by Siren Allen
It was unfair and should be illegal. The longer she stared at him the more uncomfortable he became. Lark smiled when he shifted in his seat. Though his gray attire was loose fitting, it couldn’t hide the bulge he was sporting.
Fascinated by it, she watched the imprint grow longer. She could clearly picture it, the way it looked yesterday: wet, long and hard as he’d stepped from the marble tub in the bathing chamber.
And just like yesterday, today she found herself wondering what he would feel like inside her, touching her in places she’d never allowed any male to touch. Would he be gentle with her, easing into her until her body was accustomed to his girth?
Or would he pound into her, erasing her fears with each thrust, proving that pleasure without pain was no fun at all.
“Damn it, Lark.” Raynor slammed his head against the wall. “What are you thinking? Tell me now. Tell me your thoughts?”
Lark blinked. What the hell was she thinking? This wasn’t like her. These thoughts weren’t hers. It had to be this damn mating heat.
“I have to go.”
She stepped away from the bars. Moving quicker than she’d ever seen anyone move, Raynor rose. Before she could open her mouth he was standing in front of her on the other side of the bars, clutching them as if they were his lifeline.
Black eyes stared back at her. His fangs were free and gleaming in the darkness of the cell. And despite the fact that she knew she should be afraid, she wasn’t. She was even more aroused.
He closed his eyes and groaned. “When you do this… when you smell this way, in my presence, you get my hopes up.” He opened his eyes. Anguish resided in his gaze. Lark opened her mouth, but he spoke before she could. “Then you speak, and you say things that don’t match what I smell. And you destroy some of that hope.”
Her mind went blank. She didn’t know how to respond to that. What she did know was that his words only increased the feelings she had for him. If she wasn’t careful she would end up doing the unthinkable: claiming this beast as her mate.
Lark shook her head. Hell no, that was not going to happen. Determined to make it through this unmated, Lark took a step closer to his cell.
“How the hell do I stop this mating shit?”
Chapter Nine
He knew she would return.
During the waning, when she should’ve been sleeping, he could sense her unrest. Thankfully she hadn’t gone to her lover for relief. He didn’t know if he could’ve sat through another round of that.
What the fuck was he saying? He knew for a fact he couldn’t and wouldn’t have sat through another round of that. Lark was his. If Ana touched her again she would lose her hands. Then she would lose her life.
“Did you hear what I said?” Lark yelled.
He heard her, yet he made no move to acknowledge her question. She wanted to know how to stop the mating bond. There was no stopping it. They could only embrace it or risk losing themselves because of it. The latter was not going to happen, he wouldn’t allow it.
Raynor sniffed. To hell with blood, he could live off her aroma for eternity. She smelled sweet, like the swinberries that grew underneath the snow on his home planet. He was ready to learn if she tasted as sweet as they did.
She tapped the bars. He didn’t blink, didn’t move, just stared at her.
“Can’t you see that I don’t want this? I don’t want to be your mate.”
A tick in his jaw was his only movement. She would come to want it. She would come to want him, everyday for eternity.
“I don’t like you,” Lark confessed.
“You don’t have to like me.”
“I…”
“But you will cease saying things that hurt me.”
“I… what?” She blinked rapidly. “Hurt you?”
“I do have feelings, Lark. And hearing my mate speak ill of me hurts them.”
She chuckled dryly. “You’re a vampire. Little ole me can’t hurt big’ole you’s feelings.”
“Little ole you are the only one who can hurt me. So please, stop.” Sharing that truth with her felt like he was baring his soul to the universe. But she needed to know. They could not move forward if she was going to belittle him every step of the way.
He knew his faults, knew what people saw when they stared at him. A beast he might be, but his beast would never harm Lark or anyone she cared for. Her family would be his family. Her joys would be his joys. He would protect her and everything she loved, if she allowed him too.
“I…I…” Lark rubbed her hands through her hair. She took a deep breath. He watched her chest rise and fall, her breasts straining against the uniform top she wore. He added that shirt to the list of items she would no longer be able to wear once he claimed her.
“I’m sorry,” she finally whispered and he leaned closer to the bars to be sure he’d heard her correctly.
“What did you say?”
She took another deep breath. “I said I’m sorry. You’re right. I don’t have to be this mean to you. It’s not your fault we’re in this situation.”
“I happen to like this situation.”
“I don’t, Raynor.” Her eyes pleaded for understanding. “I’m not trying to be hurtful. But you’re not right for me, for my people.”
“Your people will grow to understand me.” Or I’ll compel them to. The outcome would be the same.
“What about me?”
Her, he couldn’t compel. He had to win her the old fashion way. “You will love me. I will not give you a reason to feel any other way.”
“That’s just it. I can’t love you. You’re a vampire. You’re… you’re… dead.”
“A myth.”
“You’re immortal. The only creatures that are immortal are those who can’t die, because they’re already dead.”
“I’m not one of the Time Dwellers that travel through black holes destroying worlds. I’m alive. My heart beats within my chest. Blood flows through my veins.”
“You’re a cold one.”
“Cold, yes. Dead, no.”
“You can’t have children with other vampires.”
“So?”
“So you can’t do that because you’re dead. You need a live person to have babies with.”
“No, we need a warm body. Our bodies are too cold. Our females can only carry a child if she’s drinking from her warm blooded mate regularly. Our males can only produce sperm when they’re with a warm blooded female. It is how things have always been.” Since the curse. “We are not dead, we’re simply cold.” And cursed, but she didn’t need to know that part, yet.
“You can twist it however you want, bottom line is, this is not what I planned for my life.”
“Fate planned this for you.”
“Well fate can go fuck herself. I’m saying no to fate and to you. As soon as our crafts are up and running, you’re heading back to your planet. And when you get there, tell my sister to bring her ass home.”
“Wait, your crafts are not working?”
She looked away from him. “I didn’t say that.”
“Yes, you did. What happened to your crafts?”
“Our crafts are fine.”
She was lying to him. “Then why am I still here? Why haven’t you shipped me off yet?”
“So eager to go?”
“I’m not leaving. But it’s not only because I don’t want to, it’s because I can’t, can I? Your people are stranded here, aren’t they?”
“Coming here was pointless. I’m done talking.” She turned to leave.
“Loss of an evacuation method is the first strategic move in taking over a planet.” He would know. When they battled other worlds the first thing they did was destroy their means of escaping. The second thing they did was destroy the ruler and the military, leaving the citizens vulnerable, easily enslaved.
She froze. The glare she threw him would’ve chilled him to the core if he wasn’t already a cold one. “What did you say?”
“You heard me.”
“I knew it. You did this.”
Raynor shook his head. “Listen to me, Lark. You’re in danger.”
“Why did you do this?”
“Lark…”
“Why the hell would you do this?”
“Your people are in danger. You need to free me.”
She laughed. “So you can destroy us and claim me. This is what you wanted from the beginning. Did you think I would get scared and run to the big bad vampire for help?”
“Lark, listen to me.”
“I’m done with you. You can rot in this cell for the rest of your days.” She turned and left.
“Lark, someone is coming for you. It’s the only reason they want you stuck here.” She didn’t stop. “Lark, have more vampires arrived yet? At least tell me that.” If his brethren were here this planet stood a chance, if not… he didn’t want to think about that. “Lark, free me and I will protect you.”
“Fuck you,” she shouted. “I can protect myself.”
He heard the main door open and slam shut. He was alone again. And his mate was in danger. He hadn’t wanted her to see the other side of him, the darkness. Now, he didn’t have a choice. If he wanted to keep his mate safe, he had to let the monster out its cage.
His beast growled and stretched, ready to go to war.
***
Lark peddled faster on her stationary cycle, barely listening to whatever it was her sister and Farah were discussing. Her mind was on Raynor’s words. Were their crafts being down really a strategic move on someone’s part or was this just some silly hackers?
She didn’t know. But she couldn’t discard his theory. Her peoples’ lives were at stake. Lark peddled faster, wishing she could outrun this fear that was settling in her chest. What if her people were in real danger? She glanced sideways at her sister, chatting away with Farah.
If anything happened to Lola, Lark would lose her mind. She didn’t want to live without her sisters. As soon as Luna made it home Lark wasn’t allowing her to leave again. She didn’t give a damn if her older sister was technically her new ruler.
They needed to remain together, they were safer that way. Lark gripped the bars on her bike tighter. Safe, that word seemed so fragile. Were any of them safe? Had any of them ever been safe?
Lark had thought she was safe that waning, long ago, when she and her best friend Caroline had decided to sneak out and go exploring. Daughters of high ranking males, they’d thought no one would dare harm them. They’d been wrong. She would never forget the look of fear in Caro’s eyes that waning.
The events that unfolded that waning and those that took place months after it happened were the reasons why she hated fear, hated what it did to you. Feeling safe took her fears away. And her safety net was slowing falling away.
According to Raynor her whole planet could be in danger and yet here she sat, working out, dwelling on the past. She couldn’t change the past. But she could protect the future.
Lark stopped peddling and climbed off her bike. She grabbed her cloth and wiped the sweat from her brow and forehead. She needed to get to the bottom of this, now, no waiting around to see what Manuel found out.
“What’s wrong sis?” Lola stared at her.
How much to tell? She didn’t want Lola stressed over something that could be nothing.
“Nothing, I just have a lot to deal with.”
“I’ve noticed.” Lola bit into her bottom lip. Shit, more was coming. What had her sister done now?
“I’ve noticed that you’ve been stressed so I didn’t want to tell you that two more vampires arrived yesterday.”
“Yesterday, when?”
“Shortly after you left the inspection room.”
“But we didn’t have any more prisoner ships scheduled to arrive.”
“They didn’t arrive on prisoner ships.”
“And you’re just now telling me this?” Those bastards are the ones who did this. They had to be.
“I didn’t tell you because they came on a trading ship.”
“We don’t trade with them.”
“Thanks to Luna, we do now.”
Things weren’t adding up. They couldn’t reach Luna but apparently she’d gotten vampires to trade with them. Trade what? What did vampires have to offer?
“What is on the ship?”
“All kinds of stuff. I sent a missive to Manuel regarding it. There’s more on there than I listed in the message, but I don’t want to check the rest of it alone. Being on a vampire ship made me nervous. Since Manuel has been too busy to help me. I thought it best to wait until either you or he had time to look at it.”
“Why didn’t you just have the vampires unload it so you didn’t have to be on their ship?”
Lola blushed. “The vampires, they uh, they…”
She was scared of them. That made sense. “How many are there?”
“There are two of them.”
Two more vamps on her planet, damn. “Okay, and why didn’t they drop the shit off and leave? What the hell do they want in return?”
“They would like to tour the planet.”
Get the lay of the land so they could attack.
“They would also like to try out the harem.” Lola’s blush deepened. “The pilot of the ship has asked me to show him the harem.”
“Not happening.” Lark tossed her drying cloth onto the table. They’d singled Lola out because she was the weakest, or so they thought. They saw the spectacles, the nervous smile and assumed they could use her to get what they wanted. Not happening. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever.
“Where are these vamps?”
“Well, I was going to put them in guest rooms, but I don’t know them. I have no note from Luna saying we would trade with them. All I have is their word, so I followed the Uninvited Ships Protocol.”
“You locked them in the dungeon?” Good girl.
“Yeah, the guards were all assisting you so I got Farah here to help me. She used her magic.”
Farah twirled a strand of her green hair. “I don’t think I’m a big hit with the vamps. Once they realized they couldn’t get out of the magic handcuffs they looked hella pissed.”
“Good, I assume you placed them on a different cell block from Raynor.”
Lola nodded. “I knew you wouldn’t want them to have contact. I put both vampires on separate blocks from Raynor and each other. But, Lark, what do you have the loading dock guards and the guards of block B doing? I couldn’t find any one to help me with the vampires and none answered their stat-phones.”
“What? I don’t have them doing anything. The engineers are working on a problem for me but the guards should be at their stations.”
“Well yesterday around this time, the loading dock guards weren’t around. I mean, they didn’t really have to be, since there was no ship scheduled to arrive. But shouldn’t they be there in case of emergencies?
“Yes, they should.”
“Well they weren’t. And when we went to D block the guards there were not at their stations either.”
What the hell? “I have to go,” Lark told her sister and friend. “Something weird is going on. I need you two to stay here.”
“Uh, why?” Lola frowned.
“Yeah, why?” Farah asked. “Because I wanted to go see the babies at the hospital later.”
“Me too,” Lola smiled.
“Not today. I… I can’t say why. Just stay here. And keep your guns locked and loaded. And don’t leave this room. And stay safe.”
“Lark, what’s going on?”
Lark quickly stepped into the sterilization mist chamber, closed the door and undressed. Once clean, she donned her uniform and left the room, ignoring the questions Farah and Lola kept asking. Yesterday at this time her B and D block guards had not been at their stations. Where the hell had they been then?
Surely her own people weren’t the ones turning on her.
Chapter Ten
“I am so not staying here,” Lola told
Farah as she climbed off her bike.
“Yeah, look, I’m all for you turning into little miss rebel. But Lark seemed nervous.”
“Precisely why I’m not staying here. Something is going on and I’m going to find out what. Come with me.” Lola grabbed a drying cloth from the rack on the wall and dabbed her face as she walked from the exercise room headed toward her lab.
“I guess you want my help?”
“No.” Lola shook her head.
“Oh really? So you’re so bad ass now you’re just going to go find out what’s going on all by yourself.”
“Of course not. I’m neither a soldier like Lark nor a ruler like Luna. I’m a scientist.”
“So you need me. Because I’m neither of those things either, but I’ve got magic soo…”
“I don’t need magic. I have logic. Lark is angry and stressed. She’s letting that cloud her judgment. I simply want to know what’s going on. Nothing is clouding my judgment. No emotional entanglement leads to no screw ups.”
“I…. you’re making no sense.”
With Farah following her, Lola walked down the long hallway leading to her laboratory, talking as she went. “I’m the logical sister. I see there’s a problem. I fix it. Of course, sometimes my heart clouds my judgment…”
“Mmmhmmm,” Farah interrupted her with her little noise.
“Whatever. I’m working on that. The old Lola who fell for sob stories is gone. The new Lola understands that beings lie. I don’t know why, but they do.”
“Everyone lies.”
“Not me.” Lola placed her hand on the security panel to the right of her door. The beam roamed over her hand, analyzing each groove before turning green and then beeping. The door to her lab slid open.
Lola stepped into the room she felt most comfortable in. When Farah entered behind her, the door slid shut, then clicked and a voice over the intercom announced, “Door locked and secure.”
“That is so cool.” Farah turned in a circle staring up at the ceiling.