by Lolita Lopez
She never would have admitted it to Hopper but that moonlit beach talk she had shared with Raze into the wee hours of the night had left her rather aroused. It had been the first time in years—not since those fumbling teenage experiences with Harkin—that she had actually gotten wet. The realization had stunned her when she had returned to her hotel room to undress and shower before bed. Raze hadn’t touched or kissed her but his very presence—his body heat, his scent and that deliciously gruff voice—had done quite a number on her.
Even now, she couldn’t understand it. What was it about this sky warrior that flicked switches in her body that she had feared would never work again? After the awful way Harkin had abandoned her, she had closed off her heart to any man. Those brutal experiences she had survived under George’s sadistic hand had killed the joy and wonder of sex. After escaping her master, she had avoided sex at all costs and had chosen only to engage in the act whenever it was absolutely necessary for her survival. She could count the times on one hand that she had allowed any man to touch her since George and every single one of them had left her shaking, numb and sick.
Yet here she stood wanting to know what Raze’s hands would feel like on her naked curves. She wanted to press her lips to his cheek and slide her arms around his neck as he cradled her close and smoothed a hand down her hair. Had he even realized how he made the soothing gesture while carrying her to safety down in the woods?
But those desires were destined to remain unquenched. She had meant every word that she had spoken to Hopper. Raze would never be interested in a woman like her. She might have been barely twenty-four but she had a black and very complicated past that would disgust most Harcos males. Her time spent among Venom and his friends had convinced her of that. These men wanted sweet, innocent, tender-hearted women to love, pamper and dominate. Most importantly, they wanted to have big families.
Ella accepted that she could be none of those things to any man. After tasting George’s brand of domination, she would chafe under the collar these men required their wives to wear. She was far from innocent or tender-hearted and the sweetness of her youth had been destroyed the night Danny and Naya had carried her to that back-alley doctor in the desperate hopes of saving her life and the tiny one fighting within her. The family she had always dreamed of having would never be anything more than that—a dream to taunt her with all that might have been if she had simply made better choices.
“What do you think will happen when we arrive at their warship?” a woman called Tanya asked in a frightened whisper.
Ella considered what she had experienced while visiting Dizzy. “We’ll land at a place called the Arrivals Deck. When I came to see my friend, we had to be processed through a station that checked our passports.” She noticed that none of the women had purses and doubted any of them had their papers tucked into their clothing. “I’m not sure how they’ll deal with us tonight.”
“Are they just going to hand us over to random men?” Tanya seemed to be having second thoughts about her decision to take Torment’s offer. “Are the men going to Grab and collar us right there?”
“I met their general.” She thought of the man called Vicious. “He’s an extremely intimidating man, but he’s very protective toward women. Most of these men are,” she added, certain the ladies would like to hear that detail. “I have a hard time believing he’ll just let a bunch of men rush you when we arrive.”
“What about you?” Tanya asked.
“What about me?”
“Don’t you think you’re going to be the one who gets rushed?”
Ella was immediately defensive. “No one is rushing me. I’m not sticking around long enough for any man to make me his mate.”
Tanya frowned. “How so?”
“I’ll go stay with one of my friends on the ship until I can grab a flight to the colonies and then work my way back to The City,” she explained matter-of-factly.
“Ella?” Raze called her name in that deep, gravelly voice that made her thighs clench together. When she glanced back at him, he raised his hand and crooked a finger. He then pointed to the spot directly in front of him, silently commanding her like one of his men. The childish brat within her demanded she offer him a one-fingered gesture at his obnoxiously alpha move, but that hard, no-nonsense set to his jaw made her belly tremble. He wasn’t the type of man who would be amused by bratty behavior.
Wondering how this man had gotten under her skin so easily, she crossed the cargo bay to stand in front of him. This close to the giant sky warrior she had to tilt her head way back to peer up into those dark eyes of his. Needing to establish some boundaries with Raze, she snarked at him. “I realize you SRU guys like to use hand signals when you’re sneaking up on the enemy but I prefer full sentences with nouns and verbs. You know, something like, ‘Ella, may I speak with you?’”
His mouth settled into an unhappy line. Ignoring her scolding, he said, “Dizzy is in the colonies with Jack, and Venom is away on a training exercise. Menace took Naya with him to a weapons expo back on Prime.”
She quickly understood what he was trying to tell her. “Well—there has to be someone aboard the Valiant who will let me stay as a guest until this whole mess is sorted out to my satisfaction.” She glanced at the SRU team she had come to know during Dizzy’s wedding and short honeymoon. “Can’t I just bunk with one of your guys for a couple of days until Danny can arrange transport for me to the colonies and back to The City?”
“No.”
Taken aback by his clipped, sharp reply, she blinked rapidly and tried to figure out which weird Harcos rule she had just suggested they break. “Why not?”
“An unmated female is expressly forbidden from staying with a single male. We don’t even allow poppies into the residential areas of the ships.” Raze exhaled a noisy breath. His jaw visibly tightened and relaxed three times before he spoke. “You’ve got no family here to speak for you, Ella. Once you came aboard this ship without a visitation clearance or passport, you stepped into an incredibly murky area. You’re an escaped political prisoner on your planet and an illegal immigrant once we reach the Valiant.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means you have no rights. It means you’ve been reduced to unclaimed property.”
“Unclaimed property? So what? I’m a lost fucking purse now?”
“Watch your language,” he hissed, his hard gaze flicking behind her before dropping back to her face. “It’s unbecoming of you.”
Her jaw dropped. “Really, Raze? You just told me I’m no better than a misplaced freaking suitcase, and when I show the expected amount of outrage at being treated like garbage, you’re focusing on the language I used?”
“You are not garbage, and you are not a suitcase.” His expression softened for the tiniest fraction of a moment. “I am sorry, Ella, but you did this to yourself.”
Indignant, she lashed out at him. “You’re acting as if I sneaked on here as a stowaway. No, I was enjoying a perfectly wonderful party to celebrate my birthday and raise some money for my shelter when the special police that you sky warriors have riled up with your raids in The City came after us. I didn’t ask you to save me. I was doing a pretty good job of saving myself.”
Raze snorted derisively. “Cuffed and blindfolded?”
She ignored his barb. “I asked Torment to drop me near The City. You’re the ones who won’t let me off this ship. Why the hell am I being punished for your mistake?”
“My mistake?” Raze tapped his brawny chest with one of those thick, gloved fingers. “I’m not the one who broke the laws on her planet by attending an underground party. I’m not the one who consorted with known political dissidents. You put yourself in this position—”
“I’m not five, Raze. You can stop lecturing me. I never had a father—and I sure as hell don’t need one now.”
“I don’t want to be your father, Ella.”
“What the hell do you want?”
“I want—�
� he stopped abruptly. “I want you to be fully apprised of the facts, Ella. When we hit that arrivals deck, all hell is going to break loose. There will be ten beautiful, tempting and very available women on a ship jam-packed with desperate men. The admiral made a bargain, and I have no idea whether our general will be able to rein him in on this one. If Orion says you’re all free and clear—”
“I’ll kick him in the balls myself,” she grumbled.
His lips twitched with amusement before settling into a grim line. “No, you’ll be Grabbed by one of his airmen. It will definitely be an officer. Knowing Orion, he’ll give the highest ranked man with the highest number of valor points the first choice.”
“Well—who is that? Maybe I can negotiate with him. I have money in banks and—”
“We don’t want or need money, Ella. We need and want women.”
“We?” She seized on his answer. Hope blossomed within her. “Why don’t you take me, Raze? The probationary period is only thirty days, right? So, you Grab me or whatever, and I’ll hang out at your place for a few weeks. By the time I make it back to The City in a month or so, the political craziness will have died down and I can go back to my old life.”
“You aren’t going back to your old life, Ella.” He stared down at her with such consternation carved into his face. “Do you not understand that you were about to be trucked to a work camp? Do you think they were taking you there because you broke some laws about alcohol and music? They were trying to get rid of you. Forever,” he added strongly.
“Get rid of me? Why? I’m just a muse.”
“You’re not just anything, Ella. You are the most recognizable face on your planet. You’re incredibly popular and people look up to you because of what you have accomplished. You’re a success story, Ella. You’re the sort of political weapon New Dawn needs to win the election.”
She considered all of the political machinations at play here. It was no secret that the progressive party on her planet favored a stronger alliance with the Harcos and more open trading with the nearby colonies inhabited by Earth-descendants. The ruling party favored a return to the stricter decency and morality laws and a push to eliminate all ties with the sky warriors. The Splinter faction of terrorists seemed ready to exploit those desires while the Harcos appeared determined to throw as much support the way of the challenging party as possible.
“You’re a pawn, Ella. You’re a game piece that three very powerful groups want to push around a game board.”
His words carried the hint of a warning to them. A loud buzzer and a flashing green light near the cargo bay door interrupted their tense conversation. The frown that darkened Raze’s face inspired a fresh wave of panic. She stated the obvious. “We’ve arrived.”
Raze nodded. “In ten minutes or less, we’ll disembark.”
She gulped anxiously. “What happens then?”
The giant sky warrior surprised her by stepping so close that the equipment dangling from the front of his vest brushed against her arm and breast. His hand lifted toward her face but stopped short of touching her. His gloved fingers flexed twice before finally drifting toward her face. The very tips of them grazed her cheek, the strangely soft fabric gliding over her skin. “Stay close to me, Ella. I will protect you.”
His sincerely spoken words settled her nerves. This was a man she could trust with her life—and maybe even more. Clasping his wrist, she murmured, “I know you will.”
Raze lowered his arm, and she reluctantly let go of him. He gestured to the group of women with a jerk of his chin. “Go. Do exactly as you are told, Ella.”
His tone convinced her this wasn’t a time to push the boundaries. “Yes, Major.”
He made a grunting noise. “Raze will do.”
“Doesn’t have quite that authoritative ring though.”
He actually chuckled and then pointed to the nervously whispering women. “Move.”
She followed his order and found herself trying to hold the group of women together. Two of the women were in tears as the ship docked. She didn’t blame them for having second thoughts. Taking Torment’s offer of a better life aboard the Valiant must have seemed rather enticing in the heat of the moment, but after thinking it over for two hours, they seemed to have remembered all they were leaving behind.
Was this what Dizzy felt when she waited at the starting line of the Grab that freezing cold morning? Had she been thinking of all the friends she left behind or the career she was abandoning? Was she worried about the freedom she was sacrificing? Or was she simply thinking about the mess her father had made and the loan shark who wanted to collect her as collateral?
A low vibration rolled through the ship as it docked. Ella schooled her features and projected a false sense of calm despite her stuttering heartbeat and sweaty palms. Although she was certain she was in for the fight of her life once she stepped off this ship, she wanted to reassure the other women.
“Listen,” she smiled warmly, “I know you’re scared. Hell, I’m scared too. I can’t make any promises but I’ll tell you this. Two of my best friends were Grabbed in the last year and both of them are deliriously happy with their husbands. Overall these Harcos men are wonderful. They’re gentle, protective and sweet once you get beyond the scary exterior.”
“What happens if I don’t like the man who takes me?” Irina, one of the skittish women, asked. “Am I stuck with him forever?”
Ella shook her head. “They have this probationary period for new mate-bonds. That’s what they call their marriages. The highest-ranking Land Corps soldier in this sector is a man called General Vicious. His wife is a woman from Harper’s Well named Hallie. She runs a support group for the wives. I only met her briefly but I have no doubt that she’ll find a way to contact all of us in the morning to get us connected with the services we might need—including the separation process.”
She sensed Irina wanted to ask more questions but the SRU team moved toward the rear exit of the ship. Irina gripped Ella’s hand and squeezed hard. Ella winced but didn’t shake the other woman’s hand free. She interlaced their fingers and shot a reassuring smile Irina’s way. “We’ll be okay. Just stay close to me.”
Inhaling a long, slow breath, she turned on that megawatt smile and embraced that friendly, flirtatious persona that had gotten her out of more scrapes than she cared to count. She didn’t feel particularly flirty right now, not with her dress all dirty and her face blotchy from the exposure to the gas and the decontamination rinse, but she had to pretend if she wanted to hang onto her freedom.
“Hello, doll.”
The fine hairs on the back of Ella’s neck stood on edge as a man slid close and dipped down to whisper against her ear. She rolled her shoulders and fought the urge to lash out at the strange male who now had his hand on the small of her back.
“Why don’t you come over here and chat with me for a few seconds?”
Ella glanced at the white-haired man with the stripes shaved into the side of his head. She instantly recognized him as an airman by his uniform and the haircut. “No, thank you. My friends and I are about to disembark.”
“Don’t worry about your friends.” He separated her hand from Irina’s. “They’ll be fine. Now—let’s talk about us.”
Spinning around, she jerked her hand away from his when he tried to hold it. Her gaze landed on his nametag. “Look, Swift, I’m not interested.”
“Well I am.” The pilot dared to cup her nape with just enough force to prevent her from escaping. “You’ll be mine soon enough. We may as well get the introductions out of the way.”
“Didn’t your mother teach you that it’s rude to touch other people without asking permission?” Reaching back, Ella peeled the man’s fingers from her body and then gave him a rough shove.
Swift was so much bigger and stronger that he didn’t move. Grinning down at her, he stated, “I don’t have to ask your permission. Once you’re my mate, you’ll be my property.” He ran his finger along her throat. �
��You’ll look so pretty in my white collar—and only my white collar.”
Fed up with him, she smacked away his hand. “I’ll vent myself into space before I let you put a fucking collar on me.”
His smile faded. Nostrils flaring, his expression turned to one of distaste. “I can tell you’ll need a heavy hand.”
Before Ella could tell him off, a massive hand grasped her shoulder and dragged her bodily from the spot where she had been standing. Thrown behind Raze, she watched as the two men stood chest to chest.
“You put your hands on her again, and I’ll break every last bone in your body,” Raze snarled. “I gave an order. None of these women are to be bothered until I speak with General Vicious and Admiral Orion. They’re under my protection. Touching them is like touching me—and I don’t like it when people take liberties with my person. Understood?”
“Get out of my face.” Swift lifted his hands to shove at Raze but the much bigger and faster SRU operative easily blocked him. “This is my ship, Raze. I make the rules.”
“Yeah? Well make your move flyboy. Let’s see if you and your three airmen can take my SRU team.”
Swift’s eyes narrowed. No doubt he had done the math. Raze was backed up by nearly a dozen heavily armed men while Swift had only a handful of crewmen to support him. Angered, Swift gestured for his fellow airmen to follow him and purposely bumped into Raze as he headed for the rear exit. Just before stepping off the ship, the pilot turned back and winked at her. “I’ll see you soon, doll.”
Ella’s belly lurched. If that man found a way to claim her, she would spend the next thirty days aboard the Valiant in absolute misery. Maybe he wasn’t a truly bad guy beneath that arrogant exterior but she had zero desire to find out for herself.
“What a jerk!” Irina slid her arm around Ella’s shoulders. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” She noticed the way Raze deliberately refused to meet her questioning gaze. He seemed intent on ignoring her now. After the way he had come to her rescue, she found his cold, aloof behavior so incredibly bizarre. Was this his way of telling her not to read too much into his reaction?