Coletti Warlords: Just Desserts (2 page)

I felt his disappointment.
“Find?”

“Not now. Bree’s bonding ceremony is about to start.”

“Find Haki,”
Thor demanded.

Talree, the love of my life, slid into my mind and stated firmly,
“No, and you will not kick your mother again.”

“Find later?”

“If you behave,”
I added, rubbing my aching back.

“’Kay.”
He moved off my bladder.

I let out a sigh of relief.

Talree teleported into the room. He took my arm, escorted me over to the tables, and eased me down on a low chair. “You are not to move from here. My mother and Zoey are quite capable of handling the ceremony.”

“They are, but—”

“Kaylee, in this, I will be obeyed.”

“As you command, my lord,” I snapped. My temper had been a bit iffy lately, and even seasoned warriors ran when they saw me coming. It wasn’t like I had killed anyone. Okay, it had been close a couple of times. I didn’t have red hair for nothing.

A piece of chocolate appeared like magic.

“Eat,” Talree ordered.

“I love you.” I stuffed the candy in my mouth and groaned as the chocolaty goodness hit my taste buds. My mate was a very smart man and one of the fiercest warriors in the galaxy. He had never been defeated in battle. A trait he shared with his father. He was also a stud muffin. His massive frame was loaded with luscious muscles and one tight ass.

My Warlord raised an amused brow. “Stud muffin?”

I patted Talree’s butt. “Yep, and all mine.”

He placed a possessive hand on my stomach. “As you are mine.”

Zarek popped in on the raised platform at the front of the room. He wore an etched gold headband that denoted his rank of Overlord. Golden strands were woven into his gray warrior’s braids. His black dress tunic displayed the bulging muscles of a much younger man. His gaze scanned the room before settling on me.
“Your time grows near.”

“Can’t be soon enough.”

“Me want out,”
Thor said. A tiny fist distended my belly.

“Thor.”
Talree’s mental voice was a low rumble of warning.

My son’s fist quickly disappeared.

Hank Benson, Bree’s stepfather, escorted Detja into the room. Hank was a big, good-looking man who bore a startling resemblance to the actor Kevin Costner.

I did a double take. Rami, the Shani that Bree had adopted, was draped around Detja’s neck like a rather expensive necklace. I was kind of surprised the Overlord would allow it. The Shani Queen Mother was a sworn enemy of the Colettis. I’d be a bit leery of having those sharp crocodile teeth anywhere near my neck.

My mother-in-law didn’t seem to be worried as she took the chair at the head of the table. In fact, everything about her was perfect. She had skin to die for and long, beautiful silver hair that emphasized her high, exotic cheekbones. The silky green material of her tunic accented her great figure. I’ll bet she didn’t even have any stretch marks either.

Trailing obediently behind Detja was another new addition to the Overlord’s collection. A Pantos. Tiko was the spitting image of a saber-toothed tiger from Earth’s distant past. With two big differences. She was extremely intelligent and psychic to boot. She sat by Detja, proudly showing off her glittering collar.

Hank took the seat next to me. He inclined his head at Talree. “I will guard your mate with my life.”

“Hey, I can take care of myself,” I protested.

Hank patted my hand. “I have no doubt of that.”

Was he patronizing me? “And who would be stupid enough to attack this ship?”

“The Colettis have many enemies,” Hank answered calmly and handed me a piece of chocolate.

“Bribery?”

“Peace offering,” Hank countered.

Unwrapping the candy, I took a bite. Yum. “I think I like you.”

“Good. I need to retrieve my battle-ax,” Talree said. He planted a hot one on my mouth and vanished.

Talree already wore enough weapons to start a war, but custom dictated he carry the stupid ax. I looked around. Where the heck were Bree and Jaylan? I turned my attention to Hank. “Your daughter is late.”

Hank shrugged. “Any chance they get, they go at it like rabbits.”

“Detja will put the kibosh on that. Nobody messes with her schedule.”

Hank laughed. “Not unless you have a death wish.” His gaze settled on my right hand. A black snake stretched from below my fingers to the top of my forearm. An intricate green design curled up its tail. “The artwork on your tattoo is quite unique.”

I stroked the cobra-like head. “It’s one of a kind.” Something fell on my head, and furry legs scurried down the side of my face. “Hey!”

“Haki.”
Thor chortled.

Scooping the baby Tabor up, I placed him on my stomach.
“You know you’re not supposed to be here.”

His emerald eyes blinked innocently.
“Me have permission.”

“Uh-huh.”

Hank ran a gentle finger over Haki.
“Who is this little fella?”

“This is Haki. My son’s special friend.”

The baby Tabor stared up at him.
“You belong to Bree?”

“I do.”

Sariel, the Askole High Commander, strode into the room with his bodyguards hot on his heels. He gave me a regal bow.
“Little mother, Tihar sends his regrets.”

Tihar, the commander’s son and the one who had given me my swell tattoo, was busy blowing the hell out of a rebel base.
“We are honored by your presence. The war goes well?”

“It does.”
He settled his massive form on one of the pillows.

I let out a sigh of relief when Jaylan and Bree finally made their appearance. Another five minutes and Zarek would have been on the warpath.

“Zarek sure has a lot of muscles for an old guy,”
Bree mused nervously.

Oh my God, did Bree realize she was broadcasting her thoughts?

The Overlord’s amused voice repeated,
“Old guy?”

“No insult intended, sir.”
Bree added hurriedly,
“I’m sure you can still kick butt with the best of them.”

Jaylan extolled,
“The Overlord has never been defeated in battle.”

“Oh, how proud you must be,”
Bree responded politely.

Talree reappeared with a bloody battle-ax clasped in his left hand. He bared his fangs at Bree.

With a yelp of alarm, Bree glued herself to Jaylan’s side.

Talree did have menacing down to an art form.

Immense power rippled around the room. The next instant, Voss teleported in. The Battle Commander gave Zarek a run for his money in the scary department. He handed Bree a piece of chocolate. “Eat it, before I have to lop off your head.”

Bree took one look at his huge, bloodstained battle-ax and quickly popped the candy in her mouth.

Jaylan urged her toward the platform.

“Wait! Something’s wrong!” Bree cried.

The sensation of sudden overwhelming danger screamed through me like an electric shock. I jumped to my feet. “We’re under attack.”

The ship shuddered violently, knocking me against the table.

A mechanical voice declared, “Warning! Hull breach in cargo bay two.”

“Guard our females,” Zarek commanded Talree. And then poof. He was gone.

Her eyes hot with rage, Detja dropped Rami on the table and popped out.

“Madal!”
Tiko yowled, bounding out the door to find her son.

A scant second later, a ghostly curtain of roiling yellow energy erupted around my table.

“Scared!”
Haki cried and buried himself in my hair.

I studied the energy field in horror. I had never seen anything like it. It almost felt alive.

Bellowing in fury, Talree teleported.
Crack!
He instantly reappeared encased in a ball of pulsating energy.
Zap!
It flung him across the room.

Sariel grabbed Talree before he could slam into the wall.

Voss hurled his battle-ax at the energy barrier. It bounced off harmlessly.

Shit! We were trapped. A boiling gray vortex suddenly engulfed me. What in the hell?

“It’s the Queen Mother,”
Rami cried.

“Daddy help us,”
Thor called urgently.

“That evil bitch is not getting you or the kid.” Hank wrapped his arms around my chest and tried valiantly to pull me free of the churning funnel of energy. With a thunderous cracking
boom
, the room disappeared.

Chapter Two

Dim voices called to me. Pleaded with me to answer. Who? I struggled to open my eyes. My thoughts spun chaotically. Something bad had happened, but what? Where was Talree? He had been… Where? The ceremony! Hot. Why was it so freakin’ hot?

A baby Tabor chittered in alarm, and a sticky little tongue poked my eyelid.
“We scared. You not die.”

“Momma! Momma!”
a voice wailed in my head.

“Thor!”
Everything came crashing back, and I bolted upright with Haki clinging to my face. A shackle bit into my wrist, yanking me back down on a narrow metal bunk. Shit, we were in a cell, but where? The Queen Mother’s damn vortex could have taken us anywhere in the galaxy. I reached out mentally for Talree, but there was only a horrible, empty black void.

My heart skipped a beat.
“Talree?”

“They shot us up with Drakash,” Hank said from the opposite bunk. He had picked the lock on his cuff.

Relief flooded me. Right. The bad guys didn’t want me using my Siren abilities. One dose turned me into a normal human. Dammit. “Wait a minute. They?”

“The Tai-Kok are in cahoots with the Queen Bitch.”

“Big surprise. The bastards are still mad I captured one of their ships.”

Hank laughed grimly. “They do hold a grudge, but they made a fatal mistake in taking you.”

“Yep. Hell will soon be raining down on their asses.”

Little furry legs tickled my nose.

“I know you’re scared, Haki, but it’s kinda hard to breathe with you on my face.”

Haki reluctantly climbed into my hair.

Thor kicked wildly.
“Daddy gone!”

I stroked my belly soothingly.
“We’ve been drugged, honey. Until it wears off, we can’t talk with your father.”

“Want my daddy.”

“So do I, honey.”

A three-dimensional image of the bridge of a Tai-Kok ship appeared in midair. A Tai-Kok warrior with a metal Mohawk and red, spike-covered battle suit stepped into view. He quacked a string of gibberish. A long minute later, a harsh mechanical voice said, “Warlord, your mate and unborn child are our prisoners. You have three of your days to surrender the planet Tartum. If you refuse, we will feast on them, and you can watch every agonizing second of their deaths.”

“You fucking moron, the only ones dying are you!” I shouted, beyond pissed.

The Tai-Kok honked furiously, and the mechanical voice responded, “I will keep you alive long enough to watch your baby being eaten piece by piece.”

The long-range communications link distorted Talree’s voice. “Harm my mate or child, and I
will
destroy your worlds.”

When Talree got that malevolent tone in his voice, most sane folks would plead for mercy, but the Tai-Kok weren’t exactly the brightest bulbs in the universe.

Mohawk spat a series of weird honking quacks.

The translator said, “You are in no position to make threats, Warlord. Surrender Tartum, or they die.”

Point made. I called to Talree, “It’s okay, sweetie. We’ll find a way to escape.”

Clank.
The metal wall slowly rolled back to reveal a hellish landscape. My eyes widened in shock. Black rocks were cut by jagged cracks of boiling vermilion lava. Thick white plumes of deadly gas turned the sky an angry red. I flinched as flying blobs of molten rock splattered against the energy field. That explained the heat.

“There is no escape, human.”

“I will come for you, Kaylee,” Talree promised.

“I know.”

The Tai-Kok quacked again.

The mechanical translator stated, “You have your proof of life. Meet our demands, or they die.”

The image vanished.

Every inch a little warrior, Thor stated,
“Daddy kill them.”

“Yes, he will.”
I eyed the thick, oozing magma. “No way a ship can land in that.”

Hank stood. “The Queen Bitch ’ported us onto the Tai-Kok ship, and they used a transporter to bring us down here.”

“Great.” For the first time, I noticed the bruises decorating Hank’s face. “Looks like you gave them a fight.”

“They stunned you,” he snarled.

A tendril of horror crawled in my gut. “Those bastards could have killed my baby.”

Hank’s voice was low, bitter, and crackling with rage. “I tried to stop them from drugging you, but—”

I cut him off. “It’s not your fault. The Tai-Kok know what I’m capable of, and they wouldn’t take any chances.”

“Those fucking monsters plan on eating us, one way or another,” Hank said, picking the lock on my shackle.

The cuff popped off. Rubbing my aching wrist, I smiled my thanks. “Yep, we’re definitely on the dinner menu. We need to find a way out of this hellhole.”

“I managed to get a brief look at their long-range scanners, and we’re somewhere in the Aleutian star system.”

“You rock.” I plucked Haki from my hair.
“I need you to contact your mother.”

“Me try.”

“Tell Tae I’m pretty sure we’re on the planet Drago in the Aleutian system.”

“’Kay.”

The walls shook violently, and the floor buckled under our feet. I turned, and a jolt of raw fear froze me. Electric-orange geysers of magma shot into the air. Pinnacles of black rocks shifted, wobbling like loose teeth.

“Shit! The volcano is erupting.”

“That shield isn’t going to hold.” Hank quickly opened his belt, pulled out a blue ball of explosives, and placed small wads on the cell door.

God, did I need some chocolate.

“Me want to go home!”
Haki cried.

“Me too.”
I shrank back as lava blasted the fluctuating shield. If it fell, we’d be crispy critters.
“Did you tell your mother where we are?”