring at the top of his peaked tent. He was looking up at a low metal ceiling with large flakes of rust curling down. The light streamed in, not from gaps in tent fabric, but from high windows along the sides that were covered with thin curtains.
It took him a few moments to remember that he and Tori were inside one of the traveler’s caravans. His mind went instantly to the fierce female, and he calmed when he felt her curled up against his side. Looking down, he saw that she was naked, one roped arm draped across his chest and a muscular leg hooked around his calf.
Vrax lifted the arm that was underneath her, turning his palm face up to see that his skin had healed considerably during the night. He then stroked his hand down the small of her back. Her breath was soft and even against his skin, and he was glad she still slept soundly. Despite insisting the night before that she wanted him to fuck her all night long, she’d drifted to sleep almost immediately after screaming his name and collapsing.
He hadn’t minded. It was more important that she rest and heal. He had the rest of their lives to bury his cock in her, a pleasure he intended to experience often.
A quiet tap on the door pulled him from his thoughts. He slipped out from under Tori, covered her with the blanket they’d slept on top of, and went to the door, cracking its slightly before stepping outside to join Zarda.
While the light was diffused through the caravan windows, outside it was bright, the sun almost directly above. He put a hand over his eyes to protect them from the glare.
“Good morning, my friend,” the alien said, his smile wide and a little amused. “I trust you had an enjoyable night.”
Vrax suspected the caravans were about as soundproof as the tents back home. “We rested well. Thank you. But I do not think it is morning any longer, is it?”
Zarda grinned and extended a tray. “We saved you some breakfast. Nothing fancy. Unleavened bread and a bitter stimulant that the residents of Kurril favor.” He made a face that told Vrax it was not something he preferred.
Vrax took the tray, inhaling the scent wafting up from the basket of bread and the murky red substance in the two steaming cups.
“But I really came to give you some information,” Zarda said. “Something some of our people picked up on the streets this morning.”
They really had missed most of the day, although after their ordeal of the past few days, Vrax knew he and Tori had both needed to recuperate.
“Good news or bad?” he asked.
Zarda shrugged. “You will decide. The two biggest ships in the ship yard have applied to leave tomorrow at first light.”
“The two biggest ships?”
“One belongs to the bounty hunters who brought you into the slave market,” Zarda told him. “The other belongs to a crew that suffered significant casualties while on Kurril.”
Vrax knew exactly who that was. His hands clenched around the sides of the tray and the metal dug into his already scarred palms. The males who’d taken Tori. The ones he’d killed. The captain who had stopped them and been injured in the storm. Vrax guessed he’d survived, after all.
“Once they leave, you should be safe,” Zarda said.
Vrax nodded, but his mind whirred. Once those ships left, there would be fewer in the Den of Thieves searching for them, but Zarda didn’t know about Meridia. Even if no one saw Tori enter the pleasure house, they’d seen him being purchased by the madam.
His alien friend also didn’t know about Tori’s plan to get revenge on Mourad and steal his ship. Once the ship left, that opportunity would leave with it.
Part of him wanted to keep this information to himself. If Tori didn’t know, she couldn’t run off and attempt something foolish and dangerous like she usually did. Mourad would leave, and she would have to be satisfied with never exacting her vengeance. He frowned, knowing that would never happen. If he knew the female at all, he knew she might spend the rest of her life hunting down the bounty hunter.
He sighed. “Thank you for telling me.”
Zarda gave him a sad smile. “I suspected it would not be so simple for you. You will not be staying with us, my friend? We could always use a barbarian warrior as part of our show.”
Warmth flooded Vrax’s chest at the alien’s kind offer. “You are generous, but I’m afraid our life is elsewhere.”
Zarda nodded. “You always have a home with the travelers. And, if by any chance you need to move through the city without being seen, I have a suggestion.”
Vrax listened to his suggestion, thanked him again, and went back into the caravan, trying to think how to tell Tori in a way that she wo
uld not leap up and run outside with her weapons drawn.
He backed in, turning once the door had clicked shut. Tori was no longer sleeping soundly as he’d left her. She sat up in bed, the colorful blanket tucked under the arms that were folded across her chest.
“How could you even consider not telling me?”
Vrax nearly dropped the tray. “How did you—?”
“This thing works both ways, you know.” She tapped a finger to her temple. “You woke me up with your worrying and scheming.”
Vrax placed the tray on the table and crossed his own arms over his chest. “Dothveks do not scheme. I was thinking of how I could convince you that it would be foolish to risk your life over Mourad again.”
“Dothveks may not scheme, but I know they get revenge. I thought you wanted to get back at Mourad, too.”
“Not if it means losing you.”
“We have to get back to your planet somehow,” she said. “Stealing Mourad’s ship is our best bet.”
“We can steal another ship,” he argued. “A smaller ship with a crew that doesn’t have multiple reasons to kill us both.”
Tori scooted to the edge of the bed, dragging the blanket with her. She picked up one of the cups and took a sip. “Are you going soft on me?”
“Dothvek warriors do not go soft,” he said, trying to keep his anger in check. How did this female make him want to hit something, but also make him want to bury his cock in her?
She grabbed a piece of bread, tearing off a bite and swallowing it. “Good. Then that means we’re going after Mourad.”
“Your old captain is still on Kurril.”
“He survived?” Tori paused with the flat bread halfway to her mouth.
Vrax didn’t answer her, but took a piece of bread for himself. “Not to mention, there may be someone out there who can place one or both of us with Meridia before she died.”
“So the odds aren’t in our favor,” she said, putting down the cup and drumming her fingers on her leg. “I wish we had Bexli or even that little turdball, Pog.”
He tilted his head at her. He did not remember her crew member named Pog.
“The shapeshifter and her dog,” she said. “Well, not really a dog. A Lycithian shape shifting pet of some sort. Fluffy green thing.”
Now he remembered. “I did not know it was named Pog. Why would he be useful to us now?”
“Our plans to nab bounties usually involve Bexli, and sometimes Pog, shifting into something to scare someone or create a distraction. It’s pretty helpful.” Tori took another gulp of the red liquid. “This shit really is awful. I thought that coffee stuff that Danica likes was bad, but this is so much worse.”
Vrax knelt down in front of her. “Is there any way to keep you from doing this that doesn’t involve tying you up?”
She lunged to her feet, but he pushed her back down.
“I did not say I was going to tie you up.” He took her hands and traced his fingers over the red marks still emblazoned across her wrists. “If I tie you up, it will only be for pleasure, mate.”
Her pulse quickened under his fingertips, but she lifted her chin slightly. “How do you know I’d even like that?”
He grinned. “Because I can feel your arousal just from the mention of it.”
“I’d like you a lot more if you were less cocky.”
Her desire flared hot enough for his own heart to beat faster. “No, you wouldn’t.”
Tori rolled her eyes, but didn’t correct him. “There’s nothing you can say to talk me out of it, Vrax.”
He closed his larger hands over hers. “That is what I thought. If you insist on leaving and stealing Mourad’s ship, we need a way to get through the city and onto his ship without getting caught.”
She opened her mouth, but he put a finger over it.
“Zarda had a suggestion that I think will work, but you may not like it.”
Tori pushed his finger away. “If the plan ends with us in Mourad’s ship and him stranded on Kurril, I’m game.”
Vrax sat back on his heels, appraising his mate. “I am glad you feel that way.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
“This is ridiculous,” Tori said, as Vrax adjusted one of the black, filmy veils that covered her head. She pulled down the one below her eyes, disliking the feeling of breathing through fabric, even if it was sheer.
“You said you wanted to move through the city without being spotted.” Vrax stepped back and gave her a once-over, his mouth quirking up before he resumed his serious expression. “No one who’d ever seen you before would think this is you.”
“For good reason. It’s absurd. Who would wear something like this?”
She grabbed handfuls of the layered skirt that sat low on her hips and shook it at the Dothvek. Even though the fabric was silky, it felt foreign against her skin, after a lifetime of wearing practical clothing that befitted a warrior.
“Traveling performers. We should be grateful to Zarda and his friends for giving us the disguises.”
“Sure, you’re grateful,” Tori mumbled. “You get to wear that.”
She waved a hand at him. Why didn’t she get to wear something like Vrax wore? The wide-legged pants he’d exchanged for his snug leather ones were colorful, and the wide belt encrusted with sparkling stones, but instead of a veil, he wore a black head covering that wrapped around his hair and draped down the front of his chest on both sides. Just because she was a woman she had to dress in so many layers and veils that she could barely move or breathe?
“It is not because you are a female,” he said, answering the question she hadn’t yet voiced, and giving her another reason to be annoyed. “It is because too many in Kurril know your face, and none of them would ever suspect you of dressing like this.”
She grumbled, but she knew he was right. She hated when he was right.
He reached underneath her skirt and touched the blade he’d strapped to her thigh. “And no one would suspect a female dressed like you to have this.”
The heat of his fingers left scorch marks when he pulled away, and Tori tried to ignore the warmth tingling between her legs. She needed to focus on their mission, not get distracted again by his magical touch.
Returning the veil to its position underneath her eyes, she sighed. “Whoever wore this before me really liked scented oils. I feel like I’m trapped inside a spice market under here.”
Vrax smoothed an errant curl under her head covering. “I think you smell good enough to eat.”
All the blood in her body rushed south, but she gave him a severe look. “Don’t even think about it. I’m not putting all these layers back on again.”
He ran a finger down her bare stomach and dipped it underneath the beaded waistband of the skirt. “Who said anything about removing them?”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t tell me this shit gets you off? You prefer your women dressed up like dancers?”
“I do not prefer women. I only prefer you, but I do not mind seeing you in this costume.” His fingertip tickled her skin as he dragged his finger underneath the top of the skirt, making her pulse flutter.
She closed her hand over his. “Once we’re on a ship heading back to both our people, we can celebrate. Until then, warrior, the mission is our focus.”
He straightened his shoulders. “It is simple. Get to the shipyard. Steal aboard Mourad’s ship, and depart for my home world.”
Well, when you put it like that it sounds easy, she thought. She knew that plans were never as simple in actuality as they were in theory.
“Since Mourad leaves at first light, he and his crew will be enjoying one last night in the city. We can count on most of them drinking and whoring, but Mourad will leave at least a few men on board as guards.”
Vrax put his hand on the hilt of his blade. “A few men will be dispatched quickly.”
Tori agreed. A few men were nothing compared to the numbers they’d both taken out over the past couple of days. She only hoped they didn�
�t arouse the suspicions of the Kurril shipyard guards. The idea of vessels chasing them after takeoff was not a pleasant one.
Vrax picked up a pack that contained their other clothing and hooked it over one shoulder. “We should move. The sun will set soon.”
Even though there was less chance of being recognized in the dark, the Den of Thieves became more deadly after nightfall. They wanted to get as close to the shipyard as possible before the bars began to overflow and the slave traders started picking people off the streets.
“Remember,” he told her as they left the caravan and walked down the steps. “Everyone will think we’re travelers, so they should leave us alone, but stay close to my side.”
Before she could snap back, Zarda approached, beaming.
“You look as good as any of us,” he said. “It is too bad you insist on leaving. You could have a good life performing as a desert warrior and his beautiful bride.”
Vrax stilled her indignant response by clutching her hand tightly. He bowed to Zarda. “We are grateful for the clothes and for the sanctuary.”
“Yes,” Tori said, aware that the alien had taken a great risk harboring two fugitives. “Thank you.”
Zarda shook his head. “I am thankful for my freedom.”
“I doubt we will meet again, friend,” Vrax said, “but you are always welcome on my home world.”
“Don’t visit unless you like lots of sand,” Tori mumbled.
Zarda grinned, his gaze darting between them. “I suspect you will be very happy together, sand or no sand.”
Vrax threaded his fingers through hers, sending warmth radiating up her arm and causing her heart to beat faster. She thought about what would happen when they returned to his home world. They couldn’t exactly be together if he stayed there and she and her crew left. She pushed the thought from her mind. It was a distraction she didn’t need, and one she couldn’t afford to worry about then.
After giving another series of bows to Zarda, they turned and walked away from the camp and toward the city.
