Draekon Abduction: Exiled to the Prison Planet(15)

I think I know where this is going. Boob o’clock.

Zunix lowers the boat to the water, and gestures for me to get in. Liorax follows, reaching for the paddles automatically. “We both do,” he says. “For every question we answer, you answer one too.”

Okay, scratch that. I did not expect that response. “What kind of questions?”

Zunix gives me a playful grin. “You’ll find out if you agree, Olivia.”

This feels like a very sexually charged truth-or-dare game, and what the hell, I’m in. “Sure. I’ll play along. Tell me why the Zorahn want us, and I’ll answer one of your questions.”

“The honest answer: I don’t know.” I start to open my mouth to protest that he isn’t keeping his end of the deal, but subside when he continues. “However, I have some theories. I would ask that you don’t reveal these to your fellow humans.”

“Okay.”

“The scientists of Zoraht used human genetic material when they created the Draekons,” he replies. “My best guess is that the scientists are now planning to use human genetic material to either control or exterminate the Draekons entirely.”

My mouth falls open. Holy fucking shit. Roman would give his left testicle for this piece of information, but stranded as I am on this prison planet, I have no way of getting it to him. “What do you mean, control the Draekons? How?”

“That’s a second question, Olivia.” Liorax’s voice has an undertone of laughter. “Before Zunix answers, I have a question of my own.”

My spine prickles with awareness. “Okay,” I say again, my voice low. “What is it?”

“Tell me about your family. Are you close to them?”

That’s more than one question, if I’m getting technical. “I don’t have any,” I reply. “I never knew my father. He left when he found out my mother was pregnant, and he never sought me out. She died five years ago. I have no siblings.”

“Does it make you angry that your father never tried to find you?”

When I’m being logical, I tell myself there’s no point in getting angry, but deep down inside, there’s a hurt and an inadequacy that won’t go away. Maybe that’s why I’m so hyper-focused on my job. I’m trying to please Roman, who has taken some kind of father-figure role in my confused brain.

“That’s a second question, Zunix,” I answer lightly.

He smiles wryly. “For the first hundred-odd years, the scientists controlled everything about the Draekons. We were created sterile. Only they could activate the transformation; we could never shift at will into the dragon. But then something happened. The Draekon gene mutated, affecting both our ability to mate and our ability to transform. The balance of power in the High Empire shifted, and ever since then, the scientists have been trying to restore their lost glory.”

“Herrix called you Midborn. He implied that you were unimportant. How do you know all this?”

Zunix’s lips twitch. “You know how this works, Olivia. An answer for an answer.”

“Yes,” I snap. “It made me angry that my father never tried to find me. That he could walk away from his own flesh and blood, his own child, without a backward glance. But then I realized it didn’t matter. I’m responsible for my happiness. Not anyone else.”

We’ve reached the point in the lake where it bends to the east. The others are nowhere in sight, and the two guys pull the boat up at a bank. I jump out. Thinking of my father is pointless. He made his choices, and that’s all there is to it.

“You’re right, and you’re wrong,” Liorax says, offering me his hand and steadying me as I stumble on a rock and almost faceplant into the lake. “You are responsible for your happiness, but you’re not the only one.” He pulls me close, right up against his chest. “I would barter for a kiss,” he says, his voice rough and raspy, “but…”

Butterflies dance in my stomach at his tone. We’re alone. The air is still, and the water is calm. This is the first time Liorax has expressed any interest in me, and my heart beats as if I’ve run a race. “But what?”

We still all have secrets from each other, but something has shifted. Sometime between yesterday evening and now, it feels like we’re a fledgling team. We’re not quite sure of each other, and we’re still learning who we are, but we’re not pulling away from each other anymore.

Or maybe I’m just really attracted to them.

Liorax’s fingers caress my bare upper arms, and I stop resisting. I run my fingers through his hair and pull him closer. “But what?” I whisper again, very conscious that Zunix is watching us.

“But I would prefer it to be freely offered.”

I laugh breathlessly and tilt my head up. “Please…”

His mouth finds mine, and I surrender, doing exactly what he asks. His tongue slides into me, hot and insistent. His hands run up my back, under my shirt, and his touch against my bare skin sends a tight pulse of arousal straight to my core.

Screw the swim in the lake. I’m too impatient to wait. A voice in my head reminds me about the contest, about my plan to play off one pair of Draekons against the other, but that doesn’t seem important now. Not when waves of desire wash over me, demanding satisfaction.

God, they’re so fucking gorgeous. Liorax’s bronzed muscles flex as he moves, and I shiver as I see the look of raw hunger in his eyes. “Like what you see?”

I can’t stop myself from touching him. “I like it better up close.” The corner of his mouth tugs up as I trace one of the black bands around his arms and lay my hand on his firm chest. No fake tan and gym rat bulk here. These muscles are real, chiseled by years of hard labor and raw, primal living. My body heats up, aware that I’m in the presence of a super predator. One with tattoos and nipple piercings.

I lick my lips.

“When did you get these?” I murmur, running my fingers over one barbell. He shudders at my touch, but steps closer.

“I’ll give you an answer if you give me a kiss.”

“I thought you’d prefer them to be freely offered,” I tease. I push up on tiptoes, and our lips meet. This time, he deepens the kiss, and I savor every minute of it, threading my arms around his shoulders and pressing my breasts into his bare chest. His large hands cradle my waist, holding me against him.

When I break away, we’re both panting.

“The piercings?” I ask again, my chest heaving as I gulp in air. Liorax blinks at me. I get the satisfaction of watching him gather his wits. He liked the kiss. Judging from the part of him pressed against my pelvis, he liked it a lot.

“All males get them when we come of age.” I can’t keep my fingers from reaching for the metal bar, and his gaze darkens. “Do you like them, Olivia?”

“I love them,” I purr, swiping my thumb across him until his breath catches. His cock jumps in his pants. He’s so responsive, it’s flattering. Of course, it helps that I’m the first woman who’s touched him in years.

Time to show them what they’ve been missing.

I duck my head and close my mouth over his nipple, tonguing the metal. His hand fists in my hair, gripping gently to hold me against him, and he groans. I pull back and give him a sultry look.

There’s more where that came from.

Liorax’s hands span my waist. Such a gentleman. I’m rubbing myself all over him, and he still hasn’t copped a feel.

“What do you want?” I ask.

“Take off your clothes, Olivia.” His rough voice sends need surging through me.

I back up a step, peeling off my top and letting it drape over a nearby bush. I study his face as he drinks me in.

His eyes run over me, and, to my surprise, rest back on my face. “Beautiful,” he whispers and repeats my question. “What do you want?”

I toss my head back. “Touch me.”

“With pleasure.” To my delight, he lowers his head and kisses me again, hands resting lightly on my waist before sliding up to cup my breasts. In my line of work, my body is an asset, a weapon. But when Liorax touches me, I don’t feel like an object or a trophy. I feel like a woman, worthy of desire.

“May I touch you, little human?” A gravelly voice at my ear makes me jump. Zunix.

Draekons mate in pairs. Right. In my haze of lust, I almost forgot.

As soon as I nod, a second set of hands comes to my hips and pulls me back. I melt into Zunix’s hard body, grinding my ass against the stiff bar of his cock. He settles me firmly against him, lips falling to my bare shoulder and kissing lightly up my neck. When his tongue strokes against my pulse, his cock jumps against my ass. Liorax drags his tongue over my nipple with a ragged moan.

I love this. I love how I affect them.

Then the pull of their lips on my flesh is too much, and I’m thrown into a sea of sensation. It takes a lot for me to lose my head, but apparently, two gorgeous men intent on worshipping my body will do the trick.

“Have you ever done this before?” I ask raggedly. “Been with one woman at the same time?”

Liorax raises his head and my pussy spasms at the heat in his eyes. “An answer for a kiss.”

I tilt my head up, my gaze on his mouth, but he shakes his head. To my surprise, he drops to his knees. “I wasn’t thinking of your lips, Olivia,” he says with a wicked, toe-curling smile.