by Lynnea Lee
Trenton snorted. “So he’s offering to work with us to cheat the Dominion out of your bounty? This guy really has no loyalties to anyone but himself. Only an idiot would trust him.” All present nodded in agreement.
Tanith spoke again. “The message was recorded recently at a hangar used by the group of local hooligans and thugs. It’s not far from here, just around the corner. They should still be there.”
“Then what the fuck are we waiting for?” Sidas’s voice boomed as he started strapping on his weapons.
Zey roared in agreement, his cheek crease unfolding partially as his jaws unhinged with the viciousness of his anger. He had a mate to rescue!
Ulrek pulled the soft and sweet-smelling Sophie against his body again. “What is it about you human females that turn me into a pile of mush?” He inhaled her scent again and laughed a throaty laugh when she snapped at his ear. “You know, I would love to have those dull little teeth of yours all over my body, but I need to stay focused. You are a distraction I can’t afford.” She snorted at him. “Besides, I promised that you wouldn’t be harmed if they co-operate. Despite what you might think, I’m a male of my words.”
Allowing himself a single kiss on her soft creaseless cheek, he returned her to her companions, making sure to tuck a cushion under her to protect her from the hard ground. The two hired hands were prepping his ship. This left Ulrek alone with the three females. Ashe glared at him. He thought of their little moment on Vosthea. Oh yes, she was delectable smelling too, even with Zeylum’s scent all over her. He could understand why the pirate captain was so attached to her. The scent of these human females invoked a primal need to protect and possess. To a male in his position, this was dangerous. Very dangerous.
Ulrek thought of his position and ran his palm down his face. Fuck!
He’d found out recently the real reason for his father’s untimely death. His father, Ulren, was a Dominion hero who spent his life championing for the ruling class. The public living under Dominion rule loved him. He was the ultimate example of was what a Tallean from a poor household could achieve if he followed the rules and worked hard for the Favored. Ulrek loved him, looked up to him.
When the pirates killed him, the people went into an uproar. They demanded justice. Retribution. They donated credits and equipment. Young males joined the ranks hoping to continue Ulren’s good work and maybe take revenge on a pirate or two. Ulrek himself, so full of fury from his father’s demise, was one of these young recruits.
But it was all a lie. Ulrek knew that now. Pirates didn’t kill his father. The Dominion did. They made Ulren into a hero in the eyes of the populace so that they could kill him, blame the pirates and garner more support for their cause. And it worked, oh how it worked! Ulren was just a pawn to them. And now, Ulrek was too.
As the poster child to the Dominion cause, Ulrek’s achievements were broadcasted and celebrated throughout Dominion space. He had replaced his father as the people’s hero. But unlike his father, Ulrek had his hands in many different pots, choosing to take on personal missions on the side. One such pot had spilled the beans. His days with the Dominion were numbered. They planned to kill him as they did his father on his next mission to Earth.
Ulrek needed to get out. He needed to get out fast, and he needed the extra credit that Zeylum’s capture would bring in. He was desperate, and he hated it. When he’d encoded the extra message into the transmission, he’d meant every word. He would happily help break the notorious pirate out of captivity once he received his payment. It wasn’t his initial plan when he first went after the fugitive, but he was more than willing to improvise.
After all, Ulrek himself planned to join the ranks as an outlaw very soon. He needed enough credits for a good ship, advance payment for a trustworthy crew, and to build a secure base. He refused to play martyr to the backstabbing Dominion. He never bought into the Goddess’s teaching anyhow. Any god or goddess who creates an entire race just to serve another is not one worth praying to.
After checking to make sure that they were well and truly alone, he got up from his chair and sat down cross-legged in front of his three captives.
“I know you females don’t trust me, but listen all the same.”
Ignoring their baleful scowls, he told them his story.
“Did you block tracking when you sent the message out?” Ulrek barked when gunfire erupted outside of the hanger.
“Yeah, boss, I used a filter unit.”
Filter units were extremely outdated and easy to crack. No one used those obsolete pieces of junk except for these useless hooligans in this ass-backward settlement. This just proved that Ulrek needed the extra credit to fund an intelligent and effective crew. That is if he could get out of this alive. Outside, gunfire sounded again.
“Fuck!” Ulrek grabbed the male in front of him and shook him. “You useless piece of shit! A filter unit?” He threw the male to the ground. “What are you doing still here? Go and stop them!”
The thug went out to join the battle.
Blaster shots rang out outside as the local gang he hired engaged the intruders. Shit! They were already here.
Ulrek hated to run, but he knew when he had no choice. His plan required getting to the abandoned space station. His crew had agreed to rendezvous there in their borrowed ship after picking up his personal computer system where it was jettisoned outside the asteroid field. He doubted his encrypted message was being taken seriously. If they wanted to accept the offer, they wouldn’t be here with guns blazing. Alone on Reka 5 with only a few inexperienced hired males, he was sitting duck for Zeylum and his well-trained crew.
He needed a new strategy for foiling the Dominion’s plan to make him an unwilling martyr to their cause. But right now, it was time to put the cloaking suit he paid a small fortune for to good use. The custom-made suit he wore not only cloaked him visually when activated but also suppressed his natural scent.
He gathered his composure and knelt in front of the three hopeful females; they knew help was arriving.
“I meant every word I told you, but I doubt your males will take the deal. Really, I’m not such a bad guy.” He turned to Ashe. “I’m sorry we weren’t able to continue our little romp in the woods.” He winked at her and threw her a dashing smile showing his sharp fangs. “Good luck, ladies. If I manage to outsmart the Dominion, I’ll see you around.”
He pulled his hood over his face and fingered a silver button at the collar of his custom-made suit. Ulrek promptly vanished from sight, leaving the three females thoroughly confused.
Chapter 16
Moments later, Zey burst into the room, jaws unhinged, fangs descended, blaster drawn and ready to fight. Sidas and Trenton followed just steps behind. He looked around the hangar, but it was empty, save the three bound females. Ulrek was nowhere to be seen, nor was his personal transport. Ulrek got away again.
His eyes fell on the small figure huddled on the ground. Ashe!
He rushed to her side and untied her arms and legs. He rubbed at the imprints left by the cord on her wrists and ankles, then lifted her into his arms. He hesitated then as he realized that his fangs were still out. The last time Ashe had seen him like this, she had recoiled in fear. Would she be frightened of him now?
“Zey? Oh my god, Zey! Thank goodness you aren’t hurt. I was so worried when I heard the gunfire.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly on the side of his upper lip, just above a fang. Not an ounce of fright. Zey relaxed and allowed his crease to refold.
Ashe was still speaking. Her words came fast, but they barely made any sense.
“He disappeared right in front of my eyes. Just poof, gone! Like some crazy beam-me-up-Scotty shit. And the Dominion is going to kill him, that’s why he wanted the bounty on your head. But yeah, just poof!”
She wasn’t making much sense. People don’t just go poof and disappear, and the Dominion was definitely not going to kill one of their best captains.
Maybe it was stress playing havoc on her mind. Either way, she was safe now. He started towards the door with her still in his arms.
“I can walk just fine, let me down!” She struggled against his body, and the feel of her writhing in his arms ignited the need in him to claim her again.
Zey grunted and gave her a sharp slap at the side of her hips. “That was just a warning. Now stop struggling and let me hold you unless you want me to spank your ass right here in front of everyone.”
She settled down immediately, and Zey chuckled.
“Let’s get you back to the ship, and you can tell me everything that happened, I promise.”
As he carried her back to his ship, Ashe wrapped her arms around his neck and relaxed into his arms, and he smiled, relieved that they had gotten to her in time. If they hadn’t, he was more than ready to turn himself in to make sure she was safe out of the Dominion’s dirty grasp. He would do anything to make sure she was safe. He continued to carry her once back on his ship and did not stop until they reached his quarters. Zey had only one goal in mind: he needed to claim her as his again.
Zey elbowed the button to close the door, then carried her to the bed and deposited her at the center none too gracefully. Before she could get her bearings, he was already above her, pushing her down onto her back and caging her body with his.
Stars! She belongs under me!
He took a deep breath and was relieved to find no trace of Ulrek marring the perfection of her unique bouquet. Nudging her head aside, he scraped his canines lightly over the delicate curve and hollow of her throat. She inhaled sharply and flinched away, stifling a giggle.
“It tickles,” she explained.
Wanting to force the delightful reaction from her, he lowered his head again to scrape at her neck with his teeth. But she wove her fingers into his hair and pulled him close, causing the contact of his teeth against her neck to be firmer. The little minx had cheated him out of her reaction. Determined to hear the uncontrolled giggles and to feel the wild writhing of her body against his, he reached for her foot.
She was still wearing the simple cloth slippers they had found to replace her broken shoes. They were the only pair of human shoes they found, a slave’s shoes. He frowned and pulled them off her feet. He needed to remember to have proper shoes made for her. He held her tiny feet in his hands while she looked up at him, all sweet and feminine. She pouted.
“That’s not fair! You still have your shoes on.”
He quickly unlaced his boot, pulled them off, and slid them across the floor. When he looked up at her, she had stripped off all her clothes. Her round breasts jutted out in quiet invitation, and he reached for them. She backed away with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.
“Nuh-uh! You’re still wearing more than me!”
Zey pulled his clothes off quickly, tossing them haphazardly aside.
“There, now it’s fair.”
He grinned at her and reached out for her foot again, but this time she was ready. She bounded off the bed and skipped away, turning her head once to stick her tongue out at him. The little minx! He stalked her around the room, steady and purposeful. Her quick, bouncy, playful steps a stark contrast. Eventually, he backed her against a corner, and she watched him with erotic excitement as he prowled towards her. Lust bounced off her in waves. Licking his lips in anticipation, he reached for her and grabbed her around her middle to throw her over his shoulder.
She wiggled on his shoulder, and he slapped her hard on a cheek of her buttocks, earning him a delectable squeal.
“Stay still,” he demanded.
He threw her onto the bed again, this time grabbing her foot before she could get away. He dragged his fingers from the balls of her foot down the arch to the heel, and she collapsed in a fit of giggles. She tried to yank her foot away, but his grip was firm. After reveling in the uncontrolled writhing of her body for a few moments, Zey took an ankle in each hand, pulled her towards his body, and pressed her legs apart, exposing her core to him. Starting at one of her knees, he trailed a line of licks and kisses slowly up her thigh. She gasped and stilled her writhing, knowing full well what was to come. Zey worked his way down to her hot, wet pussy, taking his time.
“Stop teasing!” Ashe lifted her hip encouragingly, impatiently.
Zey pushed her hips down onto the mattress, held her firm with strong hands, and then continued his agonizingly slow assault on her senses. When he finally reached the inviting folds, he licked through her lips, savoring the erotic taste. Spreading her lips with his fingers, he found the sensitive nub of her clit and worked her in small circles.
She was mewling now, her eyes closed, and her breathing short and ragged. Zey explored the length of her slit with his fingers and then plunged two fingers into her wetness. Curling his fingers upwards, he rubbed against the top wall of her core. Ashe squealed loudly, and Zey felt the wild pulsing and throbbing of her channel around his finger as she drenched him.
Flipping her over onto her stomach, Zey wasted no time pulling her hips up into the air, positioning his large solid cock at her opening and thrusting in one powerful stroke into her throbbing pussy. She screamed out another orgasm as he pounded into her. Her swollen passage milked his cock, and he had to still for a moment to prevent his own release. He took a deep breath, trying to maintain control. He palmed the rounded cheeks of her ass and gave one cheek a solid whack with his palm, and the sound reverberated through the room. Grabbing her hips again, he started to fuck her, but this time long and slow. Ashe pushed back at him, urging him to move faster.
Zey landed another tap of his palm on her ass, warning her to still. But Ashe ignored him and pushed back again, pressing her haunch hard into the front of his thighs. He hit the back of her channel, and she squealed with a delicious combination of pleasure and pain. His hands tightened on her hips, and instead of preventing her movement, he guided her hips in a hard, unrelenting rhythm. Then he erupted, grunting, bursting like a dam unleashed.
He collapsed on top of her, pressing her into the embrace of the soft mattress. The air smelled of sex and their mingled scents. He inhaled deeply, letting the unique and wonderful scent permeate his being. If the concept of heaven had any basis, this was it. This was heaven. After a while, she shifted, and Zey rolled them over onto their sides, resting her head against his bicep and curling his body around hers protectively.
“Once we leave Reka 5, you and I are going to lay low for a while. At least until those after my bounty loses interest and move onto other ventures. I have a hideout on a beautiful moon. It’ll be like a vacation.”
“Our honeymoon?” Ashe liked the idea. She had had enough adventure for a while.
“Honey moon?”
“Where I’m from, when a couple gets married or mated as you call it, they go on vacation afterward to relax and celebrate their new union. We call it a honeymoon.”
“Yes, a honey moon. I will take you to a honey moon.”
Ashe didn’t correct him. Coming from a six and a half foot, musclebound alien with striking green eyes, clawed feet, scary fangs, and cheek crease, the mistake was some kind of adorable. She craned her neck to kiss him on his chiseled jaw.
“Ulrek won’t be able to harm you anymore.”
At the mention of the Dominion captain’s name, Ashe pushed herself upright to face him, and her look turned serious.
“I don’t think he will be much trouble for us now. He never said it outright, but I saw it in his eyes. I know it sounds crazy, but I don’t think he’s after your bounty anymore. His window of opportunity is over, and he knows it. He’s smart.”
“What are you talking about, Ashe?”
Ashe relayed Ulrek’s story the best she could. And as promised back in Ulrek’s hangar, Zey listened to it all without interruption.
“And in the end, he just disappeared. Like magic.”
“What did his flight suit look like? Was it Dominion issue?” Zey looked concerned.
“No, it didn’t look anything like the uniform he wore before. It didn’t have the Dominion insignia. It was dull silvery grey with almost a honeycomb design in the weave. And, it had a hood too. And he pressed something in the collar right before he vanished.”
A low growl came from Zey’s chest. Not the sexy growl of arousal but a frightening vicious rumble. “Cloaking technology. Good to know it’s not Dominion issue, if the Dominion are issuing cloaking suits to their best and brightest, we are in trouble.”
Ashe rubbed her hands over his strong back, trying to calm him.
“But those custom suits are worth a fortune, so it won’t be happening any time soon.”
“Maybe he had it made as part of his plan to free himself of the Dominion,” Ashe offered. “He wanted your bounty to fund a hidden base and a loyal crew. He must have been making extra credits illegally to purchase all the gadgets he needed to evade them. A cloaking suit sounds ideal for evading capture and, in his case, unwanted martyrdom. Anyway, I don’t think he’ll be after us anymore.”
Zey relaxed a bit, and she used the opportunity to snuggle back into his arms.
Zey held Ashe quietly for a moment. Then he stood and reached for the ship’s comm.
“Tanith?”
“Right here, Captain. What do you need?”
“Run a ship-wide scan for heat signatures and compare the results with the number of occupants currently onboard. “
“That’s an odd request, Zey, but I’ll do it. While the scan runs, why don’t you tell me why.”
“Ulrek has access to personal cloaking technology.”
“Oh shit. I’ll send a message to the Second Chance to do the same. I’ll send the results to you when it comes through.”