The Vampire King's Mate

by T. S. Ryder

  Just before they met each other, a blue blur dropped from the ship hovering over them. An Aphrosian, twice as broad as any he had seen before, landed in the midst of the priests. Twin blades flashed, reflecting the blood-red light of the engines above them. The Aphrosian easily cut through the bodies of the nearest priests.

  Taliga didn't question the sudden help, and threw himself into the fray, cutting down first one priest and then another. Two more figures dropped from the ship, one right where the altar was. Screams rose in the air. A T'shav chopped his way through the priests, moving to join the Aphrosian. They stood back to back, fluidly shielding and attacking together like they had done it a thousand times.

  "Bet I can take out more than you, Ronan," the Aphrosian shouted in a high, feminine voice.

  "You're on," the T'shav laughed.

  Taliga used his sword to deflect twin daggers that one of the priests threw at him, then leaped forward and decapitated the man. He stumbled, head spinning. His stomach lurched. The wound in his arm had deepened, pumping his life's blood out in an arterial spray. His whole side of his body was slick with it, but stumbled forward, slashing through the hordes that were now more interested in the new arrivals than in him.

  Somewhere he stabbed a priest and couldn't retrieve his sword. He left it there, making his way through to where Vanessa was. Another T'shav stood over her, fighting off the priests that were trying to slice at him and Vanessa both. Taliga punched a priest in the face and threw him into his fellows. The T'shav glanced back; Taliga saw his face. With the heat of battle and blood loss, Taliga forgot for a moment where they were and just stared.

  It was Zon's son, standing protectively over Vanessa. The Sanctuary did send someone after her after all.

  Another priest came at Taliga, and he was just able to punch the man in the face and steal his weapon. The T'shav shook his head–he couldn't afford to let himself be distracted here. Only a few more steps, and he was right by the altar. He dropped to his knees, searching with blurred vision for the anchors that kept the energy field in place. He found one and stabbed it, then another and another.

  He wasn't aware that he had freed Vanessa until she was by his side, pulling him into her arms. Taliga smiled, touching her lips. The sounds of the battle around them reminded him of where they were. He couldn’t fight his way out again, so he tucked Vanessa into a ball and draped himself over her, trying to protect any vulnerable spots.

  Hours or minutes passed. Taliga didn't know. He didn't know anything other than Vanessa was in his arms, and he had to protect her at any cost. And at the moment the only way he could protect her was to shield her with his body.

  Hands grasped his arms, pulling him back. Taliga held on as tightly as he could, but more hands latched on. Slowly they pried him back. He struck out weakly, but couldn’t get enough strength to land a decent blow. He heard Vanessa's voice, high-pitched and frightened. He growled.

  "Leave her alone."

  "Relax, big guy," a male voice said in his ear. "We're here to rescue the human, not harm her."

  His vision settled. The two T'shav and Aphrosian stared into his face. He blinked, searching for Vanessa. She pushed the other three aside and bent over him. Her lips pressed to his.

  "You're safe now," he mumbled. "You're safe."

  "Ironic, really," the Aphrosian said as his vision slid out of focus again. "We're sent to kill him for kidnapping a human and now we have to take him back with us."

  One of the T'shav bent over him. "If he survives."

  Everything went black.

  Chapter Eleven – Vanessa

  Being back at the Sanctuary felt like home for the first time. Vanessa hadn't realized how much she missed sleeping in her own bed until she spent a night in the little apartment she had been assigned to when she woke up. It also helped that by the time they got back to the Sanctuary, she knew for certain that Taliga was going to be fine. He was malnourished, dehydrated and suffered severe blood loss, but he was fine.

  The day after they arrived back at the Sanctuary, Taliga was in meeting with Zon and other leaders of the Sanctuary from dawn to dusk. After night had fallen, Vanessa was finally allowed to see him. The room they had given him was comfortable, with a narrow bed and a small kitchenette, but locked from the outside. He smiled at her when she came in.

  "So, what's the prognosis?" she asked, sitting on the bed beside him. "Are they arresting you?"

  "They're giving it a trial period, but apparently Zon is impressed by my actions in protecting you, despite the fact that I kidnapped you. I've been offered a place to stay here if I want. Me, living here. It's not at all what I was expecting."

  "But it's still a good thing isn't it?" Vanessa grabbed his hand and squeezed. After all they had been through, she couldn't imagine him just leaving her. But her life wasn't in danger anymore What if he decided that this life wasn't for him? "I mean, they're not going to arrest you or worse."

  "No. They're not."

  Vanessa bit her lip hesitantly. A pale splash of fleshseal clung to his arm, but other than that there was no indication that he had been wounded at all. And he still wore her necklace around his neck. That had to mean that he was going to stay, didn't it?

  Taliga cupped her face. "What are you looking so worried for?"

  "I'm not really…" Vanessa shook her head. "Okay, I'm a little worried you won't stay. I mean, we were thrown together by chance, and after everything that happened… It's just a really strange situation, isn't it? Maybe I'm not sure that I'm enough of a draw to keep you away from your life of crime."

  Taliga grinned at her.

  "Don't look at me like that." She smacked his shoulder lightly. "So what if I'm being insecure. You're staying, aren't you? Please tell me you are. I don't know what I would do if you weren't. I would want to go with you, but I don't know if I ever want to leave the Sanctuary again. It's a dangerous world out there."

  "It is. But I'd die to keep you safe."

  Vanessa shook her head. "I know that. But I don't want you to die to keep me safe. I want to live a long, happy life with you."

  "And I want the same. We're married."

  "Most T'shav don't marry, they just take mates."

  "That doesn't mean that I don't understand the importance of the vows we took. Especially to you." His lips brushed lightly against hers. "I'm not going anywhere. Not while you want me to stay, at least. Which reminds me."

  He stood and crossed the room. Atop a shelf was his black broadsword. He picked it up and offered the hilt to her. Vanessa took it hesitantly. It was insanely heavy, and she couldn't actually hold it without Taliga bracing up the other end.

  "I gave this to you as part of our wedding vows. It's yours."

  "Thank you." It was an amazing sword. Beautiful. Even if she couldn't actually wield it. "So will you want to keep using it, or will you get another one?"

  "This one is yours. I'll make a new one to represent this new stage in my life." Taliga returned the sword to the shelf.

  Vanessa admired the contours of his muscles for a moment. "You know, I didn't marry you because I thought that your plan would save us. I mean, I believed you when you said that they wouldn’t kill us straight off, but I didn't think it would work in the long run."

  "You didn't?"

  "No. But I didn't really care. I could only think that all I wanted was to be with you. To be bound to your forever. I thought, if we were going to die, I wanted to die as your wife." She shrugged. "And because I thought there was no way that we weren't going to die, I didn't see any reason to let you kidnapping me in the first place stop me from getting what I wanted. Marriage and a wedding night."

  Taliga's smile slipped off his face. "Do you regret it?"

  "No."

  "No, I meant… when we made love. We only did it because we thought we were going to die. Now, knowing that we weren't going to… it seems like…" Taliga sat beside her and dragged his hand through his hair. "It's just that you wanted your first time
to be special. And it wasn't. It was desperate and not at all the way it should have been."

  Vanessa felt a bubble of warmth fill her chest. She smiled, turning him to face her, and brushed her lips on his. "I wouldn't change it for the world, Taliga. No, it wasn't what I imagined it would be like, but that hardly matters. I needed you, and you were there. I didn't regret it then, and I don't regret it now. For one thing, if we hadn't made love when we did, I wouldn’t be pregnant."

  Taliga's head jerked up. He stared at her for a long time before a grin burst out over his face. "You are?"

  "Yes. We're going to have a baby."

  Her husband laughed out loud. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her flush against his chest. He kissed her hotly, making fires flare throughout her body. Their eyes met, and there was no need to ask.

  Taliga tugged at the dress she was wearing, breaking the kiss to pull it over her head. She leaned forward to resume the kissing, but he put his hand on her shoulder and stood.

  "You're beautiful."

  She felt the heat rising in her cheeks and then pool low in her belly at the look of desire in Taliga's eyes. He slowly unhooked her bra, sliding it off her arms. She shivered, then let out a soft moan as his hands caught her breasts, caressing them gently. Vanessa arched her back to push them more firmly against his hands as she reached for his belt. His var'ki dropped to the floor, letting her see him for the first time. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked at him from head to toe.

  He was the most stunning thing she had ever seen before in her life.

  "We should slow down," Taliga said, kneeling on the floor between her thighs. "We should still be kissing right now. Working our way to this point. The build up is half the fun."

  "Next time," Vanessa promised, hooking her thumbs into her underwear.

  Taliga caught her hands and pushed them firmly into the mattress before he took their spot. He slowly pulled her underwear off, leaving her exposed to his view. Vanessa grinned and watched as his eyes trailed down her body. They heated, and he leaned forward, catching her mouth with his. His kisses were fevered, building the heat ever higher in her own core.

  His hand slid between her thighs, his mouth trailing down her neck to focus on her breasts. The combination was more than Vanessa could take. Her whole body arched to him, sharp tingles shooting like electricity from her skin to his. Like their first time, his actions were slow, deliberate, but unlike the first time, she found herself reveling in every action, wanting every kiss and touch to prolong forever.

  Her fingers wove into his hair as he trailed kisses from her breast down her stomach to the place where his fingers danced. With the first touch, she thrust her hips forward, falling back on the bed, crying out. Taliga jumped as though startled, then laughed and repeated his action. Something tightened inside Vanessa, her body feeling like it was about to burst into flame. She was soon breathless, clawing at the bed beneath her. How could he evoke such sensations in her?

  Just when she thought she couldn’t take it anymore, it happened. The flames burst, sending shockwaves up and down her spine, radiating into her limbs. Her eyes widened and her spine curved and a million choirs burst out singing in her brain. She was aware of Taliga moving her so she was fully on the bed. Then he was over her. Then he was in her, and the chorus reached a new crescendo.

  She didn't think it could possibly get better, but it did. And every time she thought she had reached the highest point, Taliga was there pulling her higher and higher. And when he was done, she lay on the bed, gasping for breath, her thoughts a scattered mess.

  ***

  Taliga's hand laid gently against her stomach, making her stir. Vanessa opened a sleepy eye and smiled at her T'shav. Her whole body still throbbed with the gift he had given her, and she had never felt so at peace. She snuggled deeper into his arms.

  "We've got a little baby in there. A strong baby," he murmured.

  Vanessa nodded. She yawned. "Do you know now?"

  "Know what?"

  "If I'm your Starmate. It's okay if I'm not… I know that not all T'shav have Starmates. And I'm not sure that I really believe it, anyway."

  Taliga chuckled in her ear. "I do. I've always believed in Starmates. And yes, you're mine. It's the only thing that makes sense. We were destined to be together. From the beginning of time to its end. I love you, and I will always love you."

  "I love you, too." Vanessa smiled as she drifted back into sleep. At last, she was home.

  *****

  THE END

  Given to the Barbarian

  Description

  Killing is never the answer. Unless you’re a T’Shav gladiator.

  T’Shav gladiator Gylden’s job is to kill. Sold to a television network, every second of his life has been filmed. As long as he kills and the public likes him, he lives. It’s a good thing he loves his broadsword so much.

  But who’s that delicious human he’s supposed to protect?

  Bianca is ready for a fresh start after her abduction from Earth. What she hadn’t counted on was being sold as a slave to a sexy gladiator’s every want. Least of all feel an intense desire for the ruthless alien.

  This is definitely not the moment to be feeling so turned on. But all she can think about is to let him throw her onto the bed and ravish her.

  But Gylden and Bianca have to do not just one, but two things to survive. First: fight to the death in the Freedom Games. Oh, and second? Kiss on camera to entertain the billions of viewers.

  The stakes are high. Desire even higher. It sure as hell isn’t easy to watch him take her whipping for her. Can he rise his broadsword once more to save her curves and their unborn baby?

  Chapter One – Gylden

  The artificial sun of the arena beat down on Gylden's head, making sweat drip down his shorn head. The wound on his arm, hastily bandaged with a slap of fleshseal, ached with every move he made, but that was his own fault for being so sloppy. He shouldn't have underestimated his opponent.

  The T'shav's devil-red body gleamed in the bright light, the pinkish hue of his traluthian steel broadsword muted with sand clinging to the blood he had already spilled today.

  His opponent, a hulking, hairy Ernesian was clearly not doing too well with the heat; but if he couldn't make it through a day of training, he wasn't going to survive during a battle day. Not that Gylden cared–in his opinion, they ought to be allowed to kill weaker opponents during training. It was less cruel that way. It would also save the Rayne Five Network some money on feeding and patching up the cannon fodder before they were sent into the arena to die.

  But then, the network's viewers liked to see these underdogs die, or be given cheats to help them survive in the arena. Just last week, another T'shav had faced off against a toady Rlabek. The Rlabek was given a blaster and sword. The T'shav was given nothing. But that was because the public loved the Rlabek and hated the T'shav. So, of course the network skewed it in the toad's favor.

  Gylden feinted to the left, his opponent clumsily following. The T'shav shook his head. This one wouldn't last more than five minutes in the arena. Unless, of course, he made himself a viewer favorite. But Ernesians were hairy, ugly things, with far too much muscle to be attractive. No, this one didn't have a chance. It was almost a pity.

  A long, loud whistle blew. Gylden glanced at the screens that surrounded the arena and saw that they were calling for the gladiators to stand at attention. He quickly took his place and strapped his sword to its place on his back. His heart hammered.

  Today was the day when the orders for the next few arena battles would be proclaimed. With any luck, he'd sit out, have a little while free from being forced to kill others–although it was doubtful. His youthful appearance and lean figure, unlike the T'shav's usual bulk, made him a favorite fighter. Not in the way that gave him extra privileges in the arena itself, but the public enjoyed watching him fight.

  The small camera drones that were constant to all of them buzzed around the gladiators
as they lined up, waiting for the purple-skinned Suesue, Taskus Draw, who hosted the Rayne Five Network arenas, to descend in his usual flare.

  As Gylden stood at attention, a few of the drones left the lesser-known gladiators to focus on him. He tried to ignore them, but as the elevator slowly sank in from the sky, his own heart skipped a beat. He had lost track of time with the day in and day out fighting and training, but it was that time of year–these were going to be the Freedom Games.

  Once every standard year, various corporations put on their expos, unveiling new technology and the like. The expos always drew in thousands of millions of viewers. And if any of those corporations had human-based experiments, there were sure to be protests, perhaps even an incursion from the infamous Zon Sanctuary to stop them and steal the humans.

  Taskus Draw had implemented the freedom games to counteract these distractions a decade ago. During this time, the gladiators were faced with certain tasks. If they survived, then they were granted their freedom from the games and were put on as trainers instead of gladiators.

  But what would his task be this year?

  Doesn't matter. I will kill whoever I need to kill.

  Although most of the gladiators at the arena were condemned prisoners who chose this as their method of execution, there were others like him who had been raised here. Slaves, trained to fight and kill since they were first brought in. Only the slaves were allowed to participate in the Freedom Games.

  If he was right, he would be able to leave the arena battlefields for good.

  When the elevator lowered to eye level for the gladiators, Gylden frowned. Taskus Draw stood at the forefront, wearing his expected glittering, skin-tight catsuit that left nothing to the imagination, his three horns strung with garlands. But there were also dozens of women on the elevator platform behind him. There was a mix of species up there. They all wore clothing from their native worlds. Some had slave brandings on some part of their bodies, while the others had clear skin. Drones buzzed around them.