Break Out

chapter Thirteen

“Piece of cake,” Rico said to Tannis.

He kept his pace steady, but the spot between his shoulder blades itched with the need to get out of there. He hated prisons. He’d spent time in a few in his long life and had no wish to repeat the experience.

Everything had gone according to plan. They had the cryotube containing Jonny and were only a few feet from the transport ship when a voice called out behind them.

“Stop where you are.”

From the pitch of the man’s voice, Rico could tell they were in trouble. He stopped and slowly pivoted, easing his hand onto his laser pistol.

Tannis turned beside him and swore softly.

Rico counted six guards, but at least their weapons were still holstered. They probably weren’t expecting a fight when the numbers were on their side. A tall man with sergeant’s stripes stepped to the front of the group.

“Take your hands away from your weapons and place them behind your heads.”

Like that was going to happen.

Rico glanced sideways at Tannis and saw the almost imperceptible nod of her head. His muscles tightened in readiness.

They drew their lasers in unison. Six blasts took the six guards down before they had a chance to unholster their weapons. Rico stood for a minute in the ensuing silence, laser aimed until he was sure no one was going to move again. Ever.

Tannis released her breath and shoved her pistol into its holster. “Right,” she said. “Can we go now?”

“Not so fast,” Rico murmured. “They know we’re here.” He crossed the room and opened the control panel, blasted the insides. “Just disabling the tractor beam.”

“What about opening the hatch.”

“It has proximity sensors, it should open.”

“Should?” She shook her head. “Come on. We have five minutes to get off this piece-of-crap planet.”

Rico started pushing the cryotube toward the transport ship. He’d only gone a few feet when Tannis stopped him with a hand on his arm. “What now?” he muttered.

“Look, Rico.”

Four men appeared from behind the ship. Rico’s breath caught in his throat as he recognized the uniforms.

“Shit, Rico,” Tannis said from beside him. “They’re Collective.”

“They’re not only Collective—they’re Corps.”

“Look at their eyes.” Her tone was full of awe.

All four sets of eyes glowed violet, inhuman, and a shiver of unease ran down his spine. Unlike the guards, their weapons were already drawn. He wondered, briefly, what had happened to Skylar, and a wave of regret washed over him. Damn, he’d wanted to get to know her. Too late now.

“Well, it was nice knowing you,” he said to Tannis.

“We going to fight?”

“You want to end up in the mines?”

She shook her head. “We fight.”

“Are you ready?”

“No.”

Rico grinned. He took a deep breath and…

“Rico, get down!”

Skylar’s voice. But from behind them. Rico grabbed Tannis, hurled her to the floor, and covered her with his body. The heat of the laser shots passed close over them, and he kept his head down. After a few seconds, the shooting stopped, and he peered up.

The four men were down. Skylar stood, still in that sexy silver dress, her feet bare, her legs braced, a laser pistol in each hand.

She raised an eyebrow. “You going to lie there all day?”

He’d never seen anything quite so beautiful in his whole life.

“They’re down for now, but they’re not dead,” Skylar continued, when he didn’t move. “And we only have three minutes to get off this planet.”

Rico got to his feet and pulled Tannis up. “Thanks,” she said. “Now let’s get the f*ck out of here.”

Once they were clear of the planet, Rico switched the navigation system to automatic. Skylar leaned against the wall next to the cryo-unit. She’d put her shoes back on, and the heels made her legs appear endless. Dios, she was sexy in that dress, and the weapon belts strapped to her waist just made her sexier. Her eyes caught his, and she looked away quickly.

She was going to try to avoid paying her debt. He wasn’t about to let that happen. She might have saved his life back there on Trakis One, but a deal was a deal. Besides, it wasn’t as though she wouldn’t enjoy it.

Tannis strolled across the deck. She stared in through the glass window of the cryo-unit. “That’s little Jonny?” she asked, and Rico could hear the disbelief in her voice.

He peered in and grinned. The man was enormous. Rico turned to Skylar. “He doesn’t look much like you.”

“He’s actually only a half-brother. Same father, different mother. I call him little because I was ten when he was born so he was...” She shrugged. “...little. It just became habit. How long until he wakes up?”

Tannis examined the control panel. She pressed a few buttons. “There, it’s started, but a good few hours, I would think.”

“Perhaps we could load him into my shuttle. Do you want me to transfer the balance of the fee now?”

“Actually, “Rico said, “that can wait until we get back to the ship. And little Jonny stays here for the moment.”

Skylar dragged her gaze from the cryo-unit to Rico. “I’d like him with me.”

No way was he letting Skylar out of his sight. Certainly, he wasn’t going to let her take their new friend and disappear as he suspected she might. He wanted his reward. He wanted answers even more. He’d considered waiting until they were all safely back on board El Cazador, but he had a feeling that things could go badly wrong very quickly. This might be his only chance to get her alone, show her a little of what they could have together, convince her that she had options.

“Darling,” he said, “I’ll be with you. We have some unfinished business, you and me.”

Her eyes widened. “We do?”

“Oh yeah. And having your brother present might just cramp my style.”

“But....”

He didn’t give her a chance to say anything further. He moved in close, took her arm, and hustled her toward the door. He turned to Tannis. “We’ll see you back at the ship. We’ll be a couple of hours. At least.”

On board the shuttle, he slammed the hatch and sat down in the pilot’s seat. Within minutes, they had undocked and were heading into space. Away from El Cazador.

Rico set the autopilot and swiveled his chair to look at Skylar.

. . .

Why not?

The words echoed in her mind as she stared at Rico. He sat in the only chair, his long legs stretched out in front of him, arms clasped behind his head, his eyes half-closed as he waited for her to come to a decision.

She knew he wouldn’t force her, and she wasn’t sure that made it any better. At least if he forced her, when the world came crashing around her ears, she could tell herself she’d had no choice. But that was the coward’s way, and she’d never been a coward.

He was beautiful, with the lean, masculine grace of a predator, and she wanted him more than she had ever wanted anything in her life. And she’d had a long life.

But it was more than mere lust. She’d been alone since Daniel had died. She could have taken lovers, but she’d chosen not to, and now the need to connect physically with another being rose inside her. Something about Rico called to her as no one else had done over the years. She wanted to hold him, to make love, but she also wanted to lie with him afterwards, feel him close to her.

Why not? Just the once.

There were lots of reasons why not. The main one being, she needed to get the prisoner and deliver him back to the Collective. If she did that, she might just avoid demotion, though she doubted it. The colonel had to be really pissed off at her right about now. They would probably toss her out of the Corps. At the least, she had put her career back a good many years.

But right now, her brain couldn’t seem to concentrate on that. All she could think of was how good it had felt to give in to him. She remembered the taste of him and licked her lips. He’d been so big and hard and…. She shifted from one foot to the other.

She knew that if he could tell all about her from the taste of her blood, then afterwards she’d have no option but to kill him. Her gaze shifted to the cabinet where she’d hidden the wooden stakes. She realized she’d prepared for this, that all along she had known she would give in. The thought made her stomach churn.

“Come on, sweetheart,” Rico murmured. “You’re giving me a headache with all this thinking.” He rose to his feet, never taking his eyes from her. “Both you and I know this is going to happen.”

He took a step toward her, and she held up a hand. He stopped.

“Just one thing,” she said.

His eyes narrowed. “As long as it’s a quick ‘one thing’.”

“The whole bloodsucking thing is spooking me out.” She bit her lip. “I’m not trying to back out, but will you make love to me first?”

Rico considered her for a moment. Finally, he nodded once. The tension oozed out of her, and she pushed the last of her doubts to the back of her mind. At least she would have this.

His hand went to his waist, and he flicked the fastener of his weapons belt. Then to his thigh. He flicked the second, and the belt clashed to the floor. He took another step towards her. She swallowed.

“I love that dress, but take it off,” he ordered softly.

A fire roared into life in the pit of her stomach. She unfastened her own weapons and dropped them to the floor at her feet. Hooking her fingers in the top of the silver tube dress, she peeled the clinging material down and stepped out of it, to stand before him in nothing but a silver thong and the silver platform shoes. She made to kick them off.

He shook his head. “Leave them on.”

His eyes burned over her skin, lingered on her breasts until her nipples tightened to hard little points that ached for his touch. Then lower, so a fire coiled in her belly, and moist heat welled up between her clenched thighs.

She watched as Rico studied the cabin of the shuttle. There weren’t a lot of options; the shuttle was small. His gaze finally settled on the pilot’s chair. He slid his palm into hers, led her across, and pushed her down gently. Her legs gave way, and she collapsed back, staring up as he perused her, his head tilted to one side, dark eyes gleaming with hunger and need. And the realization that he needed her as much as she did him soothed away any doubts that still lingered.

Reaching down, his fingers slid between her thighs. He lifted first one leg, then the other and placed them over the arms of the chair.

She sprawled, quiescent, her body throbbing with arousal, her breath coming in short, sharp pants, waiting for his next move. He trailed his hand over her breast, across the flat plane of her belly, then hooked a finger in the silver thong and ripped it away.

“Dios, but you’re pretty.”

He sank to his knees between her thighs and breathed in deeply. His cool breath brushed the sensitive skin of her inner thigh, and every muscle she possessed clenched tight.

“Payback time,” he murmured and slowly lowered his head.

At the first touch of his tongue, Skylar’s eyes drifted closed. She held her breath as he licked from the cleft in her buttocks, over her already drenched opening, pushing his tongue inside, up toward the inflamed nub between her thighs, stopping just short, so she moaned in delicious need. He repeated the move, always leaving her wanting more until she reached up and curled her hand around his skull and dragged his head towards her, pushing herself up against his mouth.

He laughed softly, took her swollen * in his mouth, and suckled. Her hand dropped from him. Her head fell back, and she moaned. He bit down and pleasure poured through her, arching her back as she came immediately. She struggled against him, out of control, and his hands grasped her thighs. His fingers bit into her flesh, holding her open while his tongue continued to work, and pleasure pulsed through her. Finally, he kissed her one last time and raised his head. She forced her eyes open.

“I was planning on taking my time,” Rico said, his expression faintly rueful.

She opened her mouth, but no words came out, the pleasure still buzzing through her. He ran the pad of his thumb over her sensitized *, and she nearly leapt from the chair.

She lay back and watched as he undressed for her. He pulled his shirt over his head, tossed it on the ground. His skin was pale, smooth over the swell of muscles. A narrow line of hair disappeared into his waistband, and she held her breath as he opened the fastener and dragged his pants down. He was already fully aroused, his shaft thick, the head swollen and blushed dark with blood as it arched up against his lean belly. She licked her lips, and his cock twitched. Taking it in his fist, he squeezed. His head went back, and he groaned. “Tell me what you want,” he said.

“I want you,” she whispered.

. . .

She looked so beautiful sitting there. Beautiful and bemused as though the pleasure had taken her by surprise. Swiping his tongue over his lower lip, he tasted the salty sweetness of her. His gums ached with the need to savor her blood.

She had come much too fast. He’d wanted to prolong her pleasure, force every other man she had ever known from her mind until there was only him.

Now, she was sitting almost primly, her thighs clasped together, and she kept shooting wary glances at his cock; it did nothing for his control, but she seemed unaware of the effect she was having on him.

“I get the impression it’s been a long time for you,” he said.

Surprise flashed across her face. He could see her mind working, deciding whether to deny it. Instead, she shrugged. “You don’t want to know how long.”

Actually, he did want to know, but he didn’t push it—that wasn’t a conversation to have just now. He reckoned it would be a definite mood killer. And right now, he wanted to sink himself into the hot, silky depths of her. “Tell me if I hurt you.”

She looked at his cock and nodded, and the muscles in his belly cramped. Rico picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Turning, he sat down in the chair, positioning her knees on either side of his hips. For long moments, he held her close, breathing in the wild, musky scent of her sex. He stroked a hand down over her breasts. She was lean, no spare fat, but her skin was soft and her breasts a heavy weight in his palms. Bending over her, he took one swollen nipple into his mouth while one hand went between her thighs and parted her sex with skillful fingers. The head of his cock nudged at her opening. He raised his head to look at her, and her eyes were wild.

“Ready?” he asked.

Without answering, she put her hands to his shoulders, held his gaze as she pushed herself down, sheathing him inside her. She was so tight, and he held himself still, savoring the feeling.

When he could wait no longer, his hands moved to her hips and lower to cup the firm globes of her ass, and he moved her on him. The drag of her muscles was exquisite, and he shoved into her harder this time. He could already feel the orgasm building in his balls, sending ripples of pleasure through his spine. He grasped her tighter, pushed her down, grinding her sensitive core against him until she whimpered. He knew she was close, and he slid one hand between their bodies, massaged her * with the tip of his finger, and she exploded against him. He released his control, holding her hips and thrusting into her, feeling the ripples of her pleasure tugging at his cock.

He wrapped his arms around her, pulled her against his chest as the waves of pure bliss pulsated from his shaft, through his whole body until it burst in an explosion of pleasure.

His head fell back against the chair and he lay, eyes closed, sated. For the moment.

Finally, he opened his eyes to find her watching him, her own eyes wary. He was overwhelmed by the urge to comfort her, tell her everything was going to be fine. He couldn’t find the words, and instead he wrapped his hand around her neck and pulled her towards him. He kissed her long and deep, felt the tension ease from her as the hunger rose inside him, and his gums ached with the need to feed. He couldn’t remember a hunger like this, as though he would die without the taste of her.

He backed off and stared into her eyes. “You know what I want?”

She nodded. “Rico, I just wanted to…” she trailed off and shrugged, then raised her chin, baring the smooth line of her throat.

He smiled at her fixed expression. “Don’t look so worried, querida. This isn’t going to hurt.”

“Querida—what does that mean?”

“It’s Spanish for ‘darling’. Now relax—you’ll enjoy it, I promise.”

He stroked the pad of his thumb down the line of her throat then leaned in close, breathing her in. He could smell the sweet scent of her blood as it thundered through her veins, so close to the surface. He tilted her head slightly and sank his fangs deep into the vein. She gasped against him as the warm blood filled his mouth, and the power filled his body. He swallowed, and a jolt of shock ran through him. He’d never tasted anything quite like Skylar’s blood, and for a moment, he went still. He forced the knowledge to the back of his mind—it was nothing he hadn’t already guessed, and it would wait for later.

She wriggled against him. He lifted her with ease; never releasing his hold on her throat as he lowered her to the floor and came down on top of her. Inside the tight sheath of her body, his cock stiffened, and she gasped again.

This time, they made slow, erotic love, the thrust of his hips keeping time with the pulse of her blood. He was careful not to take much, just enough. Finally, he released her, swiping his tongue over the small wound, before rising up over her to stare down into her desire drenched eyes.

“That was amazing,” she murmured.

Tension eased in his mind, and he realized he’d been worried she would not enjoy his blood-taking—another first. What was it about her that made him so unsure? He pushed the thought aside and flexed his hips, filling her, wanting to feel her shudder with desire beneath him.

Her blood buzzed inside him, saturating him with power. He continued to thrust slowly into her, holding tight onto his control, until finally, they came together in a burst of pleasure.

. . .

Skylar lost consciousness after the third orgasm. When she opened her eyes, it was to find Rico lying next to her on his back. She was pretty sure he was awake, but she didn’t have the energy to lift herself up and look.

She waited for him to say something, to denounce her, ask her what was going on, but he didn’t move.

She should get up, go get a stake or something, be prepared, but her body refused to obey. She felt boneless, weak. Complete for the first time in her life. The thought brought her up short and she sat up abruptly.

“You’re thinking again,” Rico murmured.

Her throat hurt, she reached up, ran her fingers over the puncture wounds and hissed under her breath. They had stopped bleeding, but still stung.

“Come here, querida.” He tugged her, so she fell on top of him. Nuzzling her neck, he kissed her, running his tongue over the small wounds. The stinging stopped, and she pulled away and rose to her feet. She kicked off the silver shoes, then dragged a clean jumpsuit out of the small closet and pulled it on. Boots followed. Finally, she fastened her weapons belt around her waist. And all the time she waited for Rico to denounce her. Instead, he stayed silent.

Her gaze shifted to where he still lay on the floor. He’d rolled onto his side, his head resting on one hand as he watched her. Skylar could read nothing from his expression. Flinging herself down into the pilot’s chair, she reset the coordinates to head back to El Cazador. She stared at the screen for a long while, but her gaze was drawn back to Rico. He still hadn’t moved. She allowed her eyes to wander over the length of him. She’d never met anyone so comfortable in his own skin. Finally, she reached his face. He raised an eyebrow.

“What?” she asked.

He sighed and pushed himself up. “You think too much.”

“Yeah, I know. Can’t seem to stop.”

Rising to his feet, he grabbed his pants and shirt from the floor and pulled them on. He leaned on the console beside her chair. “What do you plan to do now? Take little Jonny and go back to the rebels?”

Why wasn’t he confronting her? After tasting her blood, he had to know she’d lied about everything.

Her gaze narrowed on him. “I told you, I can’t go back. I stole their money.”

“Hmm, so you did. So, what will you do?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“You could stick around for a while.”

She glanced at him in surprise. Why would he say that? She considered the idea of staying on, and then berated herself for even allowing the thought to cross her mind. It was never going to happen. She was an idiot to even think about it. Besides, if she didn’t get out of there before Jonny woke from his cryo, she doubted Rico would be offering her a place on his ship. More likely, she’d be straight out the emergency exit without a spacesuit.

“I can’t. We’re fugitives. We’ll bring the Collective down on you.”

“Darling, we’re all fugitives after that little escapade.”

“They might not have identified you.”

He tossed her a look of disbelief. “You reckon?”

“No,” she replied honestly.

“Well the offer’s there, if you want to stay. At least until you decide on your next move.”

Pain shifted deep inside her. Why had he made the offer? It just made everything so much harder. “I can’t.”

Anger flared in his face. “You know, we are what we are. There’s no way around that truth. But that doesn’t mean we have to behave in a way prescribed for us by others. There’s always a choice.”

“Not always.”

He shifted irritably. “Of course there is. It might sometimes seem a choice between bad and worse, but it’s still a choice.”

“Bad and worse,” she mused, and shrugged. “We’re approaching El Cazador. Get ready for docking.”