PrimalHunger (17 page)

Azros stiffened. “You know who I am.” It wasn’t a question.

Shyla nodded. “Unlike my mother, I’ve studied your people.”

“Makes her a more efficient sadist.” Xavier’s voice was
bitter with anger and remembered pain.

Azros was unable to decipher the levels of subtlety in their
conversation. They both obviously knew one another, and despite Xavier’s words,
he sensed no threat from Shyla.

The blonde beauty cut a glare at Xavier. “War is war. I have
done what needed to be done to protect your people…and mine.” She looked back
at Azros. Her silver eyes, so much like Kendra’s, were like the storm-tossed
sea, but overfilled with emotion he didn’t understand.

“Why help us?”

“Because my mother is insane, and the royal bloodline is
tainted.”

“What do you hope to gain with our assistance? Why not kill
her yourself?”

Shyla gave a wry laugh. “You wouldn’t understand our ways.”

“How would you know?”

“Your brother wouldn’t listen.”

Azros nodded once. “I am not my brother.”

She looked from Xavier to Azros and back again. “I suppose
not.” She looked disappointed in Xavier. “I am here because the Sheon are going
to make a move against your home world. They have to be stopped.”

Hair stood on end at her words. “An invasion? With what
army?”

Shyla sighed. “She doesn’t need an army. All she needs is
the Auberon drug dispersed among your people. She has space to ground tactical
weaponry aboard ship. There’s enough of the drug to enslave all of your people
ten times over.”

Horror froze his mind. “Your queen is allowing this?” Azros
shook with rage.

“Our queen is old and feeble. Her mind is slipping. She
doesn’t remember ordering the murder of her own children and grandchildren. This
invasion, however, is not by her order, but Skreeta’s.”

“How do you know this?”

“I was there when she gave the order. The only reason we’re
not at your home world right now is because the queen has sent us here to find
proof that her children are dead.”

“Find proof that her children are dead?” Azros shook his
head. What kind of queen would kill her children in the first place? The
thought was completely alien to the Valorian culture.

“Yes.” Shyla stood at the foot of Xavier’s bed, looking at
him with longing. “I’m here to stop the invasion.”

Azros watched Shyla. “You helped me escape.” It wasn’t a
question. She looked at him.

Shyla’s gaze was steady, confident. “Helping you escape
would have been treason.”

“No more so than stopping the invasion,” Xavier spoke
quietly.

“Can we trust that her information is good?”

“Yes.” Xavier crossed his arms over his chest, and Azros did
the same. They both faced the petite Sheon daughter. Xavier’s head tilted,
listening to every move.

Her smile held an edge of impatience. “Your intimidation
tactics won’t work. My mother is far deadlier than you could ever hope to be.
And that’s why I’m here.” She reached into the sleeve of her robe and Azros
leapt across the short distance, locking her wrist in an iron grip.

She huffed out a breath in impatience. “I have critical
information.” She moved slowly and pulled out a Kanorian crystal. “This holds
everything you’ll need to stop the invasion. Ship schematics, security codes,
shift change times by area, you name it.”

Azros stared at the Sheon daughter. This was the contact?

“Why are you giving this to us?” Xavier was quiet,
thoughtful.

“I want your word, the word of the Valorian prince, that you
will not harm anyone on that ship. When I get your word, I’ll give you the pass
code to unlock the encrypted data.”

Azros shook his head. “I can’t promise that, but I can
promise that I will minimize losses as much as possible.”

Xavier nodded. “That’s the best you’ll get, Shyla. You know
how this has to end.”

She closed her eyes. “Yes. I do.” She held out her hand and
set the crystal gently in Azros’ palm. “The pass code is…Xavier Cross.” She
whirled around and put her hood over her head.

Azros’ fingers closed around the crystal and looked at his
brother.

Xavier’s face had drained of color, leaving the bruises
stark against his pale face. “Son of a bitch.” Xavier shook his head. “Don’t
ask.” He slowly released a breath and settled back against the pillows.
“Insanity must run deep in their bloodline.”

“Yeah.” The crystal reflected the light in a sharp arc of
color, and he thought of Kendra. “I think the bloodline is starting to grow on
me.”

Chapter Nine

It’s in his saliva…organ failure.
Dr. Monroe’s words
chanted in her mind like a mantra. She could feel the simmer of animalistic
lust tightening her body, making it more sensitive to
everything
.

A glancing blow to her side jerked her attention back to the
present. The pain was minimal, but significant enough to clear her head.

“You’re not focused, Chief.” Reeva’s grin was deadly, and
full of delight. Very few of Kendra’s security staff knew how lethal the
soft-spoken woman could be.

“You’re telling me.” Kendra went on the offensive. She
attacked with a flurry of kicks and punches. Reeva expertly blocked each one.
“It’s that damn Valorian.”

“Ahh.” Reeva’s counter kick whizzed by Kendra’s face. She
backed out of leg range and grinned. “Men have been put in this universe to
exasperate us.”

“True.” Kendra launched another attack. She punched at
Reeva’s face. When the woman blocked, Kendra rolled her arm over and tucked
against the smaller woman. One hand latched on the woman’s forearm. With
Reeva’s arm as a lever, she used the body’s momentum to hook a hand under her
armpit, to toss her across the floor. Reeva turned the throw into a roll and
came up with a devilish grin.

“Well done, Chief.” She gave the sign of truce. “You’re
getting better at hand-to-hand.” Reeva strode over to the mirrored wall and
took her towel from the bar. “You’re moving much faster.” The sparring room was
as private as it got around here. Only her people had access. All shifts.
Twenty-two personnel.

“We should work on your close combat weapon skills.” Kendra
grabbed her towel and mopped her sweat-soaked face.

Reeva shook her head. “With weapons, I have yet to get a
mark on you, Chief. I’d like to end on a high note today, if you don’t mind.”
She wrapped the towel around her neck. “Besides, I think you’ve got company.”
She nodded toward the door.

Kendra looked up. Mase had brought Azros to the sparring
room. One look at the Valorian was enough to send her blood boiling, in both
lust and anger. “How did you find me?” She hooked the towel over the rail.

Mase grinned. “This is the spot to find you when you’re not
working or sleeping.” He looked at Azros. “She doesn’t know the meaning of the
word downtime.”

Reeva clapped her on the shoulder. “That’s my cue.” She
jogged to the door and linked her arm with Mase’s. “Come on, blue boy. We have
somewhere else to be.” She started dragging him toward the door.

Mase struggled, turning back toward Azros. “No. Wait. I
really need to see this.”

Reeva shouldered his back, shoving him through the door.
“Nobody needs to see this.”

Azros’ gaze swept over her. She cursed as her traitorous
nipples hardened. Her pussy slickened with desire. Damn him. He opened his
mouth, and then closed it.

She glared at him. “What are you doing here? I told you I
had work to do.”

His eyes narrowed to slits. “What did the lab results say?”

She wouldn’t ask him how he knew where she’d been. Mase had
probably told him. “That I’m being altered.”

He nodded slowly. “And?” He cautiously stepped closer.

“And I won’t be able to change back on my own.”

He jerked to a stop. “Change back? Is there really a way?”

Kendra wanted to lie, but couldn’t. “No. Not unless I want
every organ in my body to fail…at once.”

He considered the information, and then nodded. “You know
what this means.” He stalked closer and Kendra’s breath caught at the pure male
possessiveness that captured his expression.

“Yeah. It means you lied to me.” She unconsciously took a
step back.

He laughed. “I didn’t know you were Sheon. So where did the
lie begin? Besides, it’s impossible to react to the
lambyre
if your body
wasn’t compatible with mine. It looks like the Sheon people are a little more
than receptive to ours.”

“You lured me in like a spider.” She walked to the weapons
wall. “Now I’m caught.”

“Is that really what you think?” He paced her, watching her,
waiting. For what, she didn’t know.

She could feel the walls of a trap closing in on her. “I
don’t know what to think.” She crossed her arms. “I am in a constant state of
anxiety. My whole life is turning upside down. Again.” She shook her head. “I
had a nice, stable, wonderful life.”

“We can be so good together.” He held his hands out. “Start
a new life.”

“It’s the mating hormone talking.” Kendra fought every
instinct that told her to reach out to him. “Your body will return to normal
once the mating cycle ends.” Fear and desperation rolled around in her heart.
“There is no going back for me.”

“I have done a lot of things in my life that I’m not proud
of, but you have to know I wouldn’t change this for anything.” He prowled
closer.

She shook her head, backing away from him. “You don’t know
what you’re saying.” In a heartbeat he had her back to the wall and his hands
on either side of her head.

His gaze captured hers. The depths of his emotions slid
through her mind. Hope,
need
. Lust. It was just wishful thinking. She
shook her head, and the moment disintegrated.

“I’m saying that you’re
mine
.” He captured her wrists
when she would have pushed him away. He nipped at her lips, pressing his body
against hers.

“I don’t belong to anyone.”

The hard length of his cock twitched through his pants
against her stomach. Damn him. His scent surrounded them. Her pussy ached with
the need to fuck him. “And I’m yours.” His words wove their magic.

He didn’t know what he was saying. Did he? Azros nuzzled her
neck with those soft kisses that drove her insane. “I love the way you taste.
The way your body reacts to mine.” He released her wrists and cupped her face.

“I can’t think when you…” Her words ended on a cry when his
hand cupped her breast. His thumb brushed over the tip until the nipple became
a hard, sensitive point. Electric shocks of pleasure shot down to her core.

“Don’t think.” The whispered command sent shivers down her
spine. “Let go.”

She clenched her jaw against the urge to do exactly as he
wanted. “I’ll make a deal with you.” With a backbone of steel and grit, she
ducked away from him and walked back to the practice weapons wall. Her body
screamed at the loss, but she pressed on.

Azros growled his frustration and Kendra almost laughed.
Almost. “Let’s fight for it.”

“Fight for what, exactly?”

“Control.” She tilted her head. “If I win, you follow my
lead. If you win, I follow yours. How does that sound?”

He crossed his arms. “I like my plan better.”

Kendra chuckled. “What? Fucking like bunnies? Giving in to
the mating hormone? So far all it’s done is create ample opportunity for
Skreeta’s attack. She may be back in the sky, but that makes her more
dangerous. We are distracted while she’s planning her next move. One mistake
and it’s game over.” She pulled two blades from the wall. Both were about the
same weight of her knives. “What’s your pleasure?” She gestured to the wall.

Mischief lightened his gaze and expression. “You, of
course.”

Kendra grinned and her cheeks grew warm from minor
embarrassment. “Choose your weapons.”

Azros assessed the wall of weapons with the critical eye of
a skilled fighter. “Short sword and a dagger.”

He chose close combat weaponry. She grinned and tossed him
the two blades. He caught them and tested the weight with a few practice
swings. He examined the blades and frowned. “These blades are strange. I’ve
never seen this design before.”

Kendra’s grin widened. “David, engage sparring weapons.”

A familiar tingling in her hands told her the blades were
live.

Azros looked down. The edges of the weapons sizzled and
cracked with a charge. “What the hell is this?”

Kendra rubbed her knives together and they arced beautifully.
“Mase’s design. They’re called Live Touch. Every brush against your body sends
an electrical shock. It’s a small shock, and not dangerous to your
health…unless you have metal in your body.”

She looked him up and down. “I don’t think you’re a metal
man.”

He grinned. “No.” He tested the weight of the short sword.
“This might just be fun.”

Excitement tingled down her spine. He was in her territory
now. She moved to the center of the sparring mat. Azros prowled around the edge
before stepping across from her.

Her senses expanded. This time relief settled in her mind.
It had come when she called. Maybe she was getting used to this. Relief instead
of fear. She could hear every move, see every twitch of his muscles. Maybe she
could
call it at will. Her smile wasn’t a nice one. He was so going down.

She moved and struck, ducking a halfhearted stab in her
direction. A blade slid along his side and his bellow made her grin. She turned
to face him, stepping out of attack range. “I thought you were a better fighter
than that.”

He glared at her and tightened his grip on his weapons.

“Don’t hold back, Azros. I’m not a
fragile
little
princess.” She launched at him again. He was ready, this time. Blade crackled
against blade. She ducked and swept him, knocking him to the ground. His legs
tangled hers, flipping her on her back. She rolled out of his reach and back to
her feet. He grinned.