Rogue: A Scifi Alien Romance (Galactic Gladiators Book 8) Page 7

  Zhim ran his hand over her ass, cupping the fleshy globes, kneading them. His cock was throbbing hard again .

  She pushed back against him, and he slid a hand between her legs, stroking. He couldn’t wait any longer. He nudged her legs apart and moved forward, his cock sliding along the crack of her ass, then lower. With a single, hard thrust, he lodged himself inside her .

  She moaned .

  “This is your new world, Ryan.” He started thrusting, moving his hands to cover hers on the pool edge. “It has so much to offer you. It’s what you make of it .”

  He kept plunging inside her, feeling hot pleasure coil around the base of his spine. He knew his release wasn’t far away. He wouldn’t last long in her tight, hot body .

  She was shoving back against him, giving as much as she took. That was his Ryan .

  Lowering one hand, he slipped it into the water, and ran his fingers down her belly. She quivered against him, and then he delved between her thighs. He found her swollen clit and rubbed .

  Her body clenched down on him and Zhim groaned. He kept thrusting, mindlessly now, and continued to work that fascinating little nub .

  “Zhim!” She cried out, her back arching. Her body clenched on his cock, tight and hot .

  His name on her lips. It was the greatest thing he’d ever received .

  As his release hit, he roared out her name. As he jetted inside her, it occurred to Zhim that Ryan wasn’t the only one facing a new world .

  He was, too—all because of one small, smart-mouthed woman from Earth .

  The thought terrified him .

  * * *

  R yan stared at the data on the screen, and tapped a fingernail against her teeth. The first of Carthago’s suns was due to rise soon .

  And that meant it would be time to rescue Neve .

  “Here.” Ryan pointed to a spot on the map. “We can get the team in here .”

  Zhim leaned over her shoulder. Boy, the man smelled good. She pulled in a deep breath .

  She was seriously in lust with him. After they’d christened his pool, they’d gone to his bedroom and messed up his big bed. Afterward, she’d spent a nightmare-free night curled in Zhim’s arms .

  Ryan suppressed a shiver. She’d always liked sex, and appreciated an orgasm as much as the next girl, but what she’d done with Zhim …

  She was on the edge of becoming addicted to her sexy, arrogant alien .

  “It’ll work,” he murmured, his brow furrowed as he looked at the screen. “And we’ve already planned how to punch a hole through Gabriez’s security system .”

  Ryan let her gaze trace his face. She’d seen no evidence that Zhim had relationships. No indication that he ever let anyone close .

  A sour feeling moved through her stomach. One night with him had made Ryan question everything. She wasn’t sure hot sex alone was enough for her. But what did he want ?

  “Galen’s confirmed that Magnus is coming,” Zhim said, interrupting her musings. “He has several cyborg implants that will help immensely in the labyrinth.” He tilted his head and regarded her, his face expressionless. “You should stay here. You’ll be safe — ”

  Ryan pushed to her feet and thrust her hands on her hips. “Did you really think that would work ?”

  He shot her a frustrated look. “No, but it was worth a try.” He blew out a breath. “Besides, your skills will be vital in the labyrinth .”

  Warmth bloomed inside her. “You say the sweetest things .”

  “I’m not sweet .”

  “Uh-huh.” She turned back to the screen, and started pulling up more data from Zhim’s storage area. She scanned the information for a moment, and then she frowned. “Zhim, what’s this ?”

  “What are you doing? You shouldn’t be in there!” He reached out to touch the controls .

  She batted his hand away, staring at the screen. Her brain working through what it was seeing .

  “You’ve only been charging Galen for a fraction of the work you do for the House of Galen. You’ve been supplying him with all kinds of data on abused and underage slaves who need saving. And the calls to Earth via the wormholes…” Her eyes widened. “Jeez, the tech you need to make the calls alone is worth a small fortune.” She looked up at him. “You’re losing money .”

  He scowled. “I have plenty of money .”

  “So does the House of Galen.” She shook her head. “You come across as so arrogant and…mercenary .”

  “I am .”

  She tapped the screen. “You’ve done work for other people, as well, for ridiculously cheap amounts. Almost for free.” She scrolled through the files. He’d helped people to track down missing kids. He’d supplied data to people in danger of losing their homes and businesses. “And there are thank-you messages in here from all the students you’ve worked with from the Kor Magna College for Information Systems .”

  She looked up at him .

  His body was rigid, his jaw tight. He stared over her shoulder at the wall .

  “Why?” she asked .

  “I came from nothing,” he bit out. “I know what it’s like to lose what little you have.” His chest moved with a ragged breath. “I know what it’s like to befriend someone, to finally not be alone, and then have them disappear two days later. Or worse, to have them stab a knife in you, so they can take your food .”

  Ryan felt her heart crack open. “How did you survive ?”

  His gaze moved to her now, those nebula eyes hot. “I got older, wiser, and learned to trust no one. I learned to evade the predators who came to my planet looking for kids no one would notice went missing .”

  A bad taste filled her mouth .

  “I learned that I could only depend on myself.” He dragged in a breath. “One day, I saw a man drop a portable comp. It smashed, and since it was broken, he left it. I collected all the pieces and fiddled with it for days. I pulled it apart and put it back together. I got it working.” His face changed, the tension smoothing out. “I taught myself to use it, and then I started hacking into the public terminals. That’s where I first learned that knowledge is power. And once you know something, nobody can ever take it away from you .”

  Ryan felt tears pricking her eyes. He was another survivor. She walked up to him, pressing against his chest. “Why don’t you tell Galen that you’re helping him and the others? Why hide behind the façade of the arrogant information merchant ?”

  “I am an arrogant information merchant. Like I said, knowledge is power, Ryan.” He lifted a hand and stroked her back. “If you give people too much, they always betray you .”

  Zhim didn’t even know how to connect with people, and it was clear he was afraid to. She cupped his cheek. “I won’t betray you.” She went on her toes and pressed a kiss to his lips .

  Suddenly, he nudged her back, and her butt hit the edge of the desk. As he lifted her onto the smooth surface, things fell to the floor .

  “You could.” His big, hot body pressed against hers. His mouth traveled down her neck, nipping at her skin. “You terrify me most of all .”

  “And that makes you angry .”

  “Yes.” His teeth nipped at a tendon in her neck .

  Ryan’s head fell back and she cried out. “There’s no reward without any risk, Zhim. You can’t simply hide up here in your tower .”

  “I can do whatever I want.” The arrogant edge was back in his voice .

  She pushed him away. She wasn’t going to let him keep hiding. She’d bust through that shell of his, no matter what she had to do. “If you’re mad at me, then maybe you should punish me .”

  He stilled, and Ryan turned over, her hips pressed to the desk. She wiggled her ass at him .

  A gleam entered his eyes. “Item number three on your list. Spanking .”

  “We need to meet the others in an hour.” Another wiggle. “So you’d better be quick .”

  His big hand palmed her ass. He lifted the edge of her borrowed shirt up, and cool air hit her skin. She hadn’t
bothered with panties, since he’d destroyed hers .

  “Your skin is so smooth,” he murmured .

  The sharp smack of his palm on her bottom made her gasp. Her entire body quivered. The sweet pain didn’t really hurt, it enhanced the desire growing inside her .

  He smacked her other cheek, and she swallowed a moan .

  His hands dipped between her legs. “So wet. I think you like it, Ryan. A lot .”

  He spanked her again. She anticipated each slap of his palm, whimpering. He started a pattern of two smacks, followed by fondling her, teasing her with a thick finger .

  “Do you like it?” Smack .

  She cried out .

  “Tell me, Ryan.” Smack .

  “Yes.” She pushed against his palm. She was dripping between her legs, her belly tight with need .

  He spanked her a few more times, and then she heard him open his trousers. In the next moment, his long cock was filling her. He grunted as he lodged deep inside her .

  “Fuck me, Zhim .”

  “I am.” As he thrust inside her, she heard him murmuring her name over and over .

  Ryan gave herself up to the pleasure. There were so many secrets in her sexy alien, and she wanted to learn them all .

  Chapter Seven

  W ith tension making his shoulders tight, Zhim led Ryan around a dilapidated building on the outskirts of Kor Magna. The early-morning light was murky, and the air was hushed, but the temperature was already rising .

  A large silhouette appeared out of the gloom, followed by another and another. Zhim tensed, and then the lead shape resolved into Galen. The imperator was clothed all in black, as usual, and right behind him stood another black-clad, dark-haired man, wearing a coat that hit at his knees. His gloved hands were held lightly by his sides .

  Magnus Rone. As the cyborg imperator turned, Zhim fought back the faint sensation that warned him this man was dangerous. Magnus inclined his head, the faint light hitting the metallic implant at his temple, and enhancing the neon glow of his right eye. Zhim knew that beneath the glove and sleeve, one of his arms was made entirely of metal .

  Raiden, Thorin, and Harper stood behind Galen. Ryan moved forward to hug the other woman .

  A final man emerged from the gloom with a swagger. Corsair’s tawny hair was tied back, and the man looked like he hadn’t slept, with dark shadows under his eyes. His shirt was crisscrossed with a leather bandolier loaded with knives. “Let’s get moving .”

  Galen nodded .

  Together, their group moved quietly and stealthily to the point that Ryan and Zhim had identified as the best place to break into Gabriez’s labyrinth .

  He pulled out his portable comp screen, and watched Ryan do the same. They both started the hack .

  “Move lightly,” Zhim murmured. “We just need to break a small hole in here, so we don’t trigger her system security .”

  Ryan nodded. “I’m going to ping her security on the other side of her maze. Get her guards checking in the wrong place, so they don’t see us slipping in over here .”

  “Sneaky.” Zhim smiled at her. “I like that .”

  Ryan winked .

  “I’ll set the cameras in this part of the labyrinth on a loop,” he added .

  “So once you punch through the security system, how are we getting in?” Harper asked .

  “On the other side of this wall is a drainage tunnel that leads straight to the labyrinth,” Ryan said .

  “That’s a pretty solid wall we have to get through,” Raiden said .

  Magnus pulled out a device and stepped forward. He pressed it against the stone. “Tell me when the security system is down .”

  Zhim’s comp beeped and he nodded. “Go .”

  The small device started moving, crawling around in a perfect oval, burning a two-foot-tall hole through the stone. A second later, it finished a loop and the stone disintegrated in a puff of dust .

  “Drak,” Raiden murmured .

  “We have thirty seconds before I need to close this up,” Zhim said. “Go. Go .”

  Corsair shouldered through first. The rest all filed through the hole, dropping down into the damp drainage tunnel. Zhim reset the security, and then followed. He jumped into the tunnel behind the others, his boots splashing in the dirty water. Ahead, he watched Corsair and Magnus remove a grate that led into the labyrinth .

  Zhim moved up close to Ryan, and together, they entered Gabriez’s domain .

  “Don’t trust your eyes,” he warned. “She distorts everything. You can never trust that what you see is real .”

  “Send me the woman’s location.” Magnus pushed up his sleeve to reveal a small screen strapped to his metal wrist .

  “Sending now,” Zhim answered .

  Galen and Magnus took the lead, Corsair and the gladiators falling into position behind them. Zhim stayed one step behind Ryan as they moved deeper into the tunnels. He had a small map on his comp screen that showed Neve’s location. They had a lot of labyrinth to cover to reach her .

  Bright lights strobed through darkness. From nearby, a scream echoed off the stone walls. Zhim tensed. He hated that Ryan was down here in this horrible place. She’d already suffered at Zaabha. She deserved to never be trapped in a dark place, ever again .

  They turned another corner and kept moving. Suddenly, Galen and Magnus stopped, both men stiffening .

  Everyone on the team froze .

  Zhim looked around, and then his chest hitched. The walls shimmered, and bright light speared into his eyes .

  He no longer saw the dark walls of the labyrinth, instead he was on the barren, dusty streets of Skora. He felt the gnaw of hunger in his belly, and the sting of healing cuts and bruises on his arms .

  He was a teenager again. Alone and afraid .

  A sound cut through his nightmare. A woman’s strangled cry. He turned his head, and a small woman stumbled into him. A woman with dark eyes, dark hair, and pale skin .

  Ryan .

  He shook off the hallucination and grabbed her. “Ryan. It’s not real .”

  “Thraxians.” Her voice was dripping with fear .

  “And I see Skora. It’s not real .”

  He looked around, and one-by-one, the gladiators flickered into view. Raiden’s jaw was clenched tight, Thorin’s hands were squeezed into fists, and Harper was quickly shaking her head, her face pale. Zhim didn’t stop to wonder what horrors they were seeing. He reached out and gripped Galen’s arm .

  “Galen, we have to keep moving .”

  The imperator turned his head. His single, icy-blue eye was filled with dark horrors, before the man clamped his teeth together and nodded. “Stay close. We have to keep each other from getting confused .”

  Zhim threaded his fingers through Ryan’s. They slowly moved down a wide tunnel, and beyond the influence of the device that had trapped them in their nightmares .

  “I thought Catalyst’s tech was bad.” Raiden blew out a breath. “He was an amateur compared to this .”

  “I see life signs showing ahead in the tunnels,” Magnus murmured. “We need to be careful .”

  All of a sudden, a giant, horned alien charged out of a tunnel in front of them. Gray skin covered its body, and huge, black horns swept back from its head, falling halfway down its back. It opened a fang-filled mouth, and let out a primal growl .

  Galen drew his sword off his back, then moved lightning fast. He sprang forward, and, with a few swings of his sword, he cut the creature down, not even breaking a sweat .

  Zhim had heard that Galen had been unstoppable in the arena in the early days of his arrival on Kor Magna. He’d made a fortune on the sand in order to set up his own House. Clearly, he hadn’t let those skills or reflexes go dull .

  The tunnel ended at a metal door .

  “Neve is on the other side,” Zhim said .

  “It’s locked,” Galen said .

  “Let me.” Ryan moved closer, linking her comp to the door controls. Tumblers whirred for a moment, and
the door slid open .

  This new part of the labyrinth was covered in mirrored surfaces. Zhim saw their reflections looking back at them, distorted and somehow strange. He moved along the tunnel, cursing Gabriez and her insatiable need to play games .

  The sound of fighting echoed ahead .

  They came out of the tunnel into a large, open space. Zhim spotted a lean, hooded figure fighting against a giant creature. The insect-like alien was the size of a transport, with a powerful body, and eight skittering legs .

  “Neve,” Ryan breathed .

  Zhim’s gaze zeroed in on the hooded figure. As the fighter ducked the swing of the insect’s leg, the ragged hood fell back, uncovering dark hair and a face too angular to be called beautiful .

  Neve jumped and swung the staff she carried. She twirled, leaping, and broke the alien’s leg with a sharp hit. The creature screeched, and suddenly its body flickered, going momentarily invisible .

  The woman kept fighting, even when she couldn’t see her opponent. She was relentless .

  Corsair charged across the space. The alien blinked back into view, and the gladiators rushed to help .

  Another blink and the creature went invisible. Neve swiveled, and the monster slammed into her, sending her flying backward .

  “Neve!” Corsair yelled .

  Zhim’s comp pinged. He cursed. “Gabriez is working to get the cameras back up.” He tapped frantically. He couldn’t let her find out they were here .

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Galen, Magnus, and the others circle the alien. Corsair snatched Neve into his arms, and got her to safety. The creature made a terrible sound, spinning around in circles, trying to find an escape. The gladiators attacked. The creature bucked and screeched, but the gladiators brought it down with powerful hacks and stabs. It collapsed in a pile of legs and hard carapace .

  Zhim turned his head, and spotted Corsair, crouched with Neve in his arms. The woman’s head had fallen back over the man’s arm. She was unconscious. When Zhim saw her face, he winced. She was heavily bruised and battered, from surviving days in the labyrinth .