Page 30 of Venomous Lust
“I’ve heard tales of the red planet.” She was pleased her voice sounded steady and strong. “I want to see it.”
“It’s dangerous. Garana is not a place for a human female.” Khal’s voice was cold and detached; it felt like his tone was cutting small wounds all across the skin of her face as he spoke. Like nothing had happened between them. Like she was nothing to him. “Now, obey me and go back inside the Myrador.”
I am nothing. I am nothing to him, and he is nothing to me.
But it wasn’t true. Khal wasn’t nothing to Hazel, and it made her anger only flare hotter. With a superhuman effort, she peeled her eyes away from Khal and stared at the slowly opening docking door. As it rose, a dense red fog slithered inside. It was like even the air of Garana was drowned in blood.
“I’m not going anywhere.” Hazel refused to look at him, to see the harsh lines of his face tighten at her refusal to obey. “Unless you want to drag me away kicking and screaming, I suggest you lead the way.”
A silence full of reprisal and injured male pride followed, and Hazel couldn’t be sure, but she thought she saw Zaxis cover a grin behind his hand from the corner of her eye.
“Get back to the private quarters. Now,” Khal repeated.
This time, Hazel turned to meet his gaze—and immediately wished she hadn’t. Those mesmerizing eyes burned with emotions that raged and fought, barely controlled by that huge, impossibly strong body and mind. Never before had Hazel so fully realized who Khal was.
What Khal was.
An Eok, a warrior whose race had waged war and sown destruction and terror for thousands of years, across all the civilizations, until the Ring was formed. Until they joined the alliance and became a symbol of strength and ruthlessness, but also of control. The ultimate weapon of a power so absolute, it had wiped out all violence right up to the Frontier.
How she was able to sustain his gaze, she didn’t know. But she did it.
Her body wanted nothing more than to disintegrate into a puddle of surrender, but her chin stayed up and her lips remained sealed, pressed hard together as she answered Khal glare for glare. Then the loading dock’s door hit the ground, the ramp extending with a muffled thud.
“Too late,” Khal bit out his words, anger still clear in his face. “Now, if you value your life, don’t say a word.” With that, he turned his wide back to her and faced the four tall, broad figures emerging from the red, metallic fog of Garana.
“Commander Khal,” a male voice called, hoarse and hollow as the figures emerged from the fog. “Welcome to the Frontier.”
Hazel’s heart fluttered and her stomach cramped painfully, fear and anticipation mixing together in equal parts in her body, battling each other. She was a world away from home.
And she was never going back.
Chapter 10
Hazel
“Commander Gerkin.” Khal’s voice was even and calm, but Hazel saw the lines of tension running down his shoulders. He was wary of the other Eok, that much Hazel understood. “I did not expect you to come greet us personally.”
Commander Gerkin came closer. Hazel stared as the face of the Eok took shape in the low light of the red fog. Gerkin was older than Khal, his face marked with deep lines that played over his traditional Eok markings. He looked nothing like Khal, yet somehow looked the same. But where Khal’s rugged, harsh masculinity held an edge of passion, Gerkin’s face was devoid of anything but cruelty. His was a face made for war and violence, the face of one who wouldn’t shy away from shedding innocent blood. His pale blue eyes gleamed with merciless assessment as he took in the sight of Zaxis, then her. A glimmer passed through those soulless eyes and Hazel shivered with horror, deep in her soul.
This one is bad to the core.
Khal moved in a single fluid motion and placed himself squarely between Hazel and Commander Gerkin. Relief flooded Hazel as she inched to the side to keep the Eok in her line of sight, but remained mostly hidden by Khal’s towering form.
“Not safe, bringing a female with you.” There was no concern in Commander Gerkin’s voice. No warmth, or any indication that he would actually care if anything happened to her.
And Khal is going to hand me off to him?Hazel shivered.
“The female is none of your concern, Gerkin.” Khal took a step forward and Commander Gerkin inclined his head in acceptance, but Hazel saw the glint of resentment in his eyes. She was right, this one was bad to the core, and didn’t like his authority challenged. “I am here to refuel and send a secure message to Chief Arlen.”
“Follow me, then. But if I were you, I wouldn’t lose sight of her. There are plenty of males on Garana who would like to sample a human female,” Commander Gerkin commented in a detached voice—so cold, Hazel froze in place. She just knew that she couldn’t land in his hands. He would show no mercy. He would take what he wanted, and leave her broken without so much as a shred of remorse.
How am I going to get back to Sally, then? Khal and Zaxis are headed beyond the Ring. I’m trapped with Gerkin on Garana.
Hazel fought off panic at the thought. After Commander Gerkin and his two warriors turned and walked away, Khal met Hazel’s eyes. His face was set in tense lines and there was a savagery in the way he looked at her. For some reason, it made her feel warm. Warm and safe.
How stupid could she be? There was nowhere in the Ring less safe for her than Garana, with or without Khal to protect her.
“Don’t leave my side.” Khal’s voice was hoarse and low, full of warning. “Garana is not half as civilized as the stories you’ve heard.”
