Venomous Lust

by Mary Auclair

  Khal turned to the door as it opened to reveal a tall, burly Cattelan male, his mottled green skin marred with a jagged, thick scar running along his left cheek. Silky black hair fell down to below the elbows of his faded black synthetic leather suit. His dark yellow, almost brown eyes stared with cold interest at those in the room, then stopped on Hazel with an open appreciation that made Khal’s blood curdle. Rage coiled inside him at the way the Cattelan’s lips curved when his gaze traveled down Hazel’s body, but he controlled it.

  So, this is the captain of the Mother, the Bounty Hunter whose name makes lifelong criminals wet their pants and weep like younglings.

  “Captain Roohl. I am Commander Khal, son of Enlon, brother to chief Arlen of the Erynian tribe.” Khal listed his title, keeping his gaze steady and his voice controlled. A male like Roohl wouldn’t likely be impressed by Zaxis’s noble birth, but he would respect strength and power. And Khal possessed both.

  Khal moved, placing himself between Hazel and the bounty hunter in a non-equivocal claim over the female.

  A snicker escaped Roohl’s upturned lips.

  “Possessive, are you, Eok?” Those eyes twinkled and Khal knew Roohl had found a weakness in him. A weakness that could easily prove fatal. “Don’t you worry, I’m not after the human female. I’m not after a female at all, although I must say I could make an exception for that one.”

  At Khal’s side, Hazel inched closer, raw terror showing on her open, expressive face.

  No one touches what is mine.

  A gravelly sound came from Khal’s throat and his talons pushed out of their sheaths. His senses heightened in anticipation of the fight to come. Then Roohl tilted his head back and a roaring, full-throated laugh filled the room.

  “Don’t worry your big blue head, Commander Khal. I wouldn’t dream of snatching your prize from you.” Roohl set his shrewd, calculating stare on Khal. “But in return, I’ll ask you for just a tiny bit of help.”

  The threat was there, barely veiled. Blunt and cruel, just like the Cattelan captain of the Mother.

  “I know what you’re after.” Khal spoke with all the self-control of his long years of training. It took nothing less to keep his tone even, his face as smooth and expressionless as stone. “But I can’t help you.”

  Roohl’s dark yellow eyes shone with an evil, almost joyful glint and the corners of his thin-lipped mouth lifted in a vile smirk. His cunning gaze went around the room, pausing on Zaxis before returning to Khal.

  “An Eok commander, brother to chief Arlen, and the only heir of one of the richest Avonie dukes banding together in a high tech, highly undetectable ship barely two days from the Frontier.” All traces of subterfuge were gone from Roohl’s face. “You’re not on a trade mission. You’re after the same thing I am. You are after Knut’s bounty.”

  Danger filled the room with a thick, knowing silence. The time for games was past.

  “We are on a diplomatic mission,” Khal answered, forcing his talons back into their sheaths. “Prime Councilor Aav herself tasked me with establishing a trading and diplomatic outpost with the Decatee people.”

  The words flowed easily, rehearsed many times as he had perfected his cover story, the cover story he had given to all who would be suspicious of his absence from Aveyn. All had believed it easily. All, but not Roohl.

  “Decatee people aren’t worth shit,” Roohl answered, his face full of disgust. “They’re nothing but primitive savages. Prime Councilor Aav wouldn’t waste her time on them.”

  “They might not have technology, but their home planet is rich in Allurium. There is no stronger metal, and it’s getting exceedingly rare inside the Ring,” Khal countered easily, knowing all their lives hung in the balance of how well he could fool the captain of the Mother. “She certainly has a need for that.”

  “She can just take what she wants. She has no need for you or the Avonie.” But there was a shadow of doubt in Roohl’s eyes now as he spoke. And a shadow was all Khal needed.

  “After all the trouble she had with her former Trade Minister, she doesn’t think it’s wise to start a new war. If the Decatee would stop attacking the Garana outpost, it would give her a much-needed win to present to the Ring’s Assembly.”

  Roohl grunted, his mouth twisting with visible displeasure as he considered the information Khal had just given him. Then he jerked his head toward Celaith. “What do you say?” His eyes held no mockery, no threat as he looked at Celaith, waiting for her opinion.

  The way Roohl looked at the young female surprised Khal. He hadn’t thought the bounty hunter captain would be close to any of his underlings.

  “He might be telling the truth, then again, he might be lying.” Celaith shrugged in non-committal manner. “The only way to be sure is to search the ship. If he’s on a trading mission, he’ll have presents for the Decatee king. Things to trade. Those people don’t value money the way we do. They’ll need things they can hold, things they can taste.”

  Roohl’s mouth curved up at the corners as he saw the wisdom in Celaith’s words. He barked orders to the Shriklas still standing outside the door and the snakes disappeared promptly. His dark yellow eyes turned back to Khal.

  “We’ll find out soon enough if you lied to me. And I’m sure you know what I do to those who lie to me.” There was a promise in the bounty hunter’s voice, almost glee at the idea of Khal and his companions deserving his punishment.

  Khal knew what Roohl did to those he deemed to have betrayed him. Those people wished to die but they seldom did. Roohl didn’t let them die—at least, not for a long time.

  Roohl walked to the nearest chair and sat down, putting his boots up on the control board. He absorbed himself in the inspection of his long, dirty nails, ignoring those in the room in an affected relaxed pose.

  Still standing to the side, Celaith’s face took on a bored, glazed expression as she settled on her heels.

  At Khal’s side, Hazel inched closer but remained silent. As he looked down at her, he saw her face was closed off, her green eyes dark and dangerous. The beautiful lines of her face were drawn tight and she remained outwardly unafraid.

  Pride erupted inside his heart at her fierceness. Pride that made no sense.

  Because she wasn’t his. Because she could still be the traitor.

  Traitor or not, she’s mine.

  The thought made Khal grit his teeth. It was folly… absurd. But Khal didn’t have time to reflect on his strange feeling. The Shriklas came back, their reptilian faces expressionless. A low hiss escaped their mouths as their forked tongues formed the strange words of their kind.

  Words the universal translator didn’t pick up.

  “Well, it seems like there’s nothing aboard to trade.” Roohl got to his feet and his eyes took on a focused, dangerous glint. “Now, I will ask nicely only one time. After that, I’ll keep asking, but I won’t be nearly as pleasant. What information do you have on Knut?”

  Khal faced the Cattelan bounty hunter, his arms rippling with the knowledge that violence was now inevitable. His talons shot from his fingers and from the corner of his eye, he saw Zaxis’s hands twitching toward the ionic gun at his belt.

  “Nothing to trade?” Celaith’s voice broke the tense air like a blade. “What about the rations? There are at least two thousand in the cargo hold. A crew of three doesn’t need that much for a trading mission.”

  “What are you blabbering about?” Roohl retorted with a snarl. “Who would trade those?”

  “The Decatee would.” Celaith opened her arms in a mocking gesture, making a face at the Shriklas, who answered with a hiss. “Those savages, like you said, love the food rations. Nothing on their green shithole of a home tastes sweet. I swear, that amount of rations is worth more to them than half the Allurium on their planet.”

  Roohl’s eyes narrowed into evil slits, but he didn’t dismiss Celaith. “You sure?”

  “Heck yeah! Remember that time I had to track a Cattelan smuggler all the way to the Fronti
er? The Decatee handed him to me on a platter in exchange for a few dozen.” Celaith chuckled. “Give them a food ration pack, and they’ll hand over pretty much everything you ask for. It’s not a well-kept secret.”

  Roohl sucked on his teeth, seemingly considering what Celaith was saying. “Makes sense.” He spat on the floor in Khal’s direction, then nodded to the Shriklas. “Take them on board anyway, but don’t harm them. Can’t be too cautious. And send the human to my quarters. Can’t pass up an opportunity like that.”

  Khal growled as the snakes walked toward him and Hazel, but Celaith intervened again.

  “Forget it!” She sounded more annoyed than pissed. “We don’t have time for that. For all you know, Prime Councilor Aav will be sending another ship, or the rich Avonie daddy will set an entire Ilarian guard regiment on our asses. Let’s ditch these three and keep going. You know we’ll find something on Knut sooner or later.”

  Roohl turned his dark eyes to Celaith and something dangerous passed behind them. Something deep and rotten, something that spoke more than any threats.

  This male was twisted beyond repair, down to his very soul.

  “Okay then, my darling Arvak.” Roohl nodded but his eyes remained cold. “But you’d better pray to whatever heathen gods your people have that you’re not mistaken, because it’s going to be on you.”

  Fear passed over Celaith’s features, turning her skin a sickly pale pink, but it soon cleared and her usual defiant expression returned.

  “Fine.” She tilted her head and locked gazes with Khal. “They’re not worth it. Toss them out into space if you want. I don’t care. I won’t be the one with an Eok target on my back. Those blue assholes are loyal as shit. His father, his brothers—hell, even his distant cousins are going to go after you if you don’t let him go.”

  Roohl’s devious glare slid from Celaith to Khal, who saw it the moment the Cattelan bounty hunter decided to let them go.

  “Not worth it, like you said.” Roohl got to his feet and moved to stand in the doorway. “But mark my words, Eok. If I cross your path again, I won’t be so kind. Knut’s bounty is mine, and mine alone. Anyone who tries to take my prize will end up on my wall of pretties.” His venomous glare slid once more to Celaith. “Take care of it. I don’t want them to be able to follow us.”

  Celaith nodded, then watched Roohl leave. As the Cattelan left the room, her cheeks bloomed with a dark pink, almost red flush, and her eyes took on a murderous glint.

  “Take down their hyper-propulsion,” Celaith told the Shriklas. “It’ll take them a few days to repair it. By then, we’ll be far enough away.”

  She shot Khal a last glare, then stormed out the door after Roohl. As she left, Khal wondered if he had just made an ally or an enemy.

  Chapter 7

  Hazel

  “What was that about!” Hazel turned to Khal as the sound of her own heart drowned out everything else.

  What did I get myself into?

  She had escaped Aveyn and Bobbie’s devious choke-hold on her life only to find herself in a worse situation. No, not just a worse situation. A knee-deep, stinking pile of shit situation. The kind of fuck-up that was liable to get her killed—or worse.

  “Nothing you need to worry yourself about.” Khal watched her with his Prussian blue eyes, breathtaking and unreadable. “Zaxis will escort you back to my personal sleeping quarters where you will remain until I can safely deliver you to someone who can take you back to where you belong. I sent a message to Representative Jonah earlier about the male who abused you. He will never lay a finger on a female again. I also left specific instructions for your immediate transfer to Earth.”

  “You did?” Hazel spoke with the dying end of a breath. “You’re sending me to Earth?”

  “As soon as we reach Garana, yes. We will part ways then, but not before I ensure your safety.”

  They faced each other for long seconds, like nothing else existed but her and Khal. He was giving her what she had been so desperate to have, what she had put her life in danger to obtain.

  Then why was her throat closing up and her stomach squeezing?

  Because this meant she was about to leave Khal forever.

  What is the matter with me?

  The contradiction of feelings collided inside Hazel—her torn sadness at losing Khal forever, and her elation at finally attaining her goal to get back to Sally.

  “Those people were bounty hunters,” Hazel began, her mind finally putting the pieces of the puzzle together. “They were after Knut and they thought you were, too. Are you? Are you going after the reward?”

  Khal’s too-blue eyes stayed on her for long seconds and Hazel was sure he was about to say something. Something meaningful, something she needed to know.

  “This does not concern you.” Khal’s voice slashed like the crack of a whip and he turned away from her, forcing her to stare at the broadness of his well-muscled back. “You know more than you should already.”

  His tone was matter of fact, but she still heard the warning there. Captain Roohl was going after the bounty placed on Knut’s head, a reward so large, he and his entire crew could live like royalty from it for the rest of their lives.

  Hazel considered her options cautiously. All her instincts pushed her to demand more information, but it would be a mistake. Maybe not knowing was safer.

  He’s sending me back to Sally. That is all that matters. So what if he doesn’t tell me?

  But the lack of trust stung nevertheless. Still, what Khal had offered her was exactly what she had been after, what she had risked her life to gain. She wasn’t going to jeopardize it for the sake of some Eok mission, no matter her attraction to Khal.

  “Fine.” Hazel hoped her voice didn’t betray her feelings. “You don’t have to tell me anything. I’ll be out of your way soon enough anyway.”

  He shot her a glance over his broad shoulder. A fast glance. A glance that said she didn’t matter.

  The sting grew, but Hazel kept her feelings under control. What was she hoping for, anyway? So, he had almost kissed her. It had meant nothing to him. If only it had meant nothing to her as well.

  Khal studied his screen, not paying attention to her until she shouted a long string of curses at his back. He turned, but not toward her. His focused face turned to Zaxis.

  “They’re releasing the Myrador.” He spoke with military efficiency, with complete control over his own emotions as Hazel swam in hers like in a torrent. “They’ve wrecked the hyper-propulsion and disabled our communications relay.”

  Zaxis cursed loudly, then turned to exit the room, but a great shockwave forced him to hold on to the chair. Hazel fell backwards to the ground, her teeth chattering together. The taste of blood entered her mouth as she bit her tongue, but she barely noticed.

  “What is that?”

  “They’ve disengaged the magnetic anchors,” Khal answered her. He was the only one of them who seemed unaffected by the earthquake-level shaking. His face was laser-focused and his eyes ran across the control panel as Zaxis got to his feet, then ran out of the room.

  “Is Roohl going to hurt us?” By that, she meant: was Roohl going to shoot them into oblivion in the middle of space? After all, she wouldn’t put it past the Cattelan captain of the Mother.

  “No, he won’t blast us.” Khal shook his head. “He knows I sent a notice of boarding to both Prime Councilor Aav and the Eok nation on Eokim the second he beamed us in. He doesn’t want to become the target of a vengeance team of Mantrilla and Eok warriors.”

  “So, we’re safe, then?”

  Khal turned his face to her, his grim expression telling her everything she needed to know. They weren’t safe, not by a long shot. They were incredibly far from safe.

  “Without our hyper-propulsion and communication ability, we’re easy prey. This close to the Frontier, any pirate ship can do whatever they want to us. We won’t be able to defend ourselves.”

  Hazel nodded, the full weight of the gravity of th
eir situation settling on her shoulders. She watched as Khal worked fast, looking up things she understood nothing about on the controls, her mind running too fast for her to grasp any particular thought.

  Then it hit her. She knew what mission Khal was on. She knew also that she should keep quiet, but shutting up had never been her strong suit.

  “Roohl was right, you’re going after Knut.” Her face felt numb as she spoke, terror at the thought of chasing the monster that had ruled over her life coming back with a vengeance. “That’s the mission Prime Councilor Aav gave you.”

  “Let this go, Hazel.” There was a warning in the Eok’s voice, one Hazel knew she should heed. Khal turned his impressive body around then took a step closer. He loomed above her like some all-powerful God, his skin shimmering under the harsh light, all those tiny bumps showing in a dizzying reminder of who he was, what he was capable of doing. Any creature capable of cutting into their own skin thousands of times and keep going wasn’t one she should upset.

  But Hazel was a cornered animal. She had no choice.

  “But why? Why would you of all people go on a mission like that?”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  But she did. In truth, she had known all along. Hazel’s mind spun out of control and she wasn’t sure how she was still able to stand.

  “There’s a bounty on Knut, the biggest bounty ever placed on a single person. The worst of the bounty hunters are after him, that’s why Roohl boarded the Myrador. He wanted to take out the competition.” Hazel spoke calmly, her words clear and loud as her mind swam in a thick ooze of fear. Khal watched her, missing nothing of what she said, his face a mask as smooth as stone. “You’re not after the money. Eoks aren’t like that. No, you’re after something else, something more.”

  Khal’s eyes shone with a dangerous glint as rumors about a past she’d rather forget rushed back to her. Rumors of a weapon hidden on Aveyn, one that could wipe out all of the Ring’s government in a single blow.