No Mercy (8 page)

“X
ander!” The guard on duty snapped off a crisp sigil salute, his fisted hand shaking at the sight of the man he thought was Hosta's overlord. Zan thanked whatever benevolent deity was watching over him that he had found the likeness of his father in the stolen vehicle's stored data. Xander had taken to slicking his hair back into a braid, a fashion Zan had duplicated before arriving to the military base. Anyone who knew his father personally wouldn't be fooled, but this deep into the Northern Territories the odds of finding one of Xander's true allies were slim.

Remembering to walk with more of a purposeful stride than his regular pirate's swagger, Zan moved closer, invading the sentry's personal space. “Take me to your commander.”

“At once, my liege!” The man practically ran to the nearest transport module, which bore an uncanny resemblance to a jet ski on rails. Zan wondered if his father had ever been to Earth, but dismissed the idea. Gia's home world was too far away for standard space lane travel, and his hybrid ship was the only one he knew of that was capable of opening wormholes.

The blasted ship! Zan caught himself before he groaned aloud and ruined his cover. His ship must have opened the wormhole that brought Gia's stinger here. The question remained, Why? What did the creature hope to accomplish by sending its captain into danger? Not for the first time, Zan regretted not being able to communicate with the creature he had liberated from the interstellar nursery. A functioning hybrid created from DNA crossed among the military ground bases his people had utilized for eons and a nomadic space creature that wandered into their sector, his ship was unique in the galaxy.

If he and Gia lived through this, he might have to put it down. Obviously the ship wasn't happy, acting up like a spoiled child when it didn't get its way. Zan had thought Gen—the empath's bride and the only person he'd encountered who could hold an open dialog with his ship without being driven insane in the process—could help him figure out how to bring it to heel. But if it was opening wormholes back to its birth space whenever the fuck it felt the urge, it was only a matter of time before Xander got a hold of it. And with immortality and unfathomable riches in his back pocket, Xander's reach would expand to enslave the cosmos. No star system would be safe from his influence; he'd have no safe harbors left.

Zan would destroy the ship before he let that happen.

Lost in his grim thoughts, he ignored the man next to him until the small vehicle jerked to a stop. He glared at the toady, who cringed away and stammered an apology. His father's reputation of intolerance for any mistakes was enough to turn a man's blood to ice water.

Zan narrowed his eyes, playing into the role of ruthless dictator. “Where is your commander?” It wasn't much of a stretch.

“There.” The lackey pointed with a shaking finger.

After pushing himself up from the cart, Zan stalked toward the man in charge. “Commander!”

Heads whipped toward him and fists pounded against uniform-covered chests as the men in the control center fell to one knee. The commander saluted and ducked his head but remained standing. “Overlord. To what do we owe this pleasure?”

His tone lacked the proper respect, and Zan drew his arm up and struck. His backhand connected hard and the man staggered back a few steps, clearly stunned.

Zan raised one eyebrow. “Questions are not permitted.”

The commander shot him a poisonous look and muttered, “Yes, sir.”

“You have a female here, an alien female. Take me to her.”

“Sir, yes, sir! Follow me, please.”

Zan swept out of the room, trying not to breathe a sigh of relief. Now, if only Gia wouldn't blow his cover....

They rounded a corner, and the man he'd struck gripped him by the lapels and shoved him hard against the wall. An arm braced against his Adam's apple, applying steady pressure and effectively choking off his air supply. Ice blue eyes narrowed on his face. “Who the fuck are you?”

Never one to fight fair, Zan jabbed him in the nuts with a sharp finger stab. The arm disappeared and he sucked in air greedily. His victory was short-lived. The man didn't crumple to the floor the way he'd expected. Instead he danced back on the balls of his feet and reached for his sidearm. In less than ten seconds, Zan would be dead on the floor and Gia left utterly defenseless if he didn't come up with something.

Raising his hands he lowered his voice. “I only want the girl.”

“It takes balls to impersonate the overlord. Who are you?”

Zan considered lying, but nothing garnered trust faster than giving an enemy an ace. “I'm Zan.”

“The outlaw son.” Though the commander kept his weapon trained on his center mass, he didn't pull the trigger. “I've heard stories of you. What are you doing on Hosta? The price on your head is astronomical.”

Zan considered it a small victory that he hadn't been shot yet. “How did you know I wasn't him?”

“I've met him before and will never forget his face. You're taller and your eyes are a lighter color.”

“You've met him? Has anyone else here encountered him in the flesh?”

Slowly the commander shook his head. “I doubt it. I was only a boy when he ordered my family to come before him. I watched as he slaughtered my father, raped my mother and both my sisters before throwing them in a holding cell. He offered me immunity from the charges of treason if I would accept banishment to the Northern Territories.”

Zan fought the bile rising in his throat. “I am sorry for what he did to your family. I know how vile he can be. I have witnessed his brutality.”

The commander's eyes narrowed. “Why are you here?”

“I came for the woman.”

“She is yours?”

Zan nodded, unwilling to divulge any more about his relationship with Gia. “Her ship went down and all we want is a way off this world.”

“If I help you, will you do something for me?”

Zan studied the man's features. If he was bluffing, he had the best poker face this side of the Milky Way. “Pirates aren't known to be men of honor.”

“I'll take my chances.”

Zan shrugged as though he didn't have a care in the world. “All right, then. What is your request?”

“I want to know how to kill him.”

“Xander? All the usual ways work. He is not immune to weapons fire, just illness and age.”

The commander stowed his weapon. “You must care for the girl a great deal to risk your life for hers.”

“When you put it that way, it sounds downright idiotic.” It shouldn't matter that she was the best sex he'd had in half a century, or that she carried his memories. Zan had walked away from more important people in less dire situations. A pang of something that felt suspiciously like remorse had him shifting in impatience. “Where is she?”

“I put her in the camp follower's dorm.”

Zan grinned, imagining Gia's reaction to that nugget. “She didn't fight you?”

The commander shook his head. “She tried to seduce me.”

Rage unlike any he'd ever known tore through Zan's entire body like electrically charged poison, speeding through his veins. He had the commander backed against the wall, his forearm against the man's throat.

“She's mine!” he snarled. “I've killed poachers for less.”

The other man's eyes were wide. “No one has touched her; it would lower her value. Stand down.”

Zan sucked in a shaky breath. He'd risked his neck and she'd been here trying to sleep her way through a military chain of command. Backing down he swore he'd turn her over his knee for her wicked ways.

“Take me to her.”

A scream, high pitched and clearly female, rent the quiet night. Zan didn't wait for his escort but took off running, wondering what his avenging angel had gotten herself into now.

 

Naked and trapped in the tub, Gia frantically looked for a weapon she could use on the second-in-command. Tossing bottles of mystery oils at him was a possibility, but she didn't think it would slow him down any.

“How fitting that he stuck you in the whore's quarters.” The ugly man leered at her as he reached for the fastening on his uniform. “I'm willing to share you so long as I can break you in.”

“That's not going to happen.” Gia fought the fear coursing through her, hid the wobble in her voice, and clenched her hands into fists. It was her worst nightmare come back to haunt her. “I don't belong to you, or any man.”

Instead of backing down, her assessment appeared to amuse him. “I love off-world women. You all start out so bright and spirited. Breaking in a woman that way, seeing the light dim and acceptance of your place settle over you, heats my blood. Do me right and I'll kill the commander and keep you for myself.”

Horrified, she backed away. He talked like she was some kind of wild stallion instead of a flesh-and-blood woman with a mind. Why hadn't Zan warned her about this attitude? “You're a sick bastard in desperate need of a reality check. I would rather die than fuck you.”

His eyes narrowed and he lunged for her. She tossed the washrag she'd been clutching at his face, hoping it would slow him down long enough for her to escape. He pitched forward, groping for her, and caught her left wrist. Using her right arm, she elbowed him in the back of the head, but he didn't let go when he tumbled forward into the water.

An involuntary scream tore lose when his other arm went around her midsection and he pulled her down with him. Blood colored the water, streaming from a gash where he'd hit his head on the side of the tub. “Fucking bitch,” he snarled, and smacked her so hard her head bounced. “I'll teach you your place.”

Gia was on top of him, but the oil-slicked water and her disorientation from having her bell rung plus pure panic made her sloppy. She tugged away, looking for vulnerable body parts to attack, but he had her pinned. “Let go!”

Without warning, he flipped her out of the tub. She landed in a sodden heap on the bathroom floor. The wind was knocked out of her when his massive body came down on top of hers. Slippery water and blood dripped from him as he gripped both her wrists in one of his hands. She knew real terror as he ripped his wet uniform open, freeing his cock, and pried her legs apart by wedging his knees between them.

This couldn't be happening.

Not again.

She struggled, trying to buck him off of her, but it was like trying to dislodge her stinger without antigrav thrusters. Pinned again, trapped and helpless again. Tears spilled down her cheeks and she shouted, “No! No! No!”

Suddenly the weight pinning her down was gone and an ungodly sound of rage filled the small room. Zan had her attacker against the wall, and the way he rained blows down on the other man, she felt sure he would kill him.

Murder transformed Zan's face until she barely recognized him. “You dare touch what's mine?” He gripped the man's nuts in a crushing hold until he howled for mercy. Zan gave him none, just used his own skull to crack the other man's nose, and blood sprayed the walls.

Pushing back with her heels, Gia scrambled to get away until she ran into something solid.

“Stand down!” Behind her Commander Fenton held his small sidearm aimed at the battling pair. Zan didn't even slow as he beat her would-be rapist into a bloody pulp.

The high-pitched whine of laser fire got his attention. Zan growled like a pissed-off animal, but he stopped hitting his target.

“Let me deal with him, Overlord. You see to your woman.”

Gia shook as Zan approached her, those golden eyes more somber than she'd ever see them. He snagged a towel off of one of the high shelves and draped it over her. She made a small noise of protest when he tried to pick her up.

“I'm just going to take you out of here,” he whispered low, for her ears only.

“I can walk.” She didn't want to though. Having him so near after what had just happened, smelling of clean male spice and surrounding her after saving her from being raped, she wanted him close.

He didn't say anything as he hoisted her into his arms, using the towel to cover her modesty. She clung to him, even after he sat down on the bed. “It's all right,” he repeated over and over. “Fenton is going to strip him down to his bare skin and banish him from the compound. He'll be dead by morning. He won't ever come near you again.”

Fenton dragged the unconscious man from the bathroom. “I'll post guards. No one will disturb you.”

Gia barely heard him. Her whole body trembled as unspent adrenaline worked its way out of her system.

Zan covered her shaking hands with his own, and his head bowed into hers. “I'm sorry I didn't come with you in the first place. I thought you'd be safer without me. Forgive me, forgive me.”

Only then did she realize he was shaking too. His eyelids were down, his breathing uneven, and she could sense he fought back his own demons even as he worked to reassure her. Seeing his regret made hers easier to handle.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she held him back. “It's okay. You got here in time. I'm all right. I'm fine.”

She silently vowed she would be, for both their sakes.

Z
an watched Gia sleep, wondering if she dreamed his memories. If so, they must be decent ones because she didn't cry out or thrash. With her hands tucked under her chin and blond hair spilling over the pillow she appeared almost angelic. He scrubbed a hand over his face, exhausted but unable to sleep.

He'd lost it earlier, with that thug who'd intended to rape her. Flashbacks from Isabella's death had superimposed themselves in his mind. It scared the ever-loving shit out of him that she affected him so deeply, more than any woman since his wife. And when it was over he'd had a meltdown in front of her, fucking lost his mind and begged for her forgiveness for fuck's sake.

She'd
comforted
him.

The memory of her soothing tone and gentle touch pissed him right the hell off. He pushed away from the bed, then prowled the room restlessly. To make matters worse his unruly cock kept springing to life, craving the solace of her body. It didn't seem to get the message that without her health guard, Gia wasn't safe anymore.

He snorted at that. Fucking Gia had never been safe. She blew his mind, turned his universe upside down until he didn't recognize the stars anymore. Instead of scratching an itch, being with her had unlocked his desires, his dreams, and the worthless noble streak he'd fought long and hard to rid himself of. Touching her wasn't the antidote to his loneliness; it fed the infection, spreading through his system like a supernova, transforming him in ways that would get him killed.

She stirred, and he moved to her side, unable to help himself. Her face had swelled where that bastard had hit her, but nothing appeared broken. Fenton had left an ice pack with their dinner. “How are you feeling?”

Her eyes narrowed as she scanned the room. When her focus turned to him and a small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, he struggled not to pull her into his arms. “Hungry, actually.”

That he could fix. “Fenton had food brought in. Meat broth, bread, and cheese. It isn't much, but it's better than more purple goop.”

She struggled to sit up, pushing her mussed hair away from her face. “Nutri gel. And don't bitch, it kept us alive.”

Zan brought her the tray and tried not to notice her bare breasts. Before his wild claim that she was his, he'd believed his desire came from the fact that she was the first woman he'd been free to fuck in five decades. Any man would be constantly hard. She'd just been sexually assaulted, and even though the man hadn't raped her, he doubted she'd welcome his attention. In some dark corner, he knew it wasn't just because of her shield or because she already had his memories. He enjoyed her wit, appreciated her tenacity, relished her unique insight.

Fuck, he
liked
her.

Gia put her spoon aside, and her eyebrows knitted as she studied him. “What are you scowling about?”

“Just plotting our next move,” he lied easily, decades of practice working like a charm. “Fenton said he'd help us, but I'm thinking trusting him isn't smart.”

Gia tore a piece of bread, then handed him half. “I agree. He was set to sell me to auctioneers a few hours ago. I doubt guilt over the attack would be enough to make him reconsider.”

“You think he's gonna turn us over to Xander.” It wasn't a question.

“What will happen then?” Gia bit her lip. Fear flashed in her eyes and he had to look away. “Zan?”

Inhaling, he faced her once more and made them both a promise. “I'm not gonna let them sell you like a whore. Don't be fretting on that none. Right now we've got guards posted on our door, and I reckon they're there to keep us in more than to keep anyone else out. We'll wait for shift change in a few hours and then take them by surprise. They can't give us to Xander if they don't know where we are.”

She nodded. “How did you get away the first time?”

“Luck, mostly. I bribed the guard.”

“With money?”

He made himself look her in the eye. “With sex.”

She blinked and her lips formed a small “o,” but she didn't reply.

Unable to stand the silence he rose and started to pace again. Shit, he hadn't wanted to tell her, didn't want to see her expression change when she realized exactly how far he'd gone to survive, how many people he fucked over in every sense of the word to solidify his position.

Like father, like bastard.

“Zan?” A hand touched his arm. Her face held no censure, just compassion and curiosity. “You don't owe me an explanation, but if you want to talk about it, I'll listen.”

He turned to face her. “I've been around a long time, Gia. At times I think it's been too long. My culture's different from yours. Very different. Me more than most.”

She nodded. “I'm beginning to see that.”

“You know why Xander's so powerful? It's because he's immortal, like me. He's had centuries to manipulate people, to grow stronger. He's damn near invincible.”

Gia frowned. “I'm not sure I understand. You said Xander was after you. I thought it was because he wanted the location of the Infinity Pool.”

Sighing he sank down onto the bed. “No. He's the one who took me there.”

Gia stood before him, gloriously naked, surprise etched into her features. “Why would he do that?”

Fucking hell, was he really gonna lay it all out on the table for her to examine? Something had changed during the hours they'd spent apart, and he accepted now that if it wasn't for his lust she'd still be safe on her stinger. If not for her tenacity he would probably still be huddled in that cave. He owed her, and owing anyone was unfamiliar territory.

Maybe he could trade with her. Something she wanted for something he wanted. His cock stood at the ready, primed by the sight of her naked body, her sweetly feminine scent that overpowered everything else. Wanting Gia was a distraction he couldn't afford, but he had no control over his desire. Maybe he could harness hers. “I need you to agree to something before I tell you all this.”

She blinked and tilted her head. “What do you want?”

What he really wanted was her promise that what he was about to tell her wouldn't change things between the two of them, that she wouldn't look at him differently, or fear him. What he said was, “Sex.”

She actually laughed out loud. “Is that all you ever think about?”

Running the back of one knuckle along the tip of her breast, he met and held her gaze. “When you've gone for five decades on mostly bread and water, then tell me what you'll be hungry for.”

“Fair enough.” Her nipple tightened and she arched into his touch, lips curved in acceptance.

Suddenly he felt like a selfish dick and stepped away from her luscious body. “You sure you're okay with that after . . .” His gaze went to the closed bathroom door. He scrubbed the blood away while she slept, unwilling to take the chance of Fenton moving them to another room that might be more difficult to escape from.

Her chin went up. “One has nothing to do with the other. I feel safe with you. I know you won't hurt me.”

She was right, he wouldn't, at least not intentionally. Although coming inside her might end up costing her her life. “If you're sure.”

She moved closer—not close enough to touch, but her energy mingled with his until almost every hair on his body stood on end. She licked her lips, the witch. “Okay, so we're in agreement, then. One inside edition to the culture here for one horizontal mambo. Quit stalling.”

“Xander was born over a millennia ago. Because he trusted no one, he killed all the lovers he bedded to keep his secret. And he's a randy bastard, sometimes took two or three a day. Just fucked them, then slit their throats when he was done. But being immortal is a lonely prospect. You watch people you've known your entire life wither and die while you stay exactly the same. Eternity without a true companion is a fresh kind of hell. He wanted someone to share it with.”

He sucked in air, decided to just blurt it right out. “He's my father.”

 

Gia doubted she'd ever seen anyone in so much pain. Zan's broad shoulders were curled in, as though bracing for a hit. She wanted to comfort him, to let him know that whatever he'd done in the past didn't matter to her. But she didn't want to lie.

She knew better than anyone else how a shitty childhood could affect one's entire life. And Zan just told her he'd been reared by a monster, the same monster that had ordered his son's wife to be gang-raped to death, had forced him to seduce one of his guards to get free. She swallowed, hoping to digest the latest twist.

Golden eyes narrowed on hers and he growled, “You promised me sex.”

She blinked, but her lips turned up. Now his bargain made more sense. He wanted comfort after digging up the memories buried in a shallow grave. “I did.”

He pulled her toward him, eased her down onto the bed. His touch was lighter than before as he roved over her arms, shoulders, breasts, and belly. Zan was definitely being careful with her, and it infuriated her. If anything his cautious touch reminded her of the attack, the second-to-last thing she wanted to think about right now. She shoved him onto his back and climbed on top of him.

Leaning down she glared at him from inches away. “Stop that.”

His eyebrows drew down. “What?”

“Touching me like I'm going to break or dissolve into tears at any moment. That's not you and me. You want to fuck me? Then fuck me right, damn it.”

The corners of his mouth turned up. “I love it when you boss me around.” He sat up and claimed her mouth in a marauding pirate's kiss. His tongue plunged into her mouth while his hands roamed her body, lighting her up until she burned with need for him.

One calloused fingertip traced from her hip to her navel and trailed straight down to her mons. Lifting off his lap, she attacked the fastening of his pants, greedy for his hard cock to fill her.

“Slow down there, hot stuff.” Zan tumbled her back to the bed. “Where's the fire?”

“I'd say
in my pants,
but I'm not wearing any.” She reached for him again, determined to get him naked. He gripped both her hands in one of his and raised them up over her head.

“Don't think I didn't notice.” Pressing his scruffy cheek against hers he nuzzled her ear with his nose. “We've got nowhere to be and nothing to do but each other, so no sense in rushing.”

“You're killing me,” she panted as his tongue trailed across her collarbone.

“What a way to go.” That wicked pirate's grin would be her undoing. Leaning his body over hers he reached for a squat object that she'd believed to be a planter of some sort. He nudged it, and she gasped when the top flipped open.

He grinned down at her. “Behold, the motherload.”

She rolled to her side and propped her body up on her elbows so she could see inside. Gia considered herself a woman of the cosmos, but the cache of sex toys contained in the device overwhelmed her. “I'm assuming this was the property of the room's previous occupant?”

Zan chuckled as he removed what looked like a barbed flogger. “The Earth phrase ‘Different strokes for different folks' sums it up. I've never gotten off on pain.” He put the scary-looking thing back.

“Good God, I don't even know what some of that stuff is supposed to do. And I'm not sure I want to use a dead prostitute's secret stash.”

Zan dipped his hand into the barrel and brought up a handful of sparkling white dust. “See this? It's crystalized sanitizer. Keeps everything in the holder clean and germ free. From the condition of this stuff, I'd gather it was barely used. Be a shame to let it go to waste.”

Gia eyed it warily. Could she really trust foreign technology when her own had let her down at such an inopportune moment? “I don't know about this.” But her body did. She was fed and well rested with a half-naked, sexy space pirate inches away. The insides of her thighs were wet from her need.

“What do we have here?” Zan's wolfish grin made the words sound like more of a threat than a question. He pulled out a harness attached to . . .

“Seriously? A strap-on? Which one of us is that for?”

Golden eyes glittered as he fondled the phallus. “Lady's choice.”

She bit her lip while considering the possibilities. They could fasten the harness around his thigh and he could fuck her in the ass while the dildo filled her pussy. No worries about pregnancy that way, and double penetration made her come like a rocket. Without meaning to, her gaze slid to the closed bathroom door. Despite what she'd told Zan, the fear of being helpless shadowed the idea of turning herself over to him so soon. She did trust him not to hurt her, but she didn't know if she'd panic. No, she had plenty of faith in him, just none in herself.

That was the last thing either one of them needed right now, her huddled and useless in a corner. Maybe she needed to wear the active dick in the relationship, help her “man up,” so to speak. Her sex life had never been dull, but she'd never actually pegged a man while wearing a strap-on before. It seemed like a just punishment for his kidnapping her and ruining her stinger.

She wondered if he'd really let her do it. Maybe he was bluffing, just to see if she'd be willing to go through with it. They played this silent game of one-upmanship, and the idea of having him at her mercy for a change made her heart pound and her pussy slick.

Yeah, she needed to do this. Reaching out, she held her hand palm-up.

“Give it here, tough guy.”