Sons of Lyra: Slave Princess (5 page)

She hit him hard in the
chest and broke free of his grasp. She backed away, rubbing her
arm. Tears filled her eyes and he regretted his actions. She didn’t
deserve his anger. His heart said she hadn’t been out to kill him.
She’d wanted that kiss as much as he had.

“
Only the mark
saved me from death and made me valuable. The Vegans killed all my
friends and killed my family before they realised who they were.
Only I was left.” She backed up against the wall and slid down it,
curling up and holding her knees to her chest as she
sobbed.

He walked over to her and
crouched down.

“
What does the
Minervan want with you?” he said.

She laughed. “You really
are ignorant just as he said. I’d be worth a lot on the pleasure
market... the last surviving member of Terran royalty... he’d sell
me to the highest bidder as a whore.”

He braced himself when the
ship rocked. The Minervans weren’t going to give up easily now that
they knew he had her onboard. They wanted their prize as usual, but
for once it wasn’t him.

He looked at her, his
chest aching to see the tears streaking her face.

“
What are you
going to do?” she whispered.

Another blast shook the
ship.

She reached out and
touched his arm. “If you hand me over, the Minervan will leave you
alone.”

He couldn’t believe she’d
just said that. She was willing to sacrifice herself in order to
save his ship. He shook his head.

“
I won’t do
that. A few more minutes and the coordinates will be set and we’ll
be able to lose them when we go into sub-space.” He placed his hand
over hers.

She looked down at it, her
expression blank, and then looked back into his eyes.

“
My family
destroyed your world,” he said. “I have to repay that debt and
protect you.”

Her eyes widened into a
stunned look. “You’re not going to ditch me?”

“
No.” He shook
his head again. The plan to ditch her had been ridiculous even
before the Minervan had shown up, a ploy to get her out of his
sight and his thoughts. Now it was insane. He couldn’t set her down
anywhere. He had to protect her. “I will take you to Lyra Prime and
my parents... and I will speak to them.”

Her eyes widened further
when another blast rocked the ship. There was genuine fear in their
green depths. He curled his fingers around hers and held her hand.
With his other hand, he pressed the button on the wristband he
wore.

“
Captain to the
bridge. How are we doing with those coordinates? It’s getting bumpy
back here.” His eyes never left hers. He squeezed her hand, hoping
to reassure her that everything was going to be alright.

She swallowed and screwed
her eyes shut when the ship shook. There was a high whine and the
front cannons fired. At least his crew had found the good sense to
retaliate while they waited. He was going to have to have words
when all this was over.

Another blast hit the ship
and the woman was in his arms, curled up with her head against his
chest. He’d never met a woman so changeable in all his life. He
released her hand and wrapped his arm around her, unable to resist
this chance to touch her again.

“
Ready now.”
Came the reply from the bridge.

He closed his eyes, rested
his chin on top of her head, and held onto her tightly as the ship
jerked and the sub-space engines kicked in. His head spun and his
stomach turned. It was never pleasant making the transition between
space and sub-space.

“
What was
that?” she said, still buried in his arms.

He knelt beside her and
peeled her off him. Dipping his head, he looked up into her eyes.
They searched his, pleading him to reassure her. He smiled and
brushed the hair from her face. She really was beautiful, and that
kiss had been electric. It had made him realise just how much he
wanted her.

“
Just the
engines making the switch. We’ll be approaching the Lyra system
before two days have passed.”

She uncurled and looked
around her. Her gaze settled on the windows. He looked there, at
the lights streaming past in a constant blurred line. When he went
to look back at her, she was on her feet and moving past him. His
eyes followed her as she walked towards the windows. He wondered if
she’d ever travelled through sub-space. Not many ships had
technology capable of it.

“
What’s your
name?” she said and looked over her shoulder at him. A smile graced
her lips and her cheeks coloured. Was she embarrassed to ask? She
hadn’t blushed when she’d kissed him.

“
Captain Lyra
II.” He couldn’t help teasing her, knowing that she already knew
his title. He smiled too. “Balt.”

“
Balt?” she
said and he nodded. “I’m Kayla.”

Kayla. A beautiful name
for a beautiful woman. He remained kneeling on the floor, staring
up at her, not afraid of the comfortable silence between them.
Looking at her now, he couldn’t believe that he’d thought she’d
been out to kill him. There was so much desire in her eyes, so much
honesty in them too.

She walked slowly back
towards him and sat on the end of the bed near him. He turned so he
was facing her but remained on the floor at her feet.

The last of Terran
royalty.

She was beautiful enough
to be a princess. She was more beautiful than any princess he’d
met.

“
Balt?” Kayla
said, slightly unnerved by his staring at her with such fire in his
eyes. What was he thinking in there? She wanted to ask him but was
too afraid of what the answer might be. “What will you do with me
now?”

“
Nothing,” he
said. “You’re free... you don’t belong to me. All that back on the
bridge was just to throw the Minervan. You’re not my property,
Kayla. You belong to no one but yourself.”

Her chest warmed at his
words and the soft way he’d spoken her name. His expression was
tender, eyes narrowed slightly on hers and his focus so intent that
she felt as though she was the only other person in the universe
with him.

“
Doesn’t your
crew need you on the bridge?” she said, her nerves getting the
better of her. She didn’t want him to leave but she couldn’t handle
much more of this meaningful silence. It spoke words to her that
made her feel strange. The longer he continued to be close to her
like this, the more she began to realise just how attracted to him
she was.

And just how attracted to
her he was.

He shook his head. “They
don’t need me to fly the ship.”

“
You said it
was two days to Lyra Prime... what do you intend to do in all that
time?” She wished she hadn’t said it when he rose on his knees and
moved closer to her. His eyes narrowed on hers. She knew exactly
how he intended to pass the time. She cursed the fact that she
wasn’t strong enough to stop him. Regardless of how attracted to
him she was, he was still a Lyran, a son of Lyra no less. She
shouldn’t be having these feelings.

“
Kayla,” he
whispered, voice low and husky, full of so much desire that she
couldn’t help looking at him. He nudged her knees apart and settled
between them, his hands trailing fire as they brushed over them and
came to rest on her thighs. “You asked me once if I wanted
you.”

She already knew the
answer to that question but she got the impression that he needed
to say it. He needed to admit that he wanted her—a Terran and a
slave. She understood. She was having a hard time admitting that
she wanted a Lyran and a prince.

He leaned forwards,
spreading her legs further with his hips, and his hands reached her
backside. It felt too good to have his hands on her, dangerously
good.

His mouth neared hers and
her eyes fell closed against her will. She struggled to maintain
level breathing as anticipation coiled in her stomach. Was he going
to kiss her and put her out of her misery, or was he just going to
torture her with the idea?

“
I want you,”
he breathed against her lips. “Do you want me too?”

She couldn’t find her
voice. Of course she wanted him. She just couldn’t bring herself to
say it. She craved him more than food and water, more than the feel
of the sun on her skin or the wind of freedom on her face. She
needed him more than air itself.

Unable to speak, she
swallowed and nodded.

His lips met hers, tender
and soft, gentle enough to tell her that he’d witnessed her silent
reply. She felt light inside, dizzy. She’d never been kissed with
so much reverence and affection. Her only experience had been rough
and brutal, and against her will. Did he know that? Was that why he
was treating her so carefully?

She leaned forwards,
wanting to deepen the kiss. Her tongue swept along his lips and he
opened his mouth, his tongue coming to play with hers. It sent
tingles sweeping down her spine and she sighed.

His hands moved to her
waist, fingers pressing in slightly as she kissed him. She wanted
to touch him too. She hesitated a moment and then placed her hands
on his shoulders. He stopped kissing her and moved back. She met
his gaze and then looked at her hands. Her heart hammered. Her
mouth turned dry.

Her hands shook as she ran
her fingers lightly down his arms, tracing the shape of his biceps.
Her gaze slid across to the zipper on his flight suit. It was done
up to his neck, the short stand up collar hiding part of it. She
licked her lips and then moved her hand to it. One hand held the
collar while her other slowly lowered the zip. She sighed quietly
and her stomach heated through when the material parted to reveal
his collarbones and then his chest. Her other hand left the collar,
her fingers grazing his chest as she lowered them to follow the
zipper.

He closed his
eyes.

She’d never seen such
quiet pleasure on a man’s face before.

She lowered the zip to his
navel and then coursed her hands back up, over the taut muscles of
his abdomen to his chest. When she reached it, she slipped them
underneath his flight suit and pushed it towards his shoulders. He
helped her, peeling it off his arms and leaving it dangling at his
waist. Her eyes drank their fill of his body. The sons of Lyra
really were as perfect as she’d heard. At least Balt
was.

Leaning forwards, she
pressed light tentative kisses to his chest and neck, exploring his
body—rock hard square pectorals, taut shoulders, and deliciously
curved abdominals. He kept still, only his head moving slightly to
the side when she kissed the spot below his square jaw line. Her
whole body ached with desire and instinct drove her forwards,
making her touch and kiss him to fulfil the need growing inside
her. She wanted more.

Her gaze lowered to his
navel and followed the line of dark hair downwards until it
disappeared into the flight suit. She swallowed again as she
wondered just how perfect a son of Lyra was. Something told her
she’d find out if she found the courage to go through with what she
wanted to do. He wouldn’t stop her. She could already see the
hardness of his cock against the tight material.

She looked at his face,
checking his eyes were still closed. Her fingers skimmed his waist,
ghosting lightly over the muscles there, and then dipped downwards.
His lips parted and a small frown knit his brows.

Her fingers met at the
point where she’d unzipped him to. She took a deep breath to calm
her nerves and then carefully lowered the zipper to reveal dark
snug trunks. She wanted to see more. He was going to have to
stand.

She took hold of his hands
and stood, forcing him to rise with her. He towered over her, his
head bent towards her. She couldn’t resist the opportunity to kiss
him. Tiptoeing, she claimed his mouth as her own, plundering it
passionately with her tongue. He moaned and a chill chased over her
skin. When he did that, she wanted to do even more, she wanted to
do whatever it took to make him moan again.

She pushed the flight suit
down over his hips. He stepped backwards and removed his boots
before stripping off the flight suit. Her gaze raked over him,
absorbing the sight of his long powerful legs and the beauty of his
body.

His hand reached out
towards her. Her heart skipped a beat and she kept still as his
fingers closed around the zipper on her flight suit. She bit her
lip and watched him lower it, revealing her breasts and stomach,
and then continuing downwards to her crotch. She didn’t have the
advantage that he did. She had no underwear on and he’d already
seen her naked.

That fact didn’t stop his
eyes from filling with dark hunger as he peeled the suit off her
body. She let him remove it for her, not wanting to interrupt the
obvious pleasure he was getting from undressing her. He pushed the
suit down her legs and came to kneel before her. She lifted each of
her feet in turn so he could remove it completely. When he was done
and she was naked, he looked up at her.

Her pussy throbbed, her
nipples hardening at the dirty thoughts coursing through her
mind.

He skimmed his hands back
up her legs, tickling her and stirring intense need and desire
inside her. She watched his hands and then his face, staring into
his eyes. In them, she could see how much this meant to him, and it
was far more than she’d expected. He really had wanted her. He did
want her. She closed her eyes when he pressed a kiss to her thigh
and then kissed across her stomach, his tongue laving her skin and
making it tingle.