3013: Renegade

by Susan Hayes

  Nikolai burst out laughing at that, happy to see a bit of her sass returning. “I knew you were perfect for us. You have no idea who my family even is. They’re rich, I’m not. And yeah, they’re important, or at least they think they are. Tell you what. Why don’t you go grab a shower while I find you something to wear? Your things are in the wash, so you can’t have them back yet. Then we can have breakfast while I tell you a little about me.” He let her go and stepped back so he could look her in the eye. “And I want to know more about you.”

  “So you can report it?”

  He frowned and shook his head, a spike of frustration slamming through him again. “No. And quit thinking that way. This isn’t going to be an interrogation, it’s just breakfast. I’d like to know a bit more about you. Right now all I know is your name and the fact you look incredible naked Oh yeah, I also know you make this really sexy little whimper right before you come.” He was baiting her again, wanting to see a bit more of her spark before he went back downstairs.

  Alayna’s heart gave a little skip as his frown melted into a lopsided grin, and she flipped him off as she turned and stomped back into her room, well aware that he was watching her bare ass sway with every step she took.

  “Come downstairs when you’re ready,” he called as she neared the door of the bathroom she’d located earlier.

  It wasn’t until she was standing under the jets of hot water that Alayna realized that never once while he held her had Nikolai made any kind of sexual overture. She’d been right there, naked, and all he’d done was hold her in his arms. That wasn’t the action of a man who wanted her just for sex. Neither was washing her clothes, or cooking her breakfast. Maybe there was something to their promises after all.

  Maybe.

  ***

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  If Nikolai ever got his hands on whoever had told Alayna that being chosen was tantamount to being some kind of sex slave, he was going to beat them to a bloody pulp. He had imagined the moment they found their chosen a thousand times, but never once in all those scenarios had the night ended with the woman they’d claimed sobbing herself to sleep in another room. He’d expected her anger. He’d even expected her threats. What he hadn’t been prepared for was her tears. Not that he’d ever tell her that he’d heard her crying, or that he’d seen the single tear that rolled down her cheek before she’d walked away from them.

  Now that they’d spoken, he had some idea why she had reacted that way. While not every bonded trio was perfect, it was very rare for one to be as harsh or cruel as what she had been told was the norm. Someone had being lying to her.

  Last night, she’d told them she had run away less than a week after being tested. That meant she’d been hiding from the authorities for years, afraid of what would happen if they caught her again. There was only one group of people who could have helped her stay out of Alliance hands and hide her scrollwork tattoo. The rebels. That would also explain why she held such harsh opinions about the Alliance. Their chosen was a thief and a renegade.

  Nikolai caught himself laughing quietly as he started preparing breakfast for the three of them. His parents were going to lose their minds when they learned what he and Colin had done.

  He knew he shouldn’t take such pleasure in annoying his family, but it had become a lifelong habit he doubted he’d ever be able to break. The eldest of four children, Nikolai had borne the brunt of his parents’ ambitious expectations from the time he drew his first breath. They had his whole life mapped out, and he had gone out of his way to defy them every chance he got. By the time he was tested and sent away for elite training, it would be hard to say who was more relieved at the separation, him or his parents.

  He hadn’t seen much of them since the day he’d left. After that his parents had focused their attentions on his baby sister, Sonja, and his two brothers, Adam and Scott. Sonja was at home, while his brothers were currently assigned to Alliance duties somewhere far from Earth, no doubt doing great things for the family honor.

  Colin’s family, now that was a different story. They’d welcomed him with open arms, and he knew they would do the same for Alayna. Her lack of pedigree wouldn’t concern them at all. He was still contemplating when he should inform his family about his change in marital status when he heard a whisper of a footfall behind him. He spun around, expecting to see Colin standing there. It was Alayna.

  Great.

  Now he was living with two people with the uncanny ability to walk around in total silence. Cat-like reflexes and stealth were just some of the many potential gifts that came with their enhancements, though it differed from person to person. It was Colin’s talent for coming and going without being detected had earned him the nickname of Ghost while they were still in training. And now they’d gone and found Ghost junior. She was even wearing Colin’s clothing, picked out of the assortment Nikolai had left at the foot of her bed while she showered. He’d of liked to see her in his clothes, but there was no way anything he owned would come close to fitting her smaller frame.

  As he smiled in greeting he took a long look at her outfit and had to admit, she looked a hell of a lot better in it than Colin ever would. She’d picked out a dark gray T-shirt and a pair of running shorts that were so big on her that they nearly came to her knees, showing off her shapely legs. The shirt was big enough that it had slid down over one shoulder, baring a tantalizing amount of golden skin. She’d left her dark hair loose, and in hung in still-damp waves down her back, framing her delicate features and those stunning jade-green eyes.

  She was so damned beautiful, it made his head spin.

  His cock surged to life at the sight of her and it was all he could do not to walk away from the food cooking on the stove to carry her straight back upstairs. Fuck that, the stairs were too far away. He could have her spread out on the table in seconds and call her breakfast. He’d rather eat her sweet pussy than anything else in the world.

  Ease up. She already thinks she’s nothing more than a sex toy. No need to add to that misconception.

  He tried to think of something to say, which was no easy task given most of the blood in his body seemed to be in his dick. “I hope you like scrambled eggs. Oh, and there’s bacon too. And coffee. You do like coffee, right?”

  She perked up at his words, and he could have sworn she bounced on the balls of her feet at the mention of coffee. “Are you talking about real coffee? Real, actual coffee beans ground up and brewed into a magical elixir? Or do you mean that swamp water most places serve because coffee’s expensive and hard to find?”

  “Real coffee. Ghost and I can’t live without it. If you tell me what you like, I’ll program your settings into the coffee maker so it makes you a perfect cup every time.”

  “Interesting priorities. Top of the line coffee maker, generic locks on the doors.”

  “The only thing we have worth stealing is the coffee maker. I still don’t know why you targeted this place. Maybe you can explain that to me while I make breakfast.”

  The last thing Alayna wanted to do was to explain her reasons for breaking in. That was going to lead to all sorts of questions she wasn’t ready to answer yet. How would they react when she told them she was Wraith, the thief who had been stealing supplies from every Alliance base within a hundred miles? Would they turn her in? Being claimed was bad enough, but if she was handed over to the Alliance now, she’d have no life at all.

  “Alayna, you in there? How do you take your coffee?” Nik was grinning at her now, waving one hand slowly back and forth in front of her face.

  “That depends. Do you have real sugar to go with that real coffee?”

  Nikolai responded by curling his lip up in mock horror. “If you’re sure you want to contaminate the world’s finest beverage with that crap, then we have it.”

  Alayna’s mouth was actually watering at the thought of having a cup of real coffee. It had been months since the last time she’d had the time or the opportunity to enjoy any of her favorite in
dulgences. “I’m sure. Stars, am I sure.” She smirked at him. “And you keep saying you have nothing here worth stealing. Do you know what a pound of real coffee goes for out there?”

  “To be honest? No. This is all new to me. I was raised deep in Alliance controlled territory, and once I graduated most of my assignments have been off-planet. Ghost is the one who got a taste of life out here before he and his mom were claimed.”

  “Colin was born out here?” She gestured out the nearest window. That was one of the many things that she found strange about her new home, so many windows. The places she had grown up in were cramped, ramshackle affairs that were designed primarily to keep out the weather and any dangers that might be lurking. This place was huge by her standards, well maintained and clean. The contents were pretty nondescript and functional, from the utilitarian furnishings to the plain, off-white walls, but to her, it was a palace.

  “Different quadrant, but yeah, he was born in the badlands.” Nikolai led her over to the coffee maker, showing her how to program it as he kept up their conversation. “You said last night that you had family out there. Were you born around here?”

  “I don’t know where I was born. My foster father found me in the wreckage of a shuttle crash. I was only a few weeks old as best he could tell. My mother died not long after he found the wreckage, and she was the last one alive. She managed to tell him my first name, and asked him to save me. He did. They salvaged the wreck, buried the dead and when they moved on, Sam took me with him. He’s the only family I’ve ever known.” Alayna had never told that story to anyone before, and Nikolai’s reaction surprised her. He didn’t say he was sorry. He got downright pissed off.

  “The bastard took you? Didn’t he try to find your family? If you were on a shuttle transpo, you parents were almost certainly Alliance citizens. Your DNA would have been registered immediately after birth. You’re telling me he just walked away with you that day?” Nikolai couldn’t believe what he was hearing. In a world where every child was precious, what kind of man would simply walk away with another family’s baby and let them think she died?

  “Have you been out there yet, Nik? I mean way out, fifty, sixty miles into the bad areas where the land is still oozing radiation from wounds that will take centuries to heal. There are people living out there, in the middle of Hell, because they’d rather take their chances in the badlands than join your precious Alliance. My foster father is one of them. If he left me there, I’d of been dead within hours. He saved my life, but he did it while scavenging Alliance property. What do you think would have happened if he’d tried to report finding me? He’d of ended up in jail, or worse.”

  There had to be something wrong with him. Here they were, having a serious conversation, and all Nikolai could think about was how fucking sexy she was when she got riled. He might spend the rest of their lives taking shots at her just so he could see her eyes flash and her cheeks flush as she told him off. He loved the fact she wasn’t afraid of him. Hell, she called him Nik. No one called him that. He hated that nickname. Well, he hated it when anyone else used it. When it rolled off her tongue? It sounded perfect. What were they talking about again? Right. Her fucked up foster father and the rebels. He needed to stay focused or he was going to end up doing something she wouldn’t appreciate, like haul her into his arms until she started making those, soft, sexy little moans he liked so much.

  He took a deep breath and forced himself to stay on target. “So, you never wondered where you came from? Who your parents were?”

  “Of course I wondered. But I was only fourteen when the Alliance appeared in the village I was staying in and started processing everyone.” He watched her fingers touch the scrollwork tattoo that marked her as fertile, and caught the flicker of pain and sadness in her deep green eyes. “After that, I didn’t have a home anymore, and there was no way I could risk making those kinds of inquires or talking to Alliance personnel. If I did, they would have caught me again.”

  “Fourteen? You’ve been on the run since you were only fourteen? How did you manage?” The badlands were a harsh, cruel place to live for a, fully trained and well-armed adults. He couldn’t imagine what it must have it been like for the girl she’d been back then. When she answered with a simple shrug and a feral grin, Nikolai fell a little bit in love with her.

  “I got by.”

  He hadn’t even seen her move, but at some point in their discussion she must of, because the next thing she did was to hold up the folding knife he always kept in his pocket. “How did you…”

  Her grin morphed into a smirk and she danced back a step. “I’m actually a much better thief than you might think, given that you two caught me last night.”

  “Let’s not forget that you managed to lock yourself in your room this morning, too.” He knew better than to goad her, but fuck, she was so damned sexy when she got her dander up. Besides, she clearly didn’t want to talk about what was what like for her out there, or she wouldn’t be trying to distract him.

  “You’re not going to let me forget that, are you?” She took a step toward him, her eyes flashing with green fire.

  “Not ever, little vorovka. Now, give me back my knife.” He held out his hand, half hoping that she wouldn’t give in that easily. His blood was heating, his cock was swelling, and he was dying to taste her lips again.

  Come and play with me, minx.

  Alayna didn’t want to talk about her childhood or what life was like after she’d been tested anymore. It had been a long time since anyone had cared enough to ask, and while she appreciated the fact Nik had, she wasn’t ready to open up to him. Not yet. She took another step back, dangling the knife in front of her, but Nik didn’t follow. His gaze was hot enough to sear flesh, and she could see the telltale bulge of his erection trapped behind his jeans. It was clear he wanted her, but the way his one fist was clenched at his side, he was determined not to make the first move. If she didn’t, Alayna felt certain he’d go back to preparing their breakfast. It made her feel oddly safe to know that he was waiting for her.

  “And if I don’t?” She bounced back another step, testing him again.

  “Alayna…” he growled her name in warning and her nipples tightened in response to the hunger in his voice. She might not be ready to tell him her life story, or let down the walls around her heart, but if she was being honest with herself, she wouldn’t mind feeling his cock pounding into her again. She just needed to know if they were serious about her being more than a sex toy.

  There was only one way to find out.

  ***

  CHAPTER NINE

  Nikolai knew the moment his minx made up her mind. Her eyes narrowed and the tip of her tongue flicked over her lower lip. She stood where she was, but her gaze drifted down to his crotch and then slowly back up again, until she was looking him in the eyes.

  “Don’t move,” she told him and he froze in place, one hand still outstretched in front of him.

  Alayna prowled up to him slowly, ignoring his hand to tuck the knife back into his pocket. This time he was aware of every moment of contact. The warmth of her hand, the way her fingers brushed through the fabric to caress his thigh before withdrawing. A hint of vanilla and spice teased at his nose, and Nikolai realized it was the scent of one of the shampoos they’d stocked her bathroom with. He liked it. No, he loved the fact she was wearing their clothes and smelled of the soap they had picked out for her. His fingers itched to sweep the dark, silken fall of her hair back from her face so he could see their mark on her again, but he resisted. She was testing him right now, and he would be damned if he was going to fuck this up. For once, he was going to resist the need to be in control and let her take the lead.

  Just this one time.

  “Do you want to kiss me?” she asked.

  Nikolai’s cock jerked in his pants. He wanted to do a lot more than just kiss her. “Yes.”

  “But you won’t unless I say you can, right?”

  “You’re not a sex toy,
Alayna. You have the right to tell me no. But be careful. Like I warned you last night, you’re playing with fire.”

  She stood up on tiptoe, her face upturned so that her hot little mouth was close enough he could kiss her if he dropped his head…but he didn’t. He had to show her she could trust him.

  Even if his dick never forgave him for it.

  “I’m not afraid of you, Nik.” Her hands landed on his chest and she held herself there, close enough he could feel her body heat.

  “I think you are afraid of me. But you shouldn’t be. If there’s only one thing you believe, Alayna, believe this. I will never hurt you. Neither of us would. You’re precious to us.”

  She narrowed her eyes in challenge and slid her hands up until they were clasped around the back of his neck. “I’m not afraid.”

  “If you’re not afraid, then prove it. Kiss me,” he challenged her back, pushing her as far as he dared.

  “You don’t scare me,” she snarled and then tugged his head down. The moment their lips met, his world lit up like a match dropped in rocket fuel. She was all fire and fury, her fingers gripping his hair as her teeth closed on his lower lip.

  Fuck, she was so sexy when she let herself get wild.

  Alayna knew he’d been baiting her, but it didn’t matter. She’d never backed down from a challenge. He was wrong, too. She wasn’t afraid of him. Not anymore. How could she be when he’d restrained himself for her, letting her take control. She knew his type. Knew he wasn’t the kind of man who took orders from anyone. But he had. For her. They still had a long way to go before she even considered forgiving them for what they’d done to her, but it was a start.