Demon Retribution (27 page)

“So, you figure that I’m just a walking
bomb?” She couldn’t keep the hurt out of her voice, although,
hadn’t she thought of herself that way all these years?

Cale raked his hand over the back of his
neck, sensing he’d offended her.

Aidan quickly changed the subject. “I’ve
sent a message to the dragon clans regarding the situation.”

“Have they responded?”

“So far I’ve only received a transmission
from the Okora clan of Legura. They want to meet with Kyra before
they agree to provide aid.”

“
Okora?” Zoey interjected.
“Ky, isn’t that your last name?”

Kyra blushed furiously. “I, uh, cycled
through names on Earth. Okora was one of the ones I liked to use
every now and again.” Discreetly, she checked to see if Cale
noticed her flush. His face remained blank, uninterested. It hit
her then that she was seriously crushing on Cale, and he in no way
reciprocated her feelings.

In an attempt to patch up her ego, she
reminded herself he had a mate. Then, after deciding to bury her
feelings for him once and for all, she moved the conversation in
another direction. “Tell me, Aidan, how else are the dragons of
Kanisae different from Legura?”

“Do you know much about either?” he
asked.

“I know they are within the same solar
system. And I spent some time with the Okora clan when I was
younger.”

“Yes, I recall hearing news of that.”

“You did?”

“A Faieara princess visiting the Okora
princes?” He smirked. “We assumed a match was eminent.”

She repressed a sigh. If the Kayadon hadn’t
attacked, it most likely would have been.

“Well, to answer your question,” Aidan
continued, “the dragons of Kanisae are a little leaner, darker in
color. In our dragon form, we are almost all black or dark green.
The Legura are brighter, for some reason, with more range of color.
They’re a bit bigger as well.” He gave her a sly look. “But we’re
faster.”

She snickered at his show of pride, but all
humor left her as she considered her next question. She knew she
shouldn’t ask, but curiosity was eating at her. “May I ask why you
were exiled?”

As Aidan frowned at the Faieara’s question,
Sonya focused on Cale. He’d gone tense and was avoiding direct eye
contact with everybody.

Probably no one had caught the changes, but
Sonya knew him as she knew herself. He didn’t like hearing Kyra had
taken the dragon’s name. But what was it to him? Was there
something else going on between the two? Obviously they’d been
intimate—no surprise there—but Sonya couldn’t shake the feeling
that there was something more.

She pretended to clean the counter as she
watched the scene play out.

Aidan exhaled a slow breath. “The short
version is my clan demanded I compete in Phase Nine…after I had
already declared that I would not race. When I refused to yield, I
was cast out.”

“What’s Phase Nine?” Zoey asked.

Aidan answered, “It’s a universal
competition that spans the corners of space. All races are welcome
to enter. Winners receive of any number of things, such as wealth
or rare items, but mostly it’s about honor. However, it’s
notoriously vicious. Those brave enough to enter know they may not
survive to the end.”

Kyra cocked her head. “Why would they demand
you race?”

He shrugged. “Because I’d won it
before.”

Sonya could guess what the next question
might be and she wanted to save Aidan from having to endure it.
Before Kyra could open her mouth, she asked, “So, when are we to
meet with the dragons?”

Aidan gave her a grateful smile and said,
“There is a space city called Uli Rings.”

“I’ve been there. Let me guess, they want to
meet in Between the Rings.” The club was a popular destination,
named for its location in the center of the three rotating ringlets
that made up the complex.

“That’s the place. If we warp again we can
be there in a couple of days.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask about that,” Cale
finally rejoined the conversation, seeming to have regained
himself. “How is it we warped? Anya didn’t—”

“No,” Aidan interrupted. “We stockpiled fuel
before we got to Earth. Sebastian loaded up more than enough for
another ten warps, if needed.”

Sonya hid a guilty expression. Anya had
still been sneaking energy to the ship. Sonya didn’t like it, but
she’d been sworn to secrecy. Usually she would never have agreed to
such a thing, but the sneaky little chit was learning the finer
points of blackmail.

A masculine palm embraced her backside and
Sonya stilled, squelching a surprised gasp. Next to her, Ethan
feigned interest in the conversation with a smug expression.

She gnashed her teeth. The bar counter hid
his actions from the others, but he was still risking
detection—especially with Cale present—although her brother seemed
to have receded into his own thoughts again, completely unobservant
at the moment.

She bristled when she felt the pressure on
her ass increase. What the hell was he thinking? She suspected he
thoroughly enjoyed throwing her off balance, the bastard!

Two could play this game.

Ignoring how his touch affected her, she
slid her tail up his leg, making no secret as to where it headed.
Ethan went rigid, his smile frozen in place. When she met with her
target, he gulped loudly and she couldn’t help a triumphant grin.
Still nobody noticed. She felt so naughty.

His fingers dug in tighter, and she
responded in kind, this time rubbing along his length. He’d once
called her tail wicked. Ha. He had no idea.

“Woops!” Jade’s voice sounded from behind,
and they pulled apart. “I uh, thought I was working tonight.”

Sonya resisted the urge to
smack that insipid mischievous expression right off her face.
“You’re working tomorrow night, Jade, when we will resume your
training.”
If I don’t kill you
first
.

“Oh, then I’ll see you later.” She waved
seductively at Ethan. “Later, Ethan.”

Sonya speared Ethan with a violent look,
daring him to wave back. Her fangs descended as she approached the
Edge, the slightest hint of interest threatening to set her off.
However, his attention never wavered from her. His eyes, intense
and keen, darkened with hunger. She repressed an oncoming shiver
and sternly shook her head. Spurring her lust any further was a
terrible idea.

As if reading her thoughts, he seemed to
come back to himself and offered an apologetic look—something she
had never seen before. The sight took her aback. And, surprisingly,
it was enough to ebb her fury.

For now.

Cale ground his teeth.

Isn’t that your last
name?
Zoey had asked.

Kyra’s blush said more than she probably
intended. And for some reason, red had flashed across Cale’s vision
as his mind invented all sorts of loathsome scenarios that might
inspire Kyra to desire the name.

Most involved her lusting after an overgrown
lizard.

She’d lived with the dragons—princes, no
less. In their home? For how long? And for what reason?

When Aidan insinuated a possible match,
Cale’s blood reached boiling point, feeling as though it would burn
through his veins. A familiar rage came over him, and he dug his
nails into his palm to assuage it. For a time, he regained a
measure of focus, losing track of the conversation again when
Kyra’s face lit up at the prospect of seeing her old acquaintances.
Still, he managed to conceal his turmoil.

Why did he care, anyway?
They’d had one good night together. A really, really good night.
But that was where his interest ended…usually. Almost as soon as
they’d boarded
Marada
, he’d decided to distance himself, get back to his routine.
Taking her to his bed again would only increase her attachment.
And, an errant part of his mind added, his own.

On the first night back, he should have been
relieved to be free of his charges. He’d accomplished his task.
Kyra was safe, and now everyone could concentrate on the next
objective. But he’d be lying if he said he didn’t crave her touch.
Aside from that, he found it impossible to look at her without
growing stiff, and for the last few days, she’d had complete
dominance over his thoughts.

A couple of times, he’d tried seeking her
out to prove he could maintain an easy acquaintance, but with each
attempt words had failed him. All he’d wanted was to guide her into
the nearest darkened room and finally have her sweet cries in his
ear as he lost himself inside her.

Player
.

That’s what she thought of him.

The definition was turning out to be more on
point than he had allowed himself to admit. He heard whispers
around the ship, speculating on his newest conquest—whether it was
the Faieara or the human. Or both.

He recalled having no interest in Zoey. She
was desirable enough, and it was true that he’d had ample
opportunity. He had even inadvertently caused her to become aroused
on occasion back in the hotel room while Kyra had been unconscious,
though he hadn’t even entertained the notion of seducing her.

Sonya’s nearly inaudible growl pulled Cale
from his thoughts. Seemed something Jade did had really pissed her
off. He watched Jade saunter away, and before disappearing out the
door, her gaze shifted to him with clear invitation.

Jade was always up for a quick screw.

If he went with her now, perhaps she would
break him of his dangerous new obsession. Yet more than just his
brain lacked enthusiasm for the idea. Besides, he overheard Aidan
ask Kyra about her visit to Legura.

“My father was grooming me to take the
throne,” she explained, “and wanted me well acquainted with our
allies.”

Cale seethed. Exactly what did she mean by
“well acquainted”?

Aidan countered, “I remember hearing you
were very young at the time. He was preparing you even then?”

“Nineteen wasn’t so young,” she protested.
“But I guess my father was rushing me in my studies.”

“Studies?” Cale heard himself ask. “Your
visit was purely for educational purposes?”

“Yes, to learn the language,” she replied.
“And culture. But also to develop a positive relationship with the
Okoras and strengthen the alliance between our people.”

“And how did you go about
strengthening this
alliance
?” From the corner of his
eye, Cale saw Sonya raise a brow just as he registered the snide
innuendo in his own tone.

Unamused, Kyra remarked, “Well, Cale, I
simply slept with every male in the clan. No surer way than
that.”

Obviously she was
joking—
she’d better be
joking!
—but aggression flooded his mind
nonetheless. Everyone suddenly focused on him, displaying a range
of expressions, none of them good. For something to do, he swigged
his drink, pretending he didn’t care if she slept with all the
clans in the universe.

Because he didn’t.

Cale’s throat drew Kyra’s gaze as it worked
to guzzle the last of the beverage. She wasn’t sure what his
outburst had been about, but if his intention was to irritate
her…well, he succeeded. A small part of her suggested he might be
jealous, but her more rational side discarded the conjecture.

When he brought the glass down, his features
remained tight. She tried to imagine what he might be thinking.
Most likely he was trying to fabricate an excuse to cut out. Hard
to miss Jade’s unabashed eye-fuck as she’d slithered out the door,
inspiring in Kyra a shocking urge to rip out the girl’s hair.

God, I need to get a
grip
.

She’s never felt so possessive over a male
before. The intensity of it was rather frightening. Especially
because she could imagine herself seated in a darkened room, a
bourbon in one hand and a bat in the other, waiting for an
unsuspecting Jade to enter.

Suddenly Portia pushed her way to the center
of the group. “What evil plots are we discussing this evening?”

In an instant, the heavy tension dissipated
as Zoey fawned, thanking her repeatedly for the language spell.

Portia simply waved her hand, replying,
“You’ll pay me back later.”

Kyra recalled the awkward sniffing from
earlier and asked, “Why did you think Zo was a vampire?” Even she
had thought them nothing more than a human myth.

“I was warned that there would be one aboard
this ship, but now that I think of it, they could have just been
screwing with me.”

“Are there really vampires?” Zoey
sputtered.

Portia shrugged, not answering, but Zo lost
interest when Rex muttered something in her ear. She let out a
flirty giggle, and they fell back into their private bubble. Ethan
and Sonya returned to serving drinks, and Kyra was left to converse
with Cale, Aidan, and Portia.