The lawyer nodded. “That would work. The brain would be acceptable to the Union. This is a good compromise.”
Uh, were they talking about her death right in front of her? Of cutting her in half? She began to feel lightheaded.
“No!” Rayzor shouted. “No,” he said again, softer and firmer. “You will not execute Becca.”
“Becca?” the lawyer questioned.
“Her name is Rebecca of One,” Rayzor answered. “She is my Bride. She will not be executed. She is carrying my offspring.”
His head turned and their eyes met. An enormous wave of possessiveness swept over her.
“I love you,” she whispered.
“I know.” He smirked.
He did?
The judge sighed. “You have unfortunately mated with a female who is not Xylan.” He gestured toward her, a frown on his face. “And who is also colorless, which further leaves her status as unclassified, therefore assuming none of the legal rights and protections of a mated pair.”
She watched Rayzor. It hurt her, knowing this was happening to him because he’d mated a woman who wasn’t of his species and who had no value at all on his world. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and opened them again. He turned his head and met her gaze. Once again, as she’d learned these last two days, his face was impassive, but his eyes were bright, swirling pools filled with the emotions that were warring inside of him. Windows into his inner demons, his thoughts, his feelings. And right now, those eyes were crammed full of the love he felt for her. He held himself tight, his fists clenched, his jaw hard. The feelings radiating from him were so intense she felt as if he were holding her in his arms instead of standing six feet away. Rebecca watched all of this in silence, her breath caught in her throat, her lower lip trembling.
“The Union can keep her.” Rayzor turned back and announced to the men. “Give the Bounty Hunter Union all of her, alive. I abdicate all rights to my Bride, give up my status as a mated pair. You can have her. I do not want her.”
“What? But…” Rebecca stuttered, unable to keep quiet.
“The humanoid will not speak,” the judge thundered.
Rayzor did not meet her gaze. He kept his head turned from her, concentrating on the lawyer and the judge.
“Ray,” she choked out, tears streaming down her cheeks. Why wouldn’t he look at her?
“You will take her, alive,” Rayzor said. “And keep her and take care of her until the end of her days and allow her to birth my offspring and raise it on Chronos as a member of my line, unbanished.”
The judge’s lips curved.
“But,” the lawyer sputtered, “this…this is unacceptable. The Bounty Hunter Union does not want or need this responsibility. I was not meant to return with a live specimen and her offspring. I must discuss this unusual outcome with the Board.”
The judge nodded and the lawyer blinked out of the scene. He glanced at Rayzor. “I think your plan is going to work.”
Plan?
“When I first saw you I was taken back to the day your father committed treason, giving away the location of our Xylan base to the Hularians in exchange for chits. Because of your father, who had been an acquaintance of mine, I now walk on two cybernetic limbs. I was lucky to survive the attack. You look very much like him. The resemblance is uncanny. I assumed you would be of similar caste, a warrior not to be trusted. But you have proved me wrong. You are completely unlike your father, aren’t you?”
“I am nothing like my father,” Rayzor said between his clenched jaws.
“Good.” The judge nodded.
The lawyer returned to the scene. “Judge Rankin, the Bounty Hunter Union has requested that the Humanoid female be placed permanently in Rayzor of Twelve’s custody. But, due to the improprieties of his last extraction, his Hunter license is revoked and he is no longer allowed to bid for assignments.”
The Judge nodded. “This is acceptable. Has the Union decided Rayzor of Twelve’s compensation?” he asked. “After all, he completed his mission.”
“I will not hand over the Mandible unless I am compensated,” Rayzor stated. “I would do better selling him on the open market.”
The Judge grunted. “He has this right.”
The lawyer sighed in resignation and taped his claws on a tablet in his hand. “The Union is paying you for the extraction, less the amount for the marks against you for the kidnapping of the Indigenous Species. The transmission code for the Mandible’s transport is being sent.” The lawyer bowed his head solemnly to the judge and to Rayzor, who returned with nods of their own, then the lawyer blinked out of the scene.
“Now go,” the judge said to Rayzor, continuing to completely ignore Rebecca’s existence. “Take your humanoid Bride with you. Live out the rest of your banishment and send your grown offspring back to Chronos to continue your line with honor.”
Rayzor nodded. A hand signal was exchanged, one Rebecca had never seen before. The judge also blinked out of the scene. The lights turned on and the room with the fire pit dissolved and they were now in a blank room with white walls. They were now alone.
Rayzor’s gaze was so intent on her, like a searchlight or a beacon. Everything but this moment in time became unimportant. “Becca, I don’t know how to be a mate.” He stepped closer to her. “I’ve never loved another being except my family, and I haven’t seen any of them in over ten rotations. But I know I was meant to find you and to love you. Only you. You are the best thing that has happened to me. Stay with me. I’ll spend the rest of my life making you happy.”
Her tears started up again and she flung herself at him, jumping up and wrapping her legs around his waist. “Okay, I can do that.”
He chuckled and kept her close, easily holding her weight against his chest. He walked the both of them out of the holo-deck like that and into the hallway and braced her against the wall.
Cold fear ran down her spine. She looked down the hall, into corners, wondering where the cameras were hidden. “Wait, are we still being taped?”
Rayzor lifted his chin and raised his voice. “Computer. Stop recording Mission 5278. Authorization Hunter Alpha.”
“Authorization accepted. Recording has ended.”
He met her gaze and grinned. “No, we are not being taped.”
Rebecca smiled wide. “Good, so now I can do this.” She pressed her mouth against Rayzor’s curved lips, enveloping him in the kiss to end all kisses. She tilted her head for easier access, going at him like he was her last meal, like they were having sex already, because she couldn’t help herself. He was just that damn sexy.
He growled deep in his throat, his hands digging into her hips. Her breasts were smashed against his chest, her back against the hallway wall. The good thing about being on the ship alone, just the two of them—no worries about anyone walking by and interrupting their hot make-out session.
They continued to kiss each other. The kissing went on and on, all the kissing she’d ever wanted, like it had been pent up inside and was being let go. He cupped the back of her head and a colossal hand squeezed her ass. He held her up like Atlas holding up the world. His strength was mind-boggling.
The kiss ended, and Rebecca whimpered at the loss. But his lips moved down her jaw, down her neck, possessively, like he owned every inch of her. Which, in reality, he did. All of her—he could take it, it was his. She gave it to him gladly.
“Baby,” she whispered. She wanted to touch him, to explore and learn his body, memorize every hard plane, dip and curve. And holy cow, she wanted his dick. She had to take it out again. Rebecca glanced down at the long pipe that was visible against his thigh through his dark pants and let out a dreamy sigh. That vision was never going to get old. Her hand roamed downward, and she gripped his length, touching it through the leather-like fabric.
He sucked in a breath. “I’m fucking you now,” he growled. “Right here, I can’t wait.” Rayzor lowered her legs and jerked off her pants in record time. She helped him, and his pants
were undone, too, exposing his cock to her probing hands. Shit, it was glorious.
She ran her hand up and down the length of his silky skin, tracing her fingers over the small ridges that gave her so much pleasure, down to the hairless root, cupping his balls. He groaned against her neck. She gripped him hard, jerking him off fast, from the base back up to the wet tip, again and again. This seemed to set off a trigger, because she was now firmly back against the wall, he’d lifted her legs up around his waist again, his cock aimed right at the entrance to her pussy.
“How wet are you?” He slid his cock against her core, the slick sounds echoing in the quiet corridor.
She blushed. “You make me that way. You. Only you.”
“Gods, I love that pussy.” The mushroom tip of his penis prodded at her. She panted in anticipation. He surged inside, lifting her up slightly with the force of his entry. Long, hard and thick. His mouth covered her lips and took her moan. He was all around her. Inside of her. Face to face, breath to breath, skin to skin.
He stroked his way inside, and Rebecca tilted her hips, allowing him easier access, and he bottomed out.
“More,” she whispered.
Rayzor growled. He had a firm hold of her ass and hip and began thrusting inside of her, all the way out and slamming back in again, each thrust faster and faster.
“Omigod,” she gasped. Tears formed in her eyes at the bliss she was feeling. This man was a miracle-worker.
“You are mine,” he growled.
“Yours,” she replied, or choked. At that point she could barely speak. He bit her neck, his fangs digging into her skin, and she didn’t care one fucking bit. In fact, it was hot as hell. And without so much as him pinching one of her nipples or touching her clit, she slammed into the best orgasm of her life, including all the ones she’d given herself with her favorite vibrator. It was so intense she thought she was going to black out. And all the while he kept pistoning inside of her, his hips bumping against hers. He grunted and jerked and she felt him coming, his cock throbbing inside of her pussy, his warm seed shooting inside of her. She sighed, loving how it felt. The warmth, the completion. So intimate and beautiful.
He licked the shell of her ear, and she shivered. They were still connected, still pressed against the wall and each other, sweaty, their breaths evening out. It was wonderful.
“Ray,” he said softly.
“What?”
He lifted his head and met her gaze. “Earlier, during the Tribunal, you called me Ray.”
“I did?”
“Yes,” he answered and stared at her with a serious face. “Becca, is this the nickname you have chosen for me? The name you will call me as your mate?”
She swallowed, tears yet again forming in her eyes. She didn’t normally get this weepy, but so much was happening today, she couldn’t help it. This was the man she wanted to marry, to grow old with and stay with until the end of her days. They would be a family. She cupped his cheek. “Yes, honey, that’s my nickname for you. I wish to call you Ray.”
“I am honored,” he answered thickly. “I’m taking you home and you will live out your days with me on Zamarian Prime. We will continue our line and raise our offspring in the traditional Xylan ways.”
She chuckled. He was so proud to be Xylan. They’d banished him and treated him like crap and he was still proud of his heritage. Well, she was proud of hers, too. “I’m sure there’s a human trick or two I can show you.”
He grinned. “We shall see.”
Epilogue
“Incoming message from Joyzal of Six,” the computer chimed.
Rebecca crooked an eyebrow at her husband and continued to feed their baby at her breast. They were lounging in the spacious front room of their home in the countryside of Zamarian Prime, large windows framing the exotic lavender hills and teal-blue skies outside.
Rayzor lowered the tablet in his hand. “I’m not answering it,” he groused.
“You should,” she said. “Maybe he’s trying to apologize.”
He crooked an eyebrow back at her, or, really, all of his ridges just moved up an inch and back down again. She grinned. She seemed to do that a lot lately. Nothing could bring her down from the euphoric high she was living in. “You’ve gotta try, honey. He’s your only Xylan friend.”
He sat silently for a moment while the computer continued to chime. His gaze softened on their son, Rayzor of Thirteen, the sweet baby who was chewing the hell outta her left nipple. She shifted him in her arms to find some relief.
“Okay,” her husband finally answered, using the human term he’d copied from her. “But I’m answering the vid here so he can see what he almost took from me.”
Rebecca shrugged. “Sounds like a plan.”
Rayzor stood up from the chair he’d been reclining in, his feet planted in a wide stance. She stared at him in awe, never, ever getting over how massive and outright gorgeous he was. He wasn’t even wearing a shirt, just black pants in a silky fabric. How did she luck out and find an alien husband this handsome and loyal?
“Computer, answer message,” he said with a deep, rumbly voice.
Joyzal appeared on their vid screen, looking exactly the same as the last time she saw him, but less cocky and more grim. His eyes landed on her and lingered on baby Ray in her arms and then back to her husband. His lips thinned. He nodded at Rayzor. “I see you brought your Bride home and completed your line.”
Rayzor crossed his arms, muscles bunching. “No thanks to you.”
Joyzal turned grimmer than before. “I didn’t know she was your Be’Ih, although this explains why you would be so stupid as to compromise the success of your mission. I thought she was a female who needed protection because you were going sell her on the open market or the Union would take her.”
Rayzor snorted, obviously disgusted at this notion. “You lied to her and frightened her. My Bride and my unborn offspring could have been killed when she tried to escape.”
There was a resounding quiet in the room after that statement. Both men stared at each other. Joyzal finally took a deep breath and pounded his fist against his chest. “I place your honor before mine,” he told Rayzor.
Rebecca had no idea what this exchange meant, but that statement must have helped because her husband nodded and his anger seemed to deflate before her eyes. “We will use the old ways,” Rayzor said.
Joyzal nodded. “Holo-deck in quarter rotation.”
“Agreed.”
The vid screen blinked out.
“What was that all about?” Rebecca asked as Rayzor started striding across the room.
“You shall see. Computer, play a live stream on the vid screen in this room of the actions in the holo-deck for Rebecca of One to view.”
“Confirmed,” the computer answered.
“What are you two doing?” Rebecca asked, cupping the baby’s bottom and trying to twist her body to see Rayzor better as he moved.
“I am going to the Cabul to choose a weapon, and Joyzal and I are going to fight this out in the old ways.”
“You’re fighting? Oh, wow, what does that mean? Are you going to try to kill each other?” Her eyes widened, remembering Rayzor’s vow from eight months before. “Are you really going to slit his belly open and feed his innards to the cloven?”
“No,” he chuckled. “The old ways mean not to the death but to first blood.”
Oh.
He picked up his tablet, bent, and kissed her on the top of the head and strode out the door, every inch the badass Xylan warrior.
“I love you,” she yelled out to him. “Be careful and kick his ass.”
“I will,” he shouted back. “I love you, too,” she heard faintly as his footsteps faded away.
A beautiful, tiny clawed hand slapped against her chest. Baby Ray gurgled in her arms. “And you,” she whispered and kissed the top of her son’s perfect little head, “I love you, too, my sweet baby boy.”
THE END
Die For You
Love, in a hopeless place.
Catastrophe Series, Book 1
Two months after a virus took out civilization, Rachel Donnelly is the last living soul in California, as far as she can tell. Until she runs into a Marine sniper, battle-hardened but alive and healthy.
Adam Sanchez would love nothing more than a slamming session of I-can’t-believe-we’re-alive post-apocalyptic sex in the back of his Hummer. But Rachel’s fragility, inexperience—and much younger age—hold him back from exposing her to his raw, aggressive sexuality. If anything, Rachel needs protection. Especially from himself.
As they band together with other survivors to battle feral animals, violent ex-cons, and motorcycle clubs jockeying for power, Rachel grows stronger in mind, body, and spirit—strong enough to give the dangerously sexy Marine what they both crave.
The power of their passion rocks Adam’s world, bringing him to his knees—which, he discovers too late, is the worst possible place to be when danger springs from the shadows.
Warning: Contains a sexy Marine, a tattooed ex-con, a girl who blossoms into a sexually assured young woman, laughter despite the pain, m/f/m ménage, hope, love, and more bad language and violence than are strictly necessary.
Excerpt: Die For You
Copyright © 2016 Michele Mills
All rights reserved — a Samhain Publishing, Ltd. publication
March 26th, San Diego, sixty-two days post outbreak
Rachel adjusted the heavy, old-fashioned binoculars her dad had owned since she was a kid. The pair he never let anyone touch.
Ever.
Her chest tightened as she used them anyway, curling her fingers around the unfamiliar weight.
Dad was dead, and she needed them…and…and…that was that, right?
She bit her lip to keep the tears back and cradled the binoculars in her hands. She peered out the front window, past the yellowed landscaping to the mountains of rotted trash that lined the formerly pristine streets of the historic neighborhood she’d grown up in. She panned the area, wishing Dad was here to growl at her for daring to use his precious field glasses. The pair that had been given to him by such and such important person when he was in blah, blah, blah battle in some far off country she’d never bothered to learn the name of.
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