Lurin's Surrender

by Marie Harte

  “What in the world?”

  As she recalled the preceding events leading to her capture, she had a vague sense of soft yet burning lips over her breast, of an ecstatic heat and a merging of desire. But the images and feelings faded the more she thought on them, and she could only be thankful she wore the rest of her clothes.

  At least that bastard Gren hadn’t raped her. Yet. Struggling against her bonds, she didn’t notice when the door opened.

  Gren stepped inside and the door slid closed behind him. “Welcome to your new home, at least, for the next few days.” He stood over her, his arms akimbo. He looked haggard and had a strange glow, as if high on one of the many illegal substances that floated through the System.

  “What do you want, Gren?”

  “I want….” He paused and sank to the bed next to her. He either didn’t notice or ignored her cringe. Instead he rested his head in his hands and breathed deeply.

  A moment later, he looked directly into her eyes with orbs that glowed a neon green.

  The room seemed to tilt. The next thing she knew, she was no longer tied and sat up in the bed with the blanket around her while Gren rubbed her arms.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Wh-what happened?” She wanted to move away from him, conscious of a great thirst.

  “Don’t move.” He left her side and returned with a glass of liquid.

  “Did you drug me? Does that excite you? Drugging and raping unwilling women?” She tried to sound harsh, but her words emerged in a croak. She greedily drank the water he gave her before wondering if she’d done something foolish. What if he’d drugged the water?

  Gren laughed and stood, looking much more like the man who’d captured her than the tired man who’d recently entered the room.

  “I wish I’d met you before Vez,” he murmured.

  Her eyes flew to his. “How is he? Where is he? What have you done to him?”

  If she’d had the energy, she would have stood up to wallop him. Instead she concentrated on sitting upright in the bed.

  Gren didn’t answer her. He grabbed a remote control from the side of the bed. When he pushed a series of numbers, a subtle hum emanated from beneath the bed. “I don’t have much time. The discordant pulse breaks the overhead eavesdroppers.” Gren pointed to discreet metal plates in the ceiling. “It won’t last long.”

  “What—”

  “The only thing I can tell you is that I’m on your side. Lurin has more friends than he knows. And I’m doing all I can to save him from Lady Sara.” He grimaced.

  “Is he all right?”

  “He’s fine, for now. You should be more worried about yourself, Mara.”

  “Why?”

  “Because my claiming you was the only thing stopping Sara from giving you to the crew.”

  “The crew?”

  “The entire crew. I’m sorry for my rough treatment earlier.” He motioned to the blanket that parted to reveal her breasts through her tattered shirt. “I had to make it look real.”

  “Make what look real?”

  “My claim. Listen closely, Mara. I know you’re still shaken. But this is all part of the plan. We have to return to Jaron to clear Lurin’s name. If this is going to work, I need you to go along with everything I say and do.”

  Mara didn’t understand any of this, but her instincts told her to trust Gren. She had no choice but to trust him. “Gren, my crew—”

  “Was intercepted before they could return to your ship. They’ll be waiting for us on Jaron. I thought a little back-up wouldn’t hurt.” He grinned, and Mara blinked in astonishment. Gone was the curt, cruel Captain Gren. In his place sat a warm, gorgeous warlord.

  His gaze sobered, and he leaned closer. “I know you and Lurin are close, but we may be forced into some situations beyond my control. Don’t worry. I’ll do my best to protect you. And I’ll always make it good for you.”

  Mara took affront to the ‘I’ll do my best to protect you’. She’d been protecting herself since her thirteenth year. She opened her mouth to say so when Gren tensed and tilted his head. At the same time, the buzzing under the bed stopped.

  “Wait a minute. Make it good for me? Make what good for me?”

  Before she could finish, Gren tore the blanket from her and flattened her under him on the bed. His mouth closed over her breast and his hand dove beneath her trousers to her wet, hot core.

  Thoughts of Gren faded under a forceful cloud carrying images of Lurin to the forefront of her mind. Stunned under the wash of imposed feeling, she didn’t protest Gren’s touch, nearly convinced Lurin lay with her.

  “That’s it, sweet. Think of me while he touches you,” she swore she heard Lurin whisper.

  Roughened fingers grazed over her clit. A warm mouth sucked on her nipples, drawing forth responses she’d only recently acknowledged. Lust swamped her, dragging her into a confusing quagmire of need and loyalty, lust and necessity.

  She felt a cock as hard as steel pressed against her thigh. Her lover was far from unaffected. She thought she heard him groan her name before another voice interrupted.

  “Really, Gren. Wasn’t Sara enough for you? Rumour has it her stamina has never been matched.”

  “Ever hear of knocking, Vendon?” Gren asked in a breathless voice.

  Gren, or Lurin? An important question that faded under the hot lips trailing kisses from her breasts to her neck, lingering at her pulse point.

  “It’s not your ship, Gren. Remember that.”

  Gren/Lurin ignored him and continued his sensual assault. His lips found the curve of her ear and he blew hot puffs along her sensitive canal. Heat pooled in her loins, and Mara arched into questing fingers, not caring about Vendon’s interruption. She felt absolutely free from all constraint. Only her lover’s touch mattered now.

  His fingers slid easily through her cream, and despite the interruption, she flew closer to orgasm.

  “Come on, Gren. Fuck her already.” She heard excitement in the reedy voice beyond them.

  “Get out. I’ll join you and Lady Sara in the galley later.” Gren shifted his hand between her legs and ground against her mound.

  “Fine,” a sulky voice answered. “But one of these days you’re going to be mine. And when that day comes, I’m going to have you on your knees.” That said, the speaker left the room. The door slid shut behind him.

  “Yes, very good, sweet. Now open your eyes and look at Gren, our friend. Do what he tells you. You can trust him.”

  The fog in Mara’s mind cleared with Lurin’s instruction. She didn’t know how he’d done it, but Lurin had communicated with her. And he trusted Gren.

  “He-he’s gone,” she rasped, not sure who she meant—Lurin or Vendon.

  “I know.” He gazed into Mara’s eyes. “You don’t know how much I need to fuck you right now. You smell so good,” Gren groaned and inserted a finger back inside her. Then he added another, stretching her wider. “I know who you see when you close your eyes. He’s right here with us.”

  “I am.” Lurin spoke clearly into her mind.

  Gren growled and kissed her hard, his roughness exciting. “I need you, Mara. For Lurin’s sake, don’t fight it.”

  “Accept him. Let Gren inside you,” Lurin whispered.

  The haze that had moments ago disappeared returned to cloud her mind as heat rose throughout her body. Thoughts, images and tastes of Gren filled her mind until nothing but Gren existed. He resumed his caresses, sliding his fingers in and out of her pussy while his mouth toyed with her breasts. She understood then, why he stretched her, to make room for the large cock pressing against her belly.

  She felt incredible, close to soaring. His hands worked magic. When they stopped, she groaned with disappointment. Her body felt hot and needy, desperate for more, desperate for Gren.

  “That’s it, yes,” Lurin encouraged from some part within her.

  “Look at me, Mara,” Gren ordered. “I’m going to fuck you hard, and you’re going to come. My co
ck will fill you, nothing but Gren. And when we’re done, you’ll forget all about it.”

  “Gren,” she managed, though in the back of her mind she fought to be free. “Lurin.”

  He murmured into her ear, “I know, sweet. But he wants you to find pleasure. Just relax and feel.”

  Without another word, he removed her trousers and tattered shirt and nudged her thighs wide, baring her mound to his gaze.

  “So wet.” He brought his mouth to her sex. His tongue found her clit, and he began toying with her, licking and nipping with his teeth. The sensations were extraordinary.

  She levered on her elbows and watched his dark head between her legs. Like a dream, a hedonistic, sexual fantasy. He unfastened his trousers and pushed them down. Wishing she could see him, she said so.

  “Look at what you’re getting soon,” he whispered in a harsh voice, thick with need.

  He stood and she watched in awe as his rock hard cock grew as he stroked it. Seeing her amazement, he smiled and knelt, resuming his position between her thighs. He sucked her clitoris, and with every lap of his tongue, his hand increased its speed over his body.

  When he groaned, she realised he stroked himself while pleasuring her. Like Lurin had.

  “Exactly right,” Lurin whispered. “So wet, so hot. Yes, love, that’s it. Feel him. Me. Us.”

  The thought of Gren stroking himself while tonguing her brought her close to the edge. Mara felt something give inside her, felt Gren take it before she crested her peak and came in a gush. In a blur, Gren mounted her and thrust deep, the intrusion of his thick cock both welcome and invasive, almost bruising in his rough intensity to climax.

  But the pleasure-pain pushed her further, making her come again around him before he pulled out and spilled all over her belly. He shuddered and then stilled, stomach to stomach with Mara. Lights flickered, but she couldn’t be sure of her senses, still tingling from Gren’s—and Lurin’s—handling.

  “You have no idea what you’ve done,” Gren said in a low voice. “Thank you, Mara. So much. I needed that.”

  “Me too,” she agreed, incredibly sated and sleepy.

  “It’s done now, sweet. Let the memory and the tension fade. Go to sleep. You’ll need your rest for what tomorrow brings, trust me.”

  “Yes, trust him. Trust me,” Lurin reinforced with a mental push in her direction.

  “I shouldn’t, but I do.” Mara yawned and fell asleep with a smile on her face.

  Gren spoke to Lurin, who hovered helplessly in the shadows over Mara, apart from his body. “She may be yours, but she gave me what I need to help me deal with Sara and get us all out of this alive.”

  “I know,” Lurin thought back. “I don’t begrudge you such relief. It’s just that…”

  “I know. She knows it as well, deep down. Though if you were a normal Thesha, you wouldn’t mind sharing.” Gren chuckled. “Damn, but she’s tight.”

  “She was a virgin before I met her.” Lurin seethed with resentment. Gren had sampled what belonged to him. Though he tried to shield his thoughts, he felt Gren trespass in his mind.

  “It’s more than that, Lurin. And you know it. She’s special.”

  “She’s just a woman.” Yet Lurin didn’t like Gren touching her at all. Thesha weren’t possessive, and Lurin didn’t understand the strange feelings coursing through him.

  “Just a woman. Sure. That’s why I felt you wanting to strangle me when I came all over her belly.”

  “Drun”.

  “Calling me a shit won’t change anything. You still want her, and she’s still special. Stubborn bastard. I’ll be in the lav if you need me.”

  Lurin watched Gren go and silently thanked the large man for leaving. He wanted to tear Gren limb from limb, and why? Because Gren had used Mara to refuel. A necessity, and one he’d handled using a delicate hand. He’d allowed Lurin’s presence in the bonding, had even planted thoughts of Lurin in Mara’s mind as Gren made love to her. And Lurin still wanted to maim him.

  In Sara’s room, Lurin had watched helplessly while Sara used and took from Gren, sucking his cock and swallowing his seed as voraciously as she swallowed the light within him. Sara Elaran had been damaged somewhere in her past, and her sexual dysfunction passed the misery in her soul onto all she touched.

  Though Gren had enjoyed physical gratification, his spirit had shuddered under Sara’s pressing darkness. Yes, Lurin could well understand Mara’s draw for a Thesha in Gren’s recent condition.

  Tired, depressed and empty, Gren had needed Mara’s purity, her healing essence. Gren, the only one capable of protecting Mara and him at this point, needed to be at full strength. A male with lesser morals or pride wouldn’t have allowed Mara to see anyone but himself when making love. Yet Gren had erased her memory of the event afterward.

  Lurin didn’t know if he would have had the strength to make Mara forget about him. Making love. He scowled. He continued to think of Mara in terms of love and affection. He’d never before cared enough to label his feelings, yet the thought of sharing Mara with another bothered him more than he could say. He wanted to fight his brethren, for star’s sake.

  Lurin’s kind ruled feminine hearts and minds. A powerful creature capable of total control, a Thesha determined who to favour with his particular skills. Yet with Mara, the decision was out of his hands.

  Lurin could do no less than make love to her delectable body, to feel her heart and soul entwined with his. The luscious bounty hunter had ensnared him with her warmth, her strength and her integrity. Though they had just met, his spirit sensed a kindred soul, a woman he’d known in other lives and other places.

  Next to Mara, Sara looked like rak fodder. Lurin shuddered. Thoughts of that evil woman made his skin crawl. A warning spark raised the hair on his physical body. With a sigh, he cast one last lingering look at Mara and flew back into his body. Just in time, too.

  Sara hovered anxiously above him, waiting for him to wake.

  Chapter Nine

  Mara woke disoriented. When she realised she couldn’t move her arms, she recalled her precarious situation. Gren and Lady Sara’s warriors had boarded her ship, taken her and Lurin hostage, and were escorting them to planet Jaron.

  She shook her head free of the fog still blanketing her thoughts. Strange. She remembered waking to Gren’s enlightening explanation of his part in all this. And then, nothing. A big blank spot sat in the middle of her memories.

  Her eyes narrowed as she tugged at her wrists bound to the bed. She remained clothed, though she wore a huge shirt, most likely Gren’s. Though tied up, she felt relaxed, her muscles loose and her mind free of worry—which made her worry. The fact that she could possibly feel okay about her present situation clearly pointed to someone tampering with her mind.

  As her concerns mounted, fear for herself was quickly overshadowed by concern for Lurin. Gren had mentioned Sara. Did that mean she was on board? And if so, how safe could Lurin be around that woman? When questioned, he’d alluded to mistreatment at Sara’s hands. Who knew what that sick woman had already done to him?

  The sound of the door sliding open interrupted her thoughts. Gren entered dressed in Jaron finery.

  “Good. You’re awake.”

  “What did you do to me?” she asked suspiciously. “Why don’t I remember my time aboard this ship?”

  “What is it you think I did, exactly?” He sounded puzzled, but his eyes gleamed bright with humour and something else she couldn’t quite name.

  “I think maybe I don’t want to know,” she murmured. When he grinned, she thought again how attractive he looked. If not for his part in her capture, she might have believed he wanted to help them.

  She had no choice but to trust him, and it galled her to be so out of control of the situation. Mara couldn’t recall the last time she’d been on the receiving end of an order. Oh, she served her clients well enough, but she gave the orders on her ship. The clients merely represented the mission’s end.

  “Why
are you doing this?” She wanted to know.

  Gren glanced up at the metal disks he’d identified as eavesdroppers. “I told you before. Lurin belongs to Nobless Cari for crimes committed against her family. You, unfortunately, got caught in the middle of it all. But don’t worry, love. Fucking me more than made things even. And we still have another day before we get to Jaron.”

  “Another day?” Fucking him? There’s no way I could have forgotten that. Deciding he meant that piece of information for those listening in, she ignored the remark. “You’re telling me I slept for two entire days on this ship?”

  He shrugged and sat in a chair across from her. “All the excitement in meeting me that first day must have worn you out. You seem well rested now, though.”

  Mara stared at Gren in bewilderment. Trust me, he mouthed and glanced at the ceiling again.

  “Like I have a choice,” she muttered.

  “There’s the spirit.” He chuckled and stood. “Now let’s go see Lady Sara. She’s got a few questions for you.”

  Gren released her from her restraints and pulled her into his arms. She would have kneed him but he blocked her attack and whispered in her ear, “Follow my lead with Sara. Whatever you do, don’t react to anything she does with Lurin. It’s vital she not know how close the two of you are.”

  Mara had more questions than answers, but at this point, Gren seemed like the lesser of evils she faced. She nodded to show him she understood and they left the room. As they walked down the corridor, she noted the leers and lewd comments thrown her way and glared at the men she passed. Gren ignored them.

  “Some crew you have here,” she scoffed.

  “They’re not mine. I’m merely leading them for a short time.”

  “How lucky for you.”

  He coughed to cover a laugh when a short, bald man wearing a royal robe approached them.

  “Vendon,” Gren growled.

  Vendon. Now why did that name sound familiar?

  Vendon sneered. “I trust you’re done fucking her senseless? Why you’d choose her when Lady Sara and others with royal connections are available, I’ll never know.” He turned to escort them in the direction of a door at the end of the corridor. “She’s been waiting for you. Vez is awake but not moving, and she’s not happy.”