by Ginna Moran
He remains expressionless and silent under my scrutiny. Nerves bunch in my stomach as he returns the favor and draws his gaze down my body, stopping at my breasts, my nipples tight and pressing against the fabric of my jumpsuit, clearly enjoying his attention. My. Damn. Boobs. This would be a lot easier if I could just kill the attraction rising in me.
Clearing my throat, I meet his startling hazel eyes. Something warm washes through me as he locks me in a gaze I can’t break. Whoa. What is wrong with me? He obviously looks just as surprised, his eyes widening for a split second.
He flicks his eyes from mine first, finally releasing me. “You have five minutes. Eat up or starve.”
“Can’t you at least tell me what my options are for duties? I’ll tell you if I can perform them or not.” I expect him to glower at me, yell at me, something.
He freaks me out a bit by smiling. Not only because something dark lines in his eyes but also because he looks hot as hell doing so. He grabs the bars of my door and squeezes them in his fingers. “No. You will do whatever I tell you to do.” He says the words like he’s absolutely certain that I’ll comply with whatever he demands. Bastard.
“That’s what you think,” I mutter under my breath.
“I know,” he practically purrs under his voice. He smacks the bars, startling me. “Now eat up.” He doesn’t turn away or anything like he plans to watch me suffer trying to eat something completely inedible.
I drop my gaze to the strange, raw meat on the floor. I can’t tell what the hell kind of animal it is, but I’d rather starve than even consider getting it near my mouth. So instead, I straighten my shoulders, turn my back on him, and stroll to the bunk to flop down.
Uh-oh.
The cell door buzzes and slides open. I remain frozen on the cot as Kash storms into my cell and picks up the meat. Before I can react, he drops it onto my chest, pelting my face with meat liquid. I screech and fling it off, smacking him in the stomach with it. It splats to the floor, splashing juice on his pants and boots.
Ah, hell. He looks ready to force-feed the gross meat to me.
“If you even think about it, you better just throw me in whatever the fuck the pit is now,” I say, clenching my fingers into fists. “I’m not eating that shit.”
His eyes light in an orange glow. “Fine. Then starve.”
Kash grabs me by the wrist and drags me out of my cell with him. I can barely keep my feet moving to stay with his long, fast strides. My bare feet squeak on the cold tiles, and I consider just giving up.
“Keep up, inmate,” he mutters.
This. Guy.
I know better than to open my mouth and argue. If only the huge, annoyed part of me could resist fighting him. Because I’m not the criminal this damn world makes me out to be. I shouldn’t be here. The last place I belong is in a world full of creatures from my nightmares.
I summon my nerve and go flaccid in his arms. He drags me ten feet before realizing that I slide across the floor. Releasing my wrist, he drops me with a growl. I huff, my back hitting the tiles. I don’t try to get up or move or anything. I freeze under his fiery stare, his eyes feeling as if he burns my jumpsuit off me to peek at me naked.
“Get up now, inmate,” he says, towering over me.
“No.” I tense as the sharp word explodes from my mouth. What is wrong with me? Something about Kash prods at me and makes me want to rebel and push boundaries. If this was a prison back home, I doubt I’d resist like I am now, even if I was innocent. It’s just—this place. Fuck. This guy even. I have so many questions, and with how he and the other guards act, I swear that the only way I’ll ever get answers is if I somehow either beat it out of them—which, yeah-fucking-right—or seduce them and screw it out of them. Is that even possible?
Maybe.
I know I’m not imagining the weird-ass attraction buzzing through me, even now as I lie on the floor right in front of him. He swallows, his jaw shifting with the gesture. For a split second, he looks like he has no idea what the hell to do. His confusion goads me on even more.
I prop up on one elbow and fling my hair out of my face. “If you want me to keep up, you’re either going to have to drag or carry me.”
His eyes flash with something indecipherable. Annoyance? A teensy bit. It’s something else too, something that quirks up the sides of his lips in a half smile. “All right, kitten. If this is the game you want to play.”
Bending over, Kash locks his fingers around my ankles and lifts me upside down by my feet. I shriek at the sudden spinning of the world around me as he tosses me into the air. He catches me in his arms and glares at me only to drop me halfway. Locking his hands around my knees, the bastard hangs me upside down right in front of his damn groin. My nose brushes his pants, and I stiffen.
He releases a strange, deep noise in his throat and shifts me a bit, but it’s not before his body reacts to my closeness. His pants grow in my direction, and his surprise boner brushes my cheek. And holy hell is this guy hung. And so incredibly hard. Now I can’t stop thinking about his hot body or how his clothes smell a bit like a fireplace and cinnamon and a few unfamiliar scents that I can only describe as warmth and sunshine. Nothing like his cold eyes.
“Do you mind?” I ask, risking stretching my neck to look up at him. All my gesture does is make me rub my head harder to his crotch.
He releases a low, deep groan in his throat.
One second I’m swinging upside down with his quick pace, and in the next, I fall a few feet. I brace to hit the floor, but a soft cushion breaks my fall. I shoot up and look around a quaint living room. Kash strides a few feet away and kicks the door closed.
My heart beats wildly, his eyes drinking me in from his spot across the room. I feel naked even in my clothes and wonder what the hell I’m doing. I don’t know what the prison rules are, but I’m nearly certain Kash is breaking them to get me alone.
“What are you doing? I’m not going to bang or blow you, if that’s what you think,” I say, clenching my fingers into fists. “That kind of fun must be earned, CO.” Who the hell said that? It sounded like me, but it doesn’t feel like me.
Kash scrubs his hand over his face. “You’re right about that. Now, don’t even think about getting up. If you move an inch, you will end up back in your cell for incompliance.”
“Not the pit?” I ask, remaining on my back.
“I can’t watch you in the pit.” Turning his back on me, he unfastens his belt. “You’re my inmate. You will learn who’s in charge the way I want.”
“Maddox—” I cringe as I say a name I shouldn’t. “I mean, the other CO threatened me with that.”
Stripping out of his uniform shirt, Kash twists on his feet. “I doubt it was a threat. CO Dreki doesn’t make those. He only makes promises.” Dreki? That’s what he called Rowan too. Not only are these guards coworkers and friends, I’m nearly certain they might be brothers or cousins or something. How could I miss this?
My eyes roam down Kash’s neck and to his taut, broad chest. The bastard is totally doing this on purpose because of my banging comment. And his games are working. Because, damn. Tattoos paint his golden skin, from his chest and up his neck and down both arms. I devour each of his bone-hard muscles, how his abs clench and flex like he can feel my gaze actually touching him.
“But not you?” I ask.
His jaw tightens and he continues to strip from his clothes, not even caring that I watch him kick his pants off. And holy shit. His boner is even more impressive without the fabric of his uniform pants keeping his body contained. His black boxer-briefs do the opposite, giving me the best damn view.
Without answering my question, he says, “I’m going to shower. Like I said, stay here. If you move, you’ll regret it. Once I get out, you’ll start your tasks.”
“Will it include drying you off?” I ask, my mouth smirking. I think he underestimates that nothing his sexy self can do will make me uncomfortable. “That seems like an awfully big task since you ke
ep growing. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you liked me.”
It takes everything in me not to laugh at his reaction. His steely face cracks under my words and he covers his mouth to stifle the lusty growl that comes from his throat. He surprises the hell out of me by dropping his underwear and kicking them into his pile of clothes. I shamelessly stare at him, my eyes glued to his delicious body. He doesn’t react under my scrutiny, but I swear he shifts to give me a better view.
I remain utterly still, wondering what the hell is going on. I don’t even flinch under his bravado, and I wonder if this is all some sort of test. Why the hell would he drag me from my cell and bring me to what I’m nearly certain is his personal living quarters? If my brain would stop obsessing over the sight of his rippling muscles as he enters the bathroom, I might be able to process this. But maybe not.
He leaves the door to the bathroom open, and I risk sitting up on the couch. Peering around the room, I take in the green carpet, small coffee table, and open kitchen. The bed sits on a raised platform in a loft area. Disheveled blankets hang over the edge, spilling onto a desk beneath it. Other than an open closet of nicely hung uniforms and a pile of dirty laundry on the floor, there isn’t much else to look at—not pictures, a TV, or anything. No wonder these COs are like this. They’re basically in their own prisons here.
I listen to the sound of the running water and push up, tiptoeing across the room. I sneak toward the small kitchen, my stomach rumbling at the sight of the fridge. Getting thrown back in my cell will be worth disobeying his orders. I realize how hungry I am as I spot the bowl of fruit on the counter.
Snatching up a banana, I peel it and shove half of it into my mouth. I moan at the sweet flavor, my belly still screaming.
“Inmate!” Kash yells, startling the hell out of me. He stands in the doorway to the living room butt-ass naked, his chiseled body glistening with water and suds of soap.
I shoot my gaze to him, my mouth still full with the hunk of banana. He shakes his head, sending water pelting the wall. Rushing in my direction, he leaves a trail of footprints across the carpet.
I do the only thing I can think of.
I chew as fast as I can and shove the rest of the banana in my mouth, throwing the peel right at Kash. It splats against his chest and falls to the ground. He stops a foot away, his chest heaving, his body tense with his anger. I cringe and swivel, cowering just a bit under his intimidating presence.
Grabbing my shoulder, he pulls me to him, closing the space. He leans in and glowers, his eyes lighting with fire. Heat zings from his fingers and to the rest of me, warming my core from inside out. My breath catches in my throat, and I finally swallow the banana, half-expecting him to stick his finger down my throat to see if he can remove it from my body.
“I-I’m sorry,” I whisper, trying to keep my voice even. “I couldn’t help myself. I’m so hungry.”
“And I brought you dinner,” he snaps, digging his fingers more into my shoulder.
“Something I can’t eat. If I can even stomach that bullshit enough to get it down, I doubt it’ll stay down. I don’t know what you think I am, but it’s not some beast. I’m human. I eat fruit and vegetables. Carbs. Cooked meat on a good day. Not something that looks like you found it on the side of the road and skinned only to torment me with.” My chest heaves with my breath, my breasts grazing his bare chest. And then I remember he’s naked.
So does he.
Raising his hand, he points to the couch. “Go sit and wait for me, damn it. I mean it.”
I release a haggard breath and bob my head, my whole body quivering under the freezing air the lack of his presence leaves behind. With one last look over his shoulder he disappears into the bathroom.
He obviously doesn’t trust me to leave me alone for more than two minutes because he returns to the living area rinsed of soap with a towel slung low around his hips. I rub my lips together, taking a peek at him again, imagining his towel dropping to the floor.
Stomping to the kitchen, he grabs a box of something from the cupboard. My stomach rumbles at the picture of what I think might be crackers on the front. Something shifts in Kash’s hazel eyes the closer he gets to me. His jaw twitches, his stone-hard expression softening for a split second.
And then the fucker dumps the box of crackers on the floor in front of me.
“Clean this shit up,” Kash says with a scowl. “After that, take care of the rest of the damn place.” Crossing his arms, he trains his eyes on me. “Now.”
I glare at him, wanting to tell him to clean his own damn place and that I’m not a maid, but he grabs my shoulder and tugs me from the couch to knock me on my ass on the floor. Without even getting dressed, he slumps onto the sofa and plops back, his smooth, muscular hip and leg showing off from his tied towel. Because I don’t move right away, his knee brushes between my shoulders. My skin tingles under the simple touch of his body to mine.
He intakes a deep breath and holds it, stiffening behind me. “Nova...”
The softness of his voice grabs my attention, and I swivel and look at him. My heart picks up speed at just the caress of my name on his lips. I want to hear him say it again to assure myself I didn’t imagine it. Something strange comes over me the longer I look into his eyes. A dozen thoughts light with fire, turning his beautiful gaze orange.
“What am I doing here?” I finally manage to ask.
“I’m assessing your capabilities.” He remains serious, despite his muscles rippling. “To assign you work.”
My gaze breaks from his to travel down his pecs and to his chiseled abs. I’ve never seen muscles like his. Where Galaxy, Mars, and Orion’s muscles were lean and sinewy, Kash is like a concrete wall carved into a man and sexy as hell. No art piece I’ve ever seen quite has a body like his, especially his once-again hardening dick, set off under my scrutiny.
“Have you never seen a man’s erection before?” he asks, snapping my attention from his impressive cock—hard, long, and thick enough that I imagine being able to show him quite the performance with my acrobatic pole skills.
I lick my lips. “A boner? Yes. A beast of one like yours? No. I told you already that I don’t belong here. You’re obviously not human, and I’m not whatever the hell you think I am.”
He howls a laugh and suddenly sits up. “You want to see it again, kitten?”
I gawk at him in surprise. I mean, what the hell? Is he for real? “Yes.” Whoa. Shit, did I just say that?
I’m not the only one surprised by my word. His face darkens with something indistinguishable, his handsome smile fading. Silence draws between us, and I shift more to face him. His eyes trail away from mine and to my mouth, studying my lips so intently that they tingle in anticipation. A crazy-intense need overcomes me, and I risk Kash yelling at me for getting to my feet.
Sitting up straighter, Kash leans forward, his large hand encircling mine. He pulls me closer, catching me between his knees. His warm thighs sandwich me between his legs, and fire blazes in his eyes like he plans to devour me.
“Kash...”
The second his name escapes my lips, I inhale a sharp breath. My legs tremble in panic, the memory of Maddox threatening me because I said his name before freaking me out about Kash’s reaction. But Kash doesn’t react the way I expect. He reaches his other hand up and glides his fingertips over my hip and to my side.
Our gazes meet once again with me staring down at him. His nostrils flare, his jaw tightening.
A bang sounds on the door, startling me. I stumble away, crunching my feet into the crackers littering the carpet. Kash hops up and catches me before I eat shit on the floor. Another thud hits the door, and Kash releases me.
He points to the mess. “Clean this up, inmate. Don’t say a word. Got it?”
I can only manage to bob my head, my emotions churning wildly inside me.
Kash crosses the room, leaving me in my spot. I kneel on the floor and swipe a few crackers up, stuffing them down the front o
f my jumpsuit. Gross? Most definitely. But my stomach growls in desperation, Kash’s distance now reminding me of more important things than checking out the hot body of one of the cruel guards who might try to break me.
“CO Dreki, what the fuck?” Maddox appears in the doorway to Kash’s living space. “You disobeyed my order.”
Ah, hell.
I snatch up as many crackers as I can and shove the ones I can’t fit between my boobs into my mouth. A shadow casts over me, and I chew as fast as I can. Hands lock to the back of my jumpsuit and haul me from the floor. Maddox dangles me in front of him, huffing deep breaths. His cinnamon scent engulfs me, filling my airspace.
“She’s going to the pit,” Maddox says, glowering past me.
“What for?” Kash steps closer, his presence warming my back. “It’s my shift, so I can do with her as I please.”
“Do not undermine my authority.” Maddox shifts me onto his shoulder.
“Fuck off. She’s mine.” Kash locks his fingers to my hips and tries to jerk me away.
“Yours?” Maddox’s voice rumbles from his throat. “Yours?”
I screech as the world falls out from under me, and my knees hit the carpet. Heat blazes around me, the air turning hotter by the second. Panic ignites inside my core. I don’t have a chance to move or do anything as Kash shoves his hands against Maddox’s chest. Maddox stumbles under the force and hits the wall with a crack.
His skin ripples, his gold eyes sparking orange. It’s like lava flows through his veins as deep, metallic scales shimmer across his arms with his strange transformation. But he doesn’t turn into the beast I can’t get from my mind—the flying creature unlike anything I’ve ever seen—but he doesn’t need to. He releases a deep, throaty growl from his throat before fire explodes from him, singeing across the carpet to surround me.
Shadows edge my vision, the intense heat threatening to devour me.
The world turns dark except for the orange and yellow flames.
They swallow me whole.
Chapter 7