PrimalHunger (10 page)

“What is wrong with you?” She tried to move forward, but his
arm wrapped around her waist, snaking her against his side. His muscles
quivered under her touch.

Reeva clapped a hand on Mase’s shoulder. She eyed Kendra
with interest. “It appears your Valorian has chosen a mate.”

Kendra tried unsuccessfully to step away. “He’s not
my
anything. How are you, Mase?”

He rose to his feet with a fist against his side. “I’ll
live.” He glared at Azros. “I didn’t expect such a warm welcome.”

“It was either the stunner or ripping your throat out with
my bare hands.” Azros still held her tight against him.

“I’d prefer the stunner, thanks.” Mase rubbed the back of
his neck.

“Tell me you didn’t know it was him before you shot.” She
glanced up at Azros. “Put the damn stunner away.”

He dragged a hand through his hair and shoved the stunner in
the thigh holster. “I don’t memorize most scents, Kendra. He seemed familiar,
but lately all familiar scents belong to those who are hazardous to my health.”

“What was that throat comment all about?”

He gazed down at her with the eyes of an unleashed tiger.
Power. Control. “I’m still hunting. The mating cycle isn’t over yet.”

“Still hunting what?” Kendra clenched her jaw.

His fingers traced the curve of her jaw. Warmth and comfort
sizzled along with a bite of lust in her nerve endings. His touch was magic.
“You.”

“I don’t think so.” She tilted away from his fingers. “Let
me go, or I’m going to do something we’ll both regret.”

“Chief, where is your comm?”

Mase shook off the effects with the resilience she’d come to
expect from him. He rose to his feet. In this one instance she was thankful it
didn’t take long to recover from a stun.

“Back in medlab. Why?”

Reeva tugged the comm from her ear and tossed it. Kendra
snatched it out of the air. “Destiny’s Palace had been invaded.”

Chapter Five

Kendra placed the comm line in her ear. The insistent buzz
of an emergency alarm echoed through the line. She recalled the message.

“It didn’t make sense, Chief.” Reeva crossed her arms and
shrugged her shoulders. “To either one of us.”

Mase glared at Azros, flesh tinged violet. She almost called
him down, but thought better of it. Being stunned hurt like a son-of-a-bitch.
He stalked away from them. A light growl rumbled from Azros. She pinched the
bridge of her nose and prayed for patience. “He is not a threat. I don’t fuck
my subordinates, and I sure as hell wouldn’t fuck with my security team. If you
don’t back the hell off, I’m going to shoot you, tie you up, and leave you
here.”

Azros gripped her shoulders and leaned so close she could
see the golden tips of long black eyelashes. “I can only control my instincts
so far, Kendra. Stay away from men until this madness leaves me, or I don’t
know what could happen.” He kissed her. A melding of heat and possession. This
kiss was a statement. She bit his lip and he purred.
Actually purred.

A throat cleared and Kendra tried to jerk away. Azros held
her in the kiss for a moment more, staring down at her with challenge in his
eyes. Kendra could feel the heat of a blush coming up her neck to her cheeks.
Azros ended the kiss and smiled. She barely controlled the urge to knock that
smirk off his face. He made her weak, and that was dangerous.

“The next time you take something from me that I’m not
willing to give, I’ll knock that smirk right off your face.”

“I look forward to it.”

She stared at him. He was getting off on this. She ignored
the flare of interest his actions triggered. Now was not the time for this. He
finally released her and she turned to her team, ignoring the curiosity in
Reeva’s eyes and the hostility in Mase’s. “I have a job to do.” She moved away
from Azros.

She tapped the earpiece. “Playback.” Each comm was voice
activated.

“Destiny’s Palace is recalling all personnel.” David’s voice
rang calm over the comm. “Alpha team prepare for relative diplomacy.”

Relative diplomacy.
A knot of untamed emotion formed
in her throat. Destiny had used their secure code. A code she’d never hoped to
hear. They were all in danger. Kendra checked her internal chrono. “Interesting
message. What makes you think it’s an invasion?” They had less than an hour
until sundown. She jerked the comm out of her ear and tossed it back to Reeva.

“I received notice of ships invading our airspace.” Mase
rolled his shoulders. He and Reeva looked no worse for their race across the
Miora Flats.

“From one of your seedy contacts, no doubt.” Kendra gave him
a smile that she didn’t really feel. Her veins had turned to ice.

“What does the message mean, Chief? Relative to what?” Reeva
caught everything, but there were some things Kendra wasn’t prepared to
explain. Not until she had to.

“It means we’re in danger.” She glanced at Azros, noticing
the grim set to his mouth, the strain around his eyes. “All of us.”

“What happens now?” Azros pressed his fists against a table.

“First I get dressed. We wait until dark. Then we head out.
You’ll stay here where it’s safe.” Her stomach roiled in a mix of fear and
anger.

“The hell I will.” The rage in his voice had Reeva’s
eyebrows rising to her hairline. Mase ignored the Valorian.

Kendra went to the service lockers lining the wall. She
opened hers and dragged out a clean uniform. For a moment she considered not
going back. It would have been nice to spend another few days with the
Valorian. Pretend there wasn’t a hostile target waiting for her back at the
Palace. Fate, it was so tempting.

She was unsurprised to find Azros right behind her. He eyed
the security patches on her folded uniform. “You keep your clothes here?” Azros
leaned against a closed locker.

She slammed the locker door. “I told you. Someone has to
maintain this facility. I always have extra gear stowed here.” She gestured
around. “This area holds clothing for most of my security personnel. Just in
case.”

“Who is waiting for us?” His arm blocked her path. A smile
touched his lips.

His eyes blazed with emotion she couldn’t read. She looked
away from the familiar smile and gave her crew a once-over. “You both look
exhausted. We have a little less than an hour before we can move out. Catch
some rest in the lounge. I’ll fill you all in on the way back to the transport
skiff.” She met and held Azros’ gaze, staking a challenge on a primal level.
“You’re not going.”

She moved away from him and stalked across the room. Fear
was riding her. Fear and anger.

“Are you really going to tie me up?” She didn’t appreciate
the humor in his voice.

“If I have to.” She palmed into a side room.

“Well that might be something we can explore later.” His
voice dripped with sexual innuendo.

“What are you talking about? Don’t you understand? I’m
serious.”

He grabbed her arm and turned her so that they were
face-to-face. “I am deadly serious. I enjoy flirting with you, but make no
mistake, I take my freedom and your safety very seriously.”

Ice-cold fear knotted in her gut. “That’s why you have to
stay.” She’d lost her family, her friends, her heritage…and the woman
responsible for their executions might be waiting at the Palace. She’d be
damned if she let that bitch take Azros too. Even if he was being an arrogant
and overprotective jerk.

“That’s why I’ll go. Who knows how much trouble you’ll get
in without me?” Pure male arrogance stared back at her. He wasn’t as relaxed as
he appeared. There was an edge of danger to his movements, wariness to his eyes
that spoke volumes.

She didn’t trust Azros’ crash and the return of her aunt’s
people to be a coincidence. She had no proof of immediate danger, but a part of
her wondered if Azros was bait. Her gaze scanned his face for any betraying
emotion. He was giving nothing away.
Come on, Kendra. It’s not like you
really know the guy.
Kendra smiled and poked his chest.

“Without you? You’ve been nothing but trouble since I found
you.”

He captured her hand against his chest. “Lucky for you, you
did.” He leaned close. “I might not have become addicted to your taste,
otherwise.”

“Always the charmer.”

“I’m coming with you. I’ll only follow, so you might as well
accept the fact that you’re stuck with me.”

“I don’t know whether to say thank you or I’m sorry for
that.”

“It’s definitely a compliment to your character.”

She raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think it’s my character
you’re chasing.”

He brought her wrist to his lips and nibbled gently on the
skin. Pleasure slid up her arm in a light shiver. Her body’s responses were
interfering with the ability to think.

“I need you. My mating cycle isn’t over, yet. The beginning
of the cycle is critical. Being apart could kill me.” He kissed the palm of her
hand. “Quite literally.”

She couldn’t stop the warmth of his kisses from spreading
through her body. “You couldn’t have told me this sooner? Is there a way to
speed it up?”

The sincerity staring down from his eyes couldn’t be faked.
“Not that I know of. If we don’t mate often enough, the pain will become
unbearable. We don’t know what it’ll do to you, and I can’t allow you to go
through that kind of agony.”

She shook her head and smiled. “You and that mating thing.
You know, eventually you’ll have to stop using that as an excuse.”

“Don’t bet on it.” He nipped a bite on her wrist.

“We don’t have much time. I’ve got to change and get ready
to move out. Get some rest, if you’re determined to go.” She tugged her wrist
from his tempting mouth.

“I’ll stick by you, sweetheart.”

“Fine. I’ll meet you in the lounge.” She dragged off her
shirt and shucked out of her pants.

His hands stroked down her back. “Kiss me.” His breath
teased her lips. “This time I’m asking. Please.”

She shook her head. “Even your requests come out like
demands, Azros. I will not be humiliated in front of my team again.”

“Humiliated?” He looked genuinely confused.

“Your kiss. Staking your claim. I understand this mating
thing is intense, but do we really have to destroy all credibility with my
people in the process? Remember, Azros, long after you’re gone, I’ll still be
here.”

Shock, then pain registered in his gaze. “You’re right. I
will try to control my
baser
urges.”

She’d hurt him. Somehow. She watched some of the light die
in his eyes, and she did the only thing she could think of.

Her fingers gripped his hair, and she reveled in the silky
slide of hair through her fingers. She brushed her lips across his in a caress
that tickled. His thumb brushed against her lip before stroking his tongue
lightly over the sensitive curve. Clever lips worked their magic against hers,
and her mouth opened beneath the sensual onslaught of his kiss.

His hand fisted in her hair, tugging her head back. Sparks
of pleasure shot down her spine. She nipped his bottom lip. He broke the kiss
with a lingering touch of his lips against hers.

“You are so confusing, Kendra St. Thomas.”

“I’m easy to understand. The life I lead is a complicated
one.”

“Are the invaders Sheon?” His fingers trailed down her
cheek.

She gave him a half-smile. “Yes. They are.”

His fingers stopped their trek, and the light in his eyes
turned barren, cold.

She grabbed his fingers and gently pushed them away. “You
don’t have to seduce me for answers. All you had to do was ask. I won’t let
them take you.”
Where did that come from?
It wasn’t her way to get
involved. Sheon or not.

He brushed his knuckles against her cheek. “What can one
person hope to do against a legion, kitten?” Regret flickered deep in his gaze.

She moved away from his addictive touch and dragged on the
rest of her uniform. The door opened and closed quietly behind her. She drew in
one ragged breath after another, trying to keep down knots of emotion twisting
deep inside. There would be no further messages coming. No way to find out if
they were walking into a trap until it was too late.

She had less than an hour to come up with a battle plan and
two contingencies. One for Azros if he was the Sheon target. The other for
Azros’ capture should he be working for the enemy. This was definitely not her
day.

* * * * *

“What are you doing?” Reeva walked into the medlab, looking
a little less like the walking dead.

Azros leaned against the far wall, eyeballing Kendra’s every
move. Her senses were set to hyperawareness every time he was around. This
mating thing needed to get over and done with so she could go back to normal.
Her body hummed with the need to touch him, stroke his skin.

Reeva walked over to the control panel and stared intently
at the monitor.

“I’m downloading our medscans. The weather reports are
already downloaded and stowed. Looks like we’ll have one helluva winter this
year.”

“You look like you could use a week of sleep.” Reeva shoved
her hands deep in her pockets and leaned against the counter, back to Azros.

Kendra scrubbed her hands over her face and sat heavily in
the chair. “Yeah.”

“Is there anything about what we’re facing that we should
know?”

Kendra rolled her neck to ease some of the tension building
in her muscles. “We are likely walking into a trap. Members of the Sheon regime
are invading our facility. They will be armed and dangerous.” She leaned over
and strapped her weapon holster on her thigh.

“You got all this from one little message?” Reeva shook her
head. “Chief, you never cease to amaze me. So why are we waltzing right into a
trap?”

“Because David recalled us.”

Reeva snorted her disbelief. “You listen to David about as
often as you listen to me. I’m not buying that.”