Текст книги "Alien On Fire"

Автор книги: January Bell

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 2 (всего у книги 14 страниц)

CHAPTER THREE

OceanofPDF.com

NYDO

I’ve got her.

Her stunning, delicate features are bright red, the spots the humans call freckles standing out even more than usual. Her breasts heave, and I long to see what her body looks like outside of those disgusting human clothes she insists on wearing.

Stubborn as a garwe.

My grin widens, and I inhale slowly, trying to hide my uncharacteristic nervousness. Say yes.

“What did you say?” she finally asks, smoothing her hand over her gorgeous red hair. It’s pulled into a tight bun, and my fingers itch with the need to pull it down, to undo her.

“Earth,” I manage, trying to sound casual. “Do you not wish to return to Earth?”

She narrows her eyes at me. Blatant distrust shines in her face, and I wish I could wipe our slate clean, start over.

That’s impossible, of course. What’s done is done, and the ends justify the means. Always.

“It can’t be done,” she says slowly, but her intelligent gemstone-green eyes watch me carefully.

“It can, and I could.” A half lie. Though, if I have my way, I will burn all thoughts of Earth from her mind, and she will not want to leave me.

Ever. Mine. Mate.

My hands fist at my sides, and her gaze flicks to them. I tuck them behind my back, trying to control my wild emotions. Always wild, around her.

She snorts, then sighs, her mouth twisting to the side. “And what’s in it for you? You’re just offering this out of the goodness of your heart?”

I cock an eyebrow at her, wishing she didn’t distrust me so.

Loving the way she fights me every step of the way.

Already, I am hard for her, my heart beating so fast I am surprised she cannot hear it.

“What’s in it for me? You,” I tell her, need and want racing through my body. “You will be my mate.”

She startles at this, and I inhale deeply as the perfume of her arousal heightens.

A lazy, cocky smile turns the corner of my mouth up. I have her.

She just doesn’t know it yet.

“No way,” she starts. A coarse laugh trips from her throat, irritation marring those delicate features.

I hold up a hand.

“You will pretend to be mine,” I tell her, lying. It hurts to even say it. Every cell in my body recognizes her for what she already is. Mine. I clear my throat and continue. “You will be proof that I, as the Roth King, through diplomacy—”

She interrupts me with a snort and a raised eyebrow. The sunlight catches the gold in her hair, and it’s so like firelight that I have to stop myself from touching her.

“Through diplomacy,” I continue, trying to focus, “have found a way to unite the Roth in a way the Overlord could never dream of. That through a way other than war and bloodshed, I have found my mate. I have found the one that will be the Roth queen and bear the newest fruits of our race.”

“I’m not an apple tree, you ass, and I am not bearing you anything.”

“You didn’t let me finish,” I tell her, stepping closer, unable to help myself.

Fear flickers in her eyes, and I hate it. I despise how she feels about our species. I despise that we deserve her fear and hatred, and that I deserve it most of all.

Still, I push on.

“As soon as I am king, and the Overlord is toppled through our work, I will send you and your companions back to Earth, should you choose to go.”

A vein ticks in her neck, the skin so translucent and thin there that it makes me want to hug her to me, to keep her at my side and safe so that no one else can see how delicate this creature is.

Mine.

“And I am supposed to believe you?” she asks. “That you would just let me go? Why should I?”

“Would you rather stay here?” I retort. A thought slams into me, and rage boils within. “Or is there another male? A Suevan reptile who has claimed your affections?”

She laughs, humor creasing the corners of her eyes. “Reptile? No. Not that it’s any of your business,” she hastily adds.

It is my business, I want to say. Everything about her is my business.

“Speaking of the Suevans, they’re cool with this? Us just leaving?”

“They want me and my brothers to be a distraction to the Roth Overlord,” I tell her.

Leigh’s face turns thoughtful. “You didn’t answer the question.”

“They don’t know I plan to take you.”

“And Piper and Billie,” she adds slowly. “And they’re going to have to pretend to be—” she winces, disgust plain on her face “—mated to your brothers?”

I nod. Are we truly this revolting to her?

I study her again. Not that it’s a hardship, I could stare for days and still be starved for her. She’s all fragile skin and soft curves, her arms and legs muscled from hard work, but still so, so delicate. She must find us disgusting, with our fuzzy grey hides and strange ash swirls, nothing like the human markings. I am huge compared to her, too.

I ache for a moment, imagining the feel of her body tight around me.

“How long do I have to decide?” she asks.

The question is so unexpected that I stare at her in surprise for a moment.

“One hour,” I tell her. “You will meet me with the other two humans at the furthest hangar. Do you know where that is?”

“I’m not an idiot,” she says stiffly.

I blink, uncertain how I’ve managed to offend her this time. “Then you’ll know to leave a letter saying you have come,” I pause, putting a meaningful emphasis on the word as she scowls, “with me willingly.”

“If I decide to travel with you, I have one condition,” she says slowly, her delicious scent intensifying, clouding my head. She holds a finger up.

“What?” I ask. “Have I not promised you enough?” I would give her anything. Would lie about everything to get her to go with us, to secure my throne. Convincing the Roth the humans are our future instead of enemies to be forced to heel is the only truth that matters.

“You do not touch me, or the other women, without our permission.” There’s a hunger in her eyes that has me imagining pressing her against the wall, tearing her pants off and claiming her right here.

The fire in me burns hot at the idea.

“If your scent is any indicator, you will be begging me to touch you before the day is over.” They’re the wrong words to say, but they are true ones, and I want her so badly I can nearly taste her on my tongue.

“In your dreams, asshole,” she retorts.

“Always,” I tell her. “Every night.” My voice is raw. I clear my throat, making myself smile. “See? I can pretend to be a good mate, just as you will pretend.” The lie drips from my tongue like poison.

She stares, her face blooming with pink again.

“One hour. The furthest hangar. Bring your companions and whatever else you require.”

“We’ll see,” she says slowly.

Before I can ruin the moment any more than I already have, I stalk from the building. My skin bristles with unchanneled power. Everything is more intense around her. Everything is more powerful.

I need her so badly that I think I might die if she is not by my side in the next hour.

OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER FOUR

OceanofPDF.com

LEIGH

Billie and Piper fall in step at my sides. They’re silent, processing Nydo’s proposition, clearly as bewildered as I am.

“And you think he’s telling the truth? We all know they’re liars and sadists,” Billie says, her face scrunched up as she thinks.

“They haven’t been sadists,” Piper says softly. Her long legs eat up the ground, willowy and strong like some kind of surfer model. She’s always been sweeter than the rest of us. “The Roth that invaded Earth were, sure, but the ones in the prison weren’t…”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I explode. “They pumped us full of drugs so we could be bred. That’s horrible.”

“Don’t yell at her,” Billie says, shooting me a glare.

“I just meant they didn’t hurt us on purpose or for fun. And the three Roth brothers…” Piper says, her light blue eyes fixed at some point in the distance. “The Roth brothers have been kind. Nydo, maybe not as much. But the other two aren’t bad.”

I hadn’t realized she’d been talking to them.

“You really believe that he’ll get us back to Earth?” Billie asks quietly.

I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. “I don’t know. I know he needs us. But no, I don’t see him letting the three of us go.”

“Then we don’t leave—” Billie starts.

“But we don’t stand a chance of getting off this stupid planet at all without their help. So… maybe we take the deal. Leave. Get off Sueva. And then try as hard as we can to get back to Earth. The Suevans would keep us here and marry us off as soon as we’re willing, anyway,” I grumble.

“It’s not so bad here,” Piper murmurs.

“I want to go home,” I tell her.

“I do too,” Billie agrees. “So we take our chances? Pretend to be mates or wives or whatever the fuck theses aliens call it and then get gone as soon as we can?”

“If that’s what you want.” I’m not going to decide for them.

“And you don’t think they’ll hurt us?” Piper asks. Of the three of us, she’s the softest, despite towering over Billie and me by about half a foot. All willowy grace and kindness, like some kind of Disney princess stuck in the worst fairytale ever.

I sigh. “I don’t think so. Nydo can be… scary. But…”

“You don’t think he’ll really hurt you,” Billie finishes.

“Ugh.” I stare at the wispy clouds in the clear blue sky, the Suevan asteroid belt unsettlingly close above. “I do. I don’t think he’ll fuck with me.”

“I think he would absolutely fuck with you,” Billie says slowly.

“Billie!” Piper laughs, a musical sound I’ve heard too little of lately.

I scowl at her. “I think he’s committed to pretending I’m his mate to get what he wants. I think he knows he needs me somewhat willing to go along with his scheme.”

“Maybe,” Piper says.

“We have less than an hour to decide, pack, and get there. I’m not going to try to convince you either way.” My shoulder lifts, and a jewel-toned bird soars overhead.

“But you’re going.” Piper runs her fingers through her long blonde hair. “With or without us?”

I nod. “I want to go home.” Even if the way there is paved with shitty Roth intentions.

I’m smart.

I’ve been on my own for a long time.

I will figure it out.

Billie exhales noisily, a hand on the curve of her hip as we finally round the corner to the freaky tree house we share with the other single human women. “I’m in.”

“Me too,” Piper agrees easily.

I hug them both to me, my heart squeezing with affection. “Thank you,” I say softly.

I hope I haven’t ruined all of our lives.

I finish scrawling out the note, then pin it to the front door. I could have sent a comm, but I don’t really feel like dealing with tech at the moment. The note feels more surreptitious, and leaving sneakily seems like the best option.

Billie and Piper stand directly behind me, each with a small pack on their shoulders.

We’re leaving Sueva, leaving our home for the last week or so, and it’s a mark of exactly how little we have. Only enough to fill a small pack. Toiletries in mine, some underwear and a soft shirt I like to sleep in. That’s it.

That’s all I have, that and the clothes on my back. Piper and Billie haven’t been in a hurry to adopt the weird, flowy garments the other women wear, either. The other women have been kind and good to us, and I think we could have been friends, if only I’d tried.

The thought makes a lump form in my throat and I inhale, trying to push it down.

“You don’t have to come with—”

“Shut up,” Billie interrupts, nudging my arm with her elbow. “Let’s get out of here. To new adventures,” she says, her brown eyes glittering.

“To new adventures,” Piper echoes, like we’re making a toast and not running away.

I can’t bring myself to say it. I just nod once.

The whole way to the hangar, we’re silent.

Are they thinking the same thing I am? That this might be a huge fucking mistake? Are they mad at me for involving them?

When we finally arrive at the furthest hangar, the three Roth males are waiting outside the spaceship, a mixture of surprise and relief on their faces.

Light licks across Nydo’s hair, and my gaze is immediately drawn to him. Energy seems to pulse from him, the air sparking between the three brothers, who watch us like cats might track mice from a distance.

“It’s not too late to turn back,” I tell Billie and Piper quietly.

“And what, let my hair frizz in this gross humidity every day?” Billie says, but there’s a little quake to her voice.

“I want to go home too, Leigh,” Piper says, her voice low. “I don’t belong here.”

Right.

I straighten my shoulders and pick up the pace. We’re in it now.

“You made the right decision,” Nydo says. He’s not exactly gleeful, but there’s something so smug about him that I immediately want to kick him in the nuts. “We have a small window to leave.”

He takes the tiny pack from my shoulder, and his expression immediately goes black.

“Where’s the rest?” he asks.

I glare at him. “Very funny,” I say, acid in my tone. “Like we have lots of stuff after being abducted.”

“We travel light,” Billie chimes in.

The biggest of the three, the silent middle brother—Lyko, I think his name is—takes Piper’s pack.

The younger brother, who is likewise huge and intimidating, helps Billie with hers, and the males share a look.

“Let’s get spaceside,” Nydo says shortly.

“Then we aim for Earth,” I say, trying to joke.

“Oh no. No, my mate,” Nydo tells me, eyes flashing orange. “You have much work to do before we take you back to that slum of a planet.”

“Don’t call me that,” I hiss at him. Billie and Piper and the brothers disappear into the ship, and it’s just Nydo and I standing outside, glaring at each other. “What are you trying to prove? It’s pretend.”

He steps closer, forcing me back into the railing.

Both of his arms grip the rail on either side of me, and I am all too aware of his honed weapon of a body. A delicious smell wafts from him, like campfire and spice, and it catches me by surprise, inhaling deeply.

“I will call you my mate whenever I want,” Nydo says, challenge gleaming in his eyes. “Mate.”

“You won’t,” I say. I am not about to let the fucker intimidate me. “You will call me by my name. Nothing else. And not mate.”

“I will call you what I wish, mate.”

Ugh! I grit my teeth, annoyed, irritated, and…

He blinks slowly, and when his eyes open again, they burn pure orange. I bite my lip.

I’m not afraid.

I’m aroused.

Again! Goddammit, I should have taken care of that little problem before I got here. A ten-minute break with my fingers would have maybe taken the edge off.

A slow smile tugs up the corner of his mouth.

“You like it when I call you that,” he says, his voice a rough rasp. “Deny it all you want, little liar, but I see you. I scent you.”

A shiver runs down my spine. “Whatever, you weirdo.” I push a hand against his chest, trying to slip away from him.

It’s like pushing against a brick wall. A toned, warm, muscled, delicious brick wall.

Nydo smiles even bigger.

I stare at my hand on his chest, then glance up to his satisfied smirk.

“This is progress,” he purrs at me. “You’re already enjoying the way my body feels against yours.”

“Gross,” I say, irritated. Because he’s right. Man, fuck this guy.

He cocks an eyebrow at me, amusement dancing across his stupidly pretty face.

Dammit. If he didn’t have the personality of a set of hairy balls, I could enjoy the way he looks. I might read into the way he looks at me, like I’m a lollipop and he’s trying to figure out how many licks it will take to get to the center.

I might make a whole lot of really stupid choices.

My hand is still on his chest. I stare at it for another split second, and then his hand, his calloused, strong hand, catches mine. His grey fingers twine through mine, and I can’t look away.

I force my chin up, meeting his eyes.

“I seem to remember you saying you have a… delicate problem.”

I can’t catch my breath. He’s too close. Too warm, too much.

“I could help you with that. It would be the least I could do to help you, considering our… arrangement.”

My hand slams into his chest, and he smirks as he takes a step back.

“I bet you would like that, buddy.”

I slip under his arm, stalking onto the ship’s ramp. A frustrated scream threatens in the back of my throat, and I shake slightly as I suck in breath after breath, tamping it down, unwilling to let him see just how much he’s gotten under my skin.

I hate that I’m thinking about his offer. I hate that it’s all I can think about as one of the Roth brothers directs me to a chair, helping me strap the safety webbing over myself.

When Nydo walks by me, taking the captain’s chair and prepping the ship for take-off, he doesn’t spare a glance at me.

But I’m still thinking about it. Watching him. Watching his hands work over the control panel. Watching the way his muscles move under the tight Suevan training gear he wears.

I grunt, annoyed, and force myself to stare at the Suevan landscape for what I sincerely hope is the last time.

Hormones are a bitch.

OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER FIVE

OceanofPDF.com

NYDO

My female is wide awake. Her gaze tracks every movement I make, and it pleases me that she’s been staring at me. The whole flight out of Suevan space, I felt her eyes on me, and every time I chanced a glance at her, she made herself look away.

The corner of my mouth lifts in a smirk, and I tweak the control panel, putting the ship on autopilot.

“Where are we headed?” she asks.

The other two women are sleeping in their harnesses, and my brothers both left to make a meal for us as soon as we emerged from Suevan-controlled space.

“Hernus-12 Space Station.”

“Why?” She spits the question, like deigning to speak to me at all bothers her.

“Does it matter?” I challenge her. By the gods, I love her fire. “You don’t get to choose where we go. You will do as I bid until we succeed in overthrowing the Overlord.”

“You’re an asshole,” she says flatly. “Just because I agreed to your plan doesn’t mean you get to order me around. That wasn’t part of it. We’re equals.”

I unstrap my safety harness, and walk slowly over to where she sits, her arms crossed over her harness, a defiant expression on her lovely face. I bend down over her, so low my nose nearly touches hers, trying to intimidate her through my size alone. A mistake. As soon as I inhale, I am lost.

Lost for this female.

When I open my eyes again, trying to blink some sense back into my brain, she’s sneering at me.

“We aren’t equals,” I hear myself say.

“Fuck you,” she spits, anger turning the tip of her adorable nose pink. “Just because you are the so-called King of Roth and have some kind of stupid energy manipulation powers doesn’t mean you’re better than me. I would never have agreed to come if I thought you were going to treat me like a servant. Or worse.” Her expression darkens, and I see it coming not a moment too soon.

She jerks her head forward, trying to smash into mine.

I snort. It is adorable, the way she thinks she will wound me if only she tries hard enough.

“Stop,” I tell her, trying to stop grinning and failing. “You will hurt yourself.”

“Get away from me,” she snaps, unbuckling her harness. “I’m only doing this so I can get back to Earth, so I never have to see your stupid, stupidly handsome face ever again.”

My mouth splits into a wide smile, pleasure tingling through me. I tilt my head to the side. “You find me good to look at.”

She stands abruptly, throwing her hands in the air in irritation. “Did you not hear the part where I hate you? For fuck’s sake, you don’t even think we are equals. What part of this do you think is going well for you, buddy?”

Every word is a hiss of a whisper, like she’s trying not to wake her companions, who sleep peacefully in their seats. I file away the knowledge she has a soft heart under all her tough talk. Surely I can exploit that later.

Leigh glares at me, as if daring me to try something else.

I want to step closer to her again, to inhale her intoxicating fragrance, but I am worried she will hurt herself by lashing out at me again.

“The part where I tell you that we are not equals because we are mates, Leigh,” I say her name on an exhale. “Because you will always, always be the one I look to first, the one that comes first… in all ways.”

Her green eyes go wide, then narrow again, suspicion thinning her lips. “Nice save. Like I believe anything you say. Especially since we’re faking it.”

She all but runs away, the cabin door automatically closing behind her as she flees me. Does she truly see me as a monster? Someone who would treat her as a servant?

Maybe I have not been as kind to her as I should have been. Perhaps I should have used a softer touch.

I have never been allowed the luxury of being soft, or kind.

Trying to keep my brothers alive has made me hard. Trying to keep myself alive has made me a liar. Trying to survive as a Roth who would be executed if the Overlord knew the truth has made me a coward.

“She’s been through a lot.”

I turn to find the yellow-haired female—Piper, I think her name is—yawning and blinking sleepily. “What?”

“She is upset. All the time. About what’s happened to us,” Piper continues, glancing around, bleary-eyed. “Leigh took it all really hard. We all did, but Leigh isn’t the kind to just forgive and forget. It was horrible, you know.” She rubs her arms, pausing. “Our shipmates being murdered, then the abduction, the breeding hormones, Sueva. Can you blame her? She’s confused and upset that she’s even working with you. A Roth.”

“Why are you telling me this?” I ask suspiciously.

The female sighs. “Because I am a hopeless optimist, I guess. And I need to believe that you all aren’t as bad as the other Roths. Just… go easy on her, okay?”

“Don’t touch me!” the brunette shrieks, then jerks awake.

“You’re okay, Billie,” Piper tells her soothingly. She turns her strange blue eyes back to me, then nods once. “Talk to her,” she says, surprising steel in her voice.

I return her nod. Turbulent emotions roil under the surface. It troubles me that these three women have every reason to despise us, and yet, they have chosen to join us on our quest to depose the Roth Overlord. To return the throne to the rightful king.

My throne.

My eyes narrow as I make my way to the small kitchen area on the ship. Lyko and Ayro have made quick work of the meal, and the heavily spiced sauces sit on the table as the two finish up the rest.

“Thank you for making the meal,” I tell them.

“She went to your rooms,” Lyko says, the pair stopping their easy conversation as I glance around the kitchen.

“She seemed angrier than a garwe roped to a wagon,” Ayro adds.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” I say glibly.

It’s a lie. It hurts that she hates me so much.

It hurts that I don’t know how to fix the hate she’s felt for my people for so damned long. And the female only wants to get back to Earth, while I want to keep her as mine. My jaw clenches.

Mine, forever.

I make my feet move down the cramped hallway, the artificial lights flickering as the engine thrums, the secondary core spinning to life as the primary cools.

The door to my room hisses open, and when I see her, curled into a miserable ball on my bed, shame floods me.

Tears dampen her cheeks, and her shoulders shake slightly.

She sniffles, looking up, her expression darkening when she sees me.

“Go away,” she says thickly, then flops over, facing the wall.

My heart aches. Did I do this? Did I make her cry? The human warlords had to explain tears to me, and I know they mean she is unhappy. They said that they also cry when they are mad or too happy, but I doubt the latter.

“Why are you upset?” I ask, finally stepping into my room. Her tiny pack hangs from a hook on the closet door, and the room is spare, neat. Suddenly, I wish I had more things in here to make her comfortable. A soft blanket or, I don’t know, pillows. Anything to make it seem more like home.

I want her to be comfortable here.

I don’t want her to cry.

“Why?” she finally retorts, sitting up and glaring at me.

I halt my approach, my eyes wide. The fact that this female acts like she could take me on, single-handedly… I love it. I love that despite her tears, her softness, she is still so feisty.

She will make a great queen.

I want that. I want that so badly that for a long moment, I cannot think past the idea of it, my plan to make her love me, to make her accept this fake mating as the truth between us. It overrides all my thoughts.

“Well?” She bares her teeth, and they are white and even and perfect.

“I wanted to make sure you are alright. It is clear to me that you are not.”

“No, no, I’m not alright. I’m not even in the same fucking galaxy as alright.” Her chest shudders as she inhales, and she fixes her watery gaze on me.

I want to help you. Talk to me, I try to say. Instead I stand, and I stare, and I wait, afraid to scare her off.

Silence must be the correct option, and I breathe a sigh of relief as she scrubs a hand over her face instead of running away, or trying to bash my head in again. Not that she would be successful in anything other than earning a headache for her troubles.

“Your… your scientists,” she spits, hatred in her gaze, “pumped me full of drugs to make me ovulate. To make me fertile. So that they could breed me. And now, I can’t sleep. I can’t do anything, because my body isn’t. Even. Mine,” she grits out, her green eyes wild and dilated. “I just want some goddamn sleep. It’s enough to make me consider your asshole offer to help.”

It hits me then, what she means. To help. She means to pleasure her. She is crying because she is frustrated… sexually.

I lick my lips, heat rising all over my body, enough to make my ash swirls spin and smoke slightly.

“Leigh, if it is pleasure you want, then I live to serve.”

“I don’t want you to touch me,” she says, fresh tears springing to her eyes. “But nothing takes the edge off.” She gestures to a small paper stuck to her arm. “Even the birth control hormones don’t work. The doctor said they might work. I hoped,” she sucks in a shaky breath. “I hoped they would. But they don’t. And it’s just getting worse.” Her voice is frantic, and my own desire is thoroughly dampened by her distress.

“You don’t want me to touch you,” I say slowly. “And I do not need to.”

She hiccups a laugh, brushing tears from her light-colored lashes. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

I smile at her, and it has an edge to it. I want to touch her. I have never wanted something so badly in a very, very long time. But this will be almost as satisfying, and if it helps her feel better, if it helps her feel more comfortable with me?

Then it might be the best idea I’ve ever had.

“I can make you come without even touching you.”

“Yeah, okay.” She rolls her green eyes, and there’s a hint of a sardonic smile on her face.

I concentrate, sending a ripple of my power to her, brushing it over her arm, the side of her neck, where that vein pulses against her fair, translucent skin.

Her eyes grow wide. “What the fuck?”

I inhale, closing my eyes briefly, reveling in the fresh scent of her arousal. Oh yes, I think I will like this very much.

“That is how I can help you, should you agree to let me call you mine, to call you my mate,” I say.

“Of course there are strings attached.” Her teeth make a horrible sound as she grinds them together.

I feel like the asshole she keeps telling me I am, but I don’t relent. I need to call her mine, and not just because it will help cement my claim that the Roth can and will mate humans successfully… when they are willing.

But because the purely selfish, horrible part of myself wants her to be mine, thoroughly and completely.

OceanofPDF.com