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  When she’d stroked my tail, I thought I would lose control, but I’d reminded myself that she did not know the tip of Vandar tails were so sensitive. If she’d known that stroking my tail was almost as arousing as stroking my cock, she would not have done it. I knew that, but it was hard to remember just how much she didn’t know about my kind. It was going to be very difficult to keep my promise, and I wondered—not for the first time—why I’d made it to her in the first place.

  Even though he did not look at me, Corvak’s disapproval pulsed off him in waves. Of anyone, it would be my battle chief who would be the most threatened by my actions. And I’d always known that Corvak was a beast who attacked when threatened.

  “No trace of the Zagrath in pursuit?” I asked before he could speak.

  “None, Raas.” He cleared his throat. “They would not come at all, if we had destroyed that freighter.”

  I knew he was right, but I did not like the reminder of my weakness. Although we were kin, I was still his Raas. I swiveled my gaze at him, watching a muscle twitch in the side of his face. “You question my judgment?”

  “Never before, Raas.”

  Heat threatened to suffuse my face. Never before.

  “But now you challenge your Raas?” I heard the fury beneath my carefully modulated words, and watched his jaw drop slightly. He knew he’d gone too far.

  Corvak turned to face me as bodies shifted around us, and heads turned with interest. “You know I would never challenge you. I have served under you for as long as you have commanded this horde.”

  I clasped my hands behind my back, aware that my warriors were watching and hearing every word. “Maybe you think you know better now? Maybe you think me weak?”

  “Never.” Corvak’s scarred face was earnest as he held my eyes. “You have killed more Zagrath than any Raas before you except for—“

  “My father,” I finished for him, turning away. “But I have spilled enough enemy blood for you not to doubt my reasons, Corvak. If I spared that worthless freighter, I had my reasons. Ones I do not need to share with anyone, not even my battle chief.”

  “Yes, Raas.” The heat had seeped out of his voice. “I did not know that sparing the humans was part of your strategy.”

  “Sometimes it is important to confuse our enemy.” I knew our enemy was not the only one I had baffled with my actions, but I was in no mood to explain myself to my crew. Not when I myself did not fully understand why I did what I did.

  “Of course, Raas.”

  “Do you anticipate any more encounters on our way to the Carborian sector?” I asked, cutting off discussion of the earlier events.

  “Long-range sensors show no enemy ships or outposts on our way.”

  “Good.” I shifted my weight. “We are overdue to restock our rations and fuel stores.”

  Corvak cleared his throat. “I would like to request a stop on Jaldon.”

  My pulse quickened, then stuttered to a stop. Jaldon. One of the pleasure planets that welcomed Vandar raiders with open arms—and much more.

  I immediately sensed a change in the energy of the command deck. This had already been discussed before my battle chief had broached it with me. Not surprising. We often stopped at Jaldon when we were on a supply run. I usually partook as eagerly as any of my warriors, enjoying the strong drinks and the easy females.

  But now, I hesitated. Did I want to leave my new female to pleasure myself with a whore? Then again, I had yet to taste my female, and I’d given her my word that I would not until she was healed. Perhaps I needed to release tension as much as the rest of my men.

  “Raas?” Corvak prodded.

  “A stop on Jaldon is well-deserved,” I said, raising my voice so all on the command deck could hear. “It is done.”

  A low rumbling of pleasure passed through my warriors as I uttered the Vandar phrase that meant I had made a final decision, and I allowed myself a small smile. It was well-deserved. We had been on our current raiding run for too long—intercepting transports and invading Zagrath outposts—and it was past time for us to enjoy the spoils of war.

  “Thank you, Raas.” Corvak clicked his heels with a snap before returning to his standing console.

  I gave a final visual sweep of the command deck, satisfied that we were flying safely hidden from our enemy, and my eyes lingered on the view screen displaying the dark expanse, pinpoints of light flickering. As much as I was used to life in space, I would be glad to set our ship down on solid ground and have dirt beneath my feet and sunlight on my back. I felt a pang for the wide plains of the home world I’d never seen, wondering what it would be like to lead a horde of warriors thundering across the land instead of the cold sky.

  I gave a shake of my head and strode off the command deck, only realizing that Bron was behind me when I’d reached the first iron staircase. I twisted to face him.

  “How is she? I heard you called the healer.”

  “Bruised in the attack,” I said. “Nothing Vaaton couldn’t fix.”

  He nodded, but his gaze dropped.

  “What is it, majak? Do you come to question my judgement, too?”

  His gaze jerked to mine. “Never. My only concern is for you, Raas.”

  “For me?” I almost laughed. “You think the small female a danger to me? Maybe you did not get a good look at her.”

  He inclined his head at me, not smiling. “I got a good look at the way you looked at her.”

  My throat tightened. Bron had always been able to see into me where others could not. It was why he was my majak, my most trusted advisor and warrior. “You think the way I… You think she will make me weak?”

  “There is a reason we do not bring females onto our warbirds,” he said, not answering my question. “They are a distraction.”

  “Maybe I need a distraction.” I bit out the words. “Maybe I have been killing and chasing so long I need something to fill my mind aside from memories of war cries and the smell of blood.”

  “She will do this for you?”

  I did not know what the human would do, but I knew I’d seen something in her that drew me in and made me want to know more. Perhaps she was only a distraction, but she was a desirable one. And I knew all the things I wished to do to her. “She will fill my bed, at least.”

  Bron cut his gaze to me. “If that is all she will do, Raas.”

  I tamped down my ire as I felt it flare inside me. I knew Bron was not challenging my authority as Raas, or questioning my judgement. It was why he’d stepped off the command deck with me and why he kept his voice low. I could not be angry with my majak for his concern. We had fought too long side by side.

  “You know that is all she can do.” My eyes went to the marks on his chest and then to mine—our mating marks. Only when I’d found my one true mate would the marks expand across my arms and down to my stomach and appear on the female’s skin, as well. It had never happened with a female who was not Vandar before.

  He exhaled, his relief evident. Even though he was relieved, the reminder that she would only ever be a distraction made my stomach clench. But I had known that when I’d taken her, and I had not cared.

  I clapped him on the shoulder. “I will join you on Jaldon, and you will see how the female holds no sway over me.”

  His dark eyebrows arched. “Yes, Raas.”

  Chapter Nine

  Astrid

  I stretched my arms overhead and sighed, surprised when my fingers didn’t touch the hard, steel wall of my rack. Our freighter didn’t have space for private quarters—except for a small cabin for the captain—so I slept in the stacked racks that were so tight I couldn’t sit up without hitting my head and couldn’t extend my arms overhead without hitting the wall. At first, the cramped space had made me claustrophobic, and I’d kept the privacy curtain open while I slept, but eventually I’d grown used to it.

  I rolled over, the silky sheets slipping over my bare skin. Silky? That made me blink myself awake. The sheets on our ship were rough
, and I never slept naked.

  The high, dark ceiling loomed over me, and I tipped my head back to see the headboard of iron shields and curved axes welded together. I was definitely not on my sister’s freighter anymore.

  The Raas’s quarters were silent and much as I remembered them—sparsely furnished, and dimly-lit with black, reflective floors. One thing I had not remembered was the fire that crackled in a fireplace inset in the far wall. That had not been burning when I’d arrived, although I welcomed it since the room itself was cold.

  Sitting up, I wrapped the soft, black sheet around myself. When had I gotten under the covers, and where had my towel gone? The last thing I remembered was getting a shot and falling asleep as the Raas talked to me.

  I pressed my lips together. It wasn’t hard to imagine that he’d been the one to remove the towel and put me to bed. I suppose I was lucky that was all he’d done, although I recalled him making a promise not to touch me until I’d healed. Tugging up the sheet, I peered down at my bruise.

  “Amazing,” I whispered, running my fingers over the skin that was now pink instead of swollen and furiously purple. Whatever the healer had given me, had really worked. I guessed fancy weapons and cool tech weren’t the only things the Vandar had developed.

  I swiveled my head, taking in the entire room and listening for sounds other than the popping of the fire. When I was certain I was alone, I stood and crossed to the fireplace, dragging the sheet with me.

  I held one hand at a time to the fire—using the other to keep the sheet wrapped around me—letting the blue flames warm my fingers. It was clearly an artificial fire, but the dancing flames still mesmerized me. I hummed to myself as I watched them, trying to think of anything but the reality of where I was.

  Not that I knew where I actually was. The Vandar warbird had taken us who knew how far from where I’d been, and I had no clue how long I’d been sleeping. Although, from the heaviness in my head and the ache in my stomach, I suspected I’d been out for a while.

  Inhaling deeply, I smelled something savory that was not coming from the fire. Food. I peered around the room again, this time my gaze catching on some plates and bowls on one end of the long table. I didn’t waste any time hurrying over, lifting the clear domes covering the food and keeping it warm. I pulled a cloth off the top of a bowl to reveal knots of bread, the yeasty scent wafting up.

  I almost moaned out loud. That’s what I’d been smelling—freshly baked bread. I took a bite of one of the pieces, closing my eyes to savor the taste. I hadn’t had fresh bread in longer than I could remember. On my sister’s freighter, we survived on protein powders and ration packs.

  I swallowed and took another eager bite then washed it down with the ruby-red liquid that filled a chunky, metal goblet. Some sort of wine, but with a kick. I’d have to be careful with that, I thought, putting the goblet back on the table.

  “You are awake.”

  His deep voice made me jump, almost dropping the sheet as I spun around to face him entering the room. I’d been so busy wolfing down food that I hadn’t even heard the door slide open.

  I nodded, pulling the silky fabric back up as the Raas watched me. “I just woke up.” I glanced down at the bowl of bread. “Thank you for the food.”

  He wore his shoulder armor again, but there were smudges of dirt and streaks of dark red across his bare chest. “I’m glad you ate. You have been out for a full cycle.”

  “You mean a day?” I rubbed a hand to my forehead. “I’ve been asleep for a whole day?”

  He shrugged, walking toward me with long strides. “If that is what humans call it, then yes, you have been asleep for a day. It is normal. Healing makes you tired.” He tilted his head at me when he’d reached me. “You are healed, are you not?”

  Panic fluttered in my chest, and I leaned my head back to look up at him. “It’s much better.”

  His gaze moved down to my leg draped in the black sheet, and I realized I was holding my breath. He grunted and twisted his body to one side, nodding his head at his armor. “I need you to remove this for me.”

  I let out my breath, dropping my gaze to the leather buckle across his broad back. It was clear I’d need two hands to unhook it, so I tucked the sheet up under my armpits and attempted to hold the slippery fabric in place while my fingers worked the buckle. His bronze skin was softer than I’d expected, and my fingertips lingered once I’d unhooked the straps, pressing gently against his muscle, the velvety skin a stark contrast to the rigid hardness beneath.

  I’d never been so close to someone so huge or so deadly. I paused when I felt his eyes on me, my fingers jerking back as if scorched. “Sorry.”

  “You do not need to apologize for touching me,” he husked.

  I turned my attention back to my work, my cheeks burning. Since the straps hung freely, I attempted to lift the metal shoulder cap, but it was heavier than I’d expected and my arms lifted quickly to keep it from crashing to the floor, which meant that the sheet slipped down and pooled around my feet.

  I stood completely naked, holding the heavy armor with both hands as he turned back around. I was too terrified to drop the shoulder cap for fear I’d break my foot or his. I wasn’t sure if my arms were shaking from the weight or the fear, but I knew I couldn’t hold it for much longer.

  Raas Kratos didn’t lower his eyes from my face as he took the armor from me. “Thank you, Raisa.”

  I hurriedly snatched the sheet from the floor and wrapped it around myself as he turned and walked back to the stand next to the door, hanging his armor with his weapons. He slid his feet out of his boots, unhooked his wide belt, and let his kilt fall to the floor. It was not the first time I’d seen him naked, but it was the first long look I’d gotten of his bare ass as he walked to the bathroom.

  It was true I hadn’t seen many bare asses, but I was one-hundred-percent sure I’d never seen one as fine as his. Normally, I would have been distracted by his swishing tail, but it was seeing his cock swinging between his legs from behind that made my heart stutter in my chest.

  I blew out a breath to steady myself and walked back to the table. At least he was in there, and I was out here. The more distance between me and the scary warlord, the better. I took a gulp of wine, welcoming the sharp kick as I swallowed.

  “Vaes,” he called out, his voice reverberating off the stone of the smaller room.

  By now, I knew what that Vandar word meant. I suspected that whatever he wanted from me in there was better than what would happen if I disobeyed. I walked quickly across the room, stopping in the arched doorway.

  The Raas sat in the red water, his arms folded on the ledge and his head resting on them. His eyes were closed, and his black hair was wet across his back. “You will wash me.”

  I glanced around the room for a cloth or a sponge or something with a long handle. Of course, there was nothing.

  “With your hands, Raisa,” he said, as if reading my mind.

  There was that word again. I wanted to know what it meant but I was afraid it was the Vandar equivalent of “servant girl. Or worse, “bonehead.”

  I went to the edge of the sunken pool and knelt next to him, holding my sheet with one hand while scooping hot water onto his exposed back with the other.

  After a few moments, he opened one eye. “Get in.” Then he added, “Without the sheet.”

  Great, I thought. Just great.

  This is what you signed up for, Astrid, the critical voice in my head reminded me. You knew you’d be attending him in some way. So, pull on your big-girl panties and get in the darn water.

  “I’m going, I’m going,” I whispered to myself, my cheeks heating when he opened his eyes again and furrowed his brow. Sometimes I really wished my inner voice knew how to curse.

  I moved to the other end of the pool, dropping the sheet and slipping into the water as fast as I could. His huge body took up most of the space, but I managed to slide to one side of him. I sucked in my stomach so as not to touch his bo
dy, and carefully splashed water across his back. The streaks of brown and red dissolved into the already-crimson water, and I only had to rub at a few tenacious spots to remove it all.

  He lay completely still in the water while I worked, his breathing deep and steady. He only shifted when my fingers feathered across one of the scars on his back.

  “So why are you so dirty?” I asked, my curiosity finally overcoming my desire for him not to notice me. “Did I miss a battle while I was asleep?”

  “Not much of one.” He twisted his head to face me and rested it on his arms again. “A new Zagrath military outpost on Gurlaatia Prime.”

  My hands stilled on his back. “You attacked it?”

  “We removed the Zagrath from a planet that is not theirs.”

  “By killing a bunch of Zagrath soldiers?” I thought of the blood I’d washed off him and the fact that there were no wounds on his body.

  He opened his eyes. “They are invaders.”

  “Who conscript a bunch of innocent people to fight for them.”

  He lifted his head, his eyes sparking. “They are not innocent, if they fight for the empire.”

  “The Zagrath will just send another bunch of soldiers to the outpost.”

  The Raas turned over in the water, sitting up until his naked body brushed against mine. “Then we will kill them, as well.”

  I huffed out a breath. “Until what? Until you kill everyone in the galaxy? When does it end?”

  He spun me around so quickly, I screamed. He cupped my body with his own and braced me between him and the wall of the pool with one large palm spread across my belly. I’d been wrong to think he was relaxed, as his cock was thick and hard and pressing against my ass cheeks.

  “It ends when I say it ends, Raisa,” he murmured into my ear, the words vibrating down my spine. “Or maybe you’d rather it was my blood being spilled? That way you would not have to fulfill your end of our bargain?”