Defiance Read online

  “What the hell are you doing?” she screeched.

  His legs trapped hers, and before she knew it, his superior strength had her completely subdued. He brushed her sheet aside, and then his hand swooshed back and landed on her unprotected ass with a hard smack. She howled in pain and struggled, but he spanked her again and again, each smack landing a little bit harder. Her cheeks burned and stung, and tears ran down her face, mainly from the pain but also from the humiliation.

  “Stop! Please!”

  But he kept on spanking her, one blow after another, until her ass became numb. And that’s the point when the pain turned into something different. The heat radiated from her numbed buttocks to spread throughout the rest of her body. Her heart pounded for an entirely different reason. And she could feel the area between her thighs grow heavy with dew.

  The spanking abruptly stopped, leaving her slightly empty and unfulfilled, although she had no idea why. He pulled her up until they were face to face. His forked tongue darted out to taste the air, and it both fascinated and horrified her. She’d attended church as a child, and the stories of demons come to tempt mortals still lingered in her imagination.

  As his tongue slid back into his mouth, some of the anger eased from his dark eyes. He regarded her with a mixture of disbelief and wariness, and by the expression on his face he didn’t seem any happier than she was with this attraction that seemed to have sprung up suddenly between them.

  “David,” he said in a low, gravelly tone. “Watch her while I start scanning for places we can get repairs.”

  “I think we’re close to Station Three,” David stated. He took hold of her wrists and led her from the cell. She stared up at him in a daze, unsure what just happened. Her mind said one thing, but her body was saying something completely different.

  Laith gave a sharp nod, turned on his heel, and marched back up the ladder. She was left alone with David, but if she thought that chemistry she felt with Laith would go with him, she was sadly mistaken. Her awareness of David was every bit as confusing, maybe even more so, because David took that interest and seemed to embrace it.

  He brushed a finger down her cheek. “You’re erratic,” he said. “Confusing. You clearly have no sense of self-preservation, otherwise you wouldn’t have blindly done what you did. Do you realize that by your actions you might have destroyed all hopes of getting back to Earth?”

  She took a deep breath to clear the cobwebs in her brain. “I react badly when I’m scared. But you’re right, I am unique.”

  The corner of his mouth turned up in a wry grin. “And modest, as well.”

  “What’s happening?” she asked. “Are you … flirting with me?”

  “I believe I am flirting with you. Xyrans don’t flirt, but in his own way, Laith just did the same.”

  “Spanking is his way of flirting? Great. Why are you with him? You’re human.”

  “There’s much you don’t know.”

  “Tell me.”

  He sighed and shook his head. “Why don’t you tell me why you dressed like a boy?” He stepped closer to her. Unlike the Xyran, David had light green eyes, beautiful gems that gleamed under the artificial light causing butterflies to dance in her stomach.

  She cleared her throat. “I’ve been pretending to be a boy for fourteen years.”

  He ran his fingers through her hair, and she shivered at how pleasurable it felt. The image of having him touch all over her body brought a delicious flush over her skin. He moved closer and placed his hands on her bare shoulders, causing electric sparks to shoot all through her body.

  “W-what are you doing?” she asked breathlessly.

  “I’m not sure,” he replied. “All I know is that I like touching you.”

  “Oh.” She swallowed thickly.

  “Do you like being touched?”

  “Uh … I’ve never been touched like this.”

  He cupped her face, and she leaned into him. She couldn’t seem to take her eyes off his mouth. His beautiful, delectable mouth.

  “David!” Laith called out. “Get up here.”

  Jordan blinked and took a step back. She took a deep, shaky breath as David gave her a lopsided grin. He pushed her back into the cell, bent to pick up the screw, and then closed the door in her face.

  ****

  “Station Three is only seven klicks away.”

  “I’ll plot a course,” David said as he sat down.

  “This wasn’t on our schedule, David.”

  “I know.”

  “We need Commander Kath to take me on board his ship, and this little detour is not helping our timetable.”

  “I know, Laith. But you have to look at it from her point of view.”

  Laith turned in his chair to study him. “Are you empathizing with our prisoner?”

  “Of course I’m empathizing with her. I’m human, too.”

  “My instinct is to hurt her. She could have killed us.”

  “We’ve talked about this. You don’t hurt women.”

  “I know. And I won’t. But the Xyran heritage is hard to suppress, even when I know it’s wrong.”

  David laid a hand on his shoulder. “I know this is difficult for you. Just like I know you’re attracted to her.”

  Laith sighed and ran a hand over his face. “We can’t alter our plan, David. I swore a blood-oath of vengeance against Kath and his raiders. To my people, there is nothing more sacred.”

  “You don’t have to remind me of your oath, Laith,” David said. “I knew this mission would be one we wouldn’t walk away from, and although I’m not Xyran, I swore to you we would kill the bastard who killed your sister. I’m with you until the end.”

  Laith took a deep shuddering breath. “I can’t see her as an individual, as someone I’m attracted to. I can’t be that type of Xyran anymore.”

  David cupped Laith’s head and bent to place his forehead against his. “I know. It’s all right, Laith.”

  “No, it is not. She is my prisoner. My slave. If I desire her, than I am no better than Kath. I am no better than who I used to be.”

  “I will never let you be who you used to be, Laith. I promise.”

  “She is just … so frustrating!”

  “Perhaps that’s why we both find her so desirable.”

  Laith nodded. “No matter how we feel, we still have to sell her. It’s the only way to get to Kath.”

  “I know.”

  Chapter Five

  As soon as the ship docked inside Station Three, Laith stepped out of it. The first person he saw was Tarrn, an ally of his tribe and a friend of his father’s, and he smiled at the old Xyran mechanic.

  “What are you doing here, Tarrn? I thought you were stationed on Sarton Moon.”

  “I ran into a bit of trouble when some of Kath’s raiders visited.”

  Laith tensed. “What happened?”

  “I might have sabotaged every single computer program on his battle cruiser. It was completely useless.”

  “Wait, are you saying Kath does not have his ship?”

  Tarrn nodded. “Kath only has a handful of his men right now as his ship gets refitted with new software.”

  Laith had to bite back a curse. If Kath’s ship was damaged, he wouldn’t be taking on new raiders. Helpless rage tore through him, threatening to bring him to his knees, as he realized his plan had disintegrated before his eyes.

  “I saw your name register on the repair list and accepted it. I am to be your mechanic.”

  Laith struggled to get his mind back on the present issue at hand, which was fixing what Jordan had broken.

  “Good, I would not trust anyone else,” Laith replied. “The life support console met with an unfortunate accident.”

  “Let me see it to assess what needs to be done.”

  He waved Tarrn to follow through the port side opening and down the ladder to the computer consoles. The ship was small and had the appearance of being barren, but the propulsion system was the best that wealth could
buy. He was actually glad to have someone working on it that he could trust. He was still having a difficult time accepting that he was back at square one where Kath was concerned.

  As Tarrn inspected the console, Laith glanced at the sealed cell door. Right before they had docked he had personally made sure she couldn’t get into any more mischief by placing magnetic sealers around her wrists. And a gag in her mouth.

  “Do you know the definition of accident?” Tarrn asked sarcastically as he looked at the console. “This looks like it came through the battle of Talus.”

  “The accident part came from this being destroyed instead of navigation,” Laith replied dryly.

  “Did your slave do this?”

  Laith shook his head. “No. We, ah, have a guest.”

  “Guest?”

  “A human female.”

  “What?” Tarrn demanded. The old Xyran turned and put his hands on his hips. His voice dropped to a whisper. “There is only one reason to have a human female this close to the Targin Market. What are you doing, Laith? The last thing I thought you would take up again is dealing in the slave trade after what happened to Julyah. Does your father know?”

  Even though he knew no one could overhear them in the ship, he couldn’t help but glance around to make sure no one was listening. “Be careful what you say.”

  “He does not know, does he? Your father has no idea about this.”

  “I am not in the slave trade. Well, not exactly.”

  “What does that mean, Laith? What are you planning?”

  “What I have to in order to bring Kath down. Now, are you going to fix the console or not?”

  Tarrn blinked and frowned at the harsh tone. He drew himself up stiffly and nodded. “Yes. It looks bad, but it is all superficial. All I have to do is replace this console and attach the wires. I only need two hours.”

  All Laith wanted to do was get away from Tarrn and his affronted expression.

  “Excellent. I think I’ll head out to try to discover any information on Kath since he is not operating his battle cruiser. If you see David, tell him I shall be back shortly.”

  ****

  Jordan sat on the newly fixed cot trying to figure out how to get out of the manacles on her wrists. She knew they were docked at a space station, so this would be the opportune time to escape. She didn’t have much to bargain with, but perhaps she could find some sympathetic traveler to take her back home.

  It was worth a shot because if she didn’t do something then she’d end up in the slave market. The door of the cell slid open, and David stood there, looking at her like she was a meal he wanted to eat. She shivered.

  “You want to use the bathroom? Maybe take a shower? We’ll be here at the station so might as well take advantage of me not being in the cockpit.”

  She nodded, her brain already racing. This might be her only chance. He took her arm and led her from the small area, toward the back of the ship and into a bedroom. From what she could tell, there was only one bed, which gave her a whole new perspective on Laith and David’s relationship.

  He led her to the small bathroom, and she stared at it like it was heaven. The camp had cleaning facilities, but they worked sporadically at best. In fact, that they worked at all was mainly due to Mr. Meier. She’d never seen such luxuries, like clean water and white towels. She couldn’t remember the last time something was so sterile.

  David took hold of her wrists and used a key type device to deactivate her handcuffs. As he explained how to work the facilities the tension between them was thick enough to cut with a knife, but he simply stepped back and let her have her privacy.

  Jordan stripped off her nightgown, stepped into the sonic shower, and followed the directions that David had given her, pushing a button to turn it on. It was the oddest sensation, a type of water that sanitized and evaporated at the same time. Minutes later, it was over and she was clean, cleaner than she’d been in a long time. Usually, she only bathed when it rained, but with this device she’d be taking a shower every day.

  She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her body before stepping out of the cubicle. David sat on the bed, holding some clothes, and seeing him sitting there, waiting for her, made her feel all funny inside. The moment almost felt natural, normal even, although that was ridiculous. There was nothing normal about this situation, and as soon as she returned to Earth she’d go back to being a boy. That was where she belonged, not here, and certainly not with these two slavers.

  “I found some clothes,” David said. “They might be somewhat big…”

  His voice trailed off as he looked at her. His green eyes widened as he stared at her with something akin to hunger on his face. Her heart thundered, and she took a hesitant step back. She held out her hand.

  “I’ll, uh, dress in the bathroom.”

  He stood, but he didn’t hand over the clothes.

  “David?”

  “Drop the towel,” he ordered.

  She shook her head no.

  “Drop the towel, Jordan.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I want to see the perfection of your body.”

  “I don’t think that would be a good idea,” she whispered.

  “I think it would be an excellent idea.”

  “I’ll fight you,” she said. “I’ve trained my whole life to fight against men. Men hurt women.”

  He pulled her into his arms and held her against his body. His heat flooded through her, causing her pussy to grow slick as arousal pumped through her blood, and she had this overwhelming urge to do as he said and shuck her towel. Something primal tore through her when he leaned over and she felt his breath against her skin. Her nipples beaded into hard berries, and the soft towel became sandpaper over her sensitive breasts. He buried his nose in her neck and took a deep inhalation. David moaned, and the sound rumbled down her spine, making her insides quiver.

  “Your smell drives me crazy,” he murmured. “I may not be Xyran, but I can still tell you’re turned on.” He licked up her neck to hear earlobe and took the lobe between his teeth to suckle.

  Her knees turned to jelly, and it was his arms that held her upright. Without really knowing what she was doing, she turned her head, and his mouth settled on hers. Somewhere in the back of her mind was the fact that this was her first kiss, but everything was soon obliterated as she was swept up in a torrent of unwanted need. His tongue traced the seam of her lips, and she opened on a gasp, giving him the opportunity to surge inside. If she had any doubts that she wouldn’t like to be kissed by a rogue, they were immediately obliterated as raw pleasure coursed through her body.

  David’s tongue twined with hers, danced, jolting a salacious moan from her. He explored each hidden corner as he plunged in and out, sweeping aside any doubt that this was exactly what she wanted at this moment. She was on fire from his kiss alone. One of his hands came up to hold her head immobile while his other swept around her rib cage to pull her closer to his chest.

  It was madness, and she wasn’t sure what she was doing. Her hands moved up to capture his face as he moaned again, deep in his throat. Oh, this was so out of the scope of anything she knew. He might be a scoundrel, but she’d never, in her whole life, ever felt like this with any of the men she knew back on Earth. In the next second the towel had been pulled from her body and she found herself lying flat on her back on the bed. She blinked and stared at him as he worshiped her body with his hungry gaze.

  “You’re beautiful,” he said reverently.

  She wanted to tell him to leave her alone, but her mouth wasn’t cooperating with her brain. Neither was her pussy. She could feel her juices leaking out, and although she was still a virgin, her sexual education had happened as a young “man” sitting without other young men bragging about all the fucking they’d done. But before she could shake off the carnal haze, David straddled her body and bent his head to close his mouth over one turgid nipple, lavishing it with his tongue and teeth, tugging tenderly until she lay ben
eath him writhing.

  He worked his way down her body, taking a moment to lick her belly button until she squirmed. She didn’t want to be teased; she wanted more. As he continued his downward path, he bypassed the apex of her thighs and pushed her legs far apart. She had a moment of embarrassment as he studied her unblinkingly. Then he leaned forward, and his tongue touched her slit. She couldn’t control her hips as they bucked at the unbelievable sensation. The tongue touched her again, as if it had a mind of its own, and worked its way past the lips that hid her clitoris.

  “You’re so wet,” he said approvingly. “And you taste divine.”

  He pressed his tongue against her again, as far as it would stretch, dipping into the slit. She moaned and wiggled her hips, wanting more, wanting him to lick. Obviously understanding her silent plea, that’s precisely what he did. As soon as his tongue rasped against her sensitive nub, her body arched like it had touched a live wire. Her hands buried in his hair, pulling it almost too aggressively.

  “People seem to think the hymen is deep inside a woman.” His finger brushed against her opening before sliding in a little. “But it’s right here.”

  He blew against her opening, and she couldn’t hold back a little shiver of enjoyment. He licked up and down, driving his tongue in and over her nub, and worked her until her cries were echoing all around. When he took her little clit between his teeth and sucked hard, she immediately splintered apart. Stars lit up behind her closed eyes as she reached the zenith and floated on bliss.

  “You are magnificent,” he said as he kissed her thigh, and the words were the dash of reality against the heaviness of her well satiated limbs.

  With a gasp she pulled back, panting, beyond mortified. What had she done? She’d allowed the enemy a part of her that nobody had ever had before, and the betrayal she felt against herself was overwhelming. They stared at one another, her gaze searching the cool depths of David’s glittering eyes, but she couldn’t make heads or tails of what he was thinking.