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  “I’ll take that as a yes,” he murmured.

  “You take everything as a yes.”

  He stopped, and I sucked in a breath. Had I made him angry by saying that?

  Then his body began to shake with laughter. “You are right. I do take your fast breathing and flushed skin and wide eyes as a yes. Because you are shy with your words.” He lifted his face, so it hovered above mine. “I know you want me, Raisa. I know you want this.”

  He was right. My body betrayed me every time he was near, but bells still sounded the alarm in the far recesses of my brain.

  “But I don’t know why you want me,” I said. “You’re the Raas and you’re gorgeous and you can have any woman you want—and probably have. Why does it matter so much that you…?”

  “Claim you as mine?” He brushed a strand of hair off my forehead, his gaze moving across my face. “You are so small, yet there is strength in you that should not be there. You should not be able to deny me, but you do. I do not want you, Astrid. I need you. There is no other female who has ever captivated me so. There is no one who has ever refused me before.”

  “But you still went to the whorehouse,” I said, hating the childish tone of my voice. I didn’t want to fight with him like I had earlier, but I couldn’t let it go.

  “Only to be with my crew and to reassure them that I am the same Raas they have always known.”

  “So, you weren’t with a…” I hesitated over the word, “…pleasurer?”

  “I selected one, but I could not bring myself to fuck her.” His brows furrowed. “Does it upset you to think of me with another female?”

  “Well, yeah.” For a warlord, he could be a bit clueless. “If you’re telling me I’m your Raisa, your lady or whatever, it’s not cool to run off to alien whorehouses.” My voice broke. “You left me all alone.”

  He cupped my chin in his hand. “I am sorry, Raisa. I didn’t think you cared.”

  I hadn’t thought I’d cared, either. I knew I shouldn’t care a thing about the warlord who’d taken me away from everything I’d ever known. But for some inexplicable reason, I did. “I guess I do.”

  “Good,” he rasped, as he crushed his mouth to mine.

  I was startled by the intensity of his kiss, but I parted my lips and met his tongue with my own. Kratos took one of my hands and threaded his fingers with mine, lifting it over my head and pressing it down into the silky bed coverings. He did the same with my other hand until both hands were pinned over my head as he kissed me deeply. I tried to move my arms, but he held them tightly, grinding himself into me as I writhed beneath him.

  “Raisa,” he whispered when he broke the kiss, and I lay panting beneath him. Moving my hands so that he pinned both down with only one of his large hands, he slipped his free hand down to my thigh.

  Even though his fingers were callused—no doubt from swinging his battle axe—his touch was soft as he slid his hand under my skirts, gathering them as he moved up the length of my thigh. He shifted his body, opening my legs with his knees. Then I felt the feathery tip of his tail stroking between them and my eyelids fluttered with desire. I never imagined a tail could be so sexy, but his soft strokes made me bite my lip to keep from moaning out loud.

  When he removed his tail and settled his broad body between my legs, I felt the loss of his tail. That is, until I felt the hardness of his cock pressing against my inner thigh. Holy crap.

  “You’re wet for me,” he said, the black pupils of his eyes so enlarged that there was only a hint of iris.

  My cheeks warmed, embarrassment at my obvious arousal causing my face to flame.

  “It is a good thing, my beautiful one. I like to feel your slickness. I would like to taste it even more.”

  I jerked at that. Taste it? I’d never imagined that such a battle-hardened Vandar raider would want to bury his face between my legs. “You don’t have to.”

  “Have to?” His low chuckle sent tremors through my chest. “Remember, Raisa. I am Raas. I do not do anything I do not want to do, so if I say I want to lick your sweet, little cunt, it is because I want to.”

  Hearing him talk about me like that sent a jolt through me, and I shivered in anticipation. Even if I couldn’t bring myself to say the words, I liked hearing them. And I couldn’t imagine anything sexier than seeing Kratos’ dark head between my legs. My eyes fluttered shut, and I arched into him, my body taking over from my mind.

  “You like that?” He laughed low again then released my hands and moved down my body until his head was between my legs.

  I couldn’t answer him because I didn’t want to admit that I did like it. I popped my eyes open again, because I really liked watching him spread my legs wide as he positioned himself between them.

  Nothing covered me except for the skirts, which he deftly pulled to the side, emitting a choked groan as he stared down at me. He ran a finger between my folds and then slid it in his mouth. “Just as sweet as I knew you’d be.”

  I rolled my head back as he lowered his mouth to me, dragging his tongue up until he reached my clit. I sucked in a sharp breath, fisting the sheets.

  “This is the little thing that makes you moan, Raisa?” he asked, his tone curious. I guessed other alien females didn’t have one, but he’d clearly heard about them.

  “Yes,” I managed to say.

  He swirled the tip of his tongue over it, and I bowed my back off the bed.

  “Then I like this very much.”

  I felt like telling him he wasn’t the only one, but my mouth didn’t seem to work. But his sure did. I could only make soft keening noises as he continued to flick his tongue over my clit. My breathing became ragged, and my body writhed in response to his skillful tongue.

  Kratos didn’t stop, even when I wrapped my legs over his shoulders. He slid his hands under my ass, lifting me up and making my legs fall open wider. I grasped the back of his head, tangling my fingers in his long hair and holding his head to me as he sucked my clit and my body began to tremble.

  I looked down, the sight of his long tail switching behind him making me moan even louder. There was no denying that the creature licking me was not a human, but I found that the thought of an alien warlord making me come with his tongue was enough to send me over the edge. As I quivered, he didn’t stop his tongue’s attentions, but instead slid one thick finger inside me, making me rear up off the bed and scream as my entire body spasmed, clenching his finger over and over until I sank back on the bed, gasping for breath.

  Kratos sat back, wiping his mouth and looking down at me with hot eyes. Even though he still wore his kilt, his hard cock tented the leather folds. “Now you’re ready for me, Raisa.”

  I was ready for him. My body throbbed from the need to have him inside me.

  A heavy thudding on the door made him stiffen.

  “Raas!” The voice on the other side called out. “You are needed on the command deck.”

  Kratos gritted his teeth, casting a glance over his shoulder. He glanced back down at me and sighed, tugging my skirts back over me so I was covered. Leaning down he brushed a kiss over my lips then gave me a sharp nip on my neck. “If I don’t fuck you soon I might have to kill someone.”

  I watched him turn and stalk off. I was starting to feel the same way.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Kratos

  “I apologize again for interrupting you, Raas.” Bron walked briskly beside me as we headed down the steel corridors to the command deck.

  My heart still pounded, and the sweet taste of the female lingered on my tongue, but I waved a hand in dismissal. “You said we have a captive?”

  “We thought we should keep one alive for questioning. At least for now.”

  We both knew the captive would not live for long, but Bron was right to hold one for interrogation. “You were wise to summon me. I have a few questions for this mercenary.”

  The ship rumbled under my feet as we walked, and I was glad that we were once again in the air. There was s
afety for us in space, especially since we flew undetected.

  We reached the command deck and crossed it quickly as warriors clicked their heels in salute. Wide, iron doors slid open at the far side to reveal my battle chief’s interrogation room, the oblek. Cramped, and even more shrouded in darkness than the command deck, the room held little but chains extending from the ceiling.

  The Lussite captive hung by his arms from the chains, his head sagging forward as if he was asleep or dead. I hoped he was neither.

  Corvak turned sharply when we entered. “Raas, I have been questioning this invader.”

  “Anything yet?” I asked, folding my arms over my chest and eyeing the creature’s bare chest and the ridges that swept down from his neck to his shoulders.

  Corvak twitched one shoulder. “Only that he is not the leader, and that their target was not the ship. Or us.”

  “I know.” I walked toward the prisoner. “They were after my…the human female.”

  Bron’s head swung toward me. “Why would Lussite mercenaries want a human female? How did they know about her?”

  “The Zagrath,” Corvak growled. “It could only be our enemy.”

  “It could have also been the humans we took her from,” I said, bending down to look at the mercenary’s bowed head. “Their captain in particular was not pleased with the deal the human made with me.”

  “I told you we should have killed them all,” Corvak said, under his breath.

  I spun on him. “Yes, cousin. I know what you said. But it is done.”

  He let out another noise that told me he clearly did not think the discussion over.

  I unhooked my battle axe from my waist and used the end to lift the captive’s head so I could get a better look at his face. The ridges covering his forehead were smeared with blood and a purple bruise was blooming on his yellowed jaw. “The humans did not seem to be the type to interact with Lussites like this one. Besides, Lussites rarely leave this sector. How would they have intersected with the human freighter that was heading away from Vandar space?”

  “So, it must have been the Zagrath,” Corvak said. “The humans were working for them. They must have reported the abduction, and relayed information about our ship and us.”

  I let the alien’s head drop. “You think the Zagrath hired these aliens?”

  Bron rocked back on his heels. “They have used mercenaries against us before.”

  That was true. Our enemy had come at us with their imperial fleet but had also been known to employ hired guns to track us down.

  “But if it was the Zagrath, why would they want to kill the human?” I asked.

  “Kill her?” Bron stared at me. “Weren’t they here to take her back?”

  I gave a brusque shake of my head. “The female overheard them talking. Their instructions were to get her off our ship and dispose of her.”

  Corvak frowned at me. “She is sure? That does not make sense?”

  “That is what she said.” I walked around the dangling alien, assessing his dirty clothes.

  “But Raas.” Corvak dropped his voice. “She is a female. She could have lied to you.”

  I narrowed my gaze at him. “She did not lie.”

  “It makes no sense,” Corvak repeated.

  “It does if the Zagrath are trying to get to you, Raas,” Bron said, locking eyes with me. “They have tracked you long enough to know that Vandar do not take captives. Perhaps they think that there is a reason you have claimed this female. They could be going after her to strike a blow to you.”

  I swallowed hard at this. Before, the thought of a female being taken from me would have been of no consequence. I had never become attached to one. No Vandar Raas did, until they surrendered their horde to a successor. But now…

  “Raas barely knows this female.” Corvak let out a rough laugh. “If the Zagrath think they will weaken us by killing one human, they do not know the Vandar as well as they should.”

  “Agreed,” Bron said, his gaze flickering over me for a moment before he strode to the curved, floor-to-ceiling glass looking out onto the blackness of space. “But if the Zagrath believe the female is a point of weakness for our Raas, they will continue to come for her—and for us.”

  “Let them come.” I pounded the end of my axe against the floor. “The Vandar do not fear the Zagrath. We have been hunting them for generations, and we will continue to hunt them until the empire is nothing but a wisp of a memory.”

  Corvak unhooked his own axe and thumped it on the floor. “Raas speaks the truth. It is we who hunt them and strike terror in the hearts of their soldiers. It is our raiders who strip their settlements and destroy their illegal outposts.”

  The Lussite moaned as he stirred, glancing up at us. His eyes went wide, and he yanked at the chains keeping him up.

  “Are you ready to tell the Raas of the Vandar who ordered this attack?” Corvak advanced on him with his axe swinging by his side.

  The alien’s gaze darted to me, and his tongue licked his lips nervously. “I do not know. Our crew chief didn’t tell us. Only that it was someone with a lot of power, and a lot of money.”

  “The Zagrath?” I pressed, holding his gaze with my own.

  “Don’t know.” He shook visibly as Corvak walked behind him. “Could have been. They’ve got both of those.”

  “And you were tasked with taking the human off my ship and killing her?” I asked.

  He twisted his head around to find Corvak, who stood behind him swinging his axe at his feet.

  “Answer the Raas,” Bron said, his voice hard.

  The Lussite snapped his head back to mine. “That’s right, but we might not have killed her right away.” He gave me a leer that he probably meant to bond us as males. He had misjudged me.

  “Anything else before we release you?” I asked, my skin prickling with the desire to add more bruises to the alien’s body for what he’d suggested he and his mercenaries would have done to my female.

  “That’s all I know.” He straightened up, clearly relieved that we would be releasing him.

  I nodded, stepping back from him. “You should know that no one takes from the Vandar without punishment, especially not from the Raas.”

  I flicked my eyes to Corvak, whose tail slashed through the air behind him eagerly, and dipped my head almost imperceptibly. The Lussite’s eyes flared with understanding only moments before my battle chief’s axe severed his head from his body.

  I bowed my head to him. “Well done, cousin.”

  Corvak straightened, wiping his bloody circular axe blade on his leather kilt. “That is only one soldier and one hunting party. If the Zagrath want her dead, they will keep coming. Do you not think her presence puts our ship at risk, Raas?”

  I bristled at the challenge, but calmed myself. It was his job as my battle chief to warn of dangers. And we had learned that Astrid was a danger. “We do not fear the Zagrath, nor do we cater to their wants.” I met his gaze. “We will fight them off like we always do.”

  “Yes, Raas.” He clicked his heels sharply.

  I turned and walked out of the oblek with Bron fast on my heels. When I’d almost reached the doors, he stepped in front of me. “Could I have a word, Raas?” He jerked his head toward my strategy room near the doors of the command deck.

  “I always have time for my majak,” I said, beckoning him to follow me into the private room.

  Once we were inside and the doors had swished closed, I leaned against the ebony desk. “Say what is on your mind, Bron.”

  “May I speak freely, Raas?”

  I crossed my legs at the ankles. “I would prefer it.”

  “You must be seen commanding. We have just been attacked. Word will spread quickly that it was because of the female. Your crew must see you leading them and not falling under her spell.”

  I straightened. “I am not under anyone’s spell.”

  “I have known you a long time, Kratos. I have never seen you like this. It may not be a spell,
but there is something about her that makes you different.”

  “Maybe she is the first thing I have not had to take by force and violence,” I snapped, turning away from my majak and facing the windows.

  “But you did take her.”

  I cannot tell him that I have still yet to claim the female. That I am waiting until she comes to me. A Raas of the Vandar does not wait for any female. “Fine. I will stay on the command deck.”

  Bron let out a breath behind me.

  I turned again, my arms crossing my bare chest. “But I want a guard on her. And someone to keep her company.”

  “Keep her company?” Bron’s face creased with confusion.

  “One of the apprentices. Assign our cleverest apprentice to be her companion when I am not with her.”

  “You think she will want to spend her time with a Vandar boy?”

  “She will have no choice.”

  I twisted back around to look out at the black swath of sky. And I had no choice but to do whatever I had to, to protect what was mine.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Astrid

  He’d been gone for a while, but my heart had yet to regain its natural rhythm. I sat on the edge of the bed, trying not to replay what had happened, but having a hard time not thinking about how hard the Vandar Raas had made me come.

  “Get a grip, Astrid,” I said, grateful to hear my voice in the silent room. After the noises of the battle, the quiet humming of the ship’s engines seemed almost too quiet. Not that I wanted to go through an attack like that again, but I didn’t like being alone. Again.

  I hummed to myself softly, the sound instantly calming me. That was better, I thought. I’m not alone.

  The alternative to solitude was Kratos coming back. I rubbed my damp palms on the front of my dress. Was I really ready for that? My body seemed to think I was, as all my blood rushed south every time I thought about the huge alien with his head buried between my legs.