Pursued: A Sci-Fi Alien Warrior Romance (Raider Warlords of the Vandar Book 4)

by Tana Stone

  This one would not be easy to kill, especially since no raider seemed to go anywhere without their huge, deadly axe. And if the rumors were correct, they wielded their weapons with impressive skill. My mind whirred as I considered how to divest him of his axe. The axe was key.

  “That’s it!” My eyes flew open, and my heart fluttered with excitement. The Vandar battle axes. The only thing the Vandar personalized were their weapons, so maybe the battle axes that had been welded into a giant fan-like headboard held some sort of secret. “That’s fucking it!”

  I pulled myself out of the water and ran out of the bathing chamber, leaving a series of puddles in my wake. I didn’t have time to dry myself or put my clothes back on. Not when I was sure I was onto something.

  I leapt onto the bed and leaned close to the array of axes, squinting to inspect the etchings on the circular blades and the markings on the ornate handles. Most were ornamental or symbolic—swirls that mimicked the ones on their chests, or carved planets and stars—but it was the Vandar words I was most interested in. I’d taught myself basic Vandar before the mission, so I wasn’t an expert, but I could read the words that appeared most often—Zedna, Lokken. These were words I recognized as part of the alien race’s ancient mythology. I forced myself onto the tips of my toes as I peered higher to the largest axe at the center of the fanned design, and my breath hitched in my throat. I ran my finger over the one word that wasn’t part of the mythology I’d learned about the Vandar—a word that was written over and over next to the image of a planet—Zendaren.

  “Found you,” I whispered, clenching my hand into a fist.

  Then the door behind me opened and I froze, naked and dripping water onto the Raas’ crimson sheets. Fuck me.

  Chapter Nine

  Bron

  I stopped when I entered my quarters. I’d expected the female to be in the bathing pools when I entered to retrieve a fresh battle kilt. My plan had been to get a clean garment and discard the one currently stained with sweat from my bout with the holographic gorgomil. I’d be in and out before she’d notice, and I wouldn’t come close to the door of the bathing chamber, or chance a glimpse of her naked. I had not intended to walk in on her completely bare and dripping water as she stood on my bed facing away from me.

  The Vandar who’d been guarding the door inhaled sharply behind me, snapping me out of my stupor. I turned to the raider, whose mouth hung open unabashedly as he gaped at the human’s lithe, naked body and her perfect, plump ass.

  “I will handle this,” I said, pressing the panel for the door to close on him before he could respond.

  Alana’s head swiveled around to look at me, her eyes closing briefly when she saw it was me. “I can explain, Raas.”

  I walked slowly toward the bed, even as my cock swelled beneath my kilt. “I would like to hear it.”

  She fisted her hands by her side as she pivoted to face me, her chin lifted slightly. If I’d thought she was appealing from behind, I was not prepared for the sight of her round breasts glistening with water, and the bare flesh of her sex. Her beige nipples were pebbled in the cool air, and I fought the urge to touch the bumpy skin that she made no attempt to cover.

  I stopped at the foot of the bed, my gaze never leaving her. “I thought humans were known for their primitive modesty.”

  Her eyes flashed at me. “Not all humans.”

  Behind the flare of her pupils, I saw the flicker of pain, and a hint of the steely determination I’d detected on her ship. But was the pain from her life as a miner under imperial rule? I suspected there was more depth to her hurt, and that her strength came from more than a single escape.

  She walked to the foot of the bed until she was close enough to touch, but I didn’t move. Even though my body throbbed with the need to run my hands over her smooth skin, I kept my arms stiff and clasped in front of me in a vain attempt to hide my cock’s traitorous response. As much as my mind knew that the human was the last thing I needed, my body did not seem to agree. Then again, never had a female presented herself so willingly who had not been a resident of a pleasure house.

  “I am waiting for your explanation,” I managed to say, even though my voice was thick.

  Alana smiled down at me. My head was at the level of her stomach, and she stepped so close that I could feel the heat of her skin. She placed her hands on my shoulders. “Help me down, Raas?”

  Tvek. I gritted my teeth as my cock strained painfully against my clasped hands. I might be a disciplined warrior, but I was still a hot-blooded male. The sound of my pounding heart filled my ears like a roar, and I had to close my eyes to steady my pulse and regain my control.

  “Raas?” she purred, her fingers feathering across my shoulders.

  Without opening my eyes, I clasped her by the waist and swung her down onto the floor. When her feet were on the hard stone, I peered down at her. The female’s head was tipped up, and her brown eyes met mine, the lashes damp and dark.

  I cleared my throat. “Do you think that your naked body will distract me enough that I forget my questions?”

  Something flickered behind her eyes—anger? frustration?—but then she gave me a sultry smile. “What was your question, Raas? I’m afraid being so close to you has made me forget.”

  Her girlish voice and shy laugh should have convinced me of her distraction, but they only made me wonder about this female who was so clearly trying to convince me that she was harmless.

  “What were you doing standing on my bed?” I asked, forcing my gaze not to wander below her face. “Wet and unclothed?”

  She inclined her head slightly, as if conceding to me. “If you must know, I was curious about your headboard. I have never seen one like it.”

  I glanced behind her at the axes forged together to create a massive iron fan of blades, their edges still sharp enough to draw blood. Even though I knew that it had been created from the weapons of the earliest Raas’ who had taken to the skies, I did not share this with the human. “Curious enough to inspect it while naked and dripping water from the bathing pools?”

  She shrugged. “Everything on a Vandar ship is new to me. Does me being naked and wet bother you?”

  My heart thudded in my chest as she licked her bottom lip. If she wished to play this game, then I could play, as well. My hands still spanned her waist, so I moved her back until her legs hit the bed, then I forced her to fall back. When she was lying on the bed, her knees bent and dangling over the side, I hovered over her and braced my elbows on either side of her body, pinning her arms to her. “It does not bother me. I thought you might be the one who wished to be clothed in the presence of a Vandar raider. Do I need to remind you that I am Raas of this horde? I can do anything I wish, and no one would dare stop me. You could scream until your throat was raw, and no Vandar would help you. On this ship, you are the property of the Raas, and I can do anything I wish with you.”

  She gazed up at me, blinking languidly. “I am not afraid of you, Raas, or wish I was clothed.”

  I used my knees to part her legs and settled my body between them. Her pupils widened and the pulse in her neck throbbed. “I do not think that is entirely true,” I studied her face, “or entirely false.”

  Her breath was fast and shallow, her chest rising and her hard nipples brushing against my bare skin. I bit back a moan. This human was not like the one Kratos had taken. She was not sheltered and scared. Even though there was pain and fear behind her eyes, there was something more, something stronger. Something that gave me pause.

  Before I could pull back from her, Alana jerked a hand free, raking her fingers through my hair and crushing my mouth to hers. My shock quickly gave way to blinding passion as our lips moved roughly and our tongues battled. Pressing my body to hers, I ground my cock between her legs as she moaned into my mouth.

  Need stormed through me as all rational thought abandoned me, replaced by a haze of wanting. I ran one hand down the length of her body, tugging her leg up so it hooked around my wa
ist and feeling the slickness between her thighs. It would take a mere flick to move aside the leather strips of my battle kilt and bury my cock inside her.

  Take her. You are Raas.

  The insistent words in my head made me falter. I was Raas, but I was not Kratos. I did not want a female to warm my bed, or distract me from building my own legacy. Not when I had barely begun. I reared up and dislodged her leg from my waist, staggering back and taking a shuddering breath.

  Alana sat up, her eyes half-lidded and her legs slightly splayed. “What’s wrong, Raas?”

  “This,” I said as I spun and took uneven steps to the door. “This can never happen again.”

  I jammed my hand against the panel to open the door and stumbled out, grateful when the door slid closed, even though the guard’s expression was startled.

  I straightened and raked a hand through my hair, my skin tingling from her touch. “Return the female to her quarters and make sure she remains there.”

  Chapter Ten

  General Hardin stared at the imperial tactical officer who’d brought him the news. “What do you mean, the ship was destroyed?”

  The officer kept his chin high and his eyes averted. “The trackers in the ship’s cargo stopped transmitting, so we sent a ship to investigate. All that remains where the freighter last transmitted is debris from a major explosion.”

  Hardin leaned his hands against his desk, fighting the urge to scream. “We’re sure it’s her ship?”

  “We’ve brought the debris back to analyze, General, but it appears to be the freighter she flew off Rellaren.”

  The general straightened and walked from behind his desk to the glass overlooking space. He ran a hand over his short hair, glad he could not see the gray hair that was overtaking his temples. “Any signs of the Mantis being part of the explosion?”

  The officer cleared his throat behind him. “None that we have detected, General. It seems she was taken off the ship before it was destroyed.” He hesitated. “Or she left.”

  Hardin flinched. “I suppose we have no indication of Vandar presence?”

  “Once we search the debris, we might come up with some data on the ship’s final moments, but so far we have no way to know who destroyed the freighter.”

  The general fisted his hands by his sides. “It was the Vandar. It had to be.”

  “I thought the Vandar were supposed to take the cargo, sir. I thought they were raiders who always stripped ships bare.”

  That detail bothered Hardin, as well. The Vandar should have taken the cargo. It was what they did, especially since the freighter was imperial. He shook his head to dismiss the concern. As long as they took Mantis, the plan was still in play.

  “It doesn’t matter.” He spun around. “She will not fail. She’s never failed.”

  The officer drew in a long breath before speaking. “It has already been several rotations, and we have heard nothing from her. How long do you wish to wait before we consider that she might have been unmasked as a spy and executed by the Vandar?”

  Hardin bit back a retort. The officer was only doing his job—and he was right. They could not assume that the Vandar had fallen for the trap. After all, they’d blown up the freighter when all indications were that they would take the cargo instead.

  “It has not been long enough to give her up as dead.” He pivoted back to the view of space. “But our plan hinges on her alerting us to the horde and killing the Raas. If she has been rendered unable to do that…”

  “We would be back to the beginning,” the officer finished his sentence for him.

  Hardin focused on a distant point of light, flickering brighter than the others. “Not if we send in someone to assist her.”

  “Assist her? I thought the Mantis only worked alone.”

  “She is part of the empire. She will do what is required.” The general tore his gaze from the star and strode back to stand behind his desk. “If we have heard nothing from Mantis, either she has been killed, or she is unable to complete her mission.” He did not mention the other possibility—that she had intentionally failed—because that was impossible.

  “Should I alert the other operative that his skills will be required after all?”

  General Hardin gave a single, sharp nod. “Send him in after her. It will be impossible for two assassins to fail.” He leaned forward and braced his arms wide on his desk, giving his tactical officer a menacing grin. “I will have the Vandar warlord’s head one way, or another.”

  When the officer left, he curled his hands into hard balls. And if Mantis had betrayed the empire, he would have her head as well.

  Chapter Eleven

  Alana

  “I’m coming,” I snapped, as the Vandar guard prodded me down the walkway. I tugged at the fabric clinging uncomfortably to my wet skin and let out a huff. I’d barely had time to throw on my clothes after the Raas had left and the guard had stormed in, ordering me to get dressed and come with him. There had been no time to towel off, even if I’d been able to locate a towel.

  When we reached the quarters to which I’d been assigned, the guard opened the door for me and stood back for me to enter, not meeting my gaze. I stepped in, and the steel doors slid together, leaving me right back where I’d started—alone in the small room with no way to complete my mission.

  I flopped onto the narrow bed. What had gone wrong? I’d had the Raas right where I’d wanted him—between my legs and delirious with desire. Then he’d stopped for no apparent reason, and run away like he’d been told I had a Pernithian bubble rash.

  “You’re losing your touch, Alana,” I whispered to myself as I stared up at the gray ceiling. I’d never lost control of a male who’d been so close. And he had been close—that much I’d felt as it had pressed urgently between my thighs. So, what had happened? More importantly, why had I ached for his touch as his body had moved eagerly against mine?

  I’d seduced more than my fair share of males and killed most of them. But this time, my moans in response to his touch had been real, as had been my disappointment when he’d staggered away from me. So, why did this one send sharp stabs of desire through me and make heat pool in my belly when none of the others had? The Mantis doesn’t feel desire, I reminded myself, although my words were clearly a lie..

  “It doesn’t matter. He’s still your mission, and you still have to kill him.”

  If he’d let me get near him again.

  The Vandar were more complicated than I’d given them credit for. Especially Raas Bron. He hadn’t been swayed by my seductive words, or even my sweet-girl-gone-naughty routine when he’d insisted I explain myself. Most males would have forgotten their question—and probably even their own name.

  “Bron obviously isn’t most males.” I sat up and walked to the mirror, studying my face and the bruises. At least they were fading, although my task would be a lot easier if I didn’t look like I’d gotten the worse end of a Tartillan cage match fight.

  I clearly needed to reevaluate my strategy. I’d had the Raas in bed, and he’d still escaped my grasp. Now I was back in isolation, with little chance to seduce him or lead the Zagrath to the horde. Since the cargo had been destroyed, I was all but invisible to the empire. Not that they’d send a rescue party for me even if they knew where I was. That wasn’t how my job worked. If I got caught or killed, the Zagrath would never claim me. As valuable as I was to them, my anonymity was even more important.

  I smacked my palm against the wall, welcoming the sharp sting. I hated failing. It was an unfamiliar sensation and one that tasted bitter in my mouth.

  “If I can’t seduce Raas Bron, I need to focus on the other part of the mission,” I said as I turned and paced a tight circle from one end of the small room to the other. I’d already obtained valuable intel. At least, I thought it was valuable. And drawing the empire to the Vandar horde and bringing about the destruction of their kind was the more important part of the mission anyway. Assassinating the Raas would be pointless if
the horde remained intact.

  I glanced at the steel door. Was the surly guard still on the other side? I know I hadn’t been guarded earlier, but that was before I’d been caught naked on the Raas’ bed.

  “Only one way to find out,” I muttered, as I took tentative steps toward the arched door. Pressing a hand to the side panel, I held my breath as the two sides of the door glided open.

  That was a good sign. I wasn’t locked in. I poked my head out and swiveled it from side to side. There was no sign of the unpleasant Vandar who’d marched me back to my quarters. I released a breath. More good news.

  Stepping from the room, I hesitated. The Vandar warbird remained a mystery to me. I didn’t know where I could find a communications center, or any place on the ship that would allow me to send a transmission or activate a beacon. For all I knew, there was no such place on board. It wasn’t like the Vandar were known for communications. If anything, they moved throughout space without any hint of their existence.

  I clenched my hands into fists. That didn’t mean I wouldn’t try. I couldn’t spend the rest of my time on board waiting alone in a tiny room. I had to at least attempt to alert the empire and relay my intel.

  “Then I’ll figure out how to kill Raas Bron, if he won’t be easily seduced.”

  Content with my new plan, I picked a direction and crept down the walkway. Above me, feet thudded loudly, and voices echoed as they bellowed through the shadows. For once, I was grateful for the aliens’ bulk and ferocity. There was no way one of the huge raiders with thick boots and booming voices could sneak up on me.

  Every time the metal floor beneath me rumbled, I ducked down a different corridor or pressed myself flat into a darkened doorway, content to let the dimness hide me. I cautiously opened door after door, but none of them revealed anything but spartan quarters that made the room I’d been assigned look almost opulent.