Wicked Prisoner

by Lily Thomas

  He didn’t like the fact that his mate wasn’t taking this threat seriously. “You shouldn’t dismiss this out of hand. The Sri’thaens have vast resources and plenty of forces to get the job done. Humankind has a threat coming, and I fear you all will not be able to escape this one. Sri’thaens do not talk. They war, and when they are pissed, they annihilate their enemies.”

  Her blue eyes quivered a bit at his tone. “What can we do?”

  “Do you have a god?”

  “Depends on what religion you believe in.”

  “Pray to one of them and hope they save you.”

  She put her sandwich down. “Anyone ever tell you how charming you are?”

  He rose an eyebrow.

  “Tell a girl she’s your mate, and then tell her she’s doomed.”

  “You will not be doomed… if you are with me.”

  “Telling this all to me to scare me into your arms?”

  “I would never. I only tell you the truth. You can make your own decisions. Just know I will hide you from them. And if they find us, I will die before I would let them touch you.”

  “Great. So, I can go with you and get both of us killed, or go back to my people and be the only one of us to die.”

  Kruhn laughed. “It will take them years to hunt you all down, assuming they can accomplish the task. Space is large, and there are a lot of nooks and crannies to search.”

  “Sounds like they’re motivated.”

  “True.” He finished off his sandwich and laid back in his chair.

  Her eyes went wide. “They want the prison ship so they can gain entrance into our space.”

  “I would assume.” He confirmed, although he really had no idea what the Sri’thaens had planned. They hadn’t shared too much with him, just what they wanted and what they would pay.

  “You can’t give the ship over.”

  He loved the way she tried to boss him around. So confident. Kruhn leaned over the table. “I can, and I will.”

  “What if your mate asked you not to… what if I said I’d stay with you?”

  Kruhn cracked a small smile. “I’m not going to go back on a promise I gave the Sri’thaens. Unlike the humans who pissed them off, I am not stupid. No one pisses them off and lives.”

  She folded her arms in front of her large breasts. Too bad her olive uniform covered the delicious lobes from his sight.

  Jade snapped her fingers drawing his attention away from her breasts. “My eyes are up here.”

  “I know where your eyes are.” He got her meaning, but how could he not ogle his mate? She was built to please him, and please him she did.

  “You should give me a task. I’m growing bored of just sitting around.”

  “I don’t give you enough time with me?” He teased her.

  “Sex is a great way to ease boredom, but we don’t have sex all day.” She held up a hand. “And we aren’t going to.”

  Kruhn made a pouty face. “And here I thought sex all day sounded good.” He teased her again. “You can take over the task of seeing to the prisoners, but it will be limited access.”

  “Of course, it will be.”

  He could hear the disappointment lacing her voice, but not in response to the limited access. His mate wanted him to give up on selling the ship, but he couldn’t. He’d met these Sri’thaens, and they set his skin crawling.

  And now he had another reason to fear them. They were set on the destruction of the human race, which meant they’d want to kill his mate. He couldn’t have her on the ship when he met up with them.

  Chapter 9

  Jade slipped a platter of food into the last cell.

  “Sleeping with them then?”

  She turned to meet Captain Drew’s cold eyes. “Not with them.”

  Captain Drew snorted in disbelief.

  “With him.” Jade corrected him.

  The Captain’s eyes bulged at her open honesty, his mouth gaping wide. She walked away from the cell with her back straight. It wasn’t his place to judge her for the relationship she was having with Kruhn.

  “Whore.” He called out.

  Jade rolled her eyes. He wished.

  As she reached the door of the brig, she bumped into Kruhn walking in. “Oh, sorry.” She craned her neck back to look up at him. Boy, he sure was tall, and she loved a tall man.

  “I was coming to find you so I can walk you back to our quarters.” Kruhn’s hand came up to the base of her skull and pulled her in for a kiss.

  The moment their lips met electricity shot through her. One of her hands came up to stroke his bicep through his shirt. All she wanted to do was strip him down and trace all of his tattoos with her fingertip.

  “Whore!” Captain Drew’s voice rang out again.

  Jade broke away. “Forgot about them.” She muttered in exasperation.

  “I think I heard you wrong, human.” Kruhn faced the cells of men. His onyx eyes had taken on a deeper shade at the insult.

  Captain Drew threw a smirk over at them. “I said she was a whore because she is.”

  Jade looked up to see Kruhn’s face transform into a mask of rage. “Don’t.” She put her hand on his arm, but he brushed past her.

  She watched as Kruhn marched over to the brig console, punched in the commands to make the force field fall, and then strode over to the cell. The rest of the men in the cell backed up against the walls, but stupid Captain Drew only puffed out his chest in defiance.

  “Apologize to her.” Kruhn leaned towards the captain.

  “Sleeping with a prisoner makes her a whore.” The captain stuck his face closer to Kruhn’s.

  She shouldn’t have kissed Kruhn in front of them, but she’d forgotten herself.

  “What are you going to do about it?” Captain Drew declared.

  Kruhn’s hand whipped up, wrapped his fingers around the captain’s neck, and pushed him up against a wall. “I’ll break your neck.”

  Jade’s eyes widened. “Woah there, buddy.” She stepped up beside them and put a hand on Kruhn’s back. “No need to kill him. He is annoying, I know, but his words mean nothing to me. I’ve been called worse.”

  “I don’t like the word he is using to describe you,” Kruhn growled.

  “Let him think what he wants. He’s just jealous I find you attractive and find him to be an ugly potbellied idiot.”

  Kruhn looked over his shoulder and tossed her a grin. “You like the way I look?”

  “That’s what I said, and if you let him go, I can show you exactly how attractive I find you.” Jade made her way out of the cell hoping Kruhn would follow with the promise of sex hanging in the air.

  From behind, she could hear the sound of Captain Drew coughing and choking, which meant Kruhn had let go of the captain’s neck and was following her. She heard the force field go back up, and then his hand landed on the small of her back to guide her out of the brig.

  “I still have a mind to kill him,” Kruhn told her once they were out of the brig.

  “But I’m glad you didn’t. It’s one thing to take the ship. It’s a whole other thing to start killing them. I’ve learned to just ignore him and move on with my life.”

  “He doesn’t like you?”

  “I don’t think he likes any woman. He sees breasts, and he has to judge.”

  Kruhn cracked a smile. “When I see your breasts all I want to do is have you in my arms.”

  The door to the lift opened, and they walked in. It started moving, but Kruhn hit the stop button and pushed her up against a wall where he proceeded to plant kisses all over her neck.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Thinking about seeing your breasts.”

  Jade laughed. “Boy, you are a sexual species!”

  “You aren’t?”

  He set her blood on fire with just a look. “I suppose I am.”

  Kuhn’s hands quickly undid her pants and flung them away. He grabbed her buttocks, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Her eyes were drawn down to hi
s large cock standing proud, and a flood of heat hit her.

  “Want me?” he asked.

  “Yes.” Jade purred. Screw what others thought. She was slowly falling for this Vrak’rir.

  His claws caressed her buttocks.

  “Try not to wreck another pair of my underwear.”

  Kruhn grinned ear to ear. “I will do my best.”

  He pulled aside her underwear, still leaving it on, but baring her entrance for his cock.

  Easing his shaft into her she sighed with fulfillment, and he let out a groan.

  “I’d do almost anything for you.” He groaned in her ear, as he sunk into her up to the hilt.

  “Then fuck me.”

  “Whatever you want.”

  It was time to get her and the other humans off the ship. They were nearing the rendezvous site, and Kruhn was convinced the Sri’thaens wouldn’t leave any of the humans on board alive. His only hope to help his mate live was to let her go and hope he could find her again.

  Kruhn didn’t want to let her out of his sight, but unfortunately, but without a ship of his own where he could safely hide her, he didn’t have a choice.

  Letting out a sigh he hit the comm button. “Jade, can you meet me in the brig?”

  There was a second of silence, and then the comm crackled to life. “Sure. I’ll be there in a minute.”

  “Still can’t believe you found your mate on this mission.” Drelz shook his head.

  Kruhn had been the first of their group to find their mate, and he understood Drelz’s frustration. It was hard to know a mate was out there, but not know where to find her.

  “Bad luck.”

  Kruhn cocked a black eyebrow at his other crewmate. “Why?”

  Veux shrugged. “You’ll have to let her go before we meet up with the Sri’thaens. I couldn’t imagine finding my mate only to let her run away a few days later.”

  “She isn’t running away.”

  “Bet you five credits you never find her again.” Veux taunted.

  “He’ll beat you to a pulp if you don’t shut up.” Drelz drawled.

  “Like to see him try.”

  Kruhn made a sudden move forward and Veux flinched. Kruhn let out a laugh. “Scared of me I see.”

  Veux scoffed. “I just wasn’t prepared.”

  “Sure. Whatever you need to say to make yourself feel better.” Drelz laughed. “Now let’s get this over before Kruhn makes the horrible decision of keeping his human mate on board for the rendezvous.”

  Kruhn shook his head as he made his way to the bridge door with his men following behind. “I won’t make that mistake. I’d rather she is breathing and away from me, than dead and in my arms.”

  “Good choice.” Drelz clapped him on the back.

  Jade didn’t know why Kruhn wanted her to meet him in the brig, but whatever. She’d go there and see what he wanted.

  When she got there, Kruhn hadn’t arrived yet. Captain Drew sent her a couple of glares, but he was keeping his mouth shut. Thank goodness!

  Kruhn marched in with his men close behind.

  “What’s up?” She pushed off a wall she’d been leaning against.

  “We’re letting all the humans go,” Kruhn announced.

  She could see the statement had interested the crew, as they leaned in and perked up in their cells.

  “Why?” Wasn’t he supposed to give the crew to the Sri’thaens?

  “I don’t want to watch the Sri’thaens kill you, and you don’t want your crew to be killed.”

  “Ah.” It sounded reasonable to her.

  Drelz let down the force fields, and each Vrak’rir pulled out a plasma gun.

  “Don’t do anything stupid and you all will stay alive. Do something stupid and we will shoot you down.” Kruhn stated simply. He glanced over at her. “Sorry.”

  She shrugged. He was giving fair warning to the crew. She just hoped they took Kruhn seriously because she knew he would follow through with his threat.

  Veux led the way, the humans following after. Jade, Kruhn, and Drelz picked up the end.

  She wasn’t sure she wanted to leave the ship, but she wasn’t keen on the probability of dying, either. Those Sri’thaens sounded like a nightmare.

  “I’ll see you again?” Jade whispered over to Kruhn. Call her crazy, but she wanted to know this wouldn’t be their last moment together. These Sri’thaens sounded dangerous, and she didn’t think that they would like that Kruhn had altered their deal.

  He sent her a dazzling smile, his blue lips stretching wide. “Of course. You don’t need to worry about a Vrak’rir finding his mate. You will be the only thing on my mind until I can get you back in my arms.”

  She sent him a relieved smile. Maybe she’d pushed through all the hate Captain Drew had sent her way over the years so that she could be in the right place at the right time to meet Kruhn. She wasn’t a believer in fate, but it was close enough for her. And now that she’d met him maybe she could pursue another passion of hers… art.

  Veux popped open the escape pod doors. “Now file in like good little pets.”

  Jade threw him a glare. He really was an irritating Vrak’rir.

  She filed in to one of the pods along with several of the prison guards and looked back at Kruhn, hoping he’d send her off with a smile, but his eyes wouldn’t meet hers.

  Her heart skittered in her chest. Was there a reason he was avoiding her gaze?

  The door to the escape pod closed, and then they were ejected from the ship.

  “So much for you being his whore. He turned you loose just like the rest of us.” Captain Drew’s voice rang out.

  Really? She was stuck in the same escape pod as him? What the hell?

  “Shut the fuck up.” She met his gaze. Jade wasn’t about to back down. She’d put up with his shit for long enough, and she wasn’t taking any more. This job did not mean that much to her.

  “There’ll be a hearing over what you did back there, and don’t you think you’ll get away with it.”

  “And what did I do?”

  “Assisted the enemy.”

  “By being his whore? Oh please, nothing I did aided them in taking the ship, and any hearing will understand that.” She hoped. Her hearing would most likely take place on Earth, meaning humans who’d never met or didn’t understand aliens.

  Jade worried her lip. She wasn’t going to admit it to Captain Dickwad, but she was definitely screwed.

  Jade sat at her desk in her parent’s house. They’d actually received her message about the hearing and invited her to their home on a human colony. The hearing hadn’t taken long, and it had resulted in the outcome she’d predicted.

  They’d found her guilty of aiding the enemy, so she lost her job and had a black mark put on her record. She’d never get an official government job or anything that had to do with security ever again. However, they could have sent her to jail, so she’d gotten off easy in the end.

  “Want some coffee, dear?”

  Jade turned to find her mother standing in the doorway of her art studio, a room in her parent’s house.

  “Yes, thanks.” Jade jumped up and grabbed the cup of proffered coffee. She took a whiff. “Hmm, smells so good.”

  “How’s the work coming along. Can I see it yet?”

  “Sure.” She’d love to get her mother’s opinion about her artwork.

  Her mother came around the easel to examine the canvas. “Oh, that is quite lovely.”

  “Thanks.” Jade set down the cup. “Listen, I’m sorry to cut your travels short.”

  “Don’t think anything about it, sweetheart. We can always go back to traveling once you’re settled, and you’re more than welcome to stay after we leave.”

  “Thanks, mom.” She sent her mother a smile. “I thought I’d go out for a walk.” The planet was covered in thick forests, providing a lot of great shots for her artistic eye.

  “Are you sure sweetie?” Her mother’s brown eyes took on a wary look.

 
“Why not?” Jade grabbed a light blue shawl. The good thing about not being a prison guard, she could wear whatever she wanted. No more olive-green uniforms. She’d burned the last of those a few days ago.

  “The xir have been out in full force this season. It could be dangerous.”

  Xir were like wolves, but bigger and with a bad attitude. They even had large bristles on their backs that were sharp as daggers.

  “It’s daytime. Besides, I’ll take my plasma gun with me.” Jade shuffled around in a dresser and pulled out the weapon.

  Her mother rolled her eyes. “I don’t know how I ever raised a daughter like you. Really Jade, a plasma gun in your dresser?”

  “Probably because of all the years you forced me to wear dresses.” Jade laughed. It was true though. After years of being forced into fluffy pink dresses, she opted for a more masculine career.

  Now though she was going to pursue her own career, art, which was going over fairly well. She’d sold several original pieces already.

  And she had the Vrak’rir to thank for it all. At first, she’d thought she might hate him for ruining her job, but it had been a blessing in disguise. It’d been the push she needed.

  “Just be safe.”

  “Always mother. Always.”

  Jade made her way out of the large house. Maybe mansion was more accurate. Her parents hadn’t done too bad in life, that was for sure.

  As she made her way down the driveway, she basked in the clean air and sunshine from the two suns that orbited Gorian. It was a lovely planet. Maybe she’d retire here when she had the money, assuming she did as well as her parents.

  The gates at the end of the drive opened up, and she made her way out. Time to enjoy a walk.

  Although the ship arrived without its human crew, the sale to the Sri’thaens had gone rather smoothly. With the money for the transaction secured, Kruhn had parted ways from Veux and Drelz, promising to reach out to them on the planet Vrak after he found Jade. It had taken a few months, but after a period of dead ends, he’d finally found a hopeful trail on the human planet Gorian.

  Kruhn made his way up to the gates that surrounded the property belonging to the Meeks, and his mouth dropped a little. Was this the right house?