Joan woke up feeling safe and warm, warmer than she’d been in months. The delicious scent of applewood filled her head, and she nestled deeper into that amazing warmth, rubbing her face against something firm and hard and… alien!
She suddenly realized where she was—pressed against Varga’s chest, his arms holding her firmly against his body. She tried to pull away, but he held her easily in place.
“Let me go!” Panic threatened as she realized that it wasn’t just his muscles that were hard. A massive bar that could only be his cock burned against her stomach, and she began to struggle frantically.
“Stop wiggling,” he growled as he rolled on top of her. She froze as his huge erection pulsed, and she remembered his warning from the previous night.
“Good girl. I swear you’re enough to tempt a priest.”
“Please…” A tear slid down her cheek as she darted a quick look up at his face.
At least he didn’t look angry. Instead, he looked almost… sad?
“I’m not going to hurt you, little bird.”
“Okay,” she whispered.
That devastating smile flashed across his face. “But I am going to take one kiss. Just one,” he repeated as if he were reminding himself.
His head bent towards her before she could object, and she braced herself, expecting an assault. Instead, his mouth brushed slowly across hers, his lips full and soft, his touch exquisitely tender. He lingered, running his tongue along her lower lip, teasing at the seam until finally she parted her lips and he dipped inside, still soft, still tender, and she met him shyly. Then somehow her arms were around his neck, urging him on, wanting more of that delicious kiss. It wasn’t until she heard him groan and start to pull away that she realized that her lower body was arching up into the throbbing erection that was exactly where she needed it to be.
In her panic, she started fighting to get free, and this time, he let her go. She scrambled to the end of the bed and almost fell off the end in her haste to get away.
“I have to cook breakfast,” she said, refusing to look at him, and dashed for the door.
Chapter Three
Varga watched the little human flee and sighed. He should never have kissed her. But after spending most of the night holding her in his arms, her soft body clinging to his, her scent filling his head, he’d just wanted one taste. But fuck, he hadn’t expected it to be like that, hadn’t expected the sweetness of her lips, and he certainly hadn’t expected the eagerness with which she responded to him.
His cock jerked at the memory of her sweet little hips arching against him, and he gave it a rough stroke.
I have a mission, he reminded himself. He needed to find a way to get the two of them off of this planet, and he couldn’t get distracted by her tempting body. Perhaps once they were free…
When he had set out months ago on a mission to find out if there were any other human slaves on the ship that took his friend Baralt’s mate from her home planet, he had been driven in large part by restlessness. His success as a fighter was no longer enough to satisfy him. The mission appealed to him as both an adventure and a chance to do something meaningful. He had never expected to end up back on a mining planet, all too similar to the hell in which he was raised. But when he finally found the slave ship a week ago, no other option had presented itself…
Varga swore as he looked down at the dead Derian at his feet. His long search had finally led him to this isolated space station. Seeing the broken condition of their cargo, he had been overcome with rage. His skin had hardened and the fiery heat of his home planet ran through his veins as he eliminated the small crew with brutal efficiency.
But perhaps he had been a little too hasty in killing the bastards. He needed access to their logs, and the records were encrypted. As he thought back over the cages he passed on the way to the bridge, he remembered seeing an Elginar male. Based on the shaved head and elaborate tattoos, he was actually an Elginar scholar. While he hated dealing with the pretentious bastards, it seemed like his best alternative.
After a quick trip back to the hold to fetch the male, he directed him to the logs. “Can you decrypt them?”
The slender blue male, still arrogant despite his obvious weakness, raised an eyebrow. “Of course I can. Why should I?”
Varga was tempted to show the male his enormous fist, but he suspected that it would not be sufficient. The majority of the Elginar might not be known for their fighting skills, but they were definitely known for their stubbornness.
“I need to know about a previous trip they made. They went to a pre-spaceflight planet and abducted at least one female. If there are others, I intend to track them down.”
“Why?”
“Because I plan to start myself a harem,” he said sarcastically, then sighed. “My friend is mated to one, and we are concerned that they may have ended up in…”
“Unfortunate circumstances?” the Elginar suggested. “It seems inevitable. However, it is a reasonable request. I will see what I can do.”
He turned to the console, his fingers flying over the controls while Varga did his best not to
