Breathing deeply, he took in more of her scent than he knew he should. The smart thing would be to separate, but he couldn’t without waking her. His other arm was pinned beneath her. When he stretched, trying to ease some space between them, she repositioned her leg forward just enough and his cock fell into perfect alignment. Kal closed his eyes. Moist heat from between her thighs teased his cock as if beckoning him to enter.
A murmur escaped as she wiggled, pressing her ass tighter against him. He realized she was dreaming and it was sexual. The wonderful smell of female arousal caught and held his attention. The head of his cock brushed her damp feminine folds and nudged at her opening. Kal nuzzled her neck and whispered, “I want you.”
He heard her reply on a soft groan, “Fuck me.”
It wasn’t a completely conscious invitation since she was half asleep. It was something he knew he should resist but didn’t. It’d been way too long since he’d been with a woman. It didn’t matter she was a Paoni. Sex was sex. Gently, he slid his hand from her breast and angled his arm over her hip to reach her clit as he entered into her, slowly, giving her the chance to stretch to accommodate his healthy size. He didn’t want to hurt her so he didn’t push in far, just enough to ease her need. At least that was his intention at first, but she felt too good.
Rocking his hips, he entered a little farther with each thrust, using her juices to coat him, gliding him deeper. Kal did circular motions with his fingertip to her clit and her legs opened, giving him easier access. It was all he needed to fill her with his cock. She was tightly wrapped around him, making it difficult for him to maintain control. Her moan of pleasure switched to a gasp of surprise. She tensed around him, locking him in place.
“Don’t move,” he practically groaned against her ear and that’s when he knew she became fully awake.
“What?” She jerked her upper body at an angle where she could see his face over her shoulder. Sleepy eyes stared at him. Desire mixed with duty swirled within them. “What the fuck, Hellion?”
“Isn’t that what we’re doing here?”
He read the guilt and indecision upon her face. “We shouldn’t. It’s against the rules.”
“That’s not what you said a second ago when you wanted me to fuck you. Rules aren’t in play when it comes to sex.” He rolled his hips, gliding his cock back and forth. “Tell me you don’t want this and I’ll stop.”
“I can’t say that. I don’t lie.” She parted her lips on a sigh and closed her eyes as pleasure took her for a moment. He was right. She wanted this as much as he did. She groaned when he swirled her taut bundle of nerves between his fingers as he increased his pace. She shifted, taking him in as far as he could possibly reach, bucking against him. Pounding into her, he feared he’d hurt her but couldn’t stop, she felt too good and it’d been way too damn long.
He wrapped the arm underneath her up around her, capturing a breast in his palm. Tweaking her nipple while strumming her clit as he fucked her hard had the beautiful Paoni screaming as the orgasm rippled through her. Her inner muscles contracted, coaxing him to come, soaking him with her release. Not knowing if she were protected from pregnancy, he forced himself to pull out, shooting his seed between her thighs.
Though he wanted nothing more than to lie there holding her, he denied himself the pleasure. Bad enough he’d fucked her, bathing in the heat of their coupling would only rub in the fact he couldn’t trust a woman. He refused to get emotionally attached to another one. Rolling on his back, he wished it hadn’t been so quick, but then again it had been over a century since he’d had sex. She lay on his arm curled away from him.
“How did you end up in bed with me?”
She sprang upright and shot off the bed, frantically tugging her robe around her tight while wiping him from her thighs with the sheet. She spun to face him. Her expression was unreadable. He couldn’t tell if she was angry at him or upset with herself, but she was doing her damnedest to control and hide any and all emotion. He knew that trick. Well-trained warrior—for a woman.
“I had no intention of ending up in bed with you, Kallikrates Valerianus. Or should it be Sun Superior Valerianus or better yet, Lanius Valerianus?”
He tensed hearing her call him by name. She knew who he was. Now he truly had no choice but to take her with him or kill her and since killing her wasn’t an option, she was going with him whether she liked it or not. Kal stretched then situated himself upright on the pillows against the headboard. After making himself more comfortable, he met her angry glare.
“Lanius, really? Seems my reputation has taken a major downfall since my wrongful incarceration.” He folded his hands behind his head and watched her every move. “Didn’t know women were allowed to become warriors.”
“I’m the first.” Her chin tilted, shoulders lifted, popping those perky breasts forward, and he couldn’t help but glance at them for a second. He didn’t miss the pride in her tone. “There are a few others in the classes that came behind me.”
He nodded to his thigh where she’d stabbed him and rolled his shoulders. “You seem to be well-trained, for a woman.”
Her eyes widened and pure anger lit her face as she sprang at him. Kal was quicker than she, caught her, flipped her on her back and pinned her to the mattress beneath him. It wasn’t a move he should have done. His thigh throbbed and it may have started to bleed again. He lowered nose-to-nose with her and stared directly into those heat-filled eyes.
“You ready for another go, Paoni?” He ground his hips against hers, which was a wrong move. His cock hardened, definitely wanting a second round with the fiery female warrior.
Red and blue lights flashed along the walls. A male voice gave a warning that could be heard throughout the house. “Shia, intruder warning. Warning. Warning.”
“Get off me!”
Kal rolled off her and immediately got to his feet. She wasted no time, bouncing from the bed and running into the living room. Kal grabbed the bed sheet, wrapped it around his waist and hobbled after her.
“Wesley,” she spoke to the large VIS screen on the wall. “Show me the threat please.”
“It is a Paoni task force forming about two hundred kilometers southeast.”
An image of blue sky and clouds popped up. If you didn’t know what you were looking for, the vimanis would’ve been missed. They blended with the scenery.
“De-cloak them.”
“As you wish.”
Instantly, six shiny round shapes appeared. Standard issue Paoni space transports. Kal couldn’t believe what he saw. A small squadron hovered as if awaiting orders. Dio stood in the kitchen doorway with a plate of food in hand. His mouth gaped and his eyes were wide with fear.
“Can you tap into their VIS coms without them knowing, Wesley?”
“As you wish.”
Voices whispered through the speakers.
“Shall we rush her?”
“No. We don’t want to put her on the defensive. Let’s spread out and move in slow from multiple directions. She might detect one of us at a time but not all of us at once.”
“What about the Hellions?”
“We take them all at the same time.”
“What makes you think she’s helping them?”
“She’s a woman. Probably fell for their lies.”
Shia had heard enough as she muted the com. Gangust had really gone too far. Somehow he had their regional Paoni squadron believing she was helping Hellions escape.
“How’d he find me? I’ve got this place so well shielded satellites and VIS detect it as vacant land. There’s no way in hell he did this without help.” She was letting her anger show. Gangust had tried to follow her on multiple occasions but she’d lost him without much effort.
Kal snorted. “Battle suits have homing devices.”
She turned and stared at Kal. “I’m not an imbecile. I reprogrammed it. The only time it reads correctly is when I’m on a mission. Otherwise, it locates my position as somewhere off in the mi
ddle of the California fault lines.”
His sudden outburst of laughter pissed her off. When he cleared his throat, his all-knowing grin was even more annoying. “You think that first sun tattoo you received at cadet graduation was an honor. It was to implant a permanent homing mechanism.”
“That’s not possible. I would’ve found it.”
He turned, tilted his shoulder closer to her face and pointed to a tiny scar in the center of the first tattoo high on his flesh. “I removed mine when I found out it was there. Needless to say, angered a few of the council but none were brave enough to force the issue to have it reinstated.”
Shia stretched to reach the tattoo on her shoulder. No matter how hard she tried she couldn’t see it without a mirror, but she could feel a minute bump underneath the skin. It wasn’t something substantial so it was easily missed.
“Damn.” She met his gaze. “Why?”
“Because the council thinks of warriors as possessions and I’m no one’s possession.”
“Neither am I.” Shia marched into the kitchen, snatched a knife from the block and turned to see him and Dio standing at the doorway. She flipped the blade, pointing the handle his way. “Either I do it or you do it, but it’s coming out right now.”
Kal took the knife. She dropped the robe off her shoulder and held it there. Eyes closed, she concentrated on something other than the fact she’d just handed a Hellion a weapon and gave him her back. “Valerianus, I read the report of your death. How did you end up in hell?”
His hand touched her flesh, sending goose bumps down her arm. Gently, he traced the tiny object then pierced her skin with the knife’s tip. She bit her lip but it happened so quickly it was as if he’d simply removed a splinter then he applied pressure for a moment to stanch the bleeding. Kal handed her the knife and held one of the tiniest devices she’d ever seen between his forefinger and thumb then he smashed it, permanently disabling it.
“I was fighting Grumiums until I was shot in the back with what was no doubt a Magnum set on full blast, which immobilized me. I couldn’t function to save myself. The next minute I was stripped of my battle suit and locked in a port-o-pod headed to hell.”
His face darkened and his eyes turned the deepest shade of dark blue she’d ever seen and she knew she was looking at the deadliest warrior ever created. Someone crossed this man—that was an automatic death sentence.
“Shia, the squadron has separated and are moving into positions around the perimeter.”
“Thank you, Wesley. Prepare a diversion and let me know when they are within one hundred kilometers.” Shia knew her options were limited. She could either stay and face Gangust and whatever plot he’d fabricated against her or help history’s hero. “Did you get a look at who shot you?”
“Yes.”
“Any idea why it was made to look like you were killed?”
“I’ve got my theories.” He nodded toward the VIS screen. “Looks like someone’s got it out for you as well.”
“Seems you’re right. It’s quite possible I’m headed straight to hell whether I help you or not.”
He looked over her head at the young man standing in the kitchen doorway. “Toss me that baton. We’ve got another member on our team.”
When he caught it, Shia grabbed his wrist before he could release it from her neck. “Leave it for now. It’ll look as if I’m your prisoner and we’ll play it against them if they get too close before we can get out of here.”
He grinned. “I like your thinking.” He flipped it over, unscrewed the bottom and pressed the hidden deactivation button that rendered the collar useless. He screwed the bottom back on. “Now it’s a necklace and no one can kill you with it.”
She smiled back at him. “I like the way you think too.” She turned to Dio. “There’s a large cooler in the pantry off the kitchen. Fill it with as much food as you can and shove it in the Bronco. And be quick about it.”
Shia motioned for Kal to follow her. She hurried into the bedroom and pulled several pairs of her baggiest sweatpants from the bottom drawer of her dresser. “These are the loosest things I’ve got. Pick one and put it on. We’ll find you something else later.”
She tossed them to him then snatched on a pair of jeans, a shirt and stepped into her boots. There was no time for undergarments. They had to leave. She grabbed the emergency bag she kept packed out of the closet, then added the medical kit. Turning, she bit back a laugh at the sight of him in her sweatpants. They came up short on him, around the top of his calves and hung low on his hips, fitting extremely snug, leaving nothing to the imagination.
“I’m not liking this,” he groaned, leaning over and snatching his tattered jumpsuit from the floor.
“We don’t have time for a wardrobe change.” She took it from him, hooked it on the bag and then slid in under his arm to act as a crutch while carrying everything in her other hand. “We’ve got to go.”
Chapter Five
Seconds after taking flight, she gave her home VIS the command to initiate the diversion then lock down the house until further notice. She had a sinking feeling this was the last she’d see of this place. Seven mock vimani shapes shot into different directions. Those were simple holograms that wouldn’t last for more than a few hundred kilometers. She wasted no time. The moment Wesley informed her the squadron broke apart and chased the heat-laced figments. The Bronco lifted without a sound and shifted shape, taking on the appearance of an oval, elongated small spacecraft, sleek and black in color. She gave a voice command and the ship blended with the sky, making it virtually invisible as it increased speed.
Dio whistled in admiration. “My old Bronco didn’t do this trick. All it was good for was picking up Earth chicks and getting stuck in the mud.”
Shia laughed as she sat in the captain’s seat at the control panel, which had been disguised as a dashboard just an instant ago. Kal was in the co-pilot’s chair and sat silent, staring out the window. If he was impressed by her vimani, it didn’t show. His facial features were tight and his hand gripped the armrest to the point she thought it’d break. Did he not like going fast or was it the small space? His chest rose and fell in deeply heavy motions. Was he battling panic? Shia didn’t ask, instead she took another approach to calm him in case he suffered from such attacks.
“What is our destination, Sun Superior Valerianus?”
His eyebrow arched as he met her gaze. “So it’s Sun Superior now? What happened to Lanius?”
“Doesn’t exist, sir.”
“Neither does Sun Superior. Just call me Kal.” He glanced around as if taking it all in. “You sure this doesn’t have a homing device?”
“Positive. I built every part of this vimani. Nothing is standard issue.”
“There’s someone I need to see on Bellitrix.” His voice sounded strained.
“Bellitrix? Really? You’ve been locked in hell so long your brain fried.”
“You don’t have to go with me, Paoni.” He shifted and grimaced.
“Like I have a choice.” She didn’t like what she saw. Kal paled, sweat beaded his forehead and his lips were thinned. “You aren’t healthy enough to leave Earth’s atmosphere. We need a hiding place for a few days to get you better and prepare for whatever plan you’ve formulated. I designed this vimani for me. It isn’t equipped to handle space travel with three occupants.”
“I’m healthy enough. What I need is transport.” He gritted his teeth and his whole body vibrated. His eyes rolled back in his head.
“Dio, hand me the medical kit out of that bag, quick.” Shia slid her seat back, gaining as much space as possible. She got onto her knees, leaned over the center console and assessed Kal as she held onto him, hoping to keep him from any further injuries as the seizure rocked him.
“What’s happening to him? Is he going to be okay?” The younger man’s voice raised a pitch higher as he did as he was told.
She opened the kit, pulled out a quasar injector and two vials of Panacea. She popped
the vials into the chamber. “Hold his arm. He’s having a seizure. Probably a residual effect from the KO-2 blast, and the poison that was on the knife combined with the Pulsar dart energy bursts. Not to mention it looks like his wound has reopened.”
The instant the tip of the quasar made contact with Kal’s skin, its sensors assessed his situation within a millisecond. The injector dispensed the appropriate amount of medication for his size and needs. The indicator on the side lit up, showing how much was given, how much was left and the approximate time the patient would need another dose. It also stated a fact she’d already guessed. He had experienced a seizure. Kal went limp. Shia eased back onto her knees. Six hours and counting before the quasar would alert them to dose Kal again.
Shia laid the injector on the control panel then leaned across Kal and reclined the seat as far as it would go, laying him back into a more comfortable position. He mumbled something she didn’t miss. A woman’s name. Oriana. An old lover or the person he wanted to see on Bellitrix? It bothered her he whispered another woman’s name. Why should it? Because you shared sex? Shia’s fingers trembled as she checked his pulse. Steady, as was his breathing. She was being stupid. Look at him. Even after spending over a century locked in hell, he was gorgeous. No woman could resist. She hadn’t.
A trickle of blood soaked through the sweatpants. He’d put too much strain on his leg, having to escape the ambush. With Dio’s help, they got it cleaned up and rebandaged, but they’d had to cut the sweatpants. It wasn’t as bad as she’d thought. It didn’t need to be cauterized again. Only a small section of the wound had pulled apart. The pressure bandage was sufficient.
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