Page 29 of Venomous Lust
I don’t want to see him ever again.
As soon as she thought it, she knew it wasn’t true. In the short time since she had met him, Khal had turned her world upside down. She could no more stay away from him than she could resist watching the stars in the dissolving wall.
She was helpless against it, a slave to her attraction to him like a moth to a flame.
And it made her mad, madder than she had ever been. Because this time around, she wasn’t able to fight her own feelings. Never before had she been a victim of herself, of her own attraction. It had taken all her strength to keep away from Khal for the last half a day, and she could feel her resolve softening by the second.
There were more dangers waiting for her in the Eok’s embrace than there had ever been at the end of Bobbie’s fists, or even inside Knut’s cell.
I will end up a slave to this feeling if I’m not careful. I can’t ever let this happen again.
It didn’t matter how much her body sang for Khal, how much her pussy clenched whenever he was near her or put his wicked, large hands on her. She wasn’t going to have her fate dictated by a male ever again.
I’m free, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to remain that way. I’ll fight for it if I have to.
As she repeated the thought, a great shake agitated the Myrador. The bed rolled into the floor, disappearing into the sleek surface as if it were never there to start with. A panel folded outward on the wall opposite the bed, fashioning itself into a comfortable-looking landing seat, complete with heavy restraints. The next second, a siren blared three times above her head.
Hazel stood there on the shaking floor, her mind a blank. Then the blank filled with understanding. She knew what this meant.
The Myrador had begun its descent to Garana, the Frontier planet. The last bastion of civilization before the endless violence and war beyond the Ring. On wobbly legs, Hazel walked the few steps to the dissolving wall and flattened her palm against it.
Instantly, the solid white dissolved to reveal a blazing red orb, whose surface seemed covered in dark, angry twirls—the deadly sandstorms of Garana, with clouds as black as the darkest hearts. Hazel knew the stories, whispers in the night from when she was just a little girl, of the planet where the storms were savage enough to block out the sun making it seem like the middle of the night, and where warriors bathed in blood. She had always laughed at those stories, thinking them unbelievable, too cruel to be true. She wasn’t so sure anymore.
Staring at the red planet, all she could think about was that Khal was done with her.
This is it. I will never see him again.
He was going to load her onto the first ship back to Aveyn like she had never crossed his path. Like nothing had happened between them. Like she didn’t matter.
Her throat closed up, and nausea made her jaw clench.
I’m going back to Sally. This is what I want. This is all I want.
Hazel held on to the thought as she walked to the seat fashioned into the wall. The Myrador was really a top-of-the-line ship if seating was provided in each room during landing and take-off. She sat in her seat and fastened the restraints over her body as the ship began to shake.
The view beyond the wall changed at a dizzying speed, and soon, it was obliterated by the thick cover of clouds above Garana. Then the view of the clouds disappeared and an endless expanse of white replaced them. The wall had shut off her view of the landing, probably in an automatic security measure.
Panic threatened the edges of Hazel’s mind as the feeling of being trapped intensified. The sensation of the fall was almost unbearable as the Myrador descended to the surface at an ungodly speed.
Then, just when Hazel thought she was going to pass out, the world came to a stop and she breathed easier. Seconds followed seconds and then a soft thud announced that the ship had now touched solid ground.
This is it. Garana.
The place where Khal would get rid of her. Hazel got rid of her restraints in a hurry then got to her feet, her eyes stinging and her heart swelling with bitter pain.
Would he even say goodbye? He hadn’t even come to tell her they were landing.
Anger coursed through her body, unleashed with the same fury as the lust Khal’s kiss had released. She embraced the anger like a lover, wrapping her broken heart in it until it was all that remained.
No more all-consuming lust. No more butterflies and breathless embraces. Only familiar, reassuring anger, wiping away all those other feelings, feelings she neither wanted nor could afford. She walked down the halls, finding them empty.
Hazel accelerated her pace, her feet finding their way to the loading dock, which was also the only access to the Myrador. As she approached, two tall, broad silhouettes turned to face her.
Deep blue eyes reflected the light and Hazel’s heart did a backflip, sending a rush of need straight to her pussy. Her body answered his gaze like a caress, like he had branded her with his kiss.
“Go back to your private rooms.” His voice hit her like a slap, wiping away any illusions she might have had that he had any feelings for her. “Don’t come out until I come get you.”
Without speaking, Hazel walked closer, holding her head high and keeping her face as emotionless as she could. Inside her, a hurricane raged, hot and angry, blowing everything away in its mighty wrath. Khal wasn’t pushing her aside, wasn’t discarding her. Not this time. She was done being pushed around.
