Ransomed: A Sci-Fi Alien Warrior Romance (Tribute Brides of the Drexian Warriors Book 4)

by Tana Stone

  Opening his eyes, he looked down as she slid his length in and out of her mouth. He almost exploded into her at the sight of her pink lips stretched around his thick crown. She pulled back and traced the tip of her tongue around the hard ridge and then down the thick vein that ran underneath. Wrapping her fingers tight around his girth, she pulled him into her mouth again.

  He gritted his teeth. Trista had almost his entire length in her mouth. Watching her made it hard not to burst, but he held back and put his hands on the back of her head. She pumped the base of his cock with one hand as she moved her mouth, and the combination made him ball his hands into her wet hair. Being inside her mouth reminded him of being inside her tight heat, and his cock jerked.

  “Show me how fast or slow you want it,” Trista said, looking up at him. “Guide me.”

  He grunted in agreement as he used the hands on the back of her head to pull her closer. He moved her in a steady rhythm, the view of her sucking down his cock almost mesmerizing. “Can’t believe you’re taking so much of me.”

  Her pace became quicker and his breath jagged. When she moaned, it vibrated down the length of his shaft.

  “I can’t hold back any longer,” he said, his words rough and jerky.

  She reached around with one hand, grabbing his ass and pulling him deeper, his cock bumping up against the back of her throat. It was too much for him to handle, and he threw back his head and roared as he pulsed into her mouth.

  Trista held him inside her as she swallowed, then she sat back. “That was fun.”

  Torven wasn’t sure what had happened to the hesitant female he’d taken from the station, but this feisty, insatiable version was even better than he could have imagined.

  Chapter Twenty

  “This isn’t pad-whatever, is it?” Trista asked, as Torven handed her one of the foil food pouches from his pack. She didn’t know how long they’d been down in the cavern, but they’d already gone through half of the food in her bag. At least twenty-four hours, she’d guess, although there was no way to tell underground. And they’d been too busy getting their fill of each other to notice the passage of time.

  He laughed. “No, although many Drexians love padwump rind.”

  Trista sat cross-legged next to him with her environmental suit halfway on and the sleeves tied around her waist to keep it from slipping down. She wore her black T-shirt, the fabric sticking to her skin. The air was too steamy for them to dry completely, but she wasn’t complaining. She’d rather be hot and humid than freezing her ass off outside.

  She tore open the shiny pouch, and tentatively sniffed the contents. It didn’t have a distinct smell, unlike the salty tang of the padwump rind. She hoped that was a good sign. She’d found most of the packaged food to be palatable so far, although she would have killed for a decent hamburger.

  Torven started to say something, but she held up a hand. “Don’t tell me what it is. I’m too hungry to care anymore, but I’d rather not know if I’m eating eye of newt.”

  He raised an eyebrow and mouthed the words “eye of newt” to himself, but remained quiet as they ate.

  The thin, flat strips were a bit chewy with a bland taste, but Trista was fine with that. She thought back to the food on the station and groaned out loud.

  “You like it?” Torven asked.

  “Sorry about that. I was thinking about the food on the Boat.”

  “I have heard they have Gatazoid chefs,” Torven said. “Gatazoids are known throughout the galaxy as being great artisans. I imagine the food is quite delicious.”

  “I don’t know who the chefs are,” Trista said. “But they make a mean steak.”

  Torven wrinkled his brow. “A mean steak? The steak is unkind?”

  Trista giggled. “It’s an expression. It just means that it’s really good.”

  Torven swallowed a bite of what he was eating. “I hope I get the chance to sample this mean steak one day.”

  Trista’s pulse fluttered. “Me too. I want to show you our fantasy suite.”

  “Tell me about it.” Torven leaned closer to her and rested his elbows on his knees.

  Normally, Trista would feel nervous with his face only inches from hers, and the body heat radiating off his bare chest. He’d been too warm to put his T-shirt back on, and wore only his snug boxer briefs. Up until recently, being that close to a mostly naked guy with huge, tattooed arms would have sent off warning bells in her head. Instead of feeling jittery, though, Trista’s own body hummed with excitement.

  Her mind flashed back to lying sprawled out on the stone floor while he licked her and of the subsequent places around the cavern he’d taken her since then—up against the stone wall, sitting on one of the rounder rock formations, in the pool at least three more times—and her body warmed in response. Nope. Scared was definitely not what she felt when she was with him.

  Well,” she said. “It’s supposed to be on a Greek island, so it’s all white with a private pool that looks out over the cliff to the ocean. And of course since it’s a hologram, I get both sunsets and sunrises from the balcony.”

  “Does it look like that place on Earth?”

  “I’ve never been there, but it looks like the pictures. From what I’ve heard, all of the fantasy suites are based off places on Earth. Really exotic places that I’ve never seen.”

  Torven reached for one of the metal canisters of water. “I am eager to stay in this place with you.”

  Trista took the water that he offered her, swallowing a cool gulp. “You’ve never been to the Boat before?”

  He shook his head. “Aside from when we met, no. There is no reason to go, unless we are matched with a tribute bride, and that can often take a long time. I have heard many talk about it, though.”

  “I’m guessing it’s different from your other space stations.”

  “We do not have other stations,” Torven said. “We have many battleships, however, and most warriors get assigned to these. We also have outposts on planets we protect.”

  “What about your home planet?” Trista asked. Despite living on their station, she realized she didn’t know that much about the Drexian race, aside from how hot they were.

  “The Drexian home world?” Torven’s face clouded. “It was once beautiful, but years of war destroyed it. Now, only the elders remain. That is why we fight so hard to maintain peace in the galaxy. Drexian warriors spend our lives living in space, defending those who cannot defend themselves.”

  Trista swallowed a mouthful of the dried food. “You live your entire lives on spaceships?”

  He shrugged. “We do not think of it like that. Besides, our battleships are large, so it does not feel cramped.”

  “Like the Boat, where you can forget you’re floating in space?”

  He crumpled up his empty foil packet. “Yes, although we do not have holographic suites. I look forward to experiencing that with you.”

  Trista shifted where she sat. She wanted that, too, but it felt like a faraway dream. “Do you think that will actually happen? Do you think we’ll actually get to be together? Officially, I mean.”

  “I have faith that my friends will find the real traitor and prove me innocent,” Torven said. “You do believe I’m innocent, don’t you?”

  “Of course. I’ve known a lot of bad guys in my life, and you’re not like any of them.”

  Torven’s intent gaze made her look down and shift her position on the hard rock floor. She’d probably said too much. No guy likes to think about his girl having a past.

  “These bad guys hurt you.” It was a statement, not a question.

  Trista didn’t look up but nodded. “Yeah, but that’s in the past. It has nothing to do with you.”

  Torven rested one large hand on her knee. “If we were not stranded on a barren planet, I would want to fly down to Earth and punish these men for hurting you.”

  Trista couldn’t help but smile and looked up to meet his eyes. “Thanks, I think. Speaking of being stuck on this ic
e heap, what’s your plan for escaping the Kronock?”

  “If they knew where we were, we would already in custody. Or dead. I suspect this mountain has many tunnels, and possibly many more underground springs. It could take a very long time, if they have to search every one of them.”

  “So we hide out down here?” Trista glanced around the blue glow of the cavern, and breathed in the moist air. She guessed there were worse places to hang out, but she didn’t really want to spend the rest of her life there. Not to mention the fact that they would run out of rations before too long.

  “I should go to the surface and see if any other vessels have arrived,” Torven said.

  “Whoa. I thought the plan was to hide in here.”

  “You will stay here,” he said. “I will go to the top to check and then return.”

  “No way, José,” Trista said. “I’m not letting you leave me down here. What if you don’t come back? What if they grab you at the surface? What if I try to get out and go into the wrong corridor? If you’re going up to the surface, I’m going with you.”

  Torven frowned. “Are all human females as difficult as you?”

  “I’m not difficult,” Trista said. “I told you. I just don’t like being bossed around.”

  “I cannot imagine anyone being successful at bossing you around,” Torven muttered under his breath.

  “You didn’t mind me being bossy earlier,” she reminded him.

  “When you milked my cock with your mouth?” He said, dropping his voice low. “No, I did not mind that at all.”

  Even though she knew they were alone, his words made her face flame. She gaped at him. “Torven!”

  He set down his packet of food and tugged her onto his lap. “You wish to call my name out again?”

  “I thought we were going to the surface,” she said, her protests weak as he kissed her neck.

  “Soon,” he said. “First things, first.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Torven helped Trista pull her environmental suit up over her clothes, the blue glow of the cavern making the suit shimmer an iridescent blue. She looked up at him, her cheeks pink from the warm air.

  He wanted to tear the suit off her, not zip it up, but he also knew they should check the surface of the planet. As much as he wanted to stay below with her forever, safe in a place where no one could pass judgment on him or separate them, he knew it was not possible. He needed to get her off the planet and to safety before the Kronock found them. The last thing he wanted was for help to arrive and for him to miss it because they were down below. Torven also knew he should be restraining himself around her.

  Unless Dorn and Dakar had been able to pull off a miracle and clear his name already, he was still a criminal in the eyes of the Drexian High Command. And that meant he wasn’t entitled to a tribute bride. As much as he knew in his heart that Trista was meant for him, he doubted others would see it that way. If he was convicted, Trista would be matched with another Drexian warrior. What they’d done in the warm springs beneath the surface of the planet would not matter to anyone. His stomach clenched as he imagined his mate with another. He could not let that happen.

  “I think that’s tight enough,” Trista said, sucking in as he cinched the waist of her suit so it wouldn’t sag.

  “Sorry.” He realized he was so lost in his thoughts he’d forgotten to stop tightening. Torven let go and stepped away.

  Trista breathed out in relief. “You seemed far away just then.”

  “Just thinking of what might await us up there,” he said.

  She nodded and cast a glance around the cavern. “It’s not too late to change our minds. I’ve definitely seen worse apartments in my life.”

  Torven thought about their stolen hours together in the cavern and how many times she’d screamed his name. It wasn’t hard to imagine hiding out with Trista for weeks, but he knew it wasn’t how either of them wanted to spend the rest of their lives. Even if they did manage to find enough food on the planet to survive, he’d always be considered an outlaw. He shook his head. He did not want his family to have to say his name with shame.

  “We will return,” he said, trying to sound more confident than he felt.

  She hoisted her pack over one arm. “I guess we’d better do this before I lose my nerve.”

  “You are nervous about going to the surface again because it is cold?”

  “No.” She bit her lower lip. “It’s the dark of the tunnels I don’t like. We have no idea how many there are under the mountain or if they all connect to the surface. We ended up down here by taking a fork we didn’t even notice the first time. What if we accidentally take another fork, and end up wandering forever in the dark?”

  He noticed her hand shake, and pulled her close. “I will not let that happen.”

  She sank into his arms. “I also don’t welcome the idea of being taken captive by the Kronock. Bridget told me what happened to her when she was kidnapped by them, and I do not want to be stripped naked and strapped to a table.”

  “Bridget?”

  “Another tribute bride. The enemy took her. From what she said, they aren’t nice guys.”

  Torven stiffened at the thought of the Kronock taking his mate and binding her to a table. He would kill them all before he’d let that happen. Or he would die trying.

  “I will always keep you safe,” he said, as he raised her face to his and kissed her gently. “Are you sure you won’t stay here?”

  “Who would keep you safe?” she teased.

  He kissed her again, this time, going deeper. Frissons of pleasure shot all the way to his fingertips, and he pulled back before the tingling sensation gave way to a pulsating desire that was hard to resist. “We should go.”

  Torven gave a final look at the luminous blue cavern with its steamy pool and felt a pang of regret. It was hard to leave when he didn’t know what would be waiting for them above, but he swallowed his fear. He pulled the blaster from his belt and took her hand in his as they entered the tunnel they’d come from. After a few steps, the darkness swallowed them, and the only sounds were their echoing footsteps and heavy breathing as they trudged uphill.

  Torven walked with one elbow bowed out and brushing the wall so he would not accidentally go off course and inadvertently enter another tunnel. The walk was steep, and soon Trista was sucking in air.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  “Peachy,” she said. “It reminds me why I despise cardio.”

  He wasn’t sure what she meant, but she sounded fine. He assumed “peachy” was an Earth word that meant she was okay.

  They continued to trudge upward, and Torven began to worry they were no longer in the tunnel that would reach the exit. Had it taken so long to reach the natural springs below? He couldn’t remember, but he thought they should be nearing the top.

  “How much longer?” Trista asked between gasps.

  “Almost there,” Torven said, although he was not sure himself. At what point did he admit they were lost and turn around? Could they even find the cavern again, or was Trista right? Was it possible they could wander in the subterranean tunnels without ever finding an escape?

  Torven pushed the thought out of his mind, along with the urge to yell. The darkness felt heavy—as if it was enveloping him—and he imagined the air getting thinner as he tried to suck in deep breaths. He needed to stay calm for Trista, he told himself, even as he wanted nothing more than to claw at his own throat.

  “There,” Trista tugged on his hand. “Isn’t that light?”

  Torven squinted into the blackness. She was right. The faintest glow was coming from somewhere in front of them. He walked faster and the glow became daylight, and then he had to shield his eyes from the glare of white outside the mouth of the tunnel.

  He stepped out onto the icy ground and blinked, temporarily blinded by the ice and snow. The air, which had gotten progressively cooler as they’d walked up the tunnel, was bracing once they were out in the open. He ins
tantly missed the warmth and seclusion of the underground springs.

  Torven turned to Trista, relieved to have made it out safely, and pulled her into an embrace, lifting her feet from the ground.

  “We did it,” she said, letting out a long sigh. “I’ve never been so happy to see miles of snow and ice before.”

  He stepped back from her and looked down at her face. He leaned in for a kiss, but his breath caught when he saw her expression change. Her eyes were wide, and her mouth open as she stared past him.

  Torven swung around, but all he could see was the blaster pointing at his face.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “Dak?” Torven nearly fell to his knees when he realized his best friend was on the other end of the blaster.

  “Gods, Torven.” Dakar lowered the blaster and let out a loud sigh. “Is that really you?”

  Torven was so relieved to see his friend and not be shot by a Kronock that he pulled Dakar into a hug, thumping the Drexian hard on the back, then held him at arm’s length.

  His Inferno Force crewmate wore an environmental suit like the one they had on, although his did not look so weathered as it reflected the white snow and ice. He wore the hood flipped back and his brown hair was tied up in a messy bun. Torven noted the stubble on his cheeks and the dark circles under his eyes. “You don’t look so good, my friend.”

  Dakar cocked an eyebrow. “Tearing around the galaxy looking for my best friend and trying to save his ass from being executed has taken it out of me.” He gave Torven the once-over. “You look surprisingly well for a fugitive.”

  Torven glanced down as Trista cleared her throat behind him. “I haven’t been alone. This is Trista.” His eyes went to his mate. “This is Dakar, a member of Inferno Force and my closest friend.”

  Dakar gave her a small bow. “An honor to meet you.” He pivoted to face Torven again. “I heard you kidnapped a bride from the station, but I couldn’t believe it at first.”