Hollow Space Read online

  “You also don’t want robbers stripping the crystal mines bare, I suppose.” Leanderus flashed a cynical smile at Michaelerus as if to say, “See, they’re no different than any of the other juvenile species the Council of Kings would have us mate with.”

  She didn’t bat an eye. Instead, she twirled a lock of her raven hair around her finger. “Actually, no. It has happened in the past where another race has transported whole fields of the crystals to their ships.” Her smile glimmered, and light flashed in her unusual, nearly translucent blue eyes. “The crystals’ properties cannot be activated anywhere besides the planet.”

  “It’s amazing that you haven’t been conquered.”

  “We are not without our wiles.” She stood. The men followed her lead. “Thank you for the wonderful meal, Supreme Commander.”

  Through the empathic connection wrought from the sand, Michaelerus sensed she didn’t mind the conversation, but she’d grown bored with Leanderus. It also informed him she was telling the truth—mostly. “Allow me to escort you to your quarters,” he offered. “The Vor Marran is vast, and a guest is easily lost in the maze of corridors.”

  A flash of light flickered in her eyes. She gathered her long hair in her hands and tossed it over her shoulder. The move was probably purely innocent, but it had the power to harden his cock.

  “Thank you, Supreme Commander. I’d enjoy the company.” A note of seduction etched her intoxicating accent. The way her gaze flowed down him made him bite back on the growl rising in his throat.

  “But—” Leanderus didn’t have a chance to begin a lecture regarding ship’s protocol or spout self-righteous rhetoric regarding his mindset.

  Michaelerus leveled his glare on his half-brother. “You are dismissed,” he ordered in a no-disobedience-allowed tone. He steered his gaze to her face once they were alone. “Forgive Leanderus.”

  “He believes your kind should remain pure,” she stated softly. “A noble ideal, but far from realistic considering the Navorains’ diminished populace.” She strode to where he stood and placed her hand on his chest, over his heart. “I am sorry for what happened to your homeworld.”

  “So, the reports about your kind being strong telepaths are accurate.”

  “Very much so.” She bowed her head. Her hand fell to her side. A pause passed between them. A sparking energy crackled across the ether. “Normally, we attempt to not invade other kinds’ minds, but Lieutenant Fis Marran thinks quite hard. Forgive me for eavesdropping, so to speak.”

  “There’s nothing to forgive.” Intimately familiar with the younger officer’s wayward tongue, Michaelerus could only imagine the direction of his musings. “I’m sorry if he offended you. He’s…”

  He’s—what? What can I say? A hundred excuses dashed through his head, but none of them were worth a counterfeit interstellar credit. Leanderus was guilty of not only being a damn arse but insulting the Dareaux by thought and cross-examining their delegate.

  “Don’t worry. I’ve heard worse.” Her smile came rushing back as she tilted her face up. “Far worse.” Her eyes glowed. “If you know what I mean.”

  He chuckled around the clog of lust tightening his throat. “I can only imagine.” Motioning toward the door, he escorted her out of the formal dining room and down the corridor.

  “I’m used to hearing the thoughts of others.” She faltered for a split tic as they passed the Supreme Commander’s sanctuary. Her hand came up. The aura crackled with raw energy. “This place has special meaning to you.”

  He took her in again. The woman wasn’t just soft spoken with a voice that reached out to his beleaguered heart, but too lovely for words. A smattering of sand slid from the vents.

  Steering her toward his private sanctuary, he pressed the button to open the door. “This is the Supreme Commander’s haven. Most of those who are in charge of the War Galleys use this room for meditation.” In his case, he came to his private place to reminisce about days better left alone.

  “You loved her very much.”

  “Are you always so forthright?”

  “All my kind is. We don’t believe in falsities and half-truths.” She fingered the crystal suspended from a thin silver chain hanging around her neck. “In fact, outright lying is forbidden for it affects our kind’s abilities.”

  “Empathy and telepathy?” He held his hand out, beckoning her to enter the room first.

  A serene smile slipped across her lips as she took in the sanctuary. In fact, he’d always been amazed by the live plants and trees, the bubbling creek and the sounds of birds contained within the sanctuary. The purpose of the haven was simple. It was the Supreme Commander’s slice of Navora during his long trips away from the home planet. Now it was the only place he felt at peace.

  She sobered when she leveled her gaze on him. “It’s a bit more complicated than that and not something most species understand.” Her fingers released her crystal pendant. “The Dareauxsians are companions to the crystals we charge. They give us knowledge and peace, while we are their conveyance across the universe.”

  He stared at the crystal sitting placidly against her skin. The gem pulsed a few times before returning to its normal brilliance. He lifted his gaze to her face in time to see a flicker of light shift across her irises. “Please, continue.” He denied the inherent instinct to pull her against him and take her lips in a deep drugging kiss.

  “There’s not much to tell. The old scholars have said that we were once a part of the D-quarteline Crystals. I guess you could call us their soul. Many of the less educated believe that we rose from two parent strains and have learned to live in an almost symbiotic relationship. Truthfully, it makes no difference in the end. We are what we are.”

  Noting how she said “less educated,” he strode toward the pool at the center of the sanctuary. “What do you believe?”

  “I believe it is what it is. To try to come up with a story or an argument when there is no need to is a waste of time and energy.” She shrugged and joined him on his stroll.

  Sensing she was holding something back, he clasped his hands behind his back and stared at the water. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  She nibbled on her lower lip for a moment and slid her gaze to the pool. “You are my mate. At least my infanteum crystallae believes so.” Her fingers returned to clutch the gem hanging around her throat. She focused her gaze on his face. “I will not lie to you. This is nearly unheard of on my planet. Normally we do not mate with others who aren’t a conduit or an energizer.”

  He brushed his fingers down her cheek. Tiny sparks of energy shot from her skin to send a tingle racing up his chest to shiver through his body. His cock went rock hard in the blink of an eye. “I am aware we are mates,” he admitted.

  Another sprinkle of sand dripped down on them. He watched the flickering dust cling to her hair and clothes before being absorbed into her body. “You have a relationship with the crystals that grow on your homeworld; the Navorains have a relationship with the sand from our parent planet, Lazarus Seven.” He sighed. “It has drawn us together.”

  “Then we are not as different as we seemed.” She took a step toward him. Tilting her head to the side, she frowned. “Or are we still worlds apart?”

  The thud of her heart pulsing in her chest thrummed at the borders of his psyche. The defining thud, thud, thud struck through him like the hit of a mallet against a timpani drum.

  Pulling her against his frame, absorbing the warm, soft waves of energy thrumming off her, he considered her question. He wanted her, but it wasn’t as easy as just getting her naked and moaning. He needed more than that. He needed her to complete a part of him he couldn’t name.

  On top of that, a decade of self-abuse and guilt couldn’t be let off so easily.

  He’d failed his mate. He wouldn’t ever forget that burden he carried.

  There was no denying she had died cursing him to nothingness. Hell, if it had been her, he would have done the same.

  “Are yo
u here with me, or does she still own your heart?”

  “We’ll see.” He cleared his throat. The compromise slid from his lips as another bitter pang of guilt struck him hard in the chest. Dipping his head, he laid a gentle kiss to her forehead before taking her lips in an openly carnal kiss.

  Desire raced through his veins. Molding her curves to his, he pushed away the memory suddenly rearing up in his mind’s eye. His first night with Shaunna. Her terror—her distrust. It all lent credence to the waffling he was doing now.

  Stop.

  “I am here with you. Not her.”

  Lifting his head, he investigated Jada’s face. “Yes. You are.” There was no going back. He’d take her body, lead her into the abyss called Oblivion, the only place where he could find his satisfaction, and pray for the best.

  He’d trust in the sand.

  Jada laid her gloved hand on his shoulder. She moved around him. Her gaze inspected every inch of him. She’d never met a man so self-tormented before. Her telepathy honed in on his thoughts. What he envisioned she’d call normal “first night” behavior. His mate had been terrified of the act—fearful of the pain. “She is not here anymore.” She is no longer in pain.

  “No.” A small smile lifted the corners of his lips, but his gaze remained steely.

  “Let me help you.” She reached up and stroked her gloved fingers down his cheek. She opened her mouth to tell him, “Let me save you,” but stopped herself.

  She couldn’t make this decision for him. He needed to want to move forward with her.

  As much as she wanted to take away his pain, he had to give it up to her first. Only then, after he’d bared his soul, could she defeat the memories.

  Her fingers traced a long path down his neck and then headed farther south. “I’m here. With you.” The throb in her crotch began to pulse. She skimmed her hand across his chest as she slowly walked around him.

  Energy crackled in the air. The hairs at the back of her neck prickled. Goosebumps rose on her arms. Her respirations turned shallow.

  She came back around him.

  Not known for taking control of sexual situations or her intimate partners, she faltered for a moment. Her palm came to rest on his chest, directly over his heart. She peeked up at him through the veil of her lashes.

  Part of her hoped he’d lead her down the merry trail that would end with both of them naked and moaning. Another part of her told her plainly he was waiting… testing her.

  Testing her for some unknown reason. She drank in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Her head dipped. Her intention had been to lift his tunic over his head. The sight of his erection tightening his pants stopped her gentle caresses and made her body go haywire. Her throat went desert dry when she pictured herself licking his cock, taking it down her throat. An ache settled itself in her pussy.

  A small gasp of longing whispered from between her parted lips. “I want you.” The words broke from her throat before she could call them back.

  “And, you shall have me.”

  Gripping his shoulders when he dipped his head, she sucked in a sharp breath when his lips moved slowly over hers. It wasn’t a demanding kiss. If anything, the gentle pressure he exerted when he brushed his lips over hers once then twice made her feel oddly cherished.

  The pulse pounding down her channel came quicker—harder. The feel of his hands gripping her waist and pulling her against his strong, rigid frame only served to up the heat. The thick ridge of his cock pulsed against her belly.

  Somewhat surprised that such a large man could be so gentle, she wriggled her hips, her body instinctively wanting to get closer to his. Low-keyed waves of energy flowed off him. Her body absorbed them.

  The deep-seated hunger, another warning that she’d met her mate, grew. This need had a mind of its own. If he didn’t get her naked and moaning soon, she might just lose her mind.

  The kiss turned openly carnal when he licked the crease of her lips. He tasted of wine and something else that she couldn’t identify. It was a heady flavor.

  He smelled good too. Like a storm-tossed sea and manliness.

  A fresh set of trembles rocked up her body. About ready to shatter, her desire making her shiver so hard her teeth were about to stop chattering together, Jada pulled her head away. Leaning her head against his chest, she was about to drop to her knees and beg him to fuck her when he lifted her in his arms and carried her to another doorway.

  The panel opened with a soft swish. He placed her in the middle of an enormous bed. With a tenderness belying his strength, he pulled her arms from around his neck.

  “Relax, I won’t hurt you, tesra.”

  Relaxing was the furthest thing from her mind. The crystal nestled between her breasts began to throb. The symbiotic attachment had it mimicking her physical reactions to him. “Oh my,” she whispered when he pulled his shirt over his head.

  She audibly swallowed. Taking in the expanse of tanned skin, she licked her lips. Her already hard nipples tightened to painful nubs, and a fresh burst of moisture dampened her panties.

  “Tonight is all about you and the pleasure I can bring you.”

  She turned her head away. Not because she wasn’t so sure he could slake the mating lust or that they would find pleasure in each other’s arms but because she heard music. It was so faint that she strained to hear it. The woebegone notes of a flute wrapped around her body, dragging her down into a world where there were only careening sensations riding her energized nervous system and him.

  “You hear it. The mating call.” He nodded. “That is a good sign.” He reclined beside her. He brushed an errant lock of her hair away from her face.

  Her charged body shifted against his. The tight buds of her nipples brushed his bare arm. He levered her leg over his hip. Her skirt rode up with the move. Cool air wafted over the soaked crotch of her panties. Her inner thigh rested against the bulge of his cock. Unbidden, her fingers twined in the long strands of his black hair.

  It was the slow path his hand took toward her crotch that brought her firmly back beneath the passionate spell he wove around her. The music grew louder. A driving rhythm shouted in her head when their gazes met and locked. Her infanteum crystallae pulsed with energy.

  She was about to demand he end this exquisite torture when he flicked his index finger across her damp panties. “Yes.” So close to an orgasm she could almost taste the bliss, she tugged on his hair. “Please.”

  Panting, she clung to him.

  Held to him by the arm he slid around her body, she gasped when he kissed her. His tongue mated with hers in the same instant he moved the elastic band aside to stroke her wet folds. Now. Now. Now.

  A shudder raced the length of her spine when he swirled his finger around her over-sensitized clit. On her whimper, he inserted his finger into her channel and started a slow ride. He added another to the mix, and then another.

  Gasping, she ripped her mouth from his and hid her face in the crook of his shoulder. Her climax built. The infanteum crystallae grew white hot. She closed her eyes as the first tremors of her orgasm shifted down her pussy. “Yes.”

  Her fingernails dug into his shoulders. “Yes!”

  All the sensations socking through her mingled, combined, and then collided in a climax that made her scream. Deep, driving contractions shot from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.

  And I thought the Navorains were sexually immature. Fardin frig, they could teach the Dareauxians a thing or two about mating.

  His silent chuckle snapped her gaze to the chiseled planes of his face. “Are you purposefully not thinking?” she demanded to know.

  “Once we have finished the mating, I will answer your question.”

  What else can I do? Considering her orgasm had yet to let off and an instinct greater than that which had drawn her to the infanteum crystallae told her to trust this warrior.

  She watched a frown crease his brow. He rose to his impressive, almost omnipresent, height. He offered her h
is hand.

  Without thinking, she laid her fingers in his palm. Once she was on her feet, he brushed his hands down her back to let them rest on the swell of her buttocks. “Now, we will continue.”

  The music she’d heard only a few minutes ago drifted away.

  “Undress for me.”

  Pulling up the last vestiges of her self-discipline, understanding she’d broken so many Community laws it wasn’t funny, she did as he asked. Screw the Community. He’s my mate. They can’t fight that truth.

  He cocked an eyebrow when her fingers faltered.

  “Let off all your worries, Jada.”

  The sound of her name coming from him had the sexual thrum returning tenfold. The music returned. Pushing all her concerns away, she pulled her shirt off and laid it at the foot of the bed. Her camisole followed.

  “Just listen to the music.”

  His whisper wafted her hair as she straightened the long strands as best she could.

  “Let it take us both into oblivion.”

  For a split second, he pictured a bleak nothingness. She undid the closure at the top of her skirt and thrust it down along with her panties. A sudden jolt of fear that the New Chastity Party would reject their mating struck her hard. She toed off her shoes as cutting clarity struck the lust building in her to dust.

  The music turned dull—lifeless.

  If she couldn’t have her mate after they consummated the binding, her infanteum crystallae would die. She would expire soon after the glow left the crystal. If she didn’t go through with the mating, both she and the slice of D-quarterline would mourn his loss, but they would survive and, perhaps, at some point in the distant future, find another suitable mate.

  “Don’t worry,” he soothed her. He took the step separating them. “Let the music inside you. Only there can it work its magic.” He raked his teeth down the long column of her neck. “Feel it with me. Close your eyes. See the music.”

  “I can’t.” She closed her eyes to hide the tears welling in them. You don’t know what you are asking of me. The rustle of him removing the rest of his clothes snapped her eyelids open. “We should stop.”