Author: Kate Pearce
Date: 2015-11-02 05:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Erotica; Science Fiction; Romance; M M Romance; Aliens; Science Fiction Romance
Description: Rehz Akran has had enough of the Tribute program and its sadistic overseer, Palk. When Palk captures Rehz’s mate, Anna Lee, and offers her and Aled Price to the Ungrich for further research, Rehz is ready for rebellion. But first, with the help of Kai Mexr—who wants Aled back just as much as Rehz wants Anna—he must break into the Ungrich world, rescue Anna, and discover why they want her so badly. The chilling answer to that question lies in Anna’s forgotten origins—origins that Aled shares. To save their lovers, Rehz and Kai must take on Palk and a government that is more than willing to sacr

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. All person(s) depicted on the cover are model(s) used for illustrative purposes only.

Triumph

Copyright © 2015 by Kate Pearce

Cover art: Lou Harper, louharper.com/design.html

Editor: Delphine Dryden, delphinedryden.com/editing

Layout: L.C. Chase, lcchase.com/design.htm

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ISBN: 978-1-62649-289-9

First edition

November, 2015

Also available in paperback as part of Tribute:

ISBN: 978-1-62649-291-2

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Rehz Akran has had enough of the Tribute program and its sadistic overseer, Palk. When Palk captures Rehz’s mate, Anna Lee, and offers her and Aled Price to the Ungrich for further research, Rehz is ready for rebellion. But first, with the help of Kai Mexr—who wants Aled back just as much as Rehz wants Anna—he must break into the Ungrich world, rescue Anna, and discover why they want her so badly.

The chilling answer to that question lies in Anna’s forgotten origins—origins that Aled shares. To save their lovers, Rehz and Kai must take on Palk and a government that is more than willing to sacrifice Anna and Aled to keep the peace.

The two couples join forces—in more ways than one—and together they discover that they may be capable of defeating two civilizations and changing the course of Mitan history forever.

To everyone at Riptide Publishing for their hard work and dedication to putting out the best books possible.

About Triumph

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Dear Reader

Also by Kate Pearce

About the Author

More like this

Planet Mitan

He was having a nightmare about Ungrich space . . .

Aled Price reminded himself that it wasn’t real, and that if he just woke up, all would be well. He’d be tucked up in bed with Kai Mexr, who would be hard, naked, and more than willing to start the new day with some lazy lovemaking.

He forced his eyes open.

And screamed.

“Rehz . . . just hold up a minute.”

Ignoring Kai Mexr—because damn, he had to get to Anna before anyone hurt her—Rehz Akran increased his speed and charged out into the street, scaring several pedestrians as he turned to find his vehicle. The alarms inside the military admin building were still wailing, but no one had followed them out. They were probably all still fussing over fucking Palk. He really wished Kai hadn’t laid Palk out with a single punch, because he’d wanted to deal with the bastard himself.

A few hours earlier he’d returned home from buying groceries to find the door of his apartment blasted off and signs of a struggle. It hadn’t taken him long to realize that Anna must have been taken, and exactly who had taken her and why. He’d decided to start searching at the military hospital and had run into Kai, who was searching for Aled.

“Rehz!” Kai grabbed his arm and hauled him to a stop, dragging him around a corner into a less populated street and slamming him against the wall. “This isn’t going to work. We need to slow down and think about what we’re doing here.”

He tried to shrug off Kai’s hold. “Anna is in fucking Ungrich space. That’s all the fuck I need to know. I’m going in there and fucking destroying it.”

Kai shoved his hands flat on Rehz’s chest. “If you go in like that, you know they’ll kill you. This isn’t like you. Think.”

“Better to die together than let those fucking bastards touch my woman!” Rehz snarled. He didn’t feel like himself anymore, didn’t care how much damage he did as long as he got to Anna.

“That’s fucking stupid,” Kai said patiently. “I want to get Aled out as much as you want Anna, but I don’t intend to be a martyr.”

Rehz gave a deep, shuddering breath. “Okay. Okay. What are you suggesting we do? Turn up and knock at the door with a bunch of fricking flowers?”

“I think they’d let us in. They know us. They let us live twice.” Kai swallowed hard. “We’re going to have to use our wits rather than our fists, agreed?”

Rehz scowled at his best friend. “I’ll try it your way first, but I still prefer mine.”

Kai exhaled. “Good. Now we need to find out whether my security clearance for the Tribute facility still works.”

“And if it doesn’t?”

“I have a few friends who still work there. If they won’t let me in, I’ll threaten to kill them. But first I suggest we pay our good friend General Palk another visit.” Kai’s smile was lethal. “I bet he can tell us exactly what’s going on.”

Less than an hour later, he and Kai were back inside the military medical center, where everything seemed to have calmed down. Kai had used his tech skills to get them in the door and find out exactly where Palk was being treated.

“Floor thirteen. We’ll use the stairs.” Kai severed the link into the main data center. “I’ve turned off the alarms in that sector. They won’t be expecting us back here.”

“Because they’ll assume we’re at the training facility.” He cut Kai a frigid look. “Which is where we fucking should be.”

“Palk knows something.” Kai kept climbing the stairs, his breathing easy, his weapon ready. “He took Aled right out of here and no one stopped him. That either means the government is complicit in his actions or he’s fooling everyone.”

They paused on the thirteenth level, and Rehz took a quick recce of the white hallway. “He’s got to be in the room with the two guards stationed outside.”

“You think?” Kai raised his weapon. “I’ll stun them. We won’t be there for long.”

Even as Kai fired the second tranquilizer shot, Rehz raced toward the two men. He removed both their weapons, propped one of the guys on the chair beside the door to make it look like business as usual, and searched the other.

“Door’s not alarmed. Neither are the men.”

“Then let’s go and see Palk.”

Rehz opened the door, and Kai dragged the unconscious guard in with him and dumped him unceremoniously on the floor to keep the door jammed shut.

Palk lay half-upright in bed, surrounded by several machines. When Rehz smiled at him, he made a strange gurgling sound and his pupils dilated. His fingers groped for the call button that Rehz had already disabled.

Rehz tutted. “Did you break his jaw? Nice job, Kai—except now he can’t speak too well.”

“I’m sure you’ll manage to get the information you want out of him somehow.” Kai fixed his attention on the hallway. “Just hurry the fuck up.”

“Palk.” He strolled toward the man in the bed. “How are you feeling?”

The machines around the bed registered the increase in the patient’s heartbeat and started to flash various alarms. Rehz shook his head.

“Get a grip or we’ll have the whole medical staff in here to watch you die.” He pressed his weapon to the injured side of Palk’s scalp. “And you are going to die if you don’t start giving me some answers. You put Anna and Aled back into Ungrich space, didn’t you?”

Palk stared straight ahead.

Rehz wrapped his hand around the man’s throat. “I asked you a question.”

“Had no choice,” Palk wheezed.

“Fucking liar. You gave them up. But for what?”

Palk licked his swollen, bloodied lips, like something scaly from the desert.

“For what, Palk?”

“Security.”

“They’re not coming.”

“My security,” Palk whispered.

“You traded my mate to protect yourself? From fucking what?”

“Rehz.” Kai spoke from the door. “There are more guards approaching.”

Rehz’s fingers tightened, and Palk gave a ghastly smile, then slipped into unconsciousness. For a second, Rehz contemplated intensifying his grip even more and breaking the bastard’s neck. But that could wait. Being a Tribute trainer had taught him a lot about delayed gratification.

With a curse he shoved Palk back onto his pillow and went toward Kai. “Can we get out of here?”

“If we leave now.”

“Then let’s go.”

The journey out to the training facility was accomplished with such ease that Rehz was suspicious. Palk must know that he and Kai would be coming after their trainees. Or was Palk stupid enough not to have noticed the bonds that had been formed? Perhaps he was planning an ambush at the base, or there was some other reason he was willing to let them get so far. Rehz glanced over at Kai, who was checking his weapons. They’d both donned full body armor under their clothes and had locked and loaded every single firearm they possessed.

It was taking too long to get to her. He wanted to fight something so badly now, wanted the smell of blood and the sound of someone else’s pain . . .

The doors of the transporter slid open; he and Kai remained concealed to either side. There were no hurrying feet or guns being charged. A female voice intoned the name of the facility. He risked a quick peek and saw nothing unusual.

As the current training season had recently concluded, the place was quiet and shouldn’t come back up to strength for several months. But it always paid to be careful.

“Cover me.”

Kai stepped forward, his weapon shouldered and at the ready, and stopped the doors from closing as Rehz sprinted for the first piece of cover. Still nothing. He beckoned Kai to join him, and they stayed hidden as the transporter moved on down the track and into a tunnel. Kai raised his eyebrows and Rehz shrugged.

“Nothing. Not even the usual guard.”

“Let’s keep moving.”

Eventually they reached the “welcome” center, where the new Tributes were unloaded, medically examined, and processed into the program. The lights were on, and Kai had no difficulty using his codes to access the system to allow them entry.

The place felt strange now that he’d been out of the program for a cycle. He’d thought he was free from the horror of it all—thought Anna was too, but fucking Palk had interfered again. Palk had always had a thing for him, and an unholy fascination with Anna.

Unsettled by the silence, he grumbled at Kai. “If Aled Price did blab about the human DNA, I’m going to kill him.”

Kai squared off with him, his green eyes blazing. “You are fucking not going to touch him. He’s mine. We either do this together and get them both out, or we don’t do it at all.”

He met Kai’s determined gaze. “All bloody right.”

“Palk didn’t say where he’d gotten the information from. It wouldn’t surprise me if he’d already known and had specifically hooked Aled into the program because of his DNA.”

“Still trying to protect your lover’s ass?”

To his annoyance, Kai grinned. “It’s a damn fine ass. But think about it, Rehz. Two Tributes with human DNA in two consecutive cycles? That’s one hell of a coincidence when we’ve all been told that planet is a myth.”

“That reminds me: let’s access the medical records first.”

Kai started moving again, his gaze alert and his attention on the silent, empty, gleaming halls ahead of them. It was downright eerie. Rehz shook off his sense of unease and followed.

The antiseptic smell of the medical treatment room made him shudder with too many bad memories. As a Tribute—and later as a trainer—he’d spent too many hours there being patched up or watching trainees be pieced back together.

Kai placed his weapon on the table and imprinted his thumb on the pad beside the screen, which immediately came to life. “What do you want first?”

“Anna’s records.”

“Specifically?”

“Her last medical after she returned from the Ungrich.”

“Hold on.”

He kept his gaze on the open doorway as Kai clicked away at the keyboard.

“Here you go.” Kai hesitated. “Maybe you’d better read it.”

“No, go ahead.”

“Looks like she was dehydrated, had lost weight, and her nervous system was firing too fast—all pretty common aftereffects of being submerged in alien goo. Her heart and lungs were okay.”

“Keep going.” He lovingly fingered his weapon and imagined not wasting a shot on Palk but using the weight to slowly and painfully smash Palk’s skull to a pulp. He wished he’d choked him to death in that hospital bed.

“Her ovaries . . .” Kai paused. “Significant decrease in stored eggs. One ovary completely cleaned out.”

He let that settle over him and realized his hands were shaking. “She asked me to find out if that had happened. And I didn’t fucking get around to it. I fucking let her down.”

“You didn’t know it was going to be important, Rehz. It was only when Aled told me about the male-female thing the Ungrich were interested in that it made any sense.”

He didn’t bother to answer. He knew he was at fault. He was fucking cursed . . .

“I’m accessing Aled’s files now. There’s not so much here, just a note about his genetic differences.” Kai shut down the files and erased the link. “What do you want to do now?”

“Find a way into Ungrich space.”

“What about Palk?”

Rehz picked up his weapon. “We’ll talk to him again when we get back.”

Aled tried again. “Why am I here?” The tentacles wrapped around his torso tightened like a hrel snake, and he fought back the urge to struggle. “Why? What do you want from me that I didn’t give you freely last time?”

“Female.”

Aled tried to gather his scattered thoughts. “I’m not female.”

“Human.”

“I have human DNA.” He tried to swallow and gagged on the thick column stuffed down his throat. “What do you fucking want?”

This time there was no answer, and he slipped back into the void, felt the coils of the two connected Ungrich support his weight, then knew no more.

“Why isn’t Palk stopping us?” Kai asked.

“I have no idea. Maybe I killed him.” Rehz shrugged. “I damn well hope I did. All I know is that we are getting close to getting through, and that’s all I care about.”

They had moved on from the main training facility to the inner area where the second stage of development took place. It was close to the only known entrance into Ungrich space below the planet surface.

Kai sighed. “Your single-mindedness is admirable.”

“Whatever Palk wants will have to wait. If we get back here alive, we’ll find out, won’t we?” Rehz surveyed the armory. “Is there anything here that can hurt the Ungrich?”

“Plenty, but nothing they won’t detect as soon as we enter their space.”

He considered that. “What about a bluff?”

“Like what?”

“I’m not sure.” He started looking through the archive material on the screen. “I’ll get back to you.”

“I’ll check out the Ungrich portal. We’ve both had access to the security code sequences to open the portal. Let’s hope they still work.”

“You can do it manually, right?”

“Yeah, if we have to. They designed it that way in case the power ever failed, but it’ll take a while.”

“Human.” Aled was gently shaken awake by his hosts. “Come.”

He didn’t waste his breath arguing, and was soon drawn deeper into the goo, past many other Ungrich, and finally into an area bathed in bright light.

“Don’t fight.”

He was suddenly catapulted forward through a thick membrane, leaving only one tentacle wrapped around his neck like an umbilical cord. The thick soup dissipated, and for a few seconds he forgot how to breathe air and floundered on the spongy floor like a grounded fish.

Curled up beside him was another person. He crawled over to her and touched her face.

“Anna Lee?”

She opened her blue eyes, and he flinched at the combination of terror and anger within them. “Aled. What happened?”

“I don’t know. One minute I was having my final medical, the next Palk turned up and everything went black.”

“Did you tell him?”

“No! Gods, no!”

“Then why the fuck am I here?”

He stared at her helplessly and reached for her fisted hand. “I don’t know, but I reckon we’re about to find out.”

“Mate.” The Ungrich controlling him thrust the thought into his mind like a spike through the tentacle embedded in his brain. “Human male and female.”

“It doesn’t work like that,” he thought back.

“Mate.”

He cried out as pain stabbed through his entire body, and the single tentacle wrapped around his throat multiplied into a hundred narrow cords that swarmed over his torso, wrapping tightly around his cock and penetrating his ass. His cock kicked against the confines of the tentacle, reacting as he’d been trained to any stimulus. He wanted to rip the Ungrich away from him, but he knew it was pointless.

“Mate.”

“Anna. Can you hear them?”

“Yes.”

He groaned as he was forced to his knees. “I’m sorry. I—”

She caught hold of his shoulders, her gaze now defiant. “It’s okay. We have to survive this. We have to stay alive.” She opened her legs and he surged forward, buried his cock deep inside her, and started to thrust.

Anna opened her eyes to find Aled still slumped over her, his hips now still, his breathing uneven. Her hand rested on the back of his neck, just below his now-soaked auburn hair. Gods, she hurt everywhere. She didn’t dare wake him up, because he’d have to start fucking her again and she didn’t think she could stand another round. She wanted to cry, but suspected she had no moisture left for tears. The Ungrich environment badly dehydrated her.

And she wouldn’t cry. She’d been here before and survived. She could do it again. Oh gods, but she wanted Rehz so badly . . .

The Ungrich she identified as the dominant member of an integrated pair who were currently inside her spoke in her head. “Where is the offspring?”

“I don’t understand.”

“Offspring. You mated.”

“It’s not that easy.”

“Explain.”

“Mating doesn’t always achieve conception.”

“Where is the fetus?”

She sighed. “It’s complicated.”

Pain lanced through her skull.

“Explain.”

Grimly, she attempted to marshal her thoughts—difficult when her head was crowded with fucking aliens and speaking out loud didn’t seem to register with them. “In order to create a fetus, the male sperm has to fertilize the female egg. The egg has to be in the right place to meet the sperm and start to divide and attach itself to the interior of the uterus. Eggs are only available to fertilize for around five days every month. The baby takes nine Earth months to reach maturity before it can be born.”

Blessed silence followed her explanation and she fell into a doze, only to be awakened by Aled rearing up over her again.

“Mate.”

Aled held himself still over Anna, his muscles straining as he fought the command. “No. She needs to rest.”

“Give her your seed.”

The implacable voice of the Ungrich set his teeth on edge. “I don’t have any left. We both need to recuperate.”

“Offspring.”

He groaned as the thin net of tentacles covering his body began to pulse with energy, inflicting numerous small shocks to his entire nervous system. His teeth chattered as he fought to stay still over Anna, who was watching him intently.

“I can’t . . .”

The tentacles hardened, trapping him inside them like prey caught in a net, and moved his body despite him. His arms bent at the elbows and he was shoved forward, his cock disappearing inside Anna. He wanted to shut it all out, but he refused to close his eyes, needing to see Anna, to make sure she was all right.

“I told them we can’t produce a baby in one day,” she whispered as his hips rocked back and forth, plunging his cock in and out of her. “Tell them the same thing. You have to think it. They don’t do speaking.”

He gathered his thoughts and concentrated. “We can’t produce offspring in one day. Conception is not guaranteed. Do you understand?”

There was no reply from his hosts, and anyway he was too busy trying not to scream as his cock tried to come and had nothing left to give. Silence fell in his head, but the pulsating chamber around them filled with his desperate moans. He let his eyes close, and only Anna’s soothing hands on his shoulders maintained their emotional connection.

He had no idea how long they were left in the darkness until lights flashed on and something inserted itself through the membrane into their space. He instinctively tried to put Anna Lee behind him as the tangled mass of reddish tentacles settled in front of them. Two probes whipped out, capturing them each around the throat.

“Tell me about the process of procreation.”

He repeated his story, and Anna joined in with the pertinent information about female cycles and the likelihood of conception.

“You need more eggs.”

Anna shook her head. “We can only release one or two unfertilized eggs every cycle. You took my eggs, didn’t you? Why haven’t you replicated a human in your lab?”

“Unsuccessful.”

Aled put his arm around her. “We cannot be expected to endure this every day. It is pointless. If a female isn’t ovulating, all the seed in the world won’t make a baby.”

Anna nudged him hard and he shut up, letting her continue. “And you haven’t taken into consideration that humanoids procreate more successfully with their other halves—just like you.”

“We do not require a ‘mate’ to procreate. It is a primitive function.”

“But you are two entities that work together, yes?”

“Other.” The two distinct Ungrich voices spoke as one.

“Aled and I are not Other. We cannot share our thoughts, and we can’t survive for very long without our other halves. We will die. We belong with Rehz Akran and Kai Mexr. They are our Others.”

“We know of these males.”

“If they were here, the chances of Aled and I successfully mating and producing offspring would be far higher.”

Aled let out his breath as the Ungrich released the mind lock and disappeared back through the thick membrane protecting their air.

“Do you think it will work?”

Anna curled up against his side. “I don’t know. Rehz will be coming for me anyway. I just hope that if they believe us, he might be allowed to get through alive.”

Kai turned to see Rehz coming up behind him. He positioned himself by the controls to the door of the vault.

“I’ve rigged it up to let us in and then automatically close, but not lock.” He frowned down at the control panel. “Well. I think that’s what I’ve done. According to the schematics, there is a manual override on the inside of the door as well, so we can technically get out either way.”

“Good.”

“I’ve also sent a secure message to the head of the military and the president about what has happened. I don’t know if the whole government is in league with Palk, but if they aren’t, they might come looking for us. It certainly can’t hurt.” He looked up to see Rehz stripping off his weapons. “What happened to your arm?”

“I did a little doctoring on myself.” Rehz inspected the line of black stitches where the blood was still oozing out. “Let’s just call it our insurance policy.”

“You’re attempting to conceal a weapon?”

Rehz’s grin was lethal. “It’s not really a weapon. It’s something I got out of the military archives. It’s old tech and might not be spotted.” He continued to take off his clothes. “Come on, we need to do this. We’re already hours behind them, and Ungrich time moves differently.”

Kai stripped off, shivering in the cold confines of the rock cavern. He tapped in the prepared codes and walked slowly up to the portal, which was beginning to open. “I don’t fucking want to go back in there.”

“Then don’t. I’ll get Anna. You can stay here and let us out.”

He raised an eyebrow at his friend. “And leave Aled?”

“You really like that male, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I do. Why do you think I’m standing here?”

Rehz slapped him hard on the back. “Then let’s do this thing.”

The portal opened to reveal the metal floor of the entrance chamber. The only difference he could see since he’d last been in there was that the walls of the room weren’t glistening pink.

“They aren’t here.”

Rehz paused to fiddle with something on the inner side of the door and then came to stand with him in the middle of the platform. “Don’t worry. Shut the door and they will come.”

He watched as the door swung slowly closed, and braced himself for impact.

Rehz noticed it first, the slight increase in temperature and the way the previously clear walls clouded over and pulsed with alien energy.

“They’re coming. Let me do the talking.”

“Are you sure that’s wise?” Kai murmured.

“I’ll be nice.”

“You’d better be.”

Rehz tensed as the wall behind him undulated, releasing a tangle of tentacle-like probes, one of which immediately wrapped around his neck, neatly puncturing the old scar on his throat and creating the telepathic connection.

“Why are you here?”

“You have broken the treaty and taken more than your allotted Tributes. The Mitan government respectfully demands the return of its citizens Anna Lee and Aled Price.”

Kai yelped as a second probe shot out and attached itself around his throat.

Rehz said nothing as the tentacle tightened around his neck.

“The treaty is secure.”

“No, it is not. You were provided Tributes and returned them to us, only to take two of our people again. This is an act of aggression toward our race. Return our citizens immediately.”

He caught his breath as the wall in front of him exploded outward, gathering him and Kai within a writhing mass of probes and pulling them deep into Ungrich space. He gagged as his throat was filled, stopping his breathing and compelling him to rely on the Ungrich to survive the murky soup.

Forcing his eyes to stay open, he focused on a square of brighter light that they appeared to be heading for, which eventually turned out to be a series of transparent cube-like structures. He and Kai were unceremoniously thrust through the thick membrane of one of them and dropped to the floor.

Kai grabbed at his throat and started coughing. “There’s oxygen in here.”

Rehz took a cautious breath. “Yeah. Who knew? At least they didn’t kill us outright.”

“There’s still plenty of time.”

He went to the side of the cube and tried to peer through the thick, rubbery film. He could see nothing but the glow coming from what he assumed were other cells, and the floating shapes of entwined Ungrich. He had to assume they couldn’t insert themselves completely into the air-filled cubes. His bare feet sank into the floor, which had the consistency of gellac.

“I wonder how they are getting the oxygen in here?” he mused. “It must come from the surface.”

“Or they can manufacture it.”

“Why would they need to do that when they don’t need to breathe?”

Kai’s smile was all teeth. “Good question. It goes right along with the one about wanting human DNA.”

The wall quivered and Rehz turned toward the dark red coils of the Ungrich who appeared. He stood still as the creature’s probe found his throat and passed through his skin. Yeah, it looked as if he was right. The Ungrich couldn’t come into the cube completely. He wondered how long the Ungrich could survive in the dry atmosphere without needing to return to their more familiar liquid environment.

“Return our citizens.”

“They are well.”

“I didn’t ask you how they were. You have no right to hold them. If you do not release them, you will face the consequences.”

“You would go to war again over a series of experiments?”

“I would.”

“We have not invaded the surface world.”

“You have taken what does not belong to you. That is enough.”

“These test samples are not from your planet. The treaty does not, therefore, cover them.”

“You’re wrong. They are both full Mitan citizens. We will protect them as our own.”

“They are safe.”

“I don’t believe you.” He focused all his energy into his reply. “Return our citizens.”

The thought had hardly left his mind before the Ungrich moved in a blur of speed, wrapping both him and Kai within its heaving mass and catapulting them through the floor. He didn’t even have time to scream as he ended up in a tangled heap on another sticky floor.

“Humans.”

He opened his eyes and found himself staring right at Anna Lee. She looked exhausted, her body pinned under Aled Price, who seemed to be asleep. Emotions crowded his throat and he forced them down, only reaching out his hand toward her.

“Aled Price is not human.” Kai was speaking now.

“He has sufficient DNA.”

“For what?” Kai demanded.

“For our purposes.”

Kai crawled over to Aled and drew him away from Anna, cradling him on his lap. “What the fuck did you do to him?”

“He says he has no more seed.”

“And he won’t have any unless you rehydrate him,” Kai snapped. “What the fuck are you trying to do?”

While Kai argued, Rehz went over to Anna Lee, who was still watching him as if she couldn’t actually believe he was there. He touched her damp hair and then the corner of her swollen mouth.

“Anna.”

She turned her head and nuzzled his palm, tears shining in the corners of her blue eyes. “You came.”

He gathered her into his arms and simply held her tight, the complexity of his emotions threatening to choke him tighter than an Ungrich tentacle. The tang of Aled Price’s come curled around them, and her thighs were sticky with it. He didn’t fucking care. She was alive and he was with her. That was enough.

“I told you I would never let you go,” he murmured into her tangled hair. “Whatever happens next, we’ll face it together.”

She burrowed into his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her, rocking her against him. Her hand came to rest on his chest, and she nuzzled his ear.

“They only understand what we’re saying when we communicate in thought, so we can still talk,” she whispered. “We told them that we were more likely to conceive if we were reunited with our indispensable, mated pairs. Our equivalent of their Other.”

“That’s probably why they let us live. Good thinking.”

He turned his attention back to the Ungrich who had brought them into the cube. “We will leave with our citizens now. Do not try to stop us.”

“You will not leave.”

He set Anna behind him and stood, as did Kai. “We will take our citizens home. You have no authority to conduct experiments of any kind on them.”

“Palk.”

“What about him?”

“We have authority.”

“Palk doesn’t speak for the Mitan government.”

“You cannot leave. We will keep you alive as long as you serve our mating purposes.”

“That is not acceptable.”

“Then we will kill Kai Mexr. He is the least useful one.”

Kai yelped as he was lifted off his feet, his face contorting as he tried to tear off the tentacles that were strangling him.

“Put him down,” Rehz yelled in his mind. It was becoming easier the more he tried it. “Aled Price will not function if Kai is not present.”

“He will function. You know we can force him to perform. If necessary, we will keep Kai Mexr in stasis and only produce him when required to ensure Aled Price’s obedience.”

“I will not!” Aled shouted. Clearly the Ungrich controlling him had let him hear the threat through their telepathic connection, so he continued in thought mode. “I’ll fucking kill myself if you take him away from me.”

“Don’t worry, Aled. I’ll kill you myself if Kai is taken away,” Rehz snarled. “Leave Kai here. If you won’t release Aled and Anna, we will all stay. But I warn you that our government has been informed of your actions and will be coming after you regardless of what Palk has said. He does not speak for the entire surface.”

Kai fell to the floor, his chest heaving as he sucked in deep lungfuls of air. The dark red Ungrich retreated, leaving them comparatively alone. Aled had come up on his knees and was staring at Kai and Rehz as if he didn’t believe they were real.

“Kai?” he whispered.

Rehz averted his gaze as the two males locked in an embrace that seemed destined to last forever. He turned back to Anna.

“I’m sorry I can’t get you out right now. I didn’t know what else to do,” he confessed. “I need Kai alive. I can’t do anything until I understand what’s going on here.”

She stroked his cheek. “We’re together. We’ll find a way.”

He bent his head and kissed her, threading his fingers through her hair and just breathing her in. “I’ll die before I let them hurt you.”

“I don’t want you to die for me.” She pulled away from him and looked him right in the eye. “If we can’t get out, we go down together and we take them with us, okay?”

He smiled. “That’s my Anna Lee. A troublemaker to the end. What do you think they want?”

She pressed her mouth against the side of his throat and whispered, “They want offspring—human offspring. And Aled says the pair inside him really get off on humans mating.”

“We need to find out as much as we can. Can you stand it for a while longer?”

“Being fucked? I was trained by the best. Of course I can.” Her mouth quivered. “And with you here next to me, I can stand anything.”

Kai reluctantly released Aled’s mouth. “You’re exhausted. You need to sleep.”

“I still can’t believe you came for me.” Aled shook his head, not quite trusting his own eyes. “I knew Rehz would come for Anna, but you? I thought you’d disowned me.”

“Hell, I tried.” Kai nuzzled his cheek. “What the fuck would you want with an idiot like me?”

“An idiot who came into Ungrich space to find me?” Aled kissed Kai’s fingers. “You’re my fucking hero.”

“Don’t say that.” Kai shifted slightly away from him, but not before Aled felt the ridge of Kai’s hard cock rubbing against his belly. He reached down and grasped Kai’s shaft.

Kai’s fingers closed around his wrist. “You don’t have to do anything. I’m kind of ashamed of myself for even getting hard.”

“You’re always hard around me. I make you want to fuck me blind. You have no idea how much I’ve missed this. Missed you.”

“I’m not fucking you right now.”

“Then let me use my hand,” he argued. “I need to feel you.”

Kai sighed but kept his fingers locked around Aled’s wrist. “Do it gently. Do it how I want it.”

He guided Aled into a smooth, slow rhythm that soon made his breath catch as Aled kissed him with his swollen, well-used mouth.

“Gods, I want to fuck that mouth,” Kai muttered. “Want my come all over your face.”

Aled winced as his cock stirred. “You can fuck my mouth as much as you like tomorrow. The Ungrich will expect it.”

“And I want your ass . . . my dick and a nice thick tentacle inside you, making you beg for it.”

Kai’s voice had roughened as his shaft moved between Aled’s fingers. Despite everything, Aled was caught up with the need to please his demanding male. He’d fuck Anna Lee all night if he had Kai behind him, fucking his ass.

Kai jerked and came all over Aled’s fingers. With a soft sound, he pushed Aled down onto his back and straddled him. Taking Aled’s hand, Kai licked his fingers clean of come and then bent to kiss him.

“We’ll survive this. Rehz has a plan.”

“And if it doesn’t work?”

“Then we’ll go down fighting and die together.”

Aled looked over at Rehz, who had gathered Anna onto his lap and was whispering intently into her ear.

“Rehz thought you might have given us up to Palk.”

“I fucking didn’t.”

“I knew you wouldn’t.” Kai smoothed his hair. “Even if you had, I’d still stop him from killing you.”

“Thanks.” He scowled at his lover. “Palk knew about the DNA thing. I don’t know how. I guess he’s always been in direct contact with the Ungrich scientists. Maybe they asked him to find humans like Anna and me specifically for their research.”

“I told Rehz, the idea of two Tributes having that elusive human DNA in two consecutive cycles was too big a coincidence to miss. Once Palk found Anna, he was already looking for someone like you to fulfill the male requirements.”

“They certainly targeted me for the program.” He winced. “I thought I was going insane when I found myself back here, but Anna Lee kept me on task.”

“She’s tough.”

“She has to be to keep up with Rehz Akran.” He lowered his voice. “They say they want our offspring, but what the hell for? Experimentation or something worse?”

“I’m not sure. I’m hoping we can sweet-talk those answers out of them in the next mating cycle. The longer we spend here, the better we communicate with them and the more they reveal.”

“I’m not leaving any child of mine and Anna Lee’s here.”

“I get that.” Kai disengaged Aled’s hand from around his wrist. “Let’s get some sleep while they’re quiet.”

Aled lay down against Kai’s side, his palm flattened over Kai’s heart. “Thanks for coming to get me.”

“You’re welcome.” Kai slid his fingers over Aled’s scalp. “When we get out, you can tie me up and show me just how thankful you are.”

Anna woke to a stifled cry as Rehz was shoved away from her by a mass of tentacles and held fast as he struggled. She forced herself to sit up and meet his furious gaze.

“Rehz. Don’t fight them.”

He set his jaw and went still, his eyes locked on hers as the tentacles covered him in a mesh of pulsing pink lines.

“Mate.”

Anna glanced over at the other two males, who had also been forcibly separated, leaving Kai cursing and Aled trying to calm him down.

“You cannot separate us from our Other while Aled and I fuck. They must be allowed to stay with us and provide for all our needs.”

Aled was brought toward her, his cock already hard and dripping pre-come as a probe manipulated his stiff shaft.

“Agreed. We shall observe.”

She crawled to Rehz, who was now seated on the floor, watching her, and backed up to him until his hands reached for her hips. His slick-tipped cock prodded the crack of her ass and he groaned her name.

“Hold me, Rehz. Talk to them.” She breathed out as Aled was physically propelled on top of her in a tangle of tentacles, which then withdrew.

“Gods,” Aled groaned as he slid inside her. “I’m sorry, Anna, I . . .” He gasped as his hips rolled hard against her, pushing her even closer into Rehz’s embrace. “Sorry, Rehz, I have to—I—”

He started to thrust, but it was Rehz Anna focused on, his hand on her breast and his finger on her clit, protecting her as poor Aled pounded into her. Leaning back, she searched for Rehz’s mouth and found it waiting for her.

Kai appeared behind Aled and slid his fingers into Aled’s hair, forcing his head back so Kai could kiss him. Anna felt the jolt as Kai pushed himself deep inside Aled’s ass. The pace increased, dictated by Kai rather than the Ungrich.

When she climaxed, the quieter of the Ungrich pair purred and seemed to uncurl within her mind.

“Do you like that?” she forced herself to ask.

“Your pleasure with the males? It is good.”

Rehz’s fingers tightened on her hips as Aled and Kai fucked each other and her.

“I want to be inside you,” he muttered.

“Please . . .” she breathed, digging her nails into his arm. “Please . . .”

He drew her up, and Aled went still as Rehz slowly lowered her over his thick cock. She felt every inch of him, but she didn’t care. The fact that he was with her was enough to make things feel better. And if they weren’t going to survive, they would certainly go down fucking and fighting.

“Gods.” Aled tore his mouth away from Kai’s. “I can feel all three of you. I want to come.”

Kai bit his throat hard. “Not until Anna tells you. You stay hard.”

“Come, Aled,” she whispered. “You’re the best at communicating with them. Tell me what your hosts are thinking when you do so.”

Aled opened his eyes and gently eased out of Anna Lee and back into Kai’s waiting embrace. The Ungrich had retreated slightly, leaving the four of them alone.

“They get off on us coming.” Anna cleared her throat. “One of them likes the pleasure, the other the pain.”

“Yeah,” Rehz agreed. “I got that sense too.”

“So we’re like a drug to them?” Aled asked. “Which means what—that if they can manage to replicate our offspring down here, those children will become their pet drug of choice? Fuck that.”

Anna frowned. “There’s got to be more to it than that. Don’t they know most humans only produce one child at a time?”

“It doesn’t make sense,” Rehz said. “If they want to get high on Mitans with human DNA, they could just demand that all the population who have that genetic makeup should be sent as Tributes. There must be more of you out there. Our government would probably prefer it. The Ungrich want something else.”

The tentacles wrapped around Aled, drawing him up and thrusting him back toward Anna, who bit down hard on her lip. Aled’s worried gaze met Rehz’s over her shoulder.

“Don’t you fucking hurt her,” Rehz growled.

“I’m trying not to—”

Kai got in Rehz’s face. “Stop trying to intimidate him. He’s doing his best.”

Aled slid his cock back into Anna and held still as she adapted to him. “Let’s focus on slowing down and thinking more. When one of us comes, the others have to seek answers, okay?”

He had no choice but to fuck Anna, but he did his best to keep it slow and steady. She was so wet from him already that it made his job much easier.

Kai’s fingers closed over his scalp.

“Let me have your mouth.”

Of course, Kai would enjoy this more than the rest of them. He thrived on the uncomfortable, on sex actively involving pain and suffering.

Aled swallowed Kai’s dick deep and held him there, sucking in rhythm to the thrust of his own cock inside Anna. With Kai not fucking his ass, he could think more clearly and get more out of the Ungrich. But gods, he loved Kai standing over him all naked and beautiful, demanding his submission, fucking his mouth.

He thought he’d lost that. Believed that Kai had rejected his love.

“Love . . .” The Ungrich inside him stirred, pushing against his mind. It was becoming equally adept at reading his subconscious as his projected thoughts. “Mate?”

“Yes. Like you. Two halves of a whole.”

“Not love. Coexist.”

“Kind of. Can you survive if your Other dies?”

He gagged around Kai’s cock as the Ungrich shoved a long, thick probe into his ass.

“We are one.”

The probe expanded until it was like he was being fisted, propelling him hard onto Anna. Kai’s grip on his head strengthened, offering him some much-needed support as Rehz braced himself behind Anna.

He closed his eyes and just endured as he climaxed and was roughly pushed away from Anna by Rehz. The Ungrich pair inside him disengaged him from Kai as well, and then he was entangled in tentacles as the dominant Ungrich continued pounding his ass. Inside his head, the more submissive partner hissed in pleasure.

“Hold him.”

Impaled on the appendage, he could only watch as the darker tentacles of the submissive climbed the insides of his thighs, spread over his balls and wound their way up and around the shaft of his cock, forcing him into unwilling and painful hardness. The tentacles thinned and curved over the crown, holding him steady.

“No!” he ground out. It was the last thing he said before his throat was filled.

He couldn’t scream as the narrow, barbed tentacle dipped inside the wet slit of his cock and stabbed downward. His body went rigid and he bucked against the coils. A searing pain followed as the head of the tentacle reemerged like some kind of macabre piercing on the underside of his cock.

Even as he thrashed and fought against the pain, he was aware of their pleasure and of their delight in the pumping of his come and his inability to stop them from doing whatever they wanted to him.

“Why?”

“We want this. We need this.”

And then everything went red and he let go.

“He’s not responding.” Kai smoothed Aled’s hair back from his face. “What the fuck did they do to him?”

“I don’t know.”

Rehz frowned down at Aled’s body, his gaze on the blood oozing from his cock and the three puncture wounds on the crown.

“They’re going to kill him,” Kai said flatly. “And if they do, I’m taking them down, okay? You and Anna can get out of here while I’m tearing every Ungrich fucker I can reach to shreds with my bare hands.”

“Now who needs to calm down?”

He bared his teeth at his friend.

“While that was going down, I got something from them. Did you, Kai?”

“I was too busy worrying about what they were doing to Aled.”

Anna, who was curled up on Rehz’s lap, opened her eyes. “They loved it when they hurt him.”

“Yeah,” Rehz said. “And they coveted that feeling.”

“Which means what?” Kai snapped. “That we’re their drug of choice? We already knew that.”

“It’s more than that.” Rehz lowered his voice. “They want to experience what we have.”

“By torturing us?”

“It’s more than the physical,” Rehz mused. “I just can’t grasp the whole of it yet.”

“Then fucking hurry up. Because Aled can’t take much more of this and neither can Anna.”

Rehz gave him a level stare. “If you focused down and stopped emoting, we might work out what is going on faster.”

“Yeah, right.”

“You like pain more than most, Kai. They could take you deeper than Aled and you’d deal with it better.”

“So you’re suggesting I offer myself up as sacrifice now?”

“If you want Aled to survive.”

Kai dropped his gaze to his unconscious lover’s face and shut up. Rehz didn’t need to ask for his help. No one else needed to know how deeply he craved pain. If he offered it up to the Ungrich and worked out what they wanted? He might even be proud of himself for once.

Aled opened his blue eyes, and Kai forgot everything else.

“You okay?”

Aled licked his dry lips. “Not nearly as bad as being fucked over by Palk.” He blinked. “Is my cock still attached to me?”

“Yeah. It’s gained a few holes, but it’s all still there.” He bent and kissed Aled’s nose. “It had better be all right because I own that cock. I’ll need it when we get out of here.”

Aled’s pupils dilated. “They . . . liked it when I screamed. They liked the taste of my blood. They want . . .” He frowned. “Something they lack.”

“Don’t worry about it now. Get some sleep before they come for you again,” Kai ordered. Aled obediently closed his eyes again, and Kai laid him back down on the soft surface of the cell floor. He hated seeing his lover treated like some kind of breeding machine. It wasn’t right. He had a terrible sense that unless all of them gave everything they had, the Ungrich would triumph. If they couldn’t work out a way to get back, Aled and Anna might be doomed to stay here and fuck forever.

“Rehz? Keep an eye on Aled for me, okay?”

Taking a deep breath, he turned away from the other three and walked over to the far corner of the cube. He sat on the floor and wrapped one hand around his dick. He thought about Aled and blood and pain and . . . yeah, felt his cock spring to life and the Ungrich tentacle probing his brain wake up so he could communicate with it.

“Kai Mexr . . .”

“Fuck me like they did Aled.”

The tentacle around his throat quivered and stretched, sending thin tendrils like red raindrops trickling down over his abs.

“Make me bleed and hurt for you.”

For the first time he voluntarily reached for the tentacles, wrapping them around his fingers and balls and shaft as he finger-fucked himself.

“Taste me. Get off on my pain. It’s much better than that love shit. I swear it.”

The Ungrich surrounding him shuddered, and suddenly he couldn’t see anything but the pulse of tentacles closing him in. His moving finger was yanked out of his ass and replaced by a big, thick, pulsing probe. He sighed even as he struggled to take it inside him. For the first time, instead of hiding his pain, he embraced it and offered it up to them.

They took it.

Fuck, they took it all.

His knees were spread wide and his back arched as he struggled to take the beast. Looking down, he watched as the finer tentacles became barbed, dragging themselves over his skin, leaving bloodied tracks behind them. Gods, it was like his body was on fire. His nerves were exposed and his whole being became a vibrating vehicle for pain . . .

He joined them, diving in deep: felt their joy at his surrender, begged them to do more, and felt the scrape of the barbs like teeth on his balls and cock. He climaxed, his blood mingling with his come, and they soaked it up, made him hard again. Hooks through his foreskin like red-hot needles dragging him up, sending him to that place where everything was peaceful and the white wall of pain suddenly made perfect sense.

He took a breath and saw them clearly.

And took more pain.

When Kai woke up, he was stretched out in the corner, and Aled was fucking Anna again. Everything hurt. He tasted his own blood and come on his parched lips and tried to clear his throat. Gods, it hurt to even swallow, as if he’d been screaming for hours.

Maybe he had.

Rehz glanced his way, and his eyes widened before he came over and crouched next to Kai.

“You look like a side of flayed meat.”

He attempted a nod, and Rehz frowned.

“Can you talk?”

“Throat sore,” he croaked.

“Aled nearly lost it with the Ungrich when you emerged from that sea of tentacles all bloodied and punctured. I had to remind him that you’d done this for us.” Rehz shifted his stance. “Can you hold on to me and come closer to Aled? He needs to see that you’re alive.”

He attempted to roll onto his side and almost threw up. At his second attempt he sat up. His vision went black and he saw stars.

“Breathe.” Rehz offered his hand. “Ready?”

He managed five staggering steps with Rehz’s help before he collapsed to the right of Aled, whose face lit up at the sight of him.

“Kai. I thought . . .”

Kai waved him on. “Just finish the fucking. Trust me, I’m not going anywhere.”

Anna had almost become used to the smell of blood, now mingled with the scent of sweat and come. How long had they been there? She was losing track of time. Rehz, Kai, and Aled surrounded her as she slept, offering her a false sense of protection. All of them knew the Ungrich could take and kill any one of them at will.

“You okay?” Rehz whispered.

She turned her head to look at him. There were dark shadows under his eyes and his stubble was growing in fast. He was the only one of the men who wasn’t injured. Kai was a mess and had barely regained consciousness after managing to crawl to Aled’s side.

“I’m with you,” she whispered back.

He swallowed hard. “I’m sorry. If I’d listened to you, we—”

She put her fingers to his lips. “You did your best. You came to find me, and when we get back, you’re going to give me Palk’s head on a platter, right?”

“Yeah.” He kissed her fingers. “And his balls. Not that he has any.”

“Come here.”

He rolled onto his side, aligning his body with hers, and she felt the press of his cock against her belly. She raised her right leg and inched closer until his shaft rubbed against the swollen wetness of her cunt.

“Please.”

“You’re sore.”

“But I need to feel you.” She flattened her hand on his ass, drawing him toward her until his cock slid home. “Just hold me like this.”

He flexed his buttocks until he was fully inside her. She wrapped her arms and legs around him and enjoyed the exquisite sensation of his cock throbbing hard and deep within her.

“Wish it was my come all over you. Hate that it’s fucking Aled’s.” He kissed her throat. “Always loved it when you were so full of me that it trickled down your thighs.”

“That’s because you are an overpossessive male with dominant tendencies.”

“Yeah. I liked other men seeing that I filled you up and that you took all that fucking.”

She tightened her internal muscles around him. “I was taught by a master.”

“Liked to know you were always wet and ready for me as well.”

“I was. I am.” She bit his ear. “Do you remember when we went out to dinner last week and you couldn’t keep your hands off me?”

He’d had his fingers in her panties, stroking her, and she’d wanted him so badly.

“I remember.”

“So you grabbed my hand, took me outside to the back of the restaurant, and fucked me up against the wall. Then we went and finished our dinner. I was so wet.” She moaned as his cock jerked inside her.

In the taxi going home, he’d gotten down on his knees and eaten her cunt with such slow enjoyment that she’d had to cover her mouth to stop herself from screaming her pleasure to the world.

Rehz murmured. “Do you know the taxi driver watched the whole thing in his mirror? He loved it. He should have paid me. He was hard when he opened the door to let us out.” He rolled his hips. “I thought about asking him to come upstairs so he could watch some more, but I was too greedy to have you all to myself.”

She shuddered as a slow orgasm rolled through her, and Rehz shoved forward and came with her.

“I don’t care if we die,” she eventually managed to whisper. “As long as I’m with you at the end and we go down fighting.”

He stroked her damp hair. “I’ll die protecting you. You know that.”

“Right back at you.”

“That’s my girl.”

Beside Aled, Kai finally stirred. Rehz looked down at her, his smile rueful as he relinquished his hold on her.

“We need to talk to him.”

Kai groaned and opened his eyes. “Fuck.”

“You okay?” Rehz said.

“Yeah. Just perfect.”

Anna leaned over Rehz’s shoulder to study Kai’s pained expression. “Did you get anything?”

“Holy fuck, yes.” Kai shivered. Aled took his hand and held it tight. “They want to be on the surface.”

She tried hard not to hyperventilate. “And how do they think they are going to achieve that?”

“Guess.”

“Hybrids,” Aled said softly. “Human and Ungrich. Right, Kai?” He held his gaze as Kai nodded. “We give them children with the highest percentage of human DNA, which obviously works better than pure Mitan, and they create something nasty in their labs.”

“If they get on the surface, there won’t be any more Mitans,” Anna said.

Aled grimaced. “Which will suit them just fine.”

“They also lack understanding of emotion,” Kai added. “That’s why they’ve been studying our reactions—to find our weaknesses and exploit them.” He shivered. “They want to create something that can live on the surface but doesn’t have our limitations.”

“Fuck.” Rehz shook his head.

“That’s what Palk meant.” Kai looked over at Rehz. “He traded Anna and Aled for his security. He thinks that if they emerge from here, the Ungrich will save his ass.”

“Then we’ll have to find a way out of here alive.” Rehz’s gaze scanned them all. “Or at least one of us will. We have to warn our government. I was hoping we’d hear something from outside by now, but no such luck. I can’t believe the whole bloody council is in on this, can you?”

“No.” Everyone shook their heads.

He turned to Kai. “Are you able to move your ass if necessary?”

Kai’s smile was crooked. “If there’s an Ungrich after me. Sure.”

Aled wrapped his arms around Kai’s chest from behind. “I’ll help you.”

Rehz nodded. “Then let me do the talking when they come back, okay?”

The light changed and the forms outside the cube cells drifted closer and became identifiable. Each Ungrich pair was slightly different in coloration and dimension. Some of them were the size and height of a spaceship, while others were more like tall stalks of grain. Rehz figured the older the creature, the darker the color and the more complex the shape.

“Rehz.”

Anna beckoned him closer. “There’s something going on. Aled and I both felt a new sense of agitation among our hosts. I wonder if our government has finally spoken up?”

Rehz looked at Aled. “Try and find out what’s going on. It could help us with our bargain.”

The Ungrich congregated around the floating cell. It certainly made sense now why they had perfected an environment replicating the oxygenated surface. Rehz didn’t understand why human DNA worked for the Ungrich; he just knew he had to stop the experiments from happening or his people would be exterminated.

He tuned in his thoughts to the Ungrich wrapped around his throat. “Have you heard from our government?”

It didn’t answer, but Rehz had been around them long enough to pick up on that slight hint of unease.

“I bet they want us back, don’t they? What are they threatening you with this time? Carpet bombing, or have they developed more strategic weapons than that?”

“Be quiet, Rehz Akran.”

Rehz increased the strength of his thought. “You should let us all go before things get worse. Where are your leaders? Let me talk to them.”

A stab of pain right inside his skull had him falling to his knees and fighting to stay conscious.

“I’m right, aren’t I? Let us go.”

The largest and darkest red of the Ungrich blasted through the thin cell wall and caught hold of his throat.

“We have a solution.”

“Yeah you do. Let us go. You are breaking the treaty.”

“There will soon be a new treaty.”

He forced himself to stand, and the others joined him. “If you want our government to negotiate with you, you will have to release your hostages.”

“We have a solution.”

Before he could draw another breath, he, Kai, and Aled were swept up into the Ungrich’s stranglehold.

“No! Fucking no!” Tentacles poured down his throat and wrapped around his body.

Even as he tried to shout, the three of them were surrounded and hurtled back through Ungrich space, leaving Anna behind. He started to struggle then—even knowing it was pointless, just wanting to inflict any damage he could on the beings surrounding him and taking him away from his mate.

His breath screamed out as he was dumped on the hard metal platform at the portal. The tentacle down his throat retracted, and he gulped in air.

“Kai? See that black thread on my arm? Get it out as fast as you can.”

He stood and grabbed hold of one of the thick red tentacles that was trying to ease away from his torso. Kai tugged at the stitches and then used his teeth to break open the healing skin. Rehz didn’t even feel the pain.

“Take me back to Anna, you fucking bastard.”

“You three will be returned to your government. Your female will remain. It is an excellent compromise. You will tell them she is dead.”

“No. It doesn’t work like that. We all leave right now.”

“If you persist, we will simply offer them your bodies.”

Blood dripped down his arm as Kai pulled and tugged at the stitches, cursing up a storm.

“No. If you try and kill me, I’ll blow this portal sky high and let all that filthy oxygen in here.”

“You have no weapons.”

“I fucking do. See that door? Have you ever heard of wireless technology?”

“You lie.”

“I fucking never lie. Get me Anna, or I’ll blow that door right off its hinges and destroy you all.”

He looked at Kai and Aled speaking the words out loud as he thought them. “If it kills me, one of you has to take over. The detonator button is just under my skin. Just press it and it will set the explosives off and disable the door.”

“NO.”

This time it was Rehz who was smiling. “Get Anna.”

“NO.”

“Then I’m setting this off.” He nodded at Kai. The probes in Aled’s and Kai’s throats had retracted leaving them free of the Ungrich. “As soon as those explosives go off, I want you to run.”

“I’m not leaving you,” Kai said. “And neither is Aled.”

“Then we’ll go with plan B.” Rehz reached up and slammed his hand down over the half-exposed button. “Get down and hang on to this Ungrich for dear life.”

Even as they hit the ground, the door exploded outward and a rush of air came howling through the mountain caverns. He had never tasted desert air so sweet. The Ungrich attached to Kai and Aled had already retreated through the wall, but the third and most senior was trapped under Rehz and the weight of the other two males.

“DYING.”

“Good. Where’s Anna? We’re going to put you in a fucking jar and study you for a while. See how you like it. Is that what you want?”

“Can’t function. Need Other.”

Rehz looked up at Kai. “Can you find anything to cover this bastard up in and keep it wet?”

“The wall can’t seal up with half an Ungrich out here.” Aled shot to his feet. “I’ll collect some of the goo oozing out of the wall. We can hold it in that if we can contain it in something.”

“Rehz!”

He looked up to see about a dozen of his former colleagues, all Tribute trainers, pouring into the space. “I need something to trap this fucker in, stat!”

Within moments, the trainers stripped bare one of the man-size resuscitation units from the medical center. They filled it with the soup oozing from the cracks in the wall through which the Ungrich had failed to retreat and seal its space. Shoving the bulk of the tentacled alien inside was like trying to fit a full-grown camrak into a half-liter observation jar, but they were damn well motivated to make it work.

He crouched down beside the mess of heaving tentacles and straddled the largest that was still connected to the wall. “You want to stay here? Or do you want to go home? Or shall I just send half of you back so you can see how I feel? Give me Anna and we’ll let you go. We’ll even patch up the portal so your world is safe.”

Behind him, the sound of weapons being readied echoed through the cavern. He didn’t bother to turn his head. Not even when he recognized the next voice to raise itself over the din.

“Release the Ungrich, Rehz Akran.”

“Fuck off, Palk.”

“I said stand clear.”

“So you can what? Become leader of the Mitan people when the Ungrich unleash their power on the surface? What people, Palk? We’ll all be fucking dead.”

“He’s right.” Aled faced Palk and the armed guards. “That’s what this has all been about for the Ungrich. This research? This fucking treaty? All so they could find a way to get out of their space and into ours.”

Kai kicked the unit containing the Ungrich. “Who are you going to believe, guys? Palk, or me and Rehz?”

Malke took a step toward Kai. “I’d tend to believe you. Palk’s a sadistic bastard.” Shooting his arm out, he disarmed the nearest guard and turned the weapon on a stuttering Palk. “What do you want us to do with this filth?”

“Stop Palk from killing us and make sure the government knows what’s going on?” Kai suggested.

“This is an insubordination!” Palk cried. “Take these men down!”

“Fuck that.” Kai reared back and executed a perfect kick at one of the guard’s throats, taking his weapon as the man crumpled to the ground. He tossed the gun to Aled as the remaining trainers efficiently overcame Palk’s uncertain troops.

“What are we going to do, Rehz?” Aled crouched beside him.

“Tell everyone to shut up so that I can talk to these fuckers.”

He concentrated hard. “If you give Anna back, I will return you to Ungrich space. My government and our scientists will get here very soon. They’ll walk inside that vault and blow it to pieces with every fucking weapon they have at their disposal. Your entire world will be cut off from ours. You’ll lose everything, and they’ll chop you up into little pieces in their labs and analyze you until the day you die. Even if your Other tries to retaliate, they won’t be in time to save you.”

There was no reply, and he pressed his cheek against the clear surface. “If you give Anna back, you’ll still have your world and your research. I don’t want anything else but her. From the look of you, you won’t last much longer out here. Make a decision while you’re still attached to your world and still alive.”

Kai came to kneel next to him. “If this bastard won’t help, we’ve all agreed that we’ll go in there and find Anna regardless.”

Rehz nodded, his mind totally fixed on the ragged internal breathing of the Ungrich wrapped around his throat. His whole body was shaking. If the fuckers didn’t agree to his request, he was taking a fucking flamethrower, walking into Ungrich space, and . . .

“We comply.”

For a moment Rehz thought he hadn’t heard anything, and then Kai shouted. “Look out!”

He turned in time to see the pink walls vibrate again and release a tangle of probes and a flash of blond hair. He released his grip on the Ungrich coils and ran toward the platform, the mass of the creature spilling out of the container and following behind him.

Pushing his way through the thrashing tentacles, he grabbed Anna and took her into his arms, bringing her out into the cavern.

“Let it go.” He nodded at the rest of the men.

Palk stirred. “The government won’t—”

His words remained unfinished as Aled stepped forward and punched him in the face. “Fuck the government.”

Within an instant the Ungrich ripped its probe out of Rehz’s neck and shot back into the wall.

“Shut the portal as best as you can,” Kai ordered. “And seal it up.”

Rehz remained on the floor, his arms around Anna Lee, his head bent over her unconscious form. He was shaking so hard he could barely manage to breathe. Kai and Aled came to join him.

“What did you say to get the Ungrich to release her?” Kai murmured.

“I said we’d trade Anna for the captured Ungrich. I also said we wouldn’t obliterate them and that the extent of their research would remain in their hands.” His smile was feral. “I lied. The sooner we can get back in there and erase them forever, the better.”

The sound of booted feet echoed around the cavern, and it was soon filled with troops. He stayed where he was, blood dripping steadily from his torn throat. Kai collapsed next to him, his strength gone, and Aled stood guard over them all, his purloined weapon at the ready.

A man Rehz had never seen before but who looked vaguely familiar came and crouched beside their little group.

“Rehz Akran. Your government thanks you.”

He nodded, barely able to form words. “Anna needs help.”

“We will take you all to a secure medical facility.”

Rehz’s grip on Anna tightened. “Not a military one where Palk has any influence. Nor anywhere near that fucking bastard.”

“No, my private facility.” The man got off his knees and stood back to reveal a medical team. “You can trust these people with your lives.”

Kai managed a faint snort. “I’ve heard that before.”

“You may keep your weapons if you prefer.”

“We had no intention of giving them up.”

Aled offered Kai his hand to rise as Rehz stood with Anna in his arms. Every cell of his body hurt. All he wanted was darkness, Anna, and the oblivion of sleep in a normal bed.

As they moved forward, a team of large guards closed around them and the man leading them. Anna and Kai were placed on gurneys, and the whole procession moved out through a row of black uniformed troops and onto some kind of airship.

“The journey will only take a few minutes.” The largest man nodded to Rehz. “I am Bron, head of presidential security.”

No wonder the guy offering help had looked so familiar.

Rehz sank on the side of Anna’s gurney, holding her hand. He jumped as someone slapped a dressing on his neck, and grabbed their wrist.

“Sorry!” The young medical assistant went still, her eyes wide. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Bron eased Rehz’s bloodstained fingers away from the female tech and spoke to her in a quiet rumble. “Don’t touch any of them without permission, okay? They’ve been in hell.”

Rehz held his gaze, and the security guard pulled down the collar of his black shirt to reveal the mark of an Ungrich tentacle. “I survived for seven days. I don’t know how you guys survived for fourteen.”

“It was that long? We had no idea of time in there.” Rehz swallowed hard. “It wasn’t so bad.” He had no intention of revealing all the details of their ordeal to a stranger, even if the man had once been a Tribute.

The engines stuttered and began the process of descending. He struggled to keep his eyes open as the warmth of the place surrounded him. Whatever Bron said about them being secure, he had to keep awake. He glanced over at Aled, who was checking out the space, and caught his eye.

“Ready?”

“To protect you all? Yeah.”

Bron wisely didn’t say anything as he walked to the door and began issuing orders. Within seconds of touching down, they were on the move again, through more soldiers and into a low white building. Even the beauty of the place couldn’t hide the smell of a medical center, and Rehz stiffened.

Bron took the four of them through to a large room with big windows facing out over a lake. There were a variety of beds and other furniture spaced around the chamber. Anna was transferred into one of the beds and Kai into another.

A man in a white coat appeared and bowed to Rehz.

“I’m Dr. Ilkar. I’ll be responsible for your care.” He hesitated, his gaze on Rehz’s weapon. “We’d like to do a basic health survey of you all to make sure we don’t miss anything vital that needs attending to right away. Would that be acceptable?”

“Sure. Start with Anna Lee, please.”

Rehz took a reluctant step backward and laid his weapon on the end of Anna’s bed. She was still unconscious and smelled too much like Ungrich space and Aled for his liking. But she was alive, and for that he’d always be immensely grateful.

Dr. Ilkar produced a scanner and ran it over Anna’s body, his frown deepening.

Rehz tensed and reclaimed his weapon. “She’s going to be all right, isn’t she?”

“I believe so. We’ll stabilize her first and then discover more.” The doctor turned to him. “Stand still.”

Within a few moments the doctor had scanned them all and was issuing a long set of orders to his staff. Rehz was directed toward another bed, but he balked until Dr. Ilkar turned to a staff member.

“He can sleep next to Anna Lee if he wishes.”

“But Doctor—”

“We will manage.”

Bron stood against the wall and watched all the proceedings, occasionally muttering into his cuff. Rehz felt his eyes closing as the intravenous fluids went to work. A shape materialized by his bed and he reared up.

“Don’t take my fucking weapon.”

Bron leaned over him, his brown eyes steady. “Rehz Akran, we will guard you with our lives. Do not doubt it. Sleep now.”

Rehz held the man’s gaze and then nodded. The next thing he knew, he was falling into the darkness of sleep.

Kai rolled onto his side and opened his eyes to see the long line of Aled’s naked back. He still hurt all over, but compared to how he’d felt three days ago, it was nothing. When the four of them had refused to be separated, the staff had moved his and Aled’s bed to one side of the room and Anna and Rehz’s to the other, giving them a modicum of privacy but the ability to see the others were safe.

Sure, he could hear Rehz and Anna fucking every now and then, but that was a good sound—one he’d thought he’d never experience again.

The sun was rising, and the lake beneath their window was bright silver blue. Idly he traced his finger down Aled’s spine, admiring the pale white of his skin. Kai’s cock stirred and pressed against his lover’s ass.

“You’re feeling better then?” Aled murmured.

Kai rolled his hips. “What makes you say that?”

“I have no idea.”

He put his hand on Aled’s shoulder and rolled him onto his back, catching the last hint of his smile. Aled touched his cheek.

“I thought you were fucking dead.”

“Like I was going to let them kill me?” He held Aled’s intense blue gaze. “You know I like my sex hard and dirty.”

“And the Ungrich gave it to you, right?”

“I’m sure you can do it better.” He rubbed the crown of his dick, gathering the wetness, and brought his fingers to Aled’s sweet, fuckable mouth. “I’ll do anything you want. You know that.”

Aled licked his stabbing fingers with the tip of his tongue. “I just want you to fuck me right now, so I know you’re real and we’re free of that nightmare.”

Kai wrapped his fingers around Aled’s long cock. “I can do that.” He held still, his gaze never wavering. “I’m going to make you beg, though, and scream so that Anna and Rehz can hear you. And I’m not going to stop if the medical team or the fucking president turns up. I’m going to fill you with my come and make you ask for more.”

Aled’s pupils dilated and he swallowed hard. “Yes.”

“To what?”

“All of it. Make me scream.” He licked his lips. “I thought you’d left me for good. I thought I’d lost you.”

Kai bent his head and kissed Aled’s mouth. “I was going to come and find you anyway. Life just wasn’t the same without you around.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really. Now shut up and let me fuck your brains out.”

As he moved over Aled, Kai thought about how their training had conditioned all four of them to respond to stress by having sex and then more sex. Not that he regretted it. Fucking Aled was the only thing that made him forget the horrors, and made sense of his world.

Anna stirred against Rehz as Aled moaned something unintelligible and the bed on the other side of the room rocked against the wall.

“Kai must be feeling better,” Anna murmured.

“You think?” Rehz bent and kissed her nipple. “And now he’s making me horny. I love those sounds Aled makes when he’s being fucked.”

“I’m sure Kai would be quite happy to share him with you.”

“Not today. But maybe one day Aled and I can get Kai on his knees between us and keep his mouth and ass stuffed full for a long while so he can’t do anything but do what he’s told.”

Anna squirmed against him, and he slid his thigh between her legs. “You’d like to see that, wouldn’t you? You’re fucking wet.”

“Kai being mastered? Gods, yes.”

“And then maybe we could help you out.”

“Mmm . . .” She tilted her head, seeming to picture it. “Yeah.”

He moved his fingers down to her cunt and slid inward through her welcoming warmth. “You’d take all of us, wouldn’t you?” His voice roughened. “But you’d end up with me. You know that, right?”

“Who else?” He pressed his thumb hard on her clit and she came for him. She should probably tell him to back off when he started getting all possessive, but he was glad she never did. She seemed to accept it was his weird way of expressing his love for her. The Ungrich experience had stripped them both of any desire to be romantic. She was a strong woman. He didn’t need to hide or sugarcoat anything for her, and he never would.

“My fucking come in you, my marks on you, all mine.” He bit her shoulder as he shoved four fingers in and out of her. “All for my pleasure.”

She bucked against him, and with a soft curse he rolled on top of her and pressed his cock deep. She came again and he held still, watching her writhe around his stiff length.

“You are everything to me, Anna Lee. I fucking adore you.”

She reached up to touch his face and just nodded.

“That’s it?” he growled. “I basically declare my undying love to you and you pat me on the head?”

Gods, now she looked like she was going to cry. What the hell?

“Anna . . .”

“I’m scared, Rehz,” she blurted out. “I just don’t think this is the end of it.”

No wonder she was upset. “Neither do I.” He lowered his voice. “There is no way in hell that Palk could’ve gotten away with this plan all by himself. He has to have some allies higher up the chain of command.”

“What can we do about that?”

He smiled but it wasn’t pleasant. “At the moment? Fuck all. We’re too emotionally and physically drained by our Ungrich experience to do much more than lie here, sleep, and eat.”

“And fuck.”

“Yeah. That’s a given.” He eased out of her, kissing the scar the Ungrich had left on her throat. “We’ll work this out. I promise you. We’re not as ill-prepared as they think because we don’t trust anyone.”

The door opened and one of the nursing staff came in, followed by Bron, the security chief, who glanced briefly at Anna’s naked body and then away. He was a big guy with a broad frame and the wary face of a man who knew how to take care of himself.

“Sorry to disturb you, but the president would like to meet with you all for dinner tonight.”

Rehz stood in front of Anna and nodded easily. “Sure. Will he come here or are we finally getting to leave this room?”

“We are still on high alert for you four and determined to keep you safe,” Bron said. “I believe he will come here.”

“Did someone say come?”

Kai strolled over to them with languid grace, his naked skin gleaming with sweat. He smelled of sex and looked like he was ready for round two. This time Bron failed to look away as Kai palmed himself and grinned right at the security chief.

Rehz nodded. “We’ll be ready.” Bron managed to look at him as the medical officer checked the banks of screens recording everything about the four of them. “Clothes would be good.”

Bron finally smiled. “Not on my account, but the president might prefer it.” He inclined his head. “I’ll see you all later.”

He left with the medic, and the door locked behind them. Kai turned back to Rehz.

“I think he wants me.”

“I think you’re right.” He went toward the bathroom, aware of an ache in his shoulder where the Ungrich had ripped itself free and torn half his muscle off. “Flirt away. We need every ally we can get.”

He turned on the water and stood under it until Kai joined him. As soon as they’d gotten mobile, they’d realized the place was probably bugged and kept most of their important conversations beneath the roar of the shower.

“How’s Aled doing?”

“Okay. Still having nightmares. How about Anna?”

He sluiced water away from his face. “Not too good. She’s worked out things aren’t quite as finished as they should be.”

“I’d rather we all knew where we stood.” Kai soaped his chest, his breath hissing out as he encountered the multiple cuts the Ungrich had left on his skin. “Did you hide the weapons?”

“Where? They can see everything. I left them in plain sight. No one’s tried to take them away from me.”

“True,” Kai acknowledged. “I suppose all we can do is hear what the president has to say and take it from there. Do you think they’re going to take us out?”

“Yeah.” He gazed bleakly into his friend’s green eyes. “Don’t you?”

Kai nodded. “Aled thinks so too. He made me promise to kill him myself if there’s any suggestion that he or Anna have to go back into Ungrich space for the good of our planet.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll kill him if you can’t, and you’ve got to do the same for me and Anna.”

“Agreed.” Kai held up his hand and Rehz slapped his palm against it, then turned to find Aled and Anna coming into the bathroom, talking intensely. He immediately straightened his spine.

Anna took Aled’s hand and moved under the shower with him. “Aled and I have something to say.”

He stroked her jaw. “It’s okay. I know what you want. We won’t let them take you. We’ll kill you first.” The words almost choked him, but he got them out.

She stood on tiptoe and carefully kissed Kai, and then him. “Thank you.” Her blue eyes were clear. He wanted to fall to his knees and kiss her feet and protect her from every damn fucking thing in the universe. Instead he nodded and stepped out of the shower.

“Better get dressed. I’ve almost forgotten what it feels like to wear clothes.”

Kai kissed Aled and then joined Rehz in the main room, a towel wrapped around his lean hips and a ferocious expression on his face. He slammed his palm into the wall.

“Fuck it, Rehz. Fuck all of it.”

“Yeah.” He went over to his bed and saw a set of black clothing laid out for him. A trainer’s uniform. He hated the thought of putting it on. “Let’s just see what the man has to say, okay?”

Aled allowed his gaze to slide around the circular table as he sipped cautiously at the pale liquid the president had said was wine from Earth. He much preferred Mitan kvas, but he wasn’t going to make a scene. It was far more interesting to listen to what was being said and what wasn’t being said.

Kai and Rehz were stony-faced, polite but noncommittal, and Anna wasn’t much better. President Landis Khan was being very affable, and Aled was trying to be the same. He reasoned someone had to make an effort to charm the shit out of the man, and it might as well be him. Bron, the chief security officer, had his eyes glued on Kai, which didn’t make Aled feel good as Kai was actively encouraging his attention.

He leaned forward to refill his glass and elbowed Kai hard in the side.

“Having fun?”

“Yeah. Jealous?”

Aled smiled at him. “Absolutely. I’m taking it out on your ass later.”

Kai’s eyes flashed green. “Is that a promise?”

“Depends.”

“On what?”

“Whether that big hulk is fucking you at the time.” He slid his hand under the table and pinched Kai’s half-erect cock hard enough to make him jump. “I assume that’s what you’re aiming for?”

Kai slowly let out his breath. “You okay with that?”

“If I have to be.” He pinched Kai again and then released him before turning his attention back to Landis Khan, who was watching him with a slight smile.

“Did I mention that I know your grandfather, Aled?”

“No, sir.”

“I met him at the council chamber for your district when he was governor. I believe he fought in the military as well.”

“Yes, he did.”

“Do you intend to resume your military career?”

“I thought being immersed in Ungrich space meant I had the freedom to choose my own destiny.”

“One might hope so.” The president sighed. “However, having a man such as you remain in the military would be an enormous benefit to our troops.”

Kai’s arm snaked around Aled’s shoulders, pulling him close. “He’s not going back to being a military grunt. He’s coming to live with me.”

“You would also be an asset, Kai Mexr.”

“I don’t deal with authority figures well. Palk hated my guts.”

At the mention of Palk’s name, everyone around the table became more alert.

The president put down his glass, carefully aligning the base with the pattern of the fancy tablecloth. “General Palk is no longer in command of the Tribute program or anything else.”

“Surely that’s because there is no Tribute program anymore?” Rehz asked.

“It’s not quite that simple, Rehz Akran.”

Rehz sat forward. “Are you seriously telling us that after the fucking nightmare we’ve been through, you still intend to deal with those monsters? Don’t you understand what they wanted to do?”

“I fear we might have misunderstood their motives.”

Anna stood up. “I didn’t.” Her voice was shaking. “They took my eggs. They are creating something in their labs!”

“It’s okay, Anna.” Rehz took her hand and coaxed her back into her seat.

“It’s not okay. Anna’s right.” Aled nodded. “I was there.” He glared at the president. “How can you countenance dealing with them again when you know their true agenda?”

“We signed a treaty with their race.”

“A treaty which they broke,” Rehz snapped. “They took Anna and Aled without permission.”

“That’s not true,” the president said. “They believed they had Palk’s permission.”

“Yeah.” Kai entered the fray. “And who exactly gave Palk permission to get away with that stunt? Someone had to.”

“There is a large segment of the government that would prefer to live peacefully with the Ungrich. I understand that Palk found his supporters among those people.”

“But the Ungrich don’t want to live in peace,” Rehz said. “They want to fucking annihilate all of us and take back the planet’s surface. We lived in their heads and in their world for weeks. We know the truth more than anyone. Don’t you get it?”

“And what do you suggest we do, Rehz Akran? Go into their world and annihilate them instead?” The president grimaced. “Maybe you are too young to remember the colony wars when cities were swallowed whole by the Ungrich, and millions died. We still can’t beat them. We don’t have the weapons to destroy them without destroying ourselves.”

“So we just sit back and play nice?” Aled demanded.

“It’s not quite that desperate. Thanks to the bravery of the four of you, we know what they are attempting and can prevent it.”

“And just how do you intend to do that?” Kai asked.

“By screening all potential Tributes for human DNA. If we no longer supply them with what they need, they won’t be able to experiment any further.”

Aled shook his head. “You don’t understand them at all, do you, sir? They know what they want now, and they crave it like a drug. If you won’t supply it, don’t you think they’re going to find ways to obtain it for themselves?”

“I agree with Aled,” Rehz said. “But you don’t fucking care, do you, Landis Khan? Because you’ve got your precious treaty.”

The president sat back, looking less regretful than Aled thought he had a right to be. “I’m sorry you feel this way. We were hoping to retain you all as advisors on this matter.”

Kai’s laugh was short and bitter. “I’d advise you to get in there and blow them up. That’s it. How about you guys?”

Anna nodded. “Sounds like a great plan to me.”

“We do intend to use the information you brought us about the supposed experimentation to develop some more targeted organic weapons. Our scientists believe that interfering with them at a cellular level might be successful.”

“Well, thank the gods for that at least,” Rehz muttered. “I might even be willing to be consulted about that.”

“You would?” The president smiled. “Thank you.” His gaze moved over all four of them. “I realize you might not believe me, but the Mitan government really is in your debt, and we are deeply grateful for your efforts. I have been authorized to offer you all Exalted Citizen status, with all that entails, and an income for life.”

“Where can we live?” Rehz’s gaze was intent.

“Wherever you wish.” The president looked puzzled. “We have no intention of curtailing your freedom.”

Rehz glanced at Kai and then at Aled and Anna. “All of us?”

“Yes. We would also like to offer you a lifetime security detail.” He turned to Bron. “I’ve actually offered my chief of security the opportunity to form your detail if you want him onboard.”

“When can we leave?”

“When you are cleared by my medical staff.”

“It’s that simple?” Rehz asked.

“Why should it not be?”

“Because of those elements you mentioned within the government. The ones who helped Palk. Where is Palk, by the way?”

Bron cleared his throat. “Unfortunately, General Palk has disappeared. We have men out searching for him at this moment.”

Kai groaned. “That’s fucking great.”

“We’ll find him,” Bron said. “He’s wounded.”

“And all the more dangerous for it.” Rehz tapped his fingers on the tabletop. “I know the man. He loves causing pain and fear.”

“If you don’t wish to make permanent plans quite yet, I would be honored to offer you my family ranch in Zangreb Province. It is secure and quite isolated.”

Aled looked at Bron, who nodded, his brown gaze steady. “We could keep you safe there until we capture Palk. The security systems are first-rate, as befits a presidential residence.”

Rehz raised an eyebrow at Kai. “We will discuss this among ourselves and give you our decision tomorrow.”

“As you wish.” The president stood up, his silver hair gleaming in the candlelight. “I’ll leave you to think over what we’ve talked about. I know you feel we have ignored your valuable information and compromised with an enemy that does not deserve it, but we felt we had no choice. And we are convinced that with our new methods of selection for the Tribute program, we should prevent anything like this ever happening again.”

He bowed and left the room, followed by Bron, leaving the four of them sitting around the table.

“What a fucking waste of time.” Kai stretched his arms over his head. “I suppose at least we’re still alive.”

Aled frowned. “I think he was being sincere.”

“Yeah. I think he was too,” Rehz said slowly. “Should we take him up on his offer of a temporary retreat?”

“Why not?” Kai said. “If they do intend to kill us, we stand a better chance of surviving an assassination attempt with a smaller security force around us, rather than in the president’s own palace.”

“Agreed.” Aled looked at Anna, who was swaying in her seat. “Are you okay?”

She suddenly stood up and bolted for the bathroom, Aled in pursuit. He reached her just as she finished puking up her guts and knelt beside her, a comforting arm around her back.

“Get your fucking hands off her.” His shirt was yanked backward and he was practically thrown against the wall by Rehz.

“I was just—”

Kai pressed a hand down on his shoulder. “Shut up, Aled, and let Rehz tend to her.”

He shook off Kai’s restraining grip. “I was trying to help her. It’s not my fault I got there faster than Rehz.”

Rehz spun around to face him. “Shut the fuck up and don’t fucking touch my female without permission. You’ve done enough damage as it is.”

“Rehz. Stop it.” Anna pushed past her lover. “Aled did what he had to do to survive. We all did. Leave him alone.” She pushed her blonde hair out of her eyes with unsteady fingers. “I’ve been feeling nauseous for days now, and the medical staff won’t tell me what’s going on.” She swallowed hard and met Aled’s gaze. “What if I’m pregnant?”

Rehz growled something unintelligible as the bottom dropped out of Aled’s stomach. “We can talk to the medics tomorrow and demand some answers, okay?”

“It could be my child, Rehz,” Aled said.

Kai groaned. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. Can we just avoid all the melodrama? It could be any of us. It could be a fucking Ungrich.”

Anna went even paler, and Aled cast Kai a warning look.

“Right,” Rehz shot to his feet. “I’m getting someone down here right now to answer some questions.”

“I’ll call Dr. Ilkar.” The medic kept his hands in the air as Kai gestured at him with his weapon.

“You do that.”

Within seconds the door opened and the senior physician came in; his hair was on end and he was dressed in medical scrubs. He looked as if he hadn’t slept for a week.

“What is so important that you had to threaten my staff and wake me up at this hour?”

Rehz cocked his weapon. “Sit down.”

The doctor held out his hands. “Now hold on a minute. There’s no need for threats.”

“I think there is.” Rehz patted the seat next to the medical screens. “Anna Lee wishes to know what the fuck is going on with her. You will tell her the truth or I will start shooting bits of you off. Got it?”

Dr. Ilkar sat down next to Anna and immediately took hold of her hand. “What’s wrong?”

“I thought you were going to tell me that.” She searched his face. “What’s going on inside me? Why do I feel nauseous all the time?”

“We’re not sure.”

Rehz grunted and moved closer. “Then take a fucking educated guess.”

“I’m not trying to prevaricate. We really aren’t sure what is going on. You are the first female who has ever been into Ungrich space twice and survived. Our primary concern is that you have some signs of raised hormonal activity.”

“What does that mean exactly?” Rehz interrupted.

“Changing hormonal levels can be a sign of many things, including pregnancy, but these are . . . strange. And despite our best efforts, we have failed to detect any noticeable difference in the lining of your uterus.” He frowned. “In fact, it looks as if the surface has been scraped clean.”

Anna brought her hand to her mouth. “Did they . . . take something out of me?”

Dr. Ilkar shrugged. “Other than your uterine lining? I’m sorry, Anna, but we just don’t know.”

She forced herself to breathe through the rising nausea. “When will you know?”

“We won’t. You might have been pregnant at some point down in Ungrich space, but you’re not anymore, and that’s all we can determine. We will monitor your hormones and hope your symptoms disappear when you next ovulate and have a normal cycle.”

“If I ovulate. I’m missing a lot of eggs, remember? If I’d been pregnant with a human baby and lost it, my hormones would still be acting like this. Whatever they did to me, can’t you make it stop?”

“I don’t know what else we can do.” He hesitated. “We can offer you something to control the nausea. We don’t expect it to last for much longer once your hormone levels settle down to normal.”

“Thank you.” She wanted to scream at him, but it wasn’t his fault. He was trying to help, even if it wasn’t really working. Her lips felt numb as she shaped her next question. “Is there anything else I should know?”

“Not that I’m aware of. We didn’t want to burden you with this knowledge, Anna Lee. We thought it better to wait and see whether it would even be necessary for you to know.”

“What might have been done to my own body?” She raised her eyes to his face. “You sound just like the Ungrich.”

“I’m sorry. That was not our intention,” he said gently. “We thought to ease your distress, not add to it. You have been through something of an ordeal.”

“Thank you.” She slipped out of her chair and walked away to the far side of the room, where her bed awaited her. She vaguely heard Rehz questioning the doctor again, but she couldn’t bear to turn around. Getting into bed, she drew the sheets up tight and stared at the wall.

Something was tugging at her memory about the last few moments before she’d been flung out of Ungrich space . . .

Had she conceived? They might have implanted something they’d concocted in their lab from her and Aled’s previous visit. Which would explain why Palk had been so desperate to get them back in Ungrich space so quickly. And if she had become pregnant, what the hell kind of baby would she have been carrying? It might have been a monster—the first of a new species that would annihilate the existing Mitan population. Intellectually, she knew that would be a disaster, but her body didn’t care about that. She still felt the loss. Her hormones and her emotions were all over the place.

“Anna.”

The mattress dipped as Rehz sat down.

“Can you just leave me alone, Rehz?” she whispered. “I need to . . . process this.”

She flinched away from his hand in her hair, and he swore under his breath.

“Don’t do this. Don’t fucking shut me out.”

She pressed her lips tightly together as her vision blurred. She was barely holding it together, and she didn’t want him to see her distress. If she gave in and turned to the comfort of his arms, she might never stop screaming. And he would despise her for that. He thought she was strong.

“Whatever happens, we can work this out. We’ve survived far worse, and nothing that can ever happen will make me turn away from you. Do you understand that?” He spoke softly, and the ache of love in his words made her heart hurt.

“Anna . . .”

She waited—holding her breath, barely moving—until he sighed, turned away, and walked back into the center of the room. She heard him speaking to Kai and Aled and closed her eyes. It hurt too much to even think about what might have been done to her. But Rehz was right about one thing. She was a survivor. For the first time in her life, she desperately wished that she weren’t.

Rehz glanced over at Anna as she finished her dinner. Sure, she was talking, but only to everyone else and . . . fuck, shutting him out so hard that it was like slamming into a wall. At least they were out of the medical center and had more privacy. After discussing it with Kai and Aled, they’d decided to accept the president’s offer and take up temporary residence at his house in Zangreb Province.

The place was amazing, high on a tabletop mountain with fantastic views and—more importantly—a security setup that even Kai couldn’t find fault with. Their position made the house easy to defend and almost impregnable. It also meant they had some freedom to roam outside and not be locked in one room together.

Rehz had asked Aled and Kai to take the bedroom next to his and Anna’s—although he hadn’t yet slept in her bed. He couldn’t bear it when she turned away from him and curled in on herself. He spent most nights roaming the hallways or sitting in the den, trying to get information out of the security chief on Palk’s whereabouts.

Bron had come with them and was directing the small security team, all of whom seemed efficient. There was apparently still no sign of Palk. Bron definitely had a thing for Kai, which made Aled a mite touchy.

Rehz’s faint smile faded as Anna started making her excuses to leave. Abruptly, he stood up and walked with her to the door.

“I need to talk to you. Will you come in the study?”

She reluctantly followed him into the next room and waited as he closed the door and leaned against it, effectively blocking her exit.

“What can I do for you, Rehz?”

“Anna, just talk to me, okay? I know you’re upset, but I don’t know why, and I don’t understand what to do about it. I’ve tried to give you some space, but things seem to be getting worse rather than better.”

She looked away from him, wrapping her arms tightly around herself.

“I’m fine, Rehz.”

“You are not fucking fine.” He hesitated. “What have I done?”

“Why do you assume you did something? Maybe this is about me and how I feel.”

He rubbed a hand over his scalp. “I suck at feelings. You know that.”

“Which is maybe why this has nothing to do with you.” She finally looked him in the eye. “Maybe I don’t have anything to say because I know you won’t understand.”

“Just give me a fucking clue here. Just a chance to try and understand.” He might as well dive in anyway. Being subtle and respecting her boundaries wasn’t working at all. “Is this still about what happened with the Ungrich?”

“Still?” This time she glared at him. Hell, he’d take it—it was better than being ignored. “It was less than two weeks ago, Rehz. That’s not much time to—” She stopped talking.

“To what?”

“Nothing.” She swallowed hard and tried to smile.

“Anna . . . Gods, please fucking tell me.”

“I can’t.” Her blue eyes filled with tears. “I’m sorry, I just can’t be strong about this.”

“Is this about the baby?”

Her face went blank. “I can’t discuss that with you.”

“Why, because you think it’s Aled’s kid?”

She stopped and poked him hard in the chest. “That is the most stupid thing you have ever said to me. Maybe this is about me, about how I feel, and not about any of you males at all.”

There was that feelings word again. But this was Anna Lee—his Anna, who never let anything fucking beat her.

“Don’t look at me like that, Rehz.”

“Like what?”

“Like you don’t know who I am anymore.”

She tried to push past him and he grabbed hold of her elbow. “Anna—”

She pulled away from him. “Don’t touch me!”

Shock shuddered through him, and he stepped back before she turned and ran.

He walked over to the window and contemplated the tranquil lake. She didn’t want him to touch her now? Fuck that. If Aled and Anna had created a child together and the Ungrich had stolen it, what the hell was he supposed to do?

He was still healing from his last encounter with the monsters and wasn’t sure if he could take another total immersion in their space. But could he leave any child of Anna’s with the Ungrich, knowing that they’d want to use it to further their own horrific agenda? Maybe that was the real reason Anna wouldn’t talk to him. She wanted him to go back in there, but wouldn’t ask him to do that for her. He stared out of the window as the rain turned to snow. If it was his child, would he go? It could be his.

“Fuck it.”

The child might be half-Ungrich, but it wasn’t as though she’d volunteered to help create it. How the hell could Anna Lee regret that? Maybe she was right and he wouldn’t understand at all.

He marched toward the door, only to find it opening. Aled came in, followed by Kai.

“Get out of my way,” Rehz growled.

Aled didn’t move an inch. “You made Anna cry. What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Rehz tried to shove him aside and was blocked by Kai.

“Leave her alone, Rehz.”

“Neither of you has any right to tell me what to do with my female.”

Kai shrugged. “We do when you’re behaving like a complete dick.”

He flicked Kai a threatening glance. “I said keep out of it.”

“I could send Aled to comfort her if you like.”

With a snarl, he leaped for Kai, smashing his friend through a small table and down to the floor. He wrapped one hand around Kai’s throat.

“Shut the fuck up.”

Kai smiled at him. “Yeah, Aled would love to help. He’s got a thing about women that I don’t really have, and he’s pissed with me about Bron, so he might just want to teach me a lesson.”

Rehz tightened his grip. “If Aled goes anywhere near her, I’ll kill him.”

“Why, because you’re too much of a coward to deal with her yourself? And Aled isn’t so easy to kill now. That last visit with the Ungrich changed him. I’m surprised at you, Rehz Akran. I always thought you were the bravest male I’d ever met.”

“I am trying to give Anna space so that she can fucking work out what she wants me to do. I am trying to be fucking sympathetic and understanding.” He spoke through his teeth, emphasizing each word with a ferocious shake of Kai’s neck.

“Then you’re not doing your job.” Kai coughed out the words. “She needs to know that you care, Rehz.”

“Fuck you.” He dropped Kai’s throat and let his head bang onto the floor.

“Ouch.”

Rehz slammed his way outside, into the courtyard, taking deep breaths of the frigid night air.

Fuck them all. Kai was wrong. And worse, if Anna did want to be comforted, she’d chosen the wrong guy. He was too hard, too harsh, too everything to even pretend to be capable of giving her sympathy in the way Aled would give it to her. Maybe she knew that.

Hell, of course she did. She knew what he was like.

He’d fucking trained her.

Kai took a couple of exploratory breaths and gently opened and closed his mouth. Everything in his throat and jaw appeared to be working. Aled had already gone to check on Anna and was then going to bed.

“Are you okay?”

He looked up into the concerned face of Bron.

“I’m good.” He winced as his teeth grazed his bloodied mouth. “Rehz and I had a difference of opinion.”

“I can see that.” Bron leaned closer and rubbed at the blood on Kai’s lower lip. “Let me help you get cleaned up.”

“Maybe you could assist me back to my room. Aled will be wondering where I’ve got to.”

“Yeah?”

He licked his lips, running his tongue over Bron’s thumb. “Yeah. Are you off duty?”

“I’m never really off, but I have a few hours to spare.” Bron’s gaze swept over him, lingering on the now prominent bulge of his dick. “Being hurt turns you on?”

“Gods, yes.” Kai sat up carefully and Bron helped him to his feet. “Let’s go.”

He deliberately leaned on the security chief as they navigated the stairs, rubbing his now hard shaft against the other man’s thigh, squeezing down on his muscular arms. Bron took it all and didn’t back off, which made him want to smile.

When they came through the door, Aled looked up from his position by the fire, his expression changing from warm to icy. Kai hadn’t lied about the changes to Aled within Ungrich space. He was a different, harder man. Kai grinned at him.

“Bron helped me up the stairs.” He leaned back against Bron, noticing the stiffness rubbing against his ass. “I was trying to help Rehz express his feelings.”

“Typical.” Aled snorted. “Well, you’d better thank the man.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking.” Kai sank to his knees and rubbed his cheek against Bron’s thigh. “Can I suck you off?”

Bron cleared his throat. “That’s not necessary. I was quite happy to help.”

“I can see that you’re happy.” He nuzzled the security chief’s huge erection with his nose. “I want my nice, bloodied, sore mouth around your big dick while you come down my throat. Is that okay?”

“Shouldn’t you be asking for my permission to do that rather than Bron’s?” Aled walked over to them, his blue gaze still cold. “Maybe I don’t want to watch you enjoy yourself.”

“You love watching me suck cock. And you don’t fucking own me.”

“Yeah, I do.” Aled just waited him out, his expression unyielding.

He sighed. “Aled . . . please give me permission to suck Bron off.”

Aled turned to Bron. “Please fuck his mouth.”

“If you’re sure you’re okay with it,” Bron said slowly his glance shifting between the two men.

“I’m good.” Aled glanced down at Kai. “I want you naked first, Kai, so we can both see everything.”

Kai stripped off, taking his time as the two men watched him. Aled went over to their bed and rummaged in the drawer, returning with his collar and leash. He shivered as Aled encircled his throat with the leather and buckled it tight.

“That’s better. We can control you now.” He used the long leash and snapped it against Kai’s naked thigh. “Now kneel down, take out Bron’s cock, and suck it until I tell you to stop.”

“And what if I don’t want to stop?” Kai asked sweetly.

Aled jerked him forward by the collar and bit down hard on his already bruised lip. “You wanted to play with Bron, Kai. Now you have to obey my rules. Kneel down and put your hands behind your back.”

He shoved Kai off-balance, sending him crashing to his knees. Kai felt the familiar buzz of excitement at being treated roughly curl around him.

“Stay still.”

His wrists were bound together behind him, making it more difficult for him to balance and making it harder for him to pleasure Bron with anything except his mouth and tongue.

“Now take Bron’s cock and give it a thorough washing with your tongue.”

He crawled over to Bron and waited as the man slowly undid the button of his pants and slid down the zipper. Bron’s cock was already thick and ready, and Kai hummed his approval as he licked him from balls to ass to crown.

“Is that good, Bron?” Aled asked.

“Yes.”

“Do you want to fuck his mouth?”

“Gods, yes.”

“Then fuck it.”

Bron shoved his fist into Kai’s hair and introduced his full length between Kai’s lips, shoving deep, his hips rolling into the motion and making Kai gag.

Aled yanked on the leash, jerking his head back. “Take more. Take it all.”

He did as he was told, allowing the thick bulk of Bron’s cock to push down his throat in a rapid tempo that gave him no time to breathe, just to endure. Bron’s fingers tightened in his hair, driving him on until he existed only to let his mouth be fucked and used.

“Gods,” Bron muttered as he kept thrusting. “So good, Kai Mexr. I’m going to come right down your throat.”

Even as he said the words, he started coming, and Kai took everything, swallowing as fast as his mouth filled. Within seconds his head was jerked around and Aled’s cock was in Bron’s place. He sucked again, his mouth greedy, wishing Aled still had his piercings to bite and worry on. When he was safe, he was going to get himself pierced again for Aled’s pleasure.

“Wait.” Aled stopped thrusting and eased his cock almost out of Kai’s mouth and then very slowly started to climax, making his come spurt over Kai’s face.

“Nice. Get on the bed.”

He took his time getting to his feet. Bron’s gaze was glued to his cock, which responded by getting even harder and dripping pre-come down his length to the floor.

The sting of the leash caught his ass, and he glared at Aled, who didn’t even flinch.

“I said get on the bed.”

“And what if I don’t want to play this game anymore? What if I want to be the one doing the fucking? I know you like being fucked by me. I bet Bron would like it even more.”

Aled stepped in close, his strange bluish eyes glittering. “You will do what you are told.”

“Who’s going to make me?”

Aled glanced over at Bron, who shrugged and grabbed Kai’s arm.

“Thank you, Bron. Let’s put him facedown on the bed. Can you hold him there while I tie him up?”

Aled tied Kai’s wrists to the bedposts and then moved down to where Bron was controlling his legs. He grabbed hold of one of Kai’s ankles and pulled it wide, earning him a curse from his lover. He tied that ankle and then attached the rope to the end of the bed. Kai was on his knees, with some give in the lower rope and none at all in his arms, which were stretched out as far as Aled could spread them.

He shoved Kai’s other knee wide, exposing his taint and the curve of his balls; he heard Bron catch his breath at the sight. Smiling, he tied the final knot holding Kai in place. There were still some marks on Kai’s dark skin from his last encounter with the Ungrich, but most of them had already healed. He ran his hand down Kai’s spine just to feel him shiver and twitch under his hand.

A few months ago, when he’d been a trainee, he wouldn’t have known what to do with a tied-up Kai Mexr except kill him. Now he’d discovered far better ways of testing his lover than he would ever have imagined. The need to give Kai what he craved had come naturally to him. Knowing that his arrogant, cocky lover liked his sex hard, dirty, and brutal wasn’t a surprise. Finding out that Kai wanted to be on the receiving end of that kind of sex had been something of a revelation.

He tossed some lube at Bron. “Fuck him.”

Bron caught the tube and grinned at him. “Thanks.”

“Don’t thank me. Kai wanted this, so give him whatever you think he needs.”

There was a snarled curse from the bed, and he walked over to Kai and grabbed his collar, twisting the leather in his hand. He liked the way Kai’s upper body was stretched out and straining against his bonds.

“Don’t come.”

“Fuck you, Aled,” Kai spat out through his clenched teeth as Bron climbed up behind him on the bed and slid his dick home.

“Not if you don’t behave yourself.” Aled watched Bron’s rapt expression as he pounded into Kai’s ass. “Fuck him harder, Bron. Make him beg.”

Kai went quiet, his expression set as Bron fucked him and finally climaxed, fingers digging into Kai’s hips as he thrust one last time.

“That was . . . amazing,” Bron groaned as he moved away. Aled turned to smile at him.

“Go and shower and come back. You’re not done yet unless you want to be.”

He waited until Bron disappeared into the bathroom, then went to sit beside Kai’s head. He trailed one finger down Kai’s spine and over his wet hole to where a stream of come dripped out of him.

Kai shuddered as Aled played with his balls and gently touched his still erect cock.

“When the Ungrich had you . . . what did they do that you liked?”

Kai swallowed hard. “You know what they did. You were there.”

“Not all the time. I couldn’t see you for quite a while.” He curled the tip of his finger around the crown of Kai’s wet cock and dug his nail into the slit. “Did you like it when they used those little barbs on you? When they pierced your skin?”

“Yeah.”

“You want to come, don’t you, just at the thought of it?”

Kai didn’t say anything, but he closed his eyes, his big body radiating tension, his cock a hot, throbbing, stiff mess in Aled’s hand.

Finally, Kai murmured a response. “Please.”

“Please what?”

“Do me, take me, fuck me, beat me, but do something.”

“What if I just want to do this? Just play with your cock?” He swirled his finger around in the growing wetness until Kai’s hips were rocking into the motion.

“I need . . . more,” Kai ground out.

“You need what I choose to give you.” He couldn’t quite believe what he was saying, but somehow it felt right. “And maybe this is how I want you tonight, tied up and desperate to come, with only Bron fucking you. Not me. Maybe you don’t get me at all.”

Kai shuddered. The sound of the shower was loud in the silence of Kai’s breathing.

“Please.”

He savored the sound of Kai begging for something. For him. “He’ll be back in a moment.”

“I want . . . you. In me, on me, making me come.”

“And maybe I don’t want that tonight. Maybe I just want to watch you being fucked.”

“Aled . . .”

“Ah, there you are, Bron. Come up here and let Kai make you hard with his mouth so you can fuck him again.”

Kai closed his eyes and concentrated as Bron took his ass for the third—or was it the fourth?—time. His shoulders hurt from being tied in the stress position, and his asshole was sore from all the pounding. Worse still was his cock, which throbbed like a toothache from being constantly hard for so long without relief.

He wasn’t going to come. He’d at least obey Aled in that.

“Seeing as Kai’s tied up, would you like me to fuck you, Bron?”

He jerked back to full consciousness at Aled’s calm question. “No.”

“I wasn’t talking to you, Kai.” Aled’s voice was as cool and reasonable as it had been all night. “Shut up or I’ll gag you.”

“You only fuck me.”

“I do what I want.” Aled was now behind Bron, who was still on top of Kai. “Bron might enjoy being fucked while he fucks you.”

“Hell yes,” Bron said fervently. “It would be a great way to end my night.”

“You have to go?” Aled sounded way more sorry than Kai had anticipated. “Then let me fuck you right now.”

He heard the slick sound of lube and then Bron’s deep grunt of approval, as Aled must have slid deep. He also felt the weight of another body, which shoved Bron’s dick even harder inside him.

“Gods, that’s good,” Bron sighed as Aled started to move. “This has been the best night of my fucking life.”

“Then we’ll have to do it again sometime.” Aled sounded too in control for Kai’s liking as he pumped away. But then he’d trained the man to succeed in a sexual marathon and knew he could stay hard for hours. “We’ll tie Kai up on his back next time so we can take turns riding his dick until he screams.”

The casual way Aled talked about owning him, and about owning and abusing his cock, made him even more desperate to come. He groaned along with Bron, who started to climax, pressing his considerable weight down on Kai’s ass. Aled leaned past Bron’s shoulder and bit Kai’s throat as he too pumped hard and deep.

Aled rolled off first. Bron moved off the bed, still thanking them both as he went back into the bathroom for the final time, taking his clothes with him. Kai turned his head slightly to the side so that he could see Aled’s face. His lover was smiling, his blue-gray gaze fixed on the retreating figure of the chief of security.

“Don’t look at him like that. He wanted me, not you,” Kai reminded him.

Aled slowly turned, his smile dying. “I fucked him. You didn’t.”

Kai buried his face in the pillow. After Bron left, Aled got up and went into the bathroom, leaving him alone. He spread his knees wider to ease the ache in the small of his back, his breath hissing out as his cock caught the rucked-up sheets. Gods, just that little bit of friction might bring him off. He eased his hips forward and back, almost moaning with the potential of relief. Was this what Aled had reduced him to—fucking a sheet? He wasn’t sure if he was furious or impressed. He rocked his hips again.

“Go on, then. Come like that.”

He almost jumped as Aled sat on the bed beside him, smelling of the spicy shower gel, his auburn hair sleeked back from his face.

Aled smoothed his hand over Kai’s straining ass. “Do it. Come for me. I want to see you soak the sheets like a teenager having a wet dream, without me even touching you.”

“Fuck you, Aled Price.”

“Not happening, Kai Mexr.”

He inched his hips back and forth faster and faster, using the slight give in the ropes around his ankles to provide some motion. Within seconds he was coming in big, shuddering spasms that were wrenched out of him, leaving him gasping for breath like he’d run a race. His mind exploded into peace, and he let his body go with it for a few precious moments.

Aled undid all the ropes and gently laid him down on his back, rubbing his shoulders and hands until he had all the motion back.

“Make yourself hard again.”

He forced himself to meet Aled’s gaze. “Is all this because you’re mad at me for bringing Bron up here?”

“Why would you think that? I enjoyed the man. He fucked you really well.”

“You didn’t want him here.”

“Kai, if I hadn’t wanted him, I could have told him to leave or left myself so you two could get on with it. I stayed because I wanted to see him fuck you.”

“I’m not playing your stupid games.”

Aled had the nerve to smile. “You’re already playing them, Kai. You’re the one who’s tied up, fucking yourself on the sheets, and right where I want you. Now I want that cock hard so that I can lick it. Do you have a problem with that?”

He slowly shook his head. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but his body seemed to like it. Aled had changed considerably since the Ungrich had first captured him, his sexual tastes harder, his ability to dominate Kai an unyielding force that was as fascinating as it was unexpected. This wasn’t his idea of how he wanted to be dominated, but he certainly was under Aled’s power. He craved that like an addict.

“Why won’t you hurt me?”

“Because I don’t want you to think you’ll always get what you want.” Aled pinched his nipple so hard he winced. “Sometimes I will hurt you. Sometimes I’ll fuck with you in other ways. I want you to wonder what I’m going to do to you next and whether you’re going to be able to stand it.”

“Like a total mind fuck.”

“Yeah.”

He stared into Aled’s eyes. His restraints had gone but he was trapped. And he kind of liked it.

“Okay.” He reached a hand down to his sensitive cock, which was already half-erect from Aled’s suggestions. “Hard it is.”

Despite the lingering tension between him and Anna, or perhaps because of it, Rehz focused his attention during the following week on fortifying the house and grounds. He felt things at the presidential retreat were almost too pleasant and too quiet, and Kai agreed with him. That unease was confirmed on the eighth day when Bron came into the kitchen, his expression grim.

“Palk’s been spotted with a small group of armed followers coming into this valley. We’d prefer it if you all stayed inside for the next day or so while we find and detain him.”

“Good luck with that.” Kai snorted.

Rehz met Bron’s gaze. “What can we do to help with the internal security? Do you have additional weapons for us?”

“We have more weapons. We also have a safe room in the lower levels, where we will place Anna and Aled if things become difficult.”

“You mean if the house is under siege, or if Palk and his men succeed in getting inside.” Rehz glanced over at Anna, who had gone very still. “I think that’s an excellent suggestion.”

“I doubt Palk will find a way in,” Bron reassured him. “This place is a fortress. I’ve informed the president of the situation, and he is sending more troops.”

“When do you think Palk will get here?”

Bron scowled. “Within the next day or so. He’s moving quite openly at the moment. We’re not sure how he’s getting through the security checks.”

“Great.” Kai slid off his seat. “Take me to the armory. I need something to shoot at people.”

Kai, Aled, and Bron went out together, arguing about the merits of various weapons, leaving Rehz alone with Anna. She had remained at the breakfast table, her eyes on her plate. He went over to her chair and crouched in front of her.

“We need to resolve this, Anna Lee. If a fight breaks out, I can’t fight for you if my head isn’t in the right place.”

“You don’t have to fight for me.”

“Rallshit Anna, we’ve been through this already!”

She looked down at him, her blue eyes full of shadows. “I’m sorry.”

He reached for her hand. “For what?”

“For not being strong. I know that’s what you expect of me and—I—”

“Anna, what the fuck is this all about? I know you’re strong. I dragged you into this, remember? I picked you as Tribute. This is all my fault.”

“You didn’t know what you were doing. I’m a danger to the whole Mitan race. Maybe that’s why the authorities have always refused to acknowledge my planet exists. Maybe they knew it was dangerous to them.”

“It doesn’t matter what they thought or did. What matters is that we are together.” He tried desperately to put his feelings into words. “I don’t want to die knowing you hate my guts.”

“I don’t hate you.”

He soldiered on. “I’ll do it if you want.”

She went still. “Do what?”

“Go back in there and find out if they took anything from you—from us.”

Her blue eyes filled with tears. “Rehz . . . that’s not what I want. How could you ever think that of me? I’d never expect you to go into Ungrich space again just for a possibility.”

He held her gaze. “Anna, I know you. You don’t think it’s a possibility. You believe they took something from you. All I’m doing is offering to get it back.”

There was a long silence while she searched his face and then slowly shook her head. “I can’t let you do that. Whatever they took from me cannot be restored. I can’t mourn something that will never exist in this world.”

“I don’t fucking believe you. That’s why you are upset, isn’t it?”

Her grip tightened on his hand. “You have to believe me. How can I go on if you don’t? We have to make something positive out of all this mess, Rehz Akran. And that is my future with you.”

His throat tightened and he had to swallow hard to get any words out at all. “I always told you I’d die for you. But I want you to know that I will do this.” He tried to laugh. “I never thought I would be able to say that, but I can, because I want you to have everything, Anna Lee. Every fucking thing in the universe.”

Her arms came around him and she kissed him hard and he kissed her back and then he was on top of her, shoving their clothes aside, pushing his way into her body, joining them in the most basic way possible. Because there—flesh to flesh—they truly belonged and could finally make their peace.

The door burst open and Kai appeared, his arms loaded with weaponry.

“No time for fucking, people. Palk’s here. You and Aled are going with Bron down to the safe room, Anna. Aled’s pissed as hell about it, but he’s still going because I told him I’d shoot him if he didn’t.”

Rehz moved off Anna and helped her straighten up before handing her the smaller of the two weapons he’d selected. “Kill anyone except me and Kai who gets through that security door,” he instructed. “Don’t hesitate.”

“I won’t.” She met his gaze, her blue eyes clear.

He gave her one last, heated kiss. “Go on.”

She nodded, tucked the weapon under her arm, and followed Bron, who’d been waiting impatiently at the door. She didn’t look back. Rehz wondered if that was the last time he would see her, marching away from him, her head held high. It reminded him of the day they’d met, when she’d tried to bite his dick off.

How the hell could she think he didn’t believe she was strong? He’d never met anyone like her.

“Rehz.”

A sharp nudge from Kai brought him back to his surroundings. He immediately checked his weapons and listened with half an ear to Kai’s lecture about how they would defend the house until the president’s additional troops arrived. The plan seemed adequate, and he nodded as Bron reappeared.

“The safe room is on level 4-M, Rehz. There’s an elevator in the central hall that goes down to it. There’s also one in the president’s suite. And if the power fails, there are stairs beside the president’s elevator. Got that?”

He looked up. “What’s the security code to get in?”

Bron came over, pulled up the sleeve of Rehz’s black protective gear, and wrote a series of numbers on the inside of his wrist. He did the same for Kai.

“The ink will disappear in approximately four hours. I figure we’ll either have beaten Palk by then, or we’ll be dead.”

Rehz shoved down his sleeve. “I assume there’s a way for Anna and Aled to get out by themselves if no one comes for them?”

“The safe room is stocked to withstand a siege for a month. If we all die, they can either get out themselves or sit tight until the president’s special forces reach them.” Bron grimaced. “I told them it would be better to stay put.”

“You don’t think Palk’s men will be able to get in there?” Kai asked. “Is it possible that someone on his side knows about the safe room and has the codes?”

“Someone might know about the room, but they won’t have the codes. I just generated them. Only my team, the president, and you two have them.”

“Yeah, but we’ve seen how good your security is. Palk’s right here.”

Bron scowled and shoved a hand through his military-short black hair. “Fuck, I know that, but there’s nothing else I can do except fucking die for them, okay?”

Kai grinned at him. “Rehz and I were planning on doing that anyway, so you’re welcome to tag along.”

Bron handed over two earpieces. “This connects all the team. Aled and Anna can also hear what’s going on, but they can’t respond.”

“So mind my language,” Kai quipped.

Rehz glanced over at his friend, whose green eyes were glittering like hard, multifaceted gems. There was something about combat that brought out a new side of Kai, and his crazy death-defying hilarity. It was terrifying.

Rehz fitted the earpiece and immediately heard the chatter of the two men watching the approach roads around the compound. Counting him and Kai, there were twelve of them ready and willing to protect the house and its precious occupants.

“Let’s go,” Bron said.

Kai stood and Rehz grabbed his arm, holding him back. “Listen, if I die, you’ll stop Anna from doing anything stupid, won’t you?”

“Like what?”

“Going back into Ungrich space.”

Kai’s eyes narrowed. “Why the fuck would she do that?”

Rehz tightened his grip. “Because she thinks they have her offspring. Don’t let her go in there, okay?”

“I promise I’ll do my best. But she’s one determined female.” Kai met his gaze, all the humor wiped away from his expression. “And you’ll kill Aled if I can’t, right?”

“Yes.”

Kai bent his head and brushed his mouth over Rehz’s. “Good hunting, my friend.”

“You too. I promised Anna Palk’s head and balls on a plate, so I’d better get on that.”

Kai checked his weapon. “I’ll hand them over when I’ve killed him.”

“We’ll see about that.” He slapped Kai hard on the back and they ran for the doorway, where Bron was already shouting for them.

Anna wrapped her arms around herself and paced the room again. It wasn’t as small as she’d feared, but she still hated being trapped anywhere. It was set up like a small apartment with a well-stocked kitchen, eating area, and soft couches grouped around a black vidscreen that was currently turned off.

Having already explored the rest of the place, Anna knew there were three bedrooms, an armory, and a huge storage area filled with foodstuffs and protective gear. It was one hell of a secure space, but it still made her feel uneasy. This far below the surface, sound was reduced to dull thumps and echoes that set her senses straining and her nerves jumping.

“Here.” Aled came up behind her and put a thick jacket around her shoulders. “I found these in the storeroom. It’s colder down here.”

She slid her arms into the sleeves and let him button her into the jacket. “I hate this.”

“Yeah.”

“I want to be out there killing Palk, but I’m also terrified of being captured.”

“Yeah.” Aled stepped back, his expression rueful. “Neither of us are used to being babysat.” Something in her face made him catch her hand. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“It’s okay. I’m just a bit sensitive about the baby thing.” She tried to force a smile as the lights above their heads flickered. She was a bit sensitive about everything at the moment, to be honest, but Aled didn’t need to be spooked any further.

“Do you really think the Ungrich managed to create something?” he asked slowly.

To her surprise, she was willing to talk to him about it. He was the only person she could talk about it with.

“I don’t know. I just have a sense of . . . something happening to me just before they ejected me from their space. Some kind of loss.”

He walked her over to the couch and sat down with her. “If I let myself be caught, I could find out for you.”

She scowled at him. “And Kai Mexr would kill me. I don’t expect you to do that, Aled.”

“But it might be my child as well.” He hesitated. “I fucked you almost the whole time we were there. The odds are in my favor.”

“I know, but it’s still my responsibility.”

Aled’s blue-gray eyes narrowed. “You’re not thinking about going back in there yourself, are you?” He sighed. “Hell, you are, aren’t you? If you do that on my watch, Rehz Akran will eviscerate me.”

“If I end up back there, both Rehz and Kai will probably be dead.”

Aled took a deep breath. “So if that happens, and we’re left unprotected, how about we both go back? It’s that, or we agree to kill each other, because I’m not letting you go alone.”

She stared at him and saw no weakness and no hint of compromise. The Ungrich had taken him and refined him into an intimidating man. “I can’t stop you coming, can I? But I don’t want Rehz and Kai to have to die so we can go.”

“It sucks,” Aled said tightly. “Kai Mexr is my world.”

She nodded as the light flickered again and a torrent of orders came in over her earpiece. She couldn’t share her feelings about Rehz with anyone. They were far too private. It was excruciating hearing the battle and not being able to do anything to help out. She’d always hated sitting on her ass.

Aled took her hand again.

“So here’s the plan. If Kai and Rehz kill Palk and his men, we’ll all go and live happily ever after, and you and I won’t go back into Ungrich space. If our males die, and Palk captures us and hands us over to the Ungrich, we’ll go back, find out the truth, and blow up as much of the Ungrich world as we can before dying heroes’ deaths. Agreed?”

“I don’t like any of it, but it makes sense,” she said reluctantly.

“Shake on it, then?”

They solemnly shook hands. Then Aled wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head, and they settled back to wait.

“This doesn’t make sense,” Bron muttered as he stared down at the group of marauders attempting to get through the main gates.

There were three combat vehicles parked right on the front driveway, which meant they must have blown through the original security points damn fast. The speed and audacity of the frontal attack seemed almost suicidal. Kai reckoned the defenders were already outnumbered at least three to one, and that was only by the men he could see. But why be so blatant?

“What doesn’t?” He took a shot, but the soldiers were too far away to really be worried. He liked watching them duck for cover, though.

“Why are they attempting to get in through the most obvious place?”

“Because they’re overconfident and stupid? They certainly seem that way.”

“Somehow, knowing Palk, I doubt that. They must be planning a counterattack.” Bron pressed his com and then his earpiece. “Rehz and Farn? Any signs of activity on your side?”

“Not yet.” Rehz’s clipped voice sounded in Kai’s ear. “But from our viewpoint, I think Palk’s stooges are about to set explosives on the front door.”

“Fuck it,” Bron swore. “They still won’t get through that way, but they’ll probably cause some smoke and fire damage. I asked the president’s wife not to plant fucking flowers around the fucking front door.”

Kai glanced over at him. “Just think what a valuable training exercise this is for your security detail.”

Bron’s teeth flashed in a feral grin. “Yeah, if we survive, we’ll know exactly where all the weaknesses in our system are for future review. I just don’t get Palk’s tactics.”

“Incoming from the air, Bron.” Farn yelled. There was the sound of rapid gunfire and then a scream and a rattle, as though either Farn or his weapon had hit the ground.

Kai spun on his heel. “Where is he?”

“Roof garden. Take Wrantz with you.” Bron talked fast into his cuff as Kai cocked his weapon and sprinted for the stairs that took him upward.

He met Wrantz on the last flight and they continued up together, their panting breaths echoing in the stairwell. In his ear, Rehz reported that the explosives had been detonated—as if they hadn’t heard the huge explosion—and that the gardens were on fire and the front windows were cracking in the heat.

As they emerged onto the roof, a thick cloud of smoke rose to greet them, and Wrantz coughed into his arm.

“Find Farn,” Kai shouted.

Wrantz ducked and ran to the perimeter of the roof while Kai took a more circuitous route over to the dining area and bar. Above him, he could hear the whine of a helijet. He peered through the billowing smoke at the small two-person craft, which was open-sided military style. He sighted his weapon on the pilot. Letting out his breath, he gently squeezed the trigger, watching a straight red line bore a hole right into the man’s skull. There was an explosion of blood against the windshield as the pilot’s companion tried to jump clear and fell in a tangled heap on the roof.

The helijet peeled off, plummeting crazily toward the mountain range surrounding the house. He paused to report in.

“Watch out below. Pilotless helijet on the loose.”

Keeping his weapon at the ready, he advanced on the fallen figure groaning and writhing in agony on the ground. Unfortunately, he could already tell that it wasn’t Palk. As he warily approached, the man rolled onto his side, a small weapon raised in his hand. Kai shot him through the heart.

“Two dead. Helijet threat nullified,” he murmured into his comm. “Off to locate Farn and Wrantz.”

Rehz saw the four soldiers before they saw him, and immediately fired. The one in the lead fell off the scaling ladder, knocking the second guy off as well. They’d come up the sheer rock wall at the back of the mansion, where Rehz was stationed. He’d watched them inch their way up the climb, and then had leaned over the edge of the parapet and let them have it. He winced and fired again until the other two hung like dead fruit off a tree. Attempting to scale the back wall of the compound was a brave but stupid move, leaving the men exposed on the rough rock wall with no cover.

He frowned down at the lifeless bodies. Bron was right. Why were they exposing themselves like this? It didn’t make sense at all . . .

Abandoning his post, he ran back into the house and up the stairs to where Bron had established his command center.

Kai’s furious voice came over his earpiece as he moved. “Farn’s dead. Wrantz and I are returning to you. We have his body.”

Bron turned as Rehz erupted into the room. “What’s wrong?”

“This is wrong.” He made an all-encompassing gesture. “All of this.”

“I agree. They aren’t making any real attempt to penetrate the walls.”

“Why not? Don’t they want to get in? What are we missing? Is there some kind of secret passageway Palk might know about that leads inside?”

“Not that I’m aware of.”

“How about an alternate way into the basement?” He locked gazes with Bron. “Fuck . . . Aled and Anna are underground, aren’t they? What if Palk doesn’t need to get in, but just has to keep us occupied on the exterior while his allies do the rest?”

Bron paled. “You think the Ungrich might be here?”

Rehz was already running.

Anna shivered as the light flickered again and the booming sounds rocked the safe room.

Aled patted her arm. “It’s okay. I saw the schematics for this place. Nothing is getting through that door without a security code.”

“If it does, we have to be prepared to shoot it. Especially if it looks like Palk.”

“Let me kill him, please.”

She grinned at him. “We’ll do it together.” She jumped as the table and some of the cabinets started to sway back and forth. “That one felt like it came from below us.”

“Yeah.” He swallowed hard. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“We’re in an impenetrable metal box beneath the surface of the planet. No one can get in without the codes.” Beneath her feet, the concrete floor started to crack, the sound ripping and echoing through the space. She met Aled’s gaze. “Unless, of course, they are already down here.”

Aled took her hand and they jumped up onto the table, grabbed all their weapons, then climbed higher onto one of the metal cabinets attached to the wall. Below them the floor rippled, sending up huge chunks of matter as if something below was trying to punch a hole through to them.

“Do you have the mini explosives?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

Aled handed her a few of the small, round shells, and she shoved them into her pockets and then tied one into the back of her hair, under the ponytail band. The whole floor was disintegrating now and falling into a black void. A familiar salty smell assaulted her. If she squinted downward, she could see the faint reddish-pink glow of slithering parts.

Aled took her hand. “So, plan B, then?”

She tried to smile at him, but she was shaking so hard she couldn’t manage it.

“Not quite.” She raised her weapon and shot him. Even as he fell, he was reaching out to her, his expression desperate, his fingers catching at her jacket.

She carefully laid him back on the cabinet and then turned to face what was coming through the hole. A thin, red tentacle reached her, and she allowed it to wrap itself around her throat.

“Anna Lee.”

She recognized the Ungrich. It was one of the pair who had kept her company during their attempts to impregnate her. That might help matters considerably. They had never lied to her about their purpose and needs. She wasn’t even sure if the concept of lying meant anything to their race.

She let her mind shift, seeking and finding the connection with the Ungrich intelligence. “What do you want?”

“You, Anna Lee.”

“I have conditions.”

“Name them.”

“The one called Palk. Is he with you?”

“Yes.”

“If I go with you, he has to stay here in this room.”

There was a humming sound, as if the Ungrich was communicating with someone or something else.

“What if we refuse?”

“Then I won’t cooperate with you.” She patted her pocket. “If you force me down that hole, I’ll set off these explosives.”

The tentacle wrapped around her throat started to divide and flow downward.

“My hand is already in my pocket. If you try and take them from me by force, I’ll set them off and kill myself. You won’t reach them in time. If I am worth more to you than Palk, then agree to my terms.”

She remained still, hearing the sounds of struggle echoing above her and the terse exchange of information between the men guarding her and Aled through her earpiece. Farn—one of the ex-Tribute males—was dead, and Kai was gutted about it. A sudden sense of peace enfolded her. Once she was gone, the attack would have to be called off.

Or would it?

She pulled out her earpiece and laid it on the top of the cabinet beside Aled.

“When you bring Palk here, I want to talk to him.”

Tentacles thrashed and glistened within the deep hole, and suddenly Palk was there, nicely trapped in a mesh of tentacles, his expression feral as he tried to fight them off. She could’ve told him that was a pointless waste of energy, but she enjoyed watching him panic far too much.

“You!” he snarled. “What the hell is going on?”

She pointed her weapon at him. “Call off the attack.”

“Don’t be stupid.”

“You’ve achieved your aim. I’ve been captured. Isn’t that what the Ungrich paid you to do?”

“I’m not some kind of mercenary, Anna Lee. We are equal partners in this endeavor. Put the weapon down and shut up.”

She smiled at him. “Do you really believe that they will let you rule Mitan?”

“That’s what they promised me, yes.”

“But they intend to destroy the entire population.”

Palk shrugged. “Then I’ll rule over a kingdom of one.”

She raised her weapon. “Good-bye, Palk.”

He had the gall to laugh as he held up his hands. “You think they’ll let you kill me, you stupid human bitch?”

“Yes, I do.” She turned her attention inward. “Can you confirm that?”

Palk had a tentacle embedded in his throat. He would be capable of hearing the Ungrich answer her question.

“Confirmed. The human female is more valuable to us than you are. If she wishes to kill you, we will not intervene.”

Anna raised her eyebrows as Palk’s face went white. “Did you get that? Now call off your men and end the assault.”

He held her gaze and then raised his cuff. “Code seven nine one. Mission has succeeded. Fall back to map rendezvous point twelve and wait for more orders. Palk out.”

The noises from above ceased, and she let out her breath. She could only hope that Kai, Bron, and most importantly Rehz were still alive. If they were, she was determined to leave them a last good-bye present.

“Can you put him over there?” She pointed.

The Ungrich moved their coils and stood Palk upright in the corner.

“Stand back,” she ordered. The second the Ungrich released him, Palk sprang at her, but she was quicker. She shot him twice in quick succession in the knees, and he collapsed howling onto the floor.

“You fucking bitch! I’m going to kill you.”

“I’m sure Rehz and Kai will be down shortly to help you,” she said sweetly.

The Ungrich tentacle around her throat tightened. “We have done as you requested. Now remove the explosives from your pocket.”

She complied as slowly as she could, straining to hear above Palk’s litany of screeching and threats. It sounded quiet outside, apart from a rhythmic pounding sound like the banging of a drum. She frowned. Or booted feet coming down a metal staircase . . .

“Anna Lee. We will leave now.”

A stab of pain pushed through her temple, making her wince. “One more thing.” She gathered her thoughts. “Did you take my embryo?”

The dominant Ungrich touched her mind. “Yes.”

“Did it survive?”

“Not without you incubating it. This is why you must return. We need a living receptacle for our new experiments.”

“I see.” Tears started in her eyes, and she slowly let out her breath.

The other half of the conjoined Ungrich spoke inside her head. “Where is the male called Aled?”

“Aled is dead. He was killed in the assault.” Anna pointed over at his still body.

“We have his seed,” the dominant responded to the submissive. “We do not require him. We need to leave. This atmosphere is not conducive to our survival.”

Rehz reached the security door to the safe room and frantically punched in the code. Bron had reported that Palk’s troops were retreating, which wasn’t good news at all. The door silently swung open, giving him a jaw-dropping view of several things he hadn’t expected to see. He took them all in and continued to advance almost in slow motion.

Palk was screaming, Aled was bleeding and lifeless on top of a cabinet, and Anna was stripping off her clothing and about to step down into a big black hole with the Ungrich. As he moved toward her, she met his gaze, her blue eyes so clear that he couldn’t look away. Her fingers tangled in her hair, pulling the band free, and he saw it then—the small explosive held in her hand, her thumb on the button, ready to detonate it.

“Anna!” he roared and flung himself after her, catching her heel as she toppled slowly into the hole. He watched her fingers open, sending the explosive down into the darkness, and yanked back as hard as he could on her leg, stopping her fall. She screamed as he attempted to haul her back up and the tentacles around her neck clung on and pulled her downward.

But then Kai was behind him, and they got her free and pulled her up, her blood spilling from her torn throat as, far below her, the explosive went off. The blast flung them all back from the hole. Kai anchored Rehz against his chest, and Rehz held on to Anna, while the echoes of the blast rolled and thundered for what seemed like forever.

Kai yelled into his com. “Medical emergency, safe room!”

Rehz ripped off his armor and then his black T-shirt to press to the gaping wound in the side of Anna’s throat. She was barely conscious, her gaze fixed on him as he worked.

“You had to be a fucking hero, didn’t you?” he muttered as he continued to apply pressure to the wound. He couldn’t breathe. There was so much blood. “When you’re better, Anna Lee, I’m going to fucking kill you myself.”

“Way to encourage her to live, Rehz.” Kai lifted Aled down and laid him on the table. “Palk, if you move a fucking inch, I’m going to shoot you.” He shook Aled. “You okay? Did Palk do this to you?”

“Anna,” Aled whispered.

“Figures.” Kai glanced over at Rehz. “I’ll get in that line to fucking kill her right behind you, okay?”

Bron came in with the two trained medics behind him, then stopped short. “What the hell?”

“The Ungrich came up through the floor. Palk, I have no idea,” Rehz said tersely. “Help Anna and Aled.”

“What about me?” Palk whimpered.

When the medics pushed him out of the way and set to work on Anna, Rehz slowly straightened and turned to Palk, who glared at him.

“Your bitch tried to get the Ungrich to kill me.”

“Good.” He delivered a kick right into Palk’s bloodied knee.

Kai caught his arm. “Rehz, come on, now.” He took aim at Palk’s other knee. “Don’t have all the fun.”

Palk eventually stopped screaming and subsided into unconsciousness. Rehz stared down impassively at his body. Even in the depths of the presidential mansion, he could now hear the sound of arriving troops and the heavy tread of feet on the floors above. Anna was rushed by him, carried by the two medics. Bron was lending a hand, holding a bag of fluid high over her head. Her fair hair was streaked with blood, and the left side of her throat was a mangled mess.

His feet were welded to the floor. He couldn’t go after her and take Bron’s place. He couldn’t fucking think.

“Fuck this,” Kai muttered and picked Aled up in his arms. “Come on. There’s help upstairs. You can bleed all over me.”

As they passed Rehz, Aled called out. “I’m sorry. I offered to go with her, but she shot me instead. I wasn’t expecting it.”

He patted Aled’s undamaged shoulder. “It’s okay. Go and get that wound seen to.”

He stayed until another medical team came in and took Palk away under guard. When everyone had gone, he spent a few minutes dropping the rest of the explosives Aled and Anna had left on the cabinet down the hole. For good measure, he tipped most of the contents of the room down there as well.

Eventually he brushed off his hands and walked toward the door. He found Bron leaning against the wall outside.

“You okay, Rehz Akran?”

“Yeah. You?”

Bron nodded. “The medics want to check you over.”

“Fine.” He followed the security chief along the corridor and out to the elevator. He only realized how much he was shaking when he couldn’t stick his finger on the elevator button.

He felt . . . weary.

That was it.

Hollow.

“Do you want to see Anna and Aled?” Bron asked. “Kai’s up there waiting for news right now.”

“No.”

Bron eyed him carefully. “You sure?”

“Yeah. Can someone find me a bed somewhere private in this huge fucking mansion?”

“Sure. I’ll send the medics to you right after I’ve shown you to the room. When they’re done, you can sleep as much as you want.”

He paused at the door of the room Bron opened up for him. It was in a part of the house that he’d never entered before. The furnishings were serviceable and the bed was large. Brown drapes covered the window, and there was an attached bathroom.

“Servants’ quarters,” Bron explained. “Still fancier than my apartment.”

“It’ll do. What are you going to do about that huge hole?”

Bron shrugged. “Fill it up and make sure never to put a safe room below ground level again. That could’ve been the president in there. We learned a valuable lesson.” He tapped one meaty hand against the doorframe as if assuring himself that this room, at least, was sturdy and safe. “Do you want me to tell Kai where you are?”

“No. Can you keep it to yourself?”

“They’ll be worried.”

“Yeah.” Rehz blinked back his exhaustion. “Send the medics up here.”

“They’re already on their way.” Bron bowed. “Thank you, Rehz Akran. Your quick thinking saved a lot of lives today.”

“I think you’ll find that was all down to Anna Lee.”

The door at the end of the hallway opened, and three people dressed in white converged down the hallway toward him.

Rehz groaned. “I hope they’ll be quick.”

Bron left him, and he braced himself for the invasion of the medical staff. He was sick of medical facilities, sick of fighting, and so tired of it all . . .

He went into the bedroom and started to strip without being asked. The faster he cooperated, the sooner they’d leave. He didn’t want to think things through. He just craved the oblivion of sleep.

When Anna opened her eyes, Aled was sitting in the chair next to her bed, reading something on his screen. She tried to speak, but her throat hurt.

“Hey.” He got to his feet and picked up a beaker from the bedside table, then brushed the straw against her swollen lower lip. “Here you go. That Ungrich made a good attempt to rip out your throat on the way down. The medical team said they’ve repaired most of it, but you’ll never be a singer.”

She sucked the icy-cold water and allowed it to trickle down her raw throat. “Thanks.” She managed a whisper this time.

His left arm was immobilized in a sling and bandaged tightly across his chest. He looked even paler than normal, his freckles standing out in stark relief on the high arches of his cheekbones.

“I’m sorry about your arm.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You damn well should be. What a fucking irresponsible thing to do.”

Tears filled her eyes. “I was trying to save your life.”

“I know that, you fucking idiot, but still . . .” He sighed and sank back in the chair. “I thought Kai and Rehz were going to tear Palk limb from limb for hurting me until I mentioned that you were the only one doing any shooting.”

“I bet that went down well.” She grimaced. “I hated doing it, Aled. I wanted the Ungrich to think you were dead so they wouldn’t take you as well.”

“Yeah, I worked that out for myself,” he said dryly. “Fucking hero.”

“Where’s Kai?”

“He’s being interviewed—or should I say interrogated—by the president’s special security board. They don’t care what happened to us. They’re more worried about what might have happened to the president in his supposedly one-hundred-percent safe room.”

“Typical.” She moistened her lips. “And . . . Rehz?”

Aled shoved a hand through his hair and avoided her gaze. “I think he’s still sleeping.”

“Was he wounded?”

“Just a few minor scratches, like Kai.”

She compressed her lips together hard. She wouldn’t ask why Rehz wasn’t with her. She’d heard him before she’d lost consciousness, blaming her for everything. He’d sounded absolutely furious. And he was right to be so. She’d taken a terrible risk with everybody’s lives.

The door opened and Kai came in, his gaze fixing on her like a laser.

“Good, you’re alive. Now I can fucking kill you for shooting my male.”

Aled rose to his feet and touched Kai’s rigid shoulder. “Don’t start. She was trying to save me from the Ungrich. Can we just leave it at that?”

Kai looked away from her and back at Aled. His hard gaze softened. “I’m glad you made it.”

“Then shut the fuck up.” Aled glared at Kai. “You should be thanking her, not bawling her out.”

“Yes, master.” Kai wrapped his hand around Aled’s neck and kissed him. “Just because I let you be in charge in the bedroom doesn’t mean I’ll put up with your shit in public.”

Aled’s dimple appeared. “Good to know.”

Anna wanted to look away from the adoration in Kai’s expression, but she made herself watch. This was why she’d done what she’d done. To make sure at least one set of them was happy.

“Where’s Rehz?” Kai asked.

“I don’t know,” Aled answered him quickly. “No one’s seen him since yesterday.”

“Ask Bron.”

“I did. He said Rehz was being treated by the medics for exhaustion and various strains and cuts and that he was sleeping.”

Kai’s sharp gaze cut to Anna. “You’ve seen him, though?”

“I just woke up.” She managed to shrug. “He might have been here when I was out of it, but—”

“Nope. I’ve been here all day,” Aled said softly. “And before that, you were surrounded by a medical team.”

Kai’s gaze immediately went to Aled’s as if seeking his support. “He’ll be here when he wakes up. I’m sure of it.”

She nodded and leaned back against her pillows. “I think I’m going to take another nap. Thanks so much for sitting with me, Aled.”

He glanced at her and then at Kai. “It’s all going to be okay, Anna Lee. I’m sure of it.”

She smiled as they left together, Kai’s arm around Aled’s good shoulder. She stayed where she was as the bedsheet became transparent with the constant drip of her tears. Rehz was probably just exhausted and sleeping it off. She shouldn’t read anything more into his nonappearance.

Even if he were there, what would he do if she crawled into his lap and fell to pieces?

She couldn’t be strong anymore. Just for once she was going to hide under her covers and pretend that everything would go away.

“Can you explain your decision-making process again, Anna Lee?”

“Again? Why?”

She glanced across the table at the three men who had been questioning her all morning, and sighed. Bron was also present, standing against the back wall, and had been asked to add his recollections to the interview when necessary. It was supposed to be informal, and these guys were supposed to be on her side, but it didn’t feel like that. She wondered desperately if her Earth blood was always going to make her different.

The door behind her opened, and Aled and Kai came in to sit beside her. Neither of them was smiling, although Kai did manage to wink at her. Moments later Rehz came in. Her heart rate increased as she drank him in. Two days had passed and he hadn’t been near her. His apparent desertion hurt more than she had anticipated. He looked exhausted and hadn’t shaved. He took a seat at an angle, and she wondered if he’d done that so he didn’t have to look right at her.

“Please.” The leader of the investigation offered her a polite smile. “The other participants expressed a wish to hear your account of events as well.”

She scowled. “They couldn’t just come and see me and ask?” She glanced around the table, feeling the chill of isolation. “I thought they were supposed to be my friends.”

“We asked them not to, Anna Lee. We wished to be the first to hear your account of events. Now we wish you to repeat your story because we are seeking additional testimony from those who were with you.”

“Fine. Aled and I realized at about the same time that there was something going on underneath the safe room. Having had experience of both Palk and the Ungrich, we reasoned that the Ungrich were coming up through the floor to find us.”

Aled chimed in. “Yeah, that’s how it went.”

“We pooled our weapons and climbed onto the highest vantage point in the room as the hole in the floor expanded, and we could see the Ungrich coming out of it.” She cleared her throat. “It was at that point that I shot Aled to stop him from being taken by the Ungrich or offering to come with me.”

“That’s exactly how it went down,” Aled agreed. “I don’t remember anything much after that.”

“I put several of the small explosives in the pocket of my jacket, and one in my hair, and waited until the Ungrich came and established a mind connection with me.” She gestured at the scarred mass of her throat. “Luckily, it was the same pair I’d met before. They had never lied to me and were familiar with me, so I felt they might be more likely to listen to my requests.”

Rehz hadn’t stopped staring at the table in front of him. A ball of anger settled low in Anna’s gut as she continued.

“I offered them a bargain. Palk for me.”

Kai’s attention snapped to her face. “You made them bring Palk up?”

“It occurred to me that because of his hatred of Rehz Akran and Kai Mexr, he might allow the battle for the mansion to continue regardless of whether the Ungrich had me or not. I insisted he give orders for the conflict to stop. I had the explosives in my pockets. I told the Ungrich I’d detonate them if they didn’t do as I asked, and I threatened to shoot Palk.”

Kai shook his head. “Damn, girl. You were taking some risks.”

“I just wanted to save as many people as I could.”

Rehz said, “While offering yourself up as the ultimate sacrifice.”

She whipped her head around to stare at Rehz, who was still looking down. “You make it sound as if I enjoyed it.”

He didn’t reply, so after a terse second she went on. “As soon as the Ungrich released Palk, he tried to jump me, so I shot him in the knees to keep him down.” She swallowed hard. “I asked the Ungrich one more thing before I agreed to leave. I asked if they’d taken an embryo from my uterus.”

She looked straight at Rehz’s harsh profile, willing him to show something, some sense that he cared about what she was saying. “The Ungrich said the . . . life-form hadn’t survived, which was why they needed me as a living incubator for their experiments.”

She tried to carry on speaking and had to take several slow breaths. “The Ungrich insisted I go with them and, as I was pulled into the hole, I saw Rehz Akran come through the door. I released my hair from its band and detonated the explosive I’d hidden there. Luckily, Rehz Akran and Kai Mexr kept hold of me long enough that they were able to pull me clear of the Ungrich and the effects of the explosion.” She looked up. “That’s it.”

Kai shook his head. “You’re fucking amazing, Anna Lee. You saved the entire planet.”

“I did what needed to be done.”

“Yeah, that’s what Rehz Akran is so pissed about. He can’t bear not being the hero.”

Rehz’s head swiveled in Kai’s direction. “What the fuck did you just say?”

Kai shrugged. “You can’t even be bothered to visit her in the hospital, my friend. Sounds like someone is choking on his pride.”

Rehz got slowly to his feet as Bron came off the wall, ready to intervene. “Fucking take that back, Kai Mexr. You have no fucking idea what I’m thinking!” He slammed his fist down onto the desk. “I wasn’t there for her! I let her down! That’s what fucking disturbs me in all this!”

Anna stood up too. “You can’t always save me, Rehz. Maybe Kai’s right and you can’t bear that I managed to do it for myself.” She met his furious gaze. “If that’s the case, I have nothing more to say to you anyway.”

“Wait a minute . . .” Rehz growled.

Kai cleared his throat. “How about we disband this session and let these two lovekrees sort out their differences in private?”

Everyone left. Bron touched her shoulder as he went past. “I’ll be right outside if you need me.”

“Thanks.”

She remained standing, her gaze fixed on Rehz until the door closed, leaving them in silence.

“Why haven’t you been to see me?”

He rubbed a hand over his weary face. “I slept for two days and nights. I only woke up today.”

“When I first came out of Ungrich space, you stayed with me the entire time in my hospital room. You slept in a chair.”

“You didn’t go into Ungrich space this time.”

“That’s right. I saved myself.” She glared at him. “Is Kai correct? Are you pissed because you didn’t get to be my hero?”

“Fuck that, Anna Lee. I’ve never been hero material; you know that.” But he looked miserable saying it, and she didn’t quite believe him.

“Then what? And why does it matter? You weren’t there when I made my decision. I did what I thought I had to do for the good of your stupid planet! Do you honestly resent me for that?”

“Maybe I wanted to be your hero! Maybe I wanted the chance to at least try. But you can’t save someone who shuts you out and deliberately throws herself in harm’s way!” Shit, he was yelling now.

Silence fell until all she could hear was their harsh breathing. Gods, she’d hurt him.

“You stopped me falling into that hole. You did save me.”

He looked away from her and shrugged. “I didn’t want you going back in there.”

“But you blame me for contemplating going anyway?”

He drew a deep, shuddering breath. “When I saw you going down with them, I thought . . . I thought you’d decided to go voluntarily.”

She walked over to where he stood, her hands clenched into fists.

“If they had told me the . . . embryo was alive? Yeah, I would’ve gone with them, and I would’ve stopped you from following me.” She took another step toward him. “I knew you would survive out here, Rehz. A baby down there? Not so much, but I thought I had to make sure. At least if I could see it was a hybrid.” She swallowed hard. “If it had looked human . . . I don’t know what I would have done.”

He slowly looked up and met her gaze. “That’s supposed to make me feel better? That you were willing to sacrifice yourself for a fucked-up science experiment that might have developed into a creature that could destroy a whole race?” He shook his head. “I just didn’t expect that of you. Fuck, who would want any kind of baby with the way our planet is heading right now?”

She tried not to react to his words, but the hurt settled deep in her chest, making it difficult to speak.

“As soon as the Ungrich told me what had happened, I knew I had to destroy them. I didn’t base my calculations on you saving me, Rehz. I knew I was going to die in that explosion. But I felt I had no choice.”

He turned his back on her. “I hate myself for putting you in that position, for fucking picking you as Tribute and setting off all this fucking disastrous series of events.”

She let her outstretched hand drop to her side. “So you wish you’d never met me?” She blinked away sudden tears. “Ah. Okay. I didn’t factor that one in. I thought—”

She’d thought they were in this disastrous series of events together. She’d thought he couldn’t be hurt by anything. She had to stop talking and get away from him before she broke down completely. Backing away, she almost tripped over her chair, but he wasn’t looking at her anymore.

She paused at the door, gathering herself. “I’m not going to apologize for surviving, Rehz Akran, or for being emotional enough to care about what happened to that embryo, whatever it was. I’m sorry if that’s not how you wanted me to be. But that’s who I am.” She waited, hoping he’d embrace her and her weaknesses, but he still said nothing. “You told me once that you could survive anything, even me. Maybe that goes both ways.”

She slipped through the doorway and made straight for Bron and Kai, who were waiting in the hallway.

“Don’t let him come after me, please.”

She ran past them, climbing the stairs to her bedroom and locking the door safely behind her.

“Anna!”

Rehz shouted as the door shut behind her, and he moved toward it.

“Don’t fucking go! I didn’t mean it like that!”

He flung open the door, but she was already out of sight. He sprinted toward the stairs and was blocked by Kai and Bron.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he growled. “Let me past.”

“She doesn’t want to see you,” Kai snarled back. “And what she says goes at the moment. What the fuck is wrong with you, Rehz?”

He stopped fighting and took a stumbling step backward, staring at them. Bron glanced at Kai and then cleared his throat.

“Maybe you need some time to think. Palk needs an escort to the military prison on Pries Island. Why don’t you go along as a special advisor?”

The prison was horrific. That made Rehz feel good inside. He’d spent a long time briefing the guards about Palk and was fairly certain the man wouldn’t be going anywhere for the rest of his natural life. Although you never knew with a hrel snake like Palk . . .

He made his way back from the officers’ mess to his accommodation and shut the door. The place was basic, with a bed, a small window, and not much else, but at least he was alone. He tried to think of when he’d last been without any responsibilities. He sat down on the side of the bed and stared at his booted feet.

No responsibilities.

For the first time in ten years, he was completely alone and could do whatever the fuck he wanted. Travel, stay in bed all day, eat, drink, and shit when he wanted, not on someone else’s schedule . . .

And he could think. That was the difficult part. Every time he stopped moving, all he could see was Anna’s face at their last meeting. The way she’d closed down on him when she thought he regretted everything. She didn’t need him. She was a survivor.

Fuck it. He was so damned proud of her. Now that he had time to think, he saw how stupid he’d been, how obsessed with saving her. Had he really resented her saving herself, or even for wanting to deal with that embryo? He’d considered doing it for her, so why was he so furious when she acted like the strong woman she was and planned to do it herself? He’d grown so used to being the man in charge, the one who made life-and-death decisions every fucking day, that he’d forgotten other people had the right to make their own choices too.

Just because he’d spent ten years trying to force Tributes to survive the Ungrich didn’t mean he knew jack. And Anna didn’t need him to survive. She was her own person.

The thing was—did he need her?

A knock on the door startled him from his thoughts, and he rose to answer it. It was one of the guards, who saluted when he opened the door.

“Commander Rehz Akran? We have a transport available for your return this evening.”

“Thank you, I’ll get my stuff together. Where is the transport’s destination?”

“Wherever you require, sir.”

“Can you take me to see the president?”

The guard saluted again. “I’ll find out, sir.”

When Anna heard the front door open, she called out. “I’m in here, Aled. I’ve got the last of it packed up.”

She’d spent the last two days since her return to the city packing up her stuff from the apartment she’d shared with Rehz. There was no sign of him, and that certainly made things easier. The problem was, she really didn’t know what she was going to do next. Kai had found her an apartment in the building where he lived, and she’d decided to start with that small separation. It wasn’t enough. She needed a lot more space between her and Rehz Akran before she could really move on.

A shadow fell across her, and she looked up to see Rehz, his hand braced on the doorframe. He wore his usual black garb but without the insignia of a trainer. His face was clean-shaven, the harsh planes of it exposed to the sunlight.

“Anna Lee.”

She sat back on her heels and hefted the last box onto the pile. “I’ll be out of your way soon. I thought you were Aled.” Gods, it still hurt to look at him, so she busied herself sticking the tape down on the edge of the box.

“Can we talk?”

“I’m not sure I have anything left to say to you, Rehz Akran.”

“Where are you planning on going?”

She kept her back to him. “I’m not sure.”

He sighed. “Anna, you don’t have to leave. You have an apartment downstairs. I’ll fucking leave if you like. Have you thought this through?”

“Which part? That there isn’t a single place on this planet that is safe for me? Or that I’m a danger to everyone who comes near me?”

He sat down on one of the piles of boxes. “I talked to the president.”

“He offered you a job? Great.” She had to turn around and face him, but it goddam hurt.

“I talked to him about you.”

“That wasn’t your responsibility.”

“I wanted to do something good for you. Something that would give you more choices. You’ve had the worst fucking luck on this planet, haven’t you?” He hesitated and looked up at her. “I also wanted to show that I respect and admire you. I know you don’t need anyone to save you, and I’m pretty damn sure you’re capable of making all the right decisions for yourself.”

Anna folded her arms across her chest. “And?”

“I suggested to the president that you be given permission to go off planet.”

She blinked at him. “What?”

“Mitan citizens aren’t encouraged to leave their world, and very few outsiders come in.”

“I know that. Once I got here, I couldn’t get away. That’s why I ended up breaking all sorts of laws and was sentenced to death.”

Rehz nodded. “I suggested to the president that you would be an ideal candidate to travel the galaxy and find Mitan some allies.”

“Me? What the hell do I know?”

“You know about the threat facing our population. You know we might need to abandon this planet if we can’t find a way to neutralize the Ungrich.”

“And the president would be okay with little old me sharing that information?”

“You and a selected team of diplomats and security personnel. But the first task is to get out there and record your impressions of who might make good friends and enemies for Mitan in a more informal way.” He looked down at his feet. “I thought it would be a good way to keep off the planet’s surface while still keeping all the benefits of citizenship.”

Anna studied him closely. “And what about you?”

He shrugged. “I’ll be here.” He looked right into her eyes. “When you want to see me. If you want to see me, I mean. Yeah.” He winced. “I’m still trying to think of ways to keep you safe, even though I have no right to.”

“Did the president tell you I’d already put in a request to leave Mitan?”

“I didn’t know that.” The faint hope in his gray eyes faded. “You want to go back to your family on Earth. I can totally understand why.”

“He refused my request.”

“That’s not right.” He frowned. “Do you want me to talk to him again? I could—” He stopped. “Hell, I’m doing it again, aren’t I? Seeing as he only made it yesterday, I suspect that his offer for you to leave the planet as a diplomat still stands, and you just haven’t been notified through official channels yet.”

“You’d be okay about me going, then?” She found herself wanting to smile at him, which was stupid.

“Yes, of course I would, I—oh fuck it.” He groaned and shot to his feet. “I can’t do it. I can’t let you fucking walk away from me again because I’m too stupid to swallow my pride. Sure, I can survive without you, but what’s the point? You mean everything to me. I might not fucking need you, and you sure as hell don’t need me, but I want you more than my next breath.” He held out his hand. “Anna, if you leave Mitan, I’m coming with you.”

“Even if I don’t come back?”

He nodded and took another step toward her, pinning her against the pile of boxes she sat on. “Especially if you don’t come back. I’d rather you didn’t.”

She looked up into his anguished eyes. “You’re an idiot, Rehz Akran.”

“A fucking idiot.” He smoothed her hair away from her face with fingers that shook. “But you’ll never find a male who loves you more.”

“Even when I’m trying to save the world?”

“Especially when you’re trying to do that.” He sighed. “I’m overprotective, Anna Lee. You know that. I’ll try and keep it down to a reasonable level.”

She touched his cheek. “What made you change your mind?”

“A week hanging around in Palk’s new home, waiting for the transport to return, gave me plenty of time to work out what a fool I was being.” He framed her face in his hands. “If you want to save my ass, Anna Lee? You just go right ahead. I’m done being a trainer. If you decide to take up the president’s offer, I can come with you and head up your security team or something.”

Anna bit her lip. “Damn, I was thinking of asking Bron.”

Rehz stared at her for a long moment and then shook his head. “I suppose I deserved that.”

“Yes, you did.” She searched his face. “Just because I don’t need you to save me, Rehz, doesn’t mean that I don’t want you.”

“By your side?” He leaned in and kissed her nose.

She held him off for another few seconds, the palms of her hands pressed against his chest. “As my equal.”

“I can do that.”

She took a deep breath. “Then maybe we can make this work somehow.”

“Yeah?” His smile was slow in coming and then lit up his whole face.

She kissed his mouth. “I love you, Rehz Akran, even when you are an overbearing, possessive idiot.”

He kissed her back so gently and reverently that tears came into her eyes. “I love you too, Anna Lee, even when you are right.”

She slid her arm around his neck and pulled him tight against her, bringing him between her knees. His hand curved around her ass. For a long moment they simply held each other. She’d almost given up on him—had been prepared to go on without him—and now she didn’t have to. A wave of thankfulness swamped her.

“I want you,” he murmured. “I want to be inside you so bad.”

She moaned as the thick ridge of his cock pressed against her needy, wet flesh, and he rocked his hips in an urgent appeal she couldn’t deny.

“Yes.”

Within seconds her panties and skirt were gone and his cock was uncovered sufficiently to drive inside her. That was all they needed, just his stiff, probing shaft sliding deep inside her soft wetness. She clung to his shoulders as he fucked her with barely restrained strength, all the while murmuring a filthy, dirty litany of his need and his plans for her and . . .

She climaxed, digging her fingernails into the back of his jacket. He kept moving, his strokes shorter and more forceful, making her body shake with every thrust. He threaded his fingers in her hair, yanking her head back to meet the heat of his mouth as he mimicked the urgent thrust of his cock with his tongue. With a stifled cry he came, each hot pulse deep inside her punctuated by yet another slam of his hips and a grind against her clit that sent her following him over into the abyss.

When Rehz finally managed to lift his head, he detected the sound of clapping from the doorway.

“Nice technique, Rehz,” Kai said. “You’ve made Aled and me hard. Okay if we make use of your spare bedroom?”

Rehz looked down into Anna’s beautiful eyes and found them full of amusement and something else, something far hotter and deeper that was just for him.

“Go on, guys. Enjoy yourselves.”

Kai grabbed Aled’s hand and started moving as Rehz eased himself out of Anna’s embrace.

“By the way,” he called after them. “Anyone fancy a trip to Earth?”

Explore more of the Tribute series: riptidepublishing.com/titles/series/tribute

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Tribute Series:

Sacrifice

Retribution

Historical Romances:

Eden's Pleasure

Antonia's Bargain

The Ties That Bind

Diable Delamere series:

Educating Elizabeth

Redeeming Jack

Loving Michael

House of Pleasure Series:

Simply Sexual

Simply Sinful

Simply Shameless

Simply Wicked

Simply Insatiable

Simply Forbidden

Simply Carnal

Simply Voracious

Simply Scandalous

Simply Pleasure

The Tudor Vampire Chronicles:

Kiss of the Rose

Blood of the Rose

Mark of the Rose

The Sinners Club:

The First Sinners

The Sinners Club

Tempting a Sinner

Mastering a Sinner

Contemporary Romance:

Raw Desire

Some Like It Rough

Branded, Dirty Sexy Cowboy Shorts

Sexy Shorts

Turner Brother Series:

Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?

Roping the Wind

Riding the Line

Sci-fi/Futuristic Romance:

The Power of Three

The Power of Persuasion

Viking Unbound

Valhalla Series:

Planet Mail

Secured Mail

Captive Mail

Paranormal Romance:

Soul Justice Series:

Soul Sucker

Death Bringer

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Kate Pearce was born into a large family of girls in England, and spent much of her childhood living very happily in a dream world. Despite being told that she really needed to “get with the program,” she graduated from the University College of Wales with an honors degree in history.

A move to the USA finally allowed her to fulfill her dreams and sit down and write her first romance novel. Along with being a voracious reader, Kate loves walking on the beach and climbing live volcanoes in her new home in Hawaii. Kate is a member of RWA and is published by Kensington Aphrodisia, Cleis Press, Carina Press, and Virgin Black Lace/Cheek.

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