“Sariel is pursuing the Rodan ship now,” Zarek answered.
I stifled a shriek. The man needed to wear a bell around his neck.
Amusement flashed in Zarek’s eyes. “What fun would that be?”
Holy hell, he was teasing me.
Pepe let out a warning bark.
“Shhh. Easy boy. He’s a friend,” I told Pepe.
Jia looked at me like I had lost my mind. “Friend?”
“Jia, this is Zarek, the Overlord of the Coletti Empire.”
“I know who he is, but he’s no friend of mine. I curse you. Xan tu e Ruv!”
I frowned. “‘The wolves shall eat you’ is a curse?”
“It’s an old Romany curse,” Jia spat.
Zarek didn’t seem too concerned. “This is the one you have chosen for Trayon?”
“She is, but I think Central Command’s records on her are incorrect,” I said.
Jia bristled. “What? Wait. You said I wouldn’t be given to a Coletti warrior.”
“And you’re not. Trayon is Askole,” Jake responded.
“Askole?”
Trying to ease my guilt, I flashed her a picture of Trayon petting a sheep. “He seems to be good with animals.”
“Dio Mio. You want me to mate with that alien freak? He has tentacles! Our parts won’t fit,” Jia protested.
Jake laughed. “Oh, they’ll fit. My cousin is mated to an Askole. According to Sarah, Tihar is hung like a bull elephant and is an excellent lover.”
“I don’t care if he’s Don Juan himself. I won’t do it,” Jia cried.
Zarek’s tone was at once menacing and amused, “Not even to save your brother’s life?”
“I don’t need your help to save Adam,” Jia said defiantly.
Jake chuckled. “Got a spaceship, do ya?”
Jia gave him the one-finger salute.
“Do you know the location of the Rodan base or have enough soldiers to successfully attack it?” I asked gently.
Jia smiled grimly. “No, but I know someone who does.”
“Who?” Call me curious.
A glittering blue light formed around Jia. “Bjarke mercenaries.” She vanished.
I had the sudden irrational urge to laugh. “Gotta say I didn’t see that one coming. Loki and Ivan did say they wanted an Earth woman as a mate, but how in the hell did they hook up with Jia?”
“They probably placed a tracker on our shuttle and followed us here. Loki and Ivan are excellent hunters, but a bit on the lazy side. The bastards let us do all the dirty work. When Giovanni escaped with his test subjects, they used telepathy to contact Jia,” Jake replied.
“And once they knew how desperate Jia was to rescue her brother, they made her an offer she wouldn’t refuse,” I added.
Uncle Jesse snorted. “The little fool walked right into their trap and which one of them is going to mate with her?”
“They’ll fight it out. The last one standing wins,” Jake advised.
“Neither of them will mate with Jia. Their old merchant ship cannot outrun my warbird.” Zarek teleported away.
Whoosh! There was a flash of black and Trayon appeared. “Where is my mate?”
I exchanged glances with Jake. “What do we tell him?”
“The truth.”
“She took off with some Bjarke mercenaries,” I said.
Trayon’s tentacles stood out from his head. “How did that happen?”
“A transporter beam,” Uncle Jesse added helpfully.
Trayon’s tentacles squirmed wildly around his head. “Why would she go with them?”
“Giovanni and the Rodan have Jia’s brother. The mercenaries vowed to rescue him,” Father said.
Trayon looked perplexed. “It is my duty to protect my mate and her family.”
“I know who took Jia and I give you my word, we’ll get her back, or you can choose another female if you want,” Jake promised.
The look on Trayon’s face, had me patting his arm carefully. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t get a chance to explain everything to Jia. She’s never met an Askole before and you’re a bit, ah, overwhelming.”
“Did you not tell my Jia I went to pleasure houses to learn how to make love to a soft skin?” Trayon inquired.
I blinked. That was kinda sweet and totally unexpected. “No. You never told me that and we were too busy fighting off the Rodan and Giovanni’s monsters to talk about the birds and the bees.”
“What are these birds and bees?”
“Sex! I didn’t talk to her about having sex with you.”
“When I find Jia, you will explain this to her.” Trayon snatched me up. We streaked down the passageway and any Rodan or super soldier we encountered were dead before they hit the floor.
I grimaced. Trayon had beheadings down to an art form. “Put me down. Now! Or I’m going to fry your ass.” I let lightning bolts dance around us.
Trayon stopped so abruptly my head spun. “As my lady commands.” He gently lowered me to the floor.
“Whoa! Headrush.” I leaned against the wall for a moment. “You ever think about working for the Magic Kingdom? You’d make a fortune giving rides.”
“I am a warrior not entertainment for fools.”
“True.”
Jake appeared in the passageway, wearing his scary warlord face.
“Hi honey, I’m fine.” I wrapped my arms around him. “You can’t kill Trayon.”
“Yes, I can.”
“Killing him would break Zarek’s treaty with Sariel and he’d be really angry. I’m just getting used to you and have no desire to break in another warlord. Plus, I’m fine. You know and I know Trayon would never hurt me.”
Jake let out a long breath. “I do, but you’re not his personal dating counselor.”
“I kinda am and in case things so south, we need to get him interested in another Dragos female.”
“Couldn’t hurt,” Jake agreed.
“Ah, Trayon, I’ve been thinking that maybe Jia isn’t the right female for you.”
“Jia will be mine.”
“You’ve never met her and there’s a distinct possibility that she can’t summon lightning,” Jake pointed out.
“I have seen her picture. She was meant for me.”
Okey-Dokey. How did I put this without hurting his feelings? “Jia finds your tentacles a little disturbing.”
Trayon puffed his chest out. “Many females admire them.”
Crap. “That’s not quite what I meant. Jia is not attracted to Askole males.”
“But we are great warriors and lovers.”
I dropped my face into my hands. “Oh, God.”
“Jia doesn’t want to have sex with you,” Jake stated bluntly.
Trayon’s tentacles stood straight up. “Impossible!”
It was like talking to a
