DarkRevenge (12 page)

“Go ahead. We’ll be on auto for most of the trip, but I’d
love your touch when we leave the bay.” He didn’t glance at her when he
answered. Did he remember too? He had to.

She flicked buttons and levers to prepare for
disembarkation. “This is Shuttle Two. Estimated time for departure?” she asked
the bridge.

Dink’s voice came over the line. “The Ardasian shuttle
The
Lightning
will disembark first, Commander, in five minutes. Please stand
by.”

The Judge’s shuttle roared and the bay doors opened. Alex
noted that one of the dashboard lights blinked, indicating the magnetic locks
were weak. She quickly transferred power to the magnets before the shuttle door
opened. A heartbeat later, Tory adjusted the power couplings above the locks.
It was as if they thought as one person. It had always been that way for them.

Many of their missions had succeeded because of Tory’s
ability to anticipate her and vice versa. When he was exiled, she’d missed him
sorely. No one in Teran One ops had been as compatible for her. Or as disturbing.
It had always seemed that Tory read her mind, knew her as well as she knew
herself and enhanced every move she made on a mission. She had wondered how
someone so different could resonate with her so well.

“
The Lightning
is away, Shuttle Two. Stand by.” Dink
followed procedure. She had always thought these rogue ships followed their own
protocol, but Tory’s ship seemed to keep to the military forms.

“Shuttle Two cleared for takeoff,” Dink said.

“Firing engines,” Alex informed him and Tory flicked the
engines wide open. The familiar shudder of the ship and the soothing whine of
the engines relaxed her. She loved to fly. It was her one talent. Most of her
fellow soldiers could outshoot her and many of them were better at hand to
hand. But none of them could match her in the cockpit.

Except for Tory.

“Shuttle Two taking off.” She matched Tory’s calculations
with her own and they slid the shuttle out of the bay like butter, slow and
smooth.

“We’ll be back in five hours, Dink.”

“Acknowledged, boss. Say hello to Kera for me.”

“Will do.” Tory flicked on autopilot and turned to her. “We
have to wait for the right window in the atmosphere. I’ve set the trajectory.
It’s going to be about an hour before we land.”

She clicked out of her seat’s restraints and relaxed. “Who’s
Kera?”

Tory’s fingers froze on his restraints. “She’s a friend.”

A friend? A lover maybe? She glared at him. “Could you
clarify, please? I really don’t want to be caught flat-footed.”

His gaze met hers. “I told you. She’s a friend.”

Damn it. Alex threw off her restraints and stomped into the
back of the shuttle. How the hell was she supposed to adjust to this if he
wouldn’t be honest with her?

She heard his step behind her and whirled around to face
him. “You want an awful lot, don’t you, Tory Ingle? You want me to believe this
mating is something more than just your personal satisfaction.” She ticked off
her fingers. “You want me to believe someone on Teran One is trying to kill me.
And you want me to believe there’s someone on Teran One with the Old Earth
plague.” Her hands closed into fists. “How am I supposed to trust you if you
won’t answer simple questions?”

He ran a hand through his hair and let out a quick breath.
“Because your questions are never simple, Alex.”

“Bullshit. If we’re going to see someone you’ve been
fucking, I think I should know.” Great. Now she sounded like a jealous mate.
Well, fuck, she
was
a jealous mate.

His eyes narrowed. “If I
have
been fucking someone,
it’s none of your business.”

She gasped. “So, this mating is just about your revenge.
Thanks for clearing that up.”

His hand shot out and gripped her arm. “What did you expect?
That I’d remain celibate for all those years?”

“Of course not,” she scoffed. “But I don’t really want to
meet the women you slept with either.” She was being pretty fucking reasonable.

“So mark your territory,” he said in a low, purring tone.

The way he said it, the feral expression on his face, the
way the air between them crackled made her ache. “You want me to fuck you now?”

“Yes. Make me smell like you. And you’d smell like me.” He
pulled her in his arms. “I’m a man who likes sex, Alexandra. You’d better
realize that right now.”

Without ceremony, he swooped in and took possession of her
lips. She wanted to fight him, stand her ground. But when his tongue swept
inside her mouth, she forgot everything but the feel of him, the taste of him.

Her hands lifted, at first to shove him away, but instead
buried in his hair and pressed him closer. He shoved her back against the
shuttle wall, his hands tight on her hips, his mouth fused to hers. The cold
metal against her spine and the heat of his body on her breasts created an
erotic contrast that sent fire along her veins, burning through her token
resistance.

He crowded her, pressed her flat against the wall and lifted
her legs until she wound around him like a vine. His cock fit at the junction
between her thighs and she moaned.

The sound seemed to set off an explosion in him. He broke
the kiss and his hands yanked on her clothes until she was naked. His mouth
captured one of her nipples and scraped it with his teeth. Her whole body
jerked, electricity crackling along her nerves. When had he taken off his
shirt? She didn’t care. She just wanted to touch him. Her hands ran along the
lean lines of his shoulders and down his chest, exploring every dip, every hard
plane of his broad expanse. Stars, he was perfect. Solid, dominating, sexy.
Another moan escaped her lips and his hands tightened on flesh.

His fingers wandered lower and flicked over her clit. She
thrust her hips into his hand, desperate for his touch, his cock, everything.
She was mindless under the expert hands of her mate. “Tory,” she begged.

He lifted his head and met her gaze. The swirl of desire and
need in his eyes made her ache. Her pussy throbbed and pulsed.

She didn’t wait. Her fingers reached his pants and yanked on
the buttons. His eyes closed when her hand found his cock and stroked him. The
way he fit in her hand was perfect. But then he shifted and thrust two fingers
in her pussy and she panted, unable to keep the rhythm going as her body
tightened like a bowstring. She closed her eyes and held on. He added a third
finger and rubbed his thumb around her clit with every thrust. He played her
like an instrument, his fingers magic on her body. His other hand palmed one of
her breasts, sending sparks of pleasure shooting through her.

The sensation of the solid wall behind her and his large
frame pinning her against it spurred her arousal. She didn’t know what it was
about him, about them together, that created these reckless and borderline
violent moments, but she reveled in the collisions. All those years of correct
behavior, following the rules, being completely in control were swept away by
his hands, his mouth, the press of his body on hers. The past, the future and
even the dangers of the present seemed far away and unimportant in the face of
their connection.

No one had ever made her this mindless and no one else ever
could. Tory was the only man who had inspired passion in her and the only one
who could rip away her control. Some of her response was rooted in her anger at
him and at herself for the years they’d been apart. The fact that another woman
might have tasted this, could have been in his arms, made her wild. In concert
with her thoughts, she struggled against him, straining to get closer, yet
fighting to get away from him.

He growled, his mouth pressed to the sensitive skin under
her ear, and tightened his hold, refusing to give her any space at all.

It was his mouth on her neck that sent her spiraling into an
orgasm. He sucked the taut flesh there and she convulsed around his fingers,
stars floating behind her eyelids.

Chapter Nine

The feel of her pussy, hot and tight, almost made Tory spill
his cum all over himself. Stars, she smelled so fucking good. He marked her
with his mouth, sucking on her neck. She gushed her release on his fingers and
he slid them out to taste her. Her hot breath blew out as she watched him lick
every drop of her cum from his fingers.

She arched her back and rubbed her slit along his cock,
making him gasp. He resisted, his cock throbbing and desperate, while she
tempted him, dared him to slam inside her. She was so strong. Her hands gripped
his hair and she pressed closer to him, her heels digging into his back, urging
him to take her.

For a moment, he just stared. Her brown hair framed her face
like brown silk, her eyes, lit with desire, were golden and her skin flushed an
enticing pink. The mark on her neck was already a dark red and gave him a
primal sense of satisfaction. She was his. She belonged to him.

He grabbed her hands out of his hair and slammed them over
her head. His body pinned her to the wall, his cock ready to complete them,
join them.

One hand encircled her wrists and his other hand captured the
soft flesh of her ass. She had no idea what he was capable of, what he wanted.
His fingers sought and found her anal entrance and circled it with a firm
touch. She didn’t tense, or try to pull away. Instead, she moaned and shifted
her hips to slide her wet pussy over his hard cock. God, she was all he ever
wanted or needed.

He slipped a thumb inside her ass slowly, so slowly. As he
did, he slammed his dick inside her pussy. She screamed and convulsed, her ass
and her pussy both squeezing him, tightening until he thought he wasn’t going
to last another second.

In perfect rhythm, he slid his thumb in her anus and held it
there, filling her, while he thrust his cock inside her pussy. He watched her
face, contorted in pleasure, her sweet lips parted and her eyes half closed.
His release pressured him, making his balls ache, but he didn’t want it to end.
He wanted to hold them both there, in the shimmering pleasure that blocked the
rest of the universe out.

She leaned forward and bit him on the neck, a low growl
vibrating from her throat, and he couldn’t hang on anymore. He pulled his thumb
out of her ass and lifted her legs until her thighs were on his hips and he
could drive deeper and harder inside her.
Mine. She’s mine
. His cum
gathered and exploded from him and his shout made his throat sore. Her
answering cry and the way her body curled around his extended his pleasure. He
moaned against her hair, irrevocable words hovering on the tip of his tongue.
His mate. His woman. His love.

But he didn’t say them. She still called these times
together “fucking”. She still questioned his commitment to their mating. She
wasn’t ready to hear that he had feelings for her, feelings that began when he
was a raw commander standing by her side, fighting a common enemy, and had
continued even in his exile. She’d never believe it and he couldn’t stand it if
she questioned it.

Instead, he murmured other words, expressions of desire. She
ran her hands along his shoulders and he stroked her back. They were intimately
connected and he didn’t want to let go. He kissed her, reveling in the small
sigh that escaped her lips as he did. It gave him hope that maybe she would
want more from him than the cold mating of the
Saria
. Maybe she would
see him as the comrade in arms they had once been.

Alarms screamed in the cabin and they broke apart. “Shit,”
he said. God damn it. He wanted more time.

She was in her uniform before he’d even had a chance to
start dressing. He couldn’t read her expression. Did she regret giving in? He
shook his head. There wasn’t enough time to convince her. He’d hoped three
months would give him a chance to earn her trust, but they didn’t have three
months. If his sources on Teran One were correct, they didn’t even have three
days before the bond between Alex and him was tested.

He grabbed her arm and whipped her into his embrace. He
kissed her with all his pent-up emotion, knowing she wouldn’t understand but
needing to touch her.

Then, he broke the kiss and stepped toward the cockpit. He
glanced back and she stood frozen, two fingers on her lips.

When he entered the cockpit and saw what they faced, his
stomach rolled. A Teran One Dar Fighter had found them and was demanding
credentials. The window to land on Ardasia was only minutes away. How could he
stall?

Before he could do anything, another voice broke in. “This
is Ardasia space. State your business, Teran One Fighter.” Ah, Ardasians didn’t
like interference from alien law enforcement.

“They are flying a Teran One vessel. It falls under our
jurisdiction.”

“You are incorrect,” the Ardasian communications stated.
“This shuttle is scheduled to land in ten minutes. Do you have a Teran
warrant?”

Of course they didn’t. That would require a lengthy process.
“We believe this shuttle is involved in the robbery of highly classified items
taken by Commander Tory Ingle.”

“Unless you have a warrant to prove your accusations, you
must respect Ardasian space.”

Silence.

The fighter’s engines fired up and flashed as it veered off
into space. Tory followed the blip on the screen representing the fighter as it
disappeared. “We won’t have long.”

“Maybe we should just go back to the ship,” Alex said, a
wrinkle on her forehead.

“No. I need to see Kera.” He wanted to bite his tongue. Kera
had started the whole argument earlier.

Alex stared at him. “Why? What’s so important about this
woman?”

“She’s a seer, someone who has visions of the future.
There’s only a handful of Ardasians who have clear visions, though many have
sporadic glimpses of the future.” He didn’t say more about Kera. Alex couldn’t
be more mistaken about Kera’s relationship to him, but he didn’t think she’d
believe him if he explained. “The Ardasian government has authorized Kera to
speak to us.” He met Alex’s direct stare. “That’s rare.”