by Carven, Anna
Ikriss nodded and ushered her inside. The doors slid shut behind them, dousing them in shadow.
Sienna blinked as her eyes adjusted to the dim light.
Ikriss dropped to his knees before her and placed his hands into hers. At some point, his armor-gloves must have disappeared, leaving his hands bare.
Her skin tingled with a faint electric sensation as he ran his fingers over hers.
“Ikriss,” she whispered as her heart did a backflip in her chest. “What is going on?”
He bowed his head. “Eva is alive, but she is badly injured.” He took her hands and pressed them against his forehead, closing his eyes. “I did not expect our enemies to be so callous and stupid that they would attack the things that are most precious to us… that they would try and destroy their own future. Perhaps I have been out of the Empire for so long that I have forgotten what they are capable of.” He shook his head and let out a deep sigh. His shoulders slumped. All that tightly controlled tension melted away, and suddenly he was just a man.
Not a commander, not a lethal warrior, not one of the most powerful alien beings in the known Universe.
Just Ikriss.
And just like her, he had his hopes, his fears, his disappointments…
He wasn’t trying to hide any of that from her.
He’d never tried to hide what he was.
And now he held her hands to his forehead, allowing her fingers to graze the emerging tips of his horns; those strange, mysterious, alien things that gave him so much pleasure and yet caused him so much pain.
He took a deep, shuddering breath and curled his fingers tightly around hers, bringing her hands down to his lips.
He kissed her softly and reverently, demanding her complete attention, silently asking for her understanding.
For a moment, they just stayed like that, and Sienna didn’t want to break the delicate, bittersweet silence, but she had to. “How bad is it, Ikriss?”
His eyes snapped open. Abruptly, he released her hands. He was back in Commander mode again. He rose to his feet. “Plasma burns to over half her body. They took her to our medical facility on Earth, where Zyara started to cultivate the skin graft. She is being transferred to Silence for the final treatment, which will be done by Zharek. She will be fine, my love.”
“Can I go and see her? She’ll be scared out of her wits, and Eva… she can get a little, uh, difficult when she’s surrounded by strangers. She can be a bit of a firecracker. Totally the opposite of me. I can’t even imagine what she’ll be like when she wakes up in a room full of aliens.”
“Your friend is in no condition to be afraid right now. She is heavily sedated. Of course, you will be able to see her when she has recovered. First thing. I promise.” He inclined his head in that typically Kordolian way of his. Pale brows drew together. She melted a little more, her worry for Eva chased away by Ikriss’s simple reassurance.
Stars, this man.
Even when he frowned like that, he was impossibly sexy.
“What?” Sienna demanded, suddenly feeling self-conscious.
“Are you trying to imply that you’re not difficult?”
“Are you trying to suggest that I’m difficult?”
“It is a compliment,” Ikriss rumbled, his deep voice reverberating right through her bones. Her arousal roared to life, making her want to jump him right then and there. “The very first time I found you, you were being difficult. Against me, you were difficult.” He moved forward and drew her into his arms; gently, effortlessly, irresistibly, as if she were an extension of his own sinuous form. “And by the sounds of it, you do not plan on complying with your ruling Federation’s decree on these evil Kordolian rebels.”
“Evil? But you’re the ones they were talking about…” Her jaw clamped shut as she took in Ikriss’s expression—he was freaking toying with her.
“I know you saw the broadcast.” One eyebrow arched wickedly. She got a glimpse of his fangs as the corners of his mouth curved into a smile. “Our enemies have finally appeared, and they have found an unexpected way to irritate us.” He sounded surprisingly nonchalant given how serious and dramatic this Lord Agelus guy had appeared on the broadcast.
“But… there’s a whole bunch of humans that are going to swallow the lie without thinking twice. People are already freaked out by your presence, and now they’re going to be completely terrified of you. Honestly, I’m just pissed. I know how hard you’ve tried to keep a low profile here on Earth. You aren’t going to be able to go anywhere without people going crazy.”
Ikriss’s smile softened as he tenderly ran his hand through her hair, pushing stray stands back from her face. “Don’t worry so much, my amina. We are used to this sort of thing.”
She blinked. “You’re not bothered by it?”
His smile widened, revealing the twin points of his gleaming fangs. “It is not the way I would have preferred, but it is not the worst thing in the Universe either. Now we don’t have to worry so much about being careful not trying to terrify the natives. We can just do what we’ve always done.” He leaned in and kissed her gently. His lips tasted of sweetness and ice. “But thank you.”
“Whatever for?” Sienna shook her head and frowned, pulling away.
“You saw the broadcast.” Ikriss twirled a strand of her hair around his finger, appearing fascinated by it. “You saw what I do.” Golden eyes captured hers. “And yet you defended me without a second thought.” His brow furrowed. He looked so damn earnest and adorable she wanted to kiss him all over again.
So she did, capturing his lips with hers, relishing the taste of him, the feel of him; the contrast of his soft mouth and his hard, armor-sculpted body beneath her fingertips.
“Whoever he is, I’m sure he deserved it,” she said, more than a little fiercely.
Ikriss laughed; a deep, resonant belly-laugh that had the effect of filling her with uncontrollable lust. “Really, he did not. I was too easy on him.”
Heat rose in her cheeks. “What’s so funny?”
“My amina, I am supposed to be the vengeful one. Not you.”
She pouted. “Clearly, you’re rubbing off on me.”
Ikriss stole another quick kiss. “My mate is no fool.” He took her by the hand and led her through the ship, moving as silently and gracefully as a big cat. There was a lightness to his movements that she hadn’t noticed before. “Come, Sienna. The cursed Sylth can fly this ship by herself once we leave Earth’s orbit. We are alone now, and we have time.” As he stared at her, his nostrils flared ever so slightly. The playfulness disappeared from his expression, replaced with a look of pure hunger.
“Y-your horns are growing back again,” she said hoarsely.
“I know.”
Sienna’s heartbeat quickened as Ikriss led her into the cockpit. “I thought they weren’t supposed to.”
“They aren’t.” He guided her to her seat and watched as she sat; as the smooth obsidian restraints came down around her, pulling her into the embrace of the alien ship. “But perhaps that idea of yours--armor with horns—isn’t such an outlandish one after all.”
Ikriss eased into the pilot’s seat and uttered an order in Kordolian. The seat’s strange tendrils curled around him, and the dark controls slipped into his hand.
Sienna barely felt the ship move as she saw the neon lights and the snow and the tall grey buildings become a white-and-pastel blur through the window.
Suddenly, they were shooting through the clouds at impossible speed, breaking through to the perfect blue horizon beyond.
The sun broke over the horizon, momentarily blinding them with its brilliance. Ikriss gasped and cursed in pain, quickly pulling a dark transparent eyeshield over his face.
“It’s morning…” she said softly, reverently, filled with a sense of awe.
“Indeed,” Ikriss said dryly as the sun-flash disappeared. They broke through the stratosphere, heading for the glittering darkness beyond.
Suddenly, they were drifting
through the silent infinity of space.
Just her.
And him.
Alone.
Together.
Ikriss whispered a command. He removed the eyeshield. The tendrils of the dark, throne-like chair swiftly disengaged from his hands, leaving him free to rise to his feet.
And so he did, moving across until he was standing just in front of her.
She swore his horns had grown just a little bit more.
Was his hair a little longer than before, too? Maybe her mind was playing tricks on her, but she almost thought his hair and horns were growing longer right before her very eyes.
He looked different somehow… the change was subtle, but he was a little leaner than before. The hollows in his cheeks were more pronounced, emphasizing his sharp cheekbones and strong jawline.
A quiver of anticipation coursed through her.
He was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.
She tried to lean forward, but the chair’s restraints were still in place, crisscrossing her chest.
They were in deep space now, with nothing but the stars illuminating Ikriss’s silver features.
He leaned in and placed his fingers under her chin, tipping her head slightly, capturing her with his gaze.
Her heart pounded like a war drum.
She forgot to breathe.
Desire surged through her, spilling heat between her thighs.
Her need became a powerful throbbing ache as she became lost in his golden gaze. She swore his eyes had some sort of strange hypnotic power, pulling her into a trance, rendering her utterly helpless against him.
He kissed her, again.
This kiss was different to the last. It was slower, deeper, filled with hunger and possessiveness, all molten tongue and sharp fangs; all him.
He pulled away, leaving her breathless and completely undone.
“Do you trust me, Sienna?”
The question took her by surprise. There was a dark undercurrent to his voice that she didn’t really understand; it was almost a kind of desperation, as if he needed this.
“You know I won’t ever lie to you,” she said softly.
Ikriss nodded solemnly.
“I trust you,” she whispered. “I don’t care what they say about you, or what you’ve done in the past. I know you.”
He dropped to his knees and laid his head in her lap, letting out a deep sigh as he slowly ran his hands up and down her thighs.
Then he looked up, his brow furrowing in such a way that for a split-second, he looked boyishly innocent.
And his gaze was filled with such pure devotion that for a moment, she forgot how to breathe.
“Then allow me to please you,” he said, and it was both a plea and a command. “My rules.”
Her mouth dropped open, but no words came out. Damn this man and his ability to render her speechless.
She couldn’t do a thing against him.
So she simply nodded.
He smiled and flicked out an obsidian claw. “Good." He tucked his finger into the waistband of her pants. There was a soft tearing sound as the fabric split in two, revealing her soft skin underneath. Ikriss planted his warm lips on her lower belly.
She tipped her head back and closed her eyes, letting her world slip away.
He tugged at her pants, sliding them down over her hips and thighs, leaving her in nothing but her thin nude-colored panties.
Swirls of his long-ish hair tickled her bare skin, teasing her with the promise of pure bliss. Everything about him was decadent, from his soft, silken hair and his warm, probing lips, right down to his perfectly chiseled body.
And she was still held in place by these damn restraints.
For Sienna, who was used to being in control, who had once resolved never to surrender her trust to another ever again, it should have been maddening.
But instead, she felt free.
Only he could make her feel this way.
“You are mine now,” he whispered fervently as he gently parted her thighs. “And you need to understand that I am a simple man, and my obsession with you borders on madness. I will do anything to keep you, and nothing gives me greater satisfaction than to see you helplessly writhing in pleasure.”
He kissed her on the tender lips of her sex, his tongue probing against the flimsy material of her panties, which were soaked through.
A deep moan erupted from her lips.
She closed her eyes…
And let him steal her away into starlight and darkness.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ikriss set the Crurix to autopilot and stole her away again; from Earth and its foolish humans, from his enemies and their pathetic plots, from her own worries and fears.
Away from his bloodstained past.
He just wanted her to be free.
He just wanted to please her.
So he buried his face between her thighs and tasted her intoxicating essence. He drowned in her scent and savored the sweet sound of her voice as she cried out in her native tongue, cursing and pleading, her words becoming incoherent as he found the delicate nub that caused her so much yearning and pleasure.
So the bitter lordlings of the former empire wanted to challenge Darkstar’s claim over Earth?
Let them try.
Earth was Sienna’s, and Sienna was his, and he would never let their corruption and depravity touch her fierce and pure soul.
Never again.
Even if he had to destroy half the Universe.
Ikriss growled as her delicate fingers raked through his hair, only just missing the tips of his growing horns. He pulled away from her and uttered a single word in Kordolian.
“Lakalu.”
Release.
The safety restraints slipped away from her body.
She leaned forward.
He gently pushed her backward, his hands gliding over her breasts; over her pert little nipples, which were hard with arousal. He tucked one hand beneath the hem of her shirt and slid his hand up to the sensual curve of her breast, teasing her nipple with his thumb, letting out a deep rumble of satisfaction as he felt it harden a little more.
She whimpered.
With his other hand, he encircled her waist, holding her in place.
He tasted her again.
So sweet.
So ready for him.
His erection strained hard against his armor.
He sucked on her tender little clit.
She howled softly, writhing in his embrace.
He caressed her with his tongue, enjoying her complete and total surrender.
His.
Warm and soft and perfectly attuned to his every move.
The first sign of her climax was subtle. Her taste changed, becoming deeper and richer and utterly irresistible; an intoxicating drug that he could never get enough of.
Driven by instincts that he had no control over, he devoured her.
She cried out and slammed her palms against his emerging horn-buds.
Pain mingled with exquisite pleasure, driving him wild. The pain became pleasure.
Her entire body tensed. She wrapped her legs around him as a great shudder coursed through her.
There.
At last, he released her and stared up at her face.
Her eyes were closed. Her skin was coated in a faint sheen of moisture. Her golden hair was tousled. Her head was tipped back, lips parted, cheeks flushed with pink.
She was the most beautiful fucking thing he’d ever seen in his life.
He held her in place until the last wave of climax left her body; until all the tension drained out of her, leaving her languorous and spent.
She opened her eyes and looked at him in wonder.
Neither of them spoke. Ikriss simply stood and uttered the command that made his exo-armor detach from his body. He pulled the pieces away as if shedding an old skin, letting them drop to the floor with soft thuds.
Then he stood before her, naked and ter
ribly aroused, his senses on fire, his cock fully erect, straining, its tip glistening with moisture.
Her eyes widened. He saw hunger in her face.
It was too much.
And then she opened her mouth. “Come here, Ikriss,” she whispered, her lips curving into a faint smile.
She was full of confidence, and the look in her eyes told him she knew that she owned him as much as he owned her.
Now he was the helpless one, stunned and frozen in place as she dropped to her knees before him and took his erection between her lips.
He raked his fingers through her hair and sighed as she took him to a place that existed far beyond his wildest dreams.
Who ever would have thought that a wretch like him would find his queen in this distant corner of the Galaxies?
She ran her tongue along his length and he almost died with pleasure.
Only she could do that to him.
Perfect madness.
Exquisite.
His.
And at last, Ikriss knew that had found his rightful place in the Universe.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Sienna sat by Eva’s bedside and held her hand, watching, waiting…
In sleep, her friend looked so peaceful. With her eyes closed, Eva’s normally fierce expression was perfectly serene. Her long black hair fanned out around her head like a wild halo, framing her elegant features. It was shorter in some places, though, having been singed from the plasma blast. The only other evidence of the terrible burns she’d sustained was a crescent-shaped patch of depigmented skin that encircled her left eye. According to Zharek, it was an unavoidable side-effect of the treatment she’d endured. Apparently, it would disappear once she spent some time in the sun.
Relief washed over her. Her friends were safe. Her mother and sister were safe. Her extended family on her father’s side—the side that carried this so-called ‘royal’ Kordolian gene—were safe. Ikriss knew her father’s identity, and he’d offered several times to reveal it to Sienna—and then go and threaten the bastard into some sort of submission—but she didn’t want a bar of it. Not yet, anyway. There was too much shit that she was trying to process right now.