Defender: Galactic Gladiators: House of Rone #2

by Hackett, Anna

“She bumped her head. It’s bleeding.” Mace set her down.

  Avarn checked her head, tilting it from side to side. “You’ll be okay. I’ll give you a mild painkiller.” He pressed the injector to her neck. “Just take it easy.” He cleaned the wound, then spread some med-gel on it to help it heal. “Don’t overexert yourself, and get some rest.” With that, they were dismissed.

  Mace scooped her off the bunk.

  “I really can walk, you know.”

  “No.”

  “Bossy.”

  He entered her room and set her down on the bed. As he started to rise, she grabbed his arm.

  “Don’t go. I don’t want to be alone.”

  Being here, in her room, so close to her… He heaved out a breath. He was far too obsessed when it came to this woman.

  He sat on the edge of her bed, feeling awkward. Knowing that there was a bed and having Jayna beside him made him think of things he shouldn’t be thinking about.

  Scowling, he tried to think of something to say. He wasn’t very good at small talk, or giving comfort.

  “Jax would have contacted Zhim and Ryan by now. They’ll start searching for this Vron.”

  “Good. I hope it helps.”

  Silence.

  “Do you miss Earth?” he asked.

  She nodded, sadness crossing her face. Drak, he was a sandsucker. He’d made her feel worse.

  “I miss my family.”

  “And did you have a man?”

  Her nose wrinkled. “God, no. I’m glad to have half a galaxy between me and some of my exes.”

  Mace stiffened. “They hurt you?”

  Jayna smiled. “They’re all too far away for you to beat them up, Mace. No, they were just self-absorbed losers. I didn’t have a lot of time to date, but my radar was broken when it came to men.”

  Mace nodded abruptly. He disliked thinking of any man being close to her, having the right to touch her…

  She gave another small smile, before her gaze dropped to her fingers, which were plucking at the bedcovers. “I miss my music. My granddaddy was a musician.”

  Music? Mace knew nothing about the topic. Music had no function or practical reason for existing. He thought it was a waste of time.

  “I play guitar.” She tucked a curl behind her ear. “I was pretty good at it. Sometimes I’d play for hours and get lost in the music.”

  Mace remembered how she’d reacted when she’d heard the music at the water fountain. The way it had soothed and relaxed her. A seed of an idea formed.

  “Tell me about your planet,” she asked. “Or are you from Carthago?”

  He shook his head. “I was born on Krenor. It’s run by gangs. Crime-ridden and dangerous.”

  She gasped.

  His hand curled. He was really terrible at distracting her.

  “How did you get away from that?” she asked.

  “I was a fighter. I was good at it.”

  She smiled. “I’m not surprised. You’re so strong and skilled.” Her gaze skated down his arms.

  He felt the throb of desire and locked it down. He refused to delve into the dark details of his life. The forced fights. The people he’d killed. The people he’d tried to save but had failed. The pain and blood.

  “It was bad.” It wasn’t a question. Her voice was soft, filled with understanding.

  He flicked his gaze up to hers. “Yes.”

  “But you survived and found a place here.” She reached out and stroked his arm.

  He loved her hands—slender, with long, beautiful fingers, and that included her cybernetic ones.

  “I did. Magnus rescued me, and I’d give my life for the House of Rone.”

  “I’m proud of you.” She leaned back on the pillows.

  A sudden knot in his throat made it hard to breathe. No one had ever been proud of him. In the past, his gang leaders had been happy when he’d won fights, but Jayna wasn’t talking about his fighting skills.

  Her eyes started to drift close.

  “You’re tired.” He rose.

  Her fingers grabbed his wrist. “Don’t go.”

  He paused. “I won’t.” He pressed his fist to his thigh, and settled back down.

  Before he could say anything else, she was asleep.

  Because he couldn’t stop himself, Mace reached out and stroked her hair. Drak, she had so much glorious hair. He’d stay just a little bit longer, then he’d get far, far away from this tempting female.

  * * *

  Jayna woke up with a heavy body resting beside hers.

  She froze, until the scent of him hit her. Mace. He was so rawly male and so hot. He warmed places inside her where she’d been so cold.

  Unable to stop herself, she reached out and stroked the tattoo on his arm. The ink portrayed images of wild, alien beasts that she didn’t recognize. It wasn’t pretty, but it had a rough kind of beauty that suited Mace.

  God, it had been a long time since she’d slept beside a man. Being part of the Helios crew had left little time for relationships. She’d had a few hook ups, but nothing serious. Her work had consumed all of her time.

  To be fair, there hadn’t been many guys she’d wanted to spend the night with.

  Mace was still asleep, and she was able to take a good, long look at his face. She smiled. He wasn’t quite frowning, but even in sleep, he didn’t look relaxed.

  Emotions tumbled around inside Jayna’s belly. It was crazy to feel this intense pull toward him. She barely knew him. She released a breath. But she knew what mattered. He was loyal and a protector. Despite the gruff, rough exterior, he had honor.

  And his life before the House of Rone had been hard. He hadn’t said much, but she could read between the lines. She saw it reflected in the shadows in his eyes. He understood what she’d suffered.

  His eyes opened, that circle of green around the iris so vibrant and beautiful.

  “Jayna, how’s your head?”

  She blinked. “Fine. I’d forgotten about it.”

  She reached out and touched his chest. He had a fascinating piercing in one of his nipples and she really, really wanted to touch it. She fought a hot rush of arousal.

  His face stayed like stone, but she kept stroking him, then tugged on the piercing. Suddenly, he groaned.

  Her lips parted. “You like that?”

  The muscles in his neck strained. She had to admit that she liked having her hands on this powerful man.

  Leaning forward, she pressed her lips to his. She tasted him, pulling in the dark musk that had her belly clenching. One of his hands slid into her hair.

  “Jayna—”

  “I’m not broken,” she said.

  He sighed. “I know that.”

  Shifting, she pressed her lips to one of his hard pecs, kissing his skin.

  “I do not have attachments with women,” he said.

  She blinked and looked up at him. “Oh? You haven’t had—”

  “I’ve fucked. I don’t find it necessary. I don’t like people getting too close, and I like my life the way it is.”

  “Why?”

  He frowned, like the answer should’ve been obvious. “I don’t have the ability to care, to soften. If it was ever a part of me, it was beaten out of me when I was young.”

  “You care, Mace. You’ve taken care of me, and I’ve seen the way you care about the House of Rone.”

  “People die.” His voice was harsh.

  She tilted her head. “And it hurts when they leave you.”

  He sat up. “I want you safe and whole. That’s it.”

  “Really?” He had to feel this connection between them. She stroked his skin again. “So you don’t want me?”

  Another groan came from his throat. “Lust is a useless, and quickly dispersed, emotion.”

  “Then prove it. Kiss me.”

  He made a harsh sound, then his mouth was on hers.

  He yanked her closer until she overbalanced against his chest. Her small cry was swallowed by his lips. His mouth was
unforgiving, prying hers open and demanding entry. His tongue stroked into her mouth, tangling with her own tongue. She made a keening sound and pressed closer.

  It took seconds for them to become lost in the kiss. Before she knew it, he’d pushed her to the bed, his big body on top of hers, a hard cock pressing against her belly.

  Yes. Jayna hadn’t felt this alive for months. Years.

  Then suddenly, Mace pushed her away and rolled across the bed. He shoved to his feet.

  “I want to fuck you, but that’s it.”

  Ouch. She sat up, pushing her hair off her face. For a second, his eyes snagged on her hair, something flashing in his eyes.

  “You’re lying,” she said.

  “Find someone else to be your security, Jayna. Someone else to hold on to when the darkness gets too much. It won’t be me. It can’t be me.”

  Her lips trembled. He was pushing her away, and he wasn’t being gentle about it. Dammit, it hurt.

  “Mace—”

  He growled. “I can’t be what you need.”

  She bit her lip, trying to hold in the emotions swirling in her belly. “You’ve been what I needed so far.”

  His face spasmed. “I’m not soft. Not gentle. I don’t want what Magnus and Jax have with their women.”

  She suddenly felt chilled. What right did she have to force her affections on him? Especially when he clearly didn’t want them?

  She curled her legs beneath her, trying to find some warmth. Inside, an icy cold slid through her. “I’m sorry.” Her voice was wooden. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. It won’t happen again.”

  He hesitated, an unreadable look on his face. He stared at her, something working behind his eyes.

  Jayna slipped off the bed. She needed him gone. “You’ll tell me as soon as you hear anything about Vron?”

  “Yes.”

  Then she turned away, pulling all the shattered pieces inside her together. She felt like she’d lost something precious, which was silly, when she didn’t really have anything in the first place.

  “Thank you,” she murmured.

  There was no sound, but she knew he was gone.

  Chapter Seven

  In the training arena, Mace smashed his sword against Acton’s.

  The cyborg’s brow creased. “You are extra aggressive today, Mace.”

  “Less talking, more fighting.”

  They shuffled back and forth across the sand. Acton’s cybernetic arms were strong, but Mace’s strength matched him.

  Soon they stopped, both breathing hard.

  “Do you wish…to talk about what’s upsetting you?”

  Mace grunted. “You want to talk about how I’m feeling?”

  Acton always told Mace that he didn’t feel anything. Or rather, he did feel flickers of emotion occasionally, but they were faint. Acton said he was happy with that.

  “No,” Acton said. “But I’d prefer you were operating at optimum efficiency.”

  “I had—” he wasn’t sure what to call it “—a disagreement with Jayna.”

  “The woman has attached herself to you.”

  “I saved her. It’s normal.”

  “I’m sure this attachment will fade,” Acton said.

  Mace frowned. It felt wrong to hear that. He did feel a connection to her, but he couldn’t allow it to grow and deepen. “I told her it couldn’t go any further. She agreed.”

  Acton nodded. “Then the problem is solved.”

  Mace just grunted again, and moved over to grab some of the water from the drinks table. He chugged it back, tipping some of it over his sweaty chest.

  Nothing was solved. He’d seen the hurt on her face, the blankness that had entered her eyes. He’d hurt her. Not the Edull or the Thraxians this time, him.

  “It’s still bothering you.” Acton tilted his head. “Do you want an attachment to her?”

  “No.” Drak. Now, Mace felt like he was lying to himself. The first thing he’d done this morning was visit the House of Galen to arrange for a gift for Jayna. And thoughts of her were churning through his head.

  “She is healing well,” Acton said. “And I can see that she is an attractive woman.”

  Mace swiveled, lowering his water bottle. “What are you doing, noticing how attractive she is?”

  “I have no feelings, but I can see perfectly fine. It won’t be long before she attracts a male.”

  With a roar of fury, Mace spun, and threw his water bottle. It whacked into a training dummy and exploded into bits, water splashing everywhere.

  Acton turned, his cool gaze taking in the mess. He turned back to Mace. “I believe you have some unresolved, conflicting emotions to deal with.”

  “You think so, do you?”

  “I suggest you talk with Jax. This is well beyond my scope of experience.”

  “Shut up, Acton.”

  Staring across the arena, he watched several gladiators and cyborgs training with various weapons. One tall female clad in an all-black suit caught his attention. Her black hair swung behind her as she whirled her twin swords through a fast fight routine.

  Seren was a talented fighter, and combined with her natural and enhanced abilities, he knew she’d be a good addition to the elite group of cyborgs.

  Suddenly, the sound of voices came into range. Mace turned to see Magnus, Jax, Quinn, and two other women step out into the walkway that ringed the training arena.

  He recognized the tall brunette—Dayna Caplan. She was another survivor from Fortuna Station, who was now mated to the very wealthy and very powerful owner of the Dark Nebula Casino, Rillian. The shorter woman with blonde hair cut at her jawline was Mina Dixon—the first Helios survivor to be rescued. She was mated with Rillian’s head of security, Tannon Gi.

  The group moved closer to Mace and Acton.

  “Dayna and Mina have word on Vron,” Jax said.

  Mace straightened. “What?”

  Dayna looked him straight in the eye. It reminded him that she’d been some sort of law enforcement on Earth, and was now part of the Dark Nebula’s security team.

  “We haven’t tracked down who he is, but I know that he has a link to the manufacturing area here in Kor Magna,” Dayna said.

  Mina nodded. “One of Rillian’s contacts says this Vron has something to do with the Ordan Factory.”

  Finally, a lead. Mace felt a burn to get out there. To do something to work off his tension.

  Mace looked at Magnus. “We need to check it out.”

  “It might pay to bring Jayna along,” Magnus said. “Something we see might jog her memory.”

  Mace felt instant denial. He wanted her here—safe and protected. “Where is Jayna?”

  Magnus studied him carefully. “You don’t know?”

  Mace shook his head.

  “Ever took her to Ryan and Zhim’s to make contact with her parents.”

  Drak. He barely resisted the urge to curl his hands into fists. It would be hard on her. Talking to the parents she would never see again.

  He should have been with her.

  What the drak was wrong with him? He cleared his throat, focusing back on their mission. “Taking Jayna to the manufacturing district isn’t safe.”

  “We aren’t taking her into the desert, Mace, just to a well-known part of the city.” Magnus’ neon eye glowed. “And she’ll be surrounded by cyborgs. She’d be well protected.”

  Mace forced himself to nod. Drak. “She’ll want to come.”

  “I want to come.” Mina cocked a hip, anger churning in her eyes. “Any chance to take the Edull down.” She drew in a breath. “But my guy would have a coronary.”

  Dayna raised a brow. “And send in a team of Dark Nebula security operatives.”

  “We’ll let you know what we find,” Magnus assured them.

  “Then let’s go,” Jax said.

  * * *

  Summoned to Magnus’ office, Jayna swallowed her nerves.

  Her heart was still hurting a little, and her e
yes were gritty from crying. She’d had a long talk with her parents. Their grief and sorrow had been palpable, and they’d all cried. Even her big, ex-footballer father had shed some tears. It had cracked her heart.

  When she entered Magnus’ office, the big imperator’s cool gaze rested on her and she fought back a shiver.

  “We don’t know who Vron is, but we have intel that links him to a factory in the manufacturing district.”

  Oh, God. Excitement was a punch to her belly. She lifted her chin. “I want to come.”

  Magnus nodded. “I want you to come. It might help you remember things that can help us find the Edull and Bari Batu.” Magnus glanced at a silent Mace.

  Jayna glanced at him as well. It wasn’t hard to feel the anger pulsing off him.

  “Let’s move,” Magnus ordered.

  She followed the cyborgs to the entrance of the House of Rone. She was happy when she saw Quinn, dressed in fighting leathers, with a staff resting on her back.

  “For you.” The other woman held out a small weapon.

  Jayna’s fingers closed around the cool metal.

  “Laser pistol,” Quinn said. “Point-and-shoot. It’s pretty easy.”

  Jayna nodded, turning the pistol over until she slotted it into her pocket.

  Then they headed out. She walked behind Mace as the group wound its way through the tunnels. He’d barely looked at her. She sighed. Meanwhile, looking at his broad, muscled back made her ache inside.

  When they stepped out onto the street outside the arena, she felt goose bumps wash over her skin. She felt exposed. She looked around, at all the people on the sidewalks, the transports in the street.

  Breathe. Forcing herself to follow the others, she battled her conflicting emotions. She was reminded again just how safe she’d felt inside the House of Rone.

  Buck up, Jayna. She’d loved to be outside before her abduction. She would shake this shitty fear the Edull had left inside her if it was the last thing she did.

  A light breeze brushed her face, and she let herself look around, feeling the pulse of the city. The sounds of people, alarms, transports—it was almost like a song, one she hadn’t heard in a long time.

  She stayed close to Mace as they walked deeper into Kor Magna. There were beings everywhere, some rushing, others strolling. Gladiators, with lots of muscles and leather, immediately stood out in the crowd. Others, she guessed, were locals going about their business. There were also many strangely dressed creatures that somehow made her think they had to be tourists.