DarkRevenge (4 page)

Tears dripped from her chin and she could barely breathe.
Gasping, she tried to get air into her lungs. He dropped his fingers from her
pussy and his other hand left her breast.

She blinked, trying to focus. He licked his fingers clean
and a wicked gleam in his eye made her skin flush. “Very nice, Alex.”

That was it? He wasn’t going to—

“No, I’m not.” He grinned and she wanted to kill him, all
past desire wiped away.

Somehow she found her voice. “We aren’t mated until you do.”

“I’m going to let you stew a little longer.”

“You’re the one who will suffer. I had mine,” she said,
trying to infuse her voice with flippant sarcasm. She sounded breathy and needy
instead.

“Oh, yes, you did. And I enjoyed it,” he purred. “But I like
anticipation.”

She clenched her jaw to keep from screaming at him. But she
wasn’t sure if she would scream at him for keeping her captive or not fucking
her.

She was in big, big trouble.

He stepped away from her and pressed buttons on the console
in the wall. A dark screen dropped down between her and the door. “So no one
can see you when the door opens and closes.”

What was she supposed to say to that? Thank you? Alex stayed
silent. A few noises and beeps indicated he was still programming something.
Then, silence. He said, “If you need to relieve yourself, you’ll have to say it
out loud and the computer will provide for you. Also, if you say my name, the
computer will let me know you need me.” Something about the way he said that
made her shiver. She didn’t need him. Nothing would induce her to ask for him.

But when the door whooshed shut behind him, she wondered if
she would be strong enough not to beg for him.

She did have to pee. Badly. “I need to urinate,” she said
out loud.

Out of the floor, a bowl-shaped container appeared and
positioned itself between her legs. She relieved herself and tried to ignore
the humiliation of this latest personal affront. When she finished, a nozzle
rose from the floor and sprayed a light stream to clean her. Then, the bowl
descended and a towel dried her carefully.

All the amenities.

She could be here for the rest of her life. Her punishment
completely in his hands, her personal hygiene no longer her own, her body
possessed by him. Mated. Her throat closed and a dry sob escaped her lips. This
wouldn’t do. She was a soldier, a trained Teran One Commander.

In twenty-four hours, everything she knew about her life had
changed. Her brother was traitor who had been planning to destroy her planet’s
ruling family. The man she once believed to be a criminal had been falsely
accused and held her life in his hands. Why hadn’t she seen that? How could she
have been so wrong? Worst of all, now he knew the truth. She wanted him, had
always wanted him.

She took a deep breath and managed to slow her heartbeat.
Assess the situation. Somehow, Tory had known about the secret delivery. How?
And what had he meant that Teran One was more likely to send an assassin for
her, not him? Unwanted thoughts drifted through her mind, like how her family
had been slowly disappearing. In the last five years, her mother, her father,
even her cousins had been killed.

Hers was a military family, rooted in tradition, raised to
be fighters. Even Celeste, who was only eighteen, was in training for Black
Ops. Their family connection to the royal family was strong and certain. King
Darius Stender was her cousin, his father brother to her father. Darius’ family
held the power of the throne and the Zeerah family protected the line. When
Darius ordered her to take an unknown quadruple grack-lined box to Teran Five
and deliver to a General Costas, Alex did it without question.

She wasn’t a fool. At court, loyalties shifted and alliances
were created while families rose and fell from power. Had hers been deemed
unnecessary? Bile rose to her throat. Standard operating procedure when faced
with an implacable enemy with valuable cargo onboard? Blow up the ship.
Suicide. Stars, she’d made it easy for them.

Worst of all, Tory knew. She couldn’t even cry anymore. It
was as if she weren’t there, a ghost, empty. Someone had tried to wipe out her
and her family after centuries of dying on the battlefield for Teran One. The
Zeerahs had fought in the civil war that put the Stender family on the throne.
For three generations, Alex’s bloodline had kept the peace but now, the only
ones left were her and her sister. And what would happen to Celeste? Perhaps
the Stender line had decided to eliminate the only family left that could
contend for the throne.

Not Darius. For a moment, she wasn’t in Ingle’s quarters,
hanging like a piece of meat, but in the Grand Hall on Teran One. Darius seemed
like a gentle man, his kingship a duty he took seriously and reluctantly. Alex
had the impression if it weren’t for his demanding family, he’d be tending his
horses.

The King’s family had dwindled too, with Darius taking the
throne unexpectedly after his brothers’ untimely deaths. Her mind spun around.
Who would eliminate his family and hers? What about Darius’ uncle? The man
stood beside Darius, always submissive, always reverent. But what if Pontoon
had other plans?

He was Darius’ uncle by marriage. Pontoon came from the Gregor
family, a distant heir to the throne. He’d married into the ruling family
through King Treco Stender’s sister. Now, he stood at the right hand of the
throne.

Another deep breath and her mind calmed. A strategy. She
needed a strategy. Otherwise, her planet might be plunged into another civil
war.

Chapter Three

“She has realized her planet’s government has tried to kill
her,” Jezar told Tory.

It bothered him that Jezar was reading Alex. It was one
thing when the Judge of Light read her. That was his job. But when Jezar probed
her mind, it seemed…intrusive.

What did he really know about this Ardasian? A citizen of
Teran Five, Jezar fit in well with the melting pot of that democratic colony,
even though he was an Ardasian. Ardasians seemed human, though they weren’t. In
fact, Jezar had told him that his people weren’t sure where they had come from,
but their current planet, Ardasia, hadn’t been their first.

They were all telepaths, mind readers. Teran Five used them
in every aspect of their trade and government. The Judges of Light were
invaluable to all the Teran planets. But Jezar had signed on with Tory. The
Ardasian seemed to know something was in the wind. On top of reading minds,
some of them knew the future.

Tory didn’t ask and Jezar didn’t tell him. He was good with
that. Tory didn’t want to know the future. He lived in the moment.

“Teran One’s Representative is live,” his communications man
announced.

“By all means, open the channel.” He slipped into his
command chair and stared at the stars dotting his view screen.

“This is Deputy Director Lin Mauser. I demand—”

“Let me straighten you out on one count. You demand
nothing.” Tory kept his tone even. Perhaps this desk jockey didn’t know what
had been in that hold.

“You are holding a commander of the Teran One military. That
is an act of war—”

Tory interrupted him again. “A war against whom? I have
claimed Commander Zeerah as my
Saria
.”

Silence.

He resisted a chuckle. The man was dying to ask about the
cargo, but he didn’t dare. It might reveal what the cargo actually contained.
And how important it was.

“What is the status of
The Athena
?” So Mauser was
going to continue to beat around the bush.

“Commander Zeerah set the self-destruct sequence.”

More silence. Then, “So, her ship is destroyed?”

“Her ship is destroyed, but her cargo is safe with me.” He
exchanged a smirk with Jezar. Fools. Tory was a master at this game.

“You mustn’t open it!” Mauser lost all his composure.

“Why not?” Tory hardened his tone. This planetary government
hoped to get away with something heinous, horrible and he wanted them to pay.
Through the fucking nose. “Tell you what? Why don’t I jettison it down to your
planet? I mean, the impact might jar it a bit but—”

“No! You must not!” This asshole knew exactly what was in
that box. Tory’s jaw clenched.

“Then you don’t get to demand anything, do you, Deputy
Mauser?” He shook his head. There would be no negotiations. He wasn’t going to
let anyone have possession of that shit. But he was going to make Teran One pay
for their mistake.

“I wish to speak to Commander Zeerah,” the Deputy requested.
That was better. His voice was a little more respectful now.

“Sure. Set it up, Dink,” he told his communications man.
Tory shot a glance at Jezar. He would know what to do.

“On your transfer, sir,” Dink said.

Tory pressed a button on his captain’s console. “Alex? I’ve
got a desperate Deputy on the line for you.”

A small silence and then, “Is it video streamed?”

Tory winced. Yeah, she would think he’d do that. She was
completely naked, trussed up like a pig. Why wouldn’t he humiliate her before
her government? He sighed. “No. Audio only.” He clicked off. She always had
believed the worst of him, hadn’t she?

She doesn’t think she knows who you are now,
Jezar
said to Tory telepathically.

She never knew me.
In his thoughts, he admitted the
bitter truth. If she had, she wouldn’t have believed her brother.

Considering the position she’s in now—

You’ve been listening?
He didn’t regret restraining
her on his rack. Maybe he was a bastard, but he’d fantasized about her in just
that position. Her response had been everything he’d hoped. In taking her as a
mate, he took a risk. Even now, she would kill him if she could. He couldn’t
blame her.

It would be ironic if he died while trying to mate with
Alexandra. What a way to go. For five years, he’d fantasized, wondered,
replayed the time they’d spent together. He had made a few guesses and he could
have been wrong about her. But he wasn’t. Commander Alexandra Zeerah liked
being at his mercy. Whether she admitted it to herself or not, her body didn’t
lie.

Do you want to know what she thinks about it?

Did he? Not really.
No, but I need to know what they want
her to do. Someone wants her dead.

Jezar gave him a short nod and closed his eyes.
It would
be easier if I connected you to her as a bridge.

No!
He definitely didn’t want that. Part of him was
afraid he’d find out things he didn’t want to know. Part of him wanted that
advantage over her. Mostly, he didn’t want to know her thoughts at the moment.
I’d
rather just…hear what she hears. You can do that, correct?

Yes. I will listen to her thoughts and give you access to
her room.

Thank you, Jezar.

It’s interesting how you violate some of her boundaries,
but respect others. She has no idea how you feel, does she?

I’m sending the call through
. He didn’t answer
Jezar’s question. He wasn’t going to. Not even in his thoughts. Around Jezar,
that was the same thing anyway.

He depressed the button and his vision blurred slightly when
Jezar connected with his mind so he could hear what Alex could hear. Jezar kept
Alex’s thoughts away from Tory’s and Tory was grateful for that. Jezar had been
known for ignoring Tory’s requests at the oddest times.

“Alex?” That was
not
the Deputy Director.

“Darius? What are you doing on an open channel?” The
military precision of her tone gave no indication of her physical state. And
her first thought seemed to be protecting her king.

“Is the box contained?” The king’s voice edged on panic,
nothing like the gentle tones Tory had always heard from him.

“I don’t know.” The despair in Alex’s answer bit deep in
Tory’s emotional armor. “Darius, what the fuck is in that box?” She didn’t know
then.

“Something important to us, Alex. We have to get it back.
Can you escape?” Apparently, King Darius thought Alex was some sort of
magician.

“I’m Tory Ingle’s
Saria.”
She spoke calmly. “He
proved it to a Judge of Light. My family ruined his career and banned him from
Teran One. It’s his right.”

“I take it Ingle doesn’t know you defended him.” Darius
didn’t dispute Tory’s right, but his revelation had some meaning. Tory blinked
and tried as hard to remember as he’d tried to forget in the past. The day of
his judgment, Alex didn’t talk to him or look at him. Tory had assumed she
believed her brother and condemned him to the Tribunal. Had he been wrong?

“I told the truth at the tribunal,” Alex said. What had she
told the Tribunal? Tory would make it his business to find out. That was
probably Darius’ intention. Alex didn’t intend to be distracted either. “And
all that doesn’t matter. What game are you playing here?”

The king didn’t speak for a moment. Then, “Kyler’s missing.”

Who the hell was Kyler? Tory had a lot of digging to do when
this illuminating conversation was over.

“And Celeste?”

“I’ve ordered her to the palace but—” Clearly the king
wanted to say more, but wouldn’t as long as Tory was listening. The little
prick.

When Alexandra spoke, she sounded tired, older than her
twenty-nine years. “Darius, why didn’t you tell me what was in that box?”

Tory noticed she didn’t again ask what was in the box. Still
protective, she must not have wanted Darius to announce anything damaging over
an open channel.

“I didn’t think you’d take it if I did,” the man admitted.
On an open channel. She could have no doubt Darius had known what she was
transporting before she left Teran One. What was he really saying to Alex?
She’d been his personal bodyguard for three years before she left to head his
military. What was their relationship? They were first cousins, but how loyal
did the blood tie make her? The temptation to change the stakes, have Jezar
connect him directly to Alex, almost overwhelmed him. But he fought it.