Ecstasy Bound (27 page)

The last Egesa turned to run but Laszlo was waiting and got him right between the eyes.

Erik felt lightheaded and dropped to his knees. “The oxygen,” he whispered. He saw Torque holding his injured arm and crawling across the floor, trying to make it back to the control panel.

With the door blown out, the seal in the room had been broken. All their air was quickly being sucked out.

Laszlo fell into a heap. From lack of air or an injury, Erik didn’t know and couldn’t find the energy to make his way over to the man.

Torque finally struggled to his feet and staggered the rest of the way to the controls.

He fell to his knees before the panel.

“Hurry,” Erik encouraged in a low voice, unable to move or catch a full breath. He noticed everyone struggling to breathe. All of them had collapsed to the floor.

Torque reached up and punched a button with his palm. Then he slid flat onto the floor.

Erik heard the ventilation system kick on in the corridor and air whooshed back into the room.
Yes.
Sweet, beautiful air. Even a thin atmosphere was better than none at all. Then everything went black.

* * * * *

Brianna pushed into a sitting position. Her head pounded fiercely. She glanced around, wondering how much time had passed. “Sam?”

She remembered him saving her life. The disruptor Laszlo had given her must have jammed when the Egesa fell on it. She’d fixed the weapon but it had been too late, if Sam hadn’t intervened.

Where had he disappeared to? Just as the thought entered her head, he stepped into the room from the corridor.

“All the Egesa are dead,” he said. “I did a quick search. I moved the bodies into an empty room. All their equipment is in a pile by the control panel.”

“Are you sure?” Erik asked groggily, pushing to a sitting position.

“If any more were down here, they’d be in our faces right now.”

“Unless they’re still knocked out from lack of air,” Pitch said.

“I checked the main areas of the facility and didn’t see anyone,” Briggs further explained. “I think we’re all right.”

“What happened?” Brianna heard Braden ask as he tried to sit up.

“Stay still.” Leila attempted to hold him down but she didn’t look quite recovered and obviously didn’t have the strength for he had no problem resisting her.

Braden held his side. “Is everyone all right?”

“I’m hit,” Torque said.

Leila turned and crawled over to him. She looked at his arm. “It’s not bad. I’ll wrap it. It’s a miracle none of us were killed. I can hardly believe it.”

“We all have a destiny in this universe,” Laszlo said, leaning against the wall.

“As in a higher power or fate?” Kam stared at him with narrowed eyes. “I think it was a little less mysterious than that. What did you do?”

Brianna wondered at his question, looking between the two men.

“All right. I helped out. A little. I projected false angles with my visionary powers as the Egesa fired. As best as I was able to anyhow.”

“Well, whatever you did, it worked,” Brianna said, grateful for any remaining powers Laszlo possessed.

Erik looked at the destroyed door. “Do you have any more tricks up your sleeve?

Because we have a big problem now. We can’t fix that door. We don’t have the supplies or the equipment down here.”

Brianna’s heart sank.

Sam sat down beside her. “Can we use any of the Egesa equipment to get us all out of here? Like maybe their comm devices to call for help.”

Pitch shook his head. “Their vid-comms will be monitored. If we try to use one, they’ll zero right in on us and know their men weren’t successful. They’ll send in another team immediately.”

Laszlo stood and walked over to pick up one of the devices. “I’ll send an alpha-text message to their command fleet, saying they’ve got us cornered in the decon room, but their orbs were ineffective. I’ll tell them that they’re going to try to negotiate us out and if that doesn’t work they plan to pump in non-toxic gas to flush us out. I’ll let them know they won’t report in again until their mission is complete. That should keep any other teams from showing up for several hours at least.”

“Their ships are going to be a problem when we launch,” Braden said.

“They won’t keep their ships in orbit. Not with Xylon ships in the area. It would draw too much attention. They’ll give the planet some distance, then move back in later.

If we can continue to keep those ships out of orbit, it will make it easier for us to get away unnoticed. Hopefully, numerous Xylon rescue ships and fighters will be in the area to help us out.”

“You’re making a lot of assumptions,” Brianna said. “Marid ships could have taken out most of our fighters by now, given their larger numbers.”

“If our base on the Ice Moon is still operational, the Warriors will protect Xylon as best as they can in the hope of finding some survivors. We’ve already seen the rescue ships. I’m assuming they didn’t come in without cover. So let’s try to stay positive here.”

“What about the Egesa’s transport-connectors?” Josella asked.

Halah picked one up. “They’re all military issue. They won’t transport anyone who doesn’t have an Egesa physiology.”

“Which means they’d planned to kill us all?” Josella asked.

“Doubtful,” Leila said. “They would have taken the babies and maybe Braden, I would think. I know the Egesa in medical purposely didn’t use his disruptor when he tried to get to the triplets in the storage room. And he probably had the time to finish Braden off, and me, if he’d really wanted but he didn’t. He just left us there and disappeared.”

“He might have figured you’d be more valuable alive, at least temporarily, for information purposes. A medical team and interrogation squad were probably scheduled to transport down with one or more generic multitransport devices after the area was secured.” Brianna stretched her arms, still feeling half out of it, though her headache had eased.

“What are we going to do now?” Josella asked.

“Braden?” Brianna looked to her brother.

Braden’s face darkened and he cleared his throat. “This doesn’t change anything.

Three people will still have to stay behind in this shelter. There’s no other way. The weight capacity of the orbiters demand it. Unless someone has another idea.”

“We’re not sacrificing people,” Erik said. “And it’s two. Delemar is dead.”

“Dead?” Braden’s eyes narrowed and he glanced around. “How?”

Erik looked briefly at Torque. “Unknown.”

“We’ll do what we have to do,” Laszlo said, looking up from the comm device, seemingly unaffected by the news.

Braden’s brow furrowed. “Two,” he replied in a low voice, not questioning the situation further. For now. “Actually we do have two of our own transport-connectors,”

he said slowly.

“They’re not functional,” Erik told him. “I used some of the parts to strengthen the power in the device we gave Alexa.”

Braden nodded. “But can you and Halah use some of the generic parts from the Egesa devices to get ours working again and chain the power supplies to make them strong enough to reach Quadrant Port XST? Two of us could transport to the repair station where Alexa and the babies are.”

Erik looked over at Halah. She shrugged. “We can try,” Erik said, turning back to Braden. “But we can’t test them. It could be a death sentence.”

“Staying down here without any protection from the gases once the launch bays are opened is a definite death sentence. We have no choice.”

Kam rubbed his throat. “Halah and I found the communication files from Frost on the computer. It detailed how to sabotage the power and oxygen. We can get those fixed now.”

Laszlo set down the comm device. “Good. Leila and I will finalize the injections for Earth. Braden and Torque, you’re coming to medical for your injuries. Josella, you come also. I want you to prepare two survival packs for whoever will be dematerializing out.

Then maybe you can prepare something for us all to eat.”

“Food sounds good.” Torque rubbed his stomach. “I’m starving.”

“How can you even think of food right now?” Halah asked.

“It’s a basic need, sweetheart. Like sex.”

“Don’t ever call me—”

“Stop,” Laszlo interrupted. “You’re giving me a headache.”

“It’s the lack of oxygen,” Leila said. “It should fade fairly quickly, especially once the oxygen levels start coming up.”

Laszlo nodded. “Yes. Of course. Halah, you and Erik get those transport-connectors working. Kam, you fix the oxygen and get the levels back up so we all can think more clearly. Mistakes now could be deadly. Pitch, you fix the power drain. Kam can give you the specifics. Leila and I need to use a lot of equipment in medical and we can’t afford anything becoming nonfunctional. Some of what we need was destroyed by disruptor fire but I think we can still manage, as long as we don’t lose the main computer or the medical processor and the AMD.”

“AMD?” Sam asked.

“It’s a machine that quickly tests the effects of certain compounds on DNA types and detects deadly flaws in serum and other compositions,” Leila explained. “That machine is going on the orbiter with the team to Earth. It’s indispensable.”

“What about Sam and me?” Brianna asked. “What do you want us to do?”

“Get some rest,” Laszlo said. “You two have been through enough today. You’ll need to be sharp for the mission.”

His answer surprised her but she was grateful and nodded.

Laszlo turned and headed out the door. “Let’s get to our duties.”

* * * * *

Nav-Control Ship FSMF-36, Deep Space

Frost paced in her quarters. Worry, anticipation and frustration swirled inside her.

She needed news. The last transmission she’d received from her soldiers had not been good. Apparently, they had the Xylons trapped in one part of the shelter but couldn’t get to them.

Nuclear orbs ineffective, they’d reported. Hard to believe, given the age of those shelters.

Normally, she’d order poisonous gas to be pumped in through the air filters but she had no way of knowing if the babies were in the room. Or Kam. He was still down there and alive. And she wanted him kept alive. She fingered the controller around her neck.

From the reports, Alexa and the babies had dematerialized out of medical when one of the Egesa tried to capture them, but she didn’t know where they’d gone. Someplace else in the shelter obviously. Most likely the same room as the others.

Unless…

She rushed over to her computer and pulled up some star charts as well as the current log of ships in the area around Xylon. The Warriors’ communication grid was down, so they couldn’t message anyone. Trying to transport up to an orbiter without stable coordinates would be too risky.

Wait! Her eyes narrowed as she studied the screen. Was it possible?

She pulled up additional information. Quadrant Port XST. Holding a steady orbit.

Barely. “They’d need a multitransport device with extra power.” Which was doubtful.

However, she hadn’t gotten where she was by being careless. No more transmissions had been received from her contact, who was with the Xylons. He might have been discovered. She couldn’t count on any further help from him.

She would be working on her own now. She’d order a team to investigate the old repair station. The capture of those triplets was too important not to check out every possibility.

This was one battle she did not intend to lose.

The door to Laszlo’s quarters slid closed behind Brianna. Sam had entered ahead of her and was headed to the back of the room. He set some fruit and protein cubes on the table.

She followed and they both sat down to eat. Brianna enjoyed just being in the same space with him, especially now that the immediate danger had passed and they had some quiet time. Too bad it wouldn’t last.

“I’m impressed with how fast Braden is healing. And my own cut.” He stared down at the now small scar on his arm. “Will I always be able to heal as fast now?”

“Yes. It won’t work as well for you as it does for us but your natural healing will be greatly accelerated. Don’t get careless because of that though. You can still be killed.”

He nodded. “Understood.”

“By the way, thanks for saving my life.”

He smiled. “Any time. Those Egesa are formidable creatures. We’ve got a real fight ahead of us.”

“Yes we do.” She popped a protein cube into her mouth and watched Sam chew on a piece of fruit. As he swallowed, his eyes took on a serious look. He stared at her unblinkingly.

Her nerves kicked into high gear. “What?” She hadn’t seen that particular expression on his face before and felt something major was on his mind.

“Do Xylon women ever take alien men as mates?”

The question seemed to come out of nowhere and definitely took her by surprise.

Her heart pounded triple time. “Why?”

“Do they?”

“Um, no. Not officially. If the male doesn’t have any Xylon blood, he won’t have a brain chip and he can’t Brand a mate.” Her voice lowered. “There would be no way for an alien male to establish a real and permanent connection to a Xylon female.” She looked at him a moment, then stood and walked over to the computer, having lost her appetite.

She held back a sniffle, refusing to break down in front of him. In her exhaustion, her emotions were all over the place. Talking about mates made her feel exceptionally lonely.

The communication files Kam had spoken of earlier were displayed on the computer screen. He and Halah had obviously used Laszlo’s computer to track down the messages. From what she could see, a list of sabotage steps had been given to Delemar. She wondered what he’d bargained for in return, what could have been so important to him that he would betray his own people and try to kill them all.

She heard Sam push his chair back and she felt his approach.

He wrapped his arms around her. “There was a time on Earth when not everyone who wanted to be mated could do so legally.” He nuzzled her neck. “That didn’t stop them from committing themselves to each other.”

“What do you mean?” she whispered, settling back against him.

“They would have a commitment ceremony and pledge their love.”

“A ceremony?” Not a legal one though, he’d said. “But because it’s not legal, there’s no real bond. Right?”

He turned her around in his arms. “The bond is even more real, Brianna, for it’s a bond of hearts. A conscious decision to stay with someone.”

“Or not. You can just walk away at any time, even after your
official
ceremonies, from what I understand. It’s not like a Xylon lifelong joining.”

A smile tugged at his lips. “An artificial shackle is not necessary for those who are truly destined to be together. Nothing can tear apart that kind of love.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

His hands slid up her arms and he cupped her face. “I love you, Brianna.”

She audibly gasped.

“After everything that’s happened and everything we’ve been through together…I don’t want us to be separated. Ever. It would break my heart not to have you by my side.”

At his confession, her soul wept. Everything was happening so fast. “We’re both military. We serve different commanders. We can’t make those choices. Our duties are going to pull us apart. Unless we turn our backs on those duties. And I couldn’t do that.”

He nodded. “We both know we’re going to remain true to our commitments.” He tapped his chest. “But in our hearts we can make our own lifetime decision. We can have it all. I know we can.”

Was that truly possible?

“Do you love me?”

“Yes!” she answered without hesitation. She loved him so much that it hurt.

A huge smile crossed his face. He pulled her over to the bed and they sat down.

“Then join with me.”

“How?”

He took her hand in his and looked into her eyes. “Remember these words.” He sucked in a deep breath and then let it out slowly. “I, Samuel Briggs, take you, Brianna Koll, as my mate over all others. I promise to love, honor, cherish and respect you forever. This is my pledge. From my heart. From my soul.”

Brianna’s mind raced. She so wanted this and realized that Sam was right. Two people who truly loved each other shouldn’t need any artificial means to stay connected. The commitment should come from deep within themselves, if the feelings were genuine. Perhaps Earth
had
found the better way.

She squeezed his hand, remembering his words. “I, Brianna Koll, take you, Samuel Briggs, as my mate over all others. I promise to love, honor, cherish and respect you forever. This is my pledge. From my heart. From my soul.”

He leaned in and kissed her, his tongue lightly grazing hers. She couldn’t stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks. He pulled back and brushed the drops away with his thumb.

He released her hand and pulled a set of tags out of a pocket in his uniform. “These are called dog tags. They were passed down to me. They originally belonged to my great-great grandfather—I’m probably leaving out a couple of
greats
—whom I was named after. They were once used in the military for identification. They’re not used anymore but they have his name, my name, on them. I carry them for luck.” He slipped them over her neck. “As long as you wear my name, they will identify you as my mate, in my heart.”

She fingered the tags and the raised words on them, then pulled a round identification jewel from her uniform and attached it to his lapel. Six knot-shaped golden strands with a royal blue center. “This is the Koll family insignia with my personal gem attached. It will identify you as one of us. And as my mate in my heart.

Keep it close to you at all times.”

He touched the insignia lightly. “I’m honored and will wear it with pride.” He took her into his arms and kissed her deeply.

Brianna pulled at his uniform. She needed him. Her love.
My mate.
Gently, they removed each other’s clothing and boots, dropping everything to the floor.

As they stretched out on the bed, Sam massaged her body, as if memorizing every inch of her. Whenever he touched a sensitive area, she sighed, letting him know all her special erogenous zones. When she didn’t think she could take much more, he finally slipped between her thighs and his cock eased into her pussy, slow and deep. They fit together perfectly and she sighed. He took her hands in his and their fingers intertwined. She’d never felt so right as when she was with this man. He kissed her softly, as his hips moved against her in a steady rhythm.

She sighed in ecstasy. Whether he fucked her hard or softly, she loved having him inside her. She felt her body responding and wrapped her legs around his hips. They didn’t need any words, just the incredible feelings they gave to one another. An orgasm fluttered through her, growing deeper and stronger as he moved within her.
Yes.

Ecstasy bound, as always, with this man she loved more than any other.

“Look at me,” he urged in a quiet tone.

Brianna looked into his eyes and felt a connection more powerful than anything she’d ever known. More than physical, more than mental. A bonding of two hearts and two souls. “Sam!” She came hard.

“Yes!” He groaned and joined her in his own climax.

They collapsed together against the pillows. She stroked the back of his neck. “Do you think it will always be like that?”

He shifted to hold her in his arms. “Yes, I do.” He touched her hip, then slid his hand between her legs. “Your body was made for my touch.”

Though she’d just come, she still craved him. She eased her legs open. “Sometimes I think that’s actually true.”

“Only sometimes?” He chuckled and stroked her clit.

“Mmm. The more we do this, the more I think it.” She shifted to lie flat on the mattress. “You satisfy me more than any man ever has, as if you know all my secret needs.”

He leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Roll over. I want to fuck you in the ass.”

“I think you’ve developed an ass fetish.”

“I won’t argue with that.” He helped her onto her stomach.

She pulled a pillow into her arms and rested her cheek on the soft material. She’d allow him anything he wanted sexually. No boundaries.

His hands massaged her ass, relaxing her. In fact, she almost fell asleep. Until he smacked her hard.

She jerked and looked over her shoulder at him.

He gently rubbed the spot. “Too hard?” He smiled and smacked her again on the other cheek. Just as hard.

She whimpered and hung her head. It wasn’t too hard and he knew it. She liked it hard. Craved it hard. When he slapped her ass again, she shook and couldn’t stay quiet.

“Faster, Sam. Spank me faster.”

His hand came down first on one cheek then the other. Over and over, until her skin burned and her cunt throbbed in need. The sharp smacks echoed in the room, as did her increasingly loud moans.

He leaned down and whispered. “Have you been punished enough?”

She nodded, ready for him to fuck her.

“Too bad, because I will decide.” He spanked her again, covering her entire ass, alternating between cheeks. Faster and faster.

“Oh…oh…oh!”

Then in a split second, he pulled her ass cheeks wide and plunged his tongue into her hole.

“Ah, Sam!” The moistness of his tongue and the burning of her skin shot sexual sparks right through her. She felt it from her nipples to her clit. “Yes! Tongue-fuck my asshole! Ah, that feels phenomenal.” She pressed hard against the mattress, then burrowed he hand down to rub her clit.

He grabbed her hands and pulled them behind her back, holding her wrists captive.

She felt his saliva sliding down her crack to her pussy. She squirmed and moaned, needing to come so badly she was practically sobbing.

Releasing her wrists, he pulled out of her. “On your knees,” he ordered, his voice gruff with passion.

She scrambled onto her knees. When he grabbed her arms again, her upper body fell to the mattress, her ass up in the air. He put her hands on her ass.

“Spread your cheeks wide and tell me to fuck you.”

Brianna’s heart beat triple time. She pulled open her ass cheeks, feeling extremely vulnerable in this position, but extremely in need of his dominance, for she knew he was about to give her an orgasm like no other. “Fuck me,” she whispered.

“Louder.”

“Fuck me, Sam! Fuck me in the ass!” She needed his cock desperately.

He growled and plunged a finger into her hole. She moaned in disappointment. He pulled it out and stuck in three fingers, fucking her hard. “You want my fist in there?”

“I want your cock!”

He pulled out his fingers and positioned his cock at her entrance. When he didn’t move, she made a noise of frustration. “My cock’s not going to fuck your ass, Brianna. I want your ass to fuck my cock. Do it to yourself.”

Without hesitation, she pushed back, forcing his cock into her ass. Oh what a feeling! He wasn’t moving. She controlled the depth and speed. She released her cheeks and rose up on her hands. She rocked back and forth, faster and faster. Fucking her ass on his cock.

“Ah…yeah. More, Brianna. Don’t stop.”

“I can’t do it hard enough. Please, Sam.”

Unexpectedly, he pulled her arms out from under her and she fell flat on the bed again, his cock embedded in her ass. When they bounced on the mattress, his cock went deep. Sexually impaled, they both lay there, breathing heavily.

Sam grabbed her hands and intertwined their fingers. He held her arms against the mattress and began fucking her ass hard. “Is this hard enough?” He grunted with each thrust.

“Oh! Yes! Perfect.”

He forced one of her hands beneath her and their entwined fingers played with her clit—rubbing, tugging, pinching. Brianna began to shake.

Sam licked her ear. “Come on our hands. I’m going to come in your ass.”

“Yes! Just one more hard, deep thrust.” He accommodated her and her body exploded. She thrashed against him. “Sam!” Her juices coated their fingers and the mattress. “Oh!”

“Fuck yeah!” His body stiffened and he came. “Ah!”

His cum filled her ass and she felt wetness slide down her crack and between her legs. He pumped her ass a few more times, then collapsed.

Once spent, he snuggled beside her and whispered in her ear. “You are mine, Brianna. Forever.”