Mission Menage Cynthia Sax Captain Raylee lives a safe, controlled life. She ships cargo using only heavily protected Federation routes, she doesn’t form relationships with anyone or anything living, and her lover is a sexy android with spare parts and a backup brain—and he’s always hard on command. But Raylee’s perfect android lover has a dangerous human twin… Vegas, a Federation operative, thrives on risk and intrigue. Years ago, he planted a robotic clone of himself on his future mate’s ship. With a war now brewing between the Federation and enemy forces, Vegas boards Captain Raylee’s vessel, determined to seduce both his woman and his android while completing his daring mission. In the darkness of space, lines blur between man and android, safety and risk, lust and betrayal. One failed mission could destroy them all.
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Mission Menage ISBN 9781419937064 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Mission Menage Copyright © 2011 Cynthia Sax Edited by Briana St. James Cover design by Dar Albert Photography: Sdecoret, Makin Toome/Shutterstock.com Electronic book publication November 2011 The terms Romantica® and Quickies® are registered trademarks of Ellora’s Cave Publishing. With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502. Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously. The publisher and author(s) acknowledge the trademark status and trademark ownership of all trademarks, service marks and word marks mentioned in this book. The publisher does not have any control over, and does not assume any responsibility for, author or third-party Web sites or their content.
MISSION MENAGE Cynthia Sax
Mission Menage
Chapter One “We can’t get lost again, Ship.” Raylee leaned back in her captain’s chair and gazed at the stars strewn haphazardly across the black blanket of space. “I’ll never hear the end of it.” “We’ve never been lost.” Ship’s disembodied voice was curt. “I, unlike my nonessential crew member, always know where I am. I am a class-A freighter—” “And I’m the nonessential crew member. I get it.” Raylee tapped her controls and the route map zigzagged across the viewscreen. “You claim you know where we are, but do you know where we’re going, Mr. Fitzgerald?” She held her communicator up to the termination point. The coordinates matched those on the work order. “I don’t respond to that name.” Ship blew air through his vents. “I am Ship. You are Captain. We are not friends.” “Ahhh…” Raylee nodded her head. “So you don’t know where we’re going.” She grinned. “I suspected as much. Let me help—” “Our destination is Ungaria, a small planet at the edge of the Alexia system,” the spacecraft broke into her teasing. “And in the eight years, five days, twenty-seven minutes and eleven seconds since you’ve taken my helm, we’ve docked there eightyeight times, completing sixty-nine deliveries and fifty-two pickups.” “Eight years?” Raylee’s smile faded. She stared at the empty seats around her, the bridge achingly deserted and heartwrenchingly quiet. “Has it been that long?” A tightness crept across her shoulders. “It has been eight years, five days, twenty-nine minutes and nine seconds. On July 13, 3015, at two a.m., the pirates attacked—”
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“I know what happened on July 13, Ship. I don’t need a recap.” Raylee gazed up at the newly painted beams and she breathed in deeply. The air was tinged with chemical fumes, but she smelled the metallic scent of freshly spilled blood. “I can’t stay here.” She leapt to her feet. “I’ll be in my cabin.” Raylee strode by the unmanned communications panel, drifting her fingertips over the empty seat. Eight years. Clara would have earned enough credits for that dream home of hers by now. Cheerful chatty Clara. “If we get attacked by pirates…” “The odds of being attacked by pirates while navigating a Federation-sanctioned shipping lane is zero-point-zero-zero-zero-zero-five percent.” Ship blasted her captain’s chair with cleaning agents, erasing all indications of Raylee having sat there. “And your change of location is not recommended. I’m sensing your cabin is occupied by…an Elephas maximus.” “I have an elephant in my room?” Raylee pivoted on her practical heels, the excess fabric of her flight suit billowing out around her. “Visual please, Ship.” A view of her cabin was laid upon the backdrop of stars. Sexy grinned into the camera. His ruggedly handsome face was lit with laughter and there were lines etched around his mouth and his stunning blue eyes. “I should have never installed his humor chip.” Raylee groaned. “There’s no elephant, Ship. That’s Sexy playing a joke on you.” “Harrumph.” Ship’s circuits sizzled. “I too can play jokes.” Electricity arced through the air, leaving a trail of light, and Sexy convulsed, his big body shaking. “Oh, how funny the useless android looks.” “Don’t break him.” Raylee hurried down the corridor, doors sliding open and shut around her. “I don’t have time for repairs.” She passed large, empty cabins she never entered and a dining space she seldom used. “The android is a nonessential service.” Ship’s voice followed her. “He is essential to me and the client might ask about him tomorrow. It was a very memorable thank-you gift.” Raylee entered her smaller sleeping chamber, the 6
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monochrome sterile space dominated by a huge bed, the headboard gleaming black, and the linens a rich silver. “Hey there, Sexy,” she called out. “Good evening, Captain.” Sexy greeted her with a wide smile and a sharp salute. His dark hair smoked slightly around his black cap and his artificial skin twitched. “You look…how do I say it?” One…two…three… Raylee extended her arm and her hand hung in the air. Shit. Five… Her android clasped her fingers and bent his head, his gaze upon her face, his mouth hovering above her knuckles. One…two… “Like a vision,” she murmured, her voice layering perfectly over his. “Thank you, Sexy.” As she pulled her hand away, his lips brushed against her fingertips and she cringed. “You look…” Raylee leisurely perused her android’s fit physique. A white shirt stretched across his wide shoulders and black admiral stripes decorated his sleeves. Tight black pants clung to his hips, pulling snugly across his groin, accentuating the large bulge displayed there. “You look like everything I should want and more than I deserve.” She slumped down on the edge of the bed and stared at her palms, seeing in the creases the black grime of a breached cargo bay she hadn’t repaired in time. “Yet…” “You had a tough day, affirmative?” The mattress dipped as the android sat behind her. He placed his large hands on her shoulders, his warmth permeating the coarse fabric of her flight suit. “Dealing with that insubordinate Crewman Ship.” The lights flickered. “Let Admiral Sexy massage all your troubles away.” He kneaded her muscles, loosening the tight knot between her shoulders. Raylee closed her eyes, the strain in her body dissipating with his calculated touch. “Sexy, have you ever wanted to do something wild and crazy, something not programmed, perhaps even risky?” His hands stilled and silence stretched between them.
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Tell me these feelings are wrong. Tell me I should be grateful simply to be alive. “Shhhh…no more talking, Captain,” Sexy purred, his simulated breath wafting against her earlobe, fanning the embers of desire within her. “Let me care for you.” He brushed her long hair over her shoulder and gently pressed his lips against the nape of her neck. “Oh, yes.” Raylee leaned into his hard body, pushing her skin against his mouth, craving the skin-on-simulated-skin contact and needing more. “Bite me, Sexy,” she urged. “Mark me with your perfect teeth. Give me the pain I need, the pain I deserve. Make me forget.” “Shhhh…no more talking, Captain.” Her android lover peppered Raylee’s flesh with kisses in a controlled barrage of tenderness as he reached around her torso to open her flight suit. “Mmm…so soft.” Sexy stroked the shallow valley between her bare breasts, her nipples puckering under his artificial touch. “Too slow, you’re going too slow.” Raylee placed her hands on his pant-covered thighs and she twisted the fabric, yanking the leg fastenings open. “That’s how I want it tonight.” The cool air hit Sexy’s temperature sensors and his cock jutted out hard and erect from his body. This time, it’ll be different. A tremor of excitement rolled over her. “Rip off my clothes and fuck me fiercely, Sexy. Flip me onto my back and ram that big cock inside me again and again until I scream with pleasure.” “Shhhh…no more talking, Captain.” Sexy carefully undressed them both, removing her flight suit completely before tugging his shirt over his head, the action tousling his dark hair, giving him a wild, untamed look that sent Raylee’s blood pumping. “Mmm…” He pulled her into his lap, his engorged cock nudging between her ass cheeks, his chest warm against her back. One…two…three… “You feel so good.” She moved her lips in time with his words. As her brain screamed for something different, her body reacted to his touch, her pussy moistening and her desire escalating.
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Sexy stroked down her torso slowly, meticulously. She undulated against him, encouraging him as she would a real lover, and he slid his palm over her cleanly shaven mound to dip his fingertips in her wetness. “You are hot for me, affirmative?” As he fanned her folds with practiced fingers, sweet sensations rippled through her. “Yes.” Raylee wiggled, teasing his cock with her movements, playing a game she’d never ever win. “Take me, Sexy. Take me rough and hard,” she begged. He paused. “Shhh…no more talking, Captain.” Sexy pushed one large finger inside her pussy and her muscles clenched, holding on to him, needing that physical contact. He pumped her with first one, then two, then three fingers, bending them slighting to fill her even more. She rocked forward into him, riding his hand, brushing her clit against the synthetically calloused skin, reaching for the wildness she desired, the spontaneity he wasn’t capable of. This time, he’ll give me what I need. She’d push him over the edge and he’d lose all control, ramming into her and ravaging her pussy mercilessly. She’d fight and protest and try to escape him, but he’d drag her back and take her again and again, dominating her, possessing her, using her until her pussy was raw and red. “Sexy.” Raylee writhed. “I need to fuck you.” The gruffness in Sexy’s voice drove her fantasy. He rested his palms on her ass and pushed her onto her hands and knees, preparing to take her from behind as an animal would, fucking her rough and hard. His cock head brushed against her pussy and she quivered, her thighs shaking. This time. He curled his fingers around her hips in the same exact place as he always touched, pressing down with the same exact intensity as he always pressed. Oh God. She squeezed her eyes closed, capturing her tears of frustration. One predictable fucking…two predictable fuckings…three predictable fuckings… She braced and he thrust into her, filling her completely as he always did, his synthetic balls bouncing against her skin, his grunt of effort for her enjoyment only. 9
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“You are so tight, so beautiful,” Sexy told her as he fucked her slowly and leisurely, a long continuous slide in and out of her pussy. A warm glow of rising passion enveloped Raylee, banishing her disappointment. “I adore you, Captain. You are an angel, a goddess.” An angel…Clara… “Harder, Sexy, harder,” Raylee urged. “Fuck me so hard, I don’t remember.” Sexy increased the intensity of his thrusts, slapping his artificial skin against her ass, heating her flesh. The memories and the guilt hung over her. She needed to be punished. She needed pain. “Pinch my clit.” Sexy froze mid-thrust, and Raylee gritted her teeth. Fuck. She’d forgotten. “Shhh…no more talking, Captain. Let me love you.” He recommenced his forward drive, his momentum unhampered by the interruption. She pushed back against his hips, taking him deeper, escaping in the movement. “Rub my clit,” Raylee amended her command. Sexy spread her pussy lips and Raylee jumped as he found her clit, his rough skin brushing her sensitive flesh. Better. He rubbed in a clockwise circular motion while his cock plunged in and out of her pussy. Much better. She showed her appreciation with silence, swallowing her hot, passion-filled words, allowing him to fuck interrupted. He rode her in a constant, tireless rhythm, pistoning in and out again and again, until Raylee panted and swayed underneath him, her mind, her worries, her guilt lost in the carnal act, knowing nothing other than the caress of skin against skin, the seductive slide of cock in pussy. She teetered at the edge of climax, her arousal binding unbearably tight around her. Tears of frustration flowed down her cheeks. “Sexy,” Raylee pleaded, knowing he’d do nothing different, realizing she was solely responsible for everything, including her own sexual fulfillment. With a sob of acceptance, she bit down on her bottom lip, pinching her flesh with her teeth, the pain pushing her over. “I’m coming!” 10
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Sexy drove forward, compressed air from his android cock pulsing into her. “Fuck!” she screamed, bucking upward into him, the last tension in her body zapped in a blazing all-encompassing orgasm. “Shhh…I have you.” Sexy murmured the words she’d programmed him to say and he rolled with her until she lay with her head on his chest, his arms around her. His tanned skin shone with the sheen of her perspiration and his body smelled of her pussy juices. Raylee looked at the bedside clock. 12:03. She sighed. Five minutes of fantasy left. “Are you dissatisfied with me, Captain?” Sexy observed, his voice cool and scientific. “It isn’t you, Sexy,” she reassured him, stubbornly clinging to the illusion that he cared about her, that anyone cared about her. “You’re perfect.” She lifted her chin to study his stark profile. He appeared almost human, with his square jaw and his crooked nose. Only his flat blue eyes reflected the machine. “It’s me. I want something different, but I don’t know what that something different is.” “I comprehend your concerns, Captain.” Sexy caressed her arms, his fingers in massage mode, vibrating slightly, comforting her. “My model is equipped for this scenario.” “Really?” Raylee gazed at him, but his blank expression hadn’t changed. “What is your solution?” She frowned. “It has to be bigger than having Federation night on Thursday rather than Friday.” The android smiled slowly. “Part of the solution is not sharing the solution, but you will be pleased, Captain. Your Sexy will please you.” Sexy slipped from underneath her. She glanced at the clock again. 12:08. Back to being alone. He strode toward the bathroom to undergo the sanitization process. Raylee stared at Sexy’s back, his broad shoulders tapering down to a taut, tight ass. She would be pleased. How? What was he planning?
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For the first time in years, she didn’t know. Smiling, she pulled the silk cover over her naked body and closed her eyes to dream of a rough, tough android with a firm hand and a mind of his own.
***** Vegas slipped into the seedy Ungarian bar, scanning the occupants as he moved silently along the shadows. A drunk slumped facedown on a table, his sallow cheek resting in a puddle of green liquor, his eyes closed. The leather-clad bartender had his back to him, watching the inter-galactic Olympics on the large screen. The Federation bounty hunter drinking alone at the bar didn’t turn his head, while a hooker, with brunette curls a shade darker than Vegas’ mate’s, cast an assessing glance over the tattooed mercenary, her painted face hard and calculating. No one watched him. No one watched his contact. Vegas entered the quiet corner booth and slid soundlessly into the seat across from Ug. “Friend.” “Grrap!” The big beast man jumped, jarring his frosted tankard of native ale, the green liquid running down the glass, gathering in a pool on the metallic table. “I hate it when you sneak up on me like that.” “It is what I’m trained to do.” Vegas grinned at his depot-bound coconspirator. “Is she arriving on schedule?” My destined mate, my reward and the female the Federation future-benders predict I’ll love for all time. He stroked the smooth sides of an empty tankard, keeping his expression carefully blank while his heart beat in double time. “If she doesn’t get lost again, yeah, she’ll dock at daybreak.” Ug raised the pitcher and filled Vegas’ glass with ale before topping up his own. “I like her, friend.” Their gazes met, Ug’s expression uncharacteristically grave. “Don’t fuck this up.” “I’ll protect her with my life,” Vegas vowed with no hesitation. She was his. “And the cargo?” 12
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“It arrives tonight.” His friend’s blue hairy face creased with worry. “I’m glad for the quick in and out, considering…” “Considering?” Vegas stilled, his complete attention on the big Ungarian. Ug leaned forward and Vegas nearly gagged, an overpowering animal scent permeating his friend’s thick fur. “You have someone asking after you, someone dressed in black, with a pale face and red eyes.” Fuck. Vegas placed one hand on the phaser attached to his belt. “Does he know what I look like?” “No, but he knows what you want to do. He’s looking for an individual of your species accompanying a shipment.” Vegas released his breath. She’d be safe. He stared into the green ale, watching the bubbles rise, contemplating this new development. “The mission will be more complicated, but it is still viable.” He glanced across the room. The sequins on the hooker’s bright-red top reflected the light, drawing attention to her generous chest. His mate had smaller, firmer breasts, tipped with pink, pert nipples aching to be plucked. Vegas flexed his fingers, his breathing deepening and his body hardening. Soon. “I can’t accompany the shipment,” he decided. Too risky. “Change the orders to cargo only, no passengers.” “I never punched it into the system in the first place.” Ug twisted his chin hair around a thick finger. “She refuses to take passengers.” “She says they’re too much trouble.” Vegas sipped the ale, wincing at the burn. “Yeah, that’s what she says.” Ug frowned, his burly brows meeting to form one continuous ridge over his eyes. “I thought you two had never met, so how do you know that? Oh, right.” He shook his hairy head. “That’s what you’re trained to do. So how will you rejoin the shipment?”
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“I’ll find a way.” Vegas watched the hooker walk away, her hand curled around the big mercenary’s arm, their relationship established in minutes. Daybreak. He sucked back his envy. Mere hours left. “Are they true, the rumors?” Ug glanced over his shoulder and dropped his voice. “About the dead planets, the warships, the breeding farms?” “Yeah.” Vegas took another swig of the harsh liquid designed for the digestive system of the colorful wolfman in front of him. “Grrap,” the Ungarian cursed. “I wish there was more I could do.” His brown-andyellow eyes gleamed with a zeal for battle Vegas recognized and sympathized with. “We are more valuable in our roles,” he recited the Federation line, his voice flat. “Yeah, that’s what they tell me.” Ug’s thick-lipped mouth twisted. “The sacrifices we make, huh, friend?” He raised his beverage. “The sacrifices we’ve made.” Vegas clinked his tankard against Ug’s. “The rewards we have earned.” Daybreak.
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Chapter Two “Since I docked earlier than scheduled, I thought we could hit that bar you’re always asking me to join you at.” Raylee followed the big bear of a man down the wide depot aisles. “The one with the green beer.” Her body vibrated with a recklessness, a wild untamable energy she needed to siphoned off in a safe, controlled way. “Not this time, Ray. The client wants his package there yesterday.” Ug waved his electronic clipboard, a feminine pink backdrop plastered across it. “He’s in such a rush that if you’d gotten lost again, I would have shipped it with someone else.” Raylee made a face, scuffing the soles of her sturdy boots on the concrete floor. “That happened once. When are you going to let it go?” “When it stops being funny.” He grinned, displaying sharp canine teeth. “Which means never.” He stopped in front of a large wooden crate, scanning the tag attached to it into his clipboard. “This is it.” He patted the wood, the deep sound indicating it was solid. “To be delivered to planet Celia, Spectra Quadrant.” He read off the screen. “Do you know where that is?” Raylee’s face heated. “It was one time, Ug.” “That I officially know of,” Ug mumbled loudly enough for her to hear, but too quietly to warrant a response. He scratched the thick blue fur matted on his right shoulder, his uniform consisting of purple cargo pants and green boots with no shirt. Raylee tilted her head and stared at the crate. There weren’t any manufacturer logos or return address labels or any other identifying marks on the shipment except for the tag. “Celia is a different drop-off point, isn’t it?” Ug raised one hairy eyebrow. “Not that there’s anything wrong with it,” Raylee hastened to reassure him. “It’s just…different.” Her explanation trailed off. 15
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“Do you want a map? Because I can send you a map.” Ug gave her the clipboard. “You can’t get lost with this shipment, Ray. The Federation will dock my credits.” “It was one time!” She glared at him. “And I didn’t say I couldn’t find it. It is only that, normally, I go to the same locations, back and forth, back and forth.” Without looking at the form, she pressed her thumb to the screen, leaving her print behind, and passed the clipboard back. “I’ve never heard of a shipment to Celia.” “I have, and that is where the client wants it to go.” Ug waved his clipboard over the sensor. “Since when do you ask so many questions?” The crate shuttled backward in a blur of motion and Raylee’s mouth dropped open. “Since when do you move shipments so quickly?” She looked up at her friend and Ug’s gaze immediately flicked to a distant spot over her right shoulder. “You said top speed made no grrappin’ sense.” Her stomach twisted. “You said the shipment would be loaded before we even reached the docking bay, not allowing me to supervise it, and you said the risk of damage to the—” “I know what I said. This is an exception. The client is in a rush.” He stalked away from her, his big boots ringing on the shiny depot floor. “Everything about this shipment is an exception.” She followed him, her concerns multiplying exponentially. “You know I don’t normally ask about—” “Then don’t ask this time. It’ll lose you this contract, Ray. Let it go,” Ug advised. She chewed on her bottom lip as the bubbling in her gut percolated to painful levels, a taste of acid creeping up her throat. “I don’t transport living creatures. Ship is a closed system and I can’t have anything onboard I might have to fight with weapons or chemicals.” “I asked about that,” Ug reassured her, his gait increasing in speed. She took twice as many strides to keep up with his long legs. “I don’t know why…oh, grrap!” He stopped suddenly, his face compressing with concern.
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Raylee followed his line of sight. A tall, thin man dressed in black talked with a frightened-looking depot worker. The stranger was humanoid, but not human, his skin as pale as death and his hair resembling thin white tentacles. “Who is he?” “A Balazoid, a creature you don’t want to mess with.” Ug straightened his shoulders, his countenance fierce and beastly, as he strode forward. Raylee trailed him, all of her senses on high alert. She scanned their surroundings, noting exits and the position of other Federation employees. “Whose ship is this?” The Balazoid didn’t bother with social niceties, waving one gloved hand at her freighter, his voice echoing as though traveling over time. “Mine.” Raylee stepped forward. The Balazoid’s blood-red gaze swept her from toe to head before meeting hers, the impact startling and intense. Exuding from him was a power so dark it pained her, and she struggled to breathe, opening her mouth, gulping recirculated air, a coolness gripping her pounding heart, squeezing and squeezing, until she couldn’t stand it anymore, her knees giving way. Then as abruptly as he’d entered her being, he released his hold, dismissing her entirely to address Ug. “How many crew members does she have?” “I…have…no crew.” Raylee faced the Balazoid, hanging on to a pillar for support, her chest heaving, the docking bay swirling around her. “It’s a solo freighter.” “The human I seek may be inside.” The Balazoid studied her with suspicion as though she was hiding his mystery human in her baggy flight suit. “Inform her I will board her ship,” he told Ug. “Like hell you will.” She stood protectively between him and Ship, her hands on her hips, her boots braced apart, and she glared up, up, up at him. Fuck. He was big, almost as tall as Ug. “I don’t know who you think you are, but unless you can show me a warrant from the Federation authorizing your search, you’re not getting on my ship.” “Ray,” Ug rumbled a warning.
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The Balazoid’s red gaze gripped her once more, but this time she was prepared, pressing her back against the pillar, her body steeled against his silent bullying. As her heart constricted and her lungs burned, she didn’t blink, her chin tilted upward defiantly. Must…protect… Moisture trickled from her nostrils, the metallic scent of blood staining the air, and the room grew alarmingly dark. “She is a woman,” the pale stranger sneered, ending the torture. Raylee sucked in deep breaths of air, her energy zapped, her legs shaking. “I’m looking for a great warrior. He wouldn’t align himself with a weak woman.” She clenched her hands into fists and forced her body to straighten. “Why, you—” “Ray,” Ug cautioned once more. “I will search the freighter in the east dock,” the Balazoid arrogantly informed Ug. “Its captain is male and served in the Federation Elites.” His feet didn’t touch the ground as he moved, his black coat flapping behind him. Female-hater. Raylee glared at his back. “Get the grrap out of here, Ray,” Ug murmured, slapping a square of pastel-yellow fabric into her hands as he passed. Raylee wiped at the blood dripping from her nose as she stomped up the ramp. “Ship, is everything ready for takeoff?” She hurried through the corridor, heading toward the bridge. “You must be asking about the cargo, which is safely stowed, as I am always ready for takeoff,” Ship snipped. “I am a class-A freighter, the finest of our kind. I can—” “Yes, yes.” She plunked down in her comfy captain’s chair, the leather worn to fit her ass perfectly. “You can reenergize in mere minutes. You are a marvel of modern engineering. You can dazzle me with your specs during the long flight.” The main viewscreen was unveiled, displaying the closed docking port. “Right now, we need to leave Ungaria, heading to the planet Celia in the Spectra Quadrant. I hope you know where that is, because I sure the hell don’t.” She typed the information into her console. “And make it quick before the Balazoid changes his mind about boarding us.” 18
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“What is one more passenger?” Ship’s question was loaded with sarcasm. All of the lights flickered as energy was redirected to the engine. “We’ve already been boarded by a human.” “What?” Raylee raised her head. The Balazoid searched for a human, but no, Ship would never allow an unauthorized entity to invade him, not after…not after. “Where is the human now?” The docking port opened, revealing a sky clear and perfect for flying. “Your sleeping chamber.” Ship vibrated under her ass, his engines rumbling to full capacity. “Visual, please.” A view of her cabin stretched across the screen. Sexy sat on the edge of her bed, hunched over the microchip in his hands. “That is Sexy, Ship.” Raylee rolled her eyes. “Wreak your revenge on him later. Concentrate on getting us into orbit now.” She pushed the thruster forward. “Unlike humans, I can multitask. I—” “Ship,” she barked, and they shot forward, the force of their takeoff pushing her back against her seat. Better than sex. She grinned, her teeth rattling, her blood pumping.
***** “Fuck. He hurt her,” Vegas fumed to his robotic twin as he reconnected the android’s battle chip. “Twice. Any other damn woman would back away after the first time, but not my mate.” He shook his head, torn between pride and absolute terror. “She’s fucking fearless and that bastard Balazoid almost killed her.” “If you hadn’t incapacitated me, I would have protected her as you programmed me to do.” The android stood still, his skullcap removed, displaying an intricate pattern of electronic circuits. “By protecting her, you would have jeopardized the mission and eliminated your entire reason for being.” A spark zapped Vegas’ fingertip. “Short-circuit me and I will also cease to be,” the android joked. 19
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Vegas paused. Footsteps fell in the corridor, small boots stomping on hard surface. His mate. “Silence.” He shoved the android into the storage closet, amidst a collection of primitive archery equipment and a headless synthetic body. “And be still,” Vegas instructed, closing the door, concealing the android. The doors slid open and Vegas moved quickly, hugging the wall. “What a day, Sexy,” Raylee sang out, her voice lilting in that way that made his body harden and his pulse rate speed up. Kicking off her boots, she pulled at the fastenings on her bodyconcealing flight suit. “Sexy?” She turned her head, meeting his gaze, and her big brown eyes widened. A squeak escaped her full kissable lips as Vegas grasped her shoulders, flipping her petite form around, facing her toward the wall. “What the fuck—” She struggled, and he stretched her arms upward, pinning her. “Shhh…” he murmured into the nape of her neck, brushing his lips against her soft skin as he spoke. She smelled of chalk powder and mechanical things, a cock-hardening scent that was all Raylee. “I have you.” “You do.” She looked over her shoulder and her eyes sparkled with excitement, not fear. “I’m liking your solution to my problem, Sexy.” She wiggled her ass, rubbing against his groin, torturing his already primed body. “I’m not Sexy.” Vegas curled his top lip in distaste at the name she’d given his temporary replacement. He spread his feet between hers, forcing her legs apart. “I disagree.” Her husky voice sent shivers of lust down his spine. “This is the sexiest you’ve ever been.” She arched her back, tilting her ass upward in an invitation he had no willpower to refuse. Fuck taking it slowly. He needed her now. “That’s because I’m a man, not an android.” Wrapping one hand around both of her fragile wrists, holding her in place, he parted her flight suit using his freed hand. “There’s nothing I can’t do and there’s nothing I won’t do.
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“With this first fuck, I’m going to take you, Raylee, hard and rough, the way you’ve been craving.” He stroked inside her androgynous clothing, skimming his fingertips over the hollow between her breasts. Soft. Female. His. He leaned farther into her, needing more contact, more touch. “I know you want it like that, my cock slamming into your pussy over and over, driving into you so deep you’ll feel me all over.” She shuddered, the musk from her pussy tantalizing his nostrils. “Yes, today, I’m going to show you what a real man can do.” He cupped one of her breasts, her gentle curves fitting against his palm the way he knew they would. “I’ll make you mine and you’ll never want another.” He nudged the cap off her head with his chin, her brown curls spilling down her shoulders. It was sinfully soft, the softest substance he’d ever touched in all of his rough life, and he buried his face in the tresses, inhaling her clean womanly scent. “Sexy,” she moaned, her ass swaying back and forth, back and forth, like the flicking of a cat shifter’s tail, the brush of her body straining his control. “Vegas,” he corrected, his voice choked with desire. “Call me Vegas.” “Vegas.” His name dripped off her lips like liquid sex. “I need to touch you.” “Later, not now.” If she touched him, he’d come, his balls drawing up close to his body, ready to explode. “Until I tell you otherwise, your hands stay on the wall.” He gently unfolded her curled fingers, flattening them, and placed her hands high above her head. “Move them and I’ll stop.” He covered her form with his, pressing the ridge in his pants between her fabric-covered ass cheeks. She breathed heavily, her excitement adding to his. “You don’t want me to stop, Raylee.” He caught her right earlobe between his teeth and pulled. She trembled. “I promise you.” “Oh, yes.” She made a low needy sound and every muscle in his body tensed.
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“Yes.” He ripped away the baggy flight suit to reveal the stunning woman beneath. Raylee twitched but didn’t move her hands, obeying his command, trusting him. “My woman.” Vegas dragged his lips over her shoulders, down her spine, tasting her salty skin, feeding on his mate. “My reward.” He greedily cupped and squeezed her breasts with both of his hands, pinching her dusky nipples between his fingers. She moaned, the sound sweeping over his skin like the gentlest caress. “I’ve wanted you to do that for so long.” “I know.” He’d thought he’d known everything about her yet the surveillance feed hadn’t captured the full extent of her beauty or prepared him for how he’d feel when he touched her. “Your android couldn’t hurt you like I can, Raylee.” Vegas glided his palm down over her slightly rounded stomach to her hairless mound, claiming her with his hands. “With desire.” She responded unreservedly to his touch, her flesh warming. “With reverence.” He slid his finger between her folds, her pussy slick with moisture, ready for the cock straining against his pants. “With love.” Vegas tugged off his shirt and unfastened his pants, yanking them down, the cool recycled air hitting his heated flesh. “I’ve waited so long for this.” Bending his knees to adjust to her shorter height, he pushed forward, his cock cradled between her ass cheeks, his tip bumping up against her spine. Home. “Vegas,” she gasped, waving her ass like a fuck-me flag. The mental ropes securing his lust snapped one by one. “Be still,” he growled, stroking her wetness with his index finger. “Or I’ll ram my cock right into this sweet pussy.” He pushed his finger deep inside her hot, tight channel. “And fuck you until you scream my name.” “God, S…s…Vegas, I need that so badly.” Her pussy clamped down hard on his finger. Fuck! He clenched his jaw to keep from coming. “Vegas?” 22
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He took a deep breath. “Tonight isn’t about what you need, Raylee.” He crooked his finger inside her, caressing her pussy walls and drawing more sweet cream from her body. “It is about what I need from you.” He pumped her, determined to give her satisfaction before taking his. “You’ve had your android cock to satisfy you. All I’ve had was my hand.” She moaned at his confession and he sucked on her neck, feeling the vibrations against his lips. “This hand.” He added a finger, stretching her. So tight. “The hand I’m going to cover with your pussy juices.” He finger-fucked her while rubbing his cock against her ass, the contact relieving some of his strain. “I want my skin to smell of you, so when I’m alone with only my hand for company, I’ll breathe in your scent while I fuck myself.” She panted, her lips parted, her pussy so wet rivulets of moisture dripped down his arm, and his control stretched to the breaking point. “I’m bigger than your android.” Vegas positioned his cock head at her entrance and her tantalizing heat reached out to him. “But you’ll take me.” He eased into her, his eyes rolling back in his head at the euphoria of their joining. Her hands slid down the wall, her body slanting toward him, allowing Vegas to achieve his goal, to bury himself inside his mate, his woman, his future. “All of me.” “Vegas.” Her whimper held more desire than distress, laden with the emotion he also felt, yet couldn’t express. “Can you feel me inside you, Raylee, big and hard and wanting you?” He brushed her delicate shell of an ear with his lips, his shaft embraced by her pussy. She swallowed, nodding her head. “Do you want me to fuck you now?” “Yes, oh yes,” she cried out her agreement as he moved, gripping her hips in his hands, pulling her back into him while he surged forward, driving into her pussy with unrelenting force until skin slapped against skin and his grunts drowned out her sounds of passion.
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They fucked fiercely, primitively, forging a soul-sucking connection between them, the bond stronger for the years of training and loneliness and sacrifice. “Fuck, Raylee.” Vegas wrapped one muscled arm around her, as he rode her. “I’m never letting you go.” He ravaged her with unrelenting focus, rocking her curves against the hard wall. “Never. Never,” he chanted over and over until she sang the same refrain, their voices as one, their bodies entwined, heaving, hurling toward mutual satisfaction. “Vegas!” she screamed, flying upward against him, her pussy vibrating around his cock, coating his shaft with a hot wave of cream. “Raylee!” He propelled forward, coming hard, shooting his seed deep inside her in a release so glorious, for a moment his heart stopped beating and time stood still. “Raylee.” He draped over her, covering her bare back, her thighs trembling against his. “You are mine.” Vegas rested, laying his cheek upon a pillow of her soft hair, her scent around him, his cock inside her pussy. He listened to the sound of their breathing, ragged at first, leveling to an even flow, and it calmed him, bringing his soul a peace he’d never before known. His strength returned and he straightened, pulling up his pants, not bothering to fasten them, as he would take her again and again and again. “You are mine,” he repeated, gathering her up into his arms, and he carried her to the bed, their bed.
***** He had to be her companion android. Raylee stared at Vegas’ severe profile. He looked like Sexy, except he had a scar on his determined chin. She touched the thin slice of puckered skin and his lips curled into a satisfied smile. “I want you again.” He flipped her onto her back, bracing his big body with his arms. His hard cock pressed against her thigh. She was gloriously surrounded by muscles and man and a tremor of excitement ran through her.
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“You can’t want me.” She tilted her head as he nibbled down her neck, offering more flesh to his hot mouth. The cabin smelled of sex and his spicy musk. She inhaled, savoring the unique blend. “You’re an android.” “I’m a man, Raylee, your man.” He brushed his cheek against hers, his skin rough and covered with short, coarse hair. What the fuck? Her android had stubble? She dragged her blunt fingernails over his jaw. “I’ve wanted you for years.” He flicked her ear with his tongue and she trembled. “And now I will have you.” Her pussy moistened at his declaration. “Can I touch you this time?” Raylee ran her hands over his broad shoulders, enjoying the play of muscles under tanned skin. His body was Sexy’s perfection, every inch of him honed and refined. “Yes.” Vegas eased into her and she angled her hips to take all of his long, thick shaft, her pussy wet from his touching and the remnants of his last release, the scent of his cum hanging heavy in the air. Sexy had installed significant modifications without her authorization. Raylee frowned. She had told him she wanted something different. “Raylee.” Vegas’ gaze met hers, his blue eyes darkened with desire. “You can make all the faces you want. I’m still going to fuck you.” He pumped into her leisurely and she rocked with him, her legs bent, cradling his hips, deepening their connection, her concerns forgotten. “I know what you need, love, and one of those needs is my cock in your pussy.” “Yes.” She clutched his shoulders, his skin covered with an exciting, wet, warm sheen. Arousing. Different. “And what else do I need?” Raylee looked up at a visage dark with emotions Sexy had never displayed. What new circuits sparked inside that handsome head? She swirled circles into his muscles with her thumbs. Vegas didn’t reply, flattening his mouth over hers, grinding lips on lips, prodding, prodding, prodding until she opened for him. He didn’t kiss. He invaded, conquering her mouth, subduing her tongue, demanding her surrender. Her modified android 25
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tasted of coffee and spice and man, not synthetic mint paired with plastic, and Raylee feasted upon him hungrily, moaning into his mouth. He fucked her with a thrilling ferocity, driving her into the bed again and again. Animal noises rumbled from his chest. God, he was a beast. Raylee squeezed Vegas’ firm ass cheeks and he jerked, his concentration broken and his rhythm disrupted. “Fuck, Raylee. You make me hot,” he growled, his voice deep and low and taut with a sexual tension Sexy had never revealed. “Slap my ass with your soft little hands.” “Yes.” Raylee patted his tanned flesh, her touch light and hesitant, her fingers shaking with exhilaration. “Harder,” Vegas barked like a Federation drill sergeant, his command thrillingly dominant and demanding. “I want my ass red. Mark me with your hands.” His words cut through the silence. Her nipples tightened to painfully taut peaks. “Make me yours.” “You are mine.” Raylee slapped his ass hard, her palm stinging, the sound and feel of power intoxicating. He roared with satisfaction, fucking her with renewed vigor. “You’re mine, all mine.” She whacked him again and again, urging him onward, deeper, further into her. Her arms tired and she smacked him with her heels, digging her feet into his ass as he rode her, laboring over her, his torso glistening with his efforts. Her passion swirled faster and faster, tighter and tighter around him. “Vegas,” she begged, not knowing what for. He knew, licking down her neck, over her right breast, suckling hard, priming her body before nipping at her nipple. The pain was sharp and sensual and exquisite and she screamed, pushing upward into him with all her might, trying to dislodge him and draw him into her at the same time. “I have you.” Vegas clasped her to his chest, his arms solid and sure around her, and he came, his cock pulsing inside her, coating her pussy with his soothing cum. 26
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“Raylee, I’ll always have you.” He pressed his lips to her forehead, his weight on top of her reassuringly heavy. Vegas was heavier than Sexy. She was filled with cum and his larger cock. He smelled of man and sex and his body was wet with his own perspiration. Too many differences. Raylee met her lover’s blue-eyed gaze. “Who are you?” “Someone who would die rather than hurt you.” Vegas rolled until she lay with her head on his defined pecs, his heart beating against her ear. “You’re human.” She blinked. Human…death. “Oh God. You’ll die.” Raylee stiffened, terror flooding her. “And it’ll be my fault. I can’t.” Care. Not again. Never again. She pushed away from him. “The grief. The guilt.” His arms strapped around her waist, drawing her back, and she screamed her refusal, fighting him. “I can’t, Vegas. Please no.” Raylee struggled, but he was stronger and she was so exhausted, her muscles liquefied by his loving. Love…oh God. He’d die. She’d love him and she’d make a mistake and he’d die. “Vegas, please, don’t make me,” she begged, sobbing into his chest. “Hush, Raylee.” He brushed his lips over her brow back and forth in a gentle, soothing caress. “Hush. You’re safe.” Vegas held her, murmuring words of comfort while she battled him, her defenses growing more and more feeble. “You’re safe.” He cuddled her close, smothering her with reassurances she wanted to believe, until she gave up all resistance, sagging against him. “I’ll protect you.” His hands lowered, cupping her ass, securing her to his big body. “Sleep.” “Safe,” Raylee repeated, testing the word, rolling it over in her mouth. “Yes, I’ll keep you safe.” Her eyelids fluttered and she yawned. “So you won’t die.” She closed her eyes. “You won’t…” Raylee fell into the darkness.
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Chapter Three Vegas sank into the worn captain’s chair. A smile of satisfaction curled his lips. The scent of his mate had mixed with leather and the seat was curved to fit a shapelier ass. He drifted his fingertips over the creases in the arms, following the tracks her fingers had left. “You are not authorized to sit there,” Ship barked out, his computerized voice loud and shrill, and Vegas’ contentment vanished. “Captain—” “Captain is asleep and the Federation’s directive gives me authorization to use all necessary resources to fulfill my mission.” He punched in the new flight coordinates, his movements sharp with irritation. “We will be redirecting.” “That location is not achievable.” Ship denied his request. “It lies outside Federation shipping lanes.” “We will be exiting the shipping lanes, taking the most direct route.” He reentered the coordinates. “Our mission requires us to land on the planet Lokan. We will do what it takes to accomplish our mission.” “Believe him, Ship. He’s ruthless. He stuffed me in the closet,” Sexy, his android clone, muttered, standing with his back against the wall, his arms crossed. “I stayed there all night and now my energy sources are low and—” “Captain does not allow the android to leave her sleeping chamber,” Ship broke into Sexy’s complaints. “He is for recreation use only, having no business on the bridge of a class-A freighter.” Ship blocked the revised route once more. “The android is needed for this mission.” Vegas ground his teeth. “Ship, you have two options. You can refuse to cooperate, defying Federation orders. In that case, I will implement manual override and deactivate you.” Circuits hissed and lights flickered,
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cold air blasting Vegas’ face. “Or you can follow my orders, assist us with our mission and increase your chances of survival. I have flown freighters before, but…” “You have not flown a freighter like me before.” Ship pulsed air through his vents. “And you can’t land on Lokan due to its energized core, so you need me to hover above the planet.” Ship called his bluff. Damn it. “Once we exit the shipping lanes, our odds of being boarded by pirates increases and—” “He’s scared,” Sexy explained. “He’s been boarded before and Ship’s scared it will happen again.” “Not for myself, you simple-circuited excuse for a robot,” Ship yelled, the floor gyrating under Vegas’ feet. “I survived. Three of the four fragile humans onboard did not. Before the Federation warship arrived to rescue us, the pirates tortured my crew, and when they finally died, one at a time, the pirates cut their heads off and hung them from my beams, their blood seeping into my core. A decade of cleaning later, I still have not removed all traces of it.” The sting of Ship’s guilt and pain edged his robotic voice. “And the fourth?” Vegas knew who that fourth human was, having researched Raylee extensively, but he wanted to hear the grisly story directly from an entity that had experienced it. “First Officer Raylee volunteered for the high-risk task of repairing the damage from the initial blast and, to ensure the contamination did not spread, I sealed the area. The pirates did not wish to risk losing a ship to kill a human.” “That was how she survived?” Fuck. Vegas dug his fingertips into the leather padding. Too close. “Without the containment seal, she would have been tortured and killed. I would have lost her.” Raylee, his mate, dead. He stared out the viewscreen at the stars, seeing a future as empty as space. “You saved her life, Ship.” “I delayed her death,” the vessel corrected. “The pirates had assumed command, overwriting my programming. If the Federation warship had not arrived, I would have been forced to open my doors once the damage was repaired.”
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“And they would have killed her,” Vegas concluded, a chill settling low in his stomach. “That won’t happen again. Raylee is mine to protect and I won’t allow her to be harmed,” he vowed. “You won’t allow me?” The cold barrel of a phaser pressed against his neck, the scent of engine grease and chalk powder tickling his nose. “I’m the captain. I do the allowing.” He looked up into Raylee’s brown eyes, her beautiful face set with resolve. Fuck. He was one lucky bastard. “Take your hand off my controls and get out of my chair or—” “Or what?” His cock twitched with the ring of authority in her voice. “You’ll shoot me?” Vegas dared her, bracing for her response. “Yes.” Raylee lowered her phaser to his kneecap and pressed the trigger. Nothing happened. He relaxed. “Shit.” She frowned at the weapon. “I made a few minor adjustments to your weapons while you slept.” Vegas grinned. His mate was fuckin’ fearless. “Do you always sleep so solidly or only after you’ve had the best fucking of your life?” “You bastard.” She swung her arm. Vegas caught her wrist and he pulled her into his lap, wrenching the phaser out of her fingers and dropping it on the floor. She cursed and thrashed on top of him, trying to kick him and hit him, while he secured her, ignoring the desire pumping through his veins, waiting patiently for her to quiet. “What do you want?” she finally asked, captured, yet not subdued. “You.” He pressed his cock against her ass, emphasizing his declaration. “Ship, conceal auditory.” A hum filled the air. “Who else is on Ship?” She fought to get loose, looking around them, lines etched between her eyebrows. “If you fucking allowed—” “No one else is on Ship, but we can’t be too careful.” He soothed his justifiably paranoid woman. “The future of planets, of the Federation, is at stake.”
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“The missing planets?” Raylee’s gaze met his and he read her understanding, pleased by her intelligence. “It’s true?” “The missing planets, the Balazoid warships, the breeding farms filled with human and humanoid females, yes, all of it is true.” He breathed in her fragrance, smelling him on her. Mine. He tightened his grip. “Within the crate is a canister, a weapon. We’re traveling to planet Lokan, transporting that weapon to another agent.” “Another,” she repeated. “That is what you are, an agent.” Although it wasn’t a question, Vegas nodded his agreement and she straightened. “Transporting a weapon is dangerous. Being an agent is dangerous.” “Our route has been redirected outside of Federation shipping lanes,” Ship added. “Oh my God.” She stared up at the beams. “We’re all going to die.” Her body trembled against his, her baggy, baby-blue flight suit rubbing over his civilian clothes, her fear drawing out his protectiveness. “This is a delivery. The possibility of dying is low,” Vegas reassured her. He kissed the back of her neck, her hair tucked up into that hideous cap. “For you, it will be.” She jutted her jaw outward. “I’ll drop you on another planet, a safe planet, and I’ll deliver the weapon. I—” “No.” He cupped her chin, turning her face so he looked into her soulful brown eyes. “I have command of the mission, of the ship and of you.” Her lips parted. “But—” “No buts. You don’t have a choice in this, Captain.” Vegas stroked down her fragile neck, feeling her deep breaths against his fingertips, reassurance that she lived. “I need you to follow my orders, all of my orders.” He laid his palm possessively over one of her breasts, claiming that flesh as his. “Understand?” He squeezed. “Yes.” Raylee arched, pushing her curves into his hand and her ass into his groin, ceding control of her body to him.
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“You will do what I say.” He spread his fingers and slowly closed them around her nipple. She moaned, a tortured erotic sound, and his hard cock bobbed. “When I say it, where I say it. Understand?” He licked her earlobe, tasting her skin. Raylee didn’t respond, tilting her head to give him more access to her neck. “Understand?” he repeated, needing her full agreement. She blew out her breath. “I understand.” Raylee leaned back into him. “Good.” Vegas smiled as he released his temporarily subdued mate, relishing her trust. “Turn around and face me.” She obeyed, spinning in his lap, rubbing her ass against his groin, driving his desire upward. Her nipples poked against the flight suit and he longed to suck those tight peaks into his mouth. “Take your clothes off, Raylee. I want to see your hot, little body silhouetted against the backdrop of stars.” She glanced to her left and to her right. “Here? If we’re hailed by another ship…” “They’ll see your tight ass and your wet pussy. Your pussy is wet for me, isn’t it, Captain?” Vegas breathed in deeply, torturing his already overstimulated body with her scent. “There’s no need to answer me. I can smell your readiness.” He dropped his gaze to the apex of her thighs. Control. “Sexy, remove your clothes also.”
Oh God. Raylee bent over, her fingers fumbling as she loosened her boots. I’m to fuck them both. She kicked her sturdy footwear off, the thud of leather against metal obscenely loud. On the bridge of my ship. She straightened, looking over her shoulder at Sexy. He was naked, his cock erect and ready for action, and she pressed her moist thighs together to keep them from trembling. So hot. She returned her gaze to Vegas and watched him watch her as she unfastened her flight suit and pushed the garment over her shoulders, the fabric falling to the floor. His eyes darkened to a proprietary indigo blue as he leisurely perused her naked form. She waited, self-consciously shifting her weight from foot to foot, forcing her hands to remain by her sides, allowing him to see all of her. “You’re my reward, Raylee, for a lifetime of service, of sacrifice. You belong to me and only to me.” 32
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“And you belong to me.” She lifted her chin, silently daring him to refute her declaration. “I do.” Vegas smiled slowly and Raylee’s stomach flipped. “Put one foot here.” He patted the arm of the captain’s chair, the seat of power within the ship. She glanced up at the beams. Forgive me, Captain. Her face heated as she tentatively placed her sole on the worn leather, the stance exposing her wet pussy to Vegas’ cool gaze. “Sexy, stand beside me,” he ordered. The android silently repositioned himself beside the chair. “Look at us, Raylee.” Vegas sprawled in her seat, effortlessly dominating the space around him. His eyes simmered with fierce emotion, awareness radiating from his being. Sexy stood passively, his expression blank and uncaring, a faded copy of the real man. “Don’t ever again mistake me for your android.” Vegas’ words were curt, blunt barbs showing his displeasure, and Raylee nodded sheepishly, swallowing hard. “Good.” His teeth flashed white against his tanned face and some of the weight lifted off her shoulders. “Sexy, you will stroke your cock as Captain Raylee touches herself.” Vegas pulled down his own pants and underwear, revealing his thicker shaft, and she licked her lips, hungry for a taste of him. “Pinch your nipples,” Vegas instructed and Raylee tweaked them, the sting breathtakingly sharp. “Again. I want them red and hard.” He observed her, his eyelids lowered, his hand gripped tightly around the base of his cock. Sexy stroked his cock, his gaze also on her hands. Eager to please them both, Raylee abused her breasts, squeezing and pinching and slapping her nipples, the pain flowing into pleasure. “Spread your pussy lips and show me your tight entrance.” Vegas leaned forward slightly and she felt his warm breath on her mound as she drew back her feminine folds, revealing everything to him.
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“Circle your clit with your finger.” A dab of pre-cum formed on his cock and she skimmed her tongue over her lips as she caressed her pleasure nub. She wanted to suck on his tip, scooping up that precious liquid. “Fuck, Raylee, you’re so hot. Pump that pretty little pussy for me,” Vegas coached. She fucked herself with her fingers to the rhythm of Sexy’s stroking, the sounds and scent of sex all around her. “You’re so juicy. Let me taste you.” Vegas opened his mouth and she inserted a finger. He sucked greedily, his mouth wet and hot. God. I want him. She wiggled, her pussy contracting with each tug of his lips. “Sexy, lubricate your cock and fuck your captain’s tight ass,” he ordered the android. I want both of them. Raylee shuddered. “Look at me.” Vegas captured her face between his rough hands, bending her over his lap. Cooler fingers parted her ass cheeks and a hard synthetic cock pushed into her puckered hole. She stiffened. “At me,” he repeated. Their gazes met and held, their lips a breath apart, and her trepidation leveled to serenity. I can do this. As the cock breached her tight ring of resistance, pulling at her skin, panic swelled up in her. No. I can’t. “Vegas.” “That’s it.” He kissed away her protest, plunging into her mouth while Sexy slid fully into her, the dual invasion ravaging her senses. “You’re mine to use, Raylee, in the interests of the Federation.” Vegas petted her face, his touch light and loving and almost tender. She pushed her cheek against his palm, needing that human connection as the android rode her with his usual detachment. “So while your android lover fucks your ass, the way I commanded him to, you’ll suck my cock.” Vegas spread his legs, revealing a hard cock and balls tight with want.
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“Yes,” she agreed, yearning to please him. Raylee dipped her head lower and lapped at his tip, tonguing his slit, tasting him, all man. Vegas relaxed in the chair, watching her with dark, intense eyes, while Sexy pistoned his cock in and out of her ass like the fucking machine he was, his self-lubricating shaft easing the burn. “Yes,” Vegas finally repeated, threading his fingers through her hair, massaging her skull. Ripples of pleasure spread from his touch. “Suck me, Raylee.” She wrapped her lips around his shaft and licked around his rim before sinking down on him, attempting to suck all of his cock into her mouth. Impossible. His tip hit the back of her throat before her lips touched his base. She sighed, disappointed with her failure, and her breath flowed around his shaft. Too large. Raylee bobbed over him and he pulled at her curls, the pain spurring her onward. “Finger her clit, Sexy,” Vegas instructed, his voice deepening with passion. The android reached around and rubbed her clit while fucking her ass, pistoning in and out. So good. Raylee moaned into Vegas’ cock. Determined to make her human lover come first, she fought her impending orgasm. As Sexy thrust his cock deep inside her ass, she took Vegas’ cock into her mouth, sucking on him, her tongue sliding underneath his shaft. As Sexy drew back, she retreated also, swirling her tongue around Vegas’ cock head. “Raylee.” Vegas pushed up with his hips. “Raylee, I’m going to…” She broke with their synchronized rhythm to suck him hard, her cheeks indenting with the pressure around his shaft, and Vegas roared, spurting hot cum into her mouth. Yes. She swallowed and swallowed and swallowed. As she drank from him, she surrendered to her own passions, calling his name into his flesh. Oh God. Raylee clutched his thighs while her body shook and her pussy convulsed. With the world spinning around her merrily, she milked his cock dry and released him with a juicy pop. “Come, Sexy,” Vegas commanded. He held her steady as the android lunged forward one more time, pumping hot air into her ass, setting off a second orgasm. 35
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“Vegas!” She threw her head back and screamed, the lights on the bridge flickering, her body no longer her own, at the mercy of her raging desires. “I have you.” He pulled her toward him and the android’s hard cock slipped out of her well-used ass. She had no energy left in her, lying limp and lifeless in his arms. “I have you, Raylee.” Vegas brushed back her hair and gently kissed the tear tracks on her cheeks, his lips cooling her heated flesh. Yes. She curled up naked in his lap, cuddling into his rough shirt, finding comfort in his strength.
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Chapter Four Eight hours later, Vegas glowered at the cautious woman he adored, utilizing all of his Federation training not to lose patience with her. “And this Balazoid blocker that you say is supposedly necessary, it’ll make me ill?” She stood in front of the bridge’s main viewscreen, facing away from him, her feet braced apart and her hands clutched together behind her back. “How ill?” “When I received it, I didn’t leave my bed for a week.” Vegas channeled his frustration through his hands, digging his fingers into the chair’s leather armrests. Since this morning’s transfer of command, his obstinate mate had questioned every order he’d given her. “And the blocker is necessary. That bastard Balazoid on Ungaria almost killed you.” Raylee glanced up at the beams. Seconds ticked by and Vegas smothered the urge to rush her decision. She finally shrugged. “I’ve almost been killed a few times.” Raylee turned, her oversized flight suit rustling. “I always seem to survive my mistakes.” She gave him a sad smile, her haunted eyes pulling at his soul. “I can’t say that for everyone.” “We’ve all made mistakes, Raylee,” he said softly, feeling her guilt and grief as though they were his own, wishing he could erase those grisly memories. “When I make mistakes, people die.” Her lips flattened into a thin white line. “And this would be a mistake. You might have taken temporary command of Ship, but I’m still the captain.” “I’m a class-A freighter,” Ship reminded them. “I do not require a captain. I—” “Enough.” Vegas raised his hand, angered at the intrusion. “This is a private conversation between the captain and I.” Raylee crossed her arms defensively.
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“And yes, this might be a mistake,” he admitted, desiring to be honest with his mate. “But not receiving the Balazoid blocker could be an even bigger mistake. While you’re ill, I’ll be there to care for you and to command Ship.” The vessel vibrated, communicating his displeasure with Vegas’ offer. “If you face the Balazoid again without a blocker…” He couldn’t contemplate that possibility. She was too precious to him. “In other words, I’m fucked.” Raylee shifted her weight from her right foot to her left. “No matter what I do, I risk making a mistake.” “Sit down.” He patted the seat next to him. Her face paled and Vegas gritted his teeth. He’d never seen her sit in any of the other chairs on this Goddamn ghost ship. “We’ve all made mistakes, Raylee,” he repeated, willing her to understand. “You keep saying that.” Her eyes flashed. “But you don’t know.” Her chest heaved. “You don’t know what it’s like to make a life-or-death decision and be wrong, so very wrong.” Her voice cracked, pain slicing through her words. Vegas winced, knowing what he had to say, what he had to risk, to ease her torment. Fuck. She would make him talk about this, his damn woman. “Don’t I?” he asked, dread swirling in his stomach. She turned her head to stare at him. “Ship, conceal auditory.” He scowled at the viewscreen, contemplating his words. What to tell her? How to tell her? He shouldn’t do this. Too risky. “Vegas?” He felt her gaze upon him, trusting him to tell her the truth. Trust first, then caring, then love. “I caused the death of a planet,” he blurted out. He glared straight ahead, avoiding the judgment sure to be reflected in her revealing face. Raylee gasped, the sound loud and accusing. “How many people?”
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He didn’t know. He’d never asked. “Ship, what was the population of Gayle V before it went missing?” “Five thousand, three hundred, and forty-six humanoids,” Ship recited as though it was a cold, hard fact and not a number representing living, breathing people, people with friends and families and futures. Vegas slumped over in his chair, his head hanging heavy with guilt, and he closed his eyes. The silence stretched between them, and he felt more alone than he’d ever had. She was his. He’d never let her go. But she couldn’t love him. He’d done too much, killed too many people. Slender fingers folded over his, her flesh warm and comforting. The scent of chalk powder and engine lubricant engulfed him. “How?” He threaded his fingers through hers, linking them together, selfishly holding her to him, deluding himself that she cared. He needed her to care. But he needed her to care for him, and he wasn’t Sexy, her perfect android. He was a man who had made mistakes, a man who had killed people. “A contact told me he’d seen a Balazoid warship traveling toward Gayle V.” Vegas stripped the story to the bare brutal essentials, unable to emotionally manage more detail. “I passed the information along to my reporting officer, but we laughed about it. No one was at war with Balazoid, and there was nothing on Gayle V.” “We were fools.” He twisted his lips. “A week later, Gayle V no longer existed. All of the five thousand, three hundred, and forty-six humanoids had vanished, never to be seen again.” Raylee perched on his knee, her pose tentative, as though she was ready to flee at any moment. “How could you have known?” He glanced at her. Her eyes were wide with a sympathy he didn’t deserve. “My contact was reliable, Raylee, and he had no reason to lie. I knew that. My reporting officer didn’t. I should have pressed harder. We should have contacted Gayle V and evacuated the planet. Hell. We should have done something.” He raked his fingers 39
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through his hair, tormented by his failure to act. “Fuck. I vowed never to talk about this.” She leaned into him, sliding her ass along his thigh, until she snuggled up close to his body, her softness comforting him. “Then why did you tell me?” He nudged the cap off her head and rested his chin on her brown curls, touching her, reassuring himself she was there, she hadn’t run from him. “You need to know who I am.” “Human?” Raylee pressed her lips against his neck, imparting absolution with her light kiss. “I already knew that.” She laid her cheek against his chest, and he held her, struggling to come to terms with her acceptance. Five thousand, three hundred, and forty-six humanoids. So many lives lost. My fault, yet she forgives me. Vegas wrapped his arms tighter around her waist, vowing to never let her go. She rubbed a circle into his shirt, her finger moving ’round and ’round and ’round, the friction heating his chest. He nuzzled his face deeper into her soft hair, inhaling her unique fragrance and savoring the connection, the rare stillness in his action-packed life. Raylee sighed, the slight sound tugging at his heart. “If I had done my job and spotted the pirate vessel sooner, my captain and crew wouldn’t have died.” Vegas strained to hear her quietly spoken confession. “Their deaths were my fault.” If she had spotted the vessel… Vegas massaged Raylee’s shoulders, her muscles tight underneath his fingertips. “Is that true, Ship?” “First Officer Raylee’s assistance was unnecessary. I am a class-A freighter. The pirate vessel was detected upon entry to the quadrant.” “That’s not what happened, Ship!” Raylee pushed away from Vegas, sitting up. “The pirates hid their vessel behind—”
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“Captain was aware of the pirates’ position,” Ship snapped. “He overrode my route redirect, similar to how my route has been overridden by our unauthorized passenger.” “No. That can’t be.” She frowned, wrinkling her forehead. “Why would the captain—” “Everyone makes mistakes, Raylee.” Vegas gathered her small form to him, relishing how perfectly her curves fit against his muscle. “Your captain made the best decision based on the knowledge and experience he had.” He kissed the furrows between her eyebrows. “As you’ll make the best decision you can about the Balazoid blocker.” “Back to that damn blocker.” She drooped like wilted vegetation, her neck bowed, her countenance adorably disgruntled. He watched her expressions change as she chewed on her bottom lip. A spy, she was not. “We could park on a planet.” “We don’t have time for delays.” He cupped her chin and lifted her gaze to his. “You can trust me, Raylee. I’ll never do anything to hurt you.” He stroked her cheeks, cherishing her softness. “I know.” Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “It’s just that after…after…” Raylee swallowed, the slender column of her throat convulsing. “I promised Ship I’d never let anything like that happen to him again.” “And we won’t.” He leaned his forehead on hers. “I’ll keep both of you safe.” She was his, and he’d protect her with his life. “I am a class-A freighter,” Ship broke into the intimate moment. “Ship!” Vegas barked, silencing him.
***** Bad idea. Raylee eyed the injection tube in Vegas’ hand with trepidation. Really bad idea. “You’ll remember to back up Sexy every night?”
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“Yes. Lay back.” He placed his free hand on her shoulder and pushed. She lowered onto the bed while keeping her gaze fixed on the tube. “You told me that three times already.” She opened her mouth. “And you documented everything. Relax.” “How can I relax?” she squeaked. “That’s a big injection tube.” Vegas brushed her hair away from her neck. His hands trembled and his expression was even more grim than usual. “There’s no chance of me dying, is there?” Vegas paused. Beads of moisture formed on his forehead, glistening on his tanned skin. “Is there?” Panic welled up inside her. Why didn’t he answer? “Is there?” she repeated, grabbing his arms. His jaw jutted out and he pressed the nozzle against her jugular. “A very low chance.” An excruciating pain shot over her skin. “A very…” The pain spread and spread, paralyzing her body. “Vegas?” She stared up at him, tears streaming down her cheeks. What was happening to her? He tossed the injection tube away, and his face blurred. “I have you, Raylee.” He gathered her into his arms, his body heat soothing her. She wanted to hug him but she couldn’t move her hands. “I have you.” “Hurts,” she whimpered, the ache causing her stomach to roll. “I know.” He brushed his cool, wet lips over her forehead. “Be strong, Captain. If I could bear this hurt for you, I would.” Vegas rocked her, the motion easing her agony. Captain. She closed her eyes, breathing in his musky scent. “Remember…” He chuckled, and his chest brushed against her breasts. “Yes. I’ll remember your damn to-do list. I remember everything you’ve ever said to me.” He gripped her tighter. “Don’t worry, love. Concentrate on getting better.” “Trust…”
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Raylee fell into a swirling endless darkness. She reached out with her arms and legs, trying to grab onto anything to stop her descent. There was nothing. She was alone in a funnel of damp, stiflingly hot air. Too hot. She pulled her flight suit off, and the fabric caught around her wrists. She struggled. She couldn’t free herself. The heat was unbearable. She was burning up. She writhed, frantic for relief. A voice murmured unintelligible words, and rough skin slid against hers, releasing her from her bindings. A cool breeze covered her flesh. She spread her thighs, allowing the chill to access all of her, and she shivered with delight as she continued to fall, the black starless night smelling deliciously familiar. Safe. She smiled. Loved. She rolled onto her back and landed with a thud on hard ground. “Fuck.” She groaned, her ass, spine and shoulders aching. She sat up, and a warm wall slid behind her, supporting her shoulders. Moisture dripped onto her lips. She licked at it. Yuck. It tasted like rotten rations. Another drop rolled over her chin. She sniffed and wrinkled her nose at the metallic scent. She wiggled backward, and the wall stopped her escape. She twisted to the side. A thick rope dug into her waist. The liquid flooded her mouth, and she sputtered, choking. She looked up toward the source, and she screamed. Vegas’ severed head hung from the beams, blood gushing from his neck. She screamed and screamed and screamed. “Raylee.” His mouth moved. Oh God. She thrashed her arms, clawing at her restraints. “Vegas!” She screamed. She had allowed herself to love him, and he had died. Oh God. “Vegas!”
“Raylee.” Cool hands held her face. “I’m here. I have you.” Vegas? He was alive? She blinked. Colors blurred together. Shapes rippled. “I have you.”
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He rocked her in his arms and repeated that sentence over and over until she believed him, and her terror slowly dissipated. He was alive. She was safe. Vegas had her.
***** Raylee opened her eyes. Unfamiliar stars whizzed by the bridge’s main viewscreen, the fast movement causing her head to spin. She wiggled her arms. She couldn’t move them. A blanket was wound tightly around her naked body. “You’re awake.” Vegas’ voice rumbled into her right ear, his breath warm and reassuring. “Thank God. Because for a moment there…” His chest heaved against her back, his breath ragged. “You’re awake,” he repeated as though reassuring himself. Raylee turned her head, ignoring the pain shooting up her neck, and she studied his face. Stubble covered his chin. Dark circles accentuated his electric-blue eyes. The hair on his head stood straight up in places and was matted down in others. “Hell,” she croaked, her throat dry and raw. That was what he looked like. He chuckled. “Yes. That would describe the past three days.” He pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her swaddled form. “I’d rather battle a hundred Balazoids than go through that again.” She tried to focus on his words but turning her head had exhausted her. “Battle?” “No battles. Don’t worry, Captain. Ship is safe. Sexy is safe. I’m safe.” He tapped the end of her nose, and she blinked. “And soon you’ll be well.” He brushed his lips lightly over hers, his calloused hands framing her face, his fingers stroking her skin. He handled her with a touching tenderness. She sighed, contented to be near Vegas and too tired to ask him the questions she should. All that mattered to her was he was here. He was safe. Vegas unstuck curls from her face and pushed the hair behind her ears. Raylee’s cheeks heated. “Mess.” She forced the word past her parched lips.
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“Beautiful.” He smoothed her eyebrows with his thumbs. “And brave and strong. You’re everything a man could want.” He smiled. A raw, ragged emotion she couldn’t identify swept over Raylee, and a teardrop slid down her cheek. He captured it with the tip of his finger. “No crying.” He licked the liquid off his skin. “You know what that does to me.” She didn’t know what it did to him. Raylee stared at him. She didn’t know anything. Why was she on the bridge? Why was she naked? Vegas stared back at her, searching her face as if he was memorizing every detail. Why would he do that? Was he leaving her? Panic raged through her. “Stay.” She curled her fingers around the edge of the blanket, wanting to clutch his shirt lapels, but lacking the energy. “I’m not leaving you, Raylee.” Vegas covered her hand with his. “Not ever again.” His brilliant blue eyes shone as his gaze held hers. Bright slashes of red colored his cheekbones. “We’re on course, making good time.” He gruffly changed the subject as though he’d been embarrassed by his declaration. “See that planet?” Vegas pointed at the viewscreen and she turned her head, wincing at the pain. “I spent an interesting evening there with one of the locals. He was a small three-legged humanoid and by small, I mean small. He was shorter than you are. But he had a big thing for the ladies.” Raylee rested her head against Vegas’ broad chest, her fever-ravaged body secured by his strong arms, while he spun tales of intergalactic espionage. He talked, she listened, and they gazed at the passing stars, the blur of light calming her.
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Chapter Five “Captain Raylee reporting for duty, sir.” Three days later, his mate snapped a jaunty salute, clicking her boot-covered heels together. “You’re feeling better this morning.” Vegas looked up from the gun he was installing, adding extra firepower to Ship’s exit ramps. She was still too thin, but her eyes were clear and lucid, her color healthy and her smile wide. “Thank God.” He exhaled in relief. “What do you mean ‘Thank God’?” She narrowed her eyes. “You told me the Balazoid blocker made you sick for a week. I was only out of it for three days.” “I didn’t look like a half-drowned kitten,” Vegas mumbled. “With those big eyes and quivering lips and—” “What?!” He sounded like a fuckin’ poet, not a damn spy. His face heated. “Hand me the number four.” He waved his hand at the toolbox. She passed him the tightening tool, and their fingers brushed, a spark of awareness shooting up Vegas’ arm. “Your hands are steady,” he noted, reassuring himself that she was alive and healthy. “Rock steady.” Raylee draped over the gun, her firm, round ass sticking out, tempting him to touch her. “So I can hold your mysterious canister today. I won’t drop it, I promise.” Her grin was impish and the corners of Vegas’ mouth quirked upward in response. “You won’t drop it,” he agreed. “Because you won’t be touching it. One drop of that green liquid could blow us into the next century.” Vegas bent over to tighten the nut, grunting with the effort. “Transport of the canister is my role.” “Decoy is Sexy’s role. Transport to Lokan is Ship’s responsibility.” She peered through the gunsights. “You haven’t assigned me my tasks yet.” 46
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Vegas deliberately didn’t answer. Avoiding Raylee’s expectant gaze, he frowned down at the base. “Why is that, Vegas?” She swung the gun around and he ducked to avoid the barrel. “Don’t you trust me? I said I’d help you, and I will. I do what I say I’m going to do.” “I know you do.” Vegas heard the hurt in her voice. He straightened. “Come here.” He pulled her close to him, her hips snug against his, her breasts flattened by his chest. “I trust you.” He kissed her forehead, rubbing her back. “I wouldn’t have told you my plans otherwise. And you have a job. You’re Ship’s captain, remember?” “He doesn’t need a captain,” she mumbled into his shirt. “He tells me that all the time.” “Because it’s true,” Ship added. “A captain is not necessary for operations. I am a class-A—” “Ship,” Vegas cautioned. “This is private conversation and you’re not to interfere. We’ve talked about this before.” “Fine.” Ship blew air through his pipes. “Then I’ll simply ignore the Balazoid warship heading in our direction, allow them to board us and spend another decade sanitizing blood off my decks.” “What?” Vegas’ question was echoed by Raylee. Balazoids. A chill of fear rolled through him. “Fuck. I have to get to the bridge.” Raylee ran through the corridors and Vegas followed, doors closing behind them. “Ship, how long will it take them to reach us?” “At their current rate of speed, ten minutes. Their life sensors are activated but we are presently beyond their range,” Ship advised. “They are scanning for human life.” They reached the bridge, a visual of the approaching warship on the main viewscreen. Ship hadn’t been mistaken. It was Balazoid.
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“They’re looking for you,” Raylee accused Vegas, her cheeks flushed with anger. “And now that those Balazoid bastards have found you, they’ll capture and torture and execute the man I care for while I watch, helpless to do anything.” She turned and stared at the viewscreen. “I knew I should have done this alone.” “You care for me?” Vegas’ heart lightened. She cares for me. Raylee looked over her shoulder and skewered him with her eyes. “Ship, how many operational guns do we—” “No guns.” Vegas shook his head, unable to wipe the silly grin off his face. She cares for me. My mate cares for me. “Ship, is there a planet a light-year past Lokan using the same path with humanoid inhabitants?” There was a pause as Ship searched. “Symra II, two thousand inhabitants, Earth origin.” “Great.” He nodded. “Reroute to Symra II, erasing the previous route from your database,” Vegas instructed, focusing on keeping Raylee safe. “We can’t outrun them.” She frowned. “And we’re not going to try.” He kissed her, savoring her taste, her touch, her scent, and dreading what he had to do. “You’re delivering the shipment to that planet. You don’t know what is in the crate.” They stood as one, her breasts caressing his chest with each breath. “It is only you and Ship and Sexy onboard.” “And you?” Raylee curled her fingers around his. Her hand was small and fragile, arousing all of his protective instincts. “Where will you be? They’ll spot an escape pod.” “I’ll be dead.” Vegas forced a smile, relaying confidence he didn’t feel. “What!” Raylee drew away from him. Vegas pulled her back, unwilling to let her go. “Only temporarily.” I hope. “I’ll hide my body in the closet and take a pill to stop my life signs. It’s supposedly safe.” She stared at him, suspicion written over her pretty face. “If it is so supposedly safe, I’ll take the pill and you can be the captain.”
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“I wish we could do that.” He hated putting her in danger. Vegas brushed his lips over hers, finding comfort in the contact. “But you’re the best person to pull this off. The Balazoid warriors won’t suspect a female captain.” Her brown eyes flashed with anger. “Because they’re a bunch of female-hating—” “They are, so play to their beliefs, Raylee. Keep your answers short and simple.” Vegas kissed her once more before striding toward the door, entrusting his life to the woman he loved. “You’re the captain. I’m counting on you.”
He’s counting on me. I can do this. Raylee rehearsed the scenario over and over in her mind. I’m making a standard delivery. Act normal. She sat in the captain’s chair, her hand on the controls, waiting until the ship entered her airspace. “Open hailing frequencies, Ship.” “Video and audio link established.” Ship was his most formal. “Captain Raylee of Class-A Federation Freighter USS Fitzgerald speaking, requesting if we can be of assistance. In a show of our good faith, we are not powering up weapons and our shields are down.” Not that they’d be effective. The warship would pulverize Ship into tiny particles. “Greetings, Captain Raylee.” The viewscreen displayed a wrinkled Balazoid warrior surrounded by five others. “Captain Grok of Balazoid Warship Onerick speaking, requesting communications with your highest-ranking male officer.” Raylee gritted her teeth, irritation nullifying her fear. “Request respectfully denied, Captain. This is a solo freighter with one human, one companion android and one guidance system onboard.” The mouths of the Balazoid warriors moved with no audio. Damn it. I’m on mute. Their hand signals communicated aggravation. More faces filled the viewscreen, looking her over.
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“We are being scanned for life signs, Captain,” Ship advised. Raylee held her breath, every second stretching into forever. “Understood, Captain Raylee.” The Balazoid captain showed no indication he didn’t believe her and she exhaled, her lips whistling slightly. “What is your ship’s purpose?” “We are making a delivery to Symra II.” She glanced down at her controls, avoiding his gaze. “Route scan undertaken, Captain,” Ship shared. “Symra II is a Federation planet. You are at the helm of a Federation ship. Why is your ship outside of Federation shipping lanes?” the warship’s captain demanded. Shit. There are Federation shipping lanes to Symra II? Raylee dug her fingertips into her chair, communicating her displeasure with Ship for withholding that information. “I got lost, Captain Grok, and my ship’s navigational system said this was the quickest route.” Please let that be true. “The USS Fitzgerald has a history of redirected routes, Captain,” one of his underlings chimed in. Raylee’s face heated. I don’t get lost that often, boot licker. The captain rubbed his sagging chin. “Have you filed the redirect with the Federation?” Double shit. Of course she hadn’t, and he could easily verify that. “I haven’t.” The captain leaned forward. “Then no one knows the location of your ship.” It wasn’t a question. It was a comment. No one knows the location of my ship. No one will notice if it disappears, if I disappear. Raylee’s insides twisted as Balazoid mouths moved silently. “They have locked onto our ship, Captain,” Ship’s tone was grave. “Our outbound communications have been restricted.”
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“Fuck.” We’re in deep shit. Raylee put her bridge on mute. “Don’t let them board us, Ship. Blow us up if you have to.” “I’ll never be boarded again, Captain,” Ship vowed. “Captain Raylee,” the captain hailed her. “As Symra II no longer exists, we will allow you to fulfill your true destiny, serving upon a great warship.” He studied her while warriors moved behind him. “Although it may exceed your capabilities. Doctor?” A thin Balazoid peered at her through the visual link. “She is small and we have twenty-one crew members requiring servicing, but if we ensure she is properly lubricated and we provide regular rest intervals, she should survive until the next revitalization station, Captain.” Oh my God. The bastards plan to fuck me to death. Red-hot rage swept over Raylee and she rose up in her chair. “I’d rather die than allow you to stick your needle dicks inside—” “Then it is decided.” The captain ignored her. “We will—” The wail of an alarm pierced the audio and lights flashed onboard the Balazoid ship. “Captain, a Federation starship has entered the adjacent quadrant,” the underling who had mocked her navigational skills announced. “Full speed to—” Communications were severed, the visual lost. There were three long seconds of silence, the only sound being Raylee’s heart beating. “Navigational abilities have been returned,” Ship informed her. “The Balazoid warship is outside firing range.” “Thank God. Get us the hell out of here, Ship.” She sagged in the chair, her entire body shaking, as Ship shot forward. “Fuck, we were lucky the Federation starship arrived when it did.”
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“Luck was not a factor in the encounter, Captain.” Ship’s voice was smug. “And there was no Federation starship in the adjacent quadrant. The enemy underestimated me, not blocking my decoy abilities. I’m a class-A freighter. I don’t—” “Thank you, Ship.” Raylee closed her eyes, squeezing the bridge of her nose between her thumb and index finger. “Oh God. This was my fuckup. I’m the captain. I should have been on the bridge when the warship first appeared.” “I am a class-A freighter. I—” “I’m the captain, Ship.” Raylee bounced to her feet. “And I’m not alone anymore. I have a crew to protect.” She paced, her arms folded behind her back, the burden of responsibility weighing upon her. “I never wanted a crew.” She strode between the empty chairs. “But I have one, don’t I?” She looked up at the beams. “Oh God.” “The Federation operative is not a crew member. He is an unauthorized passenger,” Ship sniped. “Vegas is more than a crew member. He’s the man I love and I could have killed him with my sloppiness.” She stopped. I love him. Shit. We’re all going to die. “Did I kill him? What is Vegas’ status?” “The companion android is reviving him. All of his vital signs are fully operational and he is inquiring after your status.” “Thank God.” Her shoulders lowered, relief rushing into her. “Tell him I will return to our sleeping chamber when my shift is complete.”
***** “Replay transmission,” Vegas instructed Ship. “Look at her.” He swatted his hand at the small viewscreen, the need for violence roiling within him. “A normal woman would be subservient, but not our Raylee.” He paused on one frame. Raylee’s chin was lifted. Her brown-eyed gaze was directed straight at the monitoring device. A gleam of moisture covered her full bottom lip. “I want to kiss the sass off her face and I’m human. A Balazoid warrior would never let her talk to him like that.” 52
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“You are overly tense.” Sexy rubbed the giant knot coiling between his shoulders. They were both naked and sitting on the bed, waiting for their captain’s return. “You’re damn right I’m tense!” Vegas curled his fingers into tight fists. “They almost took her,” he fumed, as the android’s hands worked down his back. “And I couldn’t have done anything to stop her because I would have been dead—dead, while the Balazoids took my mate.” Vegas leaned forward, propping himself up by his elbows, allowing the male companion android to massage his ass cheeks. “I would have protected her,” Sexy assured him. “You would have protected my woman,” Vegas growled. His hands ached. Red spots danced in front of his eyes. “You can kiss my ass, Sexy.” The android pressed a moist kiss at the juncture of his ass cheeks and Vegas jerked at the unexpected contact. Some of his anger flowed into desire. “Eat my ass out, Sexy,” he instructed. He closed his eyes as his robotic twin licked and nibbled down the valley between his cheeks, his big coarse hands spreading him slightly for better access. The door slid open. Vegas knew who it was, but he ignored Raylee, pushing back against Sexy’s face, forcing his nose and chin between his ass cheeks. The android gripped his hips, his strength matching his. A hot, wet tongue probed his puckered hole. He heard a rustle of fabric, yet he continued to stare straight ahead, the anger rekindling inside him. Sexy had his tongue right up his ass now, making a munching noise as though he was truly eating his ass out. Vegas’ lips quirked. Fuck. I love my woman’s crazy sense of humor. “Am I interrupting?” Raylee’s husky voice hung in the sleeping chamber. Her unique chalk powder and engine oil scent filled the space. All of his senses were assailed by her presence.
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Vegas glanced over. She stood, gloriously naked, the sight of her pert breasts and shapely hips making his cock harden. He ignored his aroused state, focusing on his fear-induced fury. “Come here,” he ordered. His anger must have been reflected in his face, because she stepped away from him. “I don’t think so. Not like this.” “Yes, like this.” His patience snapped. Vegas moved at his top speed, grabbed her shoulders, turned her away from him and hauled her backward toward the bed, her heels dragging on the floor. “You don’t have a choice.” He flipped onto his back, landing on the mattress, taking her with him. She fought, cursing and kicking, but he easily overpowered her, as a Balazoid warrior would also overpower her. Oh, fuck. She was so small, so fragile. “The Balazoid warriors wouldn’t have given you a choice.” He pulled her arms behind her as she squirmed on top of him, tormenting his already aroused cock. Sexy watched them struggle, wearing his normal blank passionless expression. “If you had been captured by the Balazoid today, they wouldn’t have killed you.” Vegas forced her knees wide apart, flattening them to the mattress with his legs in a typical Balazoid containment maneuver. “They’d use you as you would be used on their breeding farms, restraining you.” He tugged on her arms, causing her enough discomfort to illustrate his point, but not enough to seriously hurt her. Damn it. The enemy wouldn’t be so caring. “Spreading your legs.” “Sexy, position yourself,” Vegas instructed, and as programmed, the android kneeled between her legs, his synthetic cock hard and lubricated. “They’d allow you six hours of sleep every night and you’d spend the other hours being a receptacle for their cocks. “Sexy, activate Balazoid sequence.” Her body jerked against his as the android rammed into her, and Vegas closed his eyes for a second, the urge to comfort her so very strong. I have to do this, for her sake, for my sanity. 54
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“They don’t call it fucking.” It took all of his Federation training to keep his voice cool and emotionless. “They call it releasing because it is a bodily function to them, like urinating.” The android thrust into her three times, his cock plunging into her pussy right up to his balls, but not an inch more of him touched her. “They mount you,” Vegas continued. “They come.” She convulsed in his arms as the compressed air simulating Sexy’s orgasm blasted into her and he tightened his grip on her, holding her still. “They dismount.” Vegas’ voice roughened. Sexy pulled back, his cock glistening with her juices. “They clean.” The android shoved a cold mini-vacuum up her pussy and there was a loud sucking sound, her body drained of her sweet cream. “And the next warrior mounts you.” Sexy repeated the process, fucking her with rigorous precision. Vegas felt Raylee’s fight drain from her, her body growing small in his arms, and he ruthlessly pushed away his guilt. This has to be done. I have no choice. I can’t allow her to take more foolish risks. I love her too much to lose her. “They would mount you, one after another,” he re-launched his verbal assault while Sexy thrust three times, dismounted, cleaned and climbed back on top of her. “Ramming their cocks into your pussy again and again, uncaring of your lack of pleasure, your feelings, who you were and what you think. They wouldn’t kiss you or caress you or speak to you.” She no longer struggled, lying passively against him, allowing the android’s abuse, and Vegas’ heart twisted. “They’d use your body in complete silence because you’re not a person to them, you’re a pussy and that’s all you are.” Vegas paused, the only sounds in the room the smacking of flesh against flesh and Raylee’s anguished pants. He forced himself to watch the android fuck his woman, to witness another cock pounding into her moist, hot pussy, his pain penance for his failure.
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I should have protected her better. I should have covered the trail. He breathed in her womanly scent. I won’t fail her again. “There would be no rest from their fucking.” He scrubbed all of the emotion from his voice. “When the Balazoid came, he would dismount your body and the next warrior would take his place. Sexy, switch.” Sexy pulled his cock out in mid-thrust and Vegas rolled Raylee onto her chest, relinquishing his hold. She didn’t try to escape, the fight having been fucked out of her, and the android restrained her using the same method, spreading Raylee’s thighs on top of his body. Her pussy was red and juicy. Her breasts heaved. “Vegas?” Raylee pleaded with him, her eyes covered with the sheen of unshed tears, her cheeks flushed. I won’t fail her. “They have no mercy, Raylee.” He drove into her pussy, pressing his lips together to keep himself from kissing her, comforting her. He found no joy in the fucking, the act cold and impersonal and empty. “You’d fuck hundreds of Balazoid warriors every day until you become pregnant.” While his mind rebelled at the harsh treatment, his body responded, his balls drawing up tight to his body. “And not one of them will know your name. They won’t know you sing while dressing in the morning or you see the outline of fantastical creatures hidden in a canopy of stars or that you care for a man named Vegas.” The back of his eyes burning, Vegas tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling. Damn. In all the years of Federation training, this just might be the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Raylee’s pussy tightened around his cock in a series of tiny hugs. Is she reassuring me, her abuser? My fuckin’ woman. Reluctant to stop her, he allowed her sensual embrace to push him over the edge.
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“Fuck, Raylee.” Vegas roared as he came, pouring his cum, his fears and his love into Raylee, finding absolution in her body. “Fuck.” He collapsed on top of her, a weakness no Balazoid warrior would ever succumb to. “Sexy, release the captain.” Raylee wrapped her arms around him, comforting him when she should be the one comforted. “Don’t ever do that again, Raylee. I can’t lose you. I can’t,” he murmured into the soft cushion of her chest, fear and rage and grief battling for supremacy. “I know. I know.” She stroked his back, her hands cool and soothing. “I was scared too. I knew if they took me, they might find you and dispose of your body, rendering you irrevocably dead.” “Didn’t you hear a word I said?” Vegas raised his head to glare at her. “They would have fucked you until you died.” “And I could bear it.” She cupped his face, her brown eyes earnest and sincere. “If you lived. Besides,” Raylee gave him a cheeky smile, “how much fucking could they possibly do before you arrived and split their tentacle-covered heads open? You would use that Federation training of yours to rescue me, right?” “I’d use everything I had and more.” Vegas brushed his lips against hers. “I’d search the vast expanses of space for you. I’d never give up. Never.” He licked over the salty tracks of her spilled tears, wishing to erase the damage he’d caused. “I’d die for you, Raylee,” he vowed fervently. “You are mine, mine to protect, mine to love.” He sighed. “You have to be more careful, though.” He kissed up her neck, following the blood pumping through her veins. “If only for my sanity.”
He loves me. He worries about me. “I’ll be careful,” Raylee solemnly vowed, gazing into his startling blue eyes. Vegas pressed his mouth against hers, his touch warm and firm and reassuring after Sexy’s passionless fucking. The encounter had scared her, chilling her to a bonedeep cold, as there had been nothing she could have done to stop the continuous cycle of fucking and coming, her companion android possessing the ability to fuck for days 57
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with no relief. All of the control had rested with Vegas and, although he would never hurt her, he’d been so very angry with her and the situation. Even now, he impatiently stabbed the seam of her mouth with his tongue, and when Raylee parted her lips, Vegas immediately pried open the gap, invading her mouth, twisting and twining his tongue around hers, his flavor of meat, man and spice, cleansing the lingering aftertaste left by his hard usage. He caressed her neck with warm human hands, his weight pushing her further into Sexy’s motionless body, the android’s hard cock fitting between her ass cheeks, ready to be reactivated at any moment. On another evening, she would have suggested the android fuck her ass, while Vegas played with her pussy, but not tonight, not with her human lover moaning into her mouth, a low, deep, hurtful sound communicating his distress, extending a plea for comfort she couldn’t ignore. As Vegas kissed her, Raylee rubbed circles into his shoulders, his muscles tight and strained under her palms, a physical revelation of the price he paid for his graphic demonstration. He did it because he loves me, as I love him. Raylee arched toward him, rubbing her nipples against his defined chest. He protects me and I, in turn, will protect him, always. She gripped him tighter to her. Vegas pulled back, a half smile on his rugged face. “So beautiful.” He grazed his thumb over her bottom lip and she caught that wandering thumb, sucking it into her mouth, licking the salt off his skin. “Yet such a source of trouble.” His blue eyes glinted with the remnants of his anger. She reluctantly released his thumb. “I’ll be careful,” she repeated. “I won’t let the Balazoid warriors anger me again. I promise. I won’t risk your life just so I can tell them what a bunch of male chauvinistic asses they are. And they are, you know, Vegas. Looking at me like I’m a piece of meat. I—”
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“You were saying something about not letting them anger you again?” Vegas raised his eyebrows. He rested his hands on her shoulders, his fingers spread reassuringly over her skin. “I won’t,” Raylee promised sheepishly. “I can control my temper.” I hope. “You’d better.” He brushed his mouth over hers and cupped her small breasts, squeezing gently, his fingertips coarse on her soft flesh. “Because the Balazoids are unworthy of these.” He dragged his mouth down her throat, over her collarbone, hovering above her slight curves. “I’m unworthy of these.” He swiped his tongue back and forth, back and forth, close enough to send shivers of sensation to her sensitive nipples, yet too far to ease their ache. Raylee pushed her chest upward, greedy for more. “The Balazoids wouldn’t know what to do with them.” “I know what to do.” Vegas skimmed his thumbs over her nipples and she cried out, her pleasure intensified by the brevity of his touch. He smiled knowingly as he grazed her side with his rough fingers. “You were made for my hands, Raylee.” He swept the flat of his tongue around her breasts, circling first one and then the other, teasing her into a frenzy. “You were made for my mouth.” She kicked when he fastened his lips over her right nipple, sucking her flesh into his hot mouth, laving her taut peak with his wicked tongue. “Vegas.” He’s right. I’m made for his hands, his mouth. She held his head to her as he suckled noisily at her breast, pulling at her soul with each gulp. She threaded her fingers through his ink-black hair and caressed his scalp, moaning her encouragement, his tugs cascading down her body to swirl in her pussy. “Please,” she pleaded for more. He said nothing, his chin rubbing a trail of awareness across her skin, his mouth searching out and finding her left breast. “Yes.” She clutched him, pushing that neglected breast into his loving mouth. “Feed on me, Vegas. Devour me.” He licked and slurped and sucked until her skin was red and tender, her nipples elongated with the suction, her ass twitching with the itch in her pussy. With each 59
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wiggle and squirm, her puckered asshole rubbed against her android’s broad cock head, reminding her that she lay between two hard males, both willing and able to fuck her. When she thought she couldn’t take any more, that she’d explode under his skillful touch, Vegas released her breast to kiss and nibble lower, over her stomach, around her bellybutton, poking the indentation with his tongue. He placed a possessive palm over her mound, his fingertips dipping into her moisture, spreading her pussy lips, and Raylee gasped, guessing his intentions. “Vegas, I’m…” She was full of their combined juices, the inside of her thighs bathed with his cum. “You’re sore.” He grimaced, guilt reflected in his startling blue eyes. Raylee said nothing. She was too sore for fucking. “I know.” He hovered over her, examining her thoroughly, blowing air onto her battered pussy lips in the most loving of caresses. “I’ll soothe the pain I caused you, Raylee.” He descended upon her with a stimulating slowness and Raylee held her breath, anticipating his touch. Vegas slid his hands between her body and the android’s, cupping her ass, lifting her so she could better see her pussy. His tongue extended and Raylee’s world dimmed. She panted for contact. One flick and she screamed, clutching his arms, coming hard and fast, her pussy vibrating, hot, wet cream running along her ass crack, dripping onto Sexy’s hard cock. “Hmmm…” Vegas didn’t draw back. He hummed, his moving mouth drawing another series of post-orgasmic shudders as he inhaled her cream and his cum, his throat working with each swallow. A rumble originated low in Vegas’ chest, reminiscent of the noises she had programmed Sexy to make while he ate her out, and Raylee laughed, smacking his shoulder blades, wishing she’d seen his expression when Sexy first made that sound against his ass. “You liked that, didn’t you?” Raylee asked, enjoying that Vegas got her whacky brand of humor. 60
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He answered her by sliding his tongue deep into her pussy and fluttering that talented appendage, causing her to dig her fingernails into his shoulders and writhe on top of her companion android. “Vegas!” she cried out, her ass cheeks cradling Sexy’s hard cock. Vegas’ lips shone, covered with her juices. “Taste us.” He kissed her, the tangy flavor of both him and her coating his tongue, before lowering his head and consuming her some more, feeding his hearty appetite with her pussy, his hands on her thighs, holding her open. Raylee twisted and shook, her body pillaged by his skillful touch, thoughts of the Balazoid warriors, breeding farms and their impending dangerous mission vanishing. All she knew was his mouth on her flesh, his tongue inside her and the building need low in her pussy. Vegas stoked that need to a fever pitch, and then, with her panting so hard her lungs burned, he calmly, with an aggravating thoroughness, nibbled back the skin concealing her throbbing clit, covered that pleasure button and sucked. Raylee released a long, loud siren of a wail, flying upward into his chest. He caught her, his warm hands holding her to him, as she convulsed, her world turning light and dark, light and dark, like the flicker of Ship’s lighting system during liftoff. She sagged, flopping down onto Sexy’s unmoving android body, his hard cock poking her ass. Raylee shifted and sighed with contentment as Vegas drew himself up her torso to settle on top of her, covering her like a warm human blanket. “I love you,” she whispered into his shoulder, her hands flat on his back. “Hmmm…” He nuzzled his neck and she felt the love in his touch.
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Chapter Six “You have three hours.” Vegas inserted the chip into Sexy’s circuit board of a cranium. “If it stays in longer, it will fry your wiring.” He flipped the android’s skull closed. “So return to Ship before then.” “Understood.” The word was drawn out, Sexy’s speech capabilities compromised by the adjustment. “You won’t be longer than that, will you?” Raylee stroked Vegas’ back. Ship shuddered and shook as they descended into the planet’s atmosphere. Vegas leaned back into her touch, savoring the connection before he continued with the preparations. He placed the canister in his holster and tightened the clasps, lowering the risk of it falling, cracking open and blowing him into the next galaxy. “If I haven’t returned in three hours, if neither of us have returned, you are to leave the solar system.” His voice was gruff, laden with emotion. She didn’t answer, dropping her gaze from his, plucking at a loose thread on his shirt. “Raylee,” he growled. My damn woman. Dark eyelashes framed brown eyes sparkling with protest. “What would you do in my place, Vegas?” Her chin jutted out and her bottom lip protruded, begging for a kiss. “Would you leave me behind?” “No,” he admitted, preferring death to that course of action. “Not unless I had no other choice.” Vegas paused in the midst of layering on his combat clothing. “And you won’t have any other choice, Raylee. Ship, you’re to leave the Lokan system in three hours. That’s an order.” “I won’t leave without my captain,” Ship replied.
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“What the fuck!” Vegas exploded. “Does no one listen to me?” He glanced at the expressionless Sexy. “Except for you.” “Programming…forces…” the android slurred. “Yes, of course. Your programming forces you to follow my orders. That’s the only reason you obey me.” Vegas pressed his lips together, swallowing his frustration. “Ship, as your captain will be onboard, there will be nothing preventing you from leaving.” He strapped his weapon belt around his waist, his arsenal consisting of daggers, throwing stars and other primitive technology, the uncivilized side of him exhilarated by the challenge. “Raylee, give me your vow that you’ll remain onboard Ship.” Raylee drifted away from him and he missed her warmth and scent and touch immediately. When had she become such a vital part of him? “Hmmm…” She traced her finger along the map of Lokan displayed on the viewscreen. “This is your route, right?” she asked him for the third time that day. “Starting with the hunting trail along the river?” Vegas nodded curtly, intent on ensuring her safety. “Raylee, your vow?” “And this is Sexy’s.” She followed the android’s path. “Parallel for one mile, and then he turns south while you turn north, right? Vegas goes north. Sexy goes south. Sexy south,” she repeated, her beautiful face compressed with concentration. “Raylee.” He grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. “Promise you won’t follow me. I won’t leave until you do and every second puts me in greater danger.” “We are all in danger,” Ship broke into the conversation. “A Balazoid fighter plane has entered the quadrant, single manned vessel, one life form onboard.” Shit. “Ship, lower the rope ladder.” Vegas placed his hand on the canister, ensuring it remained strapped tightly to him. “And don’t let it touch the ground. One brush against a tree leaf or a blade of grass, and all technology onboard, excluding your beloved Sexy, will cease to function.”
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“The useless companion android is not my beloved and I am aware of the challenges with docking on Lokan,” Ship snapped. “Opening emergency escape hatch.” A blast of warm, moisture-laden air hit him. Vegas peered out of the body-sized circular opening, but all he saw was mist, the climate of Lokan similar to Earth’s ancient rain forests. “Sexy, you go first.” “Wait!” Raylee stepped in front of the android. “Sexy, you…you…” As her bottom lip quivered, her fondness for his robotic twin openly displayed, the sharp claws of jealousy ripped into Vegas. He fisted his hands and clenched his teeth, forcing himself to give her this moment. “You take care of him.” She cupped Sexy’s cheeks, the android staring back at her, his passionate woman facing the emotionless robot. “Bring him back alive.” Fuck, I love her. Vegas swallowed hard. “Raylee—” “The Balazoid fighter plane has passed the system’s first sun.” Ship’s update decimated the tender moment. “Move it, Sexy.” Vegas wrapped his arms around Raylee, drawing her back against him as the android matter-of-factly climbed through the opening, as though he was going on a pleasure jaunt and not a dangerous mission. “Raylee, I…” He had a speech prepared for this moment. He was to declare his love, leaving her with no regrets, no guilt, if the mission went wrong and he didn’t return, but the words lodged in his constricted throat and, try as he might, they wouldn’t spill free. “I know.” Raylee clung fiercely to him, pressing her curves against his body armor, her arms around his neck. He tilted her chin upward and covered her trembling lips with his. They kissed. It was a long, lingering kiss, a kiss filling the empty vacuum of space, a kiss conveying passion and tenderness and love. He curled his fingers into her wild hair and he pushed his semi-hard cock into the hollow between her thighs.
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She exemplified all that he fought for and Raylee’s embrace solidified Vegas’ resolve. He drew back, already switching into combat mode. “Stay on the ship,” he ordered her one more time and he stepped down on the rope ladder. It swayed in the vortex caused by the hovering ship, the back of his legs thumping against the frame of the hatch. “No unnecessary risks.” “You aren’t to take any unnecessary risks either.” Raylee kneeled beside him, placing her smaller hands on his, her big brown eyes shining with fear. “I can’t lose you, Vegas.” “You won’t. Have faith in me, Raylee.” He squeezed her fingers. “This is what I do and I’m damn good at it.” He gave her one last cocky grin, her face lighting with a return smile, and he climbed down into the mist. Vegas gulped huge mouthfuls of the oxygen-rich air as he moved, surrounded by a blanket of white, not able to see farther than the reach of his arm. Birds called, warning others of his presence. Leaves rustled with wild creatures and other possible threats. With his heart beating wildly, he scurried down the ladder, his body a huge target suspended in the air, his hands occupied by the descent and his vision impaired by the mist. Finally, he spotted the dark green of the fertile land. Ship had done his job well, the ladder ending two feet above a grassy clearing, right between the concealing canopies of trees. Vegas leaped and his boots sank deep into the moisture-soaked ground. “Disembarkation complete.” Sexy’s slow voice made Vegas jump. The android pushed aside the curtain of tall grass. “Disembarkation complete,” Vegas agreed, looking up at the sky. He saw nothing, Ship hidden by the low-hanging clouds. “Stay on Ship, Raylee,” he murmured. “Captain cannot hear you,” Sexy droned. “I know that.” Vegas shook his head, pushing all thoughts of his stubborn mate out of his mind. “Let’s do this.” He ran toward the rush of running water, the thump of Sexy’s booted feet echoing behind him. 65
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***** “Vegas, my bossy love.” Raylee peered out of the escape hatch until he disappeared from view, his dark-clad form swallowed up by the mist. “You can’t expect me to stay on Ship while you go off, save the world and get yourself killed doing so.” She straightened, her spine rigid with determination. “We’re a team and team members help each other out.” “The operative has the useless companion android to assist him, Captain.” Ship’s voice followed her as she rushed through the corridor. “Leaving me is not recommended as the Lokan population is hostile to Federation members and—” “That is all the more reason to follow him.” Raylee darted into the sleeping chamber she shared with Vegas, his musky, manly scent permeating the space. “He’s a Federation agent and will be concentrating on his mission, not the hostile natives.” She foraged through her cluttered closet. “Ah hah.” Her fingers closed around her favorite bow, the grip covered with slip-reducing chalk powder. “And you called this an ancient relic.” “Of evolved civilizations,” Ship corrected. “Lokan is not evolved and you may be successful at hitting stationary targets but warriors are not stationary. Your skill level is inadequate for combat survival.” “I’m skilled enough to cover his ass.” Raylee filled her lightest quiver, made of thin, yet tough deer hide, with steel-tipped arrows. “The future of the Federation is at stake, Ship.” She slung the quiver and her bow over her shoulder. “The Federation caused the death of my crew, Captain,” Ship reminded her. Raylee winced. “I caused…no…” She’d known the risks when she exited the Federation shipping lanes. Her captain would have known also. “Pirates caused their deaths, Ship.” She stood in front of the doors. They didn’t open. “Ship?” “I will not lose any more crew members, Captain.” “Open the damn door.” She pressed the emergency release button. Nothing happened. “Ship, if you trap me here, Vegas and Sexy will die.” 66
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“I backed up the companion android before his departure. He has a full set of parts in the closet.” “And Vegas? Did you back up him also?” She frantically pounded on the door. “He’ll die, Ship.” She smacked the metal with her palms, her skin stinging with the impact. “The man I love will die.” “You’ll be safe.” “At what cost?” Raylee pried the panel off the wall with her fingernails, exposing a circuit of wires. “A safe life without love, without risk, isn’t worth living.” She pulled out a green wire. “I won’t go back to simply existing. I can’t.” She touched the red wire and then changed her mind, extracting the blue wire instead. “I don’t recommend your course of action, Captain. Your previous override attempt rendered us immobile for six days, seven hours, thirty-two minutes, and five seconds.” “Could you prevent the Balazoid from boarding us for six days?” Raylee pulled out the red wire also. Was it red or blue? “I doubt it, so we’ll all die and you’ll end up broken into parts for their mighty warships.” Air gusted through the vents. “I can’t protect you, Captain.” The door slid open and Raylee breathed a sigh of relief. “The energized core of Lokan prevents communication. I won’t know where you are or if you require assistance,” Ship reminded her as she stomped toward the escape hatch, the heels of her boots ringing on the wire-mesh corridor floor. “I can protect myself and I’ll protect Vegas too.” Raylee eyed the open hatch, her stomach swirling. “I can do this.” “If you can locate him,” Ship muttered. “I can’t assist you with directions, Captain.” Shit. She glanced at the viewscreen. “Find the river. Follow the path. Trek north.” Raylee took a deep breath. “I can do this. I won’t get lost.”
*****
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One hour later, Raylee was lost, or rather, she had been lost, heading the wrong direction down the path. She’d rectified that error, backtracking, and she hadn’t made another one or so she hoped. With her hands on her hips, she arched her back, tilting her head upward to peruse the giant dark-blue weeping willow. The map had shown a similar tree. No, I’m not lost. I know where I am…sort of. She studied the position of the sun. Vegas should be heading back the same way. I’ll wait for him. Raylee transferred her attention to the path, optimism warming her already heated and wet body. A twig snapped and she jumped. She looked around her, seeing no one, but not fully trusting her eyes. Since arriving on the tropical planet, she’d had the eerie feeling she’d been followed, and every sound in the noisy rain forest was amplified by her fear. Raylee ventured off the well-worn path and cautiously concealed her form under the hanging blue branches of the massive tree. Branches swayed and leaves fluttered, but there was no other movement. She removed an arrow from her quiver and waited. The rustling sound intensified, coming from her left, the broad leaves hampering her view. She drew back the string of her bow, the weight and feel of the weapon reassuring, and she aimed. A huge blue centipede, the same shade as the tree and the size of Vegas’ leg, crawled under the hanging branches. It raised its revolting head, its feelers twitching. Don’t come close. Don’t come close. Raylee dropped her arrow and edged backward, pressing her spine against the tree trunk as the creature slinked toward her. Don’t… Oh shit. She wrinkled her nose in disgust as the creature’s hundred tiny feet trailed over the toe of her right boot. It felt along the base of the tree. Oh God. It isn’t leaving. The centipede twined around the trunk she was leaning against and Raylee shuffled toward the path, remaining as still and as silent as she could manage. The giant insect climbed over the bark, the sound of its many feet against the wood echoed throughout the huge tree.
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She looked upward and saw nothing, the blue of the centipede blending into the color of the leaves. The noise of the tiny hairy feet marching came from above her, to her right, to her left and all around her. How many centipedes are hidden in the tree? Raylee shuddered. Something brushed against her shoulders. She turned around, but that something was already gone. Her hair was pulled. She swiped at it. A creepy sensation crawled across her skin. Enough. Raylee broke through the blue branches. She twisted around, dancing, fluffing her hair, looking for the God-awful centipedes. Distracted by the impending insect invasion, her capture happened so quickly, she didn’t get one solid kick in. Her body was pinned against hard muscle and her opening mouth was covered by firm, angry lips. A musky, familiar scent teased her nostrils. Vegas. Raylee relaxed into the kiss, dropping her bow to cling to him. He was alive and healthy and he had found her. Flesh pulverized flesh and the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth. He was angry, his blue eyes as cold and hard as precious sapphires, and he poured that anger into her body, his fingers digging into the curves of her ass, his mouth forcing her head back. Raylee suffered soundlessly through her punishment, the pleasure-pain what she deserved for following him, for getting caught, for loving such a dangerous man. She skimmed her hand along his side, searching for the silver canister. Not finding it, she smiled against his lips. Mission completed. “You shouldn’t be smiling, Raylee. I’m furious with you.” Vegas pulled away to glare at her, his chest heaving, every inch of him glorious angry male. “I know.” She tried to look contrite, but her happiness at seeing him couldn’t be contained, spilling over onto her throbbing lips. He lived! He was safe! “You know. You know.” He glanced skyward at the clouds hanging over them. “Come on.” He grabbed her hand, tugging her forward with him. “I’ll beat your ass black and blue when we reach our ship.”
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Her smile widened. “You said our ship. Our ship, yours and mine, like we’re a team.” Raylee nearly skipped with excitement, her good mood expanding exponentially. “Does that mean I’m an agent also?” She trailed Vegas blindly, her boots making a juicy sucking sound, sinking into the moisture-laden ground with each step. “Or was I always an agent and I just didn’t know it? Is that why Sexy was given to me?” “Shhh…” Vegas hushed her, looking behind them. There were deep grooves between his serious blue eyes. His stride quickened until she jogged to keep pace with him. Raylee bit her bottom lip, her joy evaporating like the mist. She glanced over her shoulder. Although she didn’t see anyone, her heart pounded and her moistening palms slid in his grasp. A high-pitched hum sliced through the air and a throwing star embedded with a loud crack in the tree branch an inch above Vegas’ head. “Run!” He yanked her arm, catapulting her body forward. Shit. Raylee sprang into action, running faster than she had ever run before, the muscles in her legs stretching and burning with the effort of climbing the hill, her breathing shallow and fast and painful. Everything she had, she threw toward reaching the ship. Reach Ship. Gotta reach Ship. That was her sole goal, her single thought. Raylee ran full out for almost five minutes before realizing that Vegas wasn’t behind her. She skidded to a stop, her knees shaking, and she pivoted on her heels, forcing herself to remain upright, her head spinning. “You said no unnecessary risks, Vegas,” she huffed. “You should follow your own damn advice.” She sprinted back down the sloping path. The clang of metal against metal rang through the rain forest, the sound spurring her forward. Vegas, that macho dumbass she loved and couldn’t live without, was facing one of the scariest beings she had ever met. She reached for an arrow. He wouldn’t face the Balazoid assassin alone.
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Chapter Seven Vegas ran behind Raylee, shielding her from the attacks with his body until they reached the crest of the hill, placing her safely out of range of the Balazoid’s throwing stars. He then stopped, turned and descended to face the assassin. He knew the odds of him surviving a confrontation with a Balazoid assassin were low, but Raylee wouldn’t reach the safety of the ship otherwise, the climb up the rope ladder making her a highly visible, helpless target. Without hesitation, Vegas traded his life for hers, as living would be meaningless without Raylee. She was his soul, his heart. He dodged the sharp metal, feeling the breeze on his cheek. Another star skimmed his arm, leaving a shallow razor-thin slice in his flesh. Vegas ducked and rolled, eluding the stars flying fast and furiously around him, the missiles singing through the air in a horizontal deluge of death. Then as abruptly as it started, the barrage of metal ceased. The attack wasn’t over. Vegas grimly braced himself. The assassin had run out of the deadly projectiles, but he would have other weapons at his disposal. The Balazoid approached, not bothering with concealment and stealth. His eyes, burning red with the fervor of the upcoming fight, were vivid in his ghostly pale face. He was dressed in protective leather, a pack slung over one inhumanly broad shoulder. “I’ve been looking for you, human.” The Balazoid’s voice echoed as if bouncing off canyon walls. He threw his pack to the ground and Sexy’s detached head rolled onto the flattened grass, his wires snapping blue sparks, his eyes open and unblinking. “I trust you’re a greater warrior than your machine.” “You’ll soon find that out.” Vegas extracted his sword from the sheath strapped to his back, metal rasping against the leather. Fuck. It’d been a long time since he last held
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a sword. Juggling the weapon between his hands, he re-familiarized himself with its weight and balance. “I enjoy hunting on these primitive planets.” Sunlight reflected off the Balazoid’s sword. “Phasers are so quick and clean and impersonal.” The assassin twirled the weapon in circles, switching hands seamlessly, his movements flowing and graceful. “A shot to a target’s head isn’t as satisfying as severing a jugular with a finely honed blade.” Vegas didn’t answer, finding no satisfaction in any death. They circled, studying each other. The Balazoid was light on his feet, moving like a dancer, and his weapon was an extension of his arm, a oneness that spoke of experience and rigorous training. Vegas waited, watching for an opportunity, his body coiled with anticipation, his mind wiped of everything except the male before him and the small fighting area surrounding them. The Balazoid’s eyes flashed a forewarning and he sprang forward, his sword lashing out with frightening speed, a blur of silver. Vegas caught the downward arc with his own blade, grunting with the effort. Although the warrior didn’t make a sound, his torso strained into the connection, trying to force through the block. They remained locked, testing each other’s strength, the Balazoid’s muscles rippling under his leather, Vegas’ entire body shaking with the strain. Moments passed, a trickle of perspiration ran along Vegas’ aching back, before the Balazoid twisted away, turning with a smooth continuous movement, breaking the stalemate. “You are a worthy opponent,” the Balazoid conceded, dipping his head in acknowledgement. Vegas bowed slightly, his gaze not leaving the warrior’s, cautiously awaiting the next strike. “As are you.” “I will honor you by using your female well.” The assassin’s reference to Raylee scattered all pretense of civility, anger bubbling up in Vegas. “After I sever your head
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from your body, I will take my release deep within her.” The Balazoid’s smug smirk punctuated his words. Vegas gritted his teeth, his fingers squeezing the handle of his sword, his knuckles white, every protective gene in his body shouting at him to attack, to vent his rage on the warrior threatening his woman. It took all of his Federation training to remain still. “She is little.” The Balazoid continued his oral offensive. “She will be snug around my big cock.” Vegas’ jaw ached, his anger biting into his chest like the lashing of a bullwhip. “She’d never allow you near her and you’re not strong enough to subdue her.” He launched a counterattack. “I saw her stand up to you on Ungaria. Everyone saw her defiance and your pitiful retreat, a mighty Balazoid warrior unable to control a little female.” The assassin’s red eyes glowed. His white lips thinned. “It was a good joke. I laughed and so did others.” Vegas curved his mouth in a semblance of a smile, having not found the encounter at all humorous. The damn woman had almost gotten herself killed. “They must be laughing at you throughout the galaxies.” “I’ll kill her.” The assassin launched himself at Vegas, his sword carving through the space between them. Vegas blocked and disengaged. He surged forward, countering with his own attack. The Balazoid arrested his downward motion. They spun and swung in a lightning-fast dance of death, sparks lighting, the clanging of metal against metal their beat. Vegas’ right arm grew weary and weak and he switched to his left, the Balazoid doing the same. They fought, their worlds narrowing to the two of them, both combatants aware that one error, one slow response would result in death. Vegas’ grunts were underlain by the Balazoid’s wheezing. Their twisting, turning bodies, one tanned, one pale, slickened with a thin shiny sheen of perspiration.
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Vegas was a generalist. He was a spy, an operative and a warrior. He didn’t have the Balazoid assassin’s killing focus and, as he tired, he made mistakes, the Balazoid nicking his arms, his hips, his legs with his sword, the tiny slices dissipating his energy. The warrior advanced, pushing Vegas off the well-trod path. He caught the toe of his boot on a tree root and stumbled. The Balazoid carved his blade into exposed flesh and Vegas sucked in his breath as pain seared through his upper thigh, blood gushing from the deep wound. Fuck. I’m dead. He reeled from the blood loss, his already exhausted body weakened from the blow. Vegas thrust his sword wildly, the assassin easily avoiding each attack. Forget your fuckin’ life. Think of Raylee. Delay the Balazoid and save her. Pushing back the darkness threatening to overwhelm him and drawing on all of his remaining energy, Vegas battled. Protect Raylee. Fuck. Let her live.
***** From her vantage point high up the hill, Raylee saw the blood squirt from Vegas’ leg and she screamed until her lungs ached. No one heard her because her mouth was covered by a big, calloused hand. She struggled while the huge, almost-naked stranger held her easily, the bastard chuckling softly, his mouth at least a foot above hers. There is nothing humorous, damn it, about the man I love dying. Raylee bit the insensitive ass’s palm, his skin the consistency of the toughest weathered leather. That stopped the laughing. Her captor growled, shaking her until her teeth rattled. “Your mate, the male you smell of, fights.” His words, the first he had spoken since catching her, rolled out of him like the rumble of a starship’s engine. “You go close. He looks at you, not rival. He dies.” The big, hairless ape has a point. The Balazoid would use any distraction to kill Vegas and she wouldn’t be any help to him at close range either, being small and not having much hand-to-hand combat experience.
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I don’t have to be close to assist him. Raylee shrugged her right shoulder, drawing the ass’s attention to her bow and quiver. “Ahhh…clever female.” Her captor’s grip on her loosened. “You stay here. Shoot weapon. Do not hit mate.” No shit. Raylee squirmed free. “You bastard!” She spat. “If your delay results in Vegas’ death, I’ll personally hunt you down and slay your ass.” If I can. The man was huge, bronzed by the sun, his blue-black hair woven into long, neat braids. His high, protruding forehead and flattened nose identified him as a native Lokan. His silver eyes sparkled with mirth, as though this was all a big joke to him. She wanted to slap him, but she had higher priorities. Raylee put the Lokan out of her mind, focusing on the battle before her. Vegas fought with the wildness of desperation and the Balazoid calmly, coldly stalked him, playing with his prey. Raylee extracted an arrow from her quiver, carefully aiming her bow. Neither combatant was aware of her presence. “You are fearless, little female.” The Lokan loomed over her, smelling of fresh earth and the planet he lived upon. “I’m not an idiot. I fear. God, I fear.” Her stomach twisted with terror. “But I love him and I’ll do anything to protect him.” The tentacle-headed warrior lifted his sword, preparing to swing, and Raylee released her arrow, the feathers whistling, the arrowhead making a satisfying thunk as it pierced the Balazoid’s shoulder. His red eyes widened with surprise, his gaze lifting to her form, and his mouth dropped open. Take that, you male chauvinistic bastard. She smirked, drawing her bow once more, preparing the kill shot. This weak woman is about to kill your pale ass.
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Vegas lunged at the assassin, his sword extended. Blades connected, metal chasing metal, faster and faster, until the weapons sailed out of their grips, the men pulling back, giving her a clear shot. Raylee released the arrow. Shit. My aim is off. The Balazoid caught the arrow in one gloved hand, an impossible feat, and when Vegas barreled into his torso, a dagger in each hand, the warrior slammed the arrowhead into his back, piercing his body armor. Raylee shrieked in horror at what she’d inadvertently done and the Balazoid smiled, falling backward onto the ground, blood bubbling from his pale lips. Vegas slumped on top of him, stabbing him again and again and again before lying still. Is he dead? Did my arrow kill the man I love? “Wait.” The Lokan caveman caught her arm. “Tell your mate the delivery—” “Fuck the delivery.” She thrashed, semi-delirious with panic. “He’s dying. He’s dying.” “From that wound?” The Lokan raised thick black eyebrows. “Unlikely.” He didn’t remove his big paw of a hand. “Tell him the delivery has been received.” Finally releasing her, he swatted her ass, shoving her in Vegas’ direction. “I’m sure he’ll be thrilled.” She tossed that choice bit of sarcasm over her shoulder while sprinting down the hill, away from the Lokan’s laughter and toward the man she loved. “Vegas,” she called out to him. “Raylee.” He groaned, rolling off the dead Balazoid, snapping the shaft of her arrow in two. “I’m going to truly beat your ass this time.” Vegas sat up, wonderfully alive, and the chill in her body eased. “Give me something to slow this.” He gestured to the gaping wound on his thigh. She looked around them, her gaze settling on the Balazoid’s weapon holster. It’d be perfect to stem the flow of blood. “Is he dead?” Even lying still, flat on his back, the assassin was intimidating.
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“Yes, he is…oh, fuck.” Vegas sprang to his feet, grass crunching under his big boots. “Run! Run!” He grabbed Sexy’s detached head by the hair. Shit. Not again. She ran for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, heading toward the ship, her knees aching from the trek upward. Vegas placed his hand on the small of her back, pushing her faster, his breath hot on her neck. They were halfway up the hill when a boom rocked the terrain and she was thrown to the ground, her gasping mouth sucking dirt, a heavy form landing on her back, flattening her, while a rush of hot, wet air blew past, leaving an unnatural stillness in its wake. I’m not dead. She turned her head, spitting out earth and grass. Her aching body was painfully alive. “Vegas, are you hurt?” She stared into Sexy’s blank eyes, his face covered with blood and what looked like pale Balazoid skin. Vegas groaned, the sound muffled by the humming in her ears. “I’ll survive.” The weight on her back lifted and she breathed deeper. Moist hands rolled her over. “You okay?” he asked. Vegas was covered with blood too, his thigh wound matted down with dirt. Thankfully, it wasn’t all his blood. The damn assassin must have blown himself up, his last act an attempt to kill them both. “I’ll feel better once we’re off this fucking planet.” She summoned up a smile, knowing she must look as bad as he did. “Agreed.” Vegas smiled back, laughter lines crinkling around his blue eyes, his black hair spiked straight up. He was handsome and disheveled and hers. She took his hand, savoring the contact as he helped her to stand.
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Chapter Eight “Is the seam noticeable?” Sexy peered at his naked form reflected in the mirror, touching his neck. He had been fussing over his inferior spare body, as he declared it, for hours. “No,” Vegas lied, the endless fretting irritating him while he waited naked on the bed for Raylee to return. His thigh no longer pained him, the wound laser-sutured, and she had extracted the arrowhead from his back, sealing that tear in his skin also. He was rested and ready. He flexed his hands, debating how hard to punish her. “And look at this cock.” The android stared down at his erect shaft, his lips twisted with disgust. “It doesn’t even self-lubricate.” Sexy’s long, hard cock was thinner than his previous member, making it perfect for delivering a rigorous and satisfying ass fucking. “The lube is in the top drawer.” Vegas clenched his butt cheeks in anticipation, as the android retrieved it. Sexy squeezed a glistening line of lube onto his cock, slathering the gel over his synthetic skin, making it shine. “You’ll have to stick some of that up my ass,” Vegas advised. Fuck. Sexy is right. Lack of self-lubrication is a bitch. The door slid open and shut. “Starting without me?” his mate teased. “Strip naked, Raylee,” he commanded, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. “And come here.” He patted his thighs. “You’re hurt.” The levity vanished from her voice, replaced with the smoky drawl of desire edged by fear. He read the recollection of his promise in her expressive face. “It isn’t me you should worry about, woman,” Vegas warned, growing hard as she unfastened her blue flight suit, exposing the curves of her breasts with their taut pink tips. Her garment hung off her hips for several heartbeats before falling to the floor, the fabric whispering against soft skin. 78
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Damn, she’s gorgeous. Vegas suppressed the wild impulse to slam her back against the wall, wrap those shapely legs around his waist and ram his rock-hard cock into her wet, hot pussy again and again until she screamed for mercy. “Vegas.” She must have read the savagery in his face because she hesitated, twirling one lock of her long brown hair around her finger. “Come here, Raylee,” he repeated. “If you make me get you, your punishment will be doubled.” He prayed she’d listen to him because lasting through one reprimand would be challenging and he couldn’t last through two. “I saved your life.” Her walk was slow and seductive, her curvy hips swaying. “I should be rewarded, not punished.” I have to protect her, train her, keep her safe. Vegas squashed his urge to forgive her. “You disobeyed direct orders.” He licked his lips, hungry for a taste of her nipples. “When we work together on missions, you have to follow my instructions.” “During these missions…” Raylee nibbled on her bottom lip. “You could die, Vegas.” “I could,” he agreed, her concern for him warming his heart. “I almost died today. Will my death hurt less if you left me now?” Their gazes met and held, her brown eyes luminous with raw emotion. “No.” She sighed her acquiescence, surrendering her body, her mind and her love to him. “Bend over my lap, Raylee,” Vegas ordered, eager to touch her. “But… But…” She wavered and he leveled a hard look on her. “Okay.” Raylee lowered her torso, her breasts skimming against his skin, leaving a trail of want and need. He pulled her fully over his thighs, her pert pale ass in the air. “Vegas.” Her face reddened and she squirmed, brushing her stomach against his hard cock.
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Fuck, she felt good. He gritted his teeth. “Be still.” Flattening his hand, he slapped her right ass cheek. Raylee cried out, arching her back. “Be still.” His damn stubborn woman finally quieted, holding her body stiffly with her shoulders pulled back. “Better.” Vegas rubbed the red mark, soothing the burn. “For your disobedience, you have earned three more strikes.” He laid one arm across her shoulders, securing her. “You will count, understand?” She didn’t respond fast enough, so he pinched the dimple above her cheek, and she yelped. “Understand?” “Yes.” “Good.” He raised his hand, waiting, waiting, waiting, as her body tensed against his, her thighs squeezed together with expectation of both pain and pleasure. She was so very perfect for him in every way a woman could be perfect and he would give her what she wanted and dreaded. He smacked her left ass cheek with more finesse than power, the sound of flesh meeting flesh ringing out in the quiet. “One.” Her voice wavered and her eyes watered. “Good girl.” Vegas ran his stinging palm over her skin, caressing her crease with his thumb, her diamond-hard nipples dragging across his thigh. He breathed in the musky scent of her arousal and a bead of pre-cum formed on his cock head. Fuck. She’d be wet and slick. His next slap landed on her already tender right ass cheek and she called his name, digging her fingernails into his legs, marking him as he marked her, the pain shooting straight to his cock. “Two.” Tears streamed down her cheeks, her bottom lip quivering. Her torment tore at him. Am I being too harsh? Causing her pain? He slid his hand between her thighs, along her wet pussy, bathing his fingers in her juices. No. She wants this. She wants my hands on her body. He spread her moisture over her twice-abused ass cheek, cooling the heated skin. “One more,” he warned her and she whimpered, a sound of need, while her body trembled, the tiny vibrations making his cock bob. Fuck. I want her so much. He lifted his 80
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hand, and she pushed her ass upward, offering her delicate skin to him. He slapped her ass cheek with the full flat of his hand and she screamed, throwing her head back in a beautiful display of raw female passion, her orgasm ripping through her. “Three,” he counted for Raylee, gathering her shaking body into his arms and transferring her onto the bed. Her sensitized ass connected with the soft coverings and she inhaled sharply. Vegas covered her lips with his, plunging his tongue into her open mouth and driving his cock into her pussy. She sobbed against his lips, her cheeks wet with tears as he rode her, coaxing the embers of her desire back to life until it burned around him, her body rippling with increasingly intense tremors, her pussy tightening around his shaft. Her fingertips dug into his shoulders and her breasts rubbed against his chest while their tongues danced to the rhythm of his thrusts. His balls hugged his shaft, on the verge of detonation, and when Raylee came, a second wave of pleasure sweeping over her, Vegas was ready. He roared her name, burying himself in her, shuddering with his release. He softened his kisses to tender exploration, stroking the inside of her mouth gently with his tongue, his body resting on her soft curves, his cock limp and spent inside her. She petted his side, running her hands up and down his muscles, as though to soothe him, her brown-eyed gaze conveying love and desire. “I love you, Raylee.” He nuzzled her neck, inhaling the scent of chalk powder, engine grease and sex.
“I love you, Vegas.” Although Raylee feared the future, the war between the Balazoids and the Federation looming, bringing with it death and pain, their love made it bearable, even beautiful. She clutched him fiercely, vowing to never let him go. The moment of deep connection held and held and held until it collapsed under the weight of emotion. Vegas levered his torso off her body with his arms and Raylee gazed up at him. God. I love him so much. 81
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“Ready for round two?” His blue eyes sparked with desire. “Always.” She cradled his hips between her thighs. Her ass was sore from his arousing form of punishment, but the rest of her was willing. “Sexy, fuck my ass,” Vegas commanded. He stuffed a pillow under her, raising her hips. The height made his ass easily accessible while his semi-hard cock remained inside her. Oh God. Her pussy clamped down on his shaft. He plans to fuck me while getting ass fucked. The companion android spread her human lover’s ass cheeks. “That’s it,” Vegas encouraged. “Squirt that lube up my tight hole. Yes, stick your finger in my ass.” His commentary made her heart race. She couldn’t see their actions, her body pinned under Vegas’, but she pictured Sexy’s long finger probing Vegas’ ass. Vegas must have found it equally arousing, as his cock swelled, filling her pussy once more. Sexy removed his finger with a moist pop and he positioned himself behind Vegas, his long, hard cock disappearing between tanned ass cheeks. “Ahhh…” Vegas moaned, his body rocking forward, his cock pushing deeper into Raylee’s pussy. “That feels so good.” Big, male android hands clasped his hips, holding him still, and Vegas’ muscles tightened, his eyes squeezed closed, his face strained. “So good. Push it all in. Yes. More. Ohhh…” Sexy’s hips pressed up against Vegas’ ass. Her two identical males faced her, the android with his cock buried in the human’s ass, the human with his cock inside her, muscle and muscle and softness, all lined up for pleasure. God. Raylee wiggled, her arousal almost unbearable. “Fuck me, Sexy,” Vegas demanded. “Fuck my ass hard.” The android pulled away and slammed into him, smacking synthetic skin against skin, Vegas groaning with each thrust. Vegas, in turn, rammed his cock into Raylee’s pussy, relaying the forceful fucking, bouncing his balls against her tender ass, tearing pants from her lips. 82
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Raylee, lying under two strong males, held on to her human lover’s shoulders and the android held on to his hips. They were bound by cocks and limbs and passion, entwined together as one, rocking the bed with the strength of their desires. “Vegas.” Her body, having been primed by her earlier orgasms, coiled quickly and she ached once again for that exquisite release. “Three more thrusts,” Vegas told her, brushing his lips over hers, his body sliding along hers. “Three more thrusts, Sexy, and you come,” he gave the android more explicit instructions. They had three more thrusts until they came and she’d make it the best damn three thrusts they’d ever experienced, putting her all into this last round of fucking. One. Raylee pushed her ass off the pillow, meeting Vegas halfway as he pulled her toward him. Two. Her body ached with the vigorous fucking, Sexy’s constant driving rhythm pushing them toward satisfaction. Three. She screamed her pleasure, her pussy soaked by Vegas’ cum, his body convulsing against hers, his ass cheeks clenching with Sexy’s simulated release. Sexy, being Sexy, didn’t make a sound, pulling out of Vegas’ ass, retreating to the privacy of the bathing chamber to clean himself. Vegas rolled with her until she lay on top of him, his arms around her. Raylee snuggled into his chest, listening to the reassuring beat of his heart. He was alive. He was safe. He petted her hair, smoothing the unruly tendrils, his touch light and loving. “So would you work with me again?” She smiled against his skin, knowing the answer. He loved her. She loved him. They were a team. “I might.” She heard the humor in his voice. “Give me a few minutes to recover and we’ll continue your training.”
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About the Author Cynthia Sax lives in a world where demons aren’t all bad, angels aren’t all good and magic happens every single day. Although her heroes may not always say, “I love you”, they will do anything for the women they love. They live passionately. They fight fiercely. They love the same women forever. Cynthia has loved the same wonderful man forever. Her supportive hubby offers himself up to the joys and pains of research while they travel the world together, meeting fascinating people and finding inspiration in exotic places such as Istanbul, Bali and Chicago.
Cynthia welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
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Also by Cynthia Sax Oh, Canada!: Lust by Moonbeam
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