Venomous Hunger (Eok Warriors Book 2)

by Mary Auclair

  Without giving her time to answer or think, Kamal bent, swooping her off her feet, then cradled her against his chest as he turned around and walked away. Her arms wrapped around his neck in an impulsive gesture and Aliena stared, too shocked to react as she was carried away at a brisk pace.

  Her first instinct was to fight him off, but as soon as the thought crossed her mind, she abandoned it. She was too tired, too cold and, most of all, she knew he was right. She wasn’t going to be able to escape.

  Kamal looked straight ahead, not glancing down as he made his way over the uneven ground of the forest. Already the heat coming off him in irresistible waves was making her exhausted body crave more of his touch. In silence, she studied his profile, the line of his jaw, strong and square, the fleshy curve of his lips, screaming of lust and passion. Of cruel pleasures where pain and ecstasy mixed in a dangerous dance.

  His face stirred something inside her, a jagged edge of attraction and fear, but as soon as it came up, she pushed it down. She was a prisoner, and no matter how attractive her golden cage was, she had to find a way to escape it.

  Kamal

  She weighed so little, not more than a youngling. Her head had started lolling on his shoulder an hour ago and now it lay tucked under his chin so the scent coming off her hair penetrated his nostrils.

  Intoxicating. She was intoxicating, making his guts squeeze every time the wind blew her soft, feminine smell his way.

  The human was nothing like he’d expected her to be. So many hours he’d spent looking at her sleeping figure, and still he was mesmerized when he saw her. Her face was expressive and animated, her features came to life with a delectable subtlety. Her eyes were what drew him in the most. Dark brown, like the richest earth, fringed by heavy curtains of lashes, giving her stare a sensual, carnal look. Her hair hung heavy on her shoulders, as dark and smooth as her lashes, framing her small, oval shaped face.

  She stood up to him, refused to obey his orders, even when he had the obvious physical advantage. It surprised him and, after two decades as a pirate, not much surprised him anymore. Under her fragile exterior, she was as strong as steel. She had been near collapsing from cold and exhaustion when he’d found her. Had he been but an hour later, he might have been too late. The mere thought made his blood boil with outrage.

  The ship came into view at the end of a sharp turn around the frozen lake. The Mellark, his ship, his home. The only one he had since he’d deserted his Eok family more than twenty years ago.

  The walk back had been longer than anticipated, but he was unaccustomed to the slippery feel of snow and ice under his boots, and he had to be doubly careful with the female in his arms.

  In his grip, the small female moved. He loosened his hold and looked down.

  Her face was warm and had the golden glow of fresh honey, and her lips were red like ripe fruit. She had taken on color since he last saw her in the medical pod. Her cheeks were less hollow, her flesh more plump and elastic.

  Her full lips opened slightly and she exhaled a long, satisfied moan.

  He stopped.

  She was so strikingly beautiful, like some ancient, delicate mystery that was unfolding right before his eyes. Her face, curves and soft places, was so perfect and female. He understood why human females were so looked after. She was delectable, everything in her evoked the pleasures of the flesh.

  A stirring arose deep within him, making him want to explore that honey colored skin, touch those blood-red lips. His seed stem came to life, hardening in the confines of his pants. He ignored it. Now was not the time to give in to his male instincts.

  Those kissable lips stretched slightly, curving up in a faint, mystical smile. He watched, mesmerized, as the human smiled in her sleep. Without realizing he did so, he held her higher, close enough to kiss. Her breath came, sweet and warm, touching the skin of his lips.

  A tingling on his tongue startled him and he slid it along the sharp edge of his fang. A tart liquid spread on his tongue, and fire ran along his veins in the wake of the venom.

  Bewilderment filled him as he fought the instinct to bring her closer to his mouth. The impulse was almost impossible to resist, yet he did.

  He knew what it was. This was the Mating Venom, a unique set of chemical compounds an Eok warrior produced when his body recognized his one true mate.

  For a long time, he stared at her face. Was this strange, otherworldly attractive female the one he was destined to take as his mate?

  No. I won’t. I can’t.

  Kamal forced his eyes away. It was surprising how hard it was. It took all his concentration to walk again, holding the female close to his chest. Her heart beat against his, fast and fleeting.

  This changed everything.

  Chapter 3

  Aliena

  She woke up. Her eyes scanned the ceiling, then the white, glassy walls.

  Oh, Gods, I’m back.

  The medical room, with its constant temperature and aseptic air surrounded her once more, but she wasn’t afraid anymore. She was worn out and tired. She’d put all she had into the fight for her escape. Now she was an empty shell. She couldn’t do it again—escaping, walking in circles, doubling around to confuse anyone who might follow her tracks back to the village.

  Aliena turned her head slightly and her gaze locked onto a pair of cold, fog-blue eyes, hovering a few inches away from hers.

  There he was: her savior, her tormentor.

  Feelings arose and blossomed inside her, threatening to get hold of her but she tamped them down. She was still alive, and it was all thanks to him, but she couldn’t afford to feel gratitude, or anything else, toward him.

  The Eok stared at her, his perfect, harsh face betraying nothing of his thoughts or feelings. Now that she wasn’t full of adrenaline and fear, she took the time to look at him. Really look at him.

  Kamal. His name is Kamal.

  He was strong and male in every way. From the sharp angles of his face to the constellations of tiny bumps covering his features in swirly, complex patterns, he was as alien to her as he was attractive. To be honest, he was not really handsome. His features were too strong, too masculine to be beautiful. He had a face like a hawk’s, efficient and precise. Not an inch was superfluous, from the tight skin on his cheekbones to the hard line of his lips. He might not be beautiful in a pretty sort of way, but he made her guts quiver with a new, strange feeling.

  Yes, she thought. You’re like a wolf, hiding your fangs, but ready to rip my throat out.

  She locked gazes with the Eok, and the intensity of those fog-colored eyes set her nerves on high alert. Kamal looked at her, his mouth closed and his body hovering right over hers.

  How long has he been there, looking at me?

  She squirmed, hoping he would get the hint to move back, but he didn’t. His face was close enough that she could smell his male scent, strong and good, like the cover of pine needles on the forest floor in the fall. Her heart beat faster and her breathing quickened.

  “How are you feeling?” His voice, like his scent, was penetrating and deep. Male.

  “Better,” Aliena said simply.

  There was no point in denying the obvious. It was nothing short of a miracle, what the Eok’s medical treatment had done for her, bringing her back from the brink of death in a matter of days. In a few more days, she could be strong enough to escape, and truly go back home this time.

  But before that, she needed more information. Rushing out had been a mistake, something she’d done out of fear, on the spur of the moment. She wouldn’t make the same mistake a second time. She would gather as much information as she could on the pirates, then disappear with her people.

  “How long was I passed out?” She tried to sound matter of fact, but she missed nothing of his reaction.

  “You were quite exhausted.” He lifted his brows. “You slept for another twelve hours.”

  “That much?” She tried to smile but, judging by the look on his face, it wasn’t pretty
. “Well, I’m feeling much better, so thank you.”

  Seconds slipped by, one after another in slow, agonizing discomfort. The Eok glared at her, waiting for her to say something then, finally, he inhaled sharply and shook his head. There was something different about him, about the way he stared at her. Her empty stomach twisted in knots, but not from hunger.

  “It’s a wonder you were able to get so far from the ship.” His brows creased with disapproval. “It was reckless, what you did. Had I arrived but an hour later, you would have been dead.”

  “Had I been allowed to leave of my own free will, I wouldn’t have needed a rescue.”

  The Eok’s already creased brows came almost together in a frightening frown. His mouth reduced to a thin, pale line and a vein pulsed at his temple. Gone was the charming arrogant male from before. He was mad.

  Good. She was mad, too. And the madder she became, the less she feared.

  Aliena pushed herself up on the small medical bed, acutely aware of how small she was, how thin the synthetic cotton gown covering her body was. She was smaller than him by a good measure, even though he sat on a lower stool beside her bed, but sitting up made her feel less powerless. It was just an illusion, but illusions were better than nothing.

  Kamal’s eyes traced slowly down her body. He took in the exposed skin of her legs, from her ankles to the middle of her thighs, where the cotton gown started. His gaze slid up, taking in the womanly curves on her, but his face remained expressionless. He locked gazes with her again.

  “You are not to attempt to escape anymore.”

  “So I’m your prisoner.” Aliena hugged herself unconsciously, rubbing the skin of her arms to smooth the goosebumps that seemed not to want to leave. “At least that’s clear now. No need to pretend otherwise.”

  The Eok swallowed, then he straightened, peering down at her. His face was no longer expressionless, but she couldn’t decipher it. It almost looked like regret, or hurt. Then it was gone and his eyes shone with cold resolve.

  “No need.”

  She tilted her head to look at him.

  “What now?” She lifted her chin in defiance. “You say you don’t intend to sell me, but you must want something from me.”

  Those two eyes gleamed for an instant with something she didn’t understand, but it was so fleeting, she wasn’t even sure what she’d seen. He glanced at her body, then looked up into her eyes again.

  “I was sent here to locate the humans who live free outside the Breeding Facility.” Kamal crossed his arms over his large chest, making the muscles in his arms bulge with strength. “You will remain in my custody until they are under the Eok nation’s protection.”

  “You want the village.” Her words came from a distance, like somebody else was speaking them. “Of course.”

  She had been so blind. A low drum sounded in her ears and her vision blurred.

  Rose.

  Her cousin, her best friend. Her only friend. The pain sharpened in Aliena’s chest as she pictured her cousin’s gorgeous gray eyes, her easy smile.

  It was my fault.

  It was her fault. Her fault she’d fallen sick, allowing her furs to get wet and cold during the long hours she spent fishing on the frozen lake. Her fault Rose had been left alone to care for their entire family. Then, after a blizzard that lasted four days, Rose had left to hunt, never to come back. Aliena, her aunt, her cousins, they’d all mourned her. They’d been convinced Rose had died a victim of the countless dangers of the wilderness, but what if she’d been captured?

  “What did you do to her?” The words came out stronger, fueled by a cold wrath running underneath her skin like ants burrowing. “Where’s Rose?”

  “Who?” Kamal frowned in confusion.

  “The woman you stole.” Aliena flexed her fingers, feeling her rage spread to every extremity of her body. “She would never tell you where to find us unless you did something to her. Did you torture her?”

  “I would never harm a female.” His unnerving eyes shone in his steel blue face, pale and unreadable. “The human named Rose gave my brother the approximate location of your people of her own free will.”

  Helplessness filled Aliena’s mouth with a bitter taste, and she bit her lower lip hard enough to hurt. She shut her eyes against the Eok’s handsome, deadly face. She’d known what the aliens wanted even before he’d said anything, but hearing the words still made her teeth grate and her skin crawl.

  This was all that mattered. The village full of starving, cold people, hiding in a network of caves deep below the ground. Each one would prefer death to a life of slavery. Each one would die before giving up the location of the others.

  So would she.

  Aliena felt it rise inside her, that dark, fierce instinct to protect her own.

  “Never.” Aliena locked gazes with the Eok again. “I will never tell you anything about them. You can torture me, you can kill me. I will die before I give up my family.”

  “I don’t understand you,” Kamal countered in a sharp, angry tone. “You were nearly starved to death, you were cold and riddled with disease, and still you resist me? You should be thankful for my protection.”

  “We weren’t always like this. It’s because of you that we had to abandon our village, our homes. You took all that away from us.” Her voice shook with repressed anger, and she hated herself for that. “I owe you nothing.”

  His eyes gleamed with something deep and harsh, something akin to cruelty, and it sent a shiver down Aliena’s spine, making her feel even smaller than she was. She knew she was playing with fire, teasing his temper, but she had nothing to lose. Nothing except her life, and it was already clear she had no control over that anymore.

  “I don’t need your protection and I don’t want your care. You can do whatever you want to me, I won’t talk.”

  Kamal’s face went slack, then a cold fury spread across his features, making her belly quiver with fear. His eyes reduced to slits and he bent, bracing his weight on either side of her hips, pushing down on the mattress. He was dangerously close to her, his eyes pinning her in place. Hard, devoid of feeling. His body surrounded her, his breath hot and unbearably near to her lips.

  Is he going to kiss me?

  The thought should make her recoil but it spread heat through her body, right down to the secret V between her thighs.

  “What makes you think I would harm a hair on your stubborn, sweet little head?” His words were soft and his voice controlled, but she sensed the danger underneath. “I would rather obtain this information in a much, much more pleasant way.”

  “Touch me and you’ll regret it,” she answered in the same controlled tone, but her own heartbeat drowned out the sounds of her voice, fading it to a weak beating of wings in the background. “I dare you.”

  “You dare me?” The corners of his mouth lifted in a cruel grin. “I would be careful of the games you play, Little Bird. Or who you decide to play with.”

  Kamal brought his lips over hers, barely touching them with his own. His gaze didn’t flinch as her heart raced a frenzy. It took all her self-control not to flinch, because she knew that if she gave in just the slightest, she was going to be locked under his control. This was a male who lived to rule, and he would take any opportunity to dominate her entirely. And that would mean the loss of everything her people had suffered and died for.

  Time paused and stretched as Aliena sustained the Eok’s gaze, then he slowly pulled back. Her lips felt the cold of his absence as his breath withdrew, and something in her stirred, a low need, buried deep in her belly.

  “I will have Wyol scan you again, then, if you are well enough, I will assign you living quarters.”

  Kamal stood, towering over her bed like a tree.

  “So that’s it? You keep me in your ship, tell me to play the nice little human, and I’m supposed to obey?” Aliena put as much scorn as she could in her voice. It didn’t work nearly enough. She could hear the tremor hiding under her harsh tone, the l
ayer of despair just within reach. “Fat chance.”

  Kamal’s lips lifted in what could have been the beginning of a smile but it was gone too fast. It left her with a strange buzzing feeling in her guts. She considered the feeling, then pushed it away. There was no place in her world for that kind of attraction. That kind of attraction was liable to get her killed—or worse.

  “What is your name?” He said the words softly, without the edge of danger from before. “If you’re my guest for a time, then I think it would be better if I called you by your name. Or perhaps you would like me to keep calling you Little Bird?”

  She glared at him. She was his prisoner, at his mercy for everything. There was nothing she could do about it for now, even if she would take her first chance at escape as soon as she was strong enough. Withholding her name didn’t amount to anything, yet she felt a strange resistance to it. Like it would give the Eok more power over her.

  She sighed. That was an illusion, as much as his friendliness was an illusion. She had nothing to lose by telling him her name.

  “Aliena,” she answered. “Call me Aliena.”

  Hours went by, and she was about to die from boredom. Kamal hadn’t been back. It was a relief as much as it was a worry. The Eok warrior might be terrifying, but her instinct told her he wasn’t out to hurt her or take advantage of her. He’d had plenty of occasions to do so, and they both knew she was no match for him.

  There was more to him than brute force. She sensed that she could trust him, at least when it came to her safety.

  For now.

  She was pulled out from her thoughts by footsteps coming down the hallway. They stopped in front of her room and Aliena stiffened, her entire body filled with anticipation.

  The door slid up, revealing two males. Kamal’s face was carefully expressionless and his eyes revealed nothing, but that wasn’t the case for the pale-skinned alien following closely behind.