Leverage I intended to use very carefully.
Xandros sighed, making it known that he was already tired of this. “Perhaps we should focus on the part where your crew and prisoners are still my guests.”
“Yes,” I agreed immediately, grateful for the interruption. I seized the opening like a lifeline. “Perhaps we should." I lifted my chin. “You want cooperation? Start by giving me some reassurance that ourgueststatus isn't just temporary. Then we’ll talk about what else I know. Until then, I have nothing more to say.”
Thyros’ jaw tightened. The aura around him flared once—crimson threaded with gold—before he forced it back under control.
“Careful, little rebel,” he murmured, keeping his voice low enough that only I could hear. “Some doors, once opened, cannot be closed again.”
The words sent an unwelcome shiver down my spine. Because I had the terrible feeling he wasn’t just talking about my crew. He was talking about us. Somehow, he had also picked up that I was part of the rebellion.
Ella turned toward Xandros before anyone else could speak. Her voice stayed calm, but there was steel under it, the kind that came from someone who had already survived gods and abductions and still chose kindness anyway. “She's right, Commander, can't you give her some reassurance?”
Xandros studied her for a long moment, then looked at me. A slow, wary smile curved his mouth, the kind of smile a predator gives when it decides the prey might be useful. "You're just going to have to trust me."
I snorted. Trust was the last thing in the universe I could afford.
“You will receive guest quarters,” he repeated. “But let’s be clear.” His gaze flicked to me. “You’ll be treated as guests…with shadows. My people will be watching. Closely. One wrong move, one attempt to reach your ship or your weapons, and the hospitality ends.”
I lifted my chin. He was right. I did have to trust him. For now. “I’d expect nothing less from an empire that likes to own everything it touches.”
Ashley snorted softly behind him, clearly amused. Xandros only inclined his head, the smile never reaching his eyes. “Smart female.”
I stepped forward slowly, testing the freedom, every muscle coiled. Thyros fell into step beside me, while two of Xandros’ security officers fell in behind me as we left the holding block. The others stayed behind.
The corridor narrowed, creating a funnel in case prisoners escaped. The walls pressed close enough that Thyros’ shoulder brushed mine with every step. The bondroaredto life.
Heat slammed through me so violently, my next breath caught. My blood rushed through me like an electrical current. Fire bloomed in my belly. I felt him—felthim—like a phantom hand sliding down my spine, cupping my ass, spreading me open. A memory that wasn’t a memory flashed behind my eyes: his big body pinning me to the wall, his cock buried deep while I screamed his name in a language older than the stars.
The moment was so vivid, I stumbled. Thyros’ hand shot out, steadying me at the elbow. The second his skin touched mine, the bond surged hotter. My core clenched hard around nothing. A low, desperate sound tried to climb up my throat, and I bit it back.
Suddenly, the ship shuddered.
Lights flickered. A low alarm pulsed once. The deck plating groaned as a power fluctuation ripped through the lower levels. The two guards cursed and sprinted ahead toward the junction panel.
“Stay here!” one shouted. “We’ll have it fixed in thirty seconds.”
The emergency bulkhead slammed down behind them with a heavy clang, sealing the narrow funnel. Trapping Thyros and me alone.
Ten feet of dim corridor. No doors. No cameras. Just the two of us and the bond that had been clawing at us since the moment our eyes met in the cell. My back hit the wall before I realized I’d moved. Thyros was on me in the next heartbeat, one hand braced beside my head, the other hovering an inch from my waist like he didn’t trust himself to touch me. Our breathing filled the tight space, ragged, too loud.
“Back up,” I whispered. But my hands were already fisting in the front of his uniform, pulling him closer.
“I’m trying.” His voice sounded like gravel and fire. “The bond doesn’t care what we want.”
Another flash slammed into me, the two of us in a pool—no, a lake. Our arms were entwined, our feet were treading water to keep us afloat, while our bodies were anchored by his cock inside me and our fused lips. I felt the thickness of his phantom shaft. But when my pussy clamped, it found nothing to hold on to, making me moan with desperation, need, and frustration. I wasn't sure if I was more frustrated by him not being inside me or because those images kept coming at me. Either way, my thighs shook. My clit throbbed. I was soaked.
Thyros’ forehead dropped to mine. Our noses brushed. Our mouths were so close I could taste his breath.
“Naeris…” The way he said my name sounded like worship and ruin at the same time.
My fingers tightened in his uniform. One of my thighs shifted, pressing against the thick, hard length of him through his pants. He groaned—low, almost broken like he was fighting this… whatever this was as much as I—and rocked forward once,grinding against me. The friction tore a soft, desperate sound from my throat.
His hand slid down, his palm flattened over my hip, then lower, fingers digging into the curve of my ass as he pulled me harder against his cock.
“I can smell how wet you are,” he rasped against my mouth. “I can feel how badly you want me to fill you right here.”
My head fell back against the wall with a soft thunk. My hips rolled against him instinctively. “I hate you for this.”
