by Anna Hackett
Blaine
Blaine ran his hands up Saff’s long, sleek body. He fused his mouth with hers, swallowing her moan.
God, he would never get enough of this woman. His woman.
She undulated against him. “Need you inside me, Earth man.”
They were in an empty corridor inside the House of Galen, hidden in the shadows. He’d backed her up against the wall, one of her long legs hitched over his hip.
Saff’s hand fumbled at the fastenings of his trousers.
From nearby, he heard the noise of the party. “Someone might—”
“Doesn’t matter.” She bit down on his lip, drawing blood.
Blaine’s control slipped, and he pushed her higher until her long legs wrapped around his hips. He didn’t have to push the short hem of her sexy, little dress far to bare her to him.
“God, I love you.” She was his strength, his heart, his partner in every sense of the word.
Her face softened. “Love you too, Earth-man.”
Blaine hated what the Thraxians had done—destroying Fortuna and the lives of so many—but what’s done was done, and he knew in his heart that he wouldn’t change a thing. He was supposed to have Saff in his life. He was a better man with his fierce gladiator by his side.
She nipped his ear. “Now hurry.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Nero
Nero found his woman in Medical. No surprise. “Winter, there’s a party going on.”
She spun, her gold-colored skirts flaring out around her. Pretty as ever, and as always, his body reacted to the sight of her.
Her dark hair was down, his favorite style, and her bi-colored eyes were always fascinating. He even liked the vision device at her temple—it was a part of her now too. He could look at her all day.
“I know, I know.” She held up a hand. “I just had to check on a patient.”
Nero gripped her arm. “Party. Now.”
She huffed out a breath. “Bossy.”
But she followed him as they exited Medical. “I never thought I’d see the day when Nero Krahn was in a hurry to get back to a party.”
Nero leaned down and swept her into his arms, holding her tight against his chest. She gasped, a smile on her lips, and slid her arm across his shoulders.
He brushed his lips against hers. “I’d be happy to find something else for us to do.”
Smiling, she cupped his jaw. “There’s the barbarian gladiator I know and love.”
Love. It pounded through Nero, all for this small woman from a distant planet called Earth.
“Your barbarian.” Always.
“Yes, you are.” She pressed her mouth to his.
Vek
Vek hunched his shoulders. The lights of the party were too bright. There was too much noise and too many people.
Everyone seemed to be having a good time celebrating the end of Zaabha and the Thraxians. He looked over at his Mia. She was swaying her hips to the music and sipping her drink.
As always, shocked pleasure ran through him. She was his, and every day he was amazed by her. He watched the lights glint off her golden hair.
Vek wanted to scoop up his mate and slip off to the rooftop garden. He’d stalk her through the trees and love her under the moonlight. His Mia. She was like a song to his soul. She’d given him his freedom and given him her love. She’d made him the man that he was today.
It didn’t matter that her skin was pink and his was blue, that she was from Earth and he didn’t even remember his planet, they were a perfect match.
She spotted him looking at her and came over to him, a soft smile on her face. Vek knew many people hesitated to even get close to him. But without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around him.
“Want to sneak off?” There was a glint in her eye.
His gut churned. Ever since Rory had given birth, Mia had decided she wanted babies. Even knowing that Vek’s species gave birth to multiple younglings at once hadn’t deterred her. But Vek was big and Mia was so small, and it made him nervous. He’d never let any harm come to her.
But as his mate smiled at him, Vek knew he was doomed, because whatever his Mia wanted, he’d move the entire planet to give it to her.
Chapter Seventeen
Zhim
Zhim tossed back his drink, savoring the burn. His gaze was locked on Ryan.
Did her dress have to be so drakking short?
She was talking with Dayna, waving her arms as she spoke. The tiny black dress—the same color as her hair—was covered in shimmering beads and left most of her slim legs bare.
He was itching to know what she had on under the dress. She’d teased him about it before they’d left their penthouse to come to the party.
A surprise for you to uncover later, info-boy. Well, Zhim hated surprises.
Enough. He strode over and spun her into his arms. She gasped and he pressed a hard kiss to her mouth.
“Well, hello there, info-boy.” She grinned at him, narrowly avoiding spilling her drink.
“You’re driving me crazy.”
She smiled. “That is my goal in life.”
He growled, which only made her smile widen.
“Want to dance?” she asked.
“Not vertically.”
Her eyelashes fluttered, and the heart she’d brought back to life clenched in his chest. Drak, he loved her. He wondered how he’d ever survived without Ryan in his life. She challenged him, met him toe-to-toe, and made him laugh.
She went up on her toes, fiddling with his long hair. “Luckily for you, I’ve made a new list.”
He stiffened, heat shooting through him. Ryan enjoyed making lists of all the things she wanted to try.
Her lips brushed his ear. “I added lots of new sex positions that I want to test out.”
Zhim grabbed her drink and set it down on the table. “No more drinks. I want you sober when I fuck you.”
Ryan tipped her head back and laughed. “Deal.”
Corsair
Corsair kept one arm wrapped around Neve. They both watched her sister coo at her baby.
“She’s happy,” Neve said.
Corsair heard the happiness in his woman’s voice. He knew how much she loved her sister. How much she’d risked for Ever.
“She is.” He paused. “Do you want one?”
“One what?” Neve frowned, then her head jerked, her pale-green eyes going wide. “A baby?”
Corsair hid his smile at her panic and stroked her dark, curly hair. “Yes.”
“Ahh…one day, I guess. But not now.” Her arm tightened on him. “I’m happy with just me and my man.”
He was as well. He could picture a child they’d make together—dark hair and pale-green eyes. There was no doubt in his heart that Neve would be a fierce, protective, and loving mother. One day.
Across the crowd, he saw his two best friends, Mersi and Bren. Mersi had cleaned up well. He was so used to seeing her in her desert gear that the pretty purple dress was a surprise. She was smiling at a lean, bare-chested gladiator from the House of Davon. She laughed and the gladiator smiled. He was clearly flirting with her. Bren stood nearby, scowling at them.
A second later, Bren strode across the space, grabbed Mersi’s arm, and yanked her away.
Uh-oh. Corsair had always known this trouble would come to a head eventually. Neve pressed a hand to his chest and he lost sight of his friends. He blew out a breath. They had to work it out themselves.
He looked down into Neve’s gorgeous face. “Do you want to dance?”
She shot him a slightly horrified look. “No.”
“Want to make out?”
Her eyes flashed. “Now you’re talking, my desert rogue.”
Corsair pulled her closer, breathing deep and drawing in the scent of her. It moved through him, and he felt the same sense of peace and completion he did when he watched the sun rise over the desert dunes.
So wild and fierce. And his.
Rillian
&nbs
p; Rillian handed Dayna a drink. She accepted it with a smile.
She was wearing a sleek column of gold, her hair swept up in a style that left her long neck bare. He was a man with more wealth than he could count, who could buy and sell anything he wanted, but as always, he was thankful this woman was his.
“You are so handsome,” she murmured.
He touched his lips to hers. “And you are so beautiful. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Rillian felt the warmth move through him, amplified by the alien symbiont pulsing along his spine. He felt a tingle of answering energy from Dayna’s symbiont.
His woman was so incredibly tough. She’d survived things that should have killed her, and had still come up ready to embrace life.
He wrapped an arm around her, scanning the party. His gaze fell on Galen and Sam. He watched the imperator tuck a strand of Sam’s hair back behind her ear. The pair was lost in each other, oblivious to the party going on around them.
“I’m happy for him,” Rillian said. “For them both.”
“I’m happy for all of us,” Dayna said. “Our abduction could have turned out very differently.” She cupped Rillian’s cheek. “I consider myself very lucky.”
Everyone hated the Thraxians and all they’d done, but Rillian knew that the aliens had done one good thing—they’d brought these people from Earth into their lives. He was well aware that his entire existence was better because of Dayna.
She leaned into him. “Want to go home and get naked?”
Rillian smiled. “Always.”
Magnus
Magnus held the sleeping child in the crook of his arm. His child.
Ever pressed into his side, and he was once again blindsided by how his life had changed. Changed beyond his wildest imaginings.
One day, he’d been an unfeeling cyborg imperator, and the next, a father with the woman he loved next to him.
He’d never believed that he could feel this much. Love this much.
Ever had changed everything. And baby Asha had changed it even more.
He counted Asha’s eyelashes resting on her cheek. Then he listened to her quiet breaths. Drak, he was the father of this tiny little girl.
“You okay?” Ever stroked a hand down his arm.
“I love you.”
Her lips quirked. “I know.”
“I love her. I will do everything in my power to give you both everything you need.”
A sweet look crossed her face. “We just need you to love us, Magnus. Everything else will fall into place.”
He pressed his cheek to her dark hair, his baby a sweet weight in his arms. “I do. With everything I am.”
“Imperator.”
The voice of one of his elite cyborgs broke through the moment. Magnus focused on Toren, standing to attention beside them. “Yes, Toren?”
“Sorry to interrupt. Jax sent me with a priority message for you from an informant. I thought you’d want to see it.”
Magnus had left his second-in-command, Jaxer, in charge of the House of Rone for the evening. His cyborg best friend had always felt more deeply, and hadn’t been happy to miss a party. Still, Magnus knew it wouldn’t stop the man doing his job to the best of his ability.
Taking the paper, Magnus flicked it open. He read it and frowned. “Is it confirmed?”
“No. Just a rumor.”
“Probability it is correct?”
“By my calculations, twenty-six-point-five percent.”
Not high, but high enough that it couldn’t be ignored. “Thank you, Toren. Please inform Jax to investigate this fully.”
Toren nodded.
“And then get yourself a drink.”
Toren blinked slowly. “A drink?”
“Yes, and join the party.”
Magnus knew he would have had the same blank-faced expression as Toren’s just a few months ago. As the cyborg turned to find himself a drink, Magnus saw Ever trying not to laugh. But when her gaze moved across his face, her smile faded.
“What’s wrong?”
“Maybe nothing. I need to speak to Galen.”
She nodded and took the sleeping baby out of his arms. “Go do your imperator thing.” She pressed her cheek to his arm. “We’ll be waiting.”
A glow blossomed in his chest. Magnus felt the truth of her words and her love. She would always be there, waiting for him.
Galen sat on a chair, the party revolving around him, and Sam in his lap.
He was content and happy. Drak, it felt good. He nuzzled her neck, right where he’d bitten her. One day, if she allowed him, he’d mark her skin with ink to show his commitment.
“I want to help out with training the new gladiator recruits,” Sam said.
Galen smiled. “They’re your recruits.”
She frowned. “What do you mean, they’re my recruits?”
“Sam, you’re mine. I love you.”
Her gaze softened. “I know, boss-man.”
“That means that what’s mine is yours. The House of Galen is yours too.”
She blinked. “Uh, wow. Okay.” She tilted her head. “Does that mean I can be called Imperatoress?”
Galen laughed. “Only when you’re in bed with me.”
“I think I might like to fight in the arena, too. When I’m ready.”
He stroked a hand down her arm. “Whatever you want.” He loved watching her fight.
For the first time ever, Galen looked to the future with pure excitement. Not just to ensuring Raiden had what he needed, or that his people were safe and cared for, or that the innocent were rescued. For the first time, he considered all the things he wanted for himself, and they all revolved around the woman in his arms.
“Galen.”
He looked up at Magnus and frowned. “Magnus. Problem?” He felt Sam stiffen.
“Probably nothing.” The cyborg sat in a chair beside them. “I have an unconfirmed rumor to inform you about.” He held up a folded note.
Instincts firing, Galen took the paper and opened it.
“What is it?” Sam peered at the alien script, but he knew she couldn’t read it.
The words made Galen’s fingers clench on the paper. “An unconfirmed rumor that the Thraxians had a small scout ship with them when they attacked Fortuna Station.”
Sam sucked in a breath, her gaze zeroing in on his face. “And?”
“The main Thraxian ship was already almost at capacity when they attacked Fortuna. That’s why so few of you were taken.”
Sam waited, her dark eyes intense.
“But the scout ship had space. There may be more abducted humans who were taken.”
Her jaw tightened. “And they’re here on Carthago? In captivity?”
“At this time, it’s just a rumor,” Magnus said. “We’ve calculated a twenty-six-point-five percent probability that it’s correct.”
Galen looked at his fellow imperator. “We all read the Thraxian manifest. Every single one of the humans listed in there is standing right here in the House of Galen.”
Magnus nodded. “I am aware. However, I’ve already instructed Jaxer to track this down and corroborate.”
“You’ll keep us informed,” Galen demanded.
Magnus inclined his head. “Of course.”
“Thank you, Magnus,” Sam said.
As the cyborg walked away, Galen wrapped his arms around Sam. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “I don’t want to borrow trouble or worry the others. This might be nothing.”
“Let’s agree to wait and see what Magnus’ cyborgs uncover.”
“I pray it isn’t true.”
Suddenly, fireworks exploded into the sky. The partygoers cheered. Galen recognized Lore’s handiwork when he saw it.
“But if there are more humans out there…” Sam’s voice drifted off.
“We won’t abandon them.” He made a vow to himself that together they’d help find any other humans who might be out there. If they existed.
“For honor and freedom, my gorgeous partner, lover, champion.”
He leaned down, pressing his mouth to hers, drinking deeply. As love filled him, his tattoos glowed, and he kept kissing her as more fireworks exploded overhead.
I hope you enjoyed Galen and Sam’s story!
We haven’t seen the last of Carthago yet. Galactic Gladiators continues with HUNTER, which contains two novellas and a bonus short story.
The first novella is set on the Corsair Caravan starring Corsair’s right-hands Mersi and Bren. The second is set in the Dark Nebula Casino and stars head of security, Tannon Gi, and a feisty cocktail waitress. Read on for their adventures.
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Hunter
A Novella Duo plus short story
Galactic Gladiators #12
Anna Hackett
Desert Hunter
Chapter One
Mersi Kassar sat up straight in the saddle of her tarnid, watching the desert caravan moving behind her.
The two large suns were low in the sky, the dying day’s sunlight warm on her skin. She silently took a quick inventory. A row of the six-legged tarnids walking in single file, and behind them, several other beasts of burden, and then the covered transports. There were a few enthusiastic travelers walking, as well.
She smiled, her gaze turning to the desert dunes beyond. She was a woman of the desert. It was in her blood, her bones, her soul. By the sands, she loved a desert sunset. It was beauty beyond words.