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  I hummed as I bobbed in the water, the high notes echoing off the stone walls and reminding me of my mother who used to sing all the time. Tara had forbidden me to sing after our parents had died, so I’d learned to hum quietly to myself instead. Sometimes humming was the only thing that could calm me.

  Once my fingers started to wrinkle, I stopped humming and lifted myself out of the steaming pool, casting my eyes around for a towel. Nothing. Did the Vandar drip-dry? That didn’t seem practical, and no way was I going to leave puddles all over the slick floors or put my dry clothes back on while I was soaking wet.

  I eyed the open shower at the other end of the bathroom and all the flat buttons inset in the black-stone walls. Maybe one of them was for drying?

  Padding over, I inspected the buttons and the various nozzles overhead and imbedded in the walls. None of them were in any language I could read, the symbols completely foreign to me.

  “Here goes nothing,” I muttered to myself as I pressed a button.

  Instead of drying me as I’d hoped, a torrent of water gushed from overhead. I yelped and tried to find the button again, but the water had drenched my head and was streaming into my eyes. It was pleasantly warm, though, and the hard flow felt good on my shoulders. I stood under it, turning so it could pound on all parts of my back and stretching my arms high over my head, the rush of water as it hit the stone floor drowning out any other noise, even my own loud humming.

  I finally found the button to stop the water, spluttering and wiping at my eyes. When I opened them, I saw him standing in the doorway, watching me. His face betrayed nothing, but his pupils had dilated so much they shone as obsidian as the stone around me.

  Chapter Six

  Kratos

  I heard the torrent of water the moment I stepped into my quarters, my eyes raking the room and not finding her. My flash of panic faded when I realized that she was bathing and then my body tingled with anticipation that the small female was preparing herself for me. It had been a while since we had visited a pleasure planet, and my fist made a poor substitute for a willing female.

  I unhooked my shoulder armor and left it on a stand next to the door, along with my weapons. I should not have any more use for them at the moment. Although the Zagrath ship had arrived quicker than I’d expected, it had not been able to follow us for long, once we’d activated our invisibility shielding. The damage they’d done before we’d gone dark had been minimal, although it had felt like the ship had been tearing apart. Our shields had held, and repairs to the impacted hull were underway. As were we, to the far end of the Carborian sector to resupply.

  I kicked off my boots and crossed to the bathing chamber, hearing her before seeing her. The human was humming as she stood under the flow of water, her high notes bouncing off the slick stone and filling the space. I could not remember the last time I’d heard a female’s voice like that, and I was so distracted by the sound that I did not focus on her body right away.

  When I did turn my attention to her naked form, water rushing down her pale skin and darkening her light hair, my mouth went dry. She was tiny, that I already knew, but her slight stature did not mean she was small everywhere. I’d already felt her softness when I’d held her earlier, but even as I got only a side view, all her curves were on display for me—her high, round breasts and her flared hips, the gentle curve of her belly and her full ass. My cock stiffened instantly, tenting my battle kilt.

  Tvek. I’d never seen a female I wanted to bury my cock in as much as I did this one.

  She fumbled on the wall, and I fought my instinct to step in and turn off the water for her. But I didn’t. I waited, watching her as she swiped the droplets off her face and opened her eyes. Her lips parted slightly when she saw me, and she stopped moving, her hands going still by her face. Her gaze drifted down, then her eyes grew wide when she saw my cock straining against my uniform.

  I reached behind my waist and unfastened the belt. My kilt loosened and dropped to the floor with a soft thud. Vandar did not wear anything under our battle kilts, as was tradition, and we covered as little of our skin as was necessary. I knew this was not a trait that humans shared.

  “What are you…?” She took a step back and hit the wall, activating one of the side nozzles that shot a fine spray of icy mist at her from two sides. She gasped at the sudden cold, her attention drawn from me to the walls and the buttons she did not understand.

  I reached her in a couple of long strides, turning off the mist, but not before being covered in the fine spray myself. I looked down and saw that she’d wrapped her arms over her chest and was rubbing them briskly. I reached for her hip to pull her to me, but she flinched from the touch, her face registering pain instead of fear.

  Glancing at her skin, I saw that her hip wore an angry bruise. “You’re hurt.”

  “I think it’s from when I hit the table earlier. When we fell.” Her voice shook as she stared straight ahead at my chest. “I didn’t notice it until you…”

  I cursed myself and dropped my hand, thinking how big and rough it looked next to her soft skin. Skin that was now mottled purple and red.

  “It’s fine,” she said, her voice shaking a little less. “I bruise easily, and I’m a total klutz. I’m always falling or bumping into things. It will go away in a few days.”

  I frowned and stepped away from her. It did not look like it would fade quickly. It looked painful and tender, like blood was pooling under the surface. Of course, I’d had much worse, but I also had never had skin so soft or unmarred. As far as I could see, she had no scars or marks from combat. Only the damage she’d sustained when she’d come onto my ship.

  This was a mistake. This is why we do not have females on warbirds. I had not heard my father’s voice in a while, but it had been my constant companion for many astroyears. I emitted a low growl, as if warning him to stay away. I did not need him telling me what to do any longer. He was gone, and I was Raas.

  I spun on my heel and left the bathing chamber, willing my father’s voice to leave me. I did not need him to tell me that I should not show her kindness. I knew what he would have said about sparing her life and bringing her on board. He would have thought me weak. According to him, a Vandar Raas must show no mercy, and certainly not to a human who had dared to violate Vandar law. He had shown no mercy when he’d trained me, and I had the mended bones to prove it.

  “You are not here,” I whispered to the air as I crossed naked to the door and pressed the communication panel beside it, barking orders to my first mate.

  But my father had gotten his wish. I was merciless. At least that was what was said of me. I did not spare lives or hesitate to deliver punishment. Until now.

  “Vaes!” I bellowed, turning toward the bathing chamber.

  She appeared in the arch, her arms still covering her breasts as she dripped water in puddles around her feet and her bundle of dirty clothes tucked under one arm.

  I walked to a high cabinet and opened a drawer, retrieving two lengths of buff-colored, tightly woven cloth, wrapping one around my waist and taking the other to her.

  “Leave those.” I motioned to her clothes. “They will be no use to you here.”

  She blanched and didn’t drop them.

  I tempered my gruff voice. “Vandar females do not wear such tight leg coverings.”

  She tipped her head up to meet my eyes. “I’m not a Vandar female.”

  Irritation flared within me and my tail snapped from side to side. I was not used to being contradicted. “You are still mine, and I do not wish any other male seeing the shape of you.” My heart pounded as I let my gaze fall lower. “It is only for my eyes.” I snapped my head back up and steeled my voice. “Do you understand?”

  She nodded and let the clothes fall to the floor. I wrapped the cloth around her, my fingers skimming her skin and buzzing from the touch. When the fabric reached from under her arms to her ankles, I rolled the top down several times until it held.

  She peered
down at the column of cloth. “You want me to wear this?”

  I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling. “No. This is for drying. I will have clothes brought for you.”

  Before she could ask more, I scooped her into my arms and carried her to the bed. She didn’t make a noise, but her body stiffened.

  “Do not worry.” I lay her on one side of the bed that dwarfed her, and I straightened. “I have no intention of claiming you tonight.”

  Even though the wrinkles in her brow smoothed, she tilted her head at me. “But I thought…”

  I nodded to her hip. “You are injured. I am not such a brute that I would cause you more pain.” I leaned down and let my lips brush her ear. “Because when I do take you, I do not promise I will be able to go slow or be gentle.”

  I felt the quick intake of breath followed by a warm huff of air on my neck. It was enough to make me want to rip off the cloth and bury my cock in her, no matter her injury. I closed my eyes and breathed in the scent of her as my cock swelled again, willing myself to control my urges and banishing the voice reminding me that I needed to take before it was taken from me.

  Then I heard the pounding on the door.

  Chapter Seven

  Astrid

  I tried not to whimper as he leaned so close to me that the hard planes of his chest brushed my skin. Even though he’d said he wouldn’t claim me because I was hurt, I didn’t believe him. Not when he was so close to me and so hard all over.

  I couldn’t stop thinking about his massive cock—rising thick and long from his body with the same dark, curling lines marking it that marked his chest—and imagining what something that huge would feel like for my first time. A baptism by fire, my sister would have called it. Not that it would have terrified her. Nothing scared her, unlike me.

  Kratos seemed to have no shame at being naked in front of me. Even if I’d stared directly at his cock, I doubt he would have cared. Still, looking at it while he’d crossed the bathroom had made my pulse skitter and my legs turn to jelly, so I’d kept my gaze anywhere but there.

  When someone started to knock loudly on the door, he jerked up, and I allowed myself a long exhale.

  “Vaes!” His voice boomed across the hard surfaces of the room.

  I propped myself up on my elbows. The door slid open and a Vandar warrior stepped inside, clicking his heels together when he saw the Raas standing next to the bed.

  “Is that her?” he asked, although the question seemed unnecessary, and he didn’t wait for an answer to move forward, shifting the leather bag that hung across his shoulder so that it was in front of him.

  Kratos pulled the fabric covering me, so that one leg was exposed, and I swatted at his hand without thinking. Both Vandar males stopped moving, and the air in the room seemed to still.

  “What are you doing?” I asked, holding my hand over the one Kratos still clutched to my fabric covering.

  He drew in a long breath, his dark eyes sparking as he held my gaze. “Allowing the healer to see your injury.” His voice was low, but brimmed with impatience. “Would you rather risk internal bleeding?”

  I wanted to tell him that I seriously doubted I had internal bleeding, but my leg did ache, and the color of the bruise had quickly shifted from red to blue to deep purple.

  “I can do it,” I said, shifting the cloth so that it revealed my bruise, but not everything from the waist down.

  Kratos grunted but released his grip. “You humans are afraid to show your skin.”

  “You’re the one who doesn’t want me to wear pants because they’re too tight,” I snapped back. “What happened to not wanting any other male to see me?”

  An exasperated sigh. “Vaaton is not any other male. He is our healer. Now, do you want him to take care of your injury?”

  I stole a glance at the Vandar who hadn’t moved since we’d started our exchange. His eyes darted between us, and he didn’t seem to know what to do. Although he wore the same leather skirt that the rest of the warriors did, his expression was less fearsome, and he carried fewer scars on his exposed skin. Even his tail didn’t snap back and forth like those of the other Vandar.

  I released my own impatient breath. “Fine.”

  Kratos stepped back and waved the healer forward. “She hit herself on the corner of the table when our ship was impacted.”

  The Vandar he’d called Vaaton knelt by the bed, narrowing his eyes at the bruise that was getting darker and darker. He placed his fingers on it, and I bit my bottom lip at the sharp pain. He made a noise in the back of his throat before removing a small, metal device from his bag and running it over my mottled skin. He studied the device for a moment, then gave a curt nod, as if to himself. “A deep bruise with some bleeding, but nothing broken. I will give her an injection to speed the healing and help with the pain.”

  “An injection?” I sat up further. I hated needles.

  The healer ignored me as he returned the device to his bag and took out a flat, steel box. He placed it next to me on the bed, popping it open to reveal a long syringe.

  A wave of nausea made me flop back on the bed and suck in a deep breath. “How is it you have technology that can make ships disappear and scanners that can see if a bone is broken or not, but you’re still using needles like that? Are you really the sadists everyone says you are? Is that it?” I opened my eyes and saw Kratos standing with his arms folded over his chest, clearly unconcerned by my outburst. “You love to inflict pain, so you blow up ships and execute innocent people and…” A sharp sting in my hip made me yelp and look down at Vaaton, who was calmly putting away the syringe. “…use darn huge needles!”

  Kratos blinked at me. “Darn?”

  I ignored him. The Vandar probably had all sorts of filthy curse words, and he no doubt used them all the time—another reason Tara would have been a better pick for him.

  The healer stood and faced Kratos. “She will be fine. I added a sedative to the injection, so she can get some rest.” He paused and gave the Raas a meaningful look. “And so can you.”

  “Sedative?” I pushed myself back up on my elbows. I wanted to be outraged that the alien had drugged me, but I was already relaxing—an enticing oblivion not far from reach.

  Focusing on the Raas, I saw that the cloth he’d wrapped around his waist had slipped down so that the deep V-cuts on either side of his corded stomach were exposed. A pulse of heat throbbed between my legs, and I let out a breathy sigh.

  Both aliens swung their heads toward me.

  “Perhaps I was mistaken, Raas,” the healer said, one eyebrow lifting.

  I could have sworn I saw the corner of Kratos’ mouth twitch, but he only nodded once before the Vandar backed out of the room.

  I blinked heavily as I let myself sink back onto the bed. “This isn’t fair. I don’t want to…”

  His stance relaxed once the door had shut, and it was only the two of us. He sat next to me, tugging the fabric back over my leg. “I have told you I will not touch you before you heal.”

  “So, it’s a promise?” My words were slurred, and he appeared fuzzy around the edges. I reached out one hand and took hold of something soft. That felt nice. I stroked it between my fingers until I heard the raider make a choked noise.

  I glanced down. Crap. I was holding the tip of his tail, which even though wet, was like spun silk. His expression was tight, but he stood ramrod straight. I dropped his tail immediately, warmth rushing to my cheeks.

  His jaw relaxed, but a vein still throbbed in the side of his neck. “You are mine to do with as I like, human. You gave yourself to me. I do not owe you a promise.” His voice rasped low before softening. “But I will give you one, just the same. A Raas does not break his word.”

  “Raas Kratos,” I murmured, humming to myself. Why did I like the sound of his name so much? Why did it feel comforting to repeat it to myself like a mantra? Everything about the alien should have terrified me, but instead I felt pulled to him.

  He studied me, hi
s brows pressed together. “Yes, I am Raas. And you are mine.”

  “I am your what?” My eyes were heavy as I fought to stay awake, but tears stung the backs of my eyelids. “Your war prize? Your whore?”

  “No.” His voice was sharp.

  I moved my head up and down sluggishly. “I guess a virgin can’t really be a whore, anyway.”

  Even through the haze of the sedation, I could see the change on his face as he computed the word, his jaw clenching.

  My chin quivered, although I didn’t know why I was suddenly on the verge of tears again. Why did I care so much if I disappointed him? “I guess I’m not what you expected, huh?”

  My eyes fluttered closed, but I could still hear him.

  “No, you are not, Raisa.”

  “Astrid,” I whispered. “My name is Astrid.”

  He brushed something down my cheek, and I suspected it was the velvety tip of his tail. “When you wake, Raisa, we will discover why you draw me to you like a carvoth to a flame, won’t we?”

  I desperately wanted to stay awake, to ask what raisa meant and hear more of this warlord’s thoughts when he thought no one was listening. But the Vandar sedative worked quickly, and soon I’d slipped away from his gentle caress and into a deep sleep, my own humming the last sound I heard.

  Chapter Eight

  Kratos

  All eyes turned toward me when I entered the command deck, heels clicked, then my warriors returned to their tasks. All but Corvak, who walked up to stand next to me and face the wide view of space stretching across the front of the command deck.

  We stood together silently as the consoles hummed and our sensors emitted low beeps. Our speed was steady, and the floor vibrated from the throaty rumble of the engines. I was glad to be back on my command deck where the sounds and smells were familiar, and far away from the soft, sweet-smelling female who confused me so.