3013: Renegade (12 page)

She managed to wash up and get changed in record time and was just dragging a brush through her hair when there was a soft knocking at the door. “It’s me, Sonja. Can I come in?”

“Uh, sure,” Alayna said, glancing up long enough to confirm that Nik’s sister was alone.

Sonja entered and perched herself on the corner of the bed. “Don’t worry, the rest of them are all downstairs. Nikolai’s in the kitchen. I heard him telling Colin to get his ass home, so backup will be arriving soon.” She tugged at a lock of her dark brown hair and grinned. “I don’t think we’re going to be here very long. Not once my parents have their say.”

“Do I want to know what they’re here to say? Or can I guess?”

Sonja shrugged, her pale blue eyes twinkling. “You’re not on their list of approved women. Not that it’s a surprise that my big brother went his own way.

“How do they even know about me yet?”

“My guess is they paid someone to flag Nikolai and Colin’s files so they’d know what they were up to. That’s only a guess though, they don’t tell me much. I only got to come along on this trip because they’re worried I’ll wind up claimed by someone they don’t approve of if they let me out of their sight.”

“But you’re a grown woman! Doesn’t it piss you off, being guarded all the time? There has to be something you want to do with your life besides being some elites’ chosen.”

Sonja stared at her, mouth open. “Oh, wow. You are so perfect for my brother. My mother has no idea how much she’s going to hate you.”

“Uh, thanks. I think.” Alayna opted to leave her hair loose. It really wasn’t fair for her to stay hidden away for the time it would take to re-braid it. She also noticed that Sonja hadn’t actually answered her question. Then again, her non-answer said it all anyway. Having met her parents, Alayna could see how hard it would be to break away.

“I just hope…” Sonja trailed off and made a vague gesture towards the door.

“You hope what? If you know anything that might help me get through this visit without killing anyone, I’d really appreciate the help.” She knew it was a risk to ask Sonja for guidance, but what choice was there?

“I hope you decide to stay,” Sonja muttered, ending the hug so she could step back and meet Alayna’s gaze.

With a grimace, Alayna flicked her fingers toward the tattoos that marked her golden skin. “I’m claimed. I’m staying whether I want to or not. Those are the rules.”

“My parents are rich enough that they can get rules bent when it suits them.”

“How rich, and how much can they really bend one of the Alliance’s most sacred laws?”

“You ever hear of G-
Mex Robotics?”

“Yeah, of course.
They’re huge. Make everything from household appliances to sex-droids to space station gizmos, right? What does that have to do with your parents and what they want with me?”

“The “G” is for Grekov.”

Alayna’s world dipped and shifted to the left, leaving her momentarily dizzy. “Your family owns G-Mex Robotics?”

“Yeah.
Nikolai didn’t tell you any of this, did he?” Sonja was trying hard to keep from laughing, but Alayna could see it was a losing battle for her.

“Not a fucking word. All he said was that his family was rich and he didn’t see much of them. He seems to have left out a few key details. I’ll make him pay for that later.”

“If you stay.”

Alayna drew in a slow breath and focused on what Sonja was saying. The girl clearly thought it was within her parents’ influence to bend the laws that bound Alayna to
Nik and Colin. Given who Nikolai and Sonja’s parents were, she was probably right. That meant Alayna could walk away and go back to her old life, back to Sam and their work helping the people the Alliance wouldn’t. The thought should have had her dancing for joy. Instead, all she felt was a hollow ache in her chest.

What the fuck is wrong with me? I should already be packing.

Alayna didn’t want to dwell on the conflict warring inside her, so she changed topics. “When your time comes, will you get a say in who claims you?” she asked and Sonja shook her head, her pale eyes darkening with sadness.

“None.
Nobody has made an official offer yet, but I think one’s coming soon. That’s why I’m not allowed to go anywhere without a guard these days. My parents don’t want me getting claimed by some random pair of elites before they finish brokering the best deal they can for me.”

“It would be nice if they changed the rules so that we got at least some say in the matter,” Alayna muttered, then realized that was exactly what Nikolai’s parents could be offering her, a chance to choose for herself if she wanted to be claimed by
Nik and Colin. It seemed wrong that it was more of a choice than they were offering their own flesh and blood daughter.

“If wishes were rockets, then beggars would fly,” Sonja said, managing a sunny smile that didn’t quite hide the sadness still lingering in her eyes.

“If you want to fly badly enough, maybe you should consider stealing a rocket. Your brother rebelled, you could, too.”

Sonja laughed and slipped a companionable arm through Alayna’s. “You are so perfect for Nikolai, it’s scary. If I ever decide to take up a life of crime, I know who to call.”

“Just don’t ever tell your brother I suggested anything of the sort.”

“You have a deal,” Sonja said and then glanced at Alayna. “Does this mean you’re staying?”

“It means I’m enjoying the idea that I may finally have a choice in all this. C’mon. Let’s head back downstairs and get this over with.”

***

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Colin walked through the back door and into an atmosphere so thick with tension he could have tied knots in it. There were voices coming from the front hall, so he headed that way, trying to make out what was being said. He’d only made it part way across the house when the conversation exploded into angry shouting.

“How dare you come in here and pull this shit! I want you out of my house!”
Griz roared like his fuzzy namesake and Colin broke into a run. He arrived in the foyer to find Nikolai standing in the middle of the space with Alayna hanging onto one of his arms, trying to hold him in place.

“Be reasonable, son. We’re trying to fix this mess you’ve gotten yourself into, that’s all,” Petr Grekov snapped.

“And what mess is it you feel the need to rescue us from, exactly?” Colin asked as he waded into the fracas and took up position a few feet from Nikolai, sheltering Alayna between them. Not that she looked like she needed protecting. In fact, she looked scarier than a Dragon Warrior in full battle rage as she stared down Petr and Carl. They really had found the perfect woman. Perfect for them, anyway, even if Griz’s family couldn’t see it.

The men were standing in front of the door, with Janice off to one side and Sonja tucked behind them, peeking out from behind her father’s
back . Colin couldn’t help but notice that Sonja was staring at Alayna with something close to awe, which was in sharp contrast to her mother’s thin-lipped scowl of disapproval. Petr and Carl looked grim and determined.

Petr sighed, and the expression on his face was one normally saved for explaining to small children why they couldn’t have dessert before dinner. “I would think that would be obvious. It was bad enough that our son chose to pair himself to a man of your lackluster connections, Colin. But at least you have redeemed yourself by years of exemplary service. This woman you’ve chosen to claim is simply not appropriate, not on any level.”

Alayna bristled with anger, her lip curled up in a snarl. “The woman they chose is right here. It might be smart not to insult her.”

Shit
. This is going even worse than I expected.

“Alayna is the woman we have chosen. She’s perfect for us, and that’s the end of this conversation. Now, I’m going to repeat your son’s suggestion that you leave.
Now.” Colin took a half step forward and stopped as Alayna grabbed his arm.

“They can go, right after I respond to their proposal,” she said and Colin’s heart twisted in his chest. What proposal? What the fuck had he missed?

“Griz?”

“They want Alayna to go back to the badlands.
Today. I don’t know how many credits are on the data chip they handed her, but I’m betting it’s a hell of a lot. If she leaves, it’s all hers, and my parents make this whole untidy mess go away.”

“Not fucking happening. Alayna’s ours.”

“If you two don’t shut the hell up and let me speak for myself, I’m
gone
. Do you hear me?” Alayna yanked on his arm for emphasis and Colin forced himself to stop talking. Not that he wanted to. Fuck, no. He wanted to talk to Alayna. What was going through her head right now? She had to know that he meant what he’d said. If she left, they’d come after her. Credits or not.

“Alayna—”
Griz started to speak but she cut him off.

“No,
Nik. I mean it. Not one word.” Colin heard Griz growl under his breath, but they both managed to keep silent. Janice started talking the moment silence fell.

“You really should take it and go. It’s the best deal a woman of your status could ever hope for. Better, in fact. You have my word that no one will come after you. You will be free to live your life however you wish, so long as you stay in the badlands and away from my son.”

Alayna was seeing red. She’d never understood the expression before, but right at that moment her vision was actually tinged with a reddish haze that perfectly matched the fiery rage coursing through her veins. She let go of both men and stepped toward Janice, letting her disdain for the three of them and their offer drip from every word she spoke.

“A woman of my status?
And just what the fuck is my status, exactly? What is it that has your Alliance panties in such a tight twist? Is it because I don’t have a pedigree that goes back five generations? The fact I was raised by rebels who fight against judgmental, self-righteous bastards like you and your bonded? You don’t know me at all, but you come all this way just to insult me? Whatever your issue is, bitch, you’re just going to have to get over it. You can take back your bribe, I’m not interested.” She dropped the chip on the floor at Janice’s feet and then leaned in so that their faces were only a few inches apart. “As for my status, allow me to clarify it for you. My name is Alayna Grekov-Neilson, the chosen of Nikolai and Colin, and I want you out of my house. Right. Fucking. Now.”

“Control your chosen, or we will,” one of the two older men growled from somewhere nearby.

“It would be the last thing you’d ever do,” Nikolai snarled back. Alayna glanced over to see that her men had moved to protect her. They stood shoulder to shoulder, standing between herself and Nik’s fathers, an impenetrable wall of muscle and will. After years of working alone, it was strange to have someone watching her back. Strange, but wonderful. Knowing she was well guarded, Alayna straightened to her full height and glanced over at Sonja, giving the younger woman a glimmer of a smile.

“
You
are welcome here any time, Sonja. But please, leave your parents at home next time.” With that she turned her back on the still silent Janice and joined Nik and Colin. She placed a hand on each of their shoulders as she reclaimed her place between her men. They were definitely hers now. They had to be, because she’d just torched the one chance she had to go back to her former life.

She looked up at
Nik, then at Colin, but neither of them would look at her. All their attention was on Nikolai’s fathers, who had not yet moved. For a moment she wondered if a full-on brawl was about to erupt, but then the two older men turned to Janice and Sonja.

“We’re going now.” Petr informed Janice, who simply nodded in mute agreement. To Alayna’s eyes the woman looked a decade older than when she’d arrived. It gave her a brief surge of satisfaction knowing that she had managed to rattle that judgmental bitch.

As unsettled as Janice seemed, she did manage to remember to pick up the credit chip off the floor before rising and taking Petr’s arm. The three left without another word, with Sonja following behind them, doing her best to hide the grin that kept twitching at the corners of her mouth. Sonja managed to wink at them as she left, trailing after her defeated parents.

Colin slammed and locked the door the moment they passed through it, not even bothering to make sure that they got into their
transpo and left. Silence filled the house, and for a moment Alayna wondered if she had done something wrong.

“Holy fuck!
I leave you two alone for a few hours and look what happens. What the hell was
that
? How’d they even know about Alayna? What makes them think they have the right to come and interfere in our lives?” Colin was so angry his words came out in a torrent, and he punctuated his last question by slamming his fist into the wall by the door.

“You know what they’re like. That’s why I try not to see them. They think that money and connections means that they aren’t held to the same rules as the rest of us. If they ever come near Alayna again, I’ll kill them.” Nikolai was pacing, his hands clenching and unclenching as he gestured and snarled in aggravation. Alayna stayed quiet. Her own rage was slowly cooling, to be replaced by a sense of quiet contentment and something much stronger. Something she wasn’t ready to name yet.

Nik stopped his pacing and spun around to look straight at her. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?
I’m the one who invited them in. I knew they needed to speak their piece, but I had no idea they’d be that fucking obnoxious. At least your sister’s a decent human being. She clued me in to their general plan while we were upstairs.”

“So you knew they were going to bribe you, and you let them? If it had been enough credits, would you have left us?” Colin asked, his handsome features still twisted by the anger inside him.

“No, I didn’t know they were going to try bribery. Sonja merely suggested that the owners of G-Mex Robotics might actually have enough money and influence to bend the law and let me leave, if that’s what I wanted.” She shot Nik an annoyed look. “If you’re going to be sorry about anything, you might want to apologize for not mentioning your parents are fucking tycoons!”

Nik
lifted his gaze to meet hers, and she was stunned by the doubt that showed in the dark depths of his eyes. “Is that why you decided to stay? Because you think I’m rich?”

Her men were idiots. They had to be. It was the only explanation for the words coming out of their mouths. “Don’t be stupid. What do I need with more money? You two have already bought me more things than I have owned in my entire life.”

“So why
did
you decide to stay, princess?”

“Right now I’m asking myself that very same question. Is there any chance you two are going to stop acting like complete jackasses anytime soon?”

“We are not acting like jackasses, we’re just a little confused.” Colin stopped pacing and pointed to the floor in front of him. “Get your ass over here and explain why you’re not already halfway to the badlands.”

“Have you lost your fucking mind? I’m staying right where I am, thank you,” Alayna said with a shake of her head. If they thought that her decision to stay was suddenly going to be a meek, obedient little chosen, they needed a psych
eval, stat.

“That wasn’t a request, princess.” Colin arched an imperious brow and tapped his foot.

“I just took on the owners of G-Mex Robotics and turned down an obscene amount of money in the process. Do you really think
now
is the time to try and boss me around?”

“Not really, no. But I had to see if your decision to stay had magically made you more compliant.”

“That is
never
going to happen.”

“Good answer.”

Nik cleared his throat. “You were magnificent in there, Alayna. When I realized what they were offering you, I wasn’t sure you’d stay. I know you don’t like the fact we claimed you against your will.”

“I didn’t like the fact I had no choice. The law sucks. Your sister has no freedom and a permanent guard to keep her from being claimed while she waits around for your parents to
decide who gets to have her, and you two claimed me even when I begged you not to.” Both men moved at the same time, and she found herself caught between two rock-hard bodies.

Nik’s
voice rumbled by her ear as he nuzzled her hair, and she could feel the hard length of his cock rubbing against the curve of her ass. “I’ll never regret claiming you. Not for one fucking second. You were made for us.”

“You’re ours, Alayna.” She tipped her head back to meet Colin’s gaze, her panties getting instantly soaked the second she saw the need shimmering in his steel-gray eyes.

“Yes, I am. Someone finally gave me a choice, and apparently I’m crazy, because my choice is to stay here, with you.”

“Say it again,”
Nik whispered against her fever-hot flesh. He was slowly kissing his way from her ear down the side of her throat, and every brush of his lips was sending sparks sizzling across her skin.

“Who do you belong to?” Colin’s eyes held her spellbound as she struggled to form the words she knew they both needed to hear.

“You. Both of you. And you two belong to me.” She arched her hips backward, pressing against Nik’s erection at the same time she cupped Colin’s cock, stroking him through the fabric of his uniform. They were both hard as hammered steel, and it inflamed her passions to know that she was the cause.

“Yes, we do,” both men answered at the same time and she felt her heart swell to bursting.

“Then show me,” she said, standing on her tiptoes so she could place a lingering kiss to Colin’s lips.

“With pleasure,” he said before bowing his head to capture her mouth with his. He kissed her slowly, as if she were a dessert to be savored. His tongue stroked over her lower lip and she opened to him, her breath catching in her throat as he growled in approval. Behind her,
Nik continued his leisurely exploration of her throat, drawing her hair back as he made his way, inch by inch to the nape of her neck. Shivers chased down her body as he began placing open-mouthed kisses along her spine, drawing tiny circles with the tip of his tongue before moving to a new spot.

Strong hands stroked and fondled her body, every touch kindling a new spark until she felt like her skin was on fire and her blood had turned to molten gold. Her pussy was so wet she could feel the cream trickling down the inside of her thighs.

Nik slid his hand between her thighs, tracing the seam of her pussy. “You’re already so wet you’ve soaked through your panties. I can feel it on my fingers. Is your tight little pussy aching to be filled?”