Lazet (Vortex Alien Warriors Book 2)

by Arcadia Shield

  “Get your balance before you jump,” cautioned Lazet. “That next tree doesn’t look too sturdy.”

  “I don’t need advice from you.” Melody backed up against the trunk, before leaping forwards, her hands open as she grabbed at branches.

  Lazet’s heart sped up as he saw how badly she’d misjudged the jump. She was going to fall. He rushed forward, his arms outstretched, and caught hold of Melody before she hit the ground.

  He heard her give a surprised sounding grunt as she landed in his arms. He placed her down, before flipping Melody’s legs out from under her and pinning her to the ground. “Now, it’s my turn to have some fun.”

  Chapter 6

  Melody squirmed beneath the hot, hard body of Lazet. “Get off me, you thug.”

  “I just saved your life.” Lazet glared down at her, but a look of amusement slowly crossed his face. “You should be thanking me, not trying to escape.”

  “I was doing fine without you.” Melody thumped against Lazet’s side. If she didn’t get away from him, she’d be dead.

  “You just fell out of a tree.”

  “I’d have made the jump.”

  “But you didn’t,” said Lazet. “You’d be dead by now if I hadn’t caught you.”

  “You’re nothing but a pumped-up freak,” said Melody, her muscles trembling with exhaustion.

  “And you’re nothing but a feeble, weak woman,” said Lazet.

  “I can still fight you.”

  Lazet grabbed hold of Melody’s arms and pinned them over her head with one hand. “Show me how good you are as a fighter.”

  Melody bucked and strained against Lazet, feeling his hard muscles press down on her. She couldn’t make him budge. He was too heavy. There didn’t seem to be any softness to him. And this close, she could see flecks of amber in his hazel eyes, and his shoulder length hair tickled her nose.

  “Let me know when you’re going to start trying.” Lazet grinned at her.

  “Glad you find this so funny.” He might be handsome, but he was still a cold-hearted killer with an ego the size of the Luna Five space station.

  “I do find you funny,” said Lazet. “You’re different from other Earth women I’ve met.”

  Melody glared at him. “Had a lot of Earth women in your time?”

  “None, actually,” said Lazet. “I don’t find your race appealing. Too small, too noisy, and too rude.”

  Melody grunted. She’d been called rude a few times before. “I definitely don’t find Vortens appealing. All that killing and attitude must get dull.” But despite her fury, she had to appreciate Lazet’s muscles. He was solid and hard as he lay on top of her, and she thought, for a second, she felt something harden against her thigh. Maybe there were worse ways to die than being squashed to death by a Vorten.

  “You are the first human woman I’ve met with any fire in her.”

  “We all have plenty of fire,” said Melody. “We have to in order to survive on Earth.”

  Lazet adjusted his position on top of Melody, giving her a little more space to breathe. “I’ve never seen hair your color before.”

  “Got it from my mom.” Melody watched as Lazet ran a strand of her hair through his fingers.

  “So, it’s natural?”

  She yanked her head away from Lazet. “It’s natural. Can’t afford to get the color changed and don’t have the patience to dye it.”

  “I like it,” said Lazet.

  “So happy I’m not too repulsive for you to look at.”

  Lazet grinned at her. “You’re really not.”

  Melody licked her lips. She had no actual weapons on her. The stick she’d jabbed Lazet with had done nothing, and she might as well have been throwing bubbles at him when she’d hurled those stones in his face. But she did have one thing that often got her what she wanted. Would this particular weapon work on a Vorten? Melody pushed her chest into Lazet’s and let out a big sigh.

  Lazet shifted again, a puzzled look crossing his face. “Everything okay?”

  “Everything’s fine.” Melody raised her hips and ground herself into him. She could feel he was aroused. This could be something she could use to her advantage.

  “What are you doing?” Lazet let go of Melody’s arms and his gaze ran over her face and down to her chest.

  “I’m doing this.” She leaned up and kissed Lazet.

  ***

  Lazet responded to Melody’s kiss. Her lips were soft as they touched his. She was attractive, for a human, and he’d felt himself stir when she’d pressed against him. Maybe this human woman was different to the others. He could enjoy himself with her.

  He pushed his tongue into Melody’s mouth and was surprised by how willingly she responded. Her tongue met his in a forceful kiss, and she moved her arms behind his neck and pulled him down closer to her, making sounds of pleasure in the back of her throat.

  He gave a growl of appreciation and bucked his hips against hers. She was small, but as he ran his hands down the sides of her body, brushing his fingers against her breasts and massaging the curve of her hip, he realized he liked small. She was soft and yielding to his fingertips, unlike Vorten women, who were all angular bones and hard muscle.

  Melody pulled one leg out from underneath Lazet and wrapped it around his waist, bringing his hardness into direct contact with her heat. It would only take him seconds, and he could strip her out of her clothes and see what she looked like naked, explore those curves fully and taste her with his tongue.

  Lazet resisted the urge, though. They were in a freezing forest and at the mercy of whatever the Fraken wanted to throw at them. As much as he wanted to continue tasting his prey, this had to end.

  He pulled back from Melody’s kiss and saw how her lips had swollen and her cheeks were flushed. He liked that look. Her desire was clear, and it made him want to continue. “Why are you doing this?”

  “Because you’re attractive.” Melody pulled on Lazet’s neck, but he held back.

  “Do you do this with all men?”

  Melody blinked up at him. “No! What are you saying?”

  “On Vorten and many space stations, there are females who give themselves to men for e-credits. Is that what you do?”

  Melody hissed out a curse. “Is that what you think I am? A whore?”

  “It’s a profession some women turn to,” said Lazet.

  “When they have no other choice,” said Melody. “When everything has been taken away from them, and they have no option but to use the only thing left that they own to survive.”

  “Some women enjoy it,” said Lazet. “I’ve had several pleasurable encounters with women, whom I paid.”

  “You might have enjoyed yourself,” said Melody, “but I bet they were counting down the seconds until you heaved your overheated body off them and left.”

  “I don’t believe that,” said Lazet.

  “Then your brains really are all in your overly developed biceps.” Melody smacked at Lazet’s chest. “Now, get off me.”

  “You were enjoying yourself.” Lazet leaned down to kiss Melody again. As he pushed his tongue into her mouth, she bit him.

  Lazet pulled back and glared at her, tasting his own blood. “You wanted this. You came on to me.”

  Melody looked up at him and lowered her gaze. “Maybe I reacted badly. Why don’t you kiss me again?”

  “Because I like my tongue where it is.” Lazet spat out blood. “You were trying to chew it off.”

  “I’m sorry about that.” Melody laced a hand around Lazet’s neck again and pulled him down towards her. “Let’s try again. And this time, I promise, I won’t bite unless you want me to.”

  Lazet leaned slowly towards Melody. As he did so, he felt her knee impact into his groin. He rolled off her and let out a groan.

  Melody jumped up and aimed a wild kick at Lazet. “That’s for calling me a whore. As if I’d ever want anything to do with you.” She spun on her heel and dashed into the gloom of the trees.

&nbs
p; Lazet rolled around on the ground. Melody had caused him some pain with her knee, but he made more of a show of it than he needed to. This would give her time to get away, without making it too obvious he was helping her. If the Fraken were watching this, they’d think she’d gotten away on her own.

  He grinned to himself as he got to his feet and brushed off his clothes. He was going to enjoy his time with Melody, but she needed a break from being chased. She must be terrified thinking he was going to kill her, and he knew his words hadn’t convinced her that things would be different. He’d make camp, get some rest, and start the chase again in the morning. And one thing Lazet was now sure of, he wanted to keep Melody alive just as much as Axen and Eloise did.

  Chapter 7

  Melody stumbled and swore repeatedly as she crashed through the dark forest. Her cheeks were hot from the humiliation she’d just experienced at Lazet’s hands. But it was more than that; those kisses had been out of this world amazing.

  “Idiot,” she muttered, “he wants you dead.” But the way Lazet had seemed to enjoy her body, holding nothing back as he’d ground himself into her and kissed her. And underneath those clothes was an amazing body; she was sure of it.

  Melody shook her head. He was playing with her. She couldn’t trust a Vorten warrior, even though he hadn’t killed her the second he’d seen her, and instead, tried to start a conversation. Maybe that’s what all warriors did when they were out of sight of the Fraken audience. They liked to get to know their prey, seek out weaknesses before finishing them off. Well, she wasn’t going to fall for it. He had to be lying about not killing her. What else could he do?

  She still had Lazet’s taste in her mouth and realized she didn’t hate it. But he was here to kill her, and even if he did want to play first, it was only putting off the inevitable. Fury raced through her at the thought of even being mildly attracted to this Vorten. Melody had to get a grip on her thoughts. She’d do anything to survive this game and had used sex before to get her way, but this time, she was playing for her life, and the idea didn’t sit well with her anymore. When she’d done it in the past, it had been for something fun, not a life or death situation.

  Melody kicked a branch out of the way, as Lazet’s accusation of her making e-credits from sex filtered through her thoughts. She took a swig of water from her bottle and spat it out before continuing her stamp through the trees. He was wrong about her.

  Her thermal jacket was still damp, and the ice cold of the game seeped through to Melody’s skin, making it goose bump, as she continued walking in an unknown direction. She could be heading anywhere, into the mouth of a Fraken beast or in a circle, heading back to Lazet and his now drawn weapons. He was not going to be happy with what she’d done, and Melody doubted she’d get any more kisses from him. A tiny hum of sadness shot through her at that thought. She’d never been kissed like that before.

  “Idiot,” she hissed to herself again, “he’s your killer. Get a grip on yourself.”

  Melody swung her arms in an attempt to keep warm as she kept walking. Her anger was already fading, but she was not going to be beaten. She had to find a way out of this game, away from her killer and the traps and monsters lurking in the shadows.

  “If there’s a three-headed dragon around the corner, I’m not going to be amused,” she muttered.

  Exhaustion and cold soon got the better of her, and she slowed her pace. She paused to see if Lazet was in pursuit, but couldn’t hear him. Maybe he was in killer stealth mode and would sneak up behind her when she least expected it.

  Melody continued walking, slower now, pausing to take sips of water and eat from a cold ration pack. Being hunted was draining, and as attractive as Lazet was, she couldn’t dislodge the knowledge that he would kill her. His honeyed words about survival were nothing more than a ruse meant to lull her, so he could humiliate her and then destroy her.

  Her knees gave way as tiredness took over, and Melody stumbled before righting herself. It was too dangerous to sleep, but she knew if she didn’t rest, she’d be dragging herself on her hands and knees, all the dignity she had left gone.

  Finding a sheltered spot behind a small bank of spiky dark green bushes, Melody crawled underneath them and closed her eyes. She would take a ten-minute rest and then keep moving.

  Melody woke with a jump, her senses screaming at her. She pulled herself out from under the bushes, scraping her cheek on the sharp leaves as she did so. It was light overhead; she’d been asleep for hours. And she was still alive. Lazet hadn’t slit her throat as she slept. He was such a gentleman.

  Thinking about that Vorten made her blood boil, and she rubbed her arms briskly as she stomped through the game. Melody’s feet squelched in the thick mud underfoot, and she diverted her path to get out of it, but it only grew worse. She turned and attempted to backtrack out of the mud, not wanting to get her boots trapped or let the cold water seep in. Losing the feeling in her feet was definitely not something on her to do list.

  She made it a few steps backwards before her right leg sunk lower. Panic shot through her. She was sinking. How deep was this mud? Melody struggled for a few seconds, feeling her legs inching lower into the icy cold, sticky mud. She stopped moving; every time she moved, she sunk a little more.

  Melody let out a scream of frustration. She did not want to die like this, the breath slowly stolen from her lungs as she sunk into a freezing bog. This was not fair. She shook her head, but this was so Fraken. The audience must be laughing and betting on how long it would take her to drown. What a pathetic way to go.

  The worst thing was, if she’d been watching this game and seen the idiot prey stumble into a bog and start sinking, she’d be rolling her eyes and telling people how dumb they were not to realize what was coming. The reality in these games was sobering.

  But she’d been angry and distracted, all because of that idiot Vorten. She took a deep breath. No, she was the fool. She’d gotten herself into this mess, and people were right to laugh at her.

  Melody eased her hand over the mud, hoping to find a stick or a vine she could pull herself out with. But there was nothing, only the slowly squelching, sucking sound, as her feet went lower and lower and her knees disappeared.

  She let out another scream, this time a combination of anger and panic. Her deep loathing for the Fraken intensified. She’d rather have gone out in a blaze of fighting and blood. This felt like a coward’s death. It was a horrible way to die. Melody only wished she had a few Fraken to drag down with her as she went.

  “Need a hand?”

  ***

  Lazet stood at the edge of the bog, watching as Melody struggled and sunk lower. He gave her a minute to panic and scream before stepping forward. It was a suitable punishment for stringing him up the first time they met.

  Melody growled at him. “Get lost.”

  “A woman as resourceful as you should be able to figure your way out of a simple swamp.” He strode forward and toed the edge of the bog with his boot.

  “Right now, I’m just trying not to sink any lower.”

  “That’s a good start,” said Lazet. “Give me your hand. I’ll make this easy and get you out.”

  “I don’t need your help.”

  “You really do.” Lazet extended his hand and wiggled his fingers at her. “You’ll be out in seconds. Just say the word, and I’ll help you.”

  “I’m fine on my own.”

  “You are if you want to die.”

  Melody glowered at him before grabbing hold of his outstretched hand.

  “What do you say?” Lazet was almost enjoying himself.

  Melody bared her teeth. “That you’re Vorten scum.”

  Lazet laughed. “Not quite what I was hoping for. Just ask for my help, and this will all be over.”

  Melody’s fingers dug into his flesh and her eyes narrowed. “Fine. Help me.”

  “There you go. That was easy.” Lazet yanked Melody towards the edge of the bog. He waited until one of her legs was al
most out before letting go and watching her drop into the mud.

  Melody let out a startled shriek and landed on her back. “You did that deliberately.”

  Lazet shrugged, fighting against the laughter inside him. “I wasn’t convinced your request for help was genuine. And you seem so determined to make it on your own. Thought you might like another try.”

  “I hate you.”

  “I’m sure the audience won’t be hating this.” Lazet sat down at the edge of the bog and pulled out a ration pack.

  “You’re just going to watch me die while you stuff your face?”

  “Saves me blunting one of my blades on your puny bones.”

  “This won’t be a victory for you if I die in the swamp.” Melody flicked her arm at Lazet, splattering mud across his legs.

  “It definitely won’t be a victory for you if you keep covering me in swamp slime,” said Lazet.

  “I’d rather die in here than accept another offer of assistance from you,” said Melody.

  Lazet ate his ration pack and pulled out more food. “All I want from you is a genuine ask for help.”

  “That’s never going to happen now,” said Melody. “How can I trust you?”

  “What choice do you have?”

  “I’ve always been able to look after myself.” Melody gasped as the mud around her shifted. “Never needed any help.”

  “I doubt you’ve ever been stuck in a swamp, though,” said Lazet.

  “I’ve been in tough situations before,” said Melody.

  “Such as?”

  “As if you care.”

  “I’m interested in you,” said Lazet, “and so is the audience. They like to know a little about their prey before we dispatch you.”

  Melody hissed at him. “One thing I do know is I’ve never needed a male to take care of me.”

  “I doubt any of them have stuck around long enough to develop feelings for you,” said Lazet. “Your tongue is as sharp as your nails.” He watched as Melody spread her arms and legs across the swamp. It was clever of her; it would slow down how quickly the swamp took her and give her more time to hurl insults at him.