Exposed

by Tana Stone

  The desire to claim her slammed through him. He pressed her back against the wall and reached down, stripping her pants off her and tearing away the flimsy lace panties. He saw her pupils flare as he tugged his own pants down and his cock sprang free. With one hand, he dragged his crown through her wet folds. She was so wet and hot his knees almost buckled. “I can’t be slow this time.” The words came out through gritted teeth. “I need to take you hard. Need to claim you.”

  She nodded quickly, her eyes locked with his. “I’m yours. Take me hard.”

  He thrust himself into her, feeling her tightness like a glove as he stroked deep. Katie cried out as he pounded again and again, her eyes never leaving him.

  “That’s right,” he said. “It’s my cock that’s inside you, Katie. Do you like that?”

  “So good,” she gasped. “I love when you’re inside me.”

  “You need it, don’t you?” He leaned down and kissed her, his tongue swirling with hers before pulling away and leaving her breathless. “Tell me.” He thrust harder. “Tell me what you need.”

  Her eyes were wide, and she was panting as her head bobbed up and down. “I need you, Zayn. I need your cock filling me.”

  He looked down to where their bodies joined and watched himself stroking inside her. “You’re so tight where I split you.”

  She rolled her head back. “I’m so full with your cock.”

  She was his, and every deep thrust claimed her as his. Her throaty moans belonged to him and every one of her sweet releases were his to savor. He angled her body so he rubbed against her clit, and she clutched at his shoulders, moving her hips frantically as she began to quiver. He felt his release building as her muscles clamped around him. “Come for me, Katie. Only for me.”

  “Only you,” she panted.

  Zayn grabbed her by the hips and slammed up into her as he felt her orgasm sending her over the edge, her screams melding with his as he pulsed into her, his pleasure almost blinding as he held himself inside her throbbing heat.

  Katie’s entire body shook as her legs went limp and slipped from his waist. He caught them and kept himself from falling by bracing one hand against the wall.

  “I sure am glad I got on the wrong ship,” she said, her words escaping between ragged breaths.

  Before Zayn could respond, the ship jerked to one side. He staggered a few steps but caught himself before falling.

  “What was that?” Katie asked, dropping her legs to the ground so she could stand.

  “I don’t know.” He pulled his pants up and bolted for the cockpit.

  Katie followed behind, tugging her pants back on. She stopped short when she reached the cockpit and saw the huge ship hovering in front of theirs. “What is that?”

  “A Kronock battleship.” Zayn’s chest constricted as he sat down and began flipping switches. “They must have been tracking me.”

  “Don’t we have that Drexian stealth technology? How can they see us?”

  All the happiness that Zayn had felt moments ago had evaporated and now formed a pit in his stomach. “It must be the device. They don’t need to see the ship if they know I’m right here.”

  “Can we outrun them?” Katie asked, her voice shaky. “Fly away at light speed?”

  “They’ll follow.” Zayn slammed his hand against the console. “I was supposed to draw the danger away from you. Not draw you into danger.”

  She put a hand on his shoulder. “I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

  He swiveled around to face her. “I won’t let them take us prisoner. I won’t let you suffer like that.”

  “I understand.” Her face was grim as she sat down on his lap and looped her arms around his neck. “You’re still trying to protect me.”

  “Always,” he said, hearing his own voice thick with emotion.

  From the corner of his eye, he saw a red flash coming from the enemy ship. He instinctively rolled Katie under him as he dove to the floor and the ship was rocked from the impact. He kept his arms around her as they were flipped over and over, the instrument panels screaming out warnings and emergency lights flashing.

  Zayn heard the deafening sound of air leaving the ship and knew there was a breach. The emergency functions immediately sealed the breach, but the ship continued to flip end over end, bouncing them around the cockpit. When they came to a stop, Zayn felt like he’d gone ten rounds in a holographic fighting ring with his hands tied behind his back.

  “Are you okay?” he managed to say, running his hands up and down Katie’s body to feel for any injuries.

  “I think so.” She sounded dazed as she blinked up at him. “What happened?”

  He pulled them both to standing. The red warning lights flashed and the console still wailed, and Zayn smelled something burning. He looked out the view screen. No Kronock ship. Either they’d been knocked so far they were out of visual range, or the enemy had left. He staggered to the controls and assessed the damage. They’d lost both engines and suffered a major hull breach. Not good.

  He glanced at a red flashing light and tapped the screen. That couldn’t be right. His breath caught in his throat as he looked again. Now he knew why the Kronock had left them. The impact had damaged their life support systems.

  They had less than ten minutes before they ran out of air.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Katie just blinked at Zayn a few times after he told her. “Life support as in oxygen? We’re going to run out of oxygen?”

  “I’m so sorry.” His eyes dropped to the console and the flashing lights.

  She felt a calm settle over her. “It’s not your fault. None of this is your fault.”

  He gave a quick shake of his head without looking up. “If I’d never escaped and come to the station, you wouldn’t be floating out in space running out of air.”

  She put a finger under his chin and lifted his face. “Then I never would have met you. I’d take this ending to that alternative.”

  He pulled her into his lap and buried his head in her neck. “I don’t deserve you.”

  She stroked the back of his neck. “You’re really going to have to stop saying that. I’m the one who doesn’t deserve you. You wouldn’t be so impressed with me if you knew what I was like on Earth.”

  Zayn raised his eyes to hers. “There’s nothing you can tell me that would change the way I feel about you. Don’t you know that?”

  She took a shaky breath. “You weren’t the first person I deceived. Not by a long shot. You see, I grew up with a father who made a living by conning people.” When she noticed his brows furrow, she explained. “He would run cons to trick people out of their money. Everything he did was a deception. He taught me how to manipulate and trick and lie. It was all I knew, and I hated it. I tried to get away from the business, but even then the best job I could find was taking pictures of famous people and exploiting them. I didn’t get close to anyone because I was taught to never trust anyone. Every guy I ended up getting involved with was either a cheat or a loser. It was like I was a magnet for bad people no matter how much I tried to escape my past.”

  “When I look at you, I don’t see any of that,” Zayn said, brushing a curl off her face. “I see the woman who didn’t judge me for having nightmares and who listened to me talk about my guilt and pain. You made me feel safe after my world had been destroyed, and you never made me feel like just a scarred soldier.”

  Katie’s eyes welled up with tears. “I guess I didn’t feel like I was one to judge anyone. None of the horrible things that happened to you were your fault. You didn’t deserve to be tortured or have something put into your head. Like I said, I always had a soft spot for underdogs. That’s why I could never be a real con artist like my father. I felt too bad for the people he victimized.”

  “You aren’t your father.”

  She took a shallow breath. “And you’re more than just a soldier with scars.” She kissed him lightly. “You’re a Drexian warrior, and you’re all mine.”

/>   “And you’re mine.” His eyes drooped as he pulled her face to his.

  Katie head swam as he kissed her, and she wasn’t sure if it was the emotions of the moment, or the waning oxygen. When she pulled away, she let her head sink onto his shoulder. “I wish we had more time. I would have liked getting to be your mate.”

  Zayn wrapped his arms around her, tugging her closer. “You already are my mate. I don’t need a ceremony to know you’re mine.”

  “Neither do I,” Katie said, smiling at him even though her head had started to ache. “To be honest, I was never crazy about the idea of a big wedding. It seems a little silly to me. I don’t need a ring or a fancy dress or a marriage certificate to know that my heart belongs to you.”

  He kissed her again, his tongue parting her lips and delving deeper. She sank into the kiss, savoring the taste of him.

  “Still tastes like doughnuts,” she said with a giggle when they’d stopped. She wanted to run her hands through Zayn’s hair, but her arms felt heavy and sluggish. “I love the way you taste and feel and smell.” She sank into him, feeling almost giddy. “I love all of you.”

  “I love you.” His voice sounded deeper and slower than usual.

  She felt his arms go slack around her. A part of her knew they were close to the end, but she couldn’t seem to care about it. She felt so good sitting on Zayn’s lap, her head slumped against his chest inhaling the warm scent of him. At least she was with the man she loved, she thought. Her brain felt jumbled, but that thought was clear. She loved him. As absurd as it seemed, especially for someone like her who didn’t really believe in love, she’d fallen for him. What had first been lust had deepened as her feelings were tested and she’d seen how honorable and loyal he was.

  “No regrets,” she whispered, her breaths tiny gasps.

  He kissed the top of her head gently. “No regrets.”

  It wasn’t so bad, Katie thought as her eyes fluttered closed. There were worse ways to go. She would have liked more time, but at least she’d been able to tell Zayn everything. She wouldn’t have been able to live with herself if he’d never known how she felt about him. A single tear trickled down her cheek, although she didn’t feel sad.

  Her mind flashed to the two of them in their suite, and then of sitting in the bathtub with him, the bubbles up around her neck. She could almost feel the warm water and smell the flowery bath oils and see the glow of the candles. She tried to hold onto the memory, but the glow of the candles grew brighter, blocking out everything else. The candles were almost blinding. She frowned and tried to open her eyes, but all she could see through the slit of her eyelids was a light shining through the ship’s window.

  If she hadn’t been so drowsy she might have wondered who was out there and why she heard her name and Zayn’s being repeated over and over.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Zayn rolled his head to nuzzle in Katie’s neck and felt his cheek touch something cold. He forced himself to open his eyes. He was not in the transport ship, and Katie was no longer sitting on his lap. He stared up at a white ceiling that looked vaguely familiar. He took a breath and the sharp scent told him he was in the medical bay on the Boat.

  He tried to sit up, but his head felt heavy. He lifted a hand and touched thick bandages covering his forehead.

  “Whoa there, buddy.”

  He recognized that voice, as well. It wasn’t Katie’s, but it was female.

  Mandy’s face came into view above him, her long, brown hair pulled up in a ponytail. “We wondered when you’d be joining us.”

  “Where’s Katie?” His voice was little more than a croak, and his throat felt dry and scratchy.

  Mandy put a hand on his shoulder as he tried to sit up again. “Don’t try to move. You’re still healing from your surgery. But don’t worry, Katie’s fine.”

  He relaxed, but then felt confused again. “What surgery?”

  “We were able to remove that device from your spinal cord,” Mandy said, then grinned. “Well, when I say ‘we,’ I don’t mean I did it. I’m a long way from performing brain surgery.”

  “She means me,” a robotic voice said.

  “The Al cut me open?” Zayn instinctively raised a hand to his head. “It didn’t detonate?”

  “Of course it did not detonate.” Al sounded indignant. “My skills as a surgeon are unsurpassed. I would never detonate a bomb in a patient, even the ones who talk too much.”

  “And there’s that famous bedside manner,” Mandy muttered.

  “It didn’t detonate because it wasn’t a weapon.” This voice was not Mandy’s or Al’s. Zayn turned his head slightly to see Dorn walking up. “I was able to get a message to Kax, who was able to track down the doctor who’d originally examined you and been sent off the station. He told my brother that he’d determined the device was a transmitter of some kind that was sending out energy pulses.”

  “So it was just meant to disrupt the ship?” Zayn asked.

  “Looks like it, although enough system disruptions would have left the station vulnerable when the Kronock attacked, so it wasn’t harmless.” Dorn clasped his hands behind his back. “We’re just lucky our enemy wasn’t able to design a weapon to implant in you.”

  Zayn nodded, not sure if lucky was the word he’d use for what he’d been through. “Did you discover who hid the information and sent the doctor away from the station?”

  Dorn’s expression darkened. “Not yet. The doctor submitted his report to High Command, so it has to be someone on there, but the doctor had no idea who ordered his transfer. I checked the records, and they’ve been wiped.”

  “So someone on the High Command is behind this and is covering their tracks?” Zayn asked. “You know, I thought it was unusual that I was being held at the station and given a tribute bride, and now I know I was right to be suspicious.”

  “Looks like your instincts were correct.” Dorn lowered his voice as he cast a glance over his shoulder at the others in the medical bay. “It’s hard to imagine someone from one of the elite Drexian families would be an agent of our enemy, so I have to tread carefully. I need to be positive before I make an accusation.” He blew out a breath. “At least, that’s what my older brother tells me.”

  “I don’t know why you’re so shocked,” Mandy said. “Politicians from elite families are the most corrupt people on our entire planet.”

  “Drexians are not Earthlings,” Dorn growled.

  “You could have fooled me,” Mandy muttered, winking at Zayn and running a scanner over his head.

  Zayn watched Dorn glower at his wife before she turned and fluttered his eyelashes at him. Dorn cleared his throat and his cheeks reddened, but he clearly couldn’t help smiling at Mandy.

  “Earth women will drive you crazy,” Dorn told him. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  “Katie.” Zayn’s mind flashed back to being on the transport ship with her as they ran out of air. “She’s okay after losing so much oxygen?”

  “I promise you she’s fine,” Mandy said. “You two were without oxygen for less than a minute before Dorn’s ship honed in on Katie’s tracker and rescued you both.”

  Zayn shifted his attention to the Drexian. “You came after me? How did you know?”

  Mandy sidled up to her mate and slipped an arm around his waist. “It was actually me. Katie told me she needed time alone in her suite, but I decided she shouldn’t be alone after all and went to look for her. When I didn’t find her, I suspected she might have done something drastic so I told Dorn. He activated her tracking device and discovered she was on your ship.”

  “Then I should thank you both.”

  “Zayn!” Katie flew through the doors of the medical bay and ran across the room to him, throwing herself across his chest. Her mass of red curls tickled his skin, which he just realized was bare to the waist. He stroked her head as she held him, and only when he felt her body shake did he realize she was crying.

  He pulled her up and saw the tears
running down her cheeks. “Why are you crying?”

  “I’m so happy you’re okay.” She climbed up beside him in bed and curled her body next to his.

  Dorn met his eyes, raising his eyebrows in a clear “I told you they were crazy” look. Mandy grabbed her husband by the elbow and dragged him away, waving at the two as she marched Dorn out of the medical bay.

  “I’m relieved you’re okay,” he said, tilting her face up to his. “You were getting pretty loopy right before we were rescued.”

  She gave him a playful swat. “Was not. I meant every word I said to you, including the fact that you taste like doughnuts.”

  “Oh?” He leaned down and kissed her, feeling a surge of happiness that everything he’d remembered had been real. “Well, I meant every word I said to you too.”

  “Do you remember it?” Katie asked. “The rescue, I mean?”

  Zayn thought back. “I remember a light and hearing a ship latch onto ours. But I don’t remember the trip back to the station, or anything else, up until I woke up a little while ago.”

  Katie ran a hand down the side of his face. “They rushed you to surgery as soon as we got here. Dorn was talking to his brother and got the okay from the doctor to take out the device. They wanted to get it out before it could do any more damage.” Her eyes went to the bandages. “Does it hurt?”

  Zayn gave a small shake of his head. “I’m too happy to be with you to feel any pain.”

  She kissed him, her lips soft and her touch tender. “Well, we’re still going to have to take it easy for a while.”

  “What does that mean?” He felt the blood course hot through his body in response to her touch.

  She sat up and narrowed her eyes at him. “What do you think it means? You just had something taken out of your head.” Her eyes went to the blanket around his waist and the growing bulge beneath it. “We’re going to have to go slow.”

  Zayn ran one hand up her back and captured her head in his palm. He pulled her in for a long, deep kiss. “I can do slow.”