“You poor thing.” She walked to Oberon, placed a hand on his shoulder—she was fuckingtouchinghim—and deftly took the ReGen wand from Dr. Mersan’s hand. Mute, the doctor let go. All three of us seemed to be incapable of doing anything other than waiting to see what the outrageous female would do next.
She leaned to her left and right, looking Oberon over as if searching for more injuries. “I guess the doctor healed the last burn as I came in?” She looked down her nose at Mersan, who still crouched on the floor next to Oberon. Her presence must have locked him in place as well. “Doctor?”
“Uh—yes, my lady.” He stood slowly, unbending his hips and knees as if they were made of rusted iron left to the weather. “He has no other injuries.”
“I wouldn’t say that, but the rest doesn’t look too serious.” She patted Oberon’s newly healed, bare skin. Did she realize her touch…lingered?Fuck, now I really wanted to kill him.
She turned to Kayn, who had moved to stand next to Mersan. “This is unacceptable. We will need soft padding for his bed, a soft blanket as well.” She looked at Mersan. “Is there an S-Gen machine here?”
“Yes, my lady, but—”
“What’s your name?” She asked our prisoner as she waved her hand to cut off Mersan’s response. “Never mind, silly me. The S-Gen is right there.” She looked pointedly at the device where it had been installed in the corner of the room. The S-Gen machine was operational, but code locked to all but a handful of my most trusted warriors. She would not be able to use it.
She stopped walking and looked directly at Oberon. “Well? You do have a name, don’t you?”
“Oberon Arcas, my lady.”
“What a lovely name. Don’t you agree, Zarren?” She beamed at me as she strolled to the corner and stood before the S-Gen machine. “Tunic and pants, sleeping, sized to Oberon Arcas of Prillon Prime.”
“It’s locked. You won’t be able to—” I didn’t get the chance to finish before she lifted the newly generated items from the black and green gridded platform. How had she broken through our security protocols? No one used the S-Gen machines without logging their requests. The unit here? In the interrogation room? There were two warriors on the ship capable of using it, and we were both in the room.
“Oh, yes. Feel how soft these are. Much, much better.” She looked up at me, the brightness in her gaze something I had never seen in another living being, of any species. Was this joy? Over such a small thing? Nothing about her made sense. Why would she feel delight over a set of sleeping clothes for a Prillon warrior she had never met?
Was she injured? Perhaps she had been transported here to be treated by Doctor Mersan. Did she have Hive tech integrated in her brain tissue? Was the Hive technology messing with her mental acuity? She seemed healthy—every fuckable curve—but I was not one to judge the effects of Hive tech on the female mind. Mersan, on the other hand, operated a special, experimental unit for the Intelligence Core, implanting Hive devices into our female operatives. We hoped one of the females would be able to get close to a Nexus unit, the leaders of our enemies. It had nearly worked. Once.
Then a fucking Atlan had gone beast and ripped his head off. Such a waste.
The thought of Mersan laying a single finger on this female made me grind my teeth.
She walked to Oberon and handed him the clothing.
“Thank you, my lady.” Oberon watched me as he pulled the tunic on over his head. I stared back, thankful to find nothing but confusion in the male’s eyes. Relief flooded me as I realized he was not the sort of male to hurt an innocent female, no matter the circumstances he now found himself to be in. Some Prillon instincts were too deeply ingrained to overcome.
Perhaps he did not suffer the Arcas family curse.
Tunic on, Oberon stopped moving, simply held the pants in front of his cock.
Fuck. She’d walked in and seen him naked.
Had she wanted him? Looked at his body, his cock, and imagined him fucking her? Was that why she was being so accommodating? Desire? For Oberon?
Her cheeks blushed a bright pink as she realized why Oberon waited.
Shedidwant him.
Why did the thought make me want to melt his cock from his body? Right fucking now?
“Oh, sorry. I’ll just…here. I’ll turn around so you can put your pants on.” She did so, presenting her back to the prisoner. She was vulnerable to him, trusting. Easily within arms’ reach of Oberon. The top of her head barely reached my chest, and yet she looked up at me completely without fear. I could not take my eyes off her. Her full breasts peaking above the bodice of the gown, sparkling blue gemstones rested in a bed of sparkling silver in a delicate pendant resting against her skin. The brilliant blue of her eyes cut through me like ice that sent cold claws of lust straight to my cock. The more I stared, the harder my fucking cock became. She should have been intimidated. Frightened.
She stared back, devouring me with her eyes as if I were hers and she couldn’t wait to claim me.
Gods be damned. This was not going to end well. She would be hurt when she learned the truth. I could not keep her, even if I desired to do so—which I didnot. My life was not fit for a mate. A family. Gods forbid, children.
I told my cock to back off, not that the fucker listened. I might have had a fighting chance if I hadn’tsmelledher.
Feminine heat. Desire. A hot, wet pussy. My assessment of her thoughts as she looked at me—or Oberon?—had been accurate. She was ready to be stripped bare and claimed. Shewantedto be taken. Fucked. Pleasured.
I breathed her in and clenched my jaw to keep myself from saying something stupid, offering her something that was not mine to give. She belonged to another. She must. One could not be matched to a mate when not in the system. I was not in the fucking system.
