Viper's Defiant Mate (7 page)

Viper looked up in time to notice the dark look Bahadur cast at the new human that had entered the room almost an hour before. Tina had introduced her as a friend. For a moment, a sense of weariness washed over him. This mission was quickly getting out of control.

Normally when he went on a mission, he researched all possible areas of concern. The problem with this mission was that Earth, and its inhabitants to a large extent, were unrecorded. The only thing he had to go on was what Riley had told him and what he knew of her. His biggest mistake had been thinking that Riley was abnormal for her species. He was beginning to have serious doubts about that now.

Viper nodded to Bahadur. A moment later, Bahadur had transported back to the
Horizon
. He glanced up at Tina’s face. Her eyes were wide with shock and her lips were rounded into an adorable circle. A scowl darkened his face. Since when did he ever think in terms of adorable, especially to a female that broke her hand when she punched a Curizan warrior.

Not any Curizan warrior,
his cat purred.
Bahadur, the Curizan annihilator.

Viper’s lips twitched at his cat’s glee. He had to admit, it had been rather entertaining watching Bahadur’s face when Tina punched him in the jaw. If her friend hadn’t kicked open the door at the same time, he would have had to step in, but the combination of the double blow had been too much for the warrior.

The fun part had been when Bahadur had finally come to. The Curizan Admiral’s face had turned a bright red when he found himself a stool for Grandma Pearl. The old human woman had made sure that Bahadur wasn’t dead before she made herself comfortable on his stomach. She said she wanted to make sure he stayed down for a bit.

Once Bahadur woke, Pearl had left to retrieve a bag of ice for his head before instructing Toni Di Stefano to take care of the alien ‘cause the new guy didn’t know shit about being a bartender. Toni had just nodded, wide-eyed and pressed the bag on Bahadur’s head.

“How does your hand feel now?” Viper asked, noting that the regen was almost complete.

“Better,” Tina muttered in surprise, staring up at Viper. “Did he just disintegrate?”

“No, Bahadur returned to the Valdier Warship that we arrived on,” Viper explained, glancing at where Toni was standing looking pale and shaken. “Can she be trusted?” He asked, quietly.

Tina looked at Toni, startled. “Who? Toni? Yeah, she has more secrets than anyone I know,” she responded in a husky voice. “Why?”

“It is best if others do not know of our presence,” Viper explained.

“Hey, I’m going… This is some really weird shit,” Toni interrupted in a voice filled with awe and confusion. “I need a drink.”

Tina nodded. “Just don’t tell anyone what’s going on,” she instructed. “Pearl could probably use some help, anyway.”

Viper watched as Toni glanced back and forth between where Tina was sitting in the plush office chair and where he was sitting in front of her friend. Her eyes flickered to the regen on the desk. It was still glowing as it finished the necessary repairs to Tina’s hand before they rose to meet his steady gaze. He made sure that Toni understood the silent warning that he was giving her; Be silent about their existence or else.

Toni swallowed hard before nodding. “No one would believe me anyway,” she replied in a low voice. “I’ll see if Pearl wants me to help out. Are you sure…” She paused for a moment to give Tina an assessing look. “Are you sure you’ll be safe?”

Tina glanced at Viper and nodded. “Yeah, once my hand is healed, I can use it again if I need to,” she retorted with a slight smile. “Go on. I’ll scream if I need help.”

Tina released a sigh as she watched Toni glance once more time over her shoulder before she partially closed the door to her office. It wouldn’t close all the way now. Toni had busted the lock when she kicked the door open.

Another thing to add to my list of things to do,
Tina thought before turning her gaze to the man… alien... sitting in front of her.

They were so close, their knees were touching. For the first time, she really looked at him. His hair was black and cut very short on the sides, but was longer at the top. A small, stubborn tuft of it hung down over his forehead, making her want to reach up and brush it back. She did a mental eye-roll at that. She was definitely the last kind of girl to want to be brushing a guy’s hair back.

Her eyes swept down over his face. He had several slight ridges on his nose. From a distance, it looked like he might have broken it, but up close, she could see that it was part of the difference between him and a human. His eyes were dark with small golden-yellow dots that almost glowed the more she looked into them. His black pupils were also slightly elongated.

A low purr escaped him when her eyes moved to his lips. She raised her eyebrow at him, noticing the slight red flush that rose up his cheeks at her acknowledgment that she heard it. She knew his teeth were sharper than a human. The front row was slightly round while his canines were a touch longer and sharper looking.

“You have spots,” she whispered in surprise as she realized that he had faint spots that ran along his neck and disappeared beneath the collar of the black shirt he was wearing. “Are they tattoos? They don’t look like it.”

He reached up and pulled his collar aside so she could see that them better. “No, it is a genetic characteristic of my species,” he murmured.

Her eyes returned to his as he let his collar go. “Does it hurt? You know, when you change?” She asked in a curious voice. “How does it happen? I watched you change back. The first time, it happened so fast I missed how you did it, but the second time, you were unconscious and I watched you. It was as if you blurred for a moment, then your body returned. It was… strange, but incredible at the same time.”

Viper shielded his eyes so she could not see how pleased, and how turned on he was, by her curiosity and confession. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. Turning his gaze to the regen, he concentrated on releasing her hand from it as the green light indicated the repair to the bones and tissue were complete.

“You should avoid punching anyone in the jaw for a few days to give your bones and tissue a chance to finish healing,” he instructed.

“You didn’t answer me,” she said, pulling her right hand back and rubbing at it, amazed that it was no longer bruised, swollen, and hurting. “Does it hurt you when you change?”

Unable to resist, he reached out and cupped her soft, rounded cheek. His thumb absently stroked her soft skin, enjoying the warmth of it against the rough pad of his skin. He caught and held her startled gaze at his touch.

“No, it does not hurt,” he murmured. “It is a part of who I am. My cat lives inside me, as I live inside him. We are one. How or why it happens, I have never questioned,” he continued with a shrug. His fingers instinctively slid along her skin and down to her the curve of her neck. “It is just a part of who we are. A gift from the Goddess or an evolution of my species, what difference would it make. We are what we are and embrace it.”

“Oh,” Tina muttered. “What… What are you… you… do…”

Viper leaned forward in his chair, trapping Tina St. Claire between her chair and his body. His hand slid around her nape and he gently exerted pressure so he could pull her toward him. The power of his cat was almost overwhelming. It was pushing at him, driving his need and desire to mate to a fever pitch. He knew he needed at least a taste, just a taste, to help the craving.

“I’m going to kiss you,” he whispered a breath away from her deliciously plump lips. “I need to see if…”

Viper didn’t finish his barely audible thought. Instead, he sealed his lips over hers in a kiss that started more out of curiosity, but soon ignited a raging fire of need inside him. Her lips were softer than he expected. The fingers wrapped around her neck tightened and he raised his right hand to slide it up her cloth-covered leg to her hip.

He pulled back just far enough to gaze down at her face. Her lashes lay against her pale cheeks like the dark crescent of one of their moons, shielding her eyes from him. Leaning down with a low groan, he captured her lips again, this time with a ferocity that shook him. He wanted, needed, her with a craving that was foreign to him.

She must have sensed that he was quickly losing control between she splayed her hands against his chest and pushed. He reluctantly released her lips again with a low growl of disapproval. This time her eyes were open and they were gleaming with suspicion.

“Okay, that was… interesting,” she finally said, pushing the chair back on its wheels. Once she had placed enough space between them, she stood up and stepped on the other side of the desk. Pressing her lips together in a tight line, she gave him a frosty look. “You keep talking about some paperwork that Riley gave you. First, tell me about my sister. Where is she, is she okay, and how the hell did she end up finding a bunch of aliens?”

A flash of frustration swept through Viper. Interesting? Since when had a female every told him that his kisses were interesting? Standing, he picked up the regen and slid it into the pouch on his weapons belt. His eyes swept down to her rosy lips and it took everything in him not to push the desk out of the way and capture them and her up against the wall.

“Riley was taken by a trader shortly after her escape from the human who employed her. The trader sold her to the Antrox, a nasty species that use slaves to increase their profit margin,” he explained, watching her expressive eyes widen in shock. “The Antrox told Riley to choose a male so that she could keep him calm. Your sister chose five males, one of which was my brother. Her decision saved his and the other males’ lives.”

“Riley chose five guys? As what? Her servants?” Tina asked faintly, her hand rising to touch her throat as she thought of how frightened her sister must have been. “Poor Riley. She must have been terrified!”

Viper raised an eyebrow. “As her mate. Trust me, my brother and the Antrox were the ones that should have been terrified,” he told her dryly.

Tina’s eyes narrowed and she glared back at Viper. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means, your sister blew up the Antrox’s asteroid mine and shot my brother among other things,” Viper replied.

“Well, they shouldn’t have taken her in the first place,” Tina snapped before she paled and swayed. “And what do you mean as her mate? Are you telling me that my sister was raped by five men, including your brother?”

Viper took a step around the desk, pausing when Tina scooted away from him in alarm. His eyes flashed with frustration. His mind swirled as he tried to remember the words that Riley used. He, Bahadur, Adalard, and Zebulon had practiced daily ‘human’ language lessons with Carmen, but there were still words he had difficulty understanding.

“No,” he replied sharply and waved his hands in aggravation. “No. She chose five, but they did not mate with her. Well, she has mated with Vox, but that is different. She is his mate. She had no choice.”

Tina took a step toward him. Her eyes flashed at him with barely concealed rage and her fists clenched at her side. He glanced warily down at them to make sure she hadn’t slipped the gold-colored metal back on to her hand. He had no desire to see how much it hurt. The bruise on Bahadur’s jaw was proof it wouldn’t feel good.

“Your brother raped my sister,” she hissed.

A frown creased Viper’s brow. “No, well… no,” he repeated. “She insisted he do something, but I do not remember what you call it. He has taken her as his mate. They are expecting a cub. She wishes for you and your vicious grandmother to return to our world.”

Tina’s eyes widened before her eyes filled with tears. Her hand covered her mouth in dismay. She stared at him in silence for several long seconds before fire replaced the tears. A low snarl escaped her and she swung around, throwing open the broken office door.

Viper watched in confusion as Tina walked out of the room. Unsure of what he had said that had made her mad, he pulled the door that had started to close, open again and followed her. She was heading into the crowded section of the bar.

He watched her as she determinedly weaved her way through the tables. She ignored the few males that called out a greeting. Instead, she appeared focused on her grandmother who paused when she saw Tina approaching.

“Grandma, I need your shotgun,” Tina yelled above the crowd.

Pearl’s eyes flickered to where he had paused at the entrance to the main area. “Why?”

“I’m going hunting,” Tina hissed. “That bastard’s brother has knocked Riley up.”

Viper swallowed when he saw Pearl’s eyes narrow and lock with his. The scene played out in almost slow motion. He saw Pearl reaching under the bar and tossing the short-barreled weapon she had used on him and Bahadur earlier to Tina. His eyes followed the ease with which Tina caught it with her left hand and pulled down on the fore-end with her other hand. The loud cheer coming from the men told him that what was about to happen was not going to be good… for him.

Viper turned on his heel, some instinct telling him now would be a great time to retreat. His cat picked up the click of the weapon right before there was a loud bang. He was already half way down the hall when he felt the sting of the rocks of salt along his back and legs.

Ducking his head, he burst out the back door of the bar into the dimly lit parking lot behind it. There were only a few transports, none close enough to give him protection. His eyes lit on the short wall and wooded area behind the bar. He started for it. He was almost to the wall when he heard the distinctive click of the second trigger. Deciding he needed more speed, he shifted as he ran, hoping the darkness would help conceal him.

He probably would have been safe if a transport hadn’t turned at the exact moment onto the street next to
The White Pearl
. The light caught him as he jumped onto the top of the wall. Fire lit across his ass a moment after Tina pulled the trigger. He couldn’t contain the loud roar that escaped his tiger as pellets of salt pierced his fur and embedded in his hide.

That hurt!
His cat hissed as he tumbled over the wall and rolled several times before climbing to his feet and taking off through the thin strand of trees and underbrush.

I know,
Viper hissed back.

How the in the
Guall’s ball
was he supposed to know that the damn rock salt could penetrate his fur when not even a laser blast could? Viper didn’t stop until he was sure he had distanced himself from
The White Pearl
, Tina, and her grandmother. Limping, he trotted several more blocks until he came to an abandoned house.

Viper shifted. A low curse escaped him as he stepped over the twisted mesh of metal fencing lying in the grass near the structure. The move pulled on his clothes and let him know that he would be sporting some bruises. He stopped and glanced around to make sure he was alone before he reached for his communicator.

“This is Viper,” he growled into it. “Beam me up.”

“Affirmative,” the voice on the other end replied.

He breathed deeply as he felt the familiar tingle of the transporter. Bahadur was going to love it when he told him what happened. He needed to talk to Riley. As much as he hated having to admit it, he needed help.

“I am definitely going to kill my brother when I get back,” he muttered as the transporter room reappeared in front of him.