Marauder Read online

  She sighed. How disappointing. Was it too much to hope that a male would ever see her as more than a receptacle for his lust? Apparently, Toxyn was just as shallow as the rest of his kind. “I’ll let you know.” She waved him away, already bored with his company.

  THE FOLLOWING MORNING, Rex awoke content and rested for the first time in years. Thea snuggled against his back, her soft body contoured to his. His cock, on the other hand, was hard as a rock and aching, demanding he roll her beneath him and bury himself balls deep in her soft body. He shoved the temptation aside. She was so far from ready for a full body joining that it was almost obscene to be in bed with her.

  Three months. He sighed. It had only been three months since the death of her husband and their offspring. When he’d suffered a similar loss, it had taken much, much longer before he recovered enough to think about sharing pleasure with anyone. Things might have been different if he’d encountered a potential mate back then. The pull had a way of burning off every other emotion. Still, he needed to slow down. He could not allow himself to forget that her vulnerability masqueraded as rebellion.

  Easing away from her, he slipped out of bed and took a quick sonic shower. Better to give her some time to process last night before he intruded on her life again. Besides, he’d neglected his duties as commander ever since leaving the Outcast world. Baylor, his second-in-command was amazing, but his patience with Rex’s distraction would only last so long.

  Rex asked Proktar to take food and a fresh uniform to Thea. She wouldn’t be able to open the door, but Proktar had a security override code that could get him into any compartment or cabin on the ship. With the basic needs of his potential mate addressed, Rex went to the command deck to assure Baylor that he was still functional.

  They arrived at their destination late that afternoon. Rex stopped by the infirmary and retrieved the injector, not wanting to disappoint Thea a second time.

  She greeted him with a friendly smile, but remained on the sofa where she’d been playing sibottca on a datapad. The three-dimensional puzzle game required a good memory and an aptitude for logic, but it transcended most language barriers.

  “Did you find a com-bot injector?” she asked as she deactivated the game and set the datapad aside.

  “I did.” He pulled a thin cylinder out of his pocket. It was smaller than the ones the Outcasts had used on the other captives, but this device looked similar. “It’s a rudimentary model. It will allow you to speak and understand Rodyte, but it’s not upgradable. Several vendors in the marketplace sell translator setups. I suggest we look around for something better.”

  “How many of the vendors speak Rodyte?” she asked, disappointed by the news.

  “Not many. There’s a universal trade language, most call it Standard. Anyone who trades off-world on a regular basis knows Standard.”

  “Latin used to work that way on Earth.” She sighed, frustrated by the barrier. “What are the chances that we find a translation device on a Linusian outpost that can enable me to speak Standard?”

  “None if all you speak is English. And slim if you’re able to communicate in Rodyte,” he admitted, his handsome features expressing compassion she wasn’t ready to receive.

  “Well, slim sounds better than none,” she grumbled. “May I have the injection please?” She lifted the side of her hair, exposing the skin behind her ear.

  “Of course.” He administered the injection, then tossed the injector into the recycler. “Ready to stretch your legs?”

  “Definitely. Where are we going?”

  “You’ll see.” He took her by the hand and led her to shuttle bay three. “Our destination is LOP Six. If all goes well, we’ll find everything on Kage’s shopping list in this one place.”

  “LOP Six is a trading post?” Thea asked after securing her safety restraints. Her voice was soft and distracted, and she wouldn’t hold his gaze. Was she embarrassed about what had almost happened last night, or upset that the scene hadn’t gone farther? They had too much to accomplish to explore that question right now, but they would explore it.

  Rex waited until he’d maneuvered the shuttle clear of the bay before he explained. “LOP Six is more like a trading village. A large open-air marketplace is surrounded by permanent workshops and storefronts. Most everyone on the outpost is involved in trade of one form or another.”

  “Is the outpost on a planet or a moon?” She motioned toward the yellowish-green orb to their right. “Isn’t that a planet too?”

  “That’s Linusia Prime. The planet has eight moons. Four are habitable. LOP Six is on the largest moon.”

  She shook her head, blonde hair gleaming, dark eyes wide with wonder. “It’s so strange to think of a habitable moon. Earth’s one and only moon is a desolate rock.”

  “Thanks to the battle born, there’s some life on Earth’s moon,” he pointed out in Rodyte, wanting to see if her com-bots had engaged.

  “True.” She dragged her gaze away from the viewscreen and looked at him. “Did you say that in Rodyte?”

  “I did. And you understood every word.”

  “It’s so weird. I heard the Rodyte words with my ears, but the voice inside my head repeated them in English.”

  He smiled, pleased by her progress. “Speaking Rodyte is the same process in reverse. Think what you want to say and your inner voice will provide the Rodyte equivalent. All you do is repeat what you hear inside your head.”

  “Like this?” she asked in Rodyte, sounding a bit tentative.

  “Exactly like that.”

  They conversed for a few minutes in Rodyte. Her responses became more assured and more complex as she sorted out the specifics of the translation process. Finally, she asked, “What else do I need to know about LOP Six?”

  “Linusia Prime is ninety-one percent water. Full-blooded Linusians are amphibians, so it’s complicated for them to leave the planet. Most of the people you’ll see will be hybrids.”

  She shrugged. “The battle born are hybrids. Most of the Outcasts are hybrids. Do alien species all interbreed with each other?”

  “It depends how long each species has had access to space. Once a species can routinely leave their planet it’s almost inevitable that someone is going to cross the line. How long did it take for human explorers to start ‘interbreeding’ with indigenous populations?”

  “Not long.” She said nothing more, apparently having lost interest in the topic. She turned her head this way and that, watching the planet on their right and then the moon directly in front of them.

  She seemed interested not afraid. Still Rex was concerned. Humans were incredibly sheltered. “Most of the people you’ve come in contact with have looked very much like humans.”

  “Really?” Her head snapped around and anger sparked to life within her eyes. “Have you ever seen an Evonti? They don’t look human in the least.”

  The bitterness in her tone confused him. When and why would she have interacted with the Evonti? “You’ve actually seen an Evonti? I was told they can only tolerate Earth’s atmosphere for short periods of time. They prefer manipulating others into doing their dirty work for them.”

  “Yeah. I learned that lesson the hard way.” She turned her head back around as her lovely features froze into an expressionless mask. “I won’t be freaked out by Linusian hybrids.”

  There was clearly more to that story than she was willing to share. Rex had never interacted with the Evonti, but according to his Linusian crewmembers, the Evonti were ruthless scavengers. Their homeworld was depleted of natural resources and horribly polluted, forcing them to steal from other worlds to survive. Unfortunately for them, their physiology was unique, making most other planets toxic to them. The battle born had barely averted an Evonti invasion of Earth, but apparently Thea had been more involved with the events than he realized.

  He pulled his hands out of the control matrix and looked at her. “How did you come in contact with the Evonti?”

  She sighed, expressio
n tense, defensive. “Are you going to tell me about all the stupid mistakes in your past?”

  “How much time do you have?” He chuckled. “I’ve made a lot of stupid mistakes down through the years.”

  “Docking approved. Landing sequence engaged,” the computer interrupted.

  “You’re not off the hook,” he warned her as he turned back toward the controls. “I want to hear about the Evonti.”

  The spaceport was small but busy. Shuttles and small ships lined the multi-level docking piers, creating a sense of organized chaos. Rex secured his shuttle and motioned Thea toward the market located at one end of the bustling piers. Travelers of every shape and size hurried toward various destinations. He had seen it all before, numerous times, but it was all new to Thea.

  “Is it always like this?” She looked around, eyes wide, features tense. Despite her insistence that she wouldn’t be shocked by her surroundings, she was clearly overwhelmed.

  Rex placed his hand in the center of her back, reminding her that she wasn’t alone. They passed a Drilon couple, their florescent orange eyes, contrasting sharply with their copper-colored skin. Their features were distinctly avian. Even their twitchy movements appeared birdlike. Thea managed to take in their appearance without seeming to stare, but by quickly shifting her focus away from the couple, she ended up looking at a Hantishna. The Hantishna was massive, yet its bulk was nearly shapeless. Rex knew it could manifest a variety of appendages depending on its need at any given moment. At present, however, it was simply moving toward one of the transports, so it appeared to be a gelatinous mound, sliding down the pier with no apparent effort.

  “What... How is... I’ve never seen anything like that,” she admitted in a hushed whisper.

  “Few have. The Hantishna don’t travel unless they have no other choice. They’re a rather xenophobic species.”

  “And the other two?” She motioned over her shoulder. “What were they?”

  “Drilons. Now they’re just the opposite. Their homeworld was destroyed by an asteroid, so most of them travel extensively.”

  He watched her closely. She was obviously curious, but her initial shock appeared to be wearing off. She seemed more relaxed, as if her fear had given way to excitement.

  They passed through a massive arch and her gaze flew upward. “Is that a supersized metal detector?” Awe was apparent in her breathy tone.

  “It scans for munitions as well as infectious pathogens. Every spaceport in the galaxy has something similar.”

  Her only reply was a nod, so Rex hurried her onward. He’d delegated the standard supplies to members of his crew while he took on the harder to find items the overlord had requested.

  The market was arranged in long, narrow rows. Vendors called out to passersby, hoping to attract new customers. Well-trampled grass provided a mostly flat surface for the carts and table displays.

  He led her down one row and along the end displays toward the neat shops lining the open-air market. “Tell me about your experience with the Evonti,” he prompted as they walked along.

  “There’s not much to tell. I joined a rebellion, thinking I was working toward returning control of Earth to humans. Then I found out the mysterious jerk running the show was actually a freaking alien.”

  He fought back a smile, knowing she’d be offended by the reaction. Her hatred of any and all aliens was so irrational, he found it almost amusing.

  “Were you this hostile about ‘aliens’ before the LA Tragedy?” Avoiding pain allowed it to fester and deepen. He knew that from experience. She needed to talk about the loss of her family, even if it was the last thing in the universe she wanted to discuss. He’d tried the direct approach and she shut down. Maybe a little subtlety would be more successful.

  She looked at him, then away, her gaze immediately hostile. “I was leery, but curious, like everyone else on the planet.”

  So, her bitterness and anger were based entirely in pain. It wasn’t surprising. Those who were grieving frequently looked for someone to blame. The battle born were indirectly responsible for the loss of her family, so aliens as a whole became the focus of her hatred.

  “What did your husband think about the battle born? Was he—”

  “Change the subject,” she snapped. “I’m not talking about my husband.”

  Careful to keep his voice soft and coaxing, he persisted. “What was his name? I’ve only heard you refer to him as ‘my husband’.”

  “None of your damn business.” She turned suddenly and darted down between two rows of vendor carts.

  He hurried after her, not wanting to lose her in the crowd. “Thea!” He caught her upper arm and brought her to a halt. “Don’t leave my side. This market is more dangerous than you realize.”

  As if to prove his point for him, Rex heard someone call out his name. Recognizing the voice, he cringed and pulled Thea even closer. Slowly turning around, he plastered on a smile. “Peftmon, it’s been awhile.”

  Peftmon’s coppery skin and bright orange eyes identified one of his parents as Drilon, but his features were blunt, almost primitive, indicating other genetic contributions. “I’ve been watching for you for months. You’ve been avoiding me.”

  “Now why would I do that?” Rex tried to minimize the situation with a smile. “You’re one of my best customers.”

  “None of the components you sold me worked. I paid good credits for a pile of junk!”

  Rex had suspected this would happen, but he’d been desperate for credits at the time. “I warned you that the components came from a contact I’d never dealt with before. I can put you in contact with—”

  “I bought the shit from you!” He poked Rex in the chest so hard it rocked him backward. “I want a refund right now.”

  “I’ll gladly refund your credits, but you’ll have to give me some time. That was a large transaction.”

  “I’m more than aware of how much I lost.” Peftmon’s gaze narrowed and shifted to the side. “What species is your pet?”

  Rex tensed, hands folding into fists. “She’s not for sale. You paid in credits and I’ll refund—”

  “She’s human, isn’t she?” His gaze narrowed, becoming a lustful leer. “I’ve always wanted a human pet, but they’re so damn rare. Give me the girl and we’ll call it even.”

  Rex glanced at Thea. She couldn’t understand what Peftmon said, but his expression required no translation. Fear creased her brow and she moved closer to Rex.

  “She’s not for sale,” Rex stressed, protective instincts speeding his pulse and fisting his hands.

  Peftmon ignored him and reached for Thea.

  Rex shoved his beefy arm aside and moved directly in front of his potential mate. “I said no!”

  “Fine, then refund my credits.” Cunning gleamed in Peftmon’s eyes. He clearly had no intention of letting this go.

  “I will refund the original cost plus twenty percent, but you need to wait until—”

  Peftmon lunged for Thea. Rex swung fast and hard, punching one of his best customers squarely in the face. Peftmon roared in fury and pain, both hands covering his nose. He shouted obscene threats as blood spilled across his mouth and dripped off his chin.

  Rex didn’t hesitate, he ran as fast as his legs would carry him, his fingers locked around Thea’s wrist. Peftmon was extremely wealthy and he never traveled alone. He’d have armed thugs either shadowing him or a short distance away. This had just become a very dangerous situation.

  Not waiting around to see which of Peftmon’s goons responded, Rex dragged Thea away from the irate trader.

  “What’s going on?” she cried, tugging against his hold.

  He didn’t take time to explain. “Run!” He had to put as much distance between Peftmon and Thea as possible.

  Rex knocked over tables and stacked displays, anything to slow down the pursuers.

  “Don’t,” Thea urged. “You’re leaving a trail for him to follow.”

  “Them,” Rex corrected. “He a
lways has security.”

  “Perfect.” She tugged lightly. “Let go. I’ll keep up.”

  They could both move faster if he wasn’t holding her arm, so reluctantly, he released his hold on her arm.

  Thea rubbed her wrist as she ran, then picked up her pace, sticking to Rex like a shadow. She wasn’t sure why he’d been arguing with the other male, but clearly things had gone south fast.

  He darted between two large vendor stands, both had side walls but open roofs. He paused and signaled for her silence. She nodded once and breathed through her mouth, trying to pant without making a sound.

  Just a few seconds passed when two massive, extremely mean-looking males lumbered past. They were chugging along as fast as they could, but their bulk was a clear hindrance.

  After a short pause, Rex crept toward the walkway in between the neat row of stands. The thugs were far in the distance, shoving people out of their way. He doubled back, Thea on his heels. She glanced behind them several times, but saw no sign of the thugs or the male Rex argued with in the first place.

  “Who was that guy?” she asked, trying to figure out where they were. The market was freaking huge. “Why was he so angry?”

  “Dissatisfied customer.” He tossed the phrase over his shoulder, not slowing down.

  Were they heading back to the shuttle? All she could see in either direction was vendor stands and small shops.

  And wary, semi-hostile stares in alien faces.

  Had she actually thought she could survive alone in this environment? Rex was right. She was naive. Here, and anywhere else in space, she was the outsider, the unknown, the alien. She couldn’t speak their language, didn’t know their customs. No one would trust her, and many would try to take advantage of her ignorance.

  Rex ducked into a vacant shop, the door having been kicked in by someone else. It was filthy and smelled musty, but they were out of sight. He braced his hands against his knees, breathing heavily. She was equally winded and slightly depressed. This was a harsh lesson in reality. Escape was not, and had never really been, a viable option.