The Draqon's Brat Read online

  Why then did her heart feel heavy despite the amazing orgasm she’d had? And she did mean a–fucking–mazing.

  In her rooms, she stepped out of the overalls and her ruined dress, leaving both crumpled on the floor for the maids to handle in the morning, and tumbled into bed. The soft Kiflonian sheets welcomed her as she pulled them up over her naked body. The alien fabric molded around her and created a soft, warm cocoon that snuggled her blissfully into sleep.

  “Veronica,” a voice whispered in her dream, the world shaking like an earthquake from the planet below her.

  “Veronica.” It came again, and this time, she dreamt the voice was Maxsym’s. It wasn’t surprising considering he’d left an impression with the size of that cock. She reached a hand toward the hazy figure hovering above her—an incubus come to play with her sleeping body.

  When her hand was slapped away, the sting of pain woke her, and she sat up.

  “Computer, turn my light on,” she snapped.

  Her chambers flooded with soft sunrise light, and she stared in disbelief at Maxsym. His hair was disheveled, and wide eyes had dark circles beneath them. All around, the lights flashed blue and green. An alarm screeched in the next room, but her chambers remained quiet. Still, the shrill sound bothered her ears.

  Likely another drill. That was the annoying thing about space stations: the endless, tedious drills. She groaned.

  “Can’t you hear the alarm? Put some clothes on.” He clenched his fists, his eyes tracking her bare breasts.

  “Is it safe for me to get out of bed, or are you going to jump me again?” she teased.

  “I think it’s reasonable to claim you were the one doing the jumping.” Maxsym strode over to her wardrobe. He grabbed the first thing he found, a slinky white dress that exposed almost as much of her body as the flimsy sheet wrapped around her waist.

  Veronica stood and walked past his offering without even acknowledging the garment. She grabbed a pair of soft black pants and a droopy blouse that revealed most of her back and accentuated her lack of undergarments.

  Maxsym paced the room. “Hurry up. The alarm is sounding. You do realize what that means?”

  She dismissed him with a wave of her hand. “Calm down or wait out in the other room. Yelling at me won’t get me dressed any faster.”

  She enjoyed the barely contained look of rage on his face more than she probably should. But it reminded her of the power his body had unleashed when he had thrust himself inside her. The quiver between her legs returned. Would she be able to steal another clandestine moment with her handsome new lover, or did the alert level require she comply with whatever drill this was?

  As soon as her clothes were on, Maxsym grabbed her by the upper arm. He dragged her out of her bedroom, through the main chamber, and into the hall. Out here, the alarm blared at a deafening level, and the lights flickered between blue-green, orange, and red.

  “Shit.” Maxsym dragged a hand through his hair. “We have to get you to the escape pod before the doors close or your father will have a shitfit and rip my ass apart.”

  “Escape pod? Like for a hunker down drill, right? Not for actual escaping.”

  He frowned, and his eyebrows drew together, creating a tiny wrinkle in his forehead. Veronica didn’t like the look of concern on his face. The danger must be more serious than she’d realized. She rarely bothered with station matters, but the occasional solar flare or training accident always resulted in a low-level panic that required they shelter in place. Usually just a boring hour or so in her chambers. But Maxsym had mentioned the escape pod.

  That meant something bad.

  Maxsym dragged her through the halls. People in flight suits and mechanics’ garb rushed around them, knocking her from side to side. If it hadn’t been for Maxsym’s grip on her arm, she would’ve been jostled into the crowd, lost in a sea of running bodies. The smell of smoke filled the hall, and Veronica quickened her pace. Fear worked up her spine.

  “What happened?”

  Maxsym glared at her. “Let’s get your ass to the pod, then we can figure it out.”

  “Are you always such an asshole?” she snapped, but secretly, she was glad he was maintaining his familiar gruff exterior. Funny how the very thing that had infuriated her when they first met was the same thing that comforted her in a crisis.

  He set her against the wall next to the hatch door leading to the emergency stairs and brought his hulking body close to her. His heat spread across her chest, and she imagined he might bring his lips down and engulf her in the passion of a kiss.

  “Stay here or I’ll let you die,” he snarled before turning away from her.

  “Wait,” she cried out. When he turned back, annoyance in his eyes, she regretted her outburst. “Where are you going?”

  “To open the door. If there’s fire in there, I don’t want the backdraft to burn you.”

  “Oh.” Her thoughts slowed. “But what about you?”

  He gave an unexpected chuckle and shook his head as if the idea of getting burned in the fire was as ridiculous as drowning in real water on the space station. He approached the door and used both hands to turn the hatch’s wheel hard to the left.

  Metal scraped against metal as the door resisted. “What about the elevator?”

  “Are you really that stupid?” He grunted as he continued to pull the door.

  “Shit, no. Avoid all electrical systems when there’s a fire,” she recited from her various safety classes. “But isn’t the entire space station an electrical system?”

  Before he had a chance to answer, the hatch gave way, and Maxsym swung the door out.

  She searched for any fire, but felt only the blast of hot air and smoke that curled through the door.

  Maxsym smiled and lifted his head as if sniffing the air.

  “There’s no fire down here. Only residual heat and smoke that hasn’t been vented. Come on.”

  “Are you sure?” Her voice trembled, and she hated it, but she hated the thought of burning to death even more.

  Surprising her completely, he held out his hand to her, and she took it, a lifeline in the chaos. He placed a soft kiss on her temple.

  She blinked up at him, her heart skipping in her chest. “What was that for?”

  He chuckled. “I’m not always an asshole.”

  The idea that he might be good at his job, and even a nice guy, contrasted with all his arrogant outbursts so far.

  Veronica elbowed him softly in the ribs, and the two of them took off down the stairs. Despite Maxsym’s longer legs, she kept up with him by jumping two or three steps at a time. If things were so dangerous that they needed to get to the escape pods through the back halls, then it must be a real emergency.

  And fire in outer space was never a good idea.

  After running down several flights of stairs, Veronica slowed, finding it difficult to catch her breath.

  “Do you need me to carry you?” Maxsym asked, and she knew if she said yes, he would carry her the rest of the way.

  “I’ll be fine,” she replied, quickening her step.

  Soon, they arrived at the emergency hatch that opened to the escape pod’s antechamber. Maxsym opened the door with the hatch’s handle.

  It didn’t resist, having been opened recently. After they stumbled through, he closed the door behind them, making sure to seal it tight. They crossed the secure outer room to the pod’s secured doors. There, he turned to her.

  He stared into her eyes for so long Veronica shifted her weight from foot to foot. His intensity made no sense. It felt as if he was asking her something, but she didn’t know how to answer him if she never heard the question.

  In a sudden movement, Maxsym pressed himself against her, scooping her up in his arms and lifting her into a soul-crushing kiss. Their mouths moved together, and his hand made its way down to her ass, holding her weight and massaging the thick muscles.

  After a moment, he pulled away, his chest heaving.

  “What was
that for?” she asked, breathless and stunned, but wishing he’d do it again.

  “Just in case there isn’t time again later,” he said with what sounded like regret. But the moment passed as quickly as it had come, and he winked at her before going back to the pod door and punching in his security code.

  As soon as the code was accepted, the hatch lifted up and out. They entered the ventilated chamber between the space station and the escape pod. They quickly shut the door behind them so nothing from the ship entered the escape pod and to ensure they boarded before the computer system decided they were a threat.

  Maxsym ushered her into the chamber first, watching intently as she stepped down into the small safety area. White light glowed from every direction. It was enough to disorient anyone who didn’t know where they were.

  Maxsym pulled the hatch closed, and the lights went out. A throbbing red emergency light came on through the floor, and a computer voice began to count down from twenty.

  Twenty seconds to get into the escape pod before their bodies were vented into outer space.

  Maxsym quickly opened the electronic hatch and punched in his emergency code before placing his hand on the scanner. The red lights below changed to a soft blue.

  "Your turn.” He gestured to the control panel. She entered her personal code and scanned her hand.

  The pod opened, permitting them to enter.

  As soon as they stepped inside, Veronica’s mother squealed and rushed toward her, looking as disheveled and out of control as she had at the reception.

  “Ronnie! Where have you been? I’ve been beside myself waiting for you. I thought for sure you would miss the window and your father would lock you out there with the fire and terrorists.”

  “Terrorists?” Veronica gasped.

  Maxsym stepped forward, placing his hand on the small of Veronica’s back. She stiffened, not used to anyone touching her in front of her parents, but the brazen man had positioned himself so no one would notice.

  “What happened?” he demanded, addressing the other guards. Even though he was clearly the lowest ranking member in the pod, the others stood straighter when his gaze fell upon them.

  Her father’s personal guard and head of security, Lieutenant Fennah, regarded Maxsym with a look that flickered between respect and annoyance. He recognized the inherent value of the man standing before him, but he didn’t appreciate anyone who might make him look less in charge than he was accustomed to. Lieutenant Fennah was a small man with a rapidly rounding belly. He’d become complacent in his duties, and everyone knew it, including her father. But until now, there had never been any reason to question his decisions, and he’d been loyal to the family for as long as Veronica had been alive. “A band of human resistors set off a small explosive.”

  “A small explosive? They blew up the goddamn docking bay!” her father shouted, pounding his fist on the plasteel table in front of him, a vein pulsing in his forehead. The escape pod was decked out with body-conforming chairs and couches, as well as workstations and a large, impressive desk for her father, ensuring his grandiose opinion of himself continued regardless of where they were.

  “Was anyone hurt?” Veronica asked, but her father continued as if he hadn’t heard her. Her mother pulled her onto the plush two-person lounger, which conformed to the curve of her spine as soon as she sat.

  “Those goddamn human zealots. They blew out my goddamn docking bay, costing me nine of my newest Falconer ships. Nine. And what will I get for it? It’s not like the American Corporation has any money or will send more men up here. Once again, it’s up to me to take care of everything. The buck stops here, or so they said in the good old days. There is nothing standing between Earth and every imaginable horror in the universe except for me and my Falconers. And that responsibility is only made more difficult when children playing soldiers think they know better than the people in charge and insist on acting out.”

  Her father collapsed into his seat, fury blazing in his eyes as he studied the faces of the people before him. His family, the personal guard, and the highest-ranking elite officials on the ship had all made their way to the escape pod. If necessary, they would eject and leave the station to fend for itself.

  “If it’s so serious, then shouldn’t we be out there?” Maxsym spoke up again, and this time, he caught her father’s attention.

  Commander Gideon’s eyes narrowed, and the vein in his forehead pulsed twice as fast.

  Maxsym clearly didn’t understand how things worked around here. He was insubordinate to address a commander that way. It was one thing around other guards and even around other elites, but to question her father so openly would be a death sentence for most.

  “Absolutely. You’re dismissed. Your presence is no longer necessary on the escape pod. Please, go out there and see how many human idiots you can save. Thankfully, the Frenion party has already left, so we don’t have to worry about their little bug-eyed asses during this attack. Or perhaps you’d rather go check in with your resistance buddies. Make sure everything went to plan.” Her father stood, but even at his impressive height, he was forced to look up into Maxsym’s eyes.

  Her father was not accustomed to looking up at anyone.

  “I assure you, sir, I’m not a terrorist,” Maxsym said, his spine straight as a rod and his demeanor shifting into that of a soldier.

  Veronica lost her breath to see him not only question her father, but also take on the stance of a military man. She hadn’t been sure he had it in him but damn if seeing him standing there at attention, chest pushed forward and the hard lines of his musculature fighting the too narrow uniform didn’t make her want to tackle him and have another go right here. Of course, he underwent military training to be hired on as her private security detail, and it was silly of her to be so impressed. But so far, he hadn’t given the slightest indication he even knew what respect was.

  Her father appraised him, taking stock of the younger man and measuring him. “Who are you? I don’t recall seeing you at security briefings. Fennah, who is this man?”

  “I assure you, sir, Private Maxsym Dracones has been vetted, and I guarantee you he was not involved in this terrorist attack. He was assigned to your daughter’s personal guard all evening, and I witnessed him helping both her and your lovely wife back to your rooms earlier.”

  Her father’s eyes narrowed first on Maxsym and then on his wife. “Overdoing it again, I see?”

  Her mother tittered and wrapped an arm around Veronica, pulling her closer.

  “My darling,” her father said with a sigh, “I can only hope you grow up to be twice the woman your mother is.” He turned back to his guard.

  Veronica’s heart wrenched. She might not have much respect for her mother, but she certainly didn’t think the woman deserved to be spoken to that way. Her body flushed with anger, and she wanted to say something, to defend the woman who had protected her and loved her as best she could.

  But her father had already dismissed the women and collected his men around the desk to plan their counterattack.

  Maxsym spared her a sympathetic look before joining the other guards.

  It would be weeks before she found out what really happened. Others always assumed that because of her elite status she had the commander’s ear and would be in the know about such things, but the opposite was true. She found the maid’s gossip was usually more up to date than her information.

  For now, all she could do was wait and hope Maxsym would let her in on the details.

  Chapter Four

  Maxsym

  Maxsym kept his hands behind his back as he listened to Commander Gideon rant about the human resistance group who had destroyed the docking bay. Clearly, not every human agreed with Gideon’s plans for using trillions of dollars to expand his Falconer program instead of reinvesting in making Earth more hospitable. But a band of rogue resistors willing to set off explosives could aid Maxsym’s mission. He wondered if any of them knew how far the commander ha
d gone in his quest for power.

  It was a rare opportunity to be in the same room with him. Usually, someone of his rank was kept at a distance, but through strategic moves and carefully placed hacks into the human security system that grossly exaggerated his merits as a human military officer, Maxsym had secured his position with Veronica. He had hoped it would get him closer to the commander, but he’d never imagined he would be this close.

  If he wanted to, he could reach across the table, take the man’s throat in his hands, crush his windpipe, and watch as he sputtered to death. The men around him wouldn’t hesitate to fire the laser weapons strapped to their hips, but not before Maxsym saw the life drain from the commander’s eyes.

  Though it was so, so tempting, he told himself not to attack. It would be unwise, and he couldn’t guarantee success before a guard killed him. But in the back of his mind, what really stopped him was the image of Veronica’s face when she realized who he was. From her perspective, he would be worse than the human rebels. An alien come to kill her father.

  He tried to clear his mind. Why should he give a shit what she thought? She was just a stupid human girl who cared more about playing dress-up than the situation on the station she called home. But something didn’t fit with his first impression of her.

  Her first question after finding out about the attack on the docking bay was whether anyone had been injured, and she’d tended to her mother at the party and then here in the escape pod with compassion. Most humans laughed at the frail, damaged female but not Veronica. Maxsym couldn’t help believing there was more to her.

  And damn if that girl couldn’t fuck.

  “We’ll have to start doing routine searches,” Lieutenant Fennah announced, his large frame rumbling with the warble in his voice.