Chapter 4

4

I ce washed through her veins as he backed her up against the terrace railing. Her fingers gripped the cool metal behind her. He’d blocked her escape and he outweighed her by more than she wanted to think about, but, unlike he seemed to think, she wasn’t entirely helpless.

“You ran from me,” he growled, towering over her. His eyes glinted in the shadows. She felt like prey. “That ends now.”

She kept her breathing steady and her spine ramrod straight. No violence, she reminded herself as she fought the urge to punch him in the throat—Murphy’s orders.

“Commander, step back.” She ordered, her voice an icy whip in the air. “This is entirely inappropriate?—”

The rest of her words disappeared as he surged forward, his mouth crashing down on hers. The kiss was brutal and possessive, catching her by surprise.

His teeth scraped against her lips, and bile rose in her throat. His taste was wrong—metallic and alien, like licking a battery. She shoved at his chest as hard as she could, but it was like trying to move a steel bulkhead.

He pressed closer, interpreting her struggles as encouragement rather than resistance. A hard hand tangled in her hair, yanking painfully as he deepened the unwanted kiss. Copper filled her mouth as his teeth nicked her lip, and panic clawed at her chest with razor-sharp talons, making it hard to breathe.

She struck out wildly, slamming her fists into his sides in targeted blows that would have dropped a human opponent instantly. But he wasn’t human; he was latharian, and it was like hitting solid steel. Each impact sent jarring pain through her hands, but she couldn’t… wouldn’t stop fighting. Her lungs burned for air as K’raan growled into the kiss, the sound more threatening than passionate. Spots danced at the edges of her vision, and panic hit again. She was going to pass out…

K’raan was torn away and she stumbled forward, gasping for air, her legs threatening to give way. Through tear-blurred vision, she saw Rhade, his massive frame vibrating with a fury she’d seen before. He held K’raan by the throat, lifting the slightly smaller Latharian off his feet.

“You dare touch what is mine?” Rhade’s voice was barely recognizable, a guttural snarl that sent shivers down her spine. His muscles bulged beneath his flight suit, violence written in every line of his body.

K’raan’s laugh was ugly… a challenge even as he dangled from Rhade’s grip.

“Yours?” He spat. “You haven’t claimed her yet. Which means she’s free game, sub-c ommander.”

Rhade snarled, the sound vicious and full of menace. The first punch landed with a sickening crack that echoed across the terrace. K’raan’s head snapped back, dark blood spraying from his nose, but he recovered with frightening speed. Twisting free of Rhade’s grip, he launched forward with a roar and collided with Rhade. They crashed into a nearby table, sending glasses shattering across the floor in a crystalline explosion.

“Stop!” Evelyn’s barked order went unheard as the two massive aliens grappled. She darted forward, trying to get between them, but a wayward arm—she couldn’t tell whose—sent her stumbling back. “Stop this, both of you! Right now!”

They still ignored her and she was forced back to the edge of the terrace, back pressed against the railing.

The fight was unlike anything she’d ever seen before. Despite their size, they moved with lethal grace, and each blow was delivered with enough power to shatter bone. They fought with the practiced skill of trained warriors but with a savagery that spoke to something deeper, more primitive. Blood spattered across the pristine floor, marking the steps of their deadly dance.

K’raan slammed a right hook into Rhade’s jaw, snapping his head around. Rhade barely noticed the injury, merely shaking his head and throwing a punch that sent K’raan crashing into a decorative column. The impact cracked the stone, sending fragments skittering across the floor.

Each impact made her flinch, her heart racing as the two aliens tried and take each other apart with their fists. Each time Rhade’s blood splattered across the floor, she winced a little more.

“Rhade, stand down! He’s not worth it!” She ordered, her voice louder. She might think he was a bit of an ass, but he was hers… no, she corrected herself. He was her student, and she owed him a duty of care.

K’raan recovered from the impact with the column, shaking off stone dust as he charged forward again. Rhade met him halfway, big bodies slamming into each other in the middle of the terrace. In their struggle, they careened toward where she stood, their massive bodies locked in combat.

She tried to dodge but knew before she’d finished the movement that she wouldn’t be fast enough. The impact when they slammed into her was like being hit by a vehicle. Pain exploded through her body as she hit the wall, the air driven from her lungs in a sharp cry.

Her cry cut through the two alien's battle fury like a knife. Both froze, turning to her with identical expressions of horror. The transformation on their faces would have been comical in any other situation—but she hurt too much to find it funny.

Rhade moved toward her first, his face transformed by concern, but K’raan blocked his path with a snarl that showed his blood-stained teeth.

“You’ll pay for this interference, Commander,” K’raan spat, blood dripping from his split lip and running down his chin in dark rivulets. “Attacking a superior officer?—”

“That is quite enough!” The commanding voice cut through the tension like a blade through flesh and everyone on the terrace froze

President Murphy stood in the doorway, face hard with fury. His presence filled the space despite his human size. Behind him loomed a Latharian in a dress uniform, the sash across his broad chest and short hair marking as much higher in rank than K’raan or Rhade. K’raan’s face drained of color.

“Mr. President, Lord Diplomat, I—” he wheedled, but Murphy’s sliced a hand in the air for silence.

“Sub-ambassador T’reen,” Murphy’s voice was arctic, carrying the weight of diplomatic authority and personal fury in equal measure. “I suggest you remain silent before you make this situation worse for yourself. Ambassador K’Riat would like a word with you about appropriate diplomatic conduct.”

The high-ranking Latharian—Ambassador K’Riat—stepped forward, his expression promising consequences that made K’raan’s earlier threats seem childish. He moved with the fluid grace of a career warrior, each step measured and precise, and K’raan’s swagger evaporated, replaced by something approaching fear.

Murphy’s gaze softened as he looked at her.

“General, please escort Commander Rhade to the landing pad. We’ll discuss this incident later.”

Evelyn nodded as she pushed herself to her feet, ignoring the protest of her bruised body. Her legs were shaky, but she forced them to hold her weight. The taste of blood still lingered in her mouth from K’raan’s unwanted kiss, making her stomach turn.

“Of course, Mr. President. My report will be on your desk in the morning.”

Without a word or backward glance, she stalked back through the door into the ballroom and straight out the opposite door, leaving behind the sounds of Murphy’s controlled fury and Ambassador K’Riat’s rumbling voice beginning what promised to be a very unpleasant conversation with K’raan.

Good. The asshole deserved it.

As for the one following her… well, he could stew in his own juices on the way back to the base.