Damaged (Planet Alpha) (11 page)

“Indeed,” Kyuk murmured, hands guiding them towards the dark.

Chapter Eleven

Cori coughed, then moaned as the motion jarred her side. She hurt. A lot. She tried to take a deep breath, but that hurt
, too. She tried to cry out, but she couldn’t even form words. Her skin felt tight and hot and cold all at the same time.

“Hush,” a male voice rumbled. Soothing hands smoothed a cool cloth over her face. She swallowed, then grimaced. Her throat hurt like shredded sandpaper.

“Drink this,” another voice murmured, dribbling something bitter into her mouth.

She made a face and half of it trickled out. “Awful,” she whispered, trying not to cough again.

“This is not working,” the first male voice said, sounding frustrated.

Cori managed to open her eyes. Looming over her, a fierce Xyran warrior crouched, eyes black as space. She blinked, not sure why he didn’t frighten her.

“What do you suggest?” the other male asked.

Cori tilted her head. Another Xyran stood over them, hands curled around a metal cup. He was enormous. His legs were as thick as her middle. She frowned. Something about him stirred her memory and she tried to focus, but whatever image she had slipped away like so much smoke.

“We need to share blood,” the one standing said.

That didn’t sound good. Cori tried to argue, but her voice wasn’t working right. All that came out was another breathy moan. Her lungs were tight and aching. Her side was on fire.

“She is too weak for that,” the crouching Xyran argued.

The other one scowled. “She is too weak to
not
make the attempt. It is all we have left to try.”

Cori closed her eyes. She wasn’t sure what they meant and wasn’t sure she cared. She just wanted to sleep. Darkness drifted across her mind and she relaxed, letting it take her, but then a sharp, hot pinch on either side of her neck pulled her back.

“No,” she murmured, trying to shove away from the pain, but her limbs didn’t obey her anymore. The pain got worse. A bright buzz of energy slid along her skin, and she realize that there was something in her mouth. It was thick and warm and tasted alive. She scented vanilla and spice, as if she were back in her childhood, eating pastries.

That makes no sense
, she thought vaguely. She coughed again, groaning as the pain in her side and everywhere else melded into an unbearable volcano, reaching up from the base of her spine and out through her head.

“She is choking.”

She heard the words, but couldn’t understand them. More energy spun down her skin, burning her terribly. She tried to roll over, and there were hands on her back, helping her turn. She vomited fire, and then the darkness stole her mind.

****

The next time she woke, Cori thought she must be dead. When she opened her eyes, stars whirled in impossible constellations above her head. She stared at them, mesmerized, until she realized that what she saw was impossible. She blinked, but the stars didn’t disappear. They remained bright tiny points of light, billions of them.

“You are awake. That is good,” Kyuk said.

She turned her head. He sat next to her, clad only in a pair of soft pants. The muscles in his chest rippled as he adjusted the covers over her body.

“Am I dead?” she murmured aloud, staring at his arms. She’d touched him, intimately, but she felt as though she was only now seeing him for the first time. She felt as if she’d been reborn.

He smiled in the dim light, shocking her. She’d never seen him look so relaxed.

“No, you are not dead. Merely half-dead.”

“Did you just make a joke?” she asked, incredulous.

“Xyrans do not joke. All know this.” He helped her sit up and then handed her the cup. She took a small sip, expecting pain, but instead, cool water slid down her throat. She drank more, suddenly very thirsty.

“Where are we?” she asked, squinting past him. She couldn’t see anything in the shadows. “Where is Reiyn?”

He leaned over and flicked on a small light, illuminating the room just enough for her to realize that it
was
a room. She lay on a thick mattress on the floor of some kind of starship observation deck. The entire ceiling was transparent. She’d heard about these kinds of decks, but never expected to see one for herself. Only the richest Xyrans and Alphans could afford them.

“Reiyn will be down shortly. He is programming the auto-pilot to take us back to Earth.” Kyuk took the empty cup from her. “How do you feel?”

She tilted her head from side to side. No headache. She twisted a little, stretching her spine. “I feel surprisingly good.” She touched her side. It was a bit tender, but nothing terrible. She looked down at herself. She wore a light shift, just enough to cover her nudity. “What happened?”

“You were poisoned,” Reiyn said, standing in the entrance to the room.

She turned her head to look at him. He’d taken off his shirt and boots and wore only his leather pants. As he walked towards them, Cori’s eyes traveled over his body. He was just as impressive as Kyuk. The low burn of arousal that slid through her surprised her. She remembered being cut, and then she remembered the darkness. How had she healed fast enough to feel desire?

“Poisoned? How?”

He knelt down beside her and Kyuk. “The knife that cut your side—” He gently touched her abdomen with his fingertips. “It held a neurotoxin on its edge.”

She shook her head. “I should have known. I took it from a Xyran I killed on the way to the hangar bay.” She made a face. “I think he was the son of the Xyran who captured me. Ktor.”

“They are dead now, so it does not matter,” Kyuk said, cupping her face. “And you are well.”

She leaned into him, hardly able to believe he was real. “Yeah, about that. How the hell did I heal so fast? Especially if I was poisoned?” She sighed, still confused. “I thought I was dead.”

“We tried to heal your wound with a thermal regenerator, but it would not work while the poison was in your system.” Reiyn lounged beside her, fingers idly playing in her hair.

“If it didn’t work, how am I still here?”

“We shared our blood with you,” Kyuk said matter-of-factly. “You are our bondmate. Our psyches are intimately connected. We share blood and spirit.”

Cori didn’t know how to respond to that. She’d felt their energy slide through her when they shared blood during sex, but she’d never truly expected them to stay with her. No one else ever had.

“What he means to say is that our blood augmented yours. You already had our antibodies from when we first bonded, so you simply needed a booster,” Reiyn explained, rolling into her and putting an arm around her waist. “The thermal regenerator worked after the blood cleared the poison from your body.”

Unable to resist, she slid her hands into his hair, stroking his scalp. He arched his spine like a giant cat. “So we are truly bonded?”

Kyuk shifted closer, kissing her along her shoulder. “We are.”

She shivered. “What happened on Xyran? How did we get away?”

“We found you on the bridge of this ship, bleeding. Friktor, the Xyran who captured you, must have brought you there,” Reiyn said.

She shook her head. “No. I found my way here. I escaped from my cell. Through some freak chance, I found the hanger bay. I decided to steal this ship and escape, but the Xyran was hiding at the back of the bridge. It was almost as if he knew I’d make my way here.” She grimaced, thinking of the cruelty in his eyes. “When he found out I’d killed his son, he went crazy.”

“He is quite dead,” Reiyn declared. “Do not worry.”

She shuddered. “I hope so.”

“Friktor was the one who tried to kill me when I was a child. Reiyn saved me. That was when he received the lashing that almost ended his life,” Kyuk murmured quietly.

Cori straightened up. “You knew this Xyran?”

Kyuk nodded, fingers playing over her leg. “Yes. He has been my nemesis since I was young.”

“I should have killed him that night. I should have held his head under the water for a long, long time,” Reiyn muttered, rolling away. He stared up at the slowly wheeling stars.

“If you had, you would have been put to death,” Kyuk said. “This is better.”

“That lashing is why my mother sought an escape from Xyran. She was too afraid, before that happened.” Reiyn sighed. “Destiny is an odd thing.”

Kyuk laughed, startling Cori all over again. “Indeed.”

“This Xyran
… he probably grabbed me because he knew you,” Cori offered.

“Yes. He has been trying to destroy me for years. He is behind the destruction of my warship. I do not know how he discovered I was alive, but he must have found out that you and Reiyn recovered my escape pod.” Kyuk sounded quite certain.

“Perhaps he broke the code.” Cori hated to think of what that would mean for the slaves yet to find their way to freedom. It would undermine the entire system. “The distress call,” Cori elaborated when she saw the males didn’t follow her reasoning.

“If he has, the secret died with him.” Reiyn turned to her. “His mountain fortress is nothing but rubble.”

“You blew it up?” Cori grinned. “Seriously?”

“Seriously,” Reiyn teased. “I am sorry, but I used your fuel cell. And your ship is likely in a crumble of twisted metal at the bottom of Mount Braskix.” For a moment he looked nervous. “We cleaned your clothes, but I am afraid your vest was destroyed by the wound.”

She thought of the photo of her family, still tucked inside her vest.
Oh well
. “I don’t care. I have a new ship now.” She laughed and patted the mattress, suddenly feeling freer than she had in a long time. Another Xyran slaver dead?
It’s all win, as far as I’m concerned,
she thought, nearly giddy.

“Enough talk.” Kyuk nudged her down to the mattress. “You need rest.”

She smiled at him, no longer worried about making love with a Xyran. He was
her
Xyran, as was Reiyn. That made all the difference. “No, no more rest. I’ve been sleeping too long already. I need something else.” She slid her fingers into his dark hair and pulled his face to hers. “I need my bondmates.” She nibbled on his lower lip. “I need my lovers.”

He groaned, opening his mouth and kissing her fiercely. “You have them, Corazon.”

“Indeed,” Reiyn said, stretching his muscular length along her back. His cock nudged against her ass.

Cori arched her spine, wanting more. She kissed Kyuk again, biting him harder just to hear him growl. He put his hands in her hair, controlling the kiss, and then he reached down and stripped off her shift.

“You, too.” She plucked at his pants.

“I agree,” Reiyn said.

Kyuk made an impatient sound, turning away, but when he rolled back, he was gloriously nude.

“I didn’t get a chance to see you before,” Cori said, breathless. His cock jutted out, thick and heavy. She cupped him in her palms, then leaned down and licked the crown.

He groaned, hands fisted in the bedding.

“You like that,” she said, then took him into her mouth, sucking strongly.

His legs opened, and she played with his testicles, rolling them gently until he shuddered. He tasted sweet and wild. She licked down his length until he hauled her away.

“I want to be inside you,” he said, pushing her onto her back.

She opened her arms and legs, delighted. “Yes.”

He shoved inside with one thrust
, and she cried out, shaking. He was huge, but she was so very, very wet. He pumped his hips a few times, and then Reiyn was there, kneeling over her. His cock hung down, heavy and hot, right next to her cheek. Cori turned her head and took him into her mouth. He groaned, head back. She pulled back. When he caught her eyes, she saw the glint of his tongue piercings and shuddered, remembering those tiny, silver balls on her clit. She reached for him, running her fingers over the gems near his hip as he fed his prick into her mouth again.

Kyuk’s hips stuttered, pushing his groin against her, hard. She made a noise
, and Reiyn pulled out of her mouth. He shifted around, his head going down to her mound.

“Oh holy hell,” she muttered, legs trembling. Kyuk held her steady. Reiyn dipped his mouth down and licked her clit, even as Kyuk began to move again. She could tell that Reiyn was also licking him as he slid inside her, because Kyuk’s skin had begun to take on that glow that told her the pleasure was almost unbearable. She smiled, hands in Reiyn’s hair. When her orgasm caught her completely by surprise, she keened, spine arching. Reiyn licked her through it, then kept going, teasing her mercilessly with the metal balls in his tongue.

She tried to tug him up, but then Kyuk stiffened, hips going still.

“I want to bite you again,” he growled.

She nodded, knowing that when he took blood she would climax again. He bent down and sang his fangs into the side of her breast. She writhed as his energy crashed over her. When Reiyn leaned over and bit her neck, the top of her head exploded. White heat raced through her, and she orgasmed again and again. When Kyuk fell to the side, his cock sliding out of her, Reiyn took his place, fucking inside her pussy as Kyuk’s seed spilled out of her. He groaned and bit her again. The pleasure was almost too much. She grabbed his hair, and he growled, moving over her in a way that told her she was his. His and Kyuk’s. When he orgasmed, Cori held him close as tears slid down her cheeks.