Yet that one judgment call had started off a chain of events that even he couldn’t have foreseen. Instead of falling into line after the death of his wife, Zan had struck back, stealing Xander’s most prized possession, the hybrid ship. He ground his molars as he thought of how close he’d been to having it all, a way to travel the universe, conquering where and when he saw fit, and the ability to sleep in his own bed every night. Wormhole travel was the next best thing to instantaneous transport, or the ability to be in two places at once.
Waving the guards aside he entered his room, dropping the handheld on his desk, and strode for the suite. Inside the woman was huddled in a ball, shaking. Zan had wrapped his body around her, as though to physically cocoon her from him. Xander sneered. Still weak. Even if Zan survived the ranking, Xander had grown tired of the game.
Zan had found a loophole to his edict. This woman with her health guard could be his crutch and Xander couldn’t wait to kick her out from under his traitor progeny and use her for his own.
“Talk to me,” Zan murmured now. “Tell me what happened. Did he hurt you?”
“No.” The world held a world of frustration and misery. Xander crouched down, recalling the pungent scent of her fear. How delicious. “I failed, I couldn’t send the message. I’m sorry. I thought it would work, but the ship was too badly damaged, the console just died.” Wiping away tears she cast Zan a baleful look. “No one knows we’re here.”
Xander ran a fingernail down her holographic cheek. “Oh, but I do.”
Zan didn’t rage or pace; he continued to comfort his distraught companion, murmuring nonsense and reassurances that had no basis in reality. He couldn’t assure Gia that it would all work out. Xander knew his son, knew how he operated. Zan’s lie about losing the ship in a card game had been so thickly coated in falsehood he could barely pretend to swallow it.
Out in the other room his handheld trilled. Since these two weren’t doing anything he tapped in the record function and left to answer the call. “Yes?”
The man on the screen saluted crisply. “Long-range transmission has been relayed, my liege.”
Xander steepled his fingers together. “Excellent. Deploy my personal armada in a gridlike pattern throughout the system. I want every parsec scanned. And notify me the second anything changes.”
“What are we looking for?”
Xander looked over to the suite, imagining the lovers entwined for what they thought to be the last time. Enjoy her while you can, son.
“A rescue and the chance to reclaim what’s mine.”
21
Zan had thought listening to Gia’s soft sobs was torture, but that was nothing compared to the utter stillness that settled around her. Slowly, he reached up and shut the water off. With her knees drawn up to her chest and blond head resting against the smooth wall, she looked like a lost child.
What could he do to fix this? How could he reignite her fire? She’d been the one who kept him moving, fighting for survival long after he’d wanted to give up. But now she sat, silent, defeated. Rage swept through him at the thought that his father might have raped her, but experience had shown him that Xander would have stretched out her torment for much longer than the hour she’d been gone. No, it was more likely that his father had toyed with her, fed her fear to get her into this state.
He reaching for a towel, then crouched next to her and patted her clammy flesh dry. “What did he say to you?”
“He killed Shalla,” she whispered, still staring off into the ether.
Rubbing beads of water from her hair he murmured. “I’m not surprised.”
Gia’s eyebrows drew down. “You knew he would kill her?”
Zan chose his response carefully, hoping to goad her into a fight. An angry Gia he could deal with. “Her fate was sealed the instant you touched her.”
“So it’s my fault she’s dead?” The lack of fire in her words worried him. Instead of coming up swinging after his verbal prod, she just sat.
He lowered the towel, gripped her chin, and forced her to face him. “No. You can’t own responsibility for his actions any more than I can. Her blood is on Xander’s hands, hers and millions more like her. Do you know why he’s held power in this sector for almost millennia? Because his timing is unpredictable, though his actions rarely are. He likes chaos but doesn’t spread it around at random. He waits, deciding when and where to strike to quench his thirst for blood and maximize a demonstration. Her death served his purpose, Gia, because it made you fear him. The next time you won’t hear about a lover’s death, he’ll want to watch you witness it firsthand. Or perhaps he’ll even give you a choice—your life or that of your loved one. Whichever way he strikes, it will be to his benefit, to feed his pleasure.”
Gia’s lips parted. “I feel like such an idiot, telling her she shouldn’t feel obligated to do as she was told. She never really had a choice, any more than a rat in a maze does.”
Zan had heard of both those things but didn’t understand her analogy. “A rat in a maze?”
“It’s something scientists back on Earth did. Put a rat in the beginning of a maze and food on the other side. The rat has to navigate the maze to get the cheese, make decisions to find its way to the reward at the end.”
That sounded exactly like what Xander did to his people. “No, Shalla had a choice, but whatever decision she made, things would have ended the same way, with her death.”
“Someone has to stop him.” Her gaze was very far away.
“Many have tried. But Xander is too powerful, holding all the embargos to technology, forcing the people to live in poverty, when he could easily provide a replicator for every household. It’s his way of maintaining absolute control, rewarding those who prove themselves loyal to him and denying those who would cause trouble. A revolution won’t work when the people barely have the strength to survive the night.”
“And for those that do, there’s the ranking to contend with.”
Zan nodded as he dried himself off. “Yes. Those in favor have a chance to better their position, all for his amusement.”
“Puppets, whose strings are easily cut.” Taking the towel from his hand, she crawled behind him to dry his back. “What happens tomorrow, during the ranking?”
Zan closed his eyes. “I’m going to kill any who challenge me outright. The longer I fight each one, the more my strength will fade and the greater the odds that I’ll lose.”
Her hands stilled. “Are you allowed a weapon?”
Slowly he shook his head. “Not even clothing. Hand-to-hand combat only.” Turning to face her, he took the towel from her shaking hands. “I vow I will do everything in my power to keep you safe.”
Straight, white teeth worried her lower lip. Reaching forward he smoothed the tender flesh with his thumb. “I’ve already won a ranking to maintain my position, and six decades of experience have taught me even more. Have a little faith in me, Gia.”
She stepped back, shook her head. “I do. It isn’t that.”
“Then what worries you?” A thought occurred to him. Earth, on the whole, was a nonviolent planet, its citizens soft, living lives of comfort. Perhaps she was disgusted by the thought of him being so ready to kill. “If I let the challengers live, he’d kill them anyhow, to protect the Infinity Pool, whether I fuck them or not.”
“I know.” Her silent resignation bugged the hell out of him.
“What do you want me to do then, Gia? You know my choices. If you weren’t here, I’d accept whatever fate had in store, be it losing my position or being killed by my father.”
“I’m sorry.” Without a word she turned and walked into the bedroom.
Zan muttered a string of curses in every language he knew. Damn her, why did she keep looking at him that way? He hadn’t lied to her. She was the first person he’d ever been totally honest with. She knew the score, knew what he had to do, so why was she looking at him like he owed her something? Like he’d disappointed her somehow.
; Flinging the towel aside he paced the bathroom, searching for a solution to his problems, something he hadn’t considered yet. Dying wasn’t an option, because without his protection Xander would claim Gia for his own. Same for him losing his position as second. His father wouldn’t let him live if he lost to a mortal man.
What if I didn’t lose rank, but gained one?
That thought drew him up short. He’d been worried that his father would challenge him outright because while Zan had decades of fighting experience to draw on, Xander had centuries. Immortal didn’t mean invincible, though, and just because he didn’t age, he could still die given the right set of circumstances.
And if Xander was in the ring with him, Gia might have a better chance to escape.
He wanted to drag her back into the bathroom, to tell her what he intended so she was prepared to run if given the chance. Two things stopped him. Knowing Gia, she’d argue with him when he was none too sure it was the right choice to make. Second, he feared she might try to talk him out of it, that he’d let her. Gia could make him reconsider anything if she set her mind to it.
Death was death, no matter whose hands were around his throat though. And if his time was up, he’d do everything in his power to take Xander out with him.
Zan didn’t say anything when he climbed into bed beside her. She’d purposely ignored the food tray and turned to face the wall. How could she explain to him what she barely understood herself? Xander had unsettled her and news of Shalla’s death upset her, but neither plagued her half much as the fact that she’d let Zan down.
The idea that his opinion mattered so much shook her to her core. She still didn’t trust him, not completely. He had too many facets for her to fully understand him. As part of a stinger squadron, Gia knew what it was like to work closely with other members of a team. Once or twice, she’d mixed business with pleasure and taken a copilot as a lover for a short time. But with Zan she craved more. More of his touches, more searing kisses, more of his laughter, and definitely more of those sexy, smoldering looks that set her ablaze.
And like any true addict, she’d convinced herself that what she felt for him—her drug of choice—was want, not this all-consuming need to hold him close, breathe him in, let him make all of her problems disappear.
Zan touched her shoulder, his hand searing her through the sheet. “Aren’t you hungry? You haven’t eaten anything since the market.”
She shook her head, denying herself the pleasure of looking at him, turning to him for badly needed comfort. “Just tired.”
“I’ll let you sleep then.” Dousing the light, he settled in beside her.
Shit. Gia tried to focus on her breathing, taking slow, even pulls of air, forcing her body to relax. The quiet and darkness reminded her of space, of flying, the endless missions when she spent weeks alone in the void. Space could be so lonely with only herself as company.
“Gia?” That one word vocalized his need, a reflection of her own. He didn’t say anything more, but she could feel his energy, franticly building, his thoughts spinning.
She felt like a frigid bitch, shutting him down when he was willing to kill or even die to protect her. Though she didn’t have much to give him, he asked only for the comfort of her body. Denying herself out of fear was one thing, but punishing Zan? She couldn’t be that selfish.
Turning over, she reached for him. “Take whatever you need.”
They moved together in unison, and she lost herself, tangled up in his embrace, two lonely souls colliding in the dark. His lips seared hers, his skin hot to the touch. Calloused hands worked their magic, gliding over her skin in sweeping caresses. How did he always know exactly how she needed to be touched?
With her eyes useless in the black of night, her other senses came alive as never before. His spicy masculine scent so foreign and familiar at the same time filled the few empty spaces where their bodies didn’t connect. He’d unbraided his hair and she ran her fingers between the silky strands, careful not to pull. The rasp of his whiskers against the tender flesh of her breasts, the hard mass of his thigh between her splayed legs as he rubbed against her hungry sex, he overwhelmed her until she forgot about her fear, the task before them, and lost herself in the now.
“Don’t wait,” she breathed as his fingers parted her folds, finding her slick and ready. “Please, Zan, I need you inside me.”
He didn’t say a word as he rose up and aligned his cock with her opening. With a surge of his hips he seated himself to the hilt, his hard shaft filling her even as his fingers threaded through hers and his lips descended again.
Gia lost track of everything as he fucked her in a steady rhythm. Sweat slicked his skin and she licked it, savoring his salty passion. His weight pinned her to the mattress, kept her captive, and she loved it, the feeling of being pinned beneath him, for she knew he wouldn’t abuse her helpless state. So many things about Zan scared her to death, but never that he would physically force himself on her. He didn’t have to. She wanted him endlessly.
His tongue swept through her mouth, delving and demanding her secrets. The hair on his chest abraded her nipples until they were stiff, aching peaks, and his pubic bone rubbed over her clit with every surge of his hips as his cock drove her higher until she shattered.
His hoarse cry filled the quiet as his seed bathed her channel in hot spurts. Cupping his head in her hands, she guided him down on top of her.
“I’m too heavy,” he protested halfheartedly.
“Shut up.” Gia clutched him to her, needing him close, their hearts pounding in unison.
He laughed and hugged her tightly to him, as though he cherished her. She’d thought it would have been safer in the dark, hidden from that golden gaze that saw more than she wanted to project. But without sight, there were no masks, no illusions between them.
She was falling for him, God help her dumb ass. No way in the cosmos would this end well. Because while she might trust him with her body, her heart was another matter entirely.
Zan’s breathing evened out and he let out a soft snore. His cock, now soft, was still inside her, the feeling so much more intimate than when he’d been pounding between her thighs. The slightest shift of her hips would dislodge him, but she couldn’t make herself do it, break that tentative connection between their bodies.
Relishing his heat, she closed her eyes, trying not to think about what would happen tomorrow.
The dream washed over her quickly, pulling her down deep, embedding her in his subconscious mind.
A visibly younger Zan sat at his father’s side, looking down on an arena filled with men. Naked men, standing in order. The stands around them were filled with observers, mostly women and children and others of no rank who would fall under the protection of those below.
“Look at them,” Xander hissed. “Soon you’ll be one of them.”
Zan’s gaze at the man in the center of the group, the tip of the pyramid. He had bested all his challengers. Most others had submitted to him, bent over and offered their backsides for his ranking, but now his cold blue eyes fixed on Xander.
“Who is that?” Zan asked.
“My new second. I fear he won’t live through the night. Just like his father before him.”
Zan recognized that tone. “He’s one of them, isn’t he? One of the usurpers.” His lip curled up in derision.
Xander’s evil grin focused on him. “Not for long.”
Zan’s heart pounded as he stared into those defiant blue eyes. His father knew how to deal with rebels. Zan had witnessed his tactics firsthand. “I vow that when I am of age to participate in a ranking I will forever be your loyal second and I will annihilate any that oppose you.”
Xander assessed him. “First you have to win a ranking to earn that title. Perhaps you’d like to challenge the second now?”
Zan ducked his head, not wanting his father to know his shame. “I am not yet of age. I fear I would embarrass you.”
Xander’s eyes narrowed, and for
one fearful moment Gia was afraid he’d do it, force to boy to fight against the second. What kind of monster would encourage the brutal rape of his only son?
“Xander, I challenge you to the title of Overlord!” The second’s voice boomed out across the valley and echoed off of the stone walls of the stadium.
Xander laughed aloud and doffed his clothes as he strode down the steps. “Just like your father I see, Fenton. Never knowing when to stop.”
Fenton? Gia gasped as she picked up on the resemblance. Those cold blue eyes, massive shoulders, and air of authority were exactly like the military commander’s.
After tugging off his boots, Xander dove into the arena, tucking himself into a roll. Fenton charged him, but Xander was faster, moving fluidly, grappling with the larger man and pinning him down. The men who had already been ranked fell back, unwilling to involve themselves in the fight. Fenton circled and swung, but instead of dodging the blow Xander caught his arm and used his weight to unbalance the other man. A horrific crack sounded as Fenton’s skull connected with a stone step. The man didn’t get up, and Xander laughed evilly as he gripped the other man’s long hair, kicked his legs apart, and forced his length inside his opponent’s ass. More red poured from Fenton’s wound, and Xander drew his fingers through it, then brought them to his mouth to taste the other man’s blood.
A woman’s scream rent the air, and Gia looked away from the sickening sight of Xander’s victory to see a woman stumble down the steps. Another woman caught her, dragged her away. “Think of your son.” Her voice carried across the quiet to Gia. “He’s all you have now.”
“You think he’ll let me live?” the distraught woman answered. “He’ll most likely kill me tonight.”
It was over in moments. Zan leaned closer, biting his lip until blood stained his teeth. Xander withdrew and slammed Fenton’s head against the step until his skull shattered. Then he turned to where Fenton’s wife waited. “As the victor, I claim what is mine to protect. Wait for me in my room.”
No Mercy Page 17