Chapter 6

6

Vengeance wanted to roar in jubilation. He'd found one. A female. Well, he'd found three, but the others didn't interest him. All his attention was on his little warrior. Her hair was like moon-kissed steel, cut short at the sides and left long and curly on the top. He'd only seen hair like hers in vids. All his brothers had straight hair similar to his own. He wanted to gather her into his arms and bury his face in those silvery curls. Were they as soft as the skin of her cheek? He thought they would be.

Soon he'd find out for himself.

He had believed she was his from the first moment he'd caught her scent. It wasn't the same as his, but it was similar in the same way that Hope's matched Menace's. Even still, he had not been prepared for the raw power that erupted when they first connected. All she did was touch his arm, but in that moment, he was lost to everything but her.

Part of his mind had screamed at him to pin her against the nearest flat surface and lay claim to her body. His cock had turned to steel and throbbed in time with his pounding heart.

Her defiance only made him want her more. The scrawnies were terrified of their creations. Bysshe had never been afraid of them, but he'd never challenged them, either. The android was controlled, deliberate, and thoughtful in all his interactions with Vengeance and his clan-brothers. He was also the closest they had ever had to a father figure.

Loris was different. She had fire in her soul, and her body was beautiful. Strong. Powerful. He'd broken more than his share of the pleasure bots the verexi had provided for their use. With Loris, he wouldn't have to worry. She was not delicate or meek in any way. She was his match in every way, even if she hadn't accepted that yet. Once they were safely away from this place, he'd show her the true meaning of pleasure. How many orgasms would it take to convince her she belonged to him? He looked forward to finding out.

When the females were ready, they all gathered near the fire. The three humans stood together, watching Vengeance and his brothers with open interest along with some trepidation. Trust would come, but not yet.

He rummaged in the bag he wore slung over one shoulder until he found what he was looking for. He handed the blaster to Risk. "You will need this more than I will."

His clan-brothers stared at the weapon. Then, with a snarl, Havoc cuffed him in the back of the head. He saw it coming and decided not to react. Now wasn't the time for them to argue.

"You took one of the weapons from the cache? That's forbidden!" Havoc said.

He laughed it off. "You think I was the only one? Nearly half the stash was missing when I got there."

"Bysshe will skin you all alive and recycle your hides to make more of those jumpsuits he likes," Havoc muttered.

"He will have to catch us first." Vengeance wanted to be gone already. Night was falling, and Loris was unfamiliar with the dangers of this place. The planet they'd crashed onto was full of threats, and a great many of them were nocturnal.

He offered Risk the weapon again. "Keep the blaster. You can use it to protect your female. Havoc and I will vanish into the woods soon. The mercenaries won't find us. They will come for you and this ship."

Risk finally took the weapon. "I will be waiting for them. They can't have it."

"The ship or the female?" Havoc asked.

"Both."

So at least one of his brothers had learned what he already knew. The three females were destined to become their mates. Loris for him, Hope for Risk, and the soft-spoken Maddison belonged to Havoc. Or she would once his brother figured it out. He wondered how long it would take. Longer than him, anyway. That was good enough for him.

"I feel the same about my little warrior. Mine ." He stressed the last word and added a low growl at the end to make his point clear.

Havoc scrubbed a hand through his beard and looked thoughtful. "I don't know if Maddison is mine…but she needs my protection. She is too gentle for this world. And for me."

Vengeance nodded. Hope had a quiet strength to her, but Maddison was wary, her eyes shadowed with remembered pain. He'd seen it before. All the fa'rel had endured torture and experimentation at the hands of their captors. They rarely spoke of it, but they didn't need to. They all bore scars on their bodies and on their psyches.

It was time to go. He and his brothers locked eyes and nodded once. They bowed their heads and knocked horns in a ritual they'd created for themselves.

"Good hunting, my brothers."

Vengeance took Loris by the hand and led her into the trees. Havoc gestured for Maddison to follow him and went a different way. The two women looked uncertain, and Loris made a low sound of protest. "We're not traveling together?"

"No. Separate is safer. Four of us traveling together would make it difficult to mask our trail."

"You don't understand. Maddison is my…" Loris sighed. "She pays me to protect her. I should stay with her."

He shook his head. "Havoc is her protector now. And I am yours."

His little warrior looked entirely unimpressed at this announcement. "I can take care of myself."

"Anywhere else, I would agree with you, but not here. This is my home. You need to trust me to keep you safe."

Even in the fading light, he saw the way her eyes crinkled and her lips twitched into a brief grin. "The local wildlife isn't the only thing I'm worried about, big guy. As it happens, you're at the top of my potential threat list."

He tightened his grip on her hand, reveling in how well it fit inside his larger one. "I'm the most dangerous thing in these woods, but I'm not interested in hurting you." He turned to stare down at her, his grin wide enough she could see his fangs. "The only screams you'll make tonight are ones of pleasure."

"There will be no screaming of any kind unless you piss me off. If that happens, I can't guarantee you won't be making all sorts of unhappy noises."

She was magnificent like this, her words lashing out like knives in the dark and her warrior spirit on full display.

"Why do you deny it? I know you feel the same things I do." He drew in a long breath. "I smell your need, little one. You are a feast for my senses. I want to know it all. The feel of your bare skin, the taste of your mouth, the heat of your—"

"Whoa! I haven't agreed to anything apart from going with you so we can do our best to stay alive. I'm not thrilled about anything that's happened since the ship went down. No matter what you think you smell, I am not in the mood!"

She slowed for a moment to look up at him. "I don't understand any of this. Why the hell would you want me? Do you hit on every female you come across? I mean, you're young, hot as hell, and quite literally horny…" She gestured to his horns. "But does this approach actually work for you?"

It was all he could do not to stop and demand she explain herself. He wasn't hitting her. He'd never do that. Confused and distracted by her comments, he led her through the trees. They moved slowly, careful not to leave more traces of their passage than necessary.

The last traces of daylight faded away within minutes, leaving them to navigate in the dark. No moon brightened the sky for now, but the starlight was enough to let him find their way.

At first, Loris kept up with him, but once it went completely dark, her pace fell off. "How the fuck can you see anything? It's as dark as a black hole at midnight out here."

"The scrawnies created us to fight the wars they couldn't. They designed us to have every advantage possible over their enemies. Night vision, higher pain tolerance, strength, endurance, even faster healing."

Loris stumbled and bumped into him. "They made you?" she asked.

"They did. I was raised in a lab and tested on more times than there are stars in the sky."

He waited, unsure what her reaction would be. It wasn't what he expected. She leaned into him, close enough strands of her hair caressed his arm. "That must have been hard. I'm sorry, Vengeance."

"You have nothing to apologize for. The verexi experimented on me. On us. None of the other species were involved." He thought for a moment and then added, "The scrawnies kept us a secret."

"Saying I'm sorry is an expression. A way to offer sympathy. As for the scrawnies, I can understand why those brittle bundles of sticks wanted to create super soldiers, but I can't believe they actually did it."

"That's why we're here. On this planet. The experiment didn't work, and they wanted to get rid of the evidence." He slapped his chest. "That meant killing all of us. Only we didn't let that happen."

"How many of you are there?" she asked, her voice gentler than he'd ever heard her before.

"Nine now. Some died long ago. Ravage died when our ship crashed. Shatter was killed by a venomous creature that lives in the water. My clan-brother Rage was killed trying to escape. We think that was when they decided to get rid of us."

"Interesting names you have. I don't suppose one of you is called Rainbow or Snuggles or something like that."

He scoffed at the mere idea. "We named ourselves. Do you imagine any of my brothers would choose such a name?"

"What about your sisters?"

"The scrawnies never created any females."

Loris made a disgusted sound. "Of course they didn't. They probably thought males would make better fighters."

"They might have. Or they might not have considered it. They have no gender." He shuddered slightly. "They threatened to castrate us if we continued to defy orders. I think they might have done it, but Bysshe reminded them that they wanted soldiers, so making us less aggressive wasn't a good idea."

"Wait. There are no females on this planet? None at all? And you came here straight from the verexi lab?"

"You are the first female I have ever touched, little warrior." He gave in to his desire and drew her into his arms. "I like this."

To his amusement, she bumped her hip against the hard ridge of his cock. "I can tell. But now I think I understand why you're interested. You've never been near a woman before. You're young, randy, and gods…are you a virgin?"

He didn't want to stay here long. They had to get further from the shuttle before they set up camp for the night, but he needed to clear up something first.

"I've had sex. Many, many times. Only with pleasure bots, but some of them had instructional programs. I rated very highly on their assessment tests."

"I just bet you did," she whispered.

Her words broke his mind. He forgot about the need to get clear of the shuttle. He moved his hand to the back of her head, holding her still as he leaned over to kiss her. He had to know what she tasted like.

He brushed his mouth over hers, feeling the silken warmth of her lips. She started to stiffen in his arms. He knew she was about to tell him to stop, so he cut off her words with a kiss.

Perfection. Soft. Silky. Warm. He ran his tongue across the seam of her lips, and she parted them for him with a moan that vibrated across his tongue and all the way to his cock.

Their tongues tangled, her fingers curving into his biceps as she rose on her toes to kiss him back. This was so much better than he'd imagined. Every second was new and unpredictable. Her surrender was glorious, and the scent of her arousal was the sweetest scent in all the worlds.

"Mine," he growled against her mouth.

She laughed and nipped his lip. "No. This is merely a moment of temporary insanity. That's all. Enjoy it while it lasts."

She still didn't understand. This wasn't temporary. It was forever. He would never let her go. Did she think she could walk away now? Or choose another of his brothers? Never . He'd kill anyone who touched her.

"You will stay with me. Always. You are my female. The one I will cherish, protect, and pleasure in any way you desire."

The kiss ended when she shook her head. "I'm old, Vengeance. Too old for you. No man has ever been really interested in me, even when I was young." She laughed softly. "And that was a long time ago. I'm not what you want. You just don't know it yet."

He snarled, caught her by the waist, and kissed her until she stopped trying to escape his hold.

"I know what I want." He grabbed one of her hands and drew it down between his legs, letting her feel how hard he was. "You are my female, Loris. I will never stop wanting you. That is how it is with Menace and my brothers. They have claimed the other females. I saw Hope. She looked at my brother with affection. She touched him without fear. She proclaimed him as her mate to all within hearing. This is how it will be."

"You don't know what you're saying. You don't know a thing about me."

Her voice was softer now, filled with the first whispers of doubt. He kissed her again. "I know enough. I was certain the moment I caught your scent. You were meant for me." He nuzzled her cheek.

Again she laughed, but she rested her hands on his shoulders, her fingers caressing him in small circles that made him crave more. Would it be wrong to take her now? To lift her so she could wrap her legs around his waist as he drove himself into her body? Fuck, he wanted to, but there was a reason he couldn't. What was it? He had to fight through the lust that fogged his mind to remember. The enemy. Yes. Someone would come to investigate. They had to go.

"Soon," he promised her as he kissed her again. "We'll do this again soon, but we must go. The moons will rise in an hour or so, but we can't wait. Walk behind me with your hands on my back. I will guide you."

"I can do that. You can be my own personal seeing-eye-sex-god."

"There's a god of sex?" he asked as she moved into place behind him.

"I only meant you're very attractive."

He chuckled. "I will be your sex god. You'll see."

Loris didn't answer, but she didn't have to. They both knew he spoke the truth.