Rebel Kato (Shifters of the Primus Book 1) (4 page)

I
look
at Liandra and fight to keep from smiling like an un-blooded warrior. Though my men do not dare take The Fall as quickly as I do, they will not be far behind. It’s not fitting for a warrior prince to be seen. . . Smiling. No. Instead, I reach back and grab her ass.

Her face scrunches in anger and she swats at me.

I laugh, finding delight in how strange and surprising this female is. We enter my chambers and I feel pride when I see her admire the fortunes worth of decorations my home is adorned with. I gesture for her to take off her strange boots so that she can enjoy the fine carpet, made from the hairs of a Hugre I slew many years ago. I take off my own shoes and lead her to my sitting room.

She sits and places her hands on her lap. Looking around the room without moving her head.

“Be at ease, fema--woman,” I say.

“My name is Liandra. It’s not polite to call people woman or especially female. If we’re going to be spending time together, you should learn about the customs of my people.”

I nod, though I do not understand this. Men earn their name through combat. Women who fight no battles have not earned their names. But I will humor this female, as the hunger in me drives me to satisfy her. “Liandra,” I say. “Be at ease.”

“Where is my sister?”

“Do not worry. My most trusted warriors are situating her in her private quarters for the duration of her stay. She will have everything she needs.”

She smiles, but it quickly fades. “What happens if you don’t find me to be a worthy mate?”

“Your kind will be deemed unworthy to mate with the Umani. Your race will perish.”

“Right,” she says. “I guess I’ll just have to make sure you find me worthy, then.”

I try not to let my satisfaction show. This one is strong. She is fierce. Independent. I will enjoy taming her.

“Let us talk of other matters. Tell me of yourself,” I say.

“What’s to tell? I’m a. . .” she bites her lip. “I’m a Chief Engineer on my ship. I basically keep the whole thing running.”

I nod. “I chose well. You are known among your people, then.”

W
hat the hell
? Chief Engineer? Should I tell him I shit pure gold nuggets while I’m at it? I manage to keep the panic from touching my face, but just barely. Something about the whole being ripped from my home and taken to a planet of muscular hunks and dragged into the house of Prince Kato was making my mind like jelly. I guess I was just worried that he would realize he had made a mistake picking
me,
a lowly greaser and a first-class nobody.

“Known? Yes. Some people know of me,” I say. “But what about you?” I ask, desperate to change the subject.

“My name speaks for itself,” he says.

“I mean, like. . . What do you like to do?”

“Conquer.”

“Right. . . What about in between conquering?”

He paces, a hand on his perfect chin as he thinks. “I enjoy the thrill of a challenge. The Fall, battling monsters from The Dead Sea, hunting in the Deep Wood.” He gestures around the room. “Many of the hides and trophies in this room were carved from beasts I battled and defeated in The Dead Sea.”

I nod. Part of me wants to roll my eyes but another part of me can’t deny being drawn to a man—male, with such strength. I can’t help but tracing the lines of the muscles pushing against the soft fabric of his shirt and pants. I imagine him locked in combat, the muscles on his body standing taut and strong and feel myself getting horny again.

His face grows thoughtful, as if he had never thought about what he enjoys doing before and is only now discovering the answers. “I also enjoy shifting into my primal form and racing through the city. No sensation but the wind against my face and the concentration required to keep from falling. I feel pure in those moments.”

Shifting into his. . . What?

“And,” he continues. “Right now I am enjoying the sight of my woman from the stars.”

My
woman. I admit liking the way that sounds coming from him. I like it a lot. Still, a small part of me wants to remind him that I’m not a thing to be had, that I have a name other than woman or female. Even if that part of me seems to be be getting smaller by the minute.

Kato stands suddenly. “The day has been long and I wish to retire. You will share my bed. I have clothes that should be fitting prepared for you. Follow me.”

Share his bed? I almost protest but remember what is riding on this. Hundreds of thousands of people. Hell, an entire species faces extinction if I piss this guy off. Will it kill me to sleep in the same bed?

We reach his bedroom, which is dominated by a huge bed that is at least ten times the size of my cot back on
The Hope
.

He gestures to the clothes on the bed. “You will wear these for sleep.”

I look at the “clothes”. There’s something that looks like a thong, except it’s what I guess you’d call a double thong. Okay, it’s basically a strand of fabric that would run from front to back and a thin waistband to hold it on. The top is a translucent gown. “Do you have anything a little more modest?” I ask.

He raises an eyebrow at me. “Do you refuse my hospitality?”

“It’s not that. It’s just, well. . . Nevermind. This is okay,” I say. I’ll just wait until he turns off the lights and make sure I stay under the covers.

“Good,” he says. He turns and strips off his shirt. His back is broad and tattooed in black, reflective ink. It catches the flecks of brilliant gold in his skin and I find myself leaning closer to get a better look. His body is rippled and carved with muscles I don’t think we even have names for. Then he strips off his belt and drops his pants in a single motion.

Okay. If I was judging the parts of his body for a competition, his ass just made a strong case for first place. Gold medal.

Kato looks over his shoulder once and I can see just the tip of his cock from the side. It’s gold too. That answers that question. He smirks at me and then walks behind a frosted glass door and begins to shower.

I quickly changed into the “clothes” he left for me and winced at the immediate all-over wedgie the underwear gave me and then slipped into the bed, blushing like crazy. I’d like to say I didn’t sit there watching the
entire
time, but that’s exactly what I did. The glass was somewhat opaque, but I could easily see his silhouette and the outline of his cock and the roundness of his ass.

I felt my pussy throbbing and getting hotter and wetter by the minute. I decided that if I didn’t do something, I was going to be too horny to make logical decisions. So I slid my
thong-thing
down and started rubbing my pussy while I watched him shower. I thought of the way his eyes looked when they first met mine on the shuttle, as if he was drinking me in. I thought of the scent that follows him, indescribable but powerful and alluring. I imagined him above me, his strong arms corded with muscle as he presses himself into me again and again. I thought of what his face would look like with its hardness softened by pleasure, of what his huge cock would feel like inside me, filling me until I couldn’t be filled anymore, his hot breath against my neck as he fills me with his seed.

I cry out as my body shakes with orgasm. I feel my pussy clenching, milking his imaginary cock for all it was worth. Then I cover my mouth in embarrassment

Did I just moan out loud?

A few minutes later, the shower shuts off and he strides into the room. The light outside has faded so I can’t see the frontal view of his body in great detail, but I do see him slide into bed without putting on clothes. I feel his warmth as he slides closer. Our skin isn’t touching, but I could sense his closeness.

I expect him to force himself on me, or at least to try to seduce me. If he does, I’m sure I will be able to resist, but I tell myself that I would not sleep with a man who thought he could just claim me and take me when he wanted. But to my surprise, he rolls to his side and within a few moments I can hear his breathing grow slow and heavy with sleep.

Well damn. He could have at least tried
something
. Though I feel a little disappointed, I can’t help wondering if there is just a little more to him than blood, bones, and conquest. Maybe somewhere in that beautiful head of his, he really cares about me. At least enough not to just force himself on me if he thinks I’m not ready.

I
may not know much
about humans yet, but from what I have seen of Liandra this far, I know that it would not be correct to force her to sleep with me. I sense that she enjoys the chase and the pursuit, so I will not deny it to her. As prince, it is my right to take her if I wish, but I feel that she is too great a prize to simply take. She will be best enjoyed after a proper hunt.

I wake in the middle of the night to the sound of her soft moans. She makes a sound like a whimper and scoots closer. “Mm—scared,” she mumbles in a voice heavy with sleep. I feel the soft skin of her arm slide under mine and her fingers slide across my chest.

My cock twitches. Within moments, it is filled to its full size. Even the sensation of the blankets against its sensitive skin is sending chills of pleasure through me. I feel her scoot closer again and her large, soft breasts press against my back. I feel the hard tips of her nipples against me. I am about to wake her when her thigh slips over my hips and I feel the heat and wetness of her folds against my ass. My cock twitches again. The panther within me is roaring for me to take her now. Hunger threatens to consume me. The beast rises inside my soul.

Her smell fills me. Of the many gifts granted to Umani strong enough to form spirit bonds with animals, one is enhanced senses. I can smell the scent of her skin—the faint smell of sweat that means she does not idle her time away. But beneath it I can smell her. It is her real smell, the smell that no ointments or creams can create. And it is the most intoxicating fragrance I have ever smelled. I close my eyes, breathing deeply.

I feel my body nearing the brink of shifting but stop myself. No. When I have her, I want her to know she is being taken. I want her to want to be taken and to beg me to do it.

“Liandra,” I say.

She stirs, her hips beginning to rock against me and spread her wetness over my skin, soaking the curls of her mound. Then she freezes. She lets loose something like a scream and scoots away, turning her back to face me.

“I’m. . .” she says. “That was. . .”

“When I have you,” I say, interrupting her. “It will be because you beg me to take you. Not because I take you like a coward in your sleep.”

She falls silent, watching me for a long moment, the expression on her face unreadable. Eventually, her eyes close and she drifts back to sleep.

W
e’re woken
by a knock at the door.

Kato growls softly—actually growls, and then stalks to the door, still naked. I hear muffled voices.

I’m given enough time to reflect on last night. I remember dreaming of being ravaged by Kato and then grinding against his ass and—oh. I realize with a rush of embarrassment that the last part had not been a dream. I reach between my legs and can still feel where my juices dried and turned crusty. That wasn’t exactly the vision I had for a first impression. But what had he said when he stopped me? He wouldn’t have me until I was begging him to take me? We will see about that. I’ve never begged in my life and I don’t see myself starting any time soon.

Kato returns. My eyes widen, as if my eyelids need to get out of the way so I can fully appreciate the view. Sunlight trickles in from the windows and sets his golden skin shimmering like a thousand diamonds. He looks like an angel. Except with no wings, pointy ears, and a huge cock. If they make angels like him, send me to heaven.

“I am needed for a brief matter. You will wait here.”

I only nod, still clutching the blankets to cover myself. If I speak, I don’t trust myself not to mutter something about angels and gold cocks. He leaves, not bothering to put on clothes. Do these people really just walk around naked if they feel like it?

Well, I’m not ready for that yet. Once he’s gone, I quickly stand and find a stockpile of female clothing in his room. I pause. Why does he have a stockpile of female clothing? And why the hell does it all have holes and transparent material in exactly the places I want to cover?

I end up slipping back into my fatigues and deciding that Kato is going to get a piece of my mind about the lingerie treasure trove he keeps in his bedroom.

I hear heavy footsteps in the house.

Strange. That’s too soon for it to be Kato again, unless he forgot something.

I move from the sitting room to the foyer and see three Primus warriors standing in the doorway. The foremost of them is Barkus, his face still bruised and swollen from when Kato beat him on
The Hope.

“You can come with us willingly or unwillingly. Either way, you’re coming,” says Barkus.

My mind races but I take a hesitant step toward him. If I’m going to find a way out of this, I need time to think. So I decide to play along for now. I move toward Barkus and let him grab me by the back of my neck.

He smirks. “Smart.”

As they lead me away, I manage to tear small bits of the cheap and beaten fabric of my fatigues away from the sleeve and drop them behind me every few steps. I hope it will help Kato to find me, but I don’t know how he would notice them in the near darkness of the night. We pass through a series of bridges and tunnels and eventually go down a long elevator. They take me into a moldy wooden building on a splintered wooden platform.

Once we’re inside, the men throw me to the ground. I land hard, my vision swimming. I can tell by the look on Barkus’ face that he does not plan for me to leave.