“I don’t know; wherever humans go into the afterlife. The others are stuck here, to you because the planet hasn’t figured out if you are alive or dead or what to make of you. They receive the dead spirit; nothing dies on this planet—it arrives dead.”
“What do I do?” Raymond asked. “Jack and the others can’t kill me. You’re right, dead can’t kill dead.”
“Oh, God.” Becky turned as the men began to stir. Moaning filled her ears as their bodies slipped back together. Tom jerked and was on his knees. Jack growled and glared at Becky while her heart pounded in her breast. Arms began reaching in her direction.
“I’m not dead,” Huck said. His words were meaningful and Becky could only open and close her mouth with no sound emerging.
Raymond glanced at Jack as the apparition gained his feet. “Then kill me.” Raymond flung his arms wide.
Becky screamed when Huck pounced. She never got to say goodbye. Huck sliced Raymond’s head from his shoulders in a move so fast it was blurred. Becky gave in and slumped to the ground. A huge gust of wind ruffled her hair and she knew Raymond was gone. When she looked there was no body.
“I wasn’t sure, but I thought so,” Huck said.
“What?” Becky whispered.
“Raymond’s link took the others with him. Look, they’re all gone. Don’t worry, they’ll go together as spirits and Raymond will be fine. If any humans ever land here, they will be safe enough with Jack and the others gone.”
Becky garnered no comfort from his words. She slumped and hung her head. Becky could battle physically, but emotional demons were harder to slay. She didn’t protest when Huck picked her up after dropping his shield. Her face buried into his throat. She allowed his calming secretions to flow through her as she let a few tears fall. Raymond had been a friend. He was a good man. He had been. The last of her old life was truly gone.
* * * *
Huck was going crazy; his shield was going crazy. Becky’s tears soaked into his flesh which howled at the invasion, wanting to toss her away while his stubborn shield made him pull her closer. In the cavern, her first assault of tears had been a shock to his system. The emotions invaded his body when her eyes leaked rivers, but his shield was calm, explaining the hurt she felt was loss for another. Sympathy and a kind hand were all she needed.
The pain of the fewer tears was more intense. The pain was hers, it was real. Every drop kicked him in the guts. Heart wrenching, all-encompassing sadness overloaded a warrior Tonan who was half evil. A small part didn’t care she hurt, but the larger part fueled by his shield made him want to howl in frustration. The shuttle was soon in his vision and a small leap took him inside. He strode to the console and punched in a coordinate taking them into space. Once the shuttle was in motion, he moved them to the bedroom where he sat with Becky.
“I didn’t get to say goodbye—again. I should have said goodbye,” she said weeping; a single tear trailed down her cheek leaving a path of sadness in its wake. The stain of emotion was raw and visible. Huck had dealt with terror-filled tears and fear of other human females, but the tear that dripped from her chin to land on his arm was dragged into his veins where it roared to his heart.
Huck groaned realizing she thought him cruel, his act a blunder of indecency. “I needed to move fast. The others were coming to. I sensed his fear. I promised him no pain. If he had stood there with you crying and him crying, the others would have grabbed you. It was for your sake as well. He felt no pain. It was a kindness I offered, not a cruelty, I swear.”
Huck’s emotions were howling on the inside, it was his damned shield sucking her secretions, wanting to analyze and modify. Gearing Huck for his new mate and what she needed. Too many emotions made his head pound and Huck dragged her into the captive room. He closed them into the shower stall and commanded the water on. He could sense his shield growl with the intrusion.
The shield tried harder, but the pounding water intensified on Huck’s command and Becky began struggling.
“You’re drowning me,” she yelled.
“I’m saving me.”
Huck held her tighter and she buried her face into his neck with her hand cupped over the side of her nose and mouth. Her warm breath crept over him, wafting to his nose. So much sadness. Despair, loneliness, loss. He couldn’t escape her.
Damn.
“Shower off,” Huck demanded.
He stepped from the stall and dripping he strode to the bedroom where he dropped her on the bed. She wouldn’t look at him. The scent of fear mingled with loss, to ravel in hopelessness. Emotions Huck never once felt were surrounding him, enveloping his senses as evil battled compassion. His body was an explosion of frustration. She should die; they should mate. If they mated, he would be able to control her emotions, thus controlling his. She wouldn’t mate him; he knew she wouldn’t, not now.
Compromise. Thundered.
“Where’s your fight?” he demanded.
“I will never understand you.”
“You could and you can if you’re willing to try. If you won’t mate me, give me a chance to show you what we can feel together.”
“Sex.”
“A bond. If we bond, we will mate, eventually. But on your terms. I’m a warrior, Becky. I make terms, I kill for less. Let me show you you’re not alone. If we bond we can approach Cobra. He may try to take you for his warriors, but I will demand to keep you. Cobra will understand so he’ll have two options, kill me fast or allow you the time you need to make your decision.”
Becky stared up at him. A touch to her cheek with the backs of his fingers and he knew she was considering his offer. He sensed her fight was waning. Slow realization overcame him. Human females weren’t all weak. When everything is taken, including hope, there is nothing but fear and sadness. It was no wonder he never sensed any other emotion while on the Tonan vessel.
“Would Cobra really kill you?” Becky asked.
“In a heartbeat if he thought it necessary. I wouldn’t make it easy.”
“Why would you risk it? I’m a bad ass, but I can’t stop you from doing what you want.”
“My insides war, my scents war, my shield wars. Let me win this battle for the sake of a compromise. A truce. Then in the end, no matter what happens we’ll see who wins the war.”
“You’re too big.”
“I’m a warrior. I’m built for power, control. But I haven’t overpowered you. I’m offering you control. And I’m not ripping half of that part off my anatomy for anyone.”
“All through school boys were afraid of me,” Becky said. “Some were asses and figured if they could pin me, I was theirs, like some kind of prize. They learned real fast I’m no prize, and I won’t be controlled.”
“Why do you fight? You’re female; you don’t need to be a warrior.”
“Females need to be the best warriors.”
“Why?”
“I lost my mother at a young age, my dad never told me how she died, but I think she was murdered. My dad taught me to fight. Everyone joked he was a commando or something, but he only wanted his little girl safe. I don’t remember a time not training. It was as though he knew something bad was going to happen. My dad was older than my mother. He was forty when I was born. A bear of a man, even up to his death a few years ago. We had each other’s backs. We were in a storm, a mudslide, and he died. I was alone until I met Raymond.”
“Is it because of your father you have nightmares?”
“I see his face as he dies. I can’t save him.”
Huck perched on the bed. “My parents died four hundred years ago. I was with them. I saw their faces, too, and couldn’t help them.”
“Does your kind grieve?”
“In a way. I killed the man who was my biological father and felt better. I didn’t realize how satisfying it would be to rip his throat out.”
“Mental image. Thanks. Cupcake is on the tip of my tongue.”
Huck sighed. He wasn’t trying to scare her. “If you bond with
me, I promise the need to call me cupcake will vanish.” I fucking hope so. He snuck into his thoughts before his tail could grow. He groaned after that thought. Damn, the tail did already grow, before, stupid ghosts. He had already lied to the human males.
Huck stood and allowed his shield to come up. He could hear in his mind the shield swearing. Huck gripped the small stub at his ass and yanked then bellowed. Becky covered her ears. Damn that hurts. It wasn’t as bad as before and both he and his shield were grateful. He dropped his shield and eased beside Becky again. Her gaze was less than stellar and she shifted farther from him. He sensed her worry. In retrospect he supposed ripping off a piece of himself, even a tail would be construed as creepy. If he could do that to himself what would he do to her?
“I’ll do my best to be careful with you,” Huck meant what he said.
“Huck, my dad kept me close. Sheltering me as best as he could.”
Huck shrugged. “So?”
Becky looked uncomfortable. He almost snorted; he was the one with the sore ass. She shifted, her gaze fleeing around the room, her hands tucked into her lap. Huck took one of her hands, pressing it between his two and immediately secretions slipped into her skin to settle her. She refused to look at him. Huck was forced to concentrate, harder than he ever had. The stubborn female wouldn’t give up what she hinted at. The scent was trying to elude him but his shield would have none of that.
Innocence.
Huck’s eyes widened in astonishment. “I was under the impression human females and males were sexually active. Every human female I’ve encountered had been with a male.” A thought assaulted him, he wasn’t lying, he just hadn’t remembered.
There was one, before the captain killed her.
“Their choice?”
Her eyes flashed anger for an instant until he calmed her. “I never asked. I never took them. When the other Tonans killed the last human female on our ship, I realized my hope finding a mate on that ship was useless. The females were watched, the males were watched. Because my father has rebel blood but my mother did not, many kept a close eye on me, especially when I showed mercy. My father never would, he would laugh at another’s fear. My stepfather would show kindness. I think it was one of the reasons his kind of Tonan was weeded out, or the other Tonans tried to. I have my father’s blood but my stepfather’s shield. The shield is stronger.”
“You’re too confusing. Did you guess I’m a virgin or not?”
“Yes.”
“You’re too big for a first time.”
“Well, excuse me, but I don’t have time to find a smaller cock. Besides, I like the idea of me being your first.” And only.
“This isn’t the way I imagined my life.”
Huck snorted. “You and me both.”
“So we do this and we go to Cobra and I decide?”
“We bond, not do this, and yes, we go to Cobra.”
“What if Cobra tries to kill me because we bonded?”
Huck felt rage heat his face and Becky shied back. “I’d rip his guts out his fucking ass and strangle him with his intestines.”
As Becky’s eyes widened, Huck realized his answer might have been a bit harsh. He strode from the room, but not before he could hear her mutter the inevitable word: cupcake.
Chapter 6
Becky fidgeted from nerves. After Huck’s last heated statement, he stormed from the room.
“Holy hell, cupcake,” she whispered.
I’m no pansy, but shit, he can be intense.
Becky went to the door and peeked around the corner. She heard the shower running which should have surprised her; she was still damp from her recent dunking. She bet the water he was under was cold as ice. Standing at the replicator, Becky asked for a shot of whiskey. A glass materialized and she reached with a trembling hand, settled her fingers around the glass and brought it to her lips. In one swift motion she downed the contents and set the glass back. Her breath expelled in a whoosh, it was at least one hundred percent pure. She wasn’t interested in getting drunk. It had been a long time since she’d had alcohol and the substance heated every part of her the second it hit her belly.
The window, dark ebony beyond with sudden spurts of bright shooting light drew her to the beauty. All she ever saw anymore was this familiar scene. The few planets she and the men stopped at they never made roots, too fearful of the Tonans. Always on the move, her feet missed terrain. Her bare toes scrunched under her feet against the hard cool floor of the shuttle. She hated space.
“Yet, here I am,” she muttered.
Huck was there standing behind her after her spoken thoughts. Their eyes met until her gaze drifted to his body. All of him was bare, power, magnificent. The hand he placed on her shoulder was warm and firm. Skin to skin he oozed heat throughout her entire being. Becky turned to gaze up at him. There was no emotion on his impassive face.
“I don’t love you,” she whispered.
“But you can love, I scent you know how. I can, but it’s been a very long time and my shield is telling me the emotion will be different. I’ve only ever loved my mother; I respected my stepfather. He was a good father, so I know what my son will need.”
Son? She must have heard wrong and dismissed the thought. The idea of landing on a planet and staying put was what she centered on. Huck hadn’t hurt her. Cobra might. Something told her if she bonded with Huck, nothing would touch her. The mental image of intestines wrapped around some guy’s throat crept into her mind until she shoved it out. For years she heard how awful Tonans were. Huck wasn’t awful. She’d heard Castians were honorable but wanted human females. What if they weren’t honorable? All Becky had was the here and now standing before her.
“Will bonding make me love you?”
“Bonding will make you receptive to loving me, but only your heart can tell you who you love.”
“For a year, I didn’t allow any of those men to touch me.”
Huck trailed his fingers down her bare arm making her shiver. “You need a powerful mate. You need a home. You need someone to watch your back while you kick ass. None of those men could have offered what I can. They were willing to share you. If you mate with me you will be mine!”
“You can’t take me to Cobra unless we bond?”
“I could, but I don’t know if Cobra would risk getting his warriors killed over a single female. I would be considered volatile. They might risk invading my shuttle to capture you. You could be injured. With the war coming to a head, every outsider will be analyzed, some to death. Castians try hard not to have collateral damage, but even they’re not without faults. Bonding is safer for the both of us.”
Becky waited, but his shield didn’t go up, no tail grew. Using both hands he gripped her upper arms and pulled her closer. When he tilted his head, Becky knew he was going to kiss her. Their mouths collided. Full, warm, moist lips pressed against hers; his tongue demanded entry. Hesitant at first, she relaxed against him. The invasion was replaced by easy probing.
Huck released her arms to tug her shirt down to her waist. She broke their kiss.
“Don’t move too fast.”
“Skin to skin will help our bonding. Your saliva flows through my veins, and I can tell you have accepted my compromise.”
He dipped his head and kissed her. A heady sense of safety invaded her, rolling on her tongue and she was amazed. Huck made her taste emotion; the idea was startling. He lifted his hands to cup either side of her face, his thumbs rubbed across her cheeks. The warmth and dampness calmed her. Not a drug as she first wondered, a sweet question of acceptance. Unconsciously, she nodded.
He pulled her against him. Her breasts were squished to his chest. His hands gripped her back, his arms steel bands surrounded her. The pressure was enough to keep her immobile but not feeling captured. Huck tore his mouth from hers and demanded a comforter from the replicator. A massive black quilted sheet of square material was grabbed in his fist. With one hand he shook the comforter out and lay them down.
>
With her hands pressed against his chest Becky pushed with splayed fingers, but he was too solid and her sore arm ached. The redness had decreased but she thought it had to do with the fact she hadn’t tossed anyone on their ass in a few hours. She realized he must weigh hundreds of pounds more than what she realized. If he ripped her pants off she’d be terrified. The thought hurt her. Huck lifted more of his weight until he rolled to his side keeping her with him. His hands roamed her back and neck. A fist in her hair slid her face into the crook of his throat.
The pounding of his heart boomed against her chest. Her elbows collapsed and her upper arms rested against him. He kissed her flesh, trailing his lips from her throat to stop at the top of her breasts.
“Huck,” she whispered with unease.
A whispered shushing reached her ears, tempered with a delicate kiss to her breast. He lifted his hand to run the pad of his thumb over her cheek while his other hand cupped her fullness. Huck lowered, his tongue darted over a taut nipple and it took every ounce of her not to squeal. Her hands buried in his hair. Groaning, Huck sucked a breast into his mouth. Becky couldn’t control her ragged breathing. She wanted to pull her knee up into his groin, she wanted to pull out his hair, she wanted his mouth to do the same with her other breast. She gasped when his mouth pulled free to suckle her other breast. As though he knew her thoughts, wants.
This was farther than she had come with any man. Huck released her to rise over her, pressing her to her back. His fingers gripped the top of her pants while bunching in the material of her shirt. Inch by inch, he dragged her clothing from her. Becky burned, his gaze feasting on her, feeling the heat creep over her throat and face when he stared down at her. He took a deep breath and shuddered. His gaze turned predatory.
“Mine.”
There was power in that single word. Possession, intense demanding emotion. Becky’s eyes widened, stunned when he lowered his head to dip and settle between her thighs. When his lips parted her folds she jumped. She wanted to squirm but his hand held both of her wrists at her pelvis. She yelped when his teeth grazed her nub. Warm liquid oozed over her making her blink. The secretion was calming, soothing. When he rose over her to cover her she caught the barest glimpse of his fangs. She was confused; he only wore his fangs when shielded.
MINE! [New World Book 8] Page 8