She’d been to alien planets a few times and hadn’t seen anything too scary. Of course, by the time they visited a planet, settlers were already there and the military had been sent out to resolve some unrest between them. This planet hadn’t been colonized. Her gaze drifted back to the men under the shade of the big ship. Krell wasn’t too hard to spot with his tall frame and jet-black hair.
She nearly made it to him when a loud roar fractured the sounds of male voices as they worked. She halted, turned her head in the direction of the noise, and didn’t see anything at first but trees. Another loud roar sounded, something ominous and deep, near thunderous, and the ground under her feet thumped.
What the hell? Her hands automatically grabbed the handles of her weapons.
“Incoming,” a cyborg yelled. “Northeast section. Four annihilators are spotted.”
Four what? The ground shook again, trembled as if something big had slammed against it, and the volume of the next roar nearly hurt her ears. She turned toward the teams of heavily armed cyborgs as all of them dropped to their bellies and aimed the biggest weapons they carried toward the trees. Backup cyborgs rushed forward with more crates, tore the lids open, yanked out weapons and rushed to lie down next to their fellow crew members.
Her heart raced and no one seemed to notice her in the chaos that followed. More cyborgs rushed toward the first wave of armed cyborgs, dropping down beside their crew until they formed a long line of men aiming weapons in the same direction.
The ground shook worse, huge thumps that made her brace her legs, and suddenly two of the trees were ripped apart. Something big just seemed to grab hold of the trunks, uproot them, and they sailed into the air to disappear into the thickly wooded area. The thing that stepped out made her back up.
“Holy fuck,” she hissed, taking another step back.
The thing that came into view resembled something between a dinosaur with its massive body, stood two or three stories high, but had a humanoid-shaped torso with large, clawed limbs. The head of the thing was huge, had big black-looking round eyes in a furry face, and as its mouth opened, another roar tore from its vast, gaping jaws. Cyan could have sworn she felt the wind hit her face from that thing’s anger as if it had expelled its breath that far.
The cyborgs opened fire to hit the ground in front of it. Explosions flashed, the noise earsplitting, and flames shot upward from the ground to form a wall between the creature and them. They missed the thing by a good forty feet.
Aim higher, she urged them silently. The creature turned and dived out of the way, disappearing into the line of thick trees, and the smoke from the bomb grenades they’d sent at it rose at that point to hide it.
“Cyan!” Krell grabbed her arm, drawing her attention. “Get inside the Bridden.”
She gaped up at him. “What was that?”
“We call them annihilators. Return to the shuttle. The repairs aren’t completed. We need another ten minutes.” He gave her a gentle shove. “Run. I’m ordering it to lift off. It’s too dangerous for you to remain here.”
“They need to aim higher. They missed it.”
“We don’t wish to kill them unless we have to.”
“Are you serious? Did you see that thing? It’s huge and pissed!”
“They are just attempting to defend their planet.”
Half of her admired the cyborgs for their compassion but the other half, the military soldier inside her, protested. “Will they stay back?”
“Doubtful. They’ll come at us from different angles.” He moved his big body enough for her to witness more cyborgs rushing from the Vontage, all carrying heavy-duty weapons, and they lay down to surround the ship and take positions to cover all directions. “Return to the Bridden.” He glanced down at her body and his jaw clenched. “Now.”
She released her weapons. “We’re not going to blast off and abandon the other ship. Hand me one of those grenade launchers. I can handle them.”
“It’s not your fight.”
“Bullshit!” Anger burned. “You’ve got hundreds of cyborgs on that ship, right? It’s crippled and you need to buy it more time for the repairs to be finished. We’re not abandoning them.”
“I’m not. You’re going on the Bridden and it will lift off to take you to safety.” His hold on her arm tightened. “Move.”
She twisted hard, grabbed his arm and ended up behind him. Her hand gripped his braid. “Don’t fight with me, Krell. Don’t make me kick your ass in front of your buddies.”
She quickly released him, her point made, and jumped back. The ground under her shook and a roar came from the woods. She forgot their argument to turn her head in the direction of the sound. Trees split apart and another big beast rushed out. The ground shook noticeably as it ran at them, bigger than the Bridden they’d flown in on once she got a look at the long back of it. It had six legs, a huge torso, and those huge arms attached to a very wide chest. It also looked really angry.
The cyborgs fired, targeted the ground in front of it, and the ground blew apart in a fiery haze of hell. The thing roared again, more wind hitting her, and now she was certain those things were doing it. It retreated a little but didn’t flee into the trees this time. It held its ground while glaring through the smoke and flames at them.
“Oh man,” she whispered. “Ballsy or stupid.”
“They are determined and fearless.” Krell gripped her arm again. “I’m ordering you to return to the Bridden and the pilot is going to lift off the surface. I’ll join you once we’re back in orbit. I need to help but I want you safe, Cyan.”
“Then stop wasting your time arguing with me.” She jerked out of his hold and ran for the underbelly of the Vontage. A crate of launchers were open, ready, and she headed for them.
She peered inside at the weapons, spotted some other toys, and grinned when she grabbed the miclo twelve. She hadn’t seen one in years but it had once been her favorite weapon of choice for creating mass havoc. The shell box for it sat at the bottom of the crate under it, and she hoisted them up. She nearly turned into Krell’s big body.
“Cyan,” he snarled.
“Do you know what this is?”
He glanced at it. “No. We acquired some weapons recently from pirates who chose to attack the Vontage. They stole them from humans and we haven’t tested that particular weapon yet, to my knowledge.”
“Meet my old best friend. It’s not my first choice but it will do. Move.”
“We don’t want to kill them.”
“I heard you. Why aren’t you using these? Do you have more? Find them and do something useful besides annoying me.” She darted around him and ran for the line of cyborgs on the ground nearest her. She ignored Krell yelling her name.
She found a hole and dived between the cyborgs. The unforgiving ground made her wince when she landed on her belly. It was rough, hard and uncomfortable. She ignored the shocked cyborgs next to her as she set up the miclo’s legs to make it a ground weapon and opened up the shell box, loading it quickly.
“What are you doing?”
She didn’t glance at the cyborg to her right. “The enemy makes noise. This makes a louder one. Pass the word to cover your ears and do it fast.”
The creature waited for the smoke and fire to clear before it began advancing. Cyan’s hands shook slightly as she adjusted the sights on the gun and targeted the thing center-mass in the chest. She ignored the trembling ground as the big thing advanced, picking up speed as it ran at them. It would hurt the thing like a son of a bitch but it wouldn’t kill it. She fired, released the weapon once it launched the shell and grabbed her ears.
“Fire in the hole!” she yelled, hoping the cyborgs heard her.
She kept her attention on the shell, a white ball the size of a flattened baseball on the back side with a point on the front side to help it fly through the air with accuracy, and her keen eyes tracked it until it hit the beast. The thing staggered back, opened its jaws, and the shell ruptured from the impa
ct. It wasn’t as pretty as a grenade, no smoke or flames, but the sound was earsplitting, resembling a crack of thunder going off really close. The beast fell back, lay there and didn’t move.
“You killed it,” someone gasped.
“No.” She shook her head. “I stunned it. Look at the right claw. It’s just going to have a bruise from hell from the impact and a lasting headache.” She reloaded another shell and was careful not to touch the still-hot barrel. “Meet the miclo twelve. It stands for something longwinded but we just dubbed them microphone louds or crowd busters. You set one of these babies off and everyone runs once they can get up after the splitting headache after having your bell rung through your eardrums. Anything within two hundred yards of impact is hit with intense sonic waves.”
The beast on the ground kicked its legs and slowly rolled over to crawl for the trees. Another one tried to enter the clearing and Cyan targeted it. She took aim and fired, covered her ears, and this time watched the cyborgs around her.
“Fire in the hole!” she yelled in warning.
The men grabbed their ears. She smiled, not glancing at the beast, but instead at their reactions when the shell hit the thing. The loud noise made some of the men wince and she finally glanced at the beast she’d targeted. It was down and not moving. The cyborg next to her shoved up to his feet.
“Get more of those weapons if we have them!”
“You’re welcome,” Cyan muttered, releasing her ears and reloading another shell.
Someone grabbed her belt and rudely hoisted her to her feet. An arm wrapped around her belly and she grunted when she hung in the air. Krell adjusted his hold on her, turning her to face him. He appeared furious when their gazes met.
“They have it. Let’s go.”
“Put me down!”
“No.” He got in her face. He kept her off the ground, in his arms, locked tightly in his embrace. “Enough. You’ve made your point and put yourself in danger.”
She gripped his shoulders and her nose nearly brushed his. “I can help.”
“I don’t want you to.”
It hurt her feelings. “You have weapons you didn’t even know what to do with. You might not want my help but you need it. If you own Earth weapons, you should know what the hell they are and learn how they work.”
He growled at her.
She itched to slap him just for manhandling her. She could force him to put her down but she’d have to inflict serious damage. She didn’t want to do that, not to him. Instead her fingers tightened on the curve of his shoulders.
“You could have been killed if that stunt hadn’t worked. It was running at you.” He breathed heavily and his blue eyes appeared black from anger. “I would have watched you be trampled. That’s what they do. They smash anything in their path, throw it or batter it to death.”
His words made some of her anger recede. He was genuinely scared for her safety. He showed it by appearing extremely livid but she’d seen men worry about her before and he had it bad. Some guys channeled their fear into raw rage and Krell obviously happened to be one of them.
“I’m fine.” She eased her grip on him and rubbed his tense muscles instead.
“Fire in the hole,” a male yelled as a miclo fired.
Cyan grabbed Krell’s ears to cover them instead of her own since both of his arms were around her waist holding her body against him and buried her face in the crook of his neck. One of her ears pressed against his throat and the other tight to her inner arm. The loud noise was muted enough not to hurt when it came.
His body tensed and he turned quickly and headed toward the Bridden. She released his ears and lifted her head. He didn’t look at her, instead watched where they were going, and she didn’t fight to be put down. The cyborgs had the weapons to use against the oncoming beast things. She’d helped and that was all that really mattered.
“I’m a soldier, Krell.”
He glanced at her, his mouth set in a grim line, and he swallowed hard enough that the scars on his throat flexed from his bobbing Adam’s apple. “Not anymore. You’re mine to protect and I will even if that means I have to restrain you to a bed to keep you safe.”
She licked her lips. “It sounds kinky.”
He glanced at her again, growled deep in his throat, and kept advancing toward the shuttle at a quick pace. Cyan lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist since he seemed hell bent on carrying her. It made it easier for him to do and her legs weren’t bumping against his. She felt his hard-on instantly and grinned. Either danger gave him wood or his thoughts were going where hers had at his threat of how to keep her out of trouble.
Every step he took ground his cock against her pussy and by the time he reached the cargo area of the Bridden she was turned-on too. Danger always made her heart race, firing guns was exciting and the high of adrenaline was a pure rush. The fact that the sexy cyborg was being so forceful also pushed her arousal buttons. So few men ever attempted it with her and he did it so well.
He stomped through the cargo room into the corridor and his arm left her waist to open the stateroom door. It closed behind him and she gasped when Krell spun to press her back against the bulkhead, pinning her between the solid wall and his firm body. Their gazes met.
“I am furious.”
Cyan lunged for his mouth, surprising him enough that his lips parted as he gasped and she had her in. Her tongue delved inside, her hands slid into his constrained hair and she wished it were free. She’d love to fist handfuls of the silky strands. She kissed him for all she was worth and was overjoyed when he responded with equal passion.
She burned with desire, wished they were naked and that he was already inside her as his hips ground against her pelvis. His cock was trapped inside his pants but he still rubbed against the inner seam of her pants to tease her clit. Krell took control of the kiss, not something that surprised her since he liked to be in charge in the bedroom.
He turned, pulled her away from the wall, and walked a few steps until he bumped into something. They fell, his arms left her and he braced his weight to avoid crushing her when they hit the bed with her under him. The soft mattress cushioned her fall.
Cyan tore her mouth from his. “Get naked.”
The blue of his eyes seemed to show that his anger faded while he stared at her. He licked his lips. She followed the movement of his tongue and regretted they weren’t still kissing. The guy knew how to curl her toes.
“Don’t make me beg. I’ve mentioned it’s not pretty.”
“I would wager it’s extremely sexy.”
His words made her smile. “Lift off me.”
He hesitated but did it, pushed away from her, and she released him to allow their bodies to separate. He backed up and stood at the end of the bed. Cyan grabbed her shirt, tugging at it, and sat up. She tore her shirt over her head, removed her sports bra next and nudged him with her boot.
“Back up a little more.”
He breathed heavily, was turned-on, and his pants revealed his cock stretching out the front of them. He took a few steps away and she bent, tore at her boots and just dropped them on the floor. She stood, removed her belt with her weapons still inside their holsters, and unfastened her pants, shoving them down quickly. Her gaze lifted as she stepped close to him, completely naked, her hands going for his tank top.
“Raise your arms.”
He growled at her. “I don’t take orders well.”
“Please?” She fluttered her eyelashes at him playfully and grinned. “Raise your arms.”
He lifted them and she tore his shirt up to reveal his sexy torso, the scars on his chest, and her mouth latched onto a nipple. His body tensed, swayed in response, and he helped her shove his shirt off when her arms couldn’t take it any higher up his tall frame. It fell to the floor somewhere. Her hands dropped to the front of his pants, frantically tearing them open.
“Slow down,” Krell rasped.
She sucked hard on him, her teeth lightly nipped at th
e taut peak, and his hands gripped her hips in response. She pulled her mouth off and took a step back to lower his pants. She wasn’t going to mess with his boots or even remove the damn things. She wanted him now.
She freed his cock, a beautiful, impressive sight of firm flesh that she wanted buried deep inside her body as fast as possible, but Krell had thought seeing her beg would be sexy. She didn’t want to disappoint. She wasn’t one to beg but she could compromise as she gripped his bare hips, slid her hands to push the pants down his thighs and dropped to her knees before him. Her fingernails lightly scored his skin as she slid them toward the front of his hips, wrapped one hand around the thick base of his shaft and lifted her chin to peer up at him.
Krell had dropped his chin, his eyes narrowed as he watched her intensely and he appeared a little flushed from excitement, making his features a dusky hue. His chest rose and fell rapidly, his breathing increased and she didn’t look away as she opened her mouth to run her tongue over her lips.
“What are you doing?” His husky confusion was sexy.
“What does it look like?”
He frowned. “Examining me? I’m healthy.”
Her mind reeled and shock hit her hard. “Krell, honey, has anyone ever gone down on you before?” It can’t be. No way!
He said nothing but his features closed down. All expression faded and she was pretty sure she had her answer. “Damn cyborg women. I need to have a talk with them. I guess when you have your pick of men clamoring for your attention you get to be pretty selfish in the sack. They are missing out.”
She licked her lips again, opened her jaw wider and glanced at his cock. She inched closer. He was big, thick, but she was willing to try to fit him inside her mouth. She licked the crown, running her tongue around the rim, and heard him hiss. She resisted the grin that threatened to surface and wrapped her lips around him. Her mouth tightened, careful of her teeth, and she began to slowly move on him, taking a few inches inside.
Taunting Krell Page 17