Dangerous Lovers

by Becca Vincenza

  January and Rykerian watched their mental exchange curiously.

  “The Dark creatures are something you don’t ever wish to encounter. They are fast, faster than even you, and they feed on the flesh of living beings,” Jurek explained

  “Great Deity! I have never heard of such!” Xarrid exclaimed.

  “I have. But we thought they were a thing of the past and I had never seen them before. Supposedly their numbers had been diminished to the point of near extinction. I am beginning to think we were sorely mistaken. We’ve killed dozens already, and will continue to do so when we find them. They are only vulnerable to Praestani power or silver, when it has been forged with Praestani power. Your Vesturion Powers are useless against them.”

  “Bloody hell!” Rykerian yelled.

  “Exactly,” Jurek said. “They are the epitome of hell. Born and bred.”

  Liasare was trembling with the vision she remembered as she said, “He’s right. They’re disgusting and they’re huge. They have giant fangs and wings, so I assume they can fly. And I’ve never seen anything move so fast. They tear the flesh right off the body as they eat it. They’re so horrific, you can’t even imagine.” Her body violently shook as she spoke. “Jurek, I...”

  Before she could finish, he was next to her, passing on his energy again. She was freezing and couldn’t seem to get warm. The iciness invaded every cell as she shivered.

  “January, do you have a blanket? She has an unusually strong reaction to these creatures when she remembers the vision.”

  Minutes later, January returned with a blanket and he wrapped it around Liasare.

  “What do you propose we do about them?” Rykerian asked.

  “Monitor everywhere your Guardians patrol for sightings. We need to uncover where they are coming from. At first I thought Earth was the only place, but now I’m not so sure. What have you learned from Tommy?”

  Xarrid was the first to offer information. “You’re right about how the Xanthians want to build an army. Our understanding is that they are working on it, but we were under the impression they weren’t even close. From what you’re saying, it’s possible they’ve accomplished more than what even Tommy has learned.”

  “What else have you learned from Tommy?” Liasare asked.

  “Not as much as we’ve liked. We know where he hangs out mostly. What he does on a daily basis and what the immediate future is for the minions he’s with, but nothing more. It’s been a big disappointment,” Xarrid admitted.

  “Can we get him out?” Liasare questioned.

  The Yarristers looked at each other and uncomfortable looks passed between them.

  Jumping to her feet, Liasare yelled, “Oh my God! Don’t tell me you didn’t plan to get him out. You didn’t, did you?”

  Liasare was met with dead silence.

  “Somebody better say something before I go psycho here!”

  “We thought we could pull him out but he doesn’t respond to any of our stimuli,” January admitted.

  “Of course not because he’s basically brain dead! Are you a bunch of damn idiots? What were you thinking? Dammit!” Liasare kicked the edge of the couch and stormed out of the room.

  Shandro started to follow her when Jurek cut him off saying, “Take one more step toward her and you’re one dead Guardian.”

  “And I suppose you’re the one who’ll kill me? Because right now, I doubt you could if you wanted to.”

  Jurek narrowed his eyes and snarled, “Care to test that theory Guardian?”

  “Jurek, stop it.” It was Xarrid who spoke. “Shandro and Liasare have been friends for years. He’s only trying to protect her.”

  “She needs no protection when I am around,” Jurek snarled.

  “Whoa buddy, calm down there,” Xarrid said.

  “Tell your Guardian he is to keep his grubby paws to himself and he is never to lay a hand upon her again. Is that clear? And Xarrid, explain to him the ramifications if he doesn’t follow my orders.”

  “Shandro, you heard Jurek. And for the record, you can’t begin to compete with his power so don’t even try.”

  Jurek stormed outside, in search of Liasare. He found her in front of the house, walking in a circle, flexing her fingers. Her eyes were all but shooting sparks and her mouth tightened as she sputtered, “I have to get out of here. I can’t take any more of this idiocy. Ugh! This is insane. What kind of people make these plans and don’t have a follow up or back-up strategy to get him out? He’s stuck in there, brain dead, and no use to anyone for fuck’s sake. And now isn’t the time to tell me to watch my language.” She turned to the side of the house and slammed her fist into it. The second she did it, she heard the crunching of her bone and she screamed, dropping to her knees.

  Without saying a word, Jurek gently picked her up, and walked back in the house informing everyone they were going back to Lare-Stell.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Lare-Stell Base

  Liasare walked into the training facility and all the men were already there. She flexed her hand, testing to see if there was any residual pain remaining. All was good. Jurek was right about one thing. She needed to learn control. She’d been so angry yesterday with all the Vesturions. Tommy’s life had pretty much been sacrificed, in her opinion. Even if they got him back, there was the matter of getting that nanochip out of his brain before the Xanthians descended on them. That was if they could get it out without killing him first.

  Jurek had shared the story of Xarrid and his mate Saylan. She had been a Xanthian captive and had a chip planted in her brain. Liasare didn’t even want to think about the outcome of what Jurek had told her regarding that. It made Liasare’s skin crawl.

  “Ready to play, Brownie?”

  Liasare stuck out her tongue at Tak and both he and Jurek roared with laughter.

  “Uh, guys, it wasn’t that funny.”

  Jurek tossed Liasare her protective gear saying, “That’s not what we were laughing at. You looked just like January when you did that. She used to stick her tongue out at us all the time.”

  “How nice. Do me a favor and keep her name out of the conversation for a while, okay?” she said sourly.

  “Right then. Let’s go Brownie.”

  They trained all day and Tak busted her ass more than once. He had her doing things she never thought she was capable of achieving. When the day was done, Jurek stood to the side and motioned her over.

  “These are for you. You are never ever to go anywhere without them. Do I make myself clear?”

  Liasare nodded, reaching for the cache of weapons Jurek had laid out beside him. She picked up the first one, which was the largest of them all.

  “That one is your colichemarde...well it’s a slight variation of one anyway. The blade is diamond shaped and you’ll notice it tapers as you move further down, which makes it an excellent attack weapon. Remember, the interior of the blade is steel but its exterior is thickly layered in silver and it’s forged using Praestani power so you don’t want to injure yourself with it. You’ll wear this one strapped to your back. The next one is a dagger you’ll wear on your side. There is another shorter one here you’ll wear inside your boots. And yes, Liasare, I’ve had boots made for you. They’ll protect your legs. You’ll also wear leather pants for the same reason and don’t look at me like that. We go out to fight, not to a fashion show. Leather protects you from getting abrasions and lacerations, so you can keep fighting and I won’t have to stop to heal you every five minutes. And these,” he handed her several throwing stars, “you’re already familiar with, except now, your arm will be stronger and your aim will be more accurate. You’ll have a pocket on each pant leg, in which to store them, and the rest you’ll keep in your jacket, which stays on you at all times. Any questions?”

  Liasare picked up each of her weapons, testing the weight. She held the sword, moving it around, measuring the response of it. She lunged, thrust and parried. She spun and then saluted Jurek with it.

  His lip
s curved as he said, “I take it you approve?”

  “Oh abso-fucking-lutely! This is amazing, Jurek! Thank you!” she said as she gave him a quick hug.

  She continued to dance around moving with the sword, stabbing the air, fighting imaginary enemies and laughing the entire time.

  Jurek leaned against the table and eyed her, a satisfied smile on his face.

  “Hey Prancer, would you care to see your clothes?”

  “Huh?”

  “Your leathers...are you interested in seeing them?”

  He tossed her a pair of pants and she snagged them out of the air.

  Black and tight...hmm.

  “Care to try them on?”

  “Not now. I want to shower first.”

  He gathered her gear, including weapons and clothing and they popped into her room. “We’re meeting in the dining room again in one hour for dinner. Liasare, remember our culture and the way in which we eat, okay?”

  Before she could answer, he was gone. She hurried to the shower and finished her routine. Checking her hair, she decided she was in need of a trip to Jaylen’s. Her roots were in bad shape since her hair had grown in the two and a half months since she’d had it cut.

  Deciding to brave it, she quickly pulled on her new leather pants and top. She glanced at herself in the mirror and gasped. She looked like an assassin ... or maybe a hooker in leather. She couldn’t decide which. The pants were so tight her ass looked like it was wedged in a black rubber inner tube getting ready to explode. She bent down to test them, just to see if they’d stay intact. It was at that very moment that Jurek flashed in.

  “What in all the gods’ name are you doing?” he asked. She was bent in half, her knees almost in a full on squat and her head was as close to being up her ass as it could possibly be.

  Holy shit on a stick! Why does this stuff always happen to me?

  “Um...I’m looking for love in all the wrong places?”

  Jurek let loose a howl of laughter, the likes of which she’d never heard from him before.

  The whole scene was too funny not to laugh at so she joined in and they both were now bursting with laughter.

  Finally, Jurek asked, “Seriously Davidson, what the hell were you doing?”

  Still chuckling, she told him, “These damn things are so tight I was testing whether they’d fly off of me if I were in a compromising position. I wanted to make sure I could trust the motherfuckers.”

  “Yeah, well, do us all a favor and don’t pose like that in public, okay?”

  “No worries on that one. But damn these are tight.”

  “Davidson, they’re leather, they’ll stretch. Give them a little time.” He looked at her again and his eyes darkened. “I think you’d better change or we’ll be late for dinner,” he said, his voice husky.

  ***

  Dinner passed without any issues. The food and wine were tasty, even if Liasare did drink a bit too much. They were headed back to Earth in the morning. Then they’d be on the hunt for anything and everything they could get their hands on regarding this new army of minions. They had to find out where they were keeping these beings because these abductions had to stop.

  Jurek walked Liasare back to her room and when they got there she told him she was frightened. “What if we don’t find what we’re looking for? What do we do then?”

  “We broaden our search beyond Earth.”

  “But isn’t that like looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack?”

  “It’s better than doing nothing at all. Something will show up. Ludo thinks the Xanthians are searching for a place to house a colony and that’s why so many bots have been sent out this far in space. He thinks that’s why we keep getting scanned and why they’re using a different type of bot now.”

  Liasare kept staring at his mouth as he spoke. The wine had gone to her head and the only thing she seemed to be able to focus on were his lips.

  Why does his mouth have to be so sexy? His lips are so enticing. I want to taste them again...gawd, it’s been far too long.

  Without another thought, she leaned into him and kissed him with everything she had.

  He always tastes so damn good...and smells so yummy. I wish...I wish...

  She still wasn’t sure if she was doing it right or if he liked it this way, but what the hell. She didn’t care because all she wanted was to feel his lips and tongue beneath hers. And God help her, he was kissing her back, completely undoing her.

  Wrapping her hands in his hair, she moaned in his mouth. “You feel so right Jurek. Don’t stop kissing me...ever.”

  He didn’t...for a few more moments, but then he broke it off, moving his lips to her cheeks and finally her forehead.

  “We have a busy day tomorrow so I must say good night.” And just like that he was gone, once again leaving her in a frustrated mess.

  Chapter Twenty

  Their new headquarters were similar to the old ones but this was an old dilapidated looking building. Looks can be deceiving and they were in this instance, because the interior of the building was incredible. It was outfitted with the latest and the greatest of everything. The other big change was that Jurek made sure Liasare had her own quarters. While they weren’t as elegant as his, she had her own fancy bed, along with a nicely decorated room, plush carpeting and her own bathroom. She felt spoiled since she’d never lived in anything so extravagant before. Even her own bedroom on Vesturon had never been this fancy.

  Their first night out was a disaster. They went to the club Cosmos. Everything was great until Liasare was accosted by a group of Xanthians. They’d recognized her from the night she’d rescued the girl ... only it hadn’t been a rescue after all. The girl had been a decoy, for she was actually a Xanthian sex slave. They had used her to entrap Liasare. The girl was back at Cosmos and had pointed her to them.

  Liasare suddenly found herself swarmed by Xanthians. With her adrenaline surging, she desperately tried to reach her teleporter, as their plan dictated. Going on a massive killing spree in the club would only bring unwanted attention, so she had the idea of letting them escort her outside where she thought she would be able to escape. That was a huge mistake because as soon as they left the building, they teleported to a Xanthian warehouse.

  Now in a full-blown panic, she fought and struggled as they put her in restraints and began interrogating her.

  “Who are you?”

  She refused to answer them.

  When they kept asking and didn’t get a response, they started beating her. They didn't play nicey-nice either. They beat her from every angle, punching and kicking her, and she fought back, though to them she was nothing more than a rag doll. Then they started hammering away on her face. She would have screamed when they broke her jaw, but she’d already lost her voice. Her throat had become raw and felt like it was in flames from all the wailing she already done. When her nose and mouth spurted blood, she was sure everything on her face was busted up too. The worst was when they broke her arm. One of them took his meaty paws and just snapped it in his hands, like a skinny pencil. She had clenched her fists so tightly that her nails had gouged out pieces of flesh from her palms, which was pretty bad because she didn’t have any nails to speak of. She was nothing but a broken and bloody mess by the time Jurek and his men got to her.

  She had been recuperating for several days when Jurek finally came to see her. His eyes were dark and hard as flint.

  “Why didn’t you follow the plan? It was there for a reason ... to prevent this,” he swept his arm across her, “from happening.”

  “I tried, but ...” her voice was still hoarse from her ordeal.

  He cut her off, “I want a team member that can follow directions. Can you do that?”

  “Yes, I ...”

  He cut her off again. “You didn’t show up at the meeting site and then we had to switch gears to hunt you down,” he snapped. A vein pulsed in his temple and Liasare could feel his power notching up. “Do you have any idea how ...�
� he stopped, turned away from her and rubbed the back of his neck. When he continued, his voice was edged with roughness, “You have to follow orders.”

  “I know. I’m sorry, but I ...”

  Still facing away from her, he interrupted her again. “This won’t happen again. Why didn’t you teleport?”

  “My teleporter was in my pocket and I couldn’t reach it. I tried, dammit! I didn’t want them to beat me. You act like I wanted this. They hurt me goddammit!” Her eyes stung and she forced back tears she refused to let him see.

  Jurek was at her side in a flash. He clenched his fists and stared at her. His eyes told her a million things his mouth didn’t and he stood there as he drank in the sight of her. He wanted to pull her into his arms and feel her skin against his. He wanted to slide his fingers through her hair and wrap the satiny strands around his hands binding her to him. Instead, he whispered, “Never! Never would I want this Liasare. Never would I want to see you injured like this. I would rather it had been me.”

  Then he boomed, “Marik, in here, NOW!”

  Marik popped in. “Yes, my lord.”

  “I don’t care what you do or how you do it but I want you to come up with some kind of contraption where her teleporter is strapped to her wrist. I don’t care if you have to use duct tape. Make it happen. The next time she goes out, that teleporter is on her wrist within a finger’s reach, you got it?”

  “Yes, my lord.”

  “And you,” he said, turning to Liasare, “are not to go anywhere without me by your side, until I am comfortable that you are capable of fighting alone. Understand?”

  “Yes, master.”

  “This isn’t a damn joke,” he growled and flashed out of the room.

  ***

  “I need to have my hair done and I know you don’t want me out and about alone. So how do you want to do this?”