by Tana Stone
“Then why did you just call me mate?”
“What? I didn’t—” She paused and laughed. “Oh, that’s an expression. It means friend, not mate the way you think of the word. I call a lot of people ‘mate.’”
He frowned as he looked at her, his gray eyes holding hers. Her breath caught in her throat, and she tried to swallow but couldn’t. Something flickered in his eyes—some flash of pain—but it vanished quickly, replaced by a smoldering heat that made her suck in her breath. “You are mine, and you know it as well as I do.”
She finally found her voice. “Arrogant much?”
“I am not arrogant.” He turned back to the controls as the shuttle shot out of the mouth of the hangar bay. “I am only saying what we both know. You will be mine.”
The only reason Hope didn’t kick the guy in the balls was that he’d fought for her on the pirate ship and kicked some serious ass to get her out of there. That counted for something, but it didn’t mean he owned her.
“Listen, I appreciate the hero thing, and I’m glad to be off that pirate ship, but you can’t just go around saying that two people who’ve never met have to get married and spend the rest of their lives together. It’s crazy. We don’t even know each other.”
“I know you are beautiful and brave, and I would give my life to keep you safe.”
Hope felt some of the fight leave her. Who talked like that? No guys she’d ever met, although, to be fair, guys who bummed around for a living like her usually weren’t the best boyfriend or husband material.
She cleared her throat. “Thanks, but that still doesn’t mean I’m going to agree to marry you.”
The shuttle banked to one side, arching around the side of the larger ship and flying in the other direction. Kos’s fingers danced across the console, his attention seemingly focused on flying, although a vein pulsed in the side of his neck.
“You do not have to,” he said. “You can always become one of the rejects.”
“Rejects?” She didn’t like the sound of that. “What are rejects?”
“Females who reject their matches and reject the tribute bride concept entirely. There is a special part of the station for these females.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Let me guess. No Caribbean fantasy suites on the reject side?”
He gave a curt shake of his head. “No, but you are welcome to go there if you choose not to accept me.”
Irritation made her tap her feet on the floor. “So, let me get this straight. You guys kidnap women, force them to marry total strangers, and if they don’t, they get kicked off into the low-rent district?”
“Like I said, it is your choice.” He stood, his bare, heavily muscled chest coming within inches of her face as he did. “I do not want an unwilling bride.”
Hope’s cheeks warmed as her eyes lingered on his hard body. No way did she ever plan to get married, but she wouldn’t exactly use the word unwilling to describe her feelings. Her gaze dropped to the bulge in his pants that was currently at eye level. Not about everything, at least.
Seven
Kos wanted to hit something. He stood, feeling her eyes on him as he moved to the back of the shuttle. She was infuriating, and he didn’t know whether he wanted to spank her or fuck her. Maybe both.
The human female was not at all what he’d expected. She looked pretty and soft, but she was actually difficult and stubborn. Exactly what he didn’t need in his life. Unfortunately, she also stirred something deep within him, and she made his cock do more than stir. It throbbed every time he looked at her, and he readjusted the hard bulge as it strained uncomfortably in his pants.
Kos pressed one of the panels over his head to reveal a hidden cabinet, and he pawed through the contents until he found a standard-issue shirt. He pulled it over his head, and the black fabric clung to his muscles. A little tight, but wearable.
He glanced back at her, pressing his lips together. Not only was Hope barely grateful for being rescued, but she seemed to have no intention to take a mate. He knew that some tributes took time to warm up to the idea, but he’d expected her to be more receptive once they’d met. Especially after the connection they’d had on the Ganthar ship.
At least, he’d thought they’d had a connection. He knew he’d felt all his blood rush south the moment he’d laid eyes on her. And that lust had morphed into a rage that had fueled his battle the moment he’d seen the pirate captain touch her. He shook his head as he thought back to the murderous fury that had come over him. It wasn’t a feeling he’d experienced before, and the lack of control scared him. Was that what Inferno Force warriors felt all the time?
Despite his instinct to protect her with his life, he should have known she was going to be a challenge the second she’d started setting prisoners free. Although he admired the sentiment, it was impulsive and rash. He’d spent most of his life working hard and avoiding doing things that were impulsive. It was why he’d chosen a path of steady advancement on the crew of the Boat instead of risking everything for glory in Inferno Force.
Hope should be with an Inferno Force warrior, he thought. They were equally rash. But then he balled his hands into fists. No, the image of her with one of the rough, tattooed Drexians made him want to hit something even more.
It didn’t matter what he thought or what he wanted. Hope was matched to him. She was his. He would kill to keep her by his side and safe. Even if she didn’t want him and chose to join the other reject brides, it was his duty to get her back to the rendezvous outpost safely. And Kos never neglected his duty, no matter how painful.
Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he strode back to the pilot’s chair. “It will take us a few days to get back to the Drexian outpost, even at warp. If we use jump technology, it would drain the power and leave us dead in the water before we made it.”
“Jump technology?”
It was nice talking to her without arguing, and it was a good reminder that his people and their culture were still relatively new to her. He glanced over, and a breath hitched in his throat when he saw her peering up at him from under long lashes. Her brown eyes were warm with flecks of gold and green. He looked away quickly. If he wasn’t careful, he could lose himself in them.
“Drexians use jump technology to move ships long distances,” he explained, keeping his gaze firmly on the readouts in front of him. “It is an effective strategy to get away from enemies quickly, but it takes a special jump drive, which not all ships have, and it depletes the ship’s power reserves. After one or maybe two jumps, a ship will be out of power.”
“Someone knows a lot about ships.”
“I have to,” he said. “Not only am I a Drexian warrior, but I’m first officer of our space station.”
“You seem pretty young for that.” Hope eyed him. “Were you always an overachiever?”
“I’ve always had a lot to make up for,” he said before he thought better of it.
She swiveled to face him. “What does that mean? Were you a juvenile delinquent as a kid or something?” She held up both palms. “I mean, no judgment. I was supposed to have been a handful.”
Memories rushed over him. Memories that made his gut churn and his heart race. He shook his head, as if that would rid him of them. “I’m the only son. I had to achieve.”
“I’m an only child, too. Sucks sometimes, doesn’t it?”
Kos swallowed a hard lump in his throat. “I was not always an only child. My younger brother died when we were both young.”
The cockpit went silent, and Hope touched a hand to his arm. “I’m really sorry.”
“I should have saved him. I was older. It was my job to protect him.” He closed his eyes briefly, the horrible image flashing through his mind of the ground in front of him exploding and his brother disappearing with it.
“I’m sure it’s not your fault. You were just a kid.”
He gave another hard shake of his head. “You don’t understand.”
“You’re ri
ght,” she said, after a moment. “I don’t know what that must have been like.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Kos let out a breath, his shoulders uncoiling as he pushed away the feelings of regret and failure. “You were asking about our journey and the ship.”
Hope twisted her chair around to face forward. “Well, it’s all over my head. I wasn’t into science in school, and since then I’ve been a travel blogger. Not much tech in my job unless you consider my laptop and smart phone.”
Kos did not know what either of those things were. “When you are a warrior race tasked with protecting the galaxy, you need to develop technology to keep you one step ahead of your enemies.”
“Who are your enemies again?”
He steadied his breathing, as he thought about the aliens who were the reason his brother was dead. “We have been battling the Kronock for generations.”
“I think Reina mentioned them in my orientation on the space station,” Hope said. “But I might have been yelling a lot at the time.”
Kos shook his head. Why did that not surprise him? “They are a despicable race, known for invading other planets and harvesting them for resources.”
“Wait. I remember this. They’re the ones who want to invade Earth. You guys protect us from them, right?”
“Right.” He almost smiled at how proud she seemed of herself for remembering this information. “We protect Earth in exchange for a select number of human females.”
“And we’re back to the kidnapping part,” she mumbled.
“We do not kidnap.”
“Are you going to let me go?” she asked.
He hesitated. Even if she did not accept the match with him, she would not be returned to Earth. “Well, no.”
“Sounds like kidnapping to me.” She stared at him. “What I don’t get is why you guys bother with the secrecy thing. I mean, look at you. All you Drexians are gorgeous and built. Most women I know would claw each other’s eyes out to get a chance to marry someone like you. If you were upfront about it, you’d have women lining up in the streets.”
“But not you?”
She looked away from him. “It’s nothing personal, mate. It’s like I said before. I’m not a long-term type of girl. I’m more of a love-'em -and-leave-'em type. Emphasis on the leave.”
His gut clenched. Despite what she said, her rejection did feel personal. Even if he could admit that she might be too stubborn and too difficult and too everything for him, he still felt that she was his. Clearly, she did not.
He jerked his head behind him. “The journey will be long. You should sleep.”
She looked behind her. “Am I supposed to bunk on the floor? Or is there an invisible bed I don’t know about?”
He gave her a look, and she shrugged. “What? I don’t know how advanced your alien tech is. You could have invisible beds. Wonder Woman had an invisible jet.”
He did not know who this Wonder Woman was, and he did not ask. Human culture was confusing to him. He knew the space station had been designed by taking inspiration from Earth culture. It was even called the Boat—short for the Love Boat—after a show about a ship that bobbed about in the water and helped people fall in love. It made no sense.
Standing, Kos walked to the middle of the shuttle and pressed another inset black panel. A bed lowered from the wall, dark sheets tucked around a mattress and a thin pillow expanding on one end.
Hope scanned the rest of the compact space. “What else do you guys have hidden in the walls?”
“Supplies.” He gestured behind her. “Another bed.”
Her pupils flared slightly, but he turned back to the cockpit. “Like I said, we have a long journey. You should sleep.”
Kos returned to the pilot’s chair, hearing her crawl into the bed. He focused on the readouts. He’d been telling the truth. It was a long journey to reach the Drexian outpost. Even longer when you were trapped in a small ship with a female who had no intention of accepting your match.
Kos gritted his teeth. He just needed to complete the mission and get her to safety. Then she could join the other reject humans and he could return to work and begin the hard job of forgetting about her.
Eight
Hope lay on the pop-down bed, looking up at the black ceiling of the shuttlecraft. She wasn’t tired, but she definitely got the idea that Kos wanted her out of his sight for a while.
Not that she totally blamed him. She had told the guy that she had no interest in being his mate, even after he’d flown halfway across the galaxy to find her and fought a horny alien to get her back from the space pirates. She thought back to watching him battle the other alien, and her pulse fluttered.
She wasn’t into fights, but even she had to admit that it had been hot to watch Kos battling it out all shirtless and sweaty. She peeked at the Drexian sitting at the ship’s controls. He’d put on a shirt, but even now it strained over his considerable muscles. Thinking of those muscles and wondering what they would feel like made her heart stutter in her chest.
What are you doing? Hope turned her gaze back to the ceiling. You’ve already made it really clear you want nothing to do with being the guy’s match.
That was true. She didn’t want to be his mate or whatever the aliens called it. She didn’t want to ever be anyone’s wife. She cringed at the thought of being a wifey. No way. That type of commitment wasn’t for her.
That didn’t mean she couldn’t appreciate how hot the alien warrior was. And if she was being honest, he was exactly her type—dark hair, tall, muscular build. The intriguing gray eyes were just icing on the cake. And the cherry on top of that icing was the significant bulge she’d noticed in his pants.
But it was either all or nothing with the Drexians. Either you married the guy they picked for you or it was off to the slums with you. The fact that she couldn’t go home to Earth ticked her off.
She remembered Reina telling her how they picked the women they took. Only women with few to no family or friends. It had stung when she’d heard that, and it hurt even more to realize that they’d been right about her. She wasn’t super close to anyone. Traveling around for a living hadn’t lent itself to tight relationships, not that she’d been looking for that. She’d always preferred moving on before people got tired of her. It was what her mother had done—move on without her—and as much as she’d hated her for it, she couldn’t help repeating the pattern. Somehow, it felt safer never getting too close to anyone.
Of course, that hadn’t worked out so well, considering she’d been targeted for alien abduction.
If only she could get back to Earth. All she wanted was to return to her old life of traveling the world. She missed the freedom and the adventure. The thought of living on an alien space station forever made her feel like she was being smothered.
Hope took a deep breath. She wouldn’t even mention the whole alien abduction thing when she got home. She didn’t want everyone to think she was a loon. All she needed was a way to get away from the Drexians and back to Earth.
She swiveled her head around again. Right now, she was only with one Drexian. She’d never have odds this good again, she told herself.
She shook her head. She couldn’t do it. Not after everything he’d done for her and after he’d opened up. What kind of bitch attacks the guy who literally risked his life for her and then confessed that he felt responsible for his kid brother dying? The kind of bitch who’s desperate to get back to her life, Hope thought.
“I am definitely going to hell for this,” she whispered to herself.
Glancing around the shuttle, she saw nothing she could use to incapacitate him. Her eyes lingered on his belt. He still wore a blaster on one side and the curved blade attached to the other. She had no intention of hurting him, but maybe she could knock him out with the hilt of the blade. She didn’t trust herself with a blaster.
Getting to the weapon was another matter entirely, though. She’d seen how fast Kos moved. He’d been lightning fast compared to the
alien he’d battled, his quick reflexes making his movements almost a blur.
She couldn’t just grab for it. He’d see that coming a mile away. She folded her arms on top of the sheet and drummed her fingers on them. She’d have to be more clever and more subtle, and she knew just how to do that.
Even if Kos was an alien—and a badass Drexian warrior, at that—he was still a guy. And she’d never met a guy who wasn’t distracted by a little seduction.
Hope knew it wasn’t playing fair, but then neither was snatching her off of her planet. Once she was back on Earth, Kos could get another tribute—one who actually wanted to get married. She just hoped he wouldn’t add this to the list of things he blamed himself for, because this was not about him. As cheesy as it sounded to say “it’s not you, it’s me,” in this case it was true.
She sat up and slipped her legs out from under the soft sheets, her bare feet touching the hard floor. Her heart was thumping, and she took even breaths to steady it.
Kos swiveled his chair around, raising an eyebrow when he saw she was up. “I thought you were sleeping.”
She shrugged, fluttering her eyelashes at him and feeling ridiculous. “Couldn’t. I kept thinking about this whole match thing.”
“The match you do not want?”
She shimmied her hips as she walked forward. “That’s just it, Kos. It’s not that I don’t want you. It’s just the whole forever concept I’m stuck on.”
He eyed her warily. “I do not understand.”
“Maybe we could try it out and see how we feel afterward,” she said, hearing the faint tremor in her voice.
“After what?” The poor guy looked seriously confused, and she felt a pang of guilt.
Hope pushed any regrets out of her mind as she reached him and sat down on top of him, straddling his waist. He inhaled sharply, his gray eyes darkening. She wet her bottom lip. “After this.”
She crushed her mouth to his, feeling his shock and then feeling his arms come around her back and pull her tightly into him. His kiss soon became dominant, his hand tangling in her hair as he let out a low growl.
