Tor
Jane’s voicerang with a deadly calm, but her words set my hearts racing. “Wewill complete this mission, ljona.” I tucked my hand under her chin and turned her face to mine. “That I vow to you.”
She shot me a weak smile as she reclaimed our seat.
I knelt beside the chair on one knee and took her hand. Her breath hitched. “From henceforth, I am yours.” I placed my free hand against my sternum. “My kedara, my life’s blood, flows for you. My body is your shield. I swear no harm will come to you less I am fallen.” I kissed her knuckles. “You are safe in my care.”
“Tor,” she whispered my name like a benediction. Her ocean blue eyes glistened. “I don’t know what to say.” I rose as she spoke. “No one has ever made me a promise like that.”
Sliding in next to her, I grasped her waist and placed her in my lap where she belonged. “I am glad I’m the first, then.”
Tapping the tip of my nose with her pointer finger, she laughed. “Still the cocky commander.”
I drew her waggling finger into my mouth, gently running my tongue around it. With her soft intake of breath and blossoming arousal, I would have happily taken her for round two. But sadly, we had a job to do. I set her free and spoke in her ear. “We need a distraction to escape the party unnoticed.”
“I agree.” Her wild hair tickled my neck as she replied. “And it has to be before this dessert happens. I have a bad feeling about it.”
“All right, let’s decide on a strategy to—”
The gong reverberated through the room, rung this time by one of the waiter bots from earlier. Mulo remained on his platform with his harem. One of his guards strutted to the center of the table with a piece of fabric in hand. “And now, the great Capo,” he motioned toward the Mangox leader, who simply nodded at him in answer, “presents the final course of the lustrara tempara.” An array of bots and aliens emerged from behind the back curtain. Each held a similar piece of fabric between their claws, hands, or robotic arms. The guard raised his sash over his head and the assembled behind him mirrored the movement. “Behold your dessert!”
The crowd went into an uproar, hooting, howling, and shouting their praise. Cries of “Capo! Capo!” went up as the fabric was handed out to the guests.
“Tor, I don’t like this.” Jane’s hands dug into my side.
I didn’t have the same fear as her, but anger slid through me at her distress. I wanted to murder whoever caused it. “Here you are.” A bot handed me a piece of purple fabric, and then a second orange one. “And for your lady.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled, unsure what was happening. I’d heard of lustrara tempara before. The hedonistic parties were legendary in the Meta Sector and rumors abounded, but I’d never been to one. I preferred my encounters on the more intimate side, and now that I had a mate, well, all I needed was her.
“Now, my friends,” the capo rose with his strip of purple tied around his head, “to those with slaves in attendance, you’ll want to tie the orange sash around their eyes.” He motioned to one of the females in his harem, who was blindfolded with the orange strip. “Any wearing purple are in command. Those who wear orange,” he cocked his head toward us, staring pointedly at Jane, “are up for the taking. Claim your treats!”
I surged to my feet. Nothing would stop me from unleashing my rage on this bastard. “You dare.” I flung both sashes to the floor. Another gong rang out as if punctuating my ire.
Jane rose and balled her hands into fists, prepping for the oncoming fight.
The Mangox crexer had the gall to cast us a grin while he reached for his com unit. I walked toward him, assessing my prey. Jane was in step beside me. As we got closer, a crisp communique came through his unit, “Boss, we have a situation.”
His malignant gaze remained on us as he spoke into the com, “Iam about to have a situation here. You need to bring all the guards.”
“But Capo, we’ve received a call from the pleasure cruiser.” The static ticked up a notch, but the messenger’s voice remained clear. “They’ve had some type of an emergency, and the ship is in self-destruct mode.”
“WHAT?” Mulo’s roar threw metaphorical ice water on the participants. The music stopped abruptly, and all attention turned to the capo. “Incompetent floks.” The Mangox leader whirled away from us, too lost in his call to care about our approach.
I didn’t give a damn. I wanted to knock his crexing head off. I’d been in too many battles to count, but I’d never felt this rush of emotion, this bloodthirsty drive. I’d fought on adrenaline and duty. Now, I wanted to burn down the world in my mate’s name.
“Tor.”Myname on her lips had my head spinning—the mix of primal needs a heady concoction. “We have to use this chance.”
The capo paced the room in agitation. “You tell them that ship cost a fortune, and they have no business doing anything without my consent.”
“He’s distracted. He won’t notice our absence.” My ljona tugged my arm toward the exit.
She was right. Of course, she was right. I’d have recommended the most logical choice in any mission scenario, but it didn’t satisfy the craving inside me. “I want to kill him.”
Her long, slender fingers reached for my face and stroked the scruff on my chin. “I know, Commander, so do I.” A shout from the capo drew both our gazes. “He deserves it for his lechery and for holding those poor women captive. But we have a duty to uphold to our people.” The Mangox leader grumbled and stomped across the room. “We need to leave. Now.”
I hated it. In any other situation, I would have taken on the challenge. But I couldn’t. I could not defend my Truxoria’s honor, and that ate at me more than anything. “He dared to dishonor you, Jane.”
She snorted. “If you had any idea how much human women have put up with from our men over the millennia, you would not be worried about that asshole.” Thumbing a finger toward Mulo, she laughed. Then, her gaze shifted to his harem, and them my…vest? “Besides, he’ll get what’s coming to him.” She poked beneath my vest. “May I have one of your knives?”
