Page 213 of Gladiators of the Vagabond Boxset

Sunder

Luka’s girl didn’t know it, but she’d delivered me the very thing I’d been looking for—hoped for—on a golden platter.

After I’d heard the Aderian officers mention that Drameil’s private ship had been destroyed, making data recovery impossible, all my hope had been dashed.

Now I realized that inventive little Noa had been the one responsible for that mess, and if she hadn’t done it, Drameil probably would have flown off in that ship anyway.

Fingering the stick of data between my fingers, I contemplated the best approach to get what I needed.

If I were aboard the Vagabond, I’d consult with Akri and Da’vi, but they weren’t here, and time was of the essence.

I had to get there as soon as possible. Drameil’s power had been hugely destabilized by this, so I couldn’t risk any of the other Crimelords making a move before I could.

I gathered up my meager pack of belongings from my own bunk and headed for the exit of the ship. Jasmin hailed me as I was about to step out. “Where are you going, Sunder?” The human pilot looked at me inquisitively, her eyes darting from the pack hanging from my shoulder to the open hatch.

“I have to go. I have to do something really important,” I told her regretfully. And if I didn’t leave right now, the Aderians would tie us all up in legal proceedings and bureaucratic nonsense for months. I couldn’t let that happen; time was of the essence.

She cocked her head to the side, long, curly black hair sliding over one shoulder, part of it obscuring one eye.

“I see. What should I tell Tori? Aren’t the two of you really close?

” she said, and I felt a pang at the mention of the young human girl.

I’d taken her under my wing, quite literally at times. She was like a daughter to me.

But Tori was safe; she was aboard the Vagabond with my brothers, and she could do without me for a few months.

And if I never came back… she’d be sad, but she’d get over it.

I’d seen her interest in Jasmin and Yashan’s adopted son, Eoin, she wouldn’t be alone.

Not the way Jett was. And for the first time, I had a lead on where he could be. I had to take it.

“Tori will be fine. Tell her I’m coming back, but I have to do this. I have to rescue my son.”

*

Luka

I woke up thinking I was still dreaming.

Noa’s soft form was sprawled out on top of me; she was completely naked, and only a thin blanket covered the two of us from the waist down.

As I tilted her head to look at her throat, I noted the absence of that hated pain-collar and let out a long sigh.

Good, that was good. Had we escaped? I couldn’t recall much beyond rushing for Noa when chaos broke out in the ballroom.

Her eyes opened slowly, a warm look in the blue orbs. “You’re awake!” she stated with a radiant smile, her relief washing over me like a balm, the depth of her emotions bringing a lump to my throat.

“I love you too, my sweet, beautiful Noa,” I said to her, cupping the side of her softly rounded cheek so I could pull her in for a kiss.

She met that kiss greedily, our tongues slicking together, our breaths mingling.

Desire curled languidly through my body, but I didn’t want to rush this moment, and neither did she.

When she pulled back, she was laughing. “I guess I don’t have to tell you how I feel, do I?

You just know?” Her fingers trailed over my chest, outlining the delicate lines of the symbol I’d had tattooed there.

Her eyes were warm and thoughtful as she looked at it, tilting her own wrist to the side to compare the two identical figures. Granted, mine was a little bigger.

“The words are always nice to hear, but it’s the feelings that matter,” I told her, trapping her hand against my heart.

“And I love you very much. That’s why I got this symbol when they held us at my mother’s home—because I loved what it meant when you explained it, and I love you.

” Her eyes went shiny with tears. She was overwhelmed but happy, and also very, very relieved.

Good. I hoped it would sink into her pretty head at last that I was here for the long haul.

“I thought you’d died when you collapsed, Luka.

I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared in my life!

” She rubbed her fingers over my skin where I held them trapped against my chest. “But you’re safe.

We got out.” So we had, although I had absolutely no clue where we currently were.

These quarters looked similar to the ones aboard the Leaper, but they were unfamiliar to me.

It didn’t matter—we were safe—so I’d ask questions later.

First, I was going to celebrate with my beautiful mate.

Rolling her onto her back, I crawled over her, inspecting every inch of her colorful skin for injury, not satisfied until I’d assured myself that she didn’t have a single scratch or bruise.

Then I dipped my head between her thighs and licked her to orgasm until she screamed out my name.

“Luka, I love you,” she moaned as she welcomed me home between her thighs.

“I know, and I’ll make sure you always have a home with me,” I told her, vowing to make sure she knew I valued all of her, that I was hers and hers alone.

Giving her another orgasm seemed like a good start as I sank my primary cock inside her tight channel and rubbed my upper cock against her clit.

*

Noa

It took two months before we were finally allowed to leave Aderia.

It made Luka anxious because he wanted to get back to his friends and hated that they had to make do without a doctor.

But I found I loved the quiet moments we shared between the hectic trials and the media circus that surrounded us everywhere we went.

Once Luka’s mother was arrested, the people who’d been threatening the crew of the Leaper to keep them silent had disappeared, and the footage Luka had recorded at the time had finally gotten out.

What had also gotten out was word of Luka and me being mates, so we’d ended up under a microscope, checked over by dozens of Aderian doctors.

There was no sign of the pheromone dependency that had marked our first few weeks together.

But markers in Luka’s body had been activated, giving him better reflexes, more strength, and a stronger empathic gift compared to any of his baseline tests from before we’d met.

They couldn’t tell if anything had changed inside me, of course—there was no prior medical data—but I knew I was different.

Luka theorized that the moment we’d both accepted that we loved each other was when the dependency had disappeared.

We didn’t need it anymore to hold us together at that point.

That was too vague and unscientific an explanation for the big brains here on Aderia, however.

They had wanted to keep testing us until Luka had snapped at them, demanding our right to privacy be respected.

It was so hot when he got all bossy like that that we’d barely made it home to our temporarily assigned apartments that time.

Jasmin and Yashan had also been forced to stick around, but they’d refused to accept social housing from the Aderian government and lived on their ship, the Beverly.

Whenever we met up to grab a bite together or appeared together on one of the many trials we were witnesses for, Jasmin would jokingly ask if the honeymoon phase was over yet.

I wasn’t sure it ever would be, now that we were safe and had a soft bed to share each night…

Two months marked a special occasion, though. We were finally free to go our own way, and the Vagabond had just landed in the Marayan Space Port. I was nervous as hell to finally meet all of Luka’s friends, but excited too.

Pato was sitting on Luka’s shoulder, a little backpack on his back with his latest collection of little trinkets inside it. He was sitting calmly, surveying the busy spaceport around us with a wise look on his little face. Luka caught my look and smiled. “Ready to meet everyone?”

I nodded just as the hatch opened, surprised at the crowd of people waiting for us on the other side.

A huge green-scaled beast stood there with a beautiful Black woman hanging from his arm, a scaly tail wrapped around her waist. I saw another male just like Yashan, with red skin and four arms, as well as a Kertinal with purple lines across his body and a scruffy black-and-purple mane.

A Hispanic woman charged down the ramp, followed by a limping, elf-like-looking male. “Luka! I’m so glad you’re home!” she yelled and threw her arms around his neck. I had no time to prepare myself; she had me up in a bear hug a second later. “Welcome aboard the Vagabond, chica!”

“Hey there, Camilla,” Luka said with a laugh, and then he exchanged one of those manly hugs with the male who’d followed closely behind her. That guy didn’t say a word in greeting, but I received a little head tilt.

A scratching noise and a little squeak were the only warnings I had before a brightly colored small animal climbed up the side of my pants and leaped for my shoulder.

It was sleek and long like a ferret but with a fluffy tail and a head like a kitten, dappled in many shades of brown, orange, and yellow.

The animal made a loud purring sound and then leaned in to sniffle at Pato, over on Luka’s shoulder, which was probably her intended target all along.

“Fluffy!” a woman called out with a laugh.

“Leave the little monkey alone, you naughty baby.” It was a pretty Japanese woman standing beneath the arm of a huge blue-and-black-dappled male.

Unlike most of the others here, he didn’t wear much beyond a simple loincloth around his waist. He looked wild and feral, with bright yellow eyes like those of a wolf.

“It’s okay,” Luka said, curling his arm around my waist. “You’re going to love it here.” Then he guided me through the crowd and up into the ship, greeting everyone as we went and asking questions to check in on them. To the big green guy, he said, “I’m glad to be home, brother.”

It was good to find a place to call home, and Luka was right. At his side, I was sure I was going to enjoy living here very much. My hand curled around my belly, we’d make this the best home ever. Together.

THE END