by Vi Voxley
She kept going, telling herself that she had to try at the very least. Her strength wasn't gone yet and neither was her will to live. If she could just get back to the Rockies, maybe the Terran army could pull their heads out of their asses and keep her safe for the few weeks she had left...
At the back of her mind, Jackie knew how crazy that was. No one had ever escaped from the Nayanors before.
Someone's got to be the first, though.
The bedroom was lighter than the rest of the quarters. There was a light source in the walls that kept a dim shine on the ceiling. It wasn't too bright for sleeping. In fact, it was just bright enough so that Jackie could see the bed.
She gripped the dagger more tightly in her hands.
The sharpness of it was intimidating. Jackie didn't want to kill her apparent fated. The man had saved her life, even if he was the reason why she'd been in danger in the first place. Besides, she was pretty certain that if she killed the commander of the ship, she'd be dead herself.
All she needed was a trip home.
There was no future for her on Luminos. No future for her anywhere, but it certainly didn't help to have the harbinger tell her of their bond which Jackie knew could never happen.
She was out of chances for love, as unlikely as that was.
Kol-Eresh was still sleeping when she finally reached the bed. Her heart beat so loudly that Jackie thought she could actually hear it. She climbed on the bed from her side, kneeling above the harbinger. The dagger felt twice as heavy in her hand as it had been before.
Jackie needed two hands to hold it despite the fact that Kol-Eresh had used it like a knife. It said all she needed to know about the odds she was facing.
As gently and carefully as she could, she straddled the warlord, keeping the dagger firmly in her hands, lowering it to inches from the man's neck.
I can do this. I just need to be firm. I mustn't be afraid to strike. He has probably gotten worse wounds. I have to show him that I mean it.
Jackie opened her mouth to wake the harbinger, but before she could utter a single syllable, a strong, powerful voice nearly made her jump.
"Are you trying to kill me?"
Kol-Eresh's dark eyes flashed open, bright and curious in the dim light. There was no fear in them despite the blade at his throat. Jackie wondered just how badly she'd messed up.
She expected the harbinger to tackle her, but he didn't move a muscle. Instead, his dark eyes followed her without blinking as Jackie sat, the dagger shaking in her hand. Her mind was thrown into complete disarray. That wasn't how she'd planned it. Nothing had gone wrong yet, but Jackie couldn't shake the feeling that she had never had the control over the situation she'd imagined.
"No," she replied at last, pushing all other thoughts away but the one that told her to go for it, come what may. "I don't want to kill you if you don't force my hand."
Kol-Eresh's lips curled into a smirk. Jackie frowned.
"I'm not joking," she said, pushing the dagger forward just a little.
Now the tip of the blade touched the harbinger's neck, grazing the skin there. She saw a trail of red blood run down his flesh. The dagger was insanely sharp and Kol-Eresh still wasn't moving other than to grin at her like she was the amusement for the night.
"I want you to take me back home," Jackie went on. "Now. I want you to turn this ship around and take me back to Terra. You can even drop me out of the ship with a pod when you near the planet if you want to, but you have to leave me there and not come looking for me."
Kol-Eresh regarded her with those amazingly gorgeous eyes of his.
"No," the harbinger said then and the finality of his voice made Jackie's heart drop. "A Nayanor never gives up on his fated, not even if he had to face the entire galaxy for her. I am no different. Your place is by my side now."
Jackie knew he was telling her the truth, at least his truth. Nayanors weren't easily manipulated, but the argument stayed – there had to be a first.
Of course, it was hard to believe that first would be a harbinger, but...
Jackie moved the dagger, forcing Kol-Eresh to lean his head back a little, the tip of the blade pressing on his chin.
It was not the answer Jackie wanted to give, but the question slipped over her lips anyway.
"How can you not be afraid?" she demanded.
The harbinger chuckled, still unmoving. He almost looked at leisure. Jackie wouldn't have put it past him to fold his hands behind his head as he observed her attempt to win herself her freedom.
"Fear is a curious emotion," the warlord said, his dark eyes never leaving her face. "No one is immune to it. All that defies a man is how they deal with it. In this much, I like the Brions, the guardians of your little Union. The smartest of them know that any man who claims not to fear is a fool. I've seen my fair share of those. You can imagine how dead they all are by now."
"Then you are afraid," Jackie stated.
Kol-Eresh looked at her, the smile on his face faltering as he regarded her with a seriousness she had not seen on him before.
"Nothing you could do to me with those pretty, soft hands of yours could compare to being without you," he said simply.
The words cut deeply.
Jackie had had men spurt pick-up lines and romantic nonsense at her many times in her life. It was almost as if men of all species were the same in their absolute distrust of speaking from the heart.
Once a guy had tried a cheesy line on her – something utterly cliché about falling from heaven – and Jackie had shot him down. They ended up having drinks anyway after he admitted to Jackie that he'd expected the line to fail, but hadn't found a better one on "the site".
It had turned out there were sites where men rated the success of their pick-up lines so that others could benefit from their experience.
Accompanied by a few beers for the guy and Mojitos for Jackie, she'd tried her best to explain how nothing ever beat out the simple: "Hey, can I buy you a drink?"
So she'd heard her fair share of words that men put their hopes and dreams on without realizing how they had doomed themselves to fail from the start.
There was nothing like that about Kol-Eresh. The harbinger spoke like he'd never told a lie in his life and Jackie couldn't imagine why he would have. People who lied did it to gain something, but Nayanors were rather straightforward about those things.
It all came down to a single new truth for her and that was that Kol-Eresh truly meant that, as absurd as it sounded.
"Don't make me hurt you," Jackie said, but her voice was wavering from the shock.
It hit hard to realize that there was someone who valued her so much they were willing to risk their lives for her. Again.
Kol-Eresh nodded as if he was accepting his fate.
"Do your worst," he said. "Just know that there is no ship in the galaxy that could take you back to Terra. You are mine and I will never let go of you."
Jackie's temper flared back to the surface. She raised the dagger above her head, judging her basic knowledge of anatomy. Nayanors healed like devils, everyone knew that, even in the Union. The brief encounters they'd had had proved that plenty. She believed the warlord when he said that she couldn't hurt him with the strength of her arms.
All she had to do was hurt him, but even that went against everything Jackie had ever believed in. It wasn't in her nature to risk seriously wounding someone to get her way, but there was no other way to deal with a Nayanor. Strength was the only thing they recognized. No argument would sway her fated, Jackie was certain of that.
"I'm not joking," she told the harbinger.
"Neither am I," Kol-Eresh replied.
Jackie struck. She had been aiming for the harbinger's shoulder, something assuredly nondeadly but still painful. All her anger, her frustration at every bad turn her life had taken was channeled into the blow.
And she was still disarmed like she was a child.
Kol-Eresh caught her before she could barely move a muscle, gr
abbing her hands and twisting them around on the bed. Jackie found herself pinned to the sheets, the dagger still in her grip with the harbinger on top of her.
"I wonder," Kol-Eresh said, clearly more amused than hurt, "what were you planning on doing after that?"
Seven
Kol-Eresh
Jackie was breathing heavily underneath him.
Skin on skin, Kol-Eresh could feel her gorgeous body shuddering against his. The rage in her light green eyes explained some of it, but not all.
"I don't know," she admitted, trying to get free from his grip.
Kol-Eresh chose not to tell her how little effort it took from him to keep her firmly in place, pressed against his body the way he wanted her.
"I had to do something," Jackie protested, struggling. "Let me go!"
"I don't think I will," Kol-Eresh said, grinding their bodies together, making Jackie's eyes fly wide open in surprise. "Given that you just tried to kill me. You are the first that still draws breath a minute after that."
"I didn't try to kill you," Jackie argued wildly, trying to maintain her composure and failing hopelessly. "And don't threaten me, I know I couldn't –"
"That wasn't a threat," Kol-Eresh cut in. "You should know better by now. I would never hurt you or let you come to harm. I want you to understand how hopeless it is for you to try and escape me. The sooner you accept this, the better."
Jackie's eyes were flashing, reflecting her inner turmoil.
"You are hurting me," she stated firmly. "By taking me against my will, by dragging me off to your horrible home world. By telling me that I should somehow make peace with that and just learn to be happy!"
"There's nothing else to it," the harbinger replied. "Luminos is your home now and your place is by my side. If you won't be happy, what's the alternative?"
Jackie tried her hardest to break free from his grip, but all she managed to do was rub her hips against his. Kol-Eresh groaned deeply, his cock stirring against her soft flesh. Jackie stopped moving at once.
"You don't understand," she tried. "Everything you imagine we might have, it's not going to happen. So if there is nothing in our future waiting for us, why not just let me go?"
"What don't I understand?" Kol-Eresh asked, frowning now.
The weird look was back in Jackie's eyes, the same one that he'd seen on her before. In quiet moments when she thought he wasn't looking or when she'd seen the diadon or back in that chasm on Terra. There was something weighing heavily on the mind of his fated and the harbinger would have given everything to know what it was.
Jackie didn't reply.
"Let go of me," she dared him.
"Let go of the dagger," Kol-Eresh replied.
Jackie only seemed to realize then that she was still gripping the blade in her hand. She released it, letting it drop to the bed. Her green eyes turned back to him, questioning. She tensed up when he didn't move away from her.
"You promised," she said, hurt.
"I said no such thing," the harbinger answered. "Before you get any more ideas in your pretty little head, let me tell you a few things about me.
"I'm a forgiving man, for a Nayanor. I will allow this trick of yours, once. A Nayanor warrior sleeps very lightly, in case you didn't notice. Even the rocking of my ship couldn't have given you enough of a leverage. If you force me to sleep with my eyes open every night that you spend in my bed, things will not be so nice for you anymore.
"I won't hurt you, but I can make your life much more miserable than it needs to be. You don't want to spend your nights locked up like a prisoner. Nod if you agree."
Jackie's head moved in a way that was probably a very slight nod.
"Good," Kol-Eresh said. "Now look me in the eye and tell me if you really want me to let you go."
Jackie couldn't keep the smile from her lips.
"Your arrogance is unbelievable," she said.
"Is it?" Kol-Eresh asked, leaning lower and hearing the soft gasp he earned with that from his fated's pretty pink lips. "I don't have the hearing of Brions. Is it true that those bastards can hear how fast the pulses of their enemies beat? But even if I don't have superhuman skills like that, I can tell that you are not so excited to get away from me."
His words were bold, but the truth was that it was hard for the harbinger to control himself around his fated mate. Every little movement of Jackie's body turned him on. He couldn't tear his eyes from her soft breasts, the way her tongue darted out of her mouth to lick her lips. The heat between them was immense and Kol-Eresh wanted to make it much, much worse.
"I am," Jackie said. "So very excited. You have no idea how excited I am to be released from this vise-lock grip you have on me."
"That's a lie," Kol-Eresh said.
"Prove it," Jackie dared him.
She realized a second too late that it wasn't the smartest idea to challenge a Nayanor warlord. Before she could open her mouth and take her rash words back, Kol-Eresh kissed her deeply, letting go of her hands at last in the favor of running them all over her amazing body. Jackie's hands touched his chest. It was clear her intention had been to push him away, but when the moment came, she couldn't bring herself to do it.
Her mouth was warm and wet, her lips responding to his after a long moment of hesitation. The body beneath his moved, arching off the bed to meet him better. When Kol-Eresh gave his fated free reign to let her touch him where she pleased, she proved him right.
Jackie's flashing eyes flew open just for a second and he saw the desire there, mixed with a terrible ache to just slap him. The harbinger could see that clear as day.
It didn't stop her from running her hands all over his chiseled body. Kol-Eresh pulled away from the kiss, propping himself up, still on top of her. Jackie's fingers were groping his biceps, a look of utter disbelief on her face.
"Gods," she breathed. "I didn't think anyone could be this ripped. What are they feeding you guys on Luminos? I've seen what steroids do to a body and this is not it."
Kol-Eresh regarded his fated with interest. Her flushed cheeks and heavy breathing were proof enough for him that she wasn't nearly as excited to be left alone as she would have liked him to believe.
He didn't press her on it, though. Slowly, teasingly, he ran his hands over Jackie's chest, pausing to grope her breasts. Her only response was a soft, muffled moan.
The harbinger laid down on top of her, ignoring the ache in his cock that urged him on to bury himself deep into her wet pussy. Pulling her bra out of the way, he sucked one of her nipples into his mouth, all the while touching her everywhere he could reach.
Jackie gasped when he teased her nipple with his tongue, pressing his face against her soft breasts, licking and kissing them before returning his attention to her nipples again. Kol-Eresh could feel her body writhe against his.
"Ah!" Jackie cried out when he pushed his hand into her panties, brushing his fingers against her clit.
The tension was back in her, but Kol-Eresh was unrelenting. The female was a mystery to him. There were locks that kept her away from him even when they were inches apart and he had to break them. Like taming a wild animal, he didn't stop what he was doing, looking up at her.
"Tell me no," he ordered her, "because I can't wait to have you scream for me. I want to feel your tight pussy, make you cum so hard you can't remember your name."
Jackie whimpered. She wasn't saying a word, but she was no longer pushing him away either. Her legs were trembling. Kol-Eresh pulled her up onto his lap with one quick move. His fated was left sitting on him as the harbinger knelt on the bed, keeping her in his firm embrace.
His face was pressed against her soft, large breasts. The harbinger licked at her left nipple, loving the way Jackie moaned at that. The hand that wasn't holding her upright in his arms pushed deeper into her panties. He slipped first one, then two fingers inside her.
Jackie's hands closed around his neck, holding on as he began to mercilessly finger her.
"Fuck," she g
asped, "yes! Yes!"
Kol-Eresh could feel her pleasure. The tight pussy around his fingers was clamping down on his digits, trying to pull him deeper into herself. Her body was shuddering, her hips grinding down on his hand as she sought to push herself over the edge quickly.
"Not so fast," the harbinger growled, slowing down a little, but keeping up the delicious torture.
Jackie moaned, trying to ride him faster, but he held her firmly against him.
"You told me before that you wanted nothing to do with me," Kol-Eresh said, brushing against her spot of pleasure, bringing a quiet scream to Jackie's lips. "Do you want to explain why you lied to me, female?"
Jackie was panting, her green eyes searching his.
"I –" she began. "I didn't lie. I don't want... this is just so good, I can't –"
"So good you can't resist?" Kol-Eresh asked, scissoring his fingers inside her, making Jackie shiver and arch again.
"Yes, yes!"
"I want more than that," the harbinger said. "I can make a female cum screaming my name, but you are my fated. Tell me the truth. I want you to ache for me, not come to me because you ache."
The dark fire of lust burned in Jackie's eyes when she met his gaze, but there was more. Deeper, much deeper inside her, there was another flame that he could see.
"Answer," Kol-Eresh ordered. "What do you want? Is it me or is it just to cum?"
Jackie screamed when he thrust his fingers in and out of her at a pace that sent her squirming in his grip. The harbinger loved the way she rubbed herself against him in mindless pleasure, her nails digging into his wide, muscled shoulders.
"Answer. I'll let you cum no matter what you say, but I will know if you lie and I won't like it. Tell me what you need."
"You!" Jackie cried, her breath coming in quick, broken gasps. "You, you bastard! I want you!"
Kol-Eresh had exercised all of his self-control not to grin victoriously, wanting to give his fated that small mercy at least while she rutted against her captor. Instead, he kissed her breasts, sucking her hard nipples deep into his mouth and running his tongue in circles around them. He fingered her pussy with a brutal, purposeful ruthlessness, making her entire body shake and quiver.