Vanquished (3 page)

A significantly smaller figure,
dressed completely in black, waded into the triangle of pirates. It laid Barek
low with well-placed blows to his knees and an uppercut to his jaw as he fell
to the ground. The baton inflicting the punishment flashed in a blur of
movement to match the warrior’s whirling grace. Vayne was already moving to
assist when the fighting dervish dealt with Duff, body moving with grace and
deadly intent, bringing the pirate down with punishment to his kidneys. Short
black hair gleamed in the harsh lighting as the warrior spun to take on Ristos,
who’d become tangled in Barek’s long arms as he sprawled, almost senseless.

Vayne used his shocker, nearly
catching one slender, black clad shoulder as their opponent made contact with
Ristos’ ribcage, the baton making a dull, wet sound in contrast with the
captain’s growl of pain and rage. But the little warrior whirled out of range,
turning to renew the attack, and the bolt spent itself harmlessly against the
bulkhead. Vayne’s cock filled and stood at full attention, causing him
considerable discomfort in his tight-fitting space uniform. By the shades of
Turco, it was a female.
And what a female.
He locked
eyes with orbs a brilliant shade of the golden gemstones so prized on his
planet before she charged, moving gracefully on the balls of her bare feet.

“He dies!” Duff’s howl cut
through the tension as Vayne prepared to defend
himself
,
and the female halted, stumbling as she did so.
Duff
held his weapon at the young male’s throat, vicious intent written across his
features.

“No, don’t,” the lithe beauty
called out, and Vayne watched, transfixed, as she dropped to her knees,
carefully laying down the lethal weapon she used so efficiently. She then
clasped her hands behind her neck. Her voice, while plaintive and breathless, was
nearly musical to his ears.

Nothing in her posture spoke of
true submission, but it didn’t matter to Vayne’s cock. That appendage throbbed
painfully and he was at a loss as to how to calm it. Never had he ever… Vayne
struggled to make his body move. Captain Ristos moved first.

Kicking aside the baton, he
gestured to Duff, who released his hold on the still-unconscious young male and
pulled his dagger away. Was this woman attached to the man? Guarding him? Vayne
shook his head. It didn’t matter.

“Secure her.”

Ristos bent and clipped a pair of
solar cuffs around the woman’s wrists, and Vayne approved of how efficient the
captain was, yet afforded the little female respect. He wasn’t the only male to
appreciate her attempt to defend this deck. The restraints emitted slight
whirring
sounds as they engaged. Charged by any light source, they were virtually
impervious to tampering and would open only to the owner’s print. Vayne pulled
the control from the captain’s hand, entered his own print to replace Ristos’,
then
crushed the control beneath his boot. The pirate
captain didn’t blink an eye, though his two men exhibited some slight surprise.

“Help one another to our ship,”
Ristos instructed them. He waited as they hobbled to the lift, throwing glances
of retribution mixed with awe toward the woman still kneeling in the corridor.

“I’ll bring the other passengers
out and offer them your conditions, Sov—sir.”

Vayne gave up any pretense. As
desperate as the Shadalla were, their scientists had confirmed the compatibility
of Earth females to breed and bear their children, and some of his species’
males had actually found their chosen. Gone was Vayne’s need to merely pick a
female out of the women on this ship, using careful parameters to ensure she
was suited for his position, able to bear his children, and of a nature and
appearance to stimulate his desires in order to put those offspring in her
belly. Royal concubines weren’t unheard of, after all, and the odds of him
finding a chosen were slight. But he couldn’t look any further, impossibly
drawn to this imperious warrior at his feet. And should he ever be fortunate
enough to find an actual chosen mate, this lovely woman would retain concubine
status, regardless.

“Bring the men out. Offer. I’ll
send my exec to scrutinize the females.” He wasn’t that overwhelmed to forget
he had a duty to other men in his service, Leric included.

“Good. And then we’re off.
A pod to recover.
And if you require any other…services…”

“And if
you
require anything I might be able to provide.
Any
assistance?”
Vayne offered.

“I might take you up on that
someday, sir.”

Nodding, he reached down and fit
a hand under the elbow of the female, and his world turned upside down. The
physical attraction had been immediate, granted. But the instant he touched her
and her scent enveloped him, his brain exploded with a revelation he’d only
experienced once in his life—and a very subdued and pale version at that, one
manipulated by science. Vayne didn’t need another minute with her to understand
the symptoms and wished to shout his joy out loud.
She was a chosen
and not his future concubine. She came up with the
lightness of gossamer, and only his quick reflexes saved him from a knee to the
groin as he turned to catch the blow on his thigh.
Little
spitfire.

Ristos assisted him, binding her
feet with yet another pair of solar cuffs, this time passing the control over
without a pause. “She’ll use her teeth too,” the man commented.

He didn’t want to gag her but
accepted the inevitable. Still reeling from the fortuitous news, he nodded and
strove to recover his equilibrium. Watching as the captain wrapped a silk sash
around her mouth, he wrestled with the need to punch the other man in the face
for touching her. Vayne also wished he’d asked her name before she was
silenced, but he was ruefully aware she’d likely deny him.

She went over his shoulder, body
radiating fury, and he blessed the makeshift gag. He was tempted to smack her
curved bottom but thought she’d struggle and end up harming herself against the
unforgiving walls. There was time enough ahead to gentle his wee warrior.

“Hand me the baton,” he
requested. “She seems to have an attachment to it.”

Ristos scooped it up, running a
hand down its gleaming length. “It’s a well-crafted and balanced tool. She could
have killed with it.”

But she hadn’t, and Vayne thought
he already had some insight into his as yet nameless bride. Ristos had likely
noticed too, hence his care in cuffing her. Control was Vayne’s own watchword
and this woman also possessed it. It was perhaps unfortunate she would be
required to concede that quality, but such was the way of his people.

“Thank you, Captain. I wish you
the best. Perhaps we’ll cross paths in the future.”

The lift bore them up to the
docking bay in good time and he stepped out, ignoring the attention he drew.
His troops, looking relieved then surprised, fell in behind him as he found the
way to the shuttle. He deposited his slight burden on the nearest seating and
buckled her in. The glow in those remarkable eyes should have singed him, and
on impulse he tugged the gag from her lips.

“What is your name, little
warrior?” He spoke in Earth’s primary language. He and Ristos had used a
different form of communication to safeguard their covert operation, one agreed
upon when he’d first contracted with the pirate.

“Fuck you, asshole.” The
universal translator embedded in his cranium had no difficulty in translating
her response. He didn’t require it in this case, considering his ability to
learn various languages for his time spent on the Home World.

Her epithet was nothing less than
he expected. He smiled at her and was rewarded with a flicker of shock. Perhaps
she’d expected a cuff or a punch? He would never abuse her, but they would need
to discuss how she tempted fate with casual disregard for her circumstances.
There were many who would have taken advantage of her helplessness following
such a response, maybe broken her lips or blackened an eye in retaliation.

“You’ll be somewhat uncomfortable
for a short while, my nameless warrior, but after witnessing your abilities I
won’t remove your restraints until I get you on my own ship.”

“You’re Shadalla.” There was now
nothing but calm observation in her tone, all fury abruptly extinguished.

“I am.” On impulse, he spoke in
his own tongue.

“We have a treaty.” She too had a
device to translate their conversation.
Interesting.
He hadn’t expected the passengers on the
Astris
to be so equipped.

“We do.”

“But you attacked, ignored it.”

Vayne bowed his head, a slight
move to acknowledge her accusation. “There is a good reason, little one.
As you will come to learn.”

“Coward.
You prey on the weak and
defenseless.”

The dig struck home, but he
schooled his features. “Perhaps you will also come to reconsider in time.”

“What do you want with me?”

He saw no fear in those eyes,
nothing to intimate she feared for her life, but rather, something he didn’t
want to interpret. He realized she was not averse to dying and he recoiled,
horrified. He intuited her thoughts. This woman was weary to the bone behind
her determined efforts to repel the boarders. Those efforts indeed hadn’t been
in defense of her life but rather of her fellow passengers. She hadn’t been
attempting to kill the pirates but take them out of commission, at great risk
to herself.
Courting death.
What had brought her to
this state? To cover his revelation, he asked a question instead of answering
hers.

“Who was that young male to you?”
It was an effort not to hold his breath while she answered.

“Who?
Yuri? He’s a fellow traveler.”

Relieved he hadn’t taken her from
her mate, even if he’d have done so had that been true, Vayne shook his head at
her description. “You are no ordinary traveler. You have an embedded universal
translator. And you fought like no passenger destined for the outer planets.”

Her eyes shuttered and she
withdrew from him. He literally watched her go and tried to draw her back, a
hint of panic chiseling away at his determination. “Little warrior? Who are
you?”

“Who are you?” she countered
after a long pause, her eyes coming back into focus.

“Lord Vayne Palldyn, Sovereign of
the Southern Range, planet Nibiru.
Shadalla.”
He gave
his title proudly, having been granted it through circumstances more than his
birth. No royal assumed the throne without proving himself, usually with great
sacrifice, and he was no exception. He’d lost
both his
father and mother, as well as his only sibling as a result of his ambition.
There were times when he regretted seeking such status despite his family’s
approval, because assassins weren’t picky about collateral damage. Jostling for
the position of sovereign had all but vanished over the decades, and Vayne
hoped it was primarily because of his ability to rule and their planet to
prosper.

“Holy shit.
His Lordship himself,” she
muttered, and he forgot to think of that sad and violent past.

“You know of me?” Part of him was
pleased, another, worried. How could this scrap of womanhood know of him as His
Lordship, unless she was indeed military? Then again, the Home World
politicians had spies everywhere.

She didn’t answer, and he
accepted the mystery.
For now.
They needed to get
gone, to quote the pirate captain. He gave the order, settling into a seat
beside his nameless prize, and secured his belts. The scanner on his vessel
would pick up any devices she might have been implanted with, and he could
manage one slender female. It wasn’t like she was going anywhere other than to
Nibiru.

They gained the
Tomodr
without incident and he again
carried her on board, sensibly replacing the silk sash across her full mouth.
Her eyes spit retribution and he longed to make her his.
Longed
to take her beneath him to instruct her in his need and dominance, while
bringing her the utmost pleasure.
But it was far too early, and he had
many other tools in his repertoire to improve her attitude. Their joining must
be with her consent. She would wish it with everything she had. He’d see to it.

Leric was already away on another
shuttle to carry out his orders, and Vayne hoped his exec was as fortunate as
he. Carrying his future down the corridor to his quarters, he calculated the
time back to Nibiru and chose the long route, stopping only to key it in on the
com for his navigator.

“Sir.”

He spun around to face the
crewman, his female shifting on his shoulder as he did so. He felt the strength
ripple in her belly muscles as she adjusted and Vayne became impossibly
aroused, making him snap at his subordinate. “What is it?”

“The Outriders have reversed
their flight pattern.”

“How soon?”

“We have perhaps fifteen stints
for anonymous departure. No more.”

“Recall Leric in ten and be
prepared to leap to starblaze. No delays.”