Damaged (Planet Alpha) (3 page)

She cut him off. “Please. I live here
, and you don’t. Nothing is going to happen to me.”

“If something happened to you, I would be left with a non-functioning ship,” he said, staring down at the top of her head. Her hair gleamed in the sunlight like spun gold. She rolled her eyes at him.

A strong urge to smooth his fingers over her vulnerable nape had him exhaling in frustration. When his gums suddenly began to ache, he stopped hiking and clenched his fists, willing the heat curling in his abdomen to subside. Losing control would be disastrous. She had no idea he wasn’t human.
And being half-human does not count because Xyran genetics are dominant.
He took several slow deep breaths.
Why does she affect me so strongly?

“Reiyn?”

He nodded shortly. “I am coming.”

“You’re the one who said this was an emergency,” she pointed out.

He rolled his shoulders, trying to work out the tension in his neck. “Just walk, woman. I am fine.”

She glared at him. “My name is Cori, not woman.” She resumed walking. “It’s just up ahead.”

He followed her, angry with himself. He was going to betray his origins if he couldn’t do better at sounding like a human. His mother had been human, but he’d been born in the crucible of Xyran. Everything he knew about survival had been ground into him on that cursed planet before he’d reached the age of five. He may have been terribly young when his mother orchestrated their escape, but he’d learned enough to know that the Xyran warrior in him would always win out against his half-human nature. Violence always came out in the end. He’d seen enough of it to know that truth in his bones.

Chapter Three

Cori stood in front of the dusty metal hatch, wondering what the hell she was doing. Mr. Annoying was on her right, waiting for her to open it up. Every time she glanced at him, his brown eyes stared back at her as if he knew something she didn’t. He made her twitchy. Her instincts screamed that something about him wasn’t quite right, but his credentials had checked out long before she’d ever agreed to meet him today. He was a smuggler. He specialized in gems and Xyran weapons, and his side-job was freeing human and alien slaves from Xyran tyranny. Those were all good things, in her opinion. So why did he make her feel like he was hiding something?

“We are alone. You need not fear opening the hatch,” he said, as if she didn’t already know that.

She sent him a disgusted look, then put her palm on the reader. It flared yellow, then red, and the hatch slid open soundlessly. The interior remained mostly dark, except for a few dim emergency lights set into the corners of the airlock.

“This is a Xyran ship,” Reiyn said, stepping inside.

Here goes nothing,
she thought, and followed him in. “So it is, but beggars can’t be choosers. I scavenge where I can,” she replied, looking around. “There’s only enough power for the emergency lights and doors. You can look around while I fetch the fuel cell.”

That way he wouldn’t see where she lived. The cave system Sky had shown her six years ago was more extensive than they’d realized. Cori lived on the opposite side of the ridge from Sky and her blood-kin, Jaxt and Zoen, and their son, Zaxt. The first few years after her rescue, Cori had lived in a smugglers
’ encampment, but when she’d reached eighteen, she’d moved out, away from her foster-mother, Alice, and younger foster-sister, Louisa. They weren’t like her. They were soft and gentle, and Cori wasn’t. She wanted, more than anything, to fight back against the aliens who’d enslaved her, and so she’d involved herself in the underground: a loose group of people, human and Alphan, who worked against the Xyrans and their bloodthirsty quest to take over the galaxy. There were only two Xyrans she didn’t hate: Zoen and Jaxt, Sky’s bondmates. And they were half-Alphan, so they didn’t really count as Xyrans.

“Very well,” Reiyn said, a hint of frustration in his voice.

Cori smiled tightly. He really didn’t like being left here like this. “It won’t take me more than an hour.”

He pulled out his communicator again. “I hope not.”

When he didn’t look up, she shook her head and backed out of the airlock. He was a big boy. He could take care of himself.

****

An hour later, Cori peered into the storage cave, warily checking to see if it was empty. After being out in the sun, her eyes took a moment to adjust.

“I don’t know what you’re looking for, but you’re not going to find it by blocking all the light,” Sky said, scaring Cori half to death.

“Sky, hey. I didn’t see you,” Cori said, easing into the cave.

“No kidding.” Sky was rummaging through the pile of dried food near the back. A new leather pouch leaned against the wall, close to the stored jerky.

Cori frowned. “Please tell me that isn’t more vulture meat.”

Sky snorted. “Sorry, no can do.”

“I hate vulture meat.”

“Anyone with any sense in their skull hates vulture meat,” Jaxt said from behind her, making Cori jump.

“Jesus, what’s with the sneaking up on me?” she complained, wondering how she was going to explain what she needed. She’d been hoping no one would be in the cave. She could dash in, grab the fuel cell, and dash back out again.
But no, I have crappy luck, and now I’ll have to explain everything.

“I was not sneaking,” Jaxt said in his deep voice, sounding offended. He slid past her carrying another pack of food. He dropped it near his bondmate. “Zoen went back to the encampment to fetch the rest of the gourds. Happily, he took our son with him. Perhaps the hike will tire the boy out.”

“Thanks.” Sky smiled up at him affectionately, but then she cocked her head and laughed. “I don’t think anything ever tires Zaxt out, though. He takes after his fathers.”

Jaxt grunted and crouched down, helping her arrange the new packages. “I do not know how such a small child can have so much energy. Even I tire of his antics, at times.”

Cori watched him shift the food. The way he moved reminded her of Reiyn. His body held the same coiled strength and grace as Reiyn’s. Her eyes flicked down Jaxt’s torso. Then heat flared over her face, and she shook her head and looked away, embarrassed. The last thing she needed to do was moon over Sky’s bondmate.

“I have the intel we needed, Jaxt,” she said, pulling out the paper Reiyn had given her. She walked over and held out the note.

Jaxt took it from her, squinting down at the words. “Hmm.”

“What is it?” Sky asked, leaning against his arm.

“The last members of my tribe, those few I have been able to track using the records we recovered last year, have escaped and resettled in new territory.” Jaxt’s face relaxed into one of his rare smiles.

“Oh, that’s great news,” Sky said, hugging him.

Cori looked away. Their love for each other permeated their actions. Sometimes it made her happy. Sometimes watching them together made her wistful.
And sometimes, like now, it just reminds me of all the things I don’t have
, she thought.

“Cori?” Sky’s voice pulled her from her reverie. “Are you headed back to your cave?”

Cori grimaced. “No, actually. I promised the messenger I’d give him a lift. I came back for the fuel cell.” She gestured to the opposite corner of the cave where they stored the non-perishable items.

Jaxt frowned. “You are flying a stranger into space?”

Cori lifted a shoulder. “No. I’m going alone. While we were talking, he received a distress call.” She pursed her lips. “He had a communicator.”

Sky and Jaxt exchanged looks.

“You can’t talk me out of it,” Cori said immediately. She knew them too well. They’d try to stop her, and then they’d argue and she’d go anyway. “You can’t protect me anymore. I’m all grown up.”

“It is dangerous to trust in the unknown,” Jaxt said.

“He knew the code. And the distress call is legitimate.” Cori moved further into the cave. “And I need to do this. It’s important to me.”

Sky touched Jaxt’s arm. “Let her go.”

He shook her off. “I will check your fuel cell for you.”

Cori would’ve argued with him, but she knew that his offer was his way of dealing with her going. She didn’t really have the time for a fuel cell check, but one look at Sky’s face had her sighing and agreeing.

****

When she neared her ship, Cori cursed all men and their stupid ideas as she slid her fingers under the heavy straps of her backpack yet again. Her shoulders hurt. Her feet hurt. Most of all, though, her temper had frayed almost beyond endurance. She was hot, sticky, and frustrated. During Jaxt’s check of the fuel cell, he’d found a faulty connection, and Cori found herself waiting even longer than she’d expected while he repaired the damage. Once he’d finished the repairs, she’d had to wait around while he checked and double-checked the power device. It would’ve been a disaster when she tried to plug it into the ship without his work, but she knew Reiyn would be freaking out because she was late.

Sky hadn’t been much help, either. She’d sat there—eyes twinkling as she’d pelted her bondmate with good-natured insults—while he worked. It had all been very amusing, but Cori wasn’t in the mood. Every time Sky sent Jaxt an affectionate look, Cori’s brain supplied her with an image of Reiyn and his ridiculous muscles. And his strong jaw. His butt wasn’t bad, either, but this attraction to him was making her cranky. She didn’t have time for sex. She didn’t
want
to have time for it. She’d managed to avoid being used for sex and breeding when she’d been captured, but she’d seen plenty. After her rescue, she had even experimented a bit with the boys in the smugglers’ camp. It was fun, but nothing worth bothering with very often. As for love, well, she had no intention of ever putting herself in a position of vulnerability like that.

You want what Sky has with her bondmates, and that’s not just unlikely, it’s impossible
, she told herself, once again.
So you need to just get over wanting it.

“I had begun to think you had abandoned me,” Reiyn said quietly.

Cori stumbled, almost dropping the dratted backpack. “Shit. Warn someone when you’re going to sneak up on them,” she said, heart pounding.
I’ve been startled enough for one day
, she thought crankily.

He slipped out from the shadows at the edge of the trail. The setting sun gilded his skin, making him glow like something out of a book. He was shirtless
, and Cori blinked, hands tightening on the straps.
Jesus, he’s gorgeous.
His leather pants were high-waisted, covering him half-way up his abdomen, but they didn’t detract one bit from his impressive physique.

“It is never wise to warn prey of the hunter’s presence,” he replied, his voice deepening even more.

“So, I’m your prey now?” she asked him, slipping the backpack from her shoulders. “I think not.” He could carry the damn thing for her if he was going to make stupid threats.

He lifted a shoulder and ignored her question. “Is that the fuel cell?”

She nodded. “Feel free.” She nudged at it with her foot.

As he stooped to pick it up, her eyes widened. His bare back was criss-crossed with silver scars. He’d been lashed. A lot.

“Jesus,” she muttered, staring. Her fingers twitched. She wanted to smooth her palms down over his back.
As if that would do any good. Those scars are years old,
she thought, squashing the notion before her libido grabbed it and ran away from her.

He straightened up, lifting the heavy fuel cell effortlessly.

“That’s why you do this,” she said instead of touching him. She needed to say something. “Why you work to free slaves. It’s because you were one of them.”

His expression darkened. “Do you still insist on coming with me?”

She frowned. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

He turned on his heel and headed down to the small clearing. The ship sat silently in the fading sunlight, camouflaged with netting and dried grasses. She wished she had a way to use its old cloaking function, but maintaining that tech was way out of her price range.

“I know what it feels like,” she said, following him.

Abruptly, he stopped. Cori almost ran into him.

“You know nothing of this,” he said tersely, waving a hand at his skin.

“I was a slave, too,” she said, defiant. She didn’t care if it pissed him off. Nothing he did made sense. One moment he was strong and quiet, and the next, he was aloof and angry. She didn’t understand him.

“I was born in slavery,” he said, dropping the fuel cell into the dirt. “Were you?”

She swallowed, then shook her head. “No. I was captured from a refugee camp after my family died. I was
very young.” She touched his arm, knowing she was playing with fire. His skin was smooth and warm. “Even so, I know what it feels like to have no freedom.”

Reiyn laughed bitterly, muscles bunching under her fingers. “You think so?” He grabbed her forearms and pulled her against his chest, hard enough to bruise.

Strangely, Cori wasn’t frightened. They pressed together tightly enough that the heat of him warmed her entire body. Arousal slid through her, fast and shocking.

“You know nothing of what I suffered,” he said, then bent his head down and kissed her roughly.

Cori gasped, mouth opening under the onslaught. When his tongue touched hers, she moaned. He’d had his tongue forked and pierced on either side. She couldn’t imagine the pain of it. She couldn’t believe he’d had it done. No one wanted to look like a Xyran.

“You know nothing,” he said, biting her lower lip.

Cori grabbed his shoulders, holding on tightly. One of his legs pressed between hers, rubbing against her clit. She ached. “You don’t know me at all,” she managed to say, trembling.

His eyes glittered. She could see his contacts move when he blinked.

“I know enough,” he growled, and bent down again. He kissed her harshly, as if he could erase what she’d seen through his actions.

She returned his kiss with heat, hanging onto him as he moved them back, towards the ship. He licked into her mouth, tipping her head, and then her spine collided with the warmed metal of her ship. He made a sound in his throat and pushed closer, his erection grinding into her hip.

Holy hell,
she thought, slinging her leg up around his hip. All her good intentions about leaving him alone fled, and she scrabbled at his pants, wanting to feel more skin.

He growled and pulled at her vest, ripping it open. When the air hit her breasts, he leaned back.

“Shit, Reiyn,” she muttered, sliding her hands over his jaw. “Don’t stop now.”

He narrowed his eyes, then slid his hands up her arms and over her shoulders. She shivered, heart skipping under his gaze. He trailed his fingers down her chest, then flicked at the silver studs set into her nipples. When she didn’t object, he plucked at them, sending fire down her spine right to her clit.