Page 15

Zyair

“Hurry,” the little female told the Drolgok as they both moved into the cage.

As she drew close, I inhaled a sweet and powerful scent rife with hormones, and a nearly overwhelming pulse of pure lust swept through me.

Several powerful Drakonian curses zipped through my head and culminated in a single word.

Ripe.

She was ready to be mated . What was a viable female doing on this ship? My shock only enhanced my body’s reaction. Something, that frankly, in my current state, could not be disguised.

Senaik must have brought her, intending to mate her on this trip. It was the only possible explanation. Her eyes—almost violet in the overhead lights—dropped low before they jerked back upward. Her face flushed an even deeper shade of red.

Gods, she was beautiful. So tiny, but with feminine curves and, as Xandros had pointed out, a luscious ass.

I refused to use the word tasty. That led me down a road from which I may never return …

“Concentrate on the main issue,” Rhodes hissed at me in Drakonian. “They will be phasering that door once they know it is not just jammed. It will not hold for long.”

Rhodes. The Iceman, and my conscience. How could he be so close to her, and not be bewitched? If I was not chained, I would be hard pressed not to pull her into me…

Or maybe just hard.

Shaftz. I was that already. Years of abstinence had come back to bite me. As another waft of her scent passed over me, I almost panted like an animal.

She must have recently passed her evaluation. How had the Drakes sneaked her off planet? Had they overruled the Drolgok registrars?

Once they delivered us, the Taziers would take her. Even if she rejected them—they would force her. These Drakes had no honor.

The rage that surged through me only amped me to aching status.

“ Focus , Zyair,” Rhodes hissed.

I glanced toward him, and immediately saw that he was not as frozen as one might assume. As his dark gaze bore into me, and I recognized the desperation within it, I made the effort to put my focus where it would ensure we would all have a future.

Shaftz, if I had anything to say about it, she was going to be part of it.

While the Drolgok began to work on Xandros’s manacles, the little female placed her stepladder down in front of me, climbed up it, and raised a small cutter.

Our eyes almost met as hers were now level with mine. But they skittered away…

“I will not trance you,” I stated in English, unsure if the words made sense.

“Is that the truth or a ruse to get me to look?” She frowned as she applied the small laser.

“It is something over which I control,” I replied .

“You swear not to mesmerize me?” Her gaze flicked to me, and away again.

I wasn’t familiar with that use of ‘swear’, but I got the gist. “I promise.”

Her beautiful eyes locked with mine. I took a deep breath, and instantly regretted it. I therefore sounded terser than I intended, when I said, “My name is Zyair. The rude redheaded joker is my brother, Xandros. The dark-haired grump is Rhodes.”

My voice was at least a full octave lower and hoarser than normal. It would have done Xandros proud.

“Hullo,” she offered. She was definitely having issues ignoring what jutted between us. So was I.

“What is your name?” I pressed.

She had seemed a bit dazed, but now she raised her chin and her eyes hardened, just a bit. “Princess Jazmin.”

“It is a pretty name,” I said.

“Stop the conversation. Get the cursed cuffs off.” Rhodes spoke the English words with his lips peeled back from teeth that were more pointed than they should be.

“I will.” The conviction running through her words made it a promise. She lowered the goggles over her eyes, focused on the manacles suspending me from the overhead bars, and raised the cutter. “Do not look at it.”

I focused on her face instead. The goggles extended out beyond her cheekbones. The effect was rather cute.

Cute? I did not think I had ever used that word in any kind of context.

A moment later, her eyes flicked to mine from within the goggles. “If you value your arms, do not look at me either.”

I lowered my gaze. With her stretching upward, the next logical target were her breasts. She wore a shirt that was not meant to be clingy, but with her level of endowment, it did so. They were lovely, full and round—and begging for me to …

“Not much better,” she said through gritted teeth. “Worse, actually.”

“I—what is the word? Apology.” I ripped my eyes away, to look through the bars of the cage.

“Apologize,” she corrected.

“Apologize,” I agreed.

Something banged hard against the storage bay door, and my adrenaline surged. These vicious Tazier romputs had beaten us for days… but now, we were close to being free.

“Cut the chain,” I growled. “We cannot shift form in here, anyway. The manacles will not matter.”

She glanced at me, climbed another step, and moved the cutter to the chain instead. Away from the worry of slicing into my flesh, she was able to turn the tool up to full. The links turned red-hot immediately.

I looked away again, but now her breasts were at eye height… combined with the slight jiggle her movement was causing, it was an admirable distraction from the increased noises on the other side of the door.

“Shaaaftz,” drawled Xandros. The English interpretation of a Drakonian curse, the clipped consonants added emphasis when spoken aloud. I cast him a look to see that he was riveted on her breasts as well. Hanging as we were, there was no disguising her effect on us.

“You smell like chocolate, sweet cheeks,” he purred, showing not one hint of embarrassment about his condition.

She did smell amazing, and Xandros had a particular fondness for the sweet human concoction. As well as for females of any description. But this one—this one was special.

“Keep staring and you’ll discover my less-than-sweet side,” Princess Jazmin said without looking at him. “I didn’t give you permission to sniff.”

He inhaled. “It is kind of hard to not.” he said, waggling his brows.

From his other side, the Drolgok uttered a satisfied sound. There was a snap, and one of Xandros’s chains gave way. All his weight dropped to be suspended from one arm. He gritted his teeth, and grabbed hold of it with the one now free, trying to take some of the load.

A moment later, I joined him as Princess Jazmin got through one of mine.

The storage bay door creaked, and then, slid open, just an inch. A glowing bronze eye stared through it, and the Tazier roared.

Shaftz.

Princess Jazmin flinched, but focused hard on lasering the last chain. There was another snap from Xandros’s, and his feet dropped to the mesh below. He staggered a little, rolling his massive shoulders.

As the sounds from the other side of the bay door increased in their frenzy, the Drolgok hurriedly moved her ladder closer to a growling Rhodes. The lean muscles of his arms bulged, as he yanked on the chains.

I was in agony as I hung by one arm, but the rage within me begged for release. Days of being tortured by these Taziers had me frothing to tear into them. However, we had to consider another dynamic, now.

Princess Jazmin.

She was in the middle of this. My intense desire to keep her safe only confirmed my suspicions that she was meant for us.

It swelled within me, and set fire to my rage.

By the look in Xandros’s eyes as he pushed through the cage door and sprouted long talons from his fingertips, he felt exactly the same way.

My second chain gave way. As I dropped to the grate, my shoulders were on fire. I shook the muscles loose and caught Princess Jazmin’s gaze.

She had just climbed off the ladder, and for an instant, I saw both fear and determination in her eyes. But she met my eyes fully, before moving the ladder over beside the Drolgok’s to work on Rhodes.

Brave. She was brave .

With a metallic shriek, the Taziers wrenched the bay door open. As I connected with the copper eyes of the first through it, I let the rage loose. Rage at what they had done to my brothers. At what they planned to do with Princess Jazmin.

Xandros and I lunged toward them.

My wings thrashed against the metal mesh encasing them, trying to spread wide. I closed one fist on the short length of chain still attached to my wrist manacles as the Taziers poured into the storage bay.

My other hand sprouted wicked eight-inch talons. I met the bronze-eyed Drake’s gaze, and I smiled.

Then another one came through the door, and raised not a phaser pistol, but a more powerful rifle to point directly at me.

It would have merely scorched my dragon’s scales, but it could do serious damage in this humanoid form. I ducked the first blast. As I kept coming at him, he lined me up for a second?—

I stepped sideways, and Xandros leaped from behind me. It would take nerves of steel to hold steady with that juggernaut coming at you—the blast scorched across Xandros’s shoulder. He tore the laser from the Drake’s grasp, and threw it across the room…