Cravr (The Mating Games Book 8) (2 page)

Looking deep into her eyes, she thought he might see into her soul. “I believe you do.” He replied. “Let’s get out of here now.” Cravr motioned for her to walk in front of him to the car. Helping her in, he shut the door then walked around to get in himself.

He started pointing out what the various buildings were and she hadn’t even noticed when they pulled away from where they were parked, she was so caught up in his explanation of the origins of those on Oison. They had driven nearly an hour and were no longer in the community they lived in. It was her understanding that Cravr was over the law enforcement of the entire planet. He helped her out and they walked into a small building.

“This is the local police station for this community.” Cravr explained.

They walked up to a desk where a male sat. When he looked up. A smile came over his face. “You’ve mated?” He looked at Annie who turned a bright shade of red. She could feel the heat as it made her eyes water.

“No, she is my assistant.”

“I was not aware we could get female assistants.”

“It is a test to see how things work. Jorgr has mated and his mate has two sisters, this one is Annie.”

“May I have the other one to assist me?”

“No, Korvix, this is simply for work.”

Korvix sighed heavily. “You get all the luck, Cravr. I would enjoy my work more if I had such a lovely assistant.”

“Tell me about the problems you are having?” Cravr changed the subject and Annie was glad. It was uncomfortable for her.

“We are having equipment destroyed and crops damaged. Someone even set a fire to a field but it was caught quickly and put out before we lost much. They are not even hiding the fact that they are purposely doing this.” Korvix complained.

“Maybe it’s kids playing around.” Annie questioned.

“Our children are not destructive, as many human children can be.” Korvix answered.

“It doesn’t matter. Have you set up the guards as I requested?” Cravr asked.

“Of course. What will we do now?” Korvix wondered.

“I have some surveillance devices in the car. You said they tend to hit the same fields and shops?” Cravr asked.

“Yes, I will go with you to show you the damage.” Korvix offered.

“Okay. Grab what you need and we’ll wait for you in the car.” Cravr directed.

Annie expected to have to sit in the back, but Cravr took her to the same seat, helping her in. Once he got in, she had questions. “Why does his name not end in an r?”

“Not all Mazlan names end in r. Families have certain names that are used in them to honor those that have gone before.”

“Ancestors?”

He nodded. “The r endings are popular in names in the royal families for sons. Both my parents have royal blood. Had they had more sons, they would have gone to names ending in m. Korvix’s family has a proud history in law enforcement. Too proud some would say because his father found wrong doing and would not close his eyes. That’s why he was sent here with his pregnant mate.”

“This was a place to dump political dissidents.” Cravr nodded. The conversation was over when Korvix jumped in the back.

“I’m ready, Cravr. Head straight for about a mile.” Korvix continued to direct them through several turns until finally they came to a stop.

“Here we are.” Korvix said.

She waited until Cravr helped her out and they walked over to where Korvix waited. A piece of machinery stood with the top portion melted. “That took an incredible amount of heat to melt that.” Annie said.

“Someone poured rocket fuel on it and set it aflame.” Cravr observed.

“How do you know?” She wondered.

“Can’t you smell it?” Korvix asked. She shook her head. “Is her nose broken?”

“No, humans can’t scent as well as we do.” Cravr explained. Annie filed away the information to examine later.

There was a shed nearby and they walked to it. Cravr reached up smacking the wall as high as he could. Annie and her sisters had played a game like that when they were kids seeing who could hit the highest. He wasn’t playing a game. His hand left behind a small hard to see object. Everywhere they went he distributed the objects with small unthreatening moves that from a distance appeared like he was playing around. Had he been human, he might have been, but this alien was all business. Annie was learning a lot about him.

He seemed very comfortable with the high tech devices he was distributing even though she knew the situation here had been very primitive until recently. Cravr must be intelligent and adapt easily. Good skills for someone in law enforcement to have. Annie watched him as he investigated the ruined equipment and walked out to the field to look at the scorched area at the edge of the field.

“Rocket fuel again?” She asked as she wrinkled up her nose and breathed in deeply.

Cravr and Korvix chuckled. “No, Annie. They probably just dropped a match.”

“Oh.” She flushed in embarrassment. Annie knew she was good at the office tasks, but it seemed field work wasn’t something she had an affinity for.

“Few people would know that, don’t feel bad.” Cravr observed. “Rocket fuel is hard to get and dangerous to use. I think they would save it for equipment which is harder to damage.”

“That makes sense.” Annie said and shot him a smile. It made her forget they had laughed at her. The next piece of equipment they looked at, had once been a tractor, not much different than the one she had used on the farm. It was melted into a pile of unrecognizable metal, completely useless for any purpose except recycling.

Annie had heard about sabotage on Oison, but she thought they had caught the perpetrators. Looked like they’d missed one, or there was someone new around. The original saboteurs had worked for a company on Earth that bought unprocessed products here, processed them, and then sold them for unbelievable profits. They were the ones that would benefit from these problems on Oison.

“Do you think it is the same group as before?” She asked looking at Cravr.

“Without a doubt.” Cravr and Korvix answered together.

“We will get them soon. They left their scent everywhere.” Korvix explained.

“You have bloodhounds?” She asked.

“Something like that.” Cravr ansered.

Funny, she’d not see anything like dogs except the giant purple wolf that belonged to Razar or as many pet parents would say, Razar and his family belonged to him. “Will I get a chance to see one of them?”

“Maybe.” Crave said noncommittedly.

Chapter 2

Mating Hell

Cravr answered her enthusiastic questions the best he could. She sucked up knowledge like a sea sponge, she was bright and curious. Jorgr had made a terrible decision about putting her here before she mated. The thought of this lovely woman with another made his chest hurt. His inner demon roared wishing to claim her. Was there enough time to accomplish that before the mating games?

He shot a look at the lovely red head that sat in the passenger seat and tried not to drool. Korvix sat in the back waiting to be dropped off at his office. Cravr had a feeling he would be coming back here soon and not for anything good. The demon had felt unfriendly eyes on him as he planted his devices. It had entered his head for a moment to shift and go hunting, but he was sure his shifted state would terrify Annie. That was simply not acceptable whether she was his future mate or not. His demon howled to be free, but Cravr locked him down. It wasn’t easy dealing with a split personality.

“Cravr?” Annie was speaking softly.

“Hmm.”

“How could they get here? Don’t all visitors go through the space station? That means they are either registered guests or they were dropped by an unauthorized space ship.” Annie suggested.

That was something to think about. The tracking satellites and the land based tracking radar were a place where his authority and Jorgr’s crossed. Both of them had personnel at the bases and both paid an equal share to upkeep and support those services. It was time for him to get something back for his money. “I think you might be on to something.” He sent her a big smile, and he couldn’t help but feel good, about the smile he got received in return.

They dropped off Korvix and headed back to their own community. Cravr knew they had a lot of work ahead of them organizing things, so females like Annie would feel comfortable here. Most of the communities had no names, they were new, having just sprung up when the Mazlans that were incarcerated, were finally released. Hover cars or shuttles were the transportation they used, so there were no real roads, and therefore no road maps to follow. GPS was used by all, there was no choice.

Every citizen and visitor was cataloged and their home as well as their place of work documented. Those with chips could be located in an emergency and every person on Oison who worked was issued a com to carry with them. Annie would get hers once they made it back to the office. Their system was different from that of any other planet, but it worked for them. It was much too soon when their building came into view. Even though they hadn’t talked much, he felt comfortable in her presence.

“It would seem we’ve arrived.” Cravr said while he berated himself for saying the obvious. He wanted to say something brilliant that would make her admire his intelligence. It hadn’t worked out.

“I believe you are correct.” Annie replied with humor evident in her words.

Great, now she was laughing at him. Pulling into his parking spot, as soon as he was parked he hurried around to help her out. The electricity hummed between them, no longer startling or painful. Her scent washed over him, sweet and irresistible. What the hell was he going to do?

“Let’s go back to the office so I can assign you a com.” Hiding behind his professional façade was all he knew to do. Something was happening between him and this female, and Cravr didn’t know how to stop it. He didn’t know if, he wanted to stop it, either.

They went into the building, Cravr held the door open so Annie could walk in front of him. Her scent continued to slap him in the face making his demon roar. They went to his office and he opened the storage room to pull out the com, but when he turned, he discovered she’d followed him in. A male could only resist so long.

“You shouldn’t have come in here.” His voice was rough and low from his demon exerting some control.

Her eyes widened in shock. “What do you mean?” She asked but he was past the point of talking. Stepping up to her, he grabbed her and pushed her against the wall, careful not to hurt her. Caging her in with his body, he felt her warmth and her sweet scent hit him.

Cravr fought to control his demon but the bastard only wanted one thing- her. A growl rumbled out of his mouth, just before he lowered his lips to hers, and devoured her. May the gods help him, once he tasted her sweet lips, he was lost. His tongue pressed against the seam of her lips until they opened granting him access. Impaling her mouth with his tongue, he explored every nook and cranny, until he’d touched every part.

His hands weren’t idle as his tongue explored, no, they explored her delightful curves. Her softness thrilled him, smoothing his hard edges and cushioning him as he ground against her. Annie was anything but unresponsive, she was encouraging him with her moans and light touches. The primitive being inside had wrested away control for now, and he loved it. This female was his other half, the only one he wanted. Unsure how she would respond if he showed her his demon, he kept his shift under control for now.

If she looked into his eyes, she would know he was different, because right now, his demon was looking out. Would his demon eyes scare her or would she accept him as just one more part of the male he was? Fear of rejection prevented him from trying to find out. In his heated state, with the demon exerting control, he was about to take her anyway when his com buzzed.

Chapter 3

What Now?

Annie had just got home after picking up her girls before she dropped onto the couch with a plop. It still hadn’t fully sank in that she’d been kissing her boss in the supply closet. Oh, dear God! She was officially a slut. Now she had become that woman that seduces the boss and gets all the job perks. Well, if there were any job perks that was yet to be determined. What had she been thinking following him in there? Everyone that has ever worked in an office knows to stay out of closets.

Her kids were in their room playing and she’d put supper on before leaving for work, so she could sit here and relax, maybe drink a glass of red wine and figure out what the hell had happened. One minute Cravr was the perfect gentleman, polite, but cool and distant, then he was a horny male beast. He’d devoured her and she’d let him, actually once her shock wore off, she’d given as good as she got. It had only ignited his passion on a whole new level.

Annie went to the wine cooler snagging a bottle of sweet wine. Nothing like drinking her dessert and forgetting about the meal. Maybe she would be able to relax by bedtime, because that was the only way she would get to sleep. She poured a big glass full and carried it with her to the couch. It would take little to get to her, she rarely drank. Sipping her wine, she closed her eyes and relived the stolen moments in the closet. How pathetic that those were the highlight of her sex life.

Sure, she’d had sex a few times, her kids were proof of that, but she’d never come as close to climaxing as she had with Cravr. Earthmen sucked as lovers, at least in modern times. Annie had read books that hinted at something different, in the past, when women hadn’t outnumbered men the way they did now. Were all Mazlan males so talented where sex was concerned or was it because she wanted Cravr more than anyone she’d ever met?

Her com rang. Where the hell had she put it? Befuddled even from such a small amount of wine, she looked around, until she found it in the kitchen, where she’d poured her wine. It was no longer ringing, problem solved. Even as she thought that, the crazy thing began to ring again. Looking at the screen she saw it was Georgie. Anyone else, she might have ignored, but not Georgie.

Pushing the button she assumed would answer the call, she said, “Hello?”