Hotbloods 6: Allies

Thanking him, I left the cockpit, picking up my clothes and heading through the corridors toward the room he’d mentioned. I couldn’t wait to feel Navan’s arms around me, letting me know that everything was going to be okay.

I pushed open the door at the very end of the right-hand hallway, which opened into an expansive bedroom. My jaw dropped as I took in the lavish quarters. Truthfully, “bedroom” was an understatement—this place was more like an apartment, with a huge bed in the middle, surrounded by rippling streams and pools, and a kitchen on the far side. There was a fully stocked bar, too, and what looked like a heart-shaped jacuzzi, tucked away in the corner. A bathroom seemed to be across from me, as well, though steam rose out of the door, startling me. Had we missed some of the on-board staff, after all?

Tentatively, I approached, knocking lightly on the door. “Hello?”

Through the mist, Navan appeared, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers. His muscles trickled with moisture, his mouth curved in a seductive smile. He slid his hands over my hips and pulled me to him. I could already feel his excitement through the fabric of his underwear, and his expression was ravenous.

“That dress,” he growled. His eyes had darkened, his fangs showing, as though he was somewhere between his usual self and his beast mode. With a groan rumbling in the back of his throat, he ran his hands through my hair, tilting my head to one side so he could kiss my neck. He grazed his teeth across my skin, sending a ripple of pleasure through every single nerve ending.

“You like it?” I murmured, closing my eyes, relishing the feel of him against me.

“It’s driving me crazy,” he whispered in my ear, before nipping gently at my earlobe. “I wanted to throw that merevin across the room when I saw him looking at you like that. Then again, who could resist looking at a goddess?”

“You know what’s better than me in this dress?” I looped my arms around his neck and pressed my lips to his, catching his mouth in mine, feeling his tongue begin to explore. My heart was pounding, every cell aching for his touch.

“What?” He trailed his fingertips down the front of my dress, before pressing me up against the wall, his hand continuing down from the lowest point of my neckline, eliciting a gasp from the back of my throat.

“Me without this dress,” I whispered into his ear, my body writhing against him. I had no idea what it was like with a human, and I never wanted to find out. Navan did things to me that were beyond belief, taking me close to what I imagined paradise felt like. We didn’t have any herbs, but I didn’t care.

He laughed huskily, looping his thumb into the slender strap of my dress and sliding it down over my shoulder. His lips followed the action, tracing delicious kisses across my skin, sending a shiver of excitement up my spine.

Right now, only the two of us existed.





Chapter Nine





“So, what should we do with our fishy friend?” I asked, sitting down on a plush sofa in the observatory—a glass-paneled room at the far end of the left-hand corridor, which branched away from the main space. With the cruiser on autopilot, everyone was gathered to eat breakfast and discuss our plan of action. My spirits had been buoyed up after the night of love-making Navan and I had enjoyed. I felt on top of the freaking world, reveling in a sexy, warm glow.

After successfully stealing the ship from Wander the previous day, a positive atmosphere had settled across the group. We were still trailing the green dot, which continued to stay a short distance ahead on the celestial map. Where before we’d had nothing, now we had a faint hope of finding Lauren. Moreover, we were closer to getting Yorrek’s notebook back, as long as Stone hadn’t sold it yet.

“Can’t we find out where his home planet is and drop him off?” Angie suggested.

“Realistically, we don’t have time for that,” I said.

“I just feel bad for the guy,” Angie muttered. “Being so far from home, surrounded by strangers… You’ve got to understand how crappy that feels.”

“Of course I do!” I said, crossing my arms. “But we need a quicker solution. Why don’t we put him in the escape pod and release it to a nearby, populated planet? I’m sure he could pick up a ship, or at least a ride home. This thing has an escape pod, right?” I turned to Bashrik, who nodded.

“It’s got three.”

“Cool, so we put him in a pod and send it off to somewhere nice. No harm, no foul,” I said, satisfied.

Angie shook her head. “That’s beside the point. What if he can’t get back to his home planet? What if he ends up stranded wherever we drop him?”

“He’s got money. He’ll be absolutely fine!”

“You can’t guarantee that,” she insisted. “I don’t like screwing over innocent people like this.”

“We need to do whatever it takes to find Stone,” I said firmly.

“Whatever it takes?” Angie asked, her voice disbelieving. “Lauren wouldn’t have wanted us to steal and kidnap for her sake!”

“Look, maybe we should take a few minutes to think of another way to deal with the merevin,” Navan suggested tentatively. “Perhaps there’s a midway option that we’re missing.”

“The notebook is out there, too,” I retorted, not taking my gaze off Angie. “There’s more at stake here than just Lauren. We can’t get caught up in right and wrong when the whole freaking universe’s safety is at risk.”

“So you don’t care how many bystanders you mow over in the process?” Angie whispered, turning her gaze toward the glittering velvet of space. “All right then.”

I felt a flush rise to my cheeks. Everyone was staring at us—or, more specifically, me. Mort looked like he was fighting laughter.

“I’ll go talk to Killick,” I said, striding out, my boots thudding against the metal walkway. The last thing I needed was a bunch of awkward guys standing around, twiddling their thumbs, trying to come up with something neutral to say.

With Killick already on my mind, I walked to the main kitchen to make him something to eat. Undoubtedly, when he finally woke up, he’d be starving. Plus, there was a food-printing machine on board, which Navan had shown me how to use after our exertions last night, and I was dying to use it again. It was a big, expensive-looking beast of a machine that made anything the heart desired, catering to every species imaginable. Even better, it was voice-activated, understanding most languages.

“Merevin delicacy,” I said, not sure what Killick might like to eat. The machine hummed to life, a shower of bright lights firing up. Realizing I’d forgotten to put the nutritional molding block in the central container, I pulled one out of the cabinet below the machine and lifted the flap, putting the block in and pushing it right to the end, precisely the way Navan had shown me. I was just removing my fingers when the flap closed on them, a sharp edge cutting into my skin.

Cursing loudly, I yanked open the flap and pulled out my fingers, before lifting them to my lips and sucking away the beads of blood. It was just what I deserved. I mean, stealing the compass had worked out in the end, and we wouldn’t have this ship if I hadn’t done the con. But I couldn’t shake the guilt.

The food-printing machine was almost finished when I heard the kitchen door sliding open and someone entering behind me. I smiled, awaiting the delicious sensation of Navan slipping his arms around my waist, reassuring me that everything was going to be fine.

“Come suck this blood off my finger,” I murmured, giggling flirtatiously. My face morphed into a mask of horror as I turned to see Angie standing in the doorway.

“Not really my thing,” she said, flashing me an amused smile.

I swallowed hard, turning away from her. “Sorry, I thought you were Navan.”

“Just be glad it wasn’t one of the guys coming in here. Mort never would’ve let you live it down.”

She was being nice again, all of a sudden. “What’s up?” I asked.

“We took a vote and decided to kick Killick off in an escape pod, as soon as possible.”