Hyperspeed Dreams by Anna Carven

Chapter Nineteen

Lodan tookher away from the med-bay; away from the strange doctor and the highly amused Nythian.

He led her down dark, winding corridors; through the heart of the mysterious ship called Silence, which was now perfectly silent.

Tasha found the quiet and the darkness soothing—the perfect antidote to her simmering anger. On Earth, she’d spent so many nights alone; in the cold, in the deep of night, scoping out locations or stalking her targets.

She didn’t mind the darkness at all.

She was used to it.

And Lodan didn’t feel the need to fill the empty space with meaningless chatter or pleasantries. He didn’t ask her pointless questions. He didn’t give her shit about her ridiculous predicament.

Neither did he insist on wrapping her up in cotton wool. He didn’t insist that she go off and spend time with her humans—if she were anyone else, she would probably have appreciated it, but she didn’t want them to see her like this.

She’d catch up with them eventually and make things right.

But not now.

Not until she sorted herself out.

Lodan led her into a vast, cavernous space that was surprisingly well lit. Tasha blinked as her eyes adjusted to the bright light that radiated from diffuse points in the ceiling—light so bright it could have passed for daylight.

It caught the edges of Lodan’s elegant features, burnishing his silver skin. His moonlight-pale hair shimmered. Flecks of tawny brown danced in his amber eyes. She really should stop staring at him like this. How could she let him distract her like this?

“This is the training chamber,” he said softly as he turned to face her.

Tasha’s breath caught. She forced her body to relax as she took in his powerful form. Those loose, flowing robes of his couldn’t hide the chiseled planes of his body; the quiet gracefulness of his stance, spring-taut yet relaxed, gentle yet watchful, his presence triggering every single danger-sense Tasha possessed.

“I’d be lying if I told you I understand why you’ve brought me here,” she replied carefully, poised on the balls of her feet, her body tensed and ready.

For what?

She really didn’t know.

“Somehow, your ship malfunctions at precisely the same time that Zharek figures out what’s wrong with me, and yet he claims that even you mighty Kordolians—the most powerful civilization in the Universe… you don’t possess the means to cure me?”

“Just because we’re strong,” he said slowly; carefully, the words rolling off his tongue like droplets of molten silver, “doesn’t mean we know everything. If we did, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

“Situation?” Tasha folded her arms across her chest to hide her nipples, which had grown taut. She looked beyond Lodan, focusing on a subtle indentation in the obsidian wall behind him; a vain attempt to rein in the growing desire that threatened to consume every fiber of her being. “You are taking humans. My family. My sister. I don’t know what the fuck you’re trying to achieve by hiding in Earth’s orbit when you could take the planet any time you want, but if you…”

Harm my family.

Then what?

What?

She had nothing to threaten him with. She had no power here whatsoever. She was probably going to be dead in a couple of days.

Her roiling anger broke free; as if someone had flipped on a switch.

She couldn’t do a thing.

Trust him. Trust Alexis’s judgement. There’s a reason she’s still here. She isn’t stupid.

Don’t you dare. He’s going to use you and discard you like…

“Tasha.” Warm, strong hands landed on her shoulders, sending the twin dragons of fury and desire roaring through her.

When did he move?

Like a blur; a perfect silver-and-moonlight, fire-eyed blur.

Impossible.

Her pent-up anger exploded. She raised her arms in a vicious chop, striking his arms, freeing herself from his grasp.

He could have overpowered her; he could have insisted.

He didn’t.

He just kept looking at her, his expression deadly serious and terribly earnest.

What are you doing, Kordolian? Toying with me?

He stepped back; infuriatingly calm, his eyes full of secrets and understanding. With a tiny flick of his upturned fingers, he beckoned.

Come.

On the threshold of imploding, Tasha froze.

Come?

It was a warning… and an invitation.

Come.

Fight me.

She didn’t have to take him up on it…

But it was too irresistible.

Hewas too irresistible.

And the anger inside her had nowhere else to go.

You want to fight, alien? Then we’ll fight.

Whatever Zharek had injected her with had stopped the irritating tremors, allowing her to move fluidly again. Strength flowed back into her limbs, amplified by her rage.

He was at least twice as strong; of that she had no doubt, but Tasha had a few tricks up her sleeve. His effortless strength and skill were annoying. She could at least give him a surprise or two.

Tasha pretended to hesitate. She parted her lips ever so slightly and widened her eyes, putting on her best ingenue expression; the one she used when she wanted a man—or sometimes a woman—to lower their defenses… just before she shot them between the eyes.

Lodan blinked. It was so quick she almost didn’t catch it, but she saw a tremor course through his body, followed by an expression of complete shock that was quickly hidden.

Then he almost smiled. She caught a subtle curl of the lip; a whisper of a glimpse of gleaming fang.

His shoulders and arms were relaxed, but down there, beneath the silken folds of his loose trousers…

Damn alien.

He had a fucking hard-on.

Oh, that does it. What the hell do you think you’re doing, you cocky bastard?

Here she was, trying to process her irrational anger and her life-threatening substance withdrawals and the fact that she was on an alien warship in the middle of space with her family and…

This guy.

Tasha’s expression didn’t change one whit as she turned and delivered a vicious spinning kick to his pretty face.

Well, she tried. The bastard dodged. Her foot met cold air.

She dropped down and tried a low kick, aiming to sweep his feet out from under him.

He simply jumped.

Tasha snorted. Clearly, he wasn’t going to make it easy for her this time.

In terms of sheer speed and strength, he surpassed her.

She had no advantage here.

Think.

She pressed forward, delivering a swift flurry of blows to his torso, all of which were blocked by his skillful hands.

He didn’t counterstrike; he simply defended—too easily. But to her surprise, his expression wasn’t cocky or mocking or superior.

Lodan sustained each of her blows with just the right amount of force, absorbing her anger until Tasha was spent enough that rage no longer clouded her thoughts.

Fighting him was intoxicating. Maybe it was because she knew he could withstand her, no matter what she threw at him.

Maybe it was because she was flirting with the edge of danger; he could so easily fight back and destroy her, but he didn’t.

You don’t have any advantage here. He’s toying with you. You can’t do a thing to…

Wait.

She knew how to destabilize him.

She’d just done it.

It’s dirty, but when have you ever let that stop you?

Mid-kick, Tasha stopped and lowered her leg. She pretended to be a little more tired than she actually was. It wasn’t hard… to act breathless and flustered.

His eyes widened a fraction. A look of concern flickered across his sharp features. Concern? For me? It was actually kind of… endearing.

With the exception of her family, nobody had ever worried about her like that.

She held his gaze as her heart pounded like a drum. She parted her lips. She took a deep breath and exhaled, her breath leaving her lips as a long, shuddering sigh, injected with just a hint of a throaty moan.

That wasn’t hard to fake at all.

Maybe it wasn’t fake.

Lodan stiffened.

“It’s getting a little warm in here,” she said softly, and those words weren’t difficult to utter either, even though they sounded like a cliche from a bad romance movie.

Her Praetorian minders had let her watch certain holo-films on occasion. She’d liked the cheesy romance ones, because they were so far removed from anything else she knew.

The anger was still there, but her desire swirled around it, threatening to take over.

Imitating her favorite holo-rom heroine, she looked him up and down, drinking in his striking features—sharp cheekbones, straight nose, angular jaw; almost delicate, offset by those full, luscious lips, which looked like they belonged on some ancient cherubic-looking Greek sculpture.

She took in his broad shoulders; his powerful, sculpted arms, the honed perfection of his torso.

His goddamn bulge…

It wasn’t hard to pretend to act smitten.

It wasn’t a fucking act.

Tasha crossed her arms and grabbed the edges of her top. She pulled it up over her head, revealing her scar-marked belly. Underneath, she wore nothing but a seamless tan-colored bra.

Her skin was covered in a faint sheen of sweat. She wasn’t going to lie; Lodan was an opponent unlike any she’d ever seen. He made her work hard.

Any trace of her little ingenue act was gone.

Glaring defiantly at him, she tossed her top to the floor just in time to see him almost choke.

Ha!

His lips parted.

She caught a flash of his gleaming white fangs.

A low, rumbling sound emanated from his throat.

He looked a little… dumbstruck.

Got you.

Tasha danced inside his reach and delivered a jaw-shattering punch to his face.

This time, he didn’t dodge. He didn’t block. He just stared at her in wonder as her metal-reinforced knuckles connected with the side of his face, smashing through skin and connective tissue and bone.

Connecting.

Breakingbone.

Crack.

Something went out of her then. It was as if a large chunk of her anger had been sucked out with that blow.

Most people would have reeled back or fallen to the floor, knocked unconscious.

But Lodan wasn’t most people.

He simply tipped his head and smiled.

Tasha watched in horrified fascination as the distorted outline of his broken jaw shifted beneath his skin, accompanied by a swarm of black… stuff.

Beneath his skin, the bone knitted back together, returning his jawline to its once-perfect state.

Lodan rubbed the area with his fingers and gave her a wry look. “Better than most,” he taunted, “but you still hit like a human.”

“Like a human…” Tasha growled. “What do you mean by that?”

He opened his mouth to say something, but she didn’t wait for an answer. Now that it had been unleashed, her anger became a wild thing; a torrent she couldn’t control.

The intensity of it surprised her.

It was years.

Years of hidden pain; of forced control.

Years lost.

Years of being denied an existence… as a human.

Hit like a human? Is there something wrong with that? Fuck you, Kordolian. I want to be human.

Just human. That was enough.

Tasha surged forward, hitting Lodan with every ounce of speed and power she possessed. Her senses sharpened. She found unexpected strength. Her attack-combinations came together with perfect accuracy. He blocked all of them, of course, but she didn’t care.

Their fight spun into minutes, then tens of minutes, then half of an hour… or was it an hour now?

She didn’t know anymore.

She’d lost track of time.

Sweat ran down her face; down her neck and her chest, soaking into the skintight material of her bra.

Her blows became harder and harder. Sometimes, she broke bones, but Lodan just ignored his injuries, his freakish healing ability kicking in each and every time.

Once, she snapped the radius and ulna in his left arm, leaving it bent at a gruesome angle, shards of broken bone piercing through his silver skin, rivulets of black blood flowing down his forearm.

The crazy bastard just ignored it.

It healed, of course.

If he were human, he would have been dead a hundred times over by now.

But he just kept going.

They settled into a rhythm; she the aggressor, he the defender. He didn’t smirk or taunt anymore. His expression was perfectly serious, sometimes laced with a hint of what must be excruciating pain.

Nobody had ever fought her like this.

Not a single person on Earth that could match her like this, let alone defeat her.

Slowly, almost imperceptibly at first, the impossible happened.

The destructive anger flowed out of her, and Lodan absorbed it—all of it.

Anger turned into something else.

For the first time in longer than she could remember, Tasha started to feel…

Free.

She kicked, spun, punched, kneed, smashed… again and again and again.

Fatigue crept in, bit-by-bit, making her movements just a little slower; a little less savage. Even her legendary stamina was no match for this Kordolian warrior’s endless strength.

She could catch him off-guard; she could distract him, she could make him lose focus and force him to concentrate intensely on her movements, but she couldn’t beat him.

He was from another dimension. He shouldn’t even exist.

What the hell are you, really?

She threw a thunderous fist at his face, but her timing was off, and he dodged easily—too easily. It was the first time she’d gotten sloppy. She was starting to tire. Her breathing was rapid and shallow. It felt like there were weights attached to her arms and legs.

Can’t stop.

Why not?

As her anger evaporated, it was replaced with…

A fluttering heartbeat.

A not-unpleasant clenching of her insides.

A slow-burning throb in her clit.

His scent invaded her awareness. She drowned in his patient, amber-eyed stare. She began to lose herself…

Strike by sloppy strike, until she was running on nothing but the fumes of her spent anger and the promise of something that was completely incomprehensible to her hard, fear-shaped mind.

Until he decided that he’d had enough.

She aimed for his chin with a vicious kick…

And stopped.

Because his hands were on her thigh, surrounding her leg in an iron hold. Suddenly, he pulled her savagely toward him.

He drew her into a tight embrace, her left leg resting halfway up, curling across his hip as if they were locked in some sort of passionate dance.

Tasha’s chest heaved up and down. Her body wanted to smash something—the reaction a hair-trigger reflex; so automatic she could barely control herself.

But somehow, she did control herself—just.

“Enough,” Lodan rumbled. He pulled her closer until she was pressed up against his hard torso.

He wasn’t even breathing hard.

He hadn’t even broken a sweat. Did Kordolians sweat?

Tasha stared up at him in shock. “What are you doing?”

“Better?” he asked, with a slight raise of his left eyebrow.

“Yeah… a little,” she admitted grudgingly. She couldn’t lie. Not when she’d just thrown everything but the kitchen sink at him. Not when he was so close that she could feel the slow, steady rhythm of his heart. Unable to help herself, she placed her left hand on his chest, her fingers crawling across the vee of bare silver skin that lay between the folds of his robes.

Ba-bump. Ba-bump.

He’d just fought her until she was exhausted, and he wasn’t even breathing hard. His heartbeat was irritatingly slow and steady, in complete contrast to her rapid staccato.

“You’re a monster,” she said softly, shaking her head in disbelief.

Lodan leaned in until their lips were almost touching. “Clearly, you aren’t afraid of monsters.”

“Should I be?” Tasha leaned back a fraction, resisting him.

“I think you’ve seen enough monsters in your lifetime to know the difference between them,” he murmured, his right hand searching for—and finding—hers.

Tasha didn’t resist. She let him curl his long, elegant fingers around hers.

The gentleness of his touch startled the hell out of her.

They’d gone from brutal violence to fraught tenderness in a heartbeat.

His heat radiated through her.

His scent drove her from madness to glorious insanity.

This shouldn’t be happening. It really shouldn’t.

“I know the difference,” Tasha whispered, returning his gentle touch with a firm grip—as if she were holding onto the edge of the world. “There are the ones I can kill, and the ones I can’t.”

“You really don’t have to try and kill me all the time,” he said, his voice deceptively light. “I won’t bite… unless that’s what you want.”

Bite? Sweet stars…

“I wasn’t trying to kill you,” she growled. “You provoked me. I don’t know why.” Her anger started to rise again. “Why are you toying with me?”

“I don’t toy.” His fingers slid around her wrist, restraining her. His other hand went to the small of her back. “I’m perfectly serious.” His voice became low and soft; dangerous.

“You’re manipulating me,” Tasha stated flatly. “Using my vulnerable state and my emotional weakness against me. For what, I don’t know. If it’s to get into the Praetorian, then it’s not necessary. If your aim is to destroy them, then I’ll gladly tell you everything I know. If you’re just trying to fuck me, then you can drop the pretense. It’s not like I’ve ever had any choice in that, anyway.”

The problem was, she actually found him incredibly attractive.

Her damn body couldn’t lie.

She just didn’t trust him.

Lodan went very, very still.

The fire in his eyes went out, replaced with an expression that was completely flat and devoid of emotion.

It was the coldest she’d ever seen him--or anyone—look.

As if the moon had just blotted out the sun forever.

A chill ran through her, in spite of the sheer heat radiating from his damn chiseled, powerful, perfectly-molded-against-hers body.

I’m dead.

At least it was in the arms of a totally hot alien elf-warrior. There were far worse ways to die.

Lodan’s hand found the back of her neck. His long fingers traced across her bare skin, then danced up the back of her scalp, threading through her sweat-dampened hair.

He leaned in, pressing his cheek against hers until his lips were almost grazing her earlobe.

She felt the warm caress of his breath.

She felt the dark force of his anger. It wasn’t just her fevered imagination; she could really feel it—a crackling, malevolent wave of anger.

His killing intent washed over her, obliterating the last of her defenses.

“Don’t you ever speak of such things so flippantly,” he said softly, every word laced with the promise of certain death. “That someone has done such a thing to you…” A tremor went through him. “Unacceptable.”

He went unnaturally still. No human could have ever held her like this.

That’s when she understood. He wasn’t angry at her, he was angry at the people that had done this to her.

The Praetorian.

Gage.

Maximilian Fon-fucking-seca.

Nobody had ever been angry like this… because of something that had been done to her.

But he was.

He was scarily livid.

All this… for me?

Tasha’s anger dissipated, turning into a mess of sadness, confusion… and relief.

“It is unacceptable,” Tasha said quietly as a strange pressure entered her chest; like someone was squeezing her heart in their fist, “but it happens all the time in the real world. I’m sure some have had it a lot worse than me.” The tension flowed out of her body. She closed her eyes and leaned into him. “I… I’m sorry for doubting your motives. I was taught to be suspicious of everything and everyone, and it’s fucked me up. I’m fucked up.” The funny thing was, she could go and carry out a mission right now; she could kill a target without batting an eyelid, but when it came to this stuff…

She was completely useless.

Like a confused, hormonal teenager.

Lodan gently stroked her hair. The gesture made her feel like they’d known each other for a very long time. “Tasha. I’ve seen you. I know what you are. Believe me, you are not…fucked up, as you say.” His fingers traced down the side of her face; down her neck, over her shoulders, her arms, passing over the lines of her interface seams. He ran his hands down her back, around her waist, one hand coming to rest on the curve of her hip, the other on the small of her back. A deep, appreciative rumble reverberated through his chest. “You are very beautiful.”

Huh.People did not call her beautiful.

Tasha’s breath caught.

Her insides turned into warm jelly.

Her arousal returned, a hundred times more potent than before.

“You were right to goad me into a fight,” she admitted grudgingly. “It helped. I don’t feel so wound up and horrible anymore. I don’t know why I was getting so angry. Must be the withdrawals.” She shook her head. “But am I that easy to read?”

“No. I’ve just been watching you very closely. Sometimes I pick up on things that others miss.” Lodan slid his arms around her waist and pulled back so they were face to face.

But he didn’t release her.

He moved; slowly, deliberately, sensuously, shifting position ever so slightly.

And Tasha became aware of his hardness pressing against her lower belly.

She became aware of his lush, slightly-parted lips; his glittering fangs, his amber gaze—which had gone from arctic fury to pure molten desire.

She saw the silent plea in his expression.

The barely restrained desperation.

“It is… your choice,” he rasped.

“You…” She stared back at him in astonishment.

He’d fought her and won, cementing his superiority without a shadow of a doubt.

Now he surrendered.

He was hers for the taking…

And those perfect lips of his were too damn tempting.

What would it be like to… taste him; to kiss him?

Her heart hammered.

Her body was on fire.

Everything became hyper-real and a thousand times more intense. The bright lights danced and shimmered across his impossible skin. Her breathing was a throaty rasp in her own ears. Her once-dulled nerve-endings were on fire—in a good way.

But just as she leaned forward, the wall of ice came up in her mind.

She froze.

Don’t…

Why not?

She knew what was happening, and yet she couldn’t stop it. Her body was reacting to the fear-conditioning. It was out of her control.

No.It’s not.

You’re in control now…

Tasha closed her eyes and leaned forward.

Her lips met his.

She tasted light and darkness.

She felt his soft, delicious warmth.

She’d never known anything so good.

The wall of ice shattered.

He yielded to her. She kissed him again and again, taking her fill like a parched woman in the desert. His fingers curled possessively along the edge of her jaw as he tilted her face toward him.

Tasha couldn’t stop kissing him. The more she took, the more she wanted.

His hard, powerful body pressed against hers. The thin fabric of his robes and trousers was a maddening barrier, separating her from his nakedness.

She needed to see him naked.

Those damn clothes.

Tasha wanted them gone.

Screw it.

Tasha grabbed the edges of his robe and tore them apart, frantically ripping the silken material away from his body. With a gasp, she broke away from his kiss and glanced down.

She was rewarded with the sight of his honed silver torso, all rippling muscles and chiseled planes.

She’d never seen anything like it.

The sight of him made her want to…

I don’t even know anymore.

All she knew was that her entire body was on fire, and she wanted him.

That was all.

She took a deep, shuddering breath and looked down, taking in his obvious erection. Why was he still wearing pants? With a soft growl, she grabbed the silken ties at his waist and pulled them apart.

She tore his pants away. There was a faint noise: riiip.

Oops.

Didn’t matter, because now he was buck naked.

A low, throaty moan escaped her lips as Tasha caught sight of his cock, which was hard-as-fuck. A raised ridge ran down its entire length. Its tip glistened with moisture.

He looked strained; ready.

How long had he been like this; aroused to the hilt and yet holding back… for her sake?

It didn’t matter anymore.

Tasha growled and slammed her hands onto his chest. She pushed him back, back, back… until he was pressed up against the wall, where the harsh lighting wasn’t quite as intense.

Lodan’s eyebrows rose. He let out a deep rumble of approval. One corner of his lips quirked upward in heat-filled amusement.

Wicked man.

Tasha had never seen anything quite so delicious in her life.

The sight of his erection drove her insane.

Tasha pressed her body against his and swayed her hips, deliberately exerting pressure against his cock. Her nipples were taut and ultra-sensitive. Suddenly, she needed to feel them against his bare skin.

Lodan seemed to read her mind, because all of a sudden, he was tugging on the fastenings at the back, and when he couldn’t figure them out, she heard a faint rip, and suddenly her bra fell away, leaving her breasts exposed.

His hands curled around her breasts, his thumbs finding their way to her nipples, stroking them gently, sending another explosion of sensation through her wound-up body.

She curled one leg around him and kissed him again.

This time, he responded with force, his lips demanding and insistent, his tongue hot and probing, his hands running up and down her torso, caressing her bare skin, dancing across her many scars—some from battle, some from experimental surgery.

They didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest.

But then he stopped and went very, very still.

His aura was loaded with heat and danger.

“What?” she whispered, her voice cracking.

“Why are you still wearing pants?” he growled.

Oh.

Tasha nearly collapsed in a flaming heap.

She tugged down her stretchy tights and her underwear and stepped out of the damn things, kicking them away. “Happy now?”

“Beyond.” His eyes roamed up and down, taking in every inch of her body. Then he curled his arm around her waist. His fangs flashed dangerously. “Come here.”

Tasha barely heard him, because she was already curling her leg around him, breathing hard and fast.

Tasha took his cock into her hand and stroked him.

Lodan closed his eyes and let out a spine-tingling growl.

She wanted him.

So badly.

Unable to hold back any longer, she guided him toward her entrance, which was slick with arousal.

“Tasha.”Lodan whispered her name as he slowly eased inside her, stretching her with his massive length. The ridge of his cock was blissful pressure against her clit, sliding forward, causing her to go weak at the knees with sheer pleasure.

He buried himself to the hilt inside her, and it was the most glorious thing she’d ever known.

At last, he took control.

Lodan slid his hands up the backs of her thighs, up her ass. “Up,” he growled, and Tasha immediately understood. She curled both legs around his torso and wrapped her arms around his neck. His hands were under her ass; her thighs, supporting her as he slowly spun around until her back was against the wall.

Then, as he stared down into her eyes, he started to fuck her; slowly, deliberately, each movement causing his ridge to slide along her clit, pushing her into a state of mindless bliss.

Now he was in control… well, mostly.

Tasha moved with his rhythm, sliding her hands up the back of his neck, threading her fingers into his hair. She let out a soft whimper as he moved faster, thrusting harder, his movements becoming wild and frantic.

He kissed her neck.

His lips were molten bliss.

He fucked her harder.

The sharp points of his fangs grazed her neck.

He bit, and growled deeply.

He actually bit her.

Pain mingled with arousal, driving her wild. Her fingers curled into the smooth skin of his back. Her nails dug in, drawing blood.

His fingers threaded through her hair, down her neck, her back, over her ass. He held her tightly, pressing her back against the wall.

Kissing her.

Tasting her.

Each and every time he thrust into her, he took her higher, sending her into a mindless frenzy.

Each time she felt a new burst of pleasure, her mind was blown, because she hadn’t known that this kind of pleasure could exist.

The pain in her neck, just above her collarbone, subsided into a warm, glowing ache. It occurred to her that his teeth were still stuck in her damn neck.

Didn’t matter.

It felt good.

Hefelt good.

And she was being wound tighter and tighter, tension spooling in her core, drawing her closer and closer to the edge of…

She screamed.

Dug her hands into his back.

Oh, what the fuck? What is this?

Wave after wave of pleasure hit her, turning her into a boneless, mewling mess. She screamed in agony and euphoria and pure bliss. She knew nothing but him—his feverish cries, his hands all over her, his hot body pressed against hers, his probing mouth, which had pulled free of her neck, only to crush against her lips in a fierce, demanding kiss.

He came.

Shecame, again and again, her entire body tensing, her legs curling around him with impossible force. Then, all the strength flowed out of her as she was pulled into his powerful undertow.

He held her until the last of the climax shuddered through both of them; until there was nothing but the rasp of their breathing and the slow writhing of their bodies, in perfect sync.

At last, Tasha had her enough of her wits about her to find her tongue. “What the hell just happened?” she sighed, slumping against Lodan as he gently set her on her feet.

He kissed her on the lips and gave her a look that could have melted the coldest distant planet. “I claimed you,” he murmured, his lips curving into a small, mischievous smile.

Tasha’s legs quivered. She could barely stand. Damn you, Lodan. “Don’t get too full of yourself, Kordolian. I think all the blood must have drained from your head, because you seem to have trouble remembering who claimed who.”

He chuckled. “If you say so. Better now, Tasha?”

“You’re insane.” Tasha laughed; she couldn’t help it. It was joy and relief and disbelief all rolled up into one.

The sound of her own laughter surprised her. She thought she’d forgotten how to do that.

But Lodan was right. She did feel better. “You… you did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

“Did what?” He raised one eyebrow in a mock-innocent look. Tasha melted all over again. Warmth surged through her. Sweet stars. He was still inside her!

“Got me to fight… then tempted me,” she growled. “You took a calculated risk. You knew how to get to me… to get me to…” Fucking word salad. She was barely making sense anymore. His damn face was so distracting.

How the hell did he do this to her?

Lodan kissed her again. “Believe me, nothing about that was calculated. You have no idea how much you’ve disorganized me. I’ve been lusting after you ever since…”

“Ever since what?”

“Ever since you kneed me in the balls, I think.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Are you trying to be funny, Lodan?”

“With you? I would never joke about such things. When it comes to you, I am deadly serious.” His smile evaporated, replaced with a look that was pure heat encased in ice. Slowly, gently, he withdrew from her, leaving lingering warmth between her thighs. “I won’t betray you, Tasha. Not now, not ever.”

This guy…

He was too good to be true.

And she’d already fallen under his spell.

So fast. Blink and you could have missed it.

How the hell did that happen?

She knew why.

It was because he could have hit her back at any time. He could have humiliated her. For Lodan, with his unnatural alien strength, it would have been so easy.

But he hadn’t.

He’d been tough when he needed to and soft when she’d least expected it.

He’d waited for her to come to him.

Damn pilot. It almost felt like he’d planned this exact route, then executed it to perfection.

But she couldn’t forget the wildness in his eyes; the way his control had shattered.

He hadn’t planned this at all.

It just was.

Tasha hooked her arm around his neck and leaned in, savoring his scent, hardly believing that this beautiful, lethal creature had just done all of that… for her.

She became aware of a throbbing, pleasant ache at the base of her neck.

Oh.

That.

Tasha’s fingers flew up to the tiny puncture marks where his fangs had broken her skin. Yep, he’d bitten her, all right. “You told me you wouldn’t bite,” she grumbled as another bolt of arousal shot through her. “You… you bit me.”

“I said I wouldn’t bite unless you wanted it.” Lodan’s über-serious look turned into a mischievous smirk. “Clearly, you wanted it.”

“Smartass,” Tasha sniped. A flush spread up her neck and into her cheeks.

Seriously?What the hell is this?

She never blushed.

“I bit you,” he agreed. “I couldn’t help myself. You’re just too tempting.”

“No human would have the balls to call me tempting,” Tasha said dryly, unable to spread the smile that curved her lips. Really, this male was ridiculous. Tempting? Her?

“Well, you are.” In a snap, Lodan was serious again, in that golden-eyed, super-intense way of his. “You wear my mark now, Tasha. Every male on this ship will know that you are mine, and nobody will dare touch you, because I am not the kind of Kordolian that other Kordolians mess with.”

“I sort-of figured that.”

He took her hands into his, gently caressing the calluses on her fingers. “The humans that harmed you… I am going to annihilate each and every one of them.” His voice hitched then, snagging on some powerful emotion. “As for the one that took away your innocence… the darkest ring of the Nine Hells is already reserved for him, because when I catch him, I’m going to tear the beating heart right out of his chest and devour it.”

Tasha ran her fingers over his fingers, exploring his calluses. In many ways they were similar; both warriors, both forged by brutal training. “You’re going to take revenge on my behalf?”

“How could I not?”

Tasha curled her fingers around his, tightening her grip. “Well, maybe I want to kill him myself.”

Lodan laughed; a deep, rumbling sound that was full of warmth and tenderness and affection. Only he could laugh at something like that. “This might be the only time I ever cede blood-revenge to another. You are a good match for me, Tasha of Earth.”

“I suppose I could get used to you. Hate to admit it, but Alexis was right. You aren’t half as bad as you look.”

His fangs flashed. “Only for you, my love.”

My love.

Why did her heart skip a beat just now?

Lodan stroked her cheek, pushing aside a stray lock of hair. “But first, we need to get you right. Don’t worry. We’ll get you off this drug, and then… you can take whatever revenge you please, and I’ll be behind you every step of the way.”