He made a sound that sounded a bit like a strangled laugh. “You’re right. I don’t know you. Maybe you are more courageous than others give you credit for. You did make it out of Ferria’s without gaping too much. But you do not know me.”
“I know you think you’re cursed.” I swiveled back to face him. “And that you need me to break it.”
Another low grunt, but at least it was less hostile than the ones he’d emitted earlier. The boat touched onto another floating island, this one holding the landing pad and the Vandar transport ship. A pair of raiders stood on either side of the ramp with their hands on the hilts of their battle axes and their shoulders back.
“Ready to depart, Raas?” one of them asked as Raas Vassim helped me off the boat and slipped a gray velvet pouch into the boatman’s hand.
“It is done,” the Raas said, leading me up the ramp and onto the space vessel. He grabbed an overhead bar, curling an arm around my waist and his tail around my legs as the engine engaged, and the ship rocked back and forth as it pulled away from the surface.
Even though I tried to keep myself steady, I couldn’t help leaning against his bare chest, my cheek touching the hard muscle. I put my hands on his stomach to brace myself, and he inhaled sharply. I wanted to move away, but the surging ship made it hard for me to keep my balance without him for support. What I didn’t want to admit was that I liked the feel of his skin under my fingertips, and the heat from his body pulsing into mine.
“So are you letting me go, or not?” I asked, keeping my voice low.
Despite the rumble of the ship and the beeping of the computer, I sensed every Vandar on board tense.
“I am not,” he said after a beat.
I pulled away from him, instantly missing the warmth of his skin on mine. “But I thought I wasn’t Vandar material, that I couldn’t hack it on your warbird.”
He shrugged one shoulder. “You convinced me otherwise.”
Just great. The one time I try to convince someone I’m tougher than I look, and they believe me.
“So I’m supposed to live the rest of my life on your ship?” The thought was incomprehensible. I’d never see my sister or my home again. And even though I’d been willing to run away, the thought of spending the rest of my life on a cold, dark horde ship filled me with dread.
“No. Only until the two moons of Vandar align.”
“Do you make this little sense in your native language?” I asked. “That is what you and the witch were speaking, right? And by the way, that was pretty uncool. You could have been talking about me behind my back, and I wouldn’t have known it.”
“We were not talking about you. Not directly.”
I huffed out a breath. “You know, I’m pretty sure it’s women who’re supposed to be the mysterious ones.”
“My apologies, human. When the two moons of Vandar next align, I will return you to your planet.”
“Really?” I couldn’t resist smiling at him, but then I stopped and scowled. “Wait a second. You aren’t going to tell me that the Vandar moons only align once every millennium, are you?”
The edges of his lips twitched. “No. They will align in a little less than two of your moon cycles.”
I did a quick mental calculation. “That’s not so long.” I eyed him with suspicion. “What’s the catch?”
“You will remain in my quarters and share my bed.”
I gulped. “Does that mean…?”
“My promise remains. I will not force you to do anything. I will only touch you if you ask me.”
I bit back a sigh of relief. I was confident I wouldn’t be asking the Vandar to touch me. Not when his touch made me tremble.
“But if you take my marks before the two moons align, you will commit to being my mate for life.”
The laugh burst out of me, and all the raiders twisted to stare. I stopped laughing and pressed my fingers to my lips. “Sorry. The idea of me taking your marks, whatever that means, and being your mate for life is pretty farfetched, don’t you think?”
“Why is that?”
Heat suffused my face. “Well, you’re a badass Vandar warlord and I’m…a plain old human.”
“I would hardly call you plain or old.”
I looked away from his intense gaze, not used to compliments, even if it was a weak one. “Still, what are the chances of us happening?”
His dark eyes held mine for a beat before he tore them away. “That is up to you, Juliette.”
It was the first time I remembered him saying my name, and the sound of it spoken in his velvety burr sent an unwanted shiver of desire through me.
“Do you agree to my deal?”
“That you’ll take me home unless I get your marks and become your mate? Yep. I can definitely agree to that.”
“Good.” The ship entered the open hangar bay of the warbird and touched down. His tail tightened around my leg, the bare flesh beneath it prickling with heat. “I will hold you to your word.”
I shrugged off the dark rumble of his words and the warning behind them. No problem, I thought. All I needed to do was bide my time until the moon alignment, and then I was as good as gone. There was no chance in hell I’d ever be a mate for a Raas of the Vandar.
Chapter Eleven
Vassim
The air in the warrior’s canteen was smoky when I entered, raiders sucking on targilis and blowing the blue smoke from the Chantarian water pipes in curling
