by Mina Carter
Walked was the wrong word. Stalked… That was the only word that fit the tension in Sardaan’s big frame as he approached her, his blue gaze intent on hers.
She was his wife. Or, the Latharian version of it at least, and he hadn’t even bought her dinner or gotten her drunk. Crap.
“So… you claimed me. What exactly does that mean?”
She knew what it meant, but she needed something to kick off this conversation. Something to start with so she could find a workable solution. One thing was for sure. She was so not leaping into bed with him.
His tight smile warned her he wasn’t fooled by her act. “Exactly what you think it means.”
She held her ground, matching him look for look as he stopped just in front of her. So close she could take a deep breath and they’d be touching. A shiver rolled through her. He was so damn big. How had she missed that?
“I don’t know what it means. We don’t have much on your species...”
A lie, but not entirely inaccurate. They didn’t have much on the Lathar, just a few bits and pieces they’d managed to glean from communications they’d intercepted and those the Sentinel women had sent back.
He grunted, his jaw set as he looked down at her.
“You’re mine,” he said bluntly. “My mate. My wife, as humans would say.”
Yeah, that’s what she thought it meant. Crap. She searched his face. His tight expression said he was serious.
“I don’t suppose you’d accept a marriage of convenience. Would you?” she tried with a small smile.
The small growl that came from the back of his throat said no, in the sexiest way she’d ever heard.
“I have no clue what that is,” he admitted, “but if it means you leaving or being apart from me in any way, shape or form, then no.”
Balls. That was that plan out of the water.
“Not necessarily leaving,” she tried it anyway, “but married in name only. I could stay here for however long we’re together, and it just be on paper.”
“On paper? You mean we pretend? Draanth no,” he spat, anger in his voice.
Her breath escaped her lungs in a quick gasp as he grabbed her upper arms. “I claimed you. You’re mine. In every sense of the word.”
She schooled herself not to fight back. It wouldn’t do her any good to fight back. He’d already proven that. She had agreed to this when she’d stayed in that ring, whatever it meant…
No, she knew what it meant. It meant sleeping with him. Sharing his bed.
“Okay. Not on paper,” she agreed, her voice calm and soothing. “But I need time. Human women need to have feelings for their lovers—”
His lips quirked as he cut her off. “Try again. I’ve read your histories. Seen this… porn.”
She barked a laugh. Why didn’t it surprise her that the Lathar knew about porn?
“That is not real life. Some stuff, the better written stuff is sexy, but there’s other kinds that are…” she shuddered. “It’s sick, designed for sick minds. Okay, how about I need time? Please?”
The last word was soft and not far off a plea, her expression as entreating as she could make it. “I haven’t had a relationship for a long time, and now we’re married? It’s going to take some getting used to.”
He slid a hand around her waist to pull her closer. Her hands spread over his broad chest, half revealed by the open jacket of his uniform, as she tried to keep some distance between them. But he didn’t allow that and pulled her flush against his large, hard body.
“Alright, but I want something in return.”
She held herself still in his embrace, trying not to be seduced by the feel of him against her or the thick, semi-hard bar of his cock pressed against her softer stomach. Fucking hell, if that was a semi… he was huge.
“What?”
He dipped his head, words whispered against her lips.
“I want a kiss.”
Then his lips covered hers. Warm and firm. He fused his mouth to hers, the meeting of their lips a sensual experience she hadn’t anticipated. Expecting to have to hold herself still under the onslaught of a man who hadn’t seen a woman of his own species in forever, she instead found herself kissed, and well. By someone who apparently… no, make that definitely, knew how.
He moved, pulling back so his lips grazed hers—exploring and enticing her to open up to him. The soft brush of his mouth against hers made her shiver, a temptation she tried like hell to hold out against.
He didn’t hold back, tilting his head to the side to deepen the kiss. His arm tightened around her waist, open hand sliding over the back of her hips as his free hand cupped her cheek gently. The soft brush of his thumb against her jaw made her shiver and weaken, her lips parting in subconscious invitation.
With a growl, he took her up on the offer, seducing her with soft nibbles and nips of her lower lip until she clutched at his upper arms. She fought her own reactions as much as she fought him. Then he covered her mouth, devouring her lips as he plundered the softness within with hard sweeps and slides of his tongue against hers.
She moaned softly, unable to hold out against him. Pleasure rolled through her body as she pressed into his embrace, her hands sliding up to around his neck and the fingers of one hand spearing into his hair to hold him to her.
He broke the kiss, smiling against her lips.
“No, I don’t think any marriage between us will just be in name. But yes, I will give you time. Be warned, though, my patience is finite.”
* * *
Oh my god. After all her pretty words and reassurances to herself, she’d forgotten them all as soon as he touched her. Dani kicked herself as Sardaan led her out of the antechamber by another door, not re-entering the main hall.
“Wait,” she argued, looking back across the room. “What about the vice president? She was supposed to be returned to the Defiant. How do I know that has happened?”
The large alien paused, framed in the doorway. Everything here was built on a bigger scale to accommodate the Lathars’ larger size, but even so, he almost filled it. He turned to look over his shoulder at her, one eyebrow raised.
“It will be done. We are an honorable people.”
She snorted. “Yeah, right. You want me to believe you after that setup in the circle?”
He had the grace to look discomforted, rubbing at the back of his neck.
“I had no part in that—” He seemed like he was about to say something else but then cut himself off. “You have my word. I will make sure she is returned to the Defiant as was agreed.”
She didn’t have any option but to agree with him, her nod short and jerky. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. This way, please.”
Grabbing her formal uniform and heels, she hurried after him. The corridors he walked her down all looked the same. Smooth walls and floors. She counted her steps and made a note of which turns they took in case she needed to find her way back.
Before too long, though, she realized there was simply too much distance between the hall and wherever he was taking her for her to get back without being detected. And… there were the robots.
Standing motionless in alcoves along the corridor walls, they gave her the heebie-jeebies. She’d seen them in action on the footage sent from the Sentinel before they’d lost communication, and they were like silver-skinned devils. Tall and bulky, they looked like they’d be slow and clunky, but the reality was far different. The footage she’d seen proved they were blindingly fast and graceful, armed with both lethal claws and laser weaponry.
“Your shock troops?” she asked, motioning to one as they passed. They looked inactive, but at her movement, the robot’s eye lit up, tracking her. She jumped, biting back her gasp of surprise. “Shit, are they online?”
Eyes still on the robot in case it launched itself from its alcove, she drew closer to him. The movement was nothing to do with being scared, she rationalized. He was Latharian, so presumably not considered a threat. And e
ven if not, if the robot went loco, he was the bigger target. She could run while it shredded him.
“Not all of them, no,” he looked down at her by his side. “Usually there’s one pilot for each section, keeping the avatars on standby ready mode in case they’re needed for use. They take a lot to boot up from cold, so the pilot skips between each, checking the power levels and connections while watching out for any issues that might need maintenance.”
“Uh-huh,” she nodded, trying to look calm and professional, but something about the big machines hooked right into the fear centers of her brain, her body flooding with adrenaline. Fight or flight syndrome, she recognized it easily, battled her to remain calm.
“It won’t harm you,” Sardaan said, his voice deep and reassuring. “The pilot will know by now you’re my mate. But… I wouldn’t go wandering off on your own. One of these will bring you back to me.”
She shot him a glance, eyes narrowing. No information they had on the Lathar mentioned that they were telepathic. So how could he know she’d been noting everything with the possibility of escape…
He chuckled. “Fairly obvious you were memorizing the route, beautiful. Intelligence gathering won’t do you any good.”
She clamped her lips shut, not prepared to argue with him on that point. Humanity were not Lathar. Even if Earth had originally been seeded by a lost expedition as they claimed, the Lathar were like an absent biological parent. They’d managed without them for all of human history. They had their own identity now, and they didn’t need bio-dad storming back in to try and take over.
“You know that they say.” She shrugged, a nonchalant one-shouldered movement. “You can take the girl out the army, but you can never take the army out of the girl.”
He paused so suddenly she almost ran into him. Biting back a gasp, she managed to keep a little space between them. She’d never get used to how damn fast they moved.
Reaching out, he tucked back a strand of hair that had fallen across her face. “I will never understand why your species allows precious females to put themselves in harm’s way,” he murmured. “Had you been Latharian, you’d never have been allowed to fight. You’d have been looked after and pampered all your life, never wanting for anything.”
She snorted again, yanking her head back away from his touch. “Yeah, and I’d have been bored fucking stupid. And there’s no ‘allowing’ humans, especially women… that’s the point you guys seem to miss. We do what the fuck we want, when we want.”
His expression didn’t alter, his eyes steady as he studied her. Then he tilted his head toward the door they stood in front of.
“These are my quarters. Ours now.”
When he took a step forward, the door slid open silently. She took a deep breath before she stepped inside. Shit, this was really happening. The quarters were all one room. There was a sitting area to the left of the door with low, wide couches and what looked like an office area with a desk to the right. She couldn’t see a kitchen, but an open door behind the sitting area hinted at a bathroom. Her eyes widened. There was only one bed, set on the back wall under a curved window with a stunning space view on the other side. Were they supposed to share it?
He walked past her, shedding his jacket to hang it up near the door to the supposed bathroom. She’d seen him stripped to the waist before, but for a moment her attention was hijacked by the smooth movement of golden satin skin over hard muscle. Shaking her head, she snapped herself out of it.
“So,” she said briskly, keeping her tone level and businesslike. “How do we do this?”
He smirked as he turned to face her, his thumbs hooked into his belt. “Do what? Are we having a… what do humans call it… a bird and the insect’s conversation? I would have thought you’d have been told that a long time ago.”
“What?” She couldn’t help the bark of laughter. “You mean the birds and the bees? No... yes! I know about that. I meant the sleeping arrangements. You—” She paused for a moment, lifting her chin. “Surely you don’t expect me to sleep in the same bed as you right away?”
His expression was unreadable. Then he spoke, his voice low and measured.
“Much as I would like nothing more than to hold you in my arms as we sleep, I am a red-blooded male with all the usual needs and urges. It would be too much to hold you and not touch you.”
He stepped forward, invading her personal space to pull her closer. She stiffened in his arms, the dress uniform looped over her arm held between them like a shield. She wouldn’t make a fool of herself again at his touch.
“You’ll sleep better without me in here, but I won’t be far away if you need me. Sweet dreams, kelarris,” he murmured, dropping a kiss on her forehead.
Then he stepped back, triggering the doors, and left her on her own.
7
Kissing Dani was like nothing else. She’d been so tiny and delicate against him, her lips soft and warm as he’d claimed them. And when she’d kissed him back… Sardaan bit back his growl as he walked through the large double doors into the training area, putting such tempting thoughts to the back of his mind.
He felt on top of the world. Several in fact. Even though he’d spent the night on a thin, hard bunk in the barracks rather than the nice comfortable bed his rank as one of the senior warriors aboard afforded him, he didn’t care. It had been well worth it knowing that Dani—his female—slept comfortably there instead.
His sleep might not have been the best, but he was wide awake and totally rejuvenated at the thought of the day ahead. So he walked with pride, as a newly mated male should, with his chin held high, his shoulders back and his chest thrust out.
He didn’t mind that they hadn’t consummated their mating yet. That would come. In time. He was confident that Dani would yield to him, be happy to accept him into her bed. Maybe, if the goddess favored them, they might even have offspring, like Lord Healer Laarn and his human lady.
“Hey, hey! Look who it is!” a voice called from the other side of the room. “If it isn’t the hero of the hour.”
He grinned as Riis detached himself from the group already gathered there and strode toward him. Automatically he held out his hand, palm up, as Riis slapped his own into it in the traditional warrior’s greeting.
The younger man’s eyes were bright with curiosity. “So, how did your first night go? She hasn’t killed you yet, so your ugly mug obviously didn’t put her off that much.”
Sardaan’s laugh was deep and genuine. He and Riis had been friends for years and he was used to the male’s teasing. “Well, you know what they say about women…”
“No, what do they say about women?”
“Tell us!”
He looked up as he was surrounded by males, all with eager faces as they waited for his answer. They were the youngest and lowliest on the ship. Sons of lower ranked families or the not-so-fortunate younger sons that no one bothered with. Apart from him and Riis.
“They prefer the more mature male, shall we say? One with experience,” he drawled, casting a pointed glance at Riis. The younger warrior huffed, folding his arms.
“Yeah… as long as that male isn’t in his dotage. Females need stamina as well, to be assured that their male can provide for their… every need.” He waggled his eyebrows comically.
“Yeah, yeah… like you’d know. Right,” Sardaan barked. “Are we here to train, or what?”
He didn’t need to order them twice, the youngsters scurrying to partner up and find a training circle. They started to spar, and he walked around the circles, correcting a guard here or demonstrating a particular move there.
While he kept his attention on the youngsters, his mind was free to wander. And wander it did, back to his strategy to win Dani’s heart. She was a strong female, not easily manipulated. If he wanted the relationship between them to work, he had to make sure she knew he was sincere.
A sudden lapse in concentration from the circles in front of him warned him they had company. Turning, he saw Dan
i and Kenna, the human female with the emperor’s group, walking into the training hall. Both were outfitted for training.
“Draanth, they’re so small…”
“…Are they fully grown?”
“They’re not seriously going to fight. Are they?”
“Concentrate on your own bouts,” he roared, stepping into the nearest circle to cuff the two fighters upside their ears. If they were so easily distracted, they wouldn’t survive their first real battle. Instantly, they all returned their attention to what they were supposed to be doing, sneaking glances at the two females across the hall instead of outright staring.
Sardaan knew what they were all doing. Mainly because his own gaze slid sideways even though he tried to control it. He couldn’t help it, his curiosity getting the better of him. Despite the fact he’d fought Dani last night, he couldn’t wait to see her in action… when he wasn’t trying to defend himself against her.
* * *
She was not going to fall in love with an alien, no matter how sexy.
Dani kept her focus locked on her opponent as the two women limbered up. The fact that Kenna had kept up her training while staying with the Lathar was obvious. She moved with a grace and elegance that betrayed her abilities as either a dancer or a fighter, but she wasn’t overly muscle bound. Instead, she had a sleek, toned appearance that didn’t fool Dani for a moment.
“So, how’s the blushing bride feeling this morning?” Kenna smirked as they faced off against each other in one of the circles painted on the floor. If Dani hadn’t known what they were for, she might have mistaken them for merely a design in the flooring. The marine rolled her shoulder, the overhead lighting glinting off her necklace. Octagonal tabs hung off a chain. Dani had noticed most of the Latharians wearing them. Like dog tags. “Good wedding night was it?”
“Screw you, Reynolds,” she threw back and brought her guard up. “How’s it going with you and blondie?”
“It’s Xaandril. And none of your business.”