by Tana Stone
Panic fluttered in her chest as she realized just what type of fire she was playing with.
Nine
Desire pounded through him as all rational thought fled Kos’s mind.
Gods, what was she doing?
He didn’t care why she’d started kissing him. He only hoped she wouldn’t stop.
Her hair was soft as he wound his fingers through it, pulling her deeper and feeling her lips yield to him. Even though she’d initiated the kiss, she startled when he parted her lips. He tangled his tongue with hers, and she sagged against him, moaning into his mouth and sending fresh waves of need ricocheting through his body.
She tasted just as sweet as she looked, and Kos found himself intoxicated by the feel of her as she writhed in his lap. Slipping his hands from her hair down her back, he grabbed her ass and scooped her up as he stood.
Hope gave a tiny sound of surprise as she was lifted, but she didn’t pull away. Only when he lowered her onto the fold-down bed did she tear her mouth from his, looking up at him with wide brown eyes.
Kos searched her face, seeing both arousal and hesitation behind her eyes. Her breathing was shallow, and her chest heaved beneath his.
“You are beautiful,” he said, bracing his elbows on both sides of her and taking her face in his hands. He stroked his thumbs down her cheeks, marveling at the silky skin.
Her eyelids fluttered. “Kos.”
Hearing his name from her lips made him growl low. Lowering his mouth to hers, he kissed her again—first gently and then more deeply—losing himself in the feel of her.
He’d heard talk on the Boat about the human females, and he’d seen plenty of them over the years. He’d always marveled at how different they were from each other—the color of their skin, the hue of their hair, the shape of their bodies—and he’d wondered what it would be like to touch one.
Now he knew, and it was better than he could have imagined. He didn’t know why she’d changed her mind. Maybe she’d decided she didn’t want to live on the reject side of the station, maybe it had sunk in that she wouldn’t be returning to Earth, or maybe she’d just decided she liked the looks of him. For the moment, he didn’t care why. He just cared that she was kissing him, her body moving beneath his.
Her legs parted as he settled himself on top of her, still holding the bulk of his weight on his elbows, but he felt her wrap her legs around the back of his and arch into him. His cock pulsed thick as he ground himself between her legs, hearing a high-pitched sigh escape her lips.
She tore her mouth from his, kissing his face and making her way to his ear, sucking hard on his earlobe and moaning. His eyes rolled back in his head, and his cock throbbed.
Gods, the female was driving him crazy with her noises—and her mouth. The thought of what else she could do with her mouth made him lightheaded.
Her fingers roamed across his back, and when she began stroking his nodes, Kos let out a deep rumble.
“You like that?” she asked, her voice a seductive purr. “I saw these while you were fighting. They’re harder than I expected. And hotter.”
“You make them hard,” he told her. “And hot.”
“Oh.” She sounded intrigued as she tugged the back of his shirt up and slipped her hands underneath. “That’s pretty wild. You don’t have any other surprises for me, do you?”
He bowed his back as she rubbed her fingertips across his bare nodes, her touch scorching his flesh. “No more surprises.”
“Well.” She gyrated her hips so his cock rubbed between her legs. “I’d call this a pleasant surprise.”
Kos’s heart thumped so hard in his chest he thought it might actually explode. “Everything about you is a pleasant surprise.”
She let out a throaty laugh. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were trying to get in my pants, warrior.”
He ran one hand down around her ass and up the back of her bent thigh, hitching it higher. “I do not think we would both fit in your pants. Maybe I should help you out of them.”
She laughed again. “And then what?”
He locked his gaze on hers. “Then I bury my cock inside you and claim you as my mate.”
Hope’s dark pupils flared. “That’s so caveman of you.” She dug her fingernails into his back. “I like it.”
“I want you to like it. I want you to like everything I do to you.” He traced his thumb across her jawline. “I want to make you happy.”
Her brow furrowed, and she bit the corner of her bottom lip. “I believe you, and I’m really sorry.”
Kos tilted his head to one side. Why was she sorry? Did she regret what she’d said earlier? “You have nothing to be sorry for, cinnara.”
She flinched at the Drexian term of endearment. “Yes, I do.”
Kos didn’t have time to wonder what she meant as she pulled him to her for another kiss. His head swirled with desire, his pulse hammering and his cock pulsating. By the time he noticed her hand moving to the blaster on his belt, she’d already unhooked it.
He jerked back as a sharp pain shot across the back of his head. He saw Hope’s eyes go wide as he took another hit, then her face blurred, and everything went dark.
Ten
Hope gasped as Kos collapsed on her, the full weight of his muscular body forcing the air out of her.
Great. Just fucking great. She was going to smother to death underneath him.
She jerked her body hard and managed to roll him toward the wall of the ship. After bashing him on the back of the skull with a blaster twice, the last thing she wanted to do was roll him onto the floor. She wanted to get back to Earth, but she didn’t want to do serious damage to the guy.
Hope managed to wiggle herself out from under him, falling onto the hard floor herself, and her hands stinging from the impact. She stood, leaning over Kos and inspecting the knot on the back of his head.
She hadn’t broken the skin—that was good—but there was a definite bump.
She felt a pang of regret that she’d hit the Drexian. “Like I said, I’m really sorry, mate. It’s nothing personal.”
Although, looking down at the warrior lying face-down on the bed, it felt pretty personal. After all, she’d purposely seduced him and then attacked him. Kos would not be happy when he came to.
She thought about his reaction when he realized what she’d done and cringed. It would not be good. Hope glanced around the shuttle. She needed to tie him up, otherwise her plan to get back to Earth would never work. The second he came to, he’d change course and probably take her straight to tribute bride jail, if they had such a thing.
She opened several of the panels lining the shuttle walls, revealing hidden cabinets. At first, all she found were ration packets and standard-issue Drexian clothing. Finally, she located the Drexian version of plastic zip ties.
Hope fastened his hands together and tied them, trying not to pull too hard. She still felt guilty for all of it and wished the guy didn’t have to be so great. Or so hot.
She’d almost lost her nerve when he started saying all those sweet things to her, and she almost forgot her entire mission when he told her he wanted to bury his cock in her. Even thinking about it made her pulse quicken.
Focus, Hope, she told herself. You’re trying to get back home, not bone a really well-hung alien.
With a final glance at Kos, she went to the ship’s console. One major problem with her plan was that she didn’t know how to fly an alien space shuttle and none of the symbols that flashed up at her made any sense.
“I don’t suppose you have Siri capability?” she muttered to herself.
The ship didn’t respond, not that she’d expected it to. She sat down in the pilot’s chair and tried to remember what Kos had done when he’d set their course.
She tapped on the illuminated star chart, and it blinked a green arc across the shiny black screen. Okay, that’s where they were going. But where was Earth? She squinted at the dots with symbols to the side “Which one of you littl
e fuckers is Earth?”
On every map of the galaxy she’d ever seen, Earth was labeled clearly and often colored blue. More times than not, it was shown in the middle, making it even easier to find. She sighed as she scoured this chart. Of course, Earth wasn’t the centerpiece of this map, nor was it conveniently color-coded.
“This is impossible,” she said, banging her palms on the edge of the console and making it beep.
“What are you doing?” Kos’s deep voice, sluggish and confused, made her jerk around.
He was coming to and twisting from side to side on the bed, tugging roughly at the zip ties binding his wrists at the small of his back.
Shit. He hadn’t been out long, although she was also relieved she hadn’t done any permanent damage. Considering how vigorously he was moving, he seemed to be just fine.
“Hope,” he said, sharply. “Untie me.”
“I’m really sorry, but I can’t do that.”
He growled, but it was not a sexy, spine-tingling growl. It was more of an animalistic, I’m-about-to-rip-your-throat-out kind of growl. “You do not know what you are doing.”
Well, he was right about that. She definitely did not know how to get the shuttle to take her back to Earth. “All I want to do is go home. I have no intention of ever telling anyone about my little alien adventure. I just want to return to my old life and forget any of this ever happened.”
“That is impossible,” he said, rolling himself over and almost falling onto the floor.
“That’s where you’re wrong,” she said, eyeing him and realizing she should have tied his feet as well. “All you have to do is help me chart a new course to Earth. Then you can drop me off, go home, and request a new tribute bride—one who actually wants to get married.”
He jerked himself to sitting, his face flushed. “I do not want a new tribute bride.”
Okay, it was official. The guy was nuts. Why would he still want her after she’d knocked him over the head with his own blaster?
“You know,” she said, heat creeping up her neck as she turned to look at him, “this isn’t only about what you want.”
“And you do not want me?” His eyes flashed as they met hers. “I do not believe you.”
Okay, maybe a part of her did want him. What woman wouldn’t get turned on by a smoking hot man who was all muscles and had a huge cock? She was only human, after all. But that didn’t mean she wanted to give up everything for him. “Believe me when I say I don’t want to be anyone’s tribute bride.”
Kos stared at her, not blinking. “I cannot take you back to Earth.”
“Yeah, I know. That’s why I’m piloting the ship now.”
He raised one eyebrow. “You do not know how to pilot a Drexian ship.” He glanced at the console. “Our course has not changed.”
“It’s only a matter of time before I figure it out.” She knew that was not actually true. It was entirely possible that they could fly along for days before she figured out how to plot a course to Earth.
Both his eyebrows popped up and he leaned back against the wall of the shuttle. “Fine. I will wait while you take us to Earth.”
Hope shot him a dirty look. The cocky bastard knew very well she couldn’t do it, and he was going to wait her out. Since they were currently flying on autopilot, there was a very real possibility that they’d arrive at the Drexian outpost with her sitting in the pilot’s chair still trying to figure it out and him tied up on the bed. She knew that would not go so well for her.
She swung her gaze back to the console. She’d show him. Tapping her fingers on a series of buttons, she yelped as the ship slammed to a stop. Hope braced herself on the console so she wouldn’t fly forward, and she heard a thump behind her.
Glancing back, she saw that Kos had landed on the floor. She cringed as she watched him moan and roll over. “Sorry about that.”
“What have you done?” he said between gritted teeth.
She peered out the front of the ship. Instead of the slashes of light zipping past them, they appeared to be hovering motionless in space. To one side was an orange planet or moon, its surface bright and shifting. “I think I hit the brakes.”
Kos sat up, shaking his head. “We need to start moving again. We do not want to stop in this sector, especially with our stealth shielding deactivated.”
Hope swiveled her head to him. “Why not?”
“Trust me,” was the only answer he gave her.
Her stomach fluttered. “Okay, so how do I get us going again and activate the stealth whatever?”
“Untie me.”
She gnawed at her lower lip. “No way. You’ll take me right back to the Drexian station or outpost or wherever.”
“Hope, listen to me. I have to get you to safety.” His voice sounded almost pleading, and her resolve wavered.
Before she could agree to untie him, another jolt made her slip off the chair. She hit the floor next to Kos. “What the hell was that?”
The shuttle lurched forward as Hope scrambled to her feet. “We’re moving. I don’t know how, but we’re moving backward.”
Kos’s lips became a white line. “It’s a tractor beam.”
“A what?” Her gut tightened.
“We’re being pulled by another ship. A bigger ship.”
Hope thought about what he’d said about not stopping in that sector. She didn’t think she wanted to know what kind of bigger ship was pulling them. Their speed increased, and they were drawn into a large metal hangar bay. They landed with a jolt that rattled her teeth.
“You need to untie me,” he said again, and this time his voice was low and urgent as the ramp to their shuttle lowered.
Nodding, she went to him. Her heart was pounding and her hands shaking as she tugged at the zip tie before realizing she needed to cut it off. She pulled the blade off his belt, giving him an apologetic look. “Hold still.”
“It is you who needs to hold still,” a sharp voice said.
Hope looked up and saw a large weapon trained on her, the red-skinned alien behind it smiling as she tossed her long black hair off her shoulders.
Eleven
Kos bristled as two beefy aliens in body armor pulled him to his feet. Hope had managed to slice partially through his restraints before she’d been forced to drop the blade, and he could feel the give of the ties as his wrists strained against them.
Hope.
He craned his neck to find the human female, letting out a breath of relief when he saw that she was walking freely behind him. Although the red-skinned alien held the weapon at her back, her hands had not been bound. Her eyes were downcast as she walked, and he suspected she felt responsible for the mess they were in.
Which she was, he reminded himself. If she hadn’t knocked him out, tied him up, and pulled the shuttle out of warp, they’d still be on their way to the Drexian outpost. He felt like shaking her—hard. He also felt like wrapping his arms around her and telling her that everything was going to be alright.
They walked through the hangar deck and onto the main part of the ship. Kos still couldn’t tell what kind of ship they’d been taken by since he hadn’t seen the vessel, but as they walked out of the hangar deck, his stomach clenched.
The ship appeared to be a giant cylinder that spiraled up from the bottom. White and gleaming, it reminded him somewhat of the Boat—sleek and modern and almost uncomfortably bright. A single ramp swirled up and circled the perimeter of the ship with clear bridges crossing the center and connecting the sides.
As they were led up the ramp, the ball in Kos’s gut hardened. The ship was like a cross between a museum and a prison. Clear compartments lined the ramp, and each appeared to contain a different type of alien. Some sat on the beds, some paced, some stared out at their window overlooking space. But all of them looked like captives.
Kos recognized a few species—Crelpies with spikes along their spines, Hathrings covered in so much fluffy blue fur it was impossible to make out their faces, Tartules wi
th tentacles for hands—and flinched when he spotted the familiar form of a Gatazoid in one of the cells. What kind of twisted zoo was this?
When they reached the center of the ship, the armed aliens prodded him toward a platform extending into the middle. Stepping through a door, Kos saw that the room suspended in the center of the ship had curved white walls. Floor-to-ceiling shelving units arched around the walls with artifacts displayed prominently. Kos didn’t have time to study the objects before his eyes settled on a purple-skinned alien sitting on a throne-like chair in the center.
He had spiky white hair and colorless eyes, which blinked rapidly when they landed on Kos. “Come in, come in. You are most welcome.”
The red-skinned female with the mane of black hair prodded Hope until she stood next to him. “For your approval, Curator.”
Kos’s mouth went dry. The Curator? He’d heard of the notorious alien but had always assumed most of the tales about him were fabricated. A Tyrithian—one of the last of his kind—who roamed the universe collecting various aliens had seemed too grotesque to be true. Even more unbelievable were the stories about the parties he hosted to display his collection. It was said that he charged enormous sums for the wealthiest aliens to come aboard and view his collection. Interacting with the aliens on display was extra but encouraged.
Kos felt bile rise in his throat as the Curator rose from his chair and approached them, rubbing his hands together.
“Delightful,” he said, his smile almost impish. “What are they?”
The red-skinned female glanced down at her scanner. “A Drexian and a…human.”
The Curator giggled. “I’ve always wanted a Drexian for the collection.” He reached out a hand and let it hover only millimeters over Kos’s bicep. “This is quite a find.”
Kos resisted the urge to recoil. He could not let the creature know how disgusted he was, or how rattled.
