Tribute Read online

  Sex. It’s just sex, she reminded herself.

  Holly scraped a hand through his hair and tugged his mouth to hers. His lips were soft, but his tongue insistent as it parted her lips. Even in this, his possession of her felt darkly dominant, sending tingles of both pleasure and panic skittering over her skin.

  As his kiss deepened and his tongue stroked hers, she fought the feelings and the warmth welling up inside her and tried to focus on the very real distraction of his cock thrusting inside her. He matched the movement of his tongue and his cock until she was moaning in his mouth, tremors making her shiver.

  Dangerous, she thought. This man, and what he made her feel, was dangerous.

  She tore her mouth from his, panting as she pulled away. She pressed her feet into the floor and moved up and down faster. He pressed a hand hard into the small of her back and her clit rubbed against the ridges above his cock. She cried out, the sensations slamming into her and making her dig her fingers into his hard flesh.

  He moved faster, too, and as her body clamped around his cock, T’Kar drove her down hard and held her tight, pulsing hot into her. He threw his head back and roared, the noise echoing through her body as it ricocheted off the rock surrounding them.

  For the second time that night, she collapsed against him. Her body quivered, and her limbs felt boneless.

  “Holly,” he whispered, after a moment.

  “If you’re going to ask me if I’m ready to go again, I’m going to hurt you, big guy.”

  He chuckled, the low sound buzzing against her ear and making her twitch. “That was not what I was going to say.”

  She let out a breath, her fingers slipping on his slick skin as she sat back. His eyes searched hers, and he stroked a finger down her cheek.

  “Are you okay? I did not hurt you?”

  “I’m okay. Better than okay.” She smiled at him and kissed him softly. “You’re really good at that, you know.”

  “I am glad.” He took her face in his large hand. “I want to make you happy.”

  There it was again. He was taking all this way too seriously. She lifted herself off him and groped for her dress and cloak. Now that she wasn’t sweating, the night air was cool against her bare skin.

  He hadn’t moved, and when she looked back, he was watching her. “You are sure you are okay?”

  She found the dress and slipped it over her head. “Why wouldn’t I be okay? I just had really great sex.” She gave him a quick kiss as she located her cloak and reached around him for it. “I’m a little tired, though.”

  He stood and pulled his pants up, and Holly averted her eyes from his cock that was still partially hard. “You are right. We should sleep some before we continue.”

  T’Kar settled himself with his back to the stone wall and pulled her so she was tucked between his legs. She almost protested, but his warm body felt good and she was already drowsy. He wrapped his cloak around her so that she was pressed into his bare chest, nestling her head under his chin and stroking one hand down her back. For some reason, this felt more intimate and tender than screwing him.

  It’s just for warmth, she told herself. Holly draped her arm over his waist, and felt his breath hitch in his chest, then his heart was thumping against her cheek, the rhythmic sound lulling her to sleep.

  Nineteen

  “You are sure you do not wish me to carry you?” T’Kar asked, squeezing her hand.

  “I’m not that sore,” she said, but he noticed that she twisted her hips differently this morning.

  She wasn’t wearing her cloak, and the sight of her hips and the memory of clutching them as she rode him sent fresh heat to his cock, and he shifted it in his snug pants.

  “Maybe you’re the one who needs a break,” she teased.

  He fought the urge to grin. “I am fine, mate.”

  Her hand flinched in his, and he looked down at her, noticing the way she scrunched her lips to one side.

  “You do not like it when I call you that.”

  She moved her shoulders as if she was attempting to shake something off. “I’ve never had anyone call me anything like that.”

  He felt a flash of jealousy. “I would hope not.”

  “I mean anything like that,” she said. “Not fiancée or girlfriend or honey, or any of that. One guy called me babe once.” She held up a finger. “Once.”

  “But you are my mate,” he said. “We were bonded, and I have completed the bond by claiming you.”

  She pulled her hand out of his. “That’s just it. To me, the ceremony wasn’t real, and the claiming thing was just sex. Don’t get me wrong. It was good sex. Really good. But just because we fucked, does not mean anything.”

  He stepped closer to her. “Why do you not want to admit that it did?”

  She put her hands on her hips. “Because it didn’t.”

  He watched her eyes flashing and saw the fear beneath them. “That is fine. I will wait until you can admit it.”

  She left out an exasperated breath as he turned and continued walking, but she fell in step next to him. They walked in silence, but it did not bother him. She was being stubborn, but he knew what he’d felt when he’d been inside her. He knew what he’d seen in her eyes. He would just have to wait until she was willing to admit it.

  T’Kar listened ahead for scouts, but he suspected they had either turned around or gone back for reinforcements. He and Holly had almost reached the sands—he’d felt them walking a descending path for a while now—and he doubted his people would follow them there. The sands were the domain of the Dothveks, and they did not invite battles with their fierce enemy.

  They came around a curve in the rocky path and he stopped short, holding her back from almost stumbling over the two dead bodies.

  Holly slapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide as she backed away.

  T’Kar knelt down. These males were not Dothvek, nor were they Crestek, but they were clearly warriors. They wore leather garments, and weapons were still attached to their metal belts.

  “I know them,” Holly whispered from behind him.

  He turned to her. Her eyes didn’t leave the bodies, although her hand had now moved to cover her nose. He didn’t blame her. The corpses had been rotting in the sun for at least a day, and the stench was powerful enough to make his stomach lurch.

  “They’re part of Mourad’s crew,” she said.

  “Mourad,” he repeated, the name familiar.

  “The bounty bunter who’s been chasing us across the galaxy. The asshole who stuck us here and came back for Max.”

  He nodded, rising to stand next to her. “The Dothveks must have killed these two during the battle.”

  Holly nodded. “I’m glad they took out some of them.”

  T’Kar took her hand again. “We should leave them.”

  She stepped around them, giving a wide berth, even though the men were obviously dead. “I still don’t know if your friends were right and some of my friends were killed, as well.”

  T’Kar felt the gentle tremble in her fingers. “Your crew mates did not seem like the type to give up easily, and they were protected by the Dothveks. I doubt even warriors like those would get through a horde of Dothveks.”

  Holly gave him a weak smile. “You’re right.” She dropped her hand once they walked far enough away from the bodies that the scent didn’t follow. “How is it you don’t hate the Dothveks, like almost everyone else in your city?”

  “I had the advantage of sneaking forbidden texts out of the chancellor’s library. It was there I read about our shared lineage, and the myths that both our cultures were founded upon. It is harder to hate a people once you understand them.”

  “That’s true. A lot of people think that Zevrians can’t be trusted, but I would put my life in Tori’s hands any day of the week.”

  “Tori is the fierce female with lots of hair?”

  Holly smiled. “Yeah. Our captain took her on when no one else would have looked twice at her. She wa
s a mess, and she was clearly on the run from something or someone, or a lot of someones. Danica didn’t care about any of that, or the fact that she was Zevrian. Tori has proved herself again and again. So, I get what you’re saying about the Dothveks.” She glanced up and met his eyes. “They’d probably be pretty surprised if they got to know you.”

  He straightened his shoulders. “I will take that as a compliment.”

  “You should. I mean, it’s not as good a compliment as the one I gave your cock, but that bad boy really deserved it.”

  Warmth crawled up his neck. “Do you always talk like this?”

  “Always,” she said. “People expect me to be one way because of the way I look, so I like to surprise them.”

  “I’m sure they are very surprised.”

  “Admit it,” she said. “I’m not what you expected.”

  That would be putting it mildly. He’d only met one other human female, but he’d never encountered any female who loved to provoke him as much as his mate. “You are not.”

  “Are you disappointed?” Her voice quivered just a touch, and he suspected she cared much more than she let on.

  He stopped walking and looked down at her. “I do not think anyone could be disappointed by you.”

  “You’d be surprised,” she muttered, then took him by the hand and pulled him forward. “Come on. I can feel the heat of the sand. We’re almost there.”

  He allowed himself to be pulled along behind her. She was right. The rocky path curved around a few more times then opened out onto the low ledge. Beyond that stretched the seemingly endless waves of golden sand dunes.

  He’d only seen the sands once before and then, only briefly. He took a deep breath, inhaling the last remnants of the day’s arid heat as the two suns—one glowing orange and the other a fainter yellow—sank low. His stomach clenched, as he realized night was almost upon them.

  “Come on.” She yanked at his arm. “The Dothvek village is over in that direction.”

  He pulled back, his gaze going to a cave opening nearby. “We should wait until morning.”

  “Wait? We’re almost there. We can’t wait now.” She pulled his arm again.

  “Have you ever been on the sands at night?”

  She thought for a moment. “No, but it has to be a lot cooler than walking during the day.”

  That was true, but she clearly did not know about the creatures that came out from beneath the sand when the suns set. He had never seen them himself, but he had heard tales. Tales that Crestek parents used to keep their children from wanting to journey to the sands. He had also read about them in the ancient texts, and those, he knew, were not fairy tales.

  “It can be dangerous,” he insisted. “We should wait.”

  Holly looked behind her. “If we wait, we give your people time to catch up to us and find us. You said it yourself. They’ve probably gone back for reinforcements. I, for one, don’t want to make it this far only to get dragged back to the city.”

  He did not want that, either. She was right. Venturing onto the sands would make it that much harder for his father’s scouts to find him. They would think twice before giving up their search of the rocks and crossing the sands.

  “Very well.” T’Kar eyed the glimmering sand warily as he followed her off the rock ledge, the powdery substance puffing up around their feet as they both jumped down. He hoped for both their sakes that the tales were wrong.

  Twenty

  “I might have been wrong about it being better at night,” Holly said, pulling her cloak closer. “It’s colder than a witch’s tit out here.”

  The glow from the three moons bounced off the top of the dunes, making them appear to be cresting waves rolling in on an endless ocean. Only the water was sand, and it was way less pleasant to get a face full of sand than it was to get a face full of water. She should know, since she’d fallen more than a few times already.

  “What is a witch’s tit?” T’Kar caught her arm before she slid down another sand dune.

  Her feet were not as wide as his, and she continued to sink into the sand up to her ankles. She was grateful he’d caught her before she tumbled down another of the peaked dunes.

  “Something fucking freezing,” she said, rubbing her hands over her arms as fast as she could.

  “I suggested we make camp in the cave.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” She peered over her shoulder. The mountains looked smaller in the distance, but she knew they were too far away now to turn back. “I said I was wrong.”

  “It is just nice to hear it again.”

  She shot him a look. “Now I’m starting to get a husband vibe off you, and I’m not a fan.”

  She ignored his choked laugh. At least someone was enjoying all this, she thought. She’d forgotten that the same hard skin that protected T’Kar from the suns, also kept him from freezing at night.

  “We can always stop and make camp,” he said as he helped her a smaller slope. “The tent will be warmer than being outside.”

  She shook her head, knowing she was being stubborn, but also wanting to get to the Dothvek village as quickly as possible. She had to know if her friends were okay, and every minute she was left to wonder felt like torture. “Just a little father.”

  T’Kar made a noise in the back of his throat that she knew meant he disapproved, but she continued on, cursing when she started slipping again.

  “Sons of the goddesses,” he muttered, hoisting her up into his arms and carrying her.

  Holly opened her mouth to protest, but his body was so warm that she couldn’t help snuggling up against his chest. Not only were her feet not suited to climbing up and down sand dunes, her legs burned from the exertion. She wouldn’t mind resting for a bit.

  “Thanks,” she said after a moment.

  He glanced down at her. “You are welcome.”

  She didn’t feel too guilty about being carried, since her extra weight seemed to be nothing to him. He actually increased his speed, a reminder that he’d been slowing his pace so she could keep up.

  Even though T’Kar hadn’t grown up on the desert, he adapted to the terrain easily, moving expertly up and down the sandy hills. There was little sound on the open desert, save that of his steady breaths. She couldn’t help thinking how peaceful it was, and what a sharp contrast from the city he’d grown up in. Before she could ask him what he thought of his first extended trip in the desert, his legs went out from under him and they both pitched forward.

  Holly yelped as she tumbled down a dune, landing at the bottom and pushing herself up. She expected T’Kar to be beside her, but he wasn’t. Scrambling up the slope, she saw him on the other side, but he wasn’t alone.

  Her gut tightened as she saw him slashing at a huge, snake-like creature whose head reared up out of the sand.

  Shit. What the hell was that thing? She glanced nervously around her feet, which were buried ankle-deep in the powder. Were there more of them?

  T’Kar caught her eye. “Run!”

  Part of her—okay, a big part of her—wanted to run, but she knew she couldn’t leave him to battle that thing on his own. She didn’t know how much help she could be, but she wasn’t going to leave him. She didn’t do that.

  She didn’t need to look around to know there was nothing she could use to fight off the creature. There was only sand as far as she could see. She swung her pack off her back, and opened it, keeping one eye on T’Kar as he slashed at the beast. Luckily, the Crestek was fast and had clearly been trained with a blade.

  Pawing through the contest of the bag, she found a bundle of metal stakes she recognized as ones used to secure a tent. She hurriedly unwrapped them, grabbing one for each hand, then dropped the remaining stakes in the bag.

  “Here goes nothing,” she whispered to herself, sliding down toward the back of the sand-dwelling snake and hoping it was too distracted by T’Kar to hear her.

  She noticed splatters on the sand that looked inky in the moonlight, and her stomach roiled
. She hoped that was the snake’s blood and not T’Kar’s. From where she was, he didn’t look injured as he ducked and slashed. But she also did not see any obvious cuts on the serpent.

  Holly held the stakes tightly as she tried to get closer. She knew as soon as she struck, the animal would turn on her. She needed to strike as close to the head as possible. If only the fucking thing wasn’t swinging so wildly.

  Where was Tori when you needed her? The Zevrian was a master at using her hair pins as weapons, and Holly had no doubt the woman would have already lodged them expertly in the creature’s brain. But she wasn’t Tori. Suddenly, being an expert at fixing engines didn’t seem all that practical. Especially since the planet they were stuck on had a sum total of zero space vessels.

  Holly tried to channel her crew’s security chief as she leapt forward and jammed one of the metal stakes into the snake’s back. Instantly, the creature flung itself backward, more of its massive body emerging from underneath the sand.

  Fuck! Holly scrambled back as the body crashed into the ground next to her, sending a shower of sand into the air. She squeezed her eyes shut so it wouldn’t blind her, then wiped her face quickly. The grit was in her mouth and coated her skin, but she was able to blink any fine particles out of her eyes.

  She rolled over as she felt the creature flailing next to her and saw T’Kar jump astride it and plunge his blade into it again and again. The animal let out a piercing, high-pitched sound as it writhed in obvious pain.

  Holly hesitated to stab it again until she saw it open its mouth, sharp fangs glinting as it lunged for T’Kar. With a scream, she lifted the stake over her head and drove it into the back of the diamond-shaped head that arched back toward her. It twisted fast, knocking her onto her back, and she could see that she’d missed her mark, the stake dangling from the side of its head. She scuttled back as it advanced on her, eyes flashing red.

  Then she saw T’Kar flying through the air behind it, lodging his blade between its eyes. With a final shriek, the animal collapsed, the sand shaking and shifting as its wide body made impact. Then the desert was quiet again, except for the ragged sound of both her and T’Kar sucking in breath.