He wanted to throw back his head and howl, to tear out his hair or cut his own flesh or perform some other kind of self-flagellation to atone for the agony he had brought to his love.
Though he knew what he had done was necessary to save her, he still wanted to die. To cause such horrible pain to the female he loved was almost unbearable—the Kindred side of him wanted to end things.
It was the Kru’ell One half of him that kept him going—kept him from harming or killing himself after he had committed what felt like a physical assault on the woman he loved.
You did what you had to in order to save her, that half of him informed V. And if you kill yourself for it, who’s going to pilot her safely home? She still needs you, V—even if your sting is painful to her now. She still can’t get back to her home world without you.
The dry, practical voice in his skull saved him from doing something he would have regretted later—if he even lived to regret it. Carefully, he laid Penelope in the passenger’s seat, which was only a little too small for her, whereas the pilot’s chair was way too small for V, having been built for NeverBreeder dimensions.
He watched her carefully and saw that her breathing was no longer labored. Well, thank the Goddess for small favors! His sting might be agonizing to her now, but at least it still did its job. She was cured of the poison…though V was afraid she might have a permanent aversion to him personally when she finally woke up.
Not that I’d blame her, he thought grimly to himself. He had to find out what had happened—why her body was reacting so badly to his sting and his lust-honey.
Because if he couldn’t sting her without causing her pain, he couldn’t bond her to him. And now that they were finally free of the Compound and the cult that had held them both captive, that was all V wanted to do.
Eighty-Eight
Penny woke on a much different starship—a more luxurious one than the utilitarian craft of the NeverBreeders by far. She was strapped into a plush chair covered in some kind of black suede and the instruments blinking in neat orderly rows around her were sleek and silver and very high-tech.
“What…where?” She blinked, sitting up more fully in the plush chair. Someone had draped a warm blue blanket made of some ultra-soft material over her and she pushed it aside as she looked around.
“In my ship, in the dock at Hell’s Gate,” a familiar voice said.
Looking around, Penny saw V’rex sitting beside her in the pilot’s chair, which was also made of the same plush black suede. He was dressed as he had been when she had first seen him in the Lucky Lounge—in tight black leather trousers and a black leather vest that showed his massive arms and golden tattoos. He was sipping something steaming out of a large, thick mug but he set it carefully down in a holder beside him in order to lean over and look at her more closely.
Penny flinched away—she couldn’t help it. Her last memory was of the horrible, burning agony of his sting and she felt like she’d rather do anything than endure that again.
V’rex must have seen her flinch because he drew back, a grim expression on his face.
“I’m sorry I had to sting you again, sweetheart,” he said in a low, hoarse voice. “It’s just…you were poisoned by that fucking NeverBreeder’s blade and you couldn’t breathe—”
“I know,” Penny said quickly, drawing in on herself. “I understand. You…you did what you had to do and you saved my life…again.” She cleared her throat. “For which I am so, so grateful. But V’rex please—please promise me that you’ll never sting me again. I…I don’t think I could take it. It was so painful.”
She shivered as she remembered the awful burning agony—the feeling of being consumed by flames until the darkness had eaten her vision.
The big Hybrid went very still and she saw his eyes widen for a moment. He swallowed convulsively and she suddenly feared that she might have hurt his feelings.
I shouldn’t have said anything, Penny scolded herself. But the pain had been so bad. She’d heard of women fainting in childbirth, but she’d never experienced an agony so dreadful that it caused her to lose consciousness before.
It was like the intense pleasure the lust-honey was supposed to cause had been turned on its ear so that it forced the worst pain imaginable through her nerve endings instead. Just the thought of going through it again was more than she could bear.
Still, the look on his face…
“V’rex,” she said, reaching out a hand to him. “Look, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I know I sounded ungrateful just now. It’s just—”
“No.” He held up a hand to stop her. “No, you made a request of me and I will answer honestly and without malice.”
His words were so strangely formal that Penny wasn’t sure what to think. But his next action surprised her even more. He slid out of the captain’s seat and went down on one knee in front of her like a man about to propose marriage.
“V’rex—” she began, reaching for him but he captured her hand in both of his and looked earnestly into her eyes.
“Penelope,” he said. “From this day forward, I swear on my honor as a Warrior that I will not sting you or attempt to bind you to me in any way. I will respect the request you have made of me and let you walk your own path in life while I walk mine. And never shall our paths meet.”
“What?” Penny didn’t know what to make
