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  She groaned as he pulled her up so he could fuse his mouth with hers. One hand wrapped in her hair, he plundered her lips as sure as he’d plundered her life. His cock pressed against the folds of her pussy and she shifted, trying to capture him inside her.

  When he broke the kiss, he angled her head so he could lay his lips on her neck. She shivered as he sucked on her neck. Hard. Her pussy clenched and moisture gushed from her slick channel and, from the sound of his groan, dripped onto his cock.

  “Tory, please,” she whispered as his tongue slid along her neck. His fingers dug into her ass and urged her closer. She braced her body over his and slid down over his erect flesh, driving him deeper, surrounding him with her heat. Stars, he felt so good, so right, inside her. She shifted, an age-old rhythm beating in tune with her pounding heart. He met every thrust, every shift, of her body, his hands guiding her, goading her.

  She stared down at his features. The way his neck corded and his expression of something that looked like…joy stunned her. She used a finger to trace the line of his cheek, her heart clenching. It was like the five years apart dropped away and they were just two human beings together.

  Then, rational thought disappeared as the steady beat of their thrusts built a crescendo until she convulsed, her back arched, her fingers clenched on his shoulders. His hands gripped her ass and his hips slammed into hers. For a moment, it seemed as if they’d been connected this way forever, as if it were meant to be. Loneliness was gone and something much more solid and precious replaced it. Then, her mind blanked, pleasure overriding any thoughts or feelings. She cried out, her orgasm sharp and intense. Lights flashed behind her lids and she shuddered, her release subsiding.

  Suddenly, he flipped her onto her back, bending her legs, driving his cock deeper. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. His movements were frantic, out of control, his face tight and determined. His gaze held hers as he pounded her again and again.

  One of his hands clasped her breast and his fingers rolled her nipple. She gasped and her eyes closed. There was no way she could come again, was there? And then, in a flash, she was there, over the edge, crashing into another orgasm. His shout coincided with the force of his cum inside her and she opened her eyes.

  Tory was always handsome, his good looks one of his assets. In the throes of his orgasm, he was beautiful, the lines of his face drawn in pleasure and intensity. The cords of his neck emphasized the strength and need in him. She reveled in the way his whole body bowed in his final thrust and then relaxed. All the things he hid with his charm and his defiance showed on his face when he gave himself to her. It was a two-way street. He dominated her in keeping with his fearsome reputation, but he gave so much more to her. More than she had expected. She didn’t expect the shimmering orgasm that washed over her as he continued to slide in and out of her. Perhaps it was because she’d declared herself as his or because this sexual collision had been with her full consent, but each release, each climax had intensified. This one didn’t slam her or overwhelm her. It uplifted her and strengthened her.

  What she saw in his face now wasn’t the triumph of man who had gained capitulation of an enemy. His expression was filled with tenderness and his touch was gentle. Her heart clenched. She could take his anger, his revenge, even his hatred. But how could she fight this? And did she even want to? The force of her release was over, but the emotions remained. The walls that had taken her years to build were torn down and she was helpless. Tears dotted her eyelashes and she moaned.

  However she’d become mated to Tory Ingle, she could never deny him now, never leave him. She didn’t want to think about what that meant.

  Chapter Six

  What the fuck had just happened?

  When Tory had brought Alex to the exercise room, it had been to prove a point. Given a choice, she would fuck him. But somehow, she’d smashed through his defenses. He’d chosen her as his mate expecting little. Oh, he’d intended to keep her satisfied in bed, but nothing else.

  But when they were fighting hand to hand, he had lost perspective. He hadn’t wanted to manipulate her, trick her, into fucking him. He’d wanted her to give it to him.

  There was no doubt she’d said the words. As he stared at her wet lashes and mussed golden-brown hair, he realized he’d always wanted more from her.

  He jerked away from her and rubbed a hand over his face. What the hell was he going to do now? Something had happened to him while he was buried deep inside her. Up until this moment, he’d viewed her as a means to an end, a way to change his own destiny.

  Now, she was quickly becoming necessary—like breathing was necessary. It scared the shit out of him.

  She blinked and gazed at him, her eyes a bright gold and filled with warmth. That satisfied, sleepy expression on her face terrified him. It brought out strange feelings and thoughts he didn’t know how to handle. Like the overwhelming desire to just run away with her to another system and fuck the rest of the universe.

  He jumped to his feet and turned his back on her. Somehow, he had to rebuild his defenses, his protections, against this woman.

  There was a silence in the room. It didn’t feel like a good silence, but he couldn’t break it. He was afraid of the things he would say, things he couldn’t take back. He shut down his thoughts and his feelings and yanked on his clothes. The silence stretched as he picked up her discarded uniform.

  Still lying on the floor, her naked body tempted him with the bruises, his mark darkening on her neck. Her hair was askew and her skin still glowed from their lovemaking.

  Lovemaking.

  Just thinking that word made his mouth dry. He swallowed. She watched him, a wary expression replacing the drowsy contentment of seconds earlier.

  He looked away and handed her the uniform. She took it and dressed, silent. He cleared his throat. Shit, this was awkward.

  “Alex—” he started and she cut him off.

  “I’m not stupid. Don’t say it,” she said and her voice sounded casual, unconcerned. He risked a glance at her face. Telltale lines around her mouth and the dying light in her eyes gave away the hurt.

  “I wasn’t—”

  “I know the drill, Commander.” There was a bite in the last word.

  Suddenly, his chest tightened and a burning anger spit fire into his stomach. He grasped her arm. “We aren’t going to follow any drill that you know, Alexandra,” he snapped.

  Her golden eyes blazed. “Aren’t we? I know when a man wants to get dressed and run out the door.”

  His lips twitched. “It’s happened before, has it?”

  She glared at him. By the stars, he loved it when she looked at him like she wanted to kill him. “Enough that I know the signs.”

  “This time is very different, dear heart.” His anger had disappeared. It didn’t matter that she got past his defenses. All that mattered was that she was his mate. And to make that work, maybe he had to put aside his idea of what he thought it would be like. Clearly, their mating wasn’t going to follow any guidelines he understood.

  “Oh? How?” she sneered.

  He slowly pulled her closer into his arms. “Because you are my mate. There won’t be any running away for either of us.”

  She struggled, trying to get away from him. He leaned in and captured her lips with his and she stopped fighting him. Her mouth was sweet, addictive.

  “Commander Ingle,” the intercom blared and he and Alex both jumped. She started to slip away, but he held on and brushed her lips with his. He smiled when her eyes widened, startled.

  “I’m here, Dink. What’s up?”

  “We’ve reached Ardasia. The Judge of Light is disembarking.”

  “How’s the bidding going?” He noticed Alex tensed.

  “Teran One has bid sixty-one million leders.”

  Well, well, well. It looked like King Darius had been able to outbid his competitors. “And Teran Four?”

  “They say they can raise the funds.”

  “They’re
lying,” Tory announced and took Alex’s hand as he headed for the door. “Get Bud on it. Announce the bidding is closed and don’t inform anyone of who has the winning number.”

  “You’re going to let Darius have the box?” Alex shook her head. “I don’t understand. This is all about money?”

  Tory glared at her. “Are you trying to piss me off?” He input his code and the door slid open. “No, it isn’t.”

  He refused to say more until they were back in his quarters. Though he’d handpicked his crew, he knew these men had debts to pay and bank accounts to fill. As long as they believed this whole thing was about their Commander getting his Saria and the box was a commodity, Alex was safe.

  When they reached his quarters, he closed the door and put his hands on her shoulders. “No one can ever have what’s in that box, Alex. Not ever.”

  She squirmed under his hands, her face flushed and angry. “It’s Teran One property. Let them have their toy back.”

  He shook her. “It’s not a toy. It’s the Old Earth plague.”

  The color dropped from her face. “No,” she breathed out.

  There was nothing he could do. He had to tell her everything. “Yes. You were supposed to die. That Stet explosive you wanted to put on the box? It wasn’t an explosive. It was a delivery system.”

  Alex’s lower lip trembled and his heart ached for her. “I don’t understand.”

  “Your ‘secret’ mission was to deliver the box to a General Costas, the man in charge of the Teran Five forces, right?” He waited for her nod. “You were supposed to meet him at certain coordinates near where I intercepted you. But, dear heart, he never left Teran Five.”

  “What?” The one word was faint, weak.

  “You were supposed to do just what you did. Try to self-destruct. The Stet explosives were set to deliver the biological virus to the two nearest planets.”

  “Teran Three and Four.”

  “Yes. My men don’t know what’s in that fucking thing and I don’t want them to.”

  Her face, white and chalky, turned up to his. “You have to destroy it. You have to send it into the sun.” She stopped abruptly. “There’s more.”

  His stomach churned. There was a lot more. Right in the middle stood his mate, a pawn in an ugly game of not just civil war but planetary destruction. “My sources on Teran One don’t think this is the only batch of the plague.”

  She shuddered. “We’re bait.”

  He nodded. “If it hadn’t been for Jezar—”

  “Who’s Jezar?”

  “You’ll meet everyone in a few minutes. Go shower.” He shoved her toward his bathroom.

  “How did you know I wanted one?”

  He snorted. “You’re a woman, aren’t you?”

  Her lips twitched and her face relaxed into a smile. The sight shot straight through his chest and loosened the knots there. “I most definitely am a woman.” She strode through the door and turned back for a parting shot. “Find me something to wear, though, would you?”

  “Absolutely.”

  She disappeared and he flicked on the intercom. “Jezar? Can you ask Tesia if she has any extra clothes?”

  “She is on her way.”

  Tory snorted. “You need to stay out of my head, old friend.”

  “Your thoughts were…interesting.”

  He shook his head. The Ardasian had no idea. “Will you let the Judge of Light know we will join him shortly?”

  “He wishes to meet with your Saria alone before he leaves.”

  Now, why would he want that? Odd. “I’m sure that will be fine,” he said knowing Jezar would sense his disquiet anyway.

  Several minutes later, his door signal buzzed. Tory opened the door and his only female crewmember stood there glaring at him. Her red hair, cut short, certainly fit her feisty personality. He was lucky to have her, though. She was one of the few crewmen he trusted unconditionally. She was born on Teran Two, but she was nothing like those pacifist people. Lucky for him, she had rebelled against the agrarian lifestyle there and caught the first transport off planet. She wasn’t military trained, so jobs were hard to come by, but Tory paid her well. She was invaluable.

  She handed him a stack of clothes. “Is it true?” she demanded. Tesia was one of the few crewmen who cut him absolutely no slack at all.

  “Is what true?”

  Tesia jabbed a finger in his chest and he stumbled back into the room. “That you forced this woman into a Saria contract.” Her sparkling blue eyes blazed. “You know how I feel about that. It’s barbaric how Teran One treats their woman like commodities, like baby machines. I can’t believe—”

  The door to his bathroom whooshed open and Alex stepped out. She was wrapped in a towel that barely covered her curves. Her hair, still wet from her shower, curled around her shoulders. Droplets of water slid along her skin, still pinkish from the heat. Pink, like her ass had been when he spanked her in the exercise room, like the flush that covered her skin when she came under him. Stars, she was so beautiful. He wondered if he was ever going to have a rational reaction to that.

  “Are those for me?” Alex put out her hand and Tory held his breath wondering if the towel was going to slip, wondering if he could brush her hand while he passed her the pile of clothes.

  For a moment, he marveled that she really belonged to him, had mated with him. He’d always been a loner, a distrustful man. Jezar had taught him to be less prickly, but Alex was a reminder of what was lost and gained when he’d played a lone hand.

  Right now she was looking at him expectantly, as if she’d asked him a question. Oh wait, she had. “Yes, Tesia brought them for you.” He handed her the clothes and inhaled the fresh scent of soap.

  Alex’s face flushed a bright pink and she lowered her glance as she took the clothes. She smiled at Tesia. “Thank you.” And she disappeared back into the bathroom. He stared at the door. He had to buy her clothes. Ardasia had some nice boutiques in its capital city. The city was pretty, too. Maybe he should take Alex planetside and she could relax a little.

  God, he’d lost his mind. Here he was dealing with the Old Earth plague and he was distracted by thinking about shopping.

  “Did you hear me?” Tesia’s voice broke into his thoughts.

  He blinked and met her gaze. She didn’t seem pissed anymore. What had she been mad about again? “What did you say?”

  Tesia snorted. “Never mind. I was going to lecture you on the horrors of a loveless mating, but I can see that’s not your problem.”

  Now, she had his full attention. “What?”

  She chuckled and left the room. “Better hurry if you’re going to see the Judge of Light off,” she said over her shoulder.

  After Tesia left, he tried to work, studying the manifests for several of the military vessels leaving Teran Four. But focusing was impossible.

  Focus, that’s what he needed to do. So much depended on it. If there was more of the virus out there, the whole Teran system was in danger. Maybe even Ardasia. The plague had decimated Old Earth. Even now, the planet was still quarantined. If there were human survivors, no one in the Teran system knew about it.

  After half the Earth population had fallen to the plague, a desperate gamble had created the Teran planets. Terraforming, still new and barely tested, made Teran One and Teran Two. The next three planets followed over the two years. All five planets were created to save humanity. The hope had been at least one of the planets would thrive, even if the others fell victim to the same fate Earth had.

  Instead, all five had survived. And now someone wanted to change that.

  “I’m ready.” Alex appeared at the bathroom door.

  Tesia had given Alex one of her black uniforms. He’d never really noticed them on Tesia, but on Alex? Wow. The woman made the uniform look like lingerie. He shook his head to clear it.

  He definitely had to get her more clothes. Preferably a shapeless sack. It was probably the only way he’d keep his damn hands off her.

&n
bsp; Chapter Seven

  The expression on Tory’s face made Alex’s nerves jump and sizzle. He made her feel feminine and sexy. Desirable. Considering their circumstances, it was odd that he did. For a moment she wondered if they were going to make it out of his quarters.

  Everything she thought she knew about the Saria seemed incorrect. She’d always viewed it as a price to pay, a forced enslavement of one to save many. Now, she wasn’t so sure. Tory had allowed her to choose. And she’d chosen him.

  She had to be honest with herself. The Tory Ingle she knew wouldn’t have exacted revenge on her innocent sister. Even to preserve his bloodline. It seemed she had a choice here—to continue to fight him and this mating, or to work with him.

  But she didn’t know what, or who, to believe anymore.

  “Would you like to see the capital city of Ardasia?” he asked her.

  She swallowed. “I would like that very much.”

  The air between them crackled with heat. What she wanted was to stay right here in this room and shut the rest of the world out. What she wanted was to explore this thing with Tory without everything else getting in the way.

  What she wanted was what he offered her five years ago.

  “Come with me. I need you… There’s a whole universe out there, Alex.”

  He’d offered her himself then. But she’d been appalled, seeing duty and honor as more important than the gift he wanted to give her. She rejected it. And him.

  Since then, she’d questioned that decision, wondering if life with a criminal she loved would be better than an honorable life alone. For five years she’d crammed those thoughts away, believing somehow that her planet had been saved by her choice.

  What a joke.

  Her planet hadn’t been saved. She’d thrown away something wonderful, something important, for a bloodline facing extinction and a brother who had betrayed her.

  “Alex?” Tory frowned and she shook off the memories. What difference did it make? It was the decision she had made and now she had to live with it. What Tory offered her now might be a pale shadow of the gift he had offered then, but it was more than she’d had before.