"I already told you no," Vox snapped back as he took a step closer to her. "What have you done to your hair?" he demanded studying her face and realizing she looked-sexy as hell!
"Why?" Riley asked forgetting that she was supposed to be holding onto Nahuel for a moment and running her hand over the slicked-down strands. "I call this my bad-girl hair. I wear it like this when I go to the bar sometimes. Don't you like it?"
The moment she released him, Nahuel jerked forward and turned away from her. He grinned as he snapped the restraint on his wrists. He had learned that trick when he was in basic training.
Vox's deep snarl ripped through the corridor as his cat reacted to the creature wrapped around his mate's neck. Vox shifted between one jerky step and the next as his cat took over. He vaguely heard Riley's scream followed by his brother Viper's roar to stop, but none of it mattered. The beady-eyed creature stared in challenge, as if daring him to take Riley from him. Vox's teeth sank into the neck of the creature just as his massive paws knocked Riley over Tadzio's inert figure. He pulled, listening with satisfaction as the creature came apart in his mouth. The creature tasted foul, but he didn't stop until he had torn it to tattered pieces. Only then did he realize that Riley wasn't yelling anymore. It was her heartbreaking sobs that finally broke through the haze of rage coursing through him.
He shifted back to his two-legged form, straddling her as she looked up at him with a quivering lip and quiet sobs choking her. He looked down at her bright blue eyes in confusion. He had done it again. He had destroyed another one of her jackets, only this time she wasn't laughing.
"What?" he asked as he reached out to touch her lower lip. "I did it again, didn't I? I messed up."
Riley just looked at him as tears escaped from the corners of her eyes. "I hate you! It was the last thing she gave me, and you ruined it," she whispered as her lower lip quivered uncontrollably. "I knew she loved me when she gave me this jacket for my birthday, and you ruined it."
"Who?" Vox asked quietly, ignoring the men who were silently helping Tadzio to his feet.
"My little sister, Tina," Riley answered as she turned her face away from him and closed her eyes, shutting him out. "I miss my family," she said quietly.
Viper stared down at the female who had seemed so different and realized that maybe he had been a little harsh in his judgment of her. Right now, he wanted to promise her whatever in the gods she wanted. He wondered if this was what his brother felt whenever he was near her. There was something about her that pulled at something deep inside him. He shook his head. It had to be a trick. Surely this was part of their power. He watched as Vox gently pulled his mate into his arms, muttering words of apology and promises he would make it up to her as soon as he could.
Chapter 17
Two days later, Vox was ready to start another war. He wanted-needed-to kill something or someone. Once Riley had gotten over being so upset, she had become very, very angry. She swore she would drive him to the brink of insanity if he didn't return her home. She had started singing a song that was about to drive him to that point. Out of desperation, he had contacted Creon and demanded he tell him the location of Earth. A rueful smile curved his lips as he thought of his mate's tenacity. It was one of the things he loved about her. She had finally worn herself out that first night and fallen asleep. The problem was she started again the moment she woke up and had been working on him for two solid days. That was when he made up his mind he would compromise with her. He would not take her back to her world, but he would bring a bit of her world to her.
"I will be going to Earth after we have taken care of Raffvin," Creon responded quietly. "My mate needs closure on the life she had before. I owe this to her and to us so that we can move forward."
"I want you to take Viper with you," Vox stated. "I want him to bring Riley's sister and Grandma Pearl back to her. She misses them. I cannot return with her to her world. There are still traitors among my people I need to take care of. He will go in our place to her world for them."
Creon's eyebrows rose. He remembered the young Sarafin royal as being a bit of a hot head, not unlike himself. He wondered how Viper would handle being around females who were so different from what he was used to. His lips curved as he thought of what his own mate's reaction would be to the news he planned to return with her to her world to say good-bye.
"I will talk to Kelan. He has returned with his mate Trisha to retrieve her father," Creon shared. "I will let him know that Viper will be joining us. From what Mandra said the last time I talked with him, there might be a few more. Adalard, Bahadur, and Zebulon wanted to go as well. So far the only one resisting is Ha'ven. He states he has enough females to choose from and doesn't need any more."
"Viper is only going to retrieve the females, not mate with one of them," Vox stated firmly. "I will brief him. He will need to spend time with Riley so he knows where to begin his search."
"So, how is it going with your mate? You look a bit-tired," Creon said with a grin.
"She has most of the crew ready to throw me in one of the detention cells," Vox replied just as the door opened and Viper walked in with a dark scowl on his face. "I have to go. I will contact you again in a few hours."
"Good luck, my friend," Creon said with a laugh as he signed off.
"We should be within range of Raffvin's hidden base by tomorrow," Viper said, walking over to the wall replicator and ordering a drink.
"Good, I am ready to be done with this," Vox said turning to study his brother. "I have a mission for you."
Viper turned with his drink in his hand and raised his eyebrow at the edge of authority in his brother's voice. He only used that tone when he was giving him an order that he knew Viper wasn't going to like. Viper took a slow drink before he responded.
"What is it?" Viper asked, moving over to the conference table and sitting down across from Vox.
"I need you to return to my mate's planet and retrieve her Grandma Pearl and her younger sister, Tina," Vox said forcefully.
Viper sat back and gazed at his brother with a frigid look. "Why send me? You could send another warrior. I am not an escort. I'm an assassin if you need one or a spy should the need arise," he replied in an emotionless voice.
"I want someone I can trust," Vox replied softly. "I am not asking, Viper. I am ordering you to go. Creon will be returning to his mate's planet. Kelan is already there. I will have Riley share everything she can with you to help you."
"Do you trust her? What if it is a trap?" Viper asked, slamming his hand down angrily on the table. "Have these females taken all your wits from you and the Valdier?"
Vox growled low, the sound rumbling in warning that Viper was treading on thin ice. "Do not question my sanity unless you are willing to challenge me for my position. You may be my brother, but I will not let you or anyone else question my leadership or my mate's loyalty to me."
Viper's lips tightened. "Loyal to you-but what of your people?" he snarled back.
Vox stood up, towering over his brother who was still sitting. "She chose five mates when she should have chosen just one. She did it to protect the males who were left from being used as food. She was prepared to die even as she freed all the prisoners on that mining asteroid. She would have if I hadn't stopped her. She is my mate, Viper. Accept it. She is your queen, and you will not disrespect her-ever. It is your duty to protect her at all cost, even if it means with your life."
Viper set his barely touched drink down and stood up stiffly. "As you wish, my lord," he said formally, bowing his head in stiff respect. "I will get the necessary information from my queen and prepare to leave as soon as our strike on Raffvin is complete."
Vox watched as his younger brother turned and strode out of the room, leaving him alone. He rolled his shoulders in an effort to ease the tight muscles in them. If he had known having a mate was going to be so much work, he might have thought twice about it. That was until images of Riley's flashing eyes, the twinkle in them when she got into things she shouldn't, her wild mass of hair twirling as she laughed or walked, and her gazing up at him with burning eyes flared through his mind. He wondered how he was going to survive until she forgave him. His eyes lit up as he thought of how he had left her sleeping just a short time again. Maybe it was time to wake her up. If he kept her too tired to argue and too satisfied to be mad, maybe he could win her love.
Finally! His cat hissed.