I had a plan. Returning to Rogue 5 was not possible. Not yet. I would use the Coalition to escape this Hive prison. Lie to them until I could acquire a new ship. Despite my request for sanctuary and transport, I could not return to Rogue 5. I had powerful enemies. They would be a threat to any female I cared for. Would kill her to get to me.
That was no life for a female. I had no honor, no remorse about anything I’d done, but I would not be able to forgive myself for claiming a mate and placing her in mortal danger.
Astra Legion had recently acquired the antidote for our bite. Claiming a mate was, for the first time in our existence, possible. But not for me. Not with the massive bounty on my head. Not until my enemies were dead.
My gaze lingered on the smooth skin of her cheek. Her neck. Her lips were a dark rouge I needed to taste, nibble on, see wrapped around my hard cock. I wanted tobite.
Bite. Fuck. Claim.
Mate.The most primitive parts of my mind insisted she was mine. My mate.
“Fuck.” Not only would I risk our entire Legion if I returned home, but without the antidote in her system, my bite would kill her in a matter of days. She literally might not survive the trip.
I could not touch her, not when she belonged to the Coalition Fleet, I had no access to the antidote, and my enemies would hunt her. I needed to get the fuck off this ship and resume the hunt. “Release me. I will remove the boots.”
“Okay. Hold your horses.” Bree’s very feminine, very irritated huff made my cock jump. I longed to bend her, naked, over my knees, spank her ass as I fucked her with my fingers. Make her pant, cry out, beg…
“I do not have horses to hold.” What the fuck was a horse? I hoped my NPU would offer some insight. Nothing translated other than a horse being some kind of creature on her homeplanet, Earth. She was human. I’d met a few humans out here. The males were small but vicious fighters. The females?
By the gods, the females were soft. Curved. Small. Too small. This one was taller than her human partner, taller than most of their males. Large, full breasts. Round, curved ass that would provide a proper handful when I held her in place for my cock. “Fuck.”
Gods be damned. I had to stop thinking about taking her. I could not risk my Legion’s safety, or hers, for my rock hard, selfish fucking cock. How the fuck did this female manage to arouse me in my current state? Prior to her entry into the room, I’d felt only two things, rage and pain. Now that pain fueled my mating instinct. Every breath brought her scent to me, clouded my mind with the basic need to tear the armor from her body and shove my cock deep, bury my fangs in the supple skin of her smooth neck. She was beautiful. Darker than me, her smooth skin, dark hair and expressive brown eyes… seductive. Hypnotic. I could not look away, twisting my neck to follow her movements, to breathe her in. “Fuck.”
“You said that. I’m working as fast as I can. Hold your horses is a figure of speech. It means wait a minute and be fucking patient.”
Such sass. So much fire. If she blessed me with that passion, we would not come out of my private quarters for days. Perhaps weeks. How long would it take to fuck her senseless? Feed her? Bathe her with my own hands? Take her again, lock the mating fist at the base of my cock inside her wet heat and rock us both into oblivion?
I groaned as the female wrapped one small hand around my wrist, her touch like a bolt of lightning to my system. A rush of pleasure after so much pain. I gasped.
“Sorry. I’m trying not to hurt you.” Her apology made the monster within roar to be free. Was this fragile, weak femaleoffering comfort? To me? Was she not terrified? In my present condition, enraged, covered in wounds and blood, I was a monster. Death incarnate. A killer without mercy. How dare she look upon me without fear?
Foolish female. She would not survive long without protection.Myprotection.
No. Fuck.No. No. No.The denial became a chant in my mind as she worked to free me. Every time her hand moved, I ground my teeth. I would not bite her. I would not claim her. She was not mine.
Honor and loyalty to my Legion, fear that my bite would kill her before I could acquire the antidote, held me in check as liquid acid poured through every artery.Thiswas the agony of the unmated male. Nothing existed buther.The sound of her breathing. Her scent. Her touch. Already I had memorized the color of her light brown skin, the softness in her eyes, the sound of her voice. The call of her wet pussy…
She was aroused. Soaked. Ready. For me? Or the human male?
I would kill him. Rip his head from his body and bathe in his blood. I would…
NO.
Thiswas what drove the Atlan beasts to madness. Obsession. Irrational need.
“Hurry.” My tone was harsh, demanding.
“I’m trying.” Bree moved in close as she reached for the mechanism wrapped around my arm, just below the shoulder joint. She reached up, hands over her head. The soft mound of her breast pressed against my side as she stood on tiptoes to reach the clasp anchoring one of the chains. Her scent invaded my body, more effective at destabilizing my mind than anything the Hive could have imagined.
I had to get the fuck out of here, as far away from her as possible.Now.
Essence flowed from the tips of my fangs onto my tongue in a steady stream, demanded I claim my mate. The unfamiliar taste awakened a part of me long dormant, agitated. A creature I’d yet to master. The gift of our bite was only ever given to one female.
One.
My mate’s bare skin made contact again and I groaned.
“Sorry. There’s so much blood. God, what did they do to you?” Her whispered words made me clench my fists.
