Lurin's Surrender (2 page)

Chapter Two

Lurin swore as he collapsed back into a bed too small to comfortably encompass his large frame. Damn, but that infuriating woman had twice now evaded his efforts to control her. He frowned in puzzlement. She looked like an average human. Average, he amended, in that she didn’t seem to pose any unnatural threat.

Her looks were anything but ordinary. Captain Mara’s beauty was outshone only by her fierce pride and determination to meet him glare for glare. He’d been more than attracted when he’d first seen her light brown eyes. They looked distant yet full of feminine appeal, surrounded by thick black lashes set under gracefully arched brows.

She had a classically beautiful face—a straight nose, high cheekbones, and full, ripe lips practically begging to be kissed. Had he been able, he would now be sampling those sweet red petals, tasting her very essence and putting her under his spell. But the infernal witch had rebuffed him
again
.

If he could only understand how she did this. Human females could not refuse his kind. He had never heard of such a thing happening. Yet, the curvaceous captain with the dismissive stare not only had the ability to deny him, she’d also been responsible for his capture.

He cursed the situation and his careless lack of attention. He really had no one but himself to blame. He should have known better than to imbibe so heavily that night on Melan’s third moon.

With Nobless Cari and her whorish daughter, Sara, chasing after him, he’d had the devil’s own time trying to remain discreet. How the nobless had learned of his Thesha heritage still baffled him. But somehow she’d discovered the Thesha signature mark.

He’d only attended Nobless Cari’s birth celebration as a favour to a friend, a nobleman of good standing and utter allegiance to Lurin’s kind. And now Denal lay dead, with his murderess accusing him of the crime. Who would contend that Nobless Cari and her daughter spoke lies? Hell, the only thing working in Lurin’s favour right now was the sultry captain’s ignorance of his bloodline.

Were Mara to learn of his true identity, she would most likely sell him to the highest bidder. Theshas had for centuries existed only as legend, having been labelled extinct long ago. His people preferred it that way. Finding a live and healthy specimen like himself would bring the cold little captain more beks than she could possibly think to spend in her lifetime, much more than the nobless surely offered for his return.

He wondered if he could use that information to his advantage then sighed, realising that to expose himself as Thesha would only bring more harm than good.

The walls seemed to close in as he stared around at his small prison.
He swore again and flung an arm over his face to blot out the dim light from the floor illuminations.

If only she hadn’t drugged him. Gathering his wits on board her ship, he’d found the large Raggas hard to defeat. The added strength of the Mardu had been his undoing. Lurin’s gift didn’t work on males, so if he couldn’t defeat them physically, he had to resort to weaponry. On the troublesome females he encountered, he employed his most valuable skill. Usually with little effort, he could make them mere slaves in both mind and body. But the captain’s reaction baffled him.

He’d lost precious strength due to the drug’s effects, and he still hadn’t fully recovered. Perhaps that explained the captain’s resistance. The notion pleased him. Yes, that made sense. The woman was nothing more than a typical human, unaware of the magic around her.

He blazed with excitement. He had only to grab a hold of her mind, to tie her to him, and then wait to make his next move. Sooner or later, she would have to sleep. And then, he thought with a small chuckle, then he would set the lure.

Lurin waited until the darkness had enveloped him completely, his mind calm and at peace. He recalled the captain’s essence--her soft scent, her captivating face, her luscious body outlined in the masculine garb she tried to hide behind.

He released his mortal flesh and drifted through time and space, seeking Captain Mara. He moved through the walls and rooms separating them until he hovered just over her body. She lay fully clothed on her bed, her breathing deep and even.

“Mara,”
he whispered, his mind reaching out to hers. He watched as her eyes drifted open, her mind still ensconced in the world of sleep while she heeded his mental call. Perfect, he thought with satisfaction. She couldn’t resist him after all.
“Remove your clothing, Mara.”

He hovered over her and stared hungrily at the body she revealed. She slowly stripped off her boots, trousers and space jacket to reveal a shapely form in stark underclothes. Lurin felt far more than he should have. Even distanced in his astral state, he sensed his physical flesh harden, his cock fully aroused.

“Remove the rest,”
he ordered in a voice harsher than he’d intended. Mara’s hands stilled on the base of her undershirt before moving to accommodate his next, more softly given command.

“Take it off, slowly.”

Lurin watched restlessly as Mara stripped herself bare. Lust pulsed in waves of energy between them. He stared at her soft face, lingering on her lips. He could all too easily imagine those fleshy petals parting to accommodate his cock, and he had to stifle a groan, surprised that she had such an effect on him.

His gaze travelled farther down, past her graceful neck to her shoulders lightly sculpted with muscle. Captain Mara was no stranger to physical labour.

Unable to resist the lure of her breasts, he watched with hungry satisfaction when her perfectly shaped, golden breasts shuddered in response to his mental touch.

Finally, the woman reacted as she should. Her mind and body sank under his thrall. Mara could not hide her obvious arousal. Her nipples pebbled into tight little buds, rosy sweets ripe for a taste. His mouth watered and his cock felt heavy, on the point of pain. He didn’t understand how she could affect his physical state, when by rights he commanded her compliance.

His gaze moved over her taut stomach, down to the smooth mound protecting her deepest secrets. Her legs were long and supple, and he knew a sudden urge to taste every inch of her, starting with the warm juices hidden behind her swollen folds.

Lurin shivered, dismayed at his burning body clamouring for attention as it waited and throbbed for completion. This was all wrong, and potentially dangerous.

In this precarious state, Lurin had to do more than mentally tie Mara to him, as he normally would have. He needed to ease his lust lest he waste such a valuable build-up of energy and weaken himself further. He couldn’t afford the energy loss, not when he needed to escape.

Lurin smiled in anticipation. He felt no remorse for what he was about to do. She should have succumbed earlier to make it easier on him. Now he could do no less than satisfy them both.

“Know me, Mara. See the truth in my innocence and in my joyful touch.”

He hovered over the unclad female, his energy touching her soft skin like a breath of warm air. She sighed and stretched, enhancing his hunger. He lowered his mouth and kissed her on the lips, feeling her mouth on his even though they touched through thought alone. In his room, his body responded, an electric rush of desire flowing through him.

Lurin enclosed her body in his warm aura and proceeded to claim Mara’s subconscious. He kissed her, slid his tongue into her mouth, and groaned at the glorious taste of her warm lips and tongue as she mimicked his actions. He found it hard to think, the taste of Mara bursting upon his tongue.

An echo of his erection rubbed against her body, and her full breasts pressed against his chest in the dream state. He wanted nothing more than to thrust into her wet, hot sheath and come deep inside her.

Unusually close to orgasm, he tore his mouth from hers and trailed his lips down her throat, amazed at the heat she wrought. Though separated from his body, he could sense his physical self straining, milky dew leaking from his ready cock. The ferocious need to copulate with Mara astounded him. This bond between them felt far too strong to be normal.

His thoughts fled when her hands moved between them. In her mind, her fingers curled around his shaft, squeezing and pumping. When her fingers grazed his sac, he moaned and pressed deeper into her touch. He reached down to stroke her dewy softness, searching out the hard nub of her arousal. She writhed in her sleep and spread her thighs to better accommodate him.

Lurin released his need, sharing his extreme desire. His fingers increased their demand, sliding through her wetness, stroking her clit to a hardened pitch. He regained control, mentally commanding Mara to pump his straining cock until he could no longer hold back.

All too soon, she cried out in orgasm even as he came in her pleasuring hand. That fast, his astral self flew back into his flesh, his cry of ecstasy a groan of pleasure-pain as his body jerked and his seed left him, spreading a mess over his belly.

The emptiness of his orgasm left him both sated and strangely unfulfilled. Though his body now lay flushed and replete, his mind and soul hungered for another taste of Mara. He had given her fulfilment, had strengthened himself from the outburst of climactic energy, but at what cost?

He needed her again,
right now
, and the urgency to take her unnerved him. Instead of making things better, he’d made them worse. Now more than ever, he needed to escape this imprisonment. And more importantly, from Captain Mara Seni.

* * * *

Mara awakened the next day feeling strangely refreshed. She heard Catam call for her over the intercom and had just reached for the vidlink when she realised she wasn’t wearing a stitch of clothing. Memories of her erotic dream returned, and she flushed.
Must have undressed in my sleep. Good night, wouldn’t that have surprised Catam?

“I’ll be there soon,” she told him through the link, thankful she hadn’t activated the vidscreen. “Waken one of the Fas brothers to relieve you.”

“Aye, aye. Catam, out.” He cut the communications.

As she took a solar bath and quickly dressed, Mara’s thoughts turned to her dreams. She didn’t understand why her mind had become so fixated on her prisoner. She’d seen attractive men before, men who didn’t have an execution awaiting them. But in her dreams, Lurin Vez made her tremble, made her ache with desire. Even now, her body warmed at memories of his heated mouth and stirring caresses.

She took a deep breath and exhaled, needing to control her hormones before she dealt with him again. For some reason, she wanted to hear his side of the story about his crimes. And, she admitted to herself, she needed to see him again, to reconcile her dream lover with the prisoner jailed in the small cell down the hall.

Chapter Three

Mara found Lurin--captive Vez, she reminded herself with a stern rebuke--lying as she’d left him on his narrow bed. He had removed his shirt, and his muscular chest looked maddeningly familiar. She eyed his tall frame critically, thinking he couldn’t possibly be sleeping in that condition, hanging half off the bed.

She entered the room accompanied by Nu. The Ragga nodded to her and set a tray of food on the table by Vez’s bed. Nu positioned himself protectively behind her, his massive arms crossed and awaiting trouble.

Vez stared at the ceiling and didn’t move until Mara kicked the bed. He shifted slowly, contradicting the quick reflexes he’d shown the night prior.

“Yes, Mara?” He sneered and sat up. Mara could only stare at the hard planes of his broad chest and taut abdomen. Physically, at least, he seemed the perfect male.

“That’s
Captain
Mara to you, captive Vez,” she reminded him. Today the word ‘captive’ didn’t make him angry. Rather, he gave her a sly smile, as if he knew of the desire she tried to suppress.

“My mistake, Captain.”

Mara couldn’t help thinking that he seemed most content. Nu apparently noticed as well because he moved beside her and eyed Vez with a puzzled frown.

Vez had lost the drug-induced haze he’d worn in the bar. His skin seemed almost…glowing? She blinked and his skin again looked normal. Puzzled, she stared at the floor illuminations. Perhaps the lighting in the room had affected his appearance.

Not knowing why but needing to learn more about her prisoner, Mara sat across from him and waited until he looked at her before she spoke. “Tell me your accounting of what occurred on Jaron two lunar cycles past. What led you to rape a young nobless and kill her mate?” Mara asked with true bewilderment.

Vez frowned. “Very well. But I’d like to be allowed to speak freely, without interruption.” He eyed Nu with a healthy wariness.

“Go ahead.” Mara felt an overwhelming eagerness to hear his tale and wondered at her motives. Why was it so important Vez be innocent of his crimes?

“I was invited to attend Nobless Cari’s birth celebration at the behest of my good friend, Denal Donateral, Lady Sara’s betrothed.”