by Tana Stone
A female alien with blue spiky hair grabbed at Hope’s arm, so Hope cocked her arm back and punched the creature squarely in the nose. Purple liquid spurted from the alien as something in her face cracked.
“That’s for thinking people in cages is a party game,” Hope said as the woman clutched her gushing nose and wailed.
Kos jerked her forward again, pushing party guests out of the way like they were matchsticks, and they burst through the crowd. Luckily, the music masked the screams and it was hard to tell what were screams of excitement from elsewhere in the ship and what were screams of alarm. She knew that wouldn’t last long, though.
“Xarla!” Hope called out, catching the alien’s eye as she twisted her head behind her. “Come on!”
The Curator’s guard was now purple-faced, his eyes rolled up into the back of his head, and Xarla leapt off him, letting him drop with a thud that shook the floor. She snatched a cloak off a nearby spectator, who goggled at her as she ran past, catching up to Kos with several long strides.
“Thanks for the assist,” Kos said as Xarla tossed him the black cloak. He pulled it over his shoulders with one hand, not letting go of Hope with his other.
“You’re welcome.” Xarla grinned at Hope as the three ran down the corridor, dodging through the crowds who were still unaware that some of the prisoners had escaped. Their attention was too focused on what was happening behind the glass to notice three aliens moving swiftly behind them.
Hope tried not to look inside the cells, reminding herself that they couldn’t break everyone out but making a mental pledge that if they got away, she would insist they hunt down the Curator and free everyone. That was, if they got away themselves.
They’d almost made it to the bottom of the spiraling corridor when red alarm lighting started to flash. Kos scooped her up without a word and broke into a full-on run.
Twenty-Three
Hope was light in his arms, and Kos pushed himself to run harder than he ever had before as he reached the doors to the hangar bay. They glided open, causing two guards who’d been sitting on either side to jump up. Kos shifted Hope to one side so he could knock out one of the guards with a single hard punch. He spun to take on the other, but Xarla had already leapt up and circled the guard’s neck with her legs. Within moments, the guard had dropped to the floor, unconscious.
“You’ll have to teach me that,” he said, nodding to her in thanks as they hurried across the hangar bay.
Xarla laughed, her emerald eyes flashing. “You have too many bones.”
Kos wondered exactly what type of alien Xarla was, but thought he’d wait to ask until they’d escaped. Red alarm lights flashed overhead, more noticeable here than in the rest of the ship, where colored lights were part of the decor. He knew they were losing their head start advantage more every moment.
“Put me down,” Hope said, wiggling in his arms. “I can run, you know. Maybe not as fast as you, but I’m not an invalid.”
He’d almost forgotten he was carrying her, so he dutifully set her down, then grabbed her by the hand and tugged her behind him. “Less talking, more running.”
Spotting their shuttle craft, Kos led them to the far end of the wide space, which was filled with ships, most likely owned by all the guests of the Curator. He wished he had time to sabotage all of them, but his top priority was getting off the ship. Revenge would come later, he promised himself.
There were a few pilots milling about some of the docked ships, but none seemed too interested in them as they made their way to the dark-hulled Drexian shuttle. Thanks to the black cloak, Kos didn’t look too out of the ordinary, and, from the way the pilots averted their eyes, he suspected that this wasn’t the first time a male had brought two females to a ship during a party.
He quickly assessed the shuttle. It looked untouched, and he could only hope the Curator hadn’t thought to disable it in any way. Why would he, Kos thought? The arrogant male would never have expected one of his prisoners to escape.
Touching a palm to the outside panel, Kos waited as the ramp lowered. He glanced behind him but saw no one coming. He hoped they were still assessing what had happened inside the ship. There was enough general chaos in the party that it might take some time to determine who was missing and where they’d gone. Time Kos would not waste.
Before the ramp touched down completely, he ran up with Hope and Xarla behind him. Dropping Hope’s hand, he motioned to one of the seats as he rushed to the pilot’s chair. “Strap in.”
Both females sat quickly—Hope next to him and Xarla behind them—and fastened the safety straps over themselves as he fired up the engines. He tapped his fingers across the console, breathing a sigh of relief when all the lights came on and the engine hummed to life. No damage, and all systems were fully operational.
He checked the stealth shielding system. It was working, which was good. They’d need to use the exclusive Drexian technology if they were going to get away undetected.
As he tapped in a series of commands, the ship rumbled underneath him. He never thought the feel of a ship’s engine would be as comforting to him as it was, but he patted the curved edge of the ebony console. “It’s good to be back.”
“Um, Kos,” Hope said, tugging at the sleeve of his cloak. “I think they’re onto us.”
He cut his eyes to the view out the front of the shuttle, looking to the far left, and his stomach clenched. Zaria had burst through the doors to the hangar bay, accompanied by a handful of guards. One of the guards still looked red-faced from being nearly choked by Xarla.
“They don’t look happy,” Xarla said, her voice a whisper.
“Good. Those fuckers shouldn’t be happy,” Hope said, then turned back to him. “Any chance of speeding up the process?”
She looked both defiant and terrified, which he understood completely. He turned his attention back to the console, punching in the final few buttons to get them moving. His stomach churned as he saw Zaria scan the ships and lock her gaze on them.
They’d come this far. No way were they going back, he thought. No way was he going to let any of those aliens ever lay a finger on her.
“Hold on,” he said, initiating thrusters and feeling the jolt as the ship rocketed across the open space.
They clipped the pointed wings of a shiny white ship as they roared toward the gaping mouth of the hangar bay, and Kos hoped it was one of the party guests’ ships and that they’d taken the wing off entirely. If he’d had time, he would have tried to hit more ships on his way out.
The hard hull of the Drexian ship seemed to be unscathed, and within moments, they burst out of the yawning hangar bay opening. Kos quickly activated the stealth shielding as he banked them hard to one side, curving around the massive cylindrical ship.
Even from outside, he could see flashing colored lights pulsing out the windows, and he choked back his disgust. Kos plotted the location of the Curator’s vessel, even though he suspected the ship rarely stayed in one place for long. At least it would be a place to start when the Drexian hunting party went after him.
Hope released a loud breath. “We did it. We escaped.”
As he set a course for the Drexian outpost, he shook his head. “We aren’t in the clear yet, although we are invisible.”
“So, it’s true?” Xarla asked, her voice hushed. “Drexians have invisible ships?”
Kos twisted around to face her. The cat-like alien was peering around the sleek, dark interior of the ship with undisguised wonder. “Not invisible. We have stealth cloaking.”
“Which means that other ships can’t detect you, right?” Xarla asked.
Kos shrugged. “Right.”
“Which is as good as invisible,” she said. “We’ve only heard whispers about the ships that appear out of thin air.”
He guessed she was right. Their technology must seem like magic.
Kos glanced over at Hope, whose hands gripped the arm rests of her chair so hard her knuckles were white. She trembled,
even though her cheeks were flushed pink. He pulled off his black cloak and draped it over her. “Are you okay?”
She nodded, even though she didn’t meet his eyes. “It just hit me how close we came to not getting out of there.”
He’d taken rudimentary medic training at the Drexian Academy, but even with his rusty skills, he recognized the symptoms of shock. He put his hands over hers, uncoiling them from the armrests. “Why don’t you lie down, cinnara?”
She gave a curt shake of her head. “I’m fine. We got away. Everything’s going to be fine.”
Although her words were reassuring, the tone of her voice—flat and emotionless—was not.
“She doesn’t look fine,” Xarla said to him under her breath.
Kos cut his eyes to his console and then out the front of the ship. Nothing. No ships in pursuit.
He stood and leaned over Hope, unhooking her safety straps. “As captain of this shuttle, I’m ordering you to lie down.”
Her eyes focused on him as he picked her up. “So, we’re back to you being bossy again? That didn’t take long.”
He grinned, glad to hear her familiar snark. “And we’re back to you complaining about the chain of command again.”
“If by chain of command you mean that you get to make all the decisions and I’m supposed to follow your orders, then yep, I’m definitely going to complain about that.”
Xarla stifled a laugh, holding a hand over her mouth, as Kos carried Hope to the back of the shuttle. He pressed against one of the hidden panels and a bed popped out of the wall.
“I thought maybe you’d abandoned your stubbornness after everything,” he said.
She cocked an eyebrow at him. “If by ‘everything’, you mean you spanking the shit out of me, then no, that didn’t make me any less stubborn.”
He set her on the bed, straightening up and putting his hands on his hips. “I thought we called it even.”
Her gaze wandered to his bare chest, but then she met his eyes, scrunching her lips together to one side and studying him. “Admit it. The whole spanking thing wasn’t just part of the escape plan. You liked it.”
“Are you asking if I enjoyed slapping your pretty, round ass and hearing you scream?”
Hope’s cheeks reddened, and her pupils flared.
He leaned over, his head next to hers. “Didn’t you?”
Twenty-Four
“Cocky wanker,” she said, feeling the corner of her mouth twitching up, even though she fought the smile. No way would she let him know that his spanking her had made her slick between her legs. That would only add fuel to the Drexian’s already too-confident fire.
He grinned, like he always did when she used Kiwi slang. “I am not cocky, nor am I a ‘wanker.” I am only being honest. Why don’t you be honest with me, cinnara, and tell me that you liked it?”
She spluttered for a moment, and he laughed. She even heard Xarla attempting not to laugh out loud. “Nothing that happened on that batshit crazy ship should be held against me.”
“No?” Kos gave her a crooked grin. “What would you like held against you?”
Hope let out an exaggerated breath. “You’re impossible. What I really want is to get out of this ridiculous outfit, forget that any of this happened, and go home.”
As soon as the words left her lips, she regretted them. The cockpit went silent, the only sound Xarla’s sharp intake of breath. Kos’s face darkened and his smile vanished. He stood up straight. “That is what you truly want?”
She gnawed at her lower lip. “I didn’t mean for it to come out that way. I just meant—“
“You still want to return home?” he asked. “To Earth?”
Did she? Hope hesitated as she thought. It wasn’t like she’d had such a great life on Earth, but it had been hers. For someone who’d been used to going wherever she wanted to go whenever she wanted to, the idea of living in one place for the rest of her life—an alien space station, no less—was a lot to come to terms with.
But if she somehow got back to Earth, she’d never see Kos again. Her heart constricted at the thought. How was it that this alien warrior had managed to get under her skin when no other man ever had? The ache in her heart at the idea of never seeing him again made her want to simultaneously throw her arms around him and run away screaming.
She looked up at him, wanting desperately to give him the answer he wanted, but too scared to give voice to her feelings. Kos stared at her for a moment before his eyes shuttered.
“I suppose I have my answer.” He turned and strode back to the pilot’s chair, dropping down and facing forward.
Hope’s shoulders slumped, and she didn’t meet Xarla’s eyes when the alien turned to look at her. What was wrong with her? Why couldn’t she just admit that she cared about the guy? Why did it feel so impossible to confess to an attachment?
She flopped back on the bed, rolling onto her back and staring up at the black ceiling. The ship’s engine hummed steadily, and she knew they were on their way to the Drexian outpost.
And what would happen then? If she and Kos didn’t make up, would she end up with the other humans who’d rejected the whole tribute bride concept? Did she want that?
Tears stung the backs of her eyes. She didn’t know what she wanted. She just knew that everything had been simpler before she gave a shit about the Drexian who’d sacrificed himself to save her.
And life had been way simpler before she’d been taken off Earth. She’d had no family drama—she hadn’t seen her mother in years—and no husband or boyfriend to complicate her life. The longest relationship she’d ever had had lasted mere weeks, and she couldn’t even remember the guy’s last name. Mason? Miller? Oh, who cared?
It wasn’t like she’d loved the guy. She’d never been in love before, and it had always been a badge she’d worn with honor. Until now.
But it wasn’t as if she was in love with Kos. That would be ridiculous. She barely knew him. Sure, they’d had pretty great sex, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything, did it?
Hope pressed the heels of her hands over her closed eyes. Then why did she feel a physical ache when she thought about not being with him? Why had the hurt that had crossed his face been like a punch to the gut? She’d broken up with plenty of guys, and she’d never given it much thought.
A tear snaked down the side of her face and she swiped it away. Get it together, girl. You never cry and certainly not over a guy.
It must be the shock of everything, she thought. It had been a traumatic few days, after all. Once she was really and truly safe, she’d feel better.
She took a deep breath. She’d be back to her old self soon enough, and she wouldn’t feel so weepy. If this was what it felt like to let a guy in—even a little bit—then she’d been right to steer clear. Feeling so out of control and confused was definitely not for her.
Loud static filled the cockpit, and she opened her eyes and twisted around. Xarla had her hands over her ears and Kos tapped quickly at the console until the sound faded.
“We’re still too far from Drexian space to get a signal,” he said as the cockpit dimmed. “But we need to fly close to Kronock territory to shave some time off our trip. I’m going dark until we’re past enemy space.”
“Kronock?” Xarla shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself.
“Don’t worry,” Kos told her. “We’re still in stealth mode.”
The alien nodded but rubbed her hands briskly over her arms as if trying to warm herself. “The Kronock are the reason my people were scattered across the galaxy. They’re the reason my family is gone.”
Kos’s lips disappeared into a hard white line. “They are the reason many families were destroyed.”
Hope slipped off the bed and put a hand on Xarla’s shoulder. “Kos won’t let us get caught. He’s gotten us this far.”
He met her eyes for a moment, and she saw a brief flicker of warmth before his expression hardened and he spun back around.
Twenty-Fiv
e
Kos focused on the readouts and the star charts displayed in front of him. The steady beep of the computer and the gentle rumble of the engine soothed him, but his heart still raced.
After everything that had happened between them, after everything he had done, she still wanted to leave. He clenched his jaw, trying to understand the female, but finding himself at a loss.
Didn’t she understand that she was his mate, and that he would do anything for her? And not only because they’d been matched, but because he’d known she was meant to be his from the second she’d opened her mouth on the pirate ship. The second she’d told the pirate captain to get his fucking hands off her, he’d known. Of course, he should have also known that a female stubborn enough to snap back at an alien large enough to kill her with his bare hands was probably not going to be an easy mate.
He bit back a groan as he thought about how good it had felt to be inside her. How right. He’d never felt as sure about anything in his life as when his cock had been buried inside Hope, and she’d been moaning beneath him.
No, that had been real. At least, it had been for him, and he’d thought it had been for her. He’d been sure of it. Sure that she felt as strongly about him. As sure.
With a brusque shake of his head, he tried to focus on the console. Their course was set, and their speed was steady. Since they were maintaining stealth mode, he couldn’t fly as fast as he would have liked to or use jump technology. Even though it would cut days off the journey, it would use too much power and potentially leave them dead in the water. Too risky.
The only thing that mattered was getting them back to the Drexian outpost safely—making sure Hope was safe for good. Even if she didn’t want him as a mate.
The thought of returning to the outpost and of Hope joining the reject tributes made his skin go cold. But the thought of her requesting a new match made his jaw clench. It was a rare occurrence, to ask for a new match, but it had happened. Kos knew he wouldn’t be able to bear it.