PrimalHunger (13 page)

Azros fought the urge to go to Kendra. At this point she’d
be just as likely to punch him as kiss him. His feelings for the woman confused
everything. He shook his head, shifting his weight to make room for his
hardening cock. “Is there any way to get word to my home planet?”

“Communications, as you can guess, are limited. We’re being
constantly monitored, and I won’t risk the wrath of that command ship for a
message that will be intercepted. They could blockade us for fate knows how
long.” He flipped the autopilot switch and leaned back with his fingers
interlocked behind his head. “On the plus side, I think this event finally
convinced Destiny to upgrade the satellite security systems like you’d
suggested.”

Kendra gave a semblance of a smile. “About time. Too bad it
takes an invasion of the slimy kind to sway the lady.”

“You know Destiny.”

“Barring Azros’ suicide run of glory, what’s the plan?”
Kendra’s voice was thick with some unknown emotion.

Azros glared out the window. He wasn’t suicidal, but his
soul shriveled at the thought of his men’s suffering. Who knows what that woman
had done to them after his escape? His fists clenched until his knuckles
whitened. The agony she’d inflicted on him was nothing compared to what his men
had suffered. His people needed to get their hands on a sample of that drug.

“We sneak you both off-planet until the area is safe. In two
days there will be an arena fight. It’ll be easy to slide you off then.”
Jackson talked about escape from the Sheon as if it were a walk in the park.

“An arena fight?” The beast inside Azros stalked in
annoyance. Two days before he could help the others escape. “That won’t do. My
people won’t have enough time to reinforce my position.” He gritted his teeth.
It took six months to escape. He could wait a little longer. The beast gnashed
and grumbled against it, but he could control it. For now.

“Why don’t you give escape a try? The odds of survival are
much better. Trust me. Besides, the arena fight promises to be an interesting
venue. They’re the Gladiator Superfights, and will be broadcasted out on
vidscan all over the sector. There is a mining ship—” Jackson began.

“The
Suplato
,” Kendra interrupted.

“You watch these
superfights
?” Azros raised an
eyebrow.

She shrugged. “Of course. Everyone does, actually.”

Jackson nodded. “Exactly. Destiny’s encouragement of the
Suplato
captain has brought the arena to us. The ship will orbit our little rock and
kick off the fights. They’ve already contacted us for additional entertainment
and will be sending a taxi service to the Palace the night of the main event.
We can move you out on one of those, and it’ll be easy to get lost in the
crowd.”

Kendra shook her head. “I can’t leave the mission here.
Azros can get to safety without my help.”

“We’ll continue tracking the data in your stead.” Jackson’s
amusement leaked through his voice. It appears he was prepared for Kendra’s
response.

“We need to find another way.” Her stubborn refusal was
laced with more anger than he expected.

“I don’t know this sector of space.” Azros leaned back in
the chair. His mind whirled with possibilities. It would be easy enough to hire
a mercenary group to raid the Sheon command vessel. Kendra knew what to look
for. Her personnel file was chock-full of shady deals and necessary
roughnecking to get the job done.

“You can find a transport with navcom. I won’t be any help.”
Her eyes flashed with irritation.

He grinned. There was no way in hell he was going to leave
without her. “You’re Sheon. It would help for my people to consider witness
testimony from an esteemed member of the race.” He tilted his head. “Maybe we
should completely clear the air.” He nodded to the pilot. “Is he trustworthy?”

“I have trusted him with my life on multiple occasions. So
yes. Anything you tell me, I trust him with, or he wouldn’t be Destiny’s
assistant.”

The pilot looked amused.

He sighed, determined to hammer the final nail in his
coffin. “My people, my entire race, are in danger, Kendra. Skreeta wants our
mining rights. We have an asteroid full of Kenorian crystals.”

Her eyes widened in disbelief. “Holy shit.”

Kenorian crystal was the most expensive form of secure
communication dispatch, unhackable. A small batch was worth a considerable
fortune. “The amount we’ve found could fund Valorian government and planet
exploration projects for generations. We could wipe away our planetary debts in
months.”

“Why capture you, then? Why not kill off your people and
take the rights?” Jackson asked.

Azros blinked in surprise. “I suppose that kind of thing
happens a lot out here in the mining sectors. She can’t mine the asteroid
without us. We can sense crystal lodes. That’s very important when other metals
and magnetic aberrations on the asteroid interfere with most equipment. Our
stamina allows us to work longer hours than other Sheon slaves. We’re cheap
labor, and her damn drug keeps us incapable of sane thought. She was very vocal
on never letting my men go.”

“I thought you lost communication with your mining
facility.” Kendra was absorbing the information, filing it away for later. He
could see her mind working at lightning speed. The mention of the drug tightened
her lips, and he could taste her fury rising.

“We did, but we had a contact smuggling information to us.
The prisoners had an underground info net. We lost word with the contact a few
weeks ago. He was supposed to rendezvous with an agent, but failed to show.”

“Did your home world know of your capture?” Jackson seemed
more than curious.

“No. When we were taken, we were running a reconnaissance
mission while trying to gain an idea of their military capabilities. They
didn’t expect responses often. It was assumed the Sheon ship taking our people
was a rogue. It wasn’t until my ship was taken that we realized the extent of
the Sheon betrayal.”

“And?” Sincerity and righteous anger were a potent mix in
her expression.

“It looks like they’re preparing for war. There are several
command vessels primed for something. I have access to their locations.”

“Where are they?” Jackson’s questions grated on Azros’
nerves. His trust for the man was running low.

“It doesn’t matter. If I can’t contact my home world, it’s a
failed mission before it even begins.”

Azros was never a man to admit defeat. He’d be damned if he
would now. There had to be a way. Kendra and the pilot were discussing how they
would sneak in and out of the Palace without being seen. With surprise, he realized
he trusted her to handle those details. It was strange and unnerving to rely on
another.

She shifted in her seat and his gaze sharpened. Her cheeks
flushed a light pink. She glanced over at him beneath long eyelashes, just a
flash of her eyes. A finger tugged at her collar and she turned back to
Jackson. Her fingers touched her cheeks, and if he wasn’t mistaken, her nipples
were growing hard beneath the sleeveless top of her service uniform. His grin
turned wolfish. He knew the timing was lousy, but despite everything, her body
still needed him. She would come to him this time. His instincts weren’t wrong.
Her body was accepting the changes. He held on to that like a lifeline.

He reminded himself that Kendra was Sheon. Sheon were
already proven to be a compatible race, but where was the overwhelming rage,
the dark fury? He had a moment of anger, then it was gone, replaced with, what?
Determination? Drive? Shock? His beast had known instinctively what Azros had
been too thickheaded to work out. Her body was changing. She was
becoming
his mate.

Holy fate.
The revelation stole his breath.
Everything else faded.

Her body could be permanently altering itself. He had no way
of knowing what the end of the cycle would do to her. The signs were all there,
but he needed a medical scan to make sure. He watched the way she flicked her
braid over a shoulder. A fierce feeling of possession surged through him. She
was
his
.

This changed everything. Valorian women were most vulnerable
during the last few days of the mating cycle. He had no reason to believe
Kendra would be different. That meant he needed to get her safely away from
Skreeta. He closed his eyes, torn between needing to take back his people and
the instinctive drive to protect his mate at all costs. And protection could
only be given by his people. Either way he had to get her off-planet.

Kendra’s cry jerked his attention back to her. She clenched
a fist against her stomach. Cold fear knotted in his chest. He moved, dragging
her into his arms. “
Desh’ra
, what is it?” He soothed her with light
caresses on her face. She was burning up. Her body racked with tremors while
her internal temp became an inferno.

“I burn.” Her gaze was unfocused, liquid silver. She kissed
him with desperation. A fierce mating of their tongues. Wild. Untamed. “I need
you,” she whispered against his lips.

An intense spicy scent, unique to Kendra, mixed with the
rich flavor of her lust.
Holy fate.
She was falling into a frenzy. His
cock flared to attention. He tucked her against his chest and bit the inside of
his cheek. He was hard enough to hammer steel. She sipped at his lips before
chasing kisses across the fur-covered edge of his jawline.

“What’s wrong with her? What did you do?” Jackson. He’d
forgotten about him.

Kendra flicked her tongue against his throat. Tiny nips of
his skin followed. Little sparks of pain ran down his spine to his cock. Every
lick was followed by a teasing nibble. He clenched his jaw and huffed out a
breath, begging for control.
We could fuck her here. Taste her cream. Make
her beg.
His beast paced. Ready to pounce. Azros fought for control. He
wasn’t an animal, dammit!

“Nothing. This is the natural course of a mating.” Jackson
didn’t need to know the truth. No one did. Not ’til he saw the results himself.

A tendril of fear wove through her scent. “What is happening
to me?”

He tucked a finger under her chin and lifted it so he could
see her expression. “Your body is changing for me. You’re becoming mine.” He
spoke quietly so that only her ears could hear. Her gaze grew dark, roiling
with emotions he couldn’t read. The beast in Azros rolled over in pleasure,
batting at his mind in playful joy. She was theirs.

“That’s i-impossible. You said it wouldn’t be permanent.”
She shivered in his arms. Another rush of her scent filled the cabin.

“Anything is possible, Kendra.” He chose to ignore her last
statement, and teased her lips with his, dragging a moan from her throat.

Jackson moaned and Azros jerked his head up. He could see
the flush of arousal on the man’s face. Tension bunched his muscles into tight
cords of frustration. “Get her to the back.” He spoke the words through
clenched teeth and forcefully jabbed a finger toward the rear of the cabin.

Azros bared his teeth. Growled.
Mine.

“Get your mate away from me.” Jackson turned back to the
helm. “Holy fuck, Kendra.” His voice was obviously strained.

“Come, Kendra.” She shivered against him. Her sweat-soaked
hair clung to her face, and she was entirely too pale.

“That would be nice,” she muttered.

“What was that?” He tucked a stray tendril of hair behind
her ear.

“Nothing.” She actually ducked her head in embarrassment.
Relief was a sharp stab in his gut. She wasn’t too far gone, then.

“No. I think I distinctly heard something.” He led them
through the door, unsurprised to find a cozy nook. With a bed entirely too
small for what he had in mind, and no room to maneuver. He growled.

Kendra followed the line of his gaze and a desperate laugh
followed. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Don’t worry, mate. I’ll take care of you.” He pushed her
against the closed door and cupped her face. “I distinctly remember you saying
something about wanting to come.”

She drew in a deep breath and tugged at the buttons of her
shirt. “I’m not your mate. This is temporary.”

Azros grinned like the predator he was. He wouldn’t remind
her that she’d already called him mate, or that her people had already begun
accepting it as fact. Not yet. “Keep that up, and I might just have to show you
how wrong you are.” Would it be so bad to have the Sheon princess as a mate?

His fingers unlatched her belt, easing it down to the floor
with care for her gear. Her thigh holster followed, dropping over the back of a
chair. Their lips tangled in a soul-searing kiss, ramping the heat up to a
raging inferno.

He unbuttoned her pants, dragging them open. With a groan,
he realized she wore no panties. He cupped her sex. Her slickened desire had
already spread to soak the bottom of her uniform. Two fingers plunged into her
moist heat and she cried out. “Shhh, Kendra.” He kissed her lips. “Those cries
belong to me. I don’t want anyone to hear them.” Her cunt creamed her lust down
his fingers to the palm of his hand. His fingers twisted and scissored inside
the molten heat of her pussy. “I promise to make this up to you, soon. I’ll
make you scream in pleasure, baby. I promise.” Every cry was swallowed by his
kisses.

He fought the urge to mark, to bite. Hell, his cock ached to
fuck her, but this wasn’t the time or the place to stake his claim. She needed
relief. By fate, he was going to give it to her. Even if it killed him.

Chapter Seven

Kendra couldn’t stop the flood of sensations overwhelming
her. His touch burned her alive, and her body hummed with a wildness unlike
anything she’d ever experienced. All senses fixed on Azros and his magical
touch.
Fate.
He was killing her.

His fingers flicked inside her pussy, causing sparks of
electric pleasure to coalesce at the base of her spine. Tension ramped up with
every touch. Hot kisses mimicked his fingers, licking with every flick, sucking
gently on her tongue when her pussy closed around his fingers. She tried to
hold in her cries, but the wildness growing inside her was desperate, clawing
for release. His fingers weren’t enough. She wanted it all.