Chapter 12
To Maddison’s relief, the interior of the ship was shabby but relatively clean.
It reminded her of the military barracks they showed on vids and entertainment shows, only smaller and with worse lighting.
Six forward-facing seats took up most of the main cabin while the aft area was mostly used for weapons and armor storage.
A bench sat in one corner with a large med-kit strapped to a nearby wall.
She found what she was looking for at the very back of the ship.
Behind an open hatchway with a bit of rough fabric hung for privacy was a toilet, a sink, and an open area with a showerhead in the center of the ceiling.
A dispenser of what she assumed was cleanser was bolted to one wall.
It was surprisingly clean. Did the mercenaries on board not bother with personal hygiene while they were on missions?
She decided she didn’t need to know the answer.
She was simply grateful she wouldn’t have to shower with her shoes on.
Havoc prowled around the space, checking the corners and even opening the storage lockers before he seemed assured no hazards were present.
If the situation was different, she might have teased him for being too cautious. Instead, she waited patiently until he was satisfied.
“All good?” she asked, already eyeing the shower.
He shot her a smile so wicked she swore her body temperature jumped several degrees. “Clothes off. Now.”
She didn’t need further encouragement. She pulled off her shoes and socks, slipping out of her last pair of undamaged pants before he could get his claws on them.
Havoc didn’t wear much, but it did take him a bit to unfasten the bits of leather armor he wore on his lower legs. By then, she had her top off and even had time to set everything neatly on the bench.
This wasn’t the first time she’d seen him naked, but this time there was plenty of light, and no one was coming to kill him.
She indulged herself in a long, unabashed look at the male who had come to matter so much to her in a shockingly short period.
Was it only yesterday that she’d first seen him on the monitor?
He looked the same, but now she knew what it felt like to stroke his soft fur and feel the hard muscle beneath.
She’d learned how sharp his fangs were and how good it felt when he was inside her.
His head snapped up, and he locked eyes with her, a low, rumbling purr rising from his chest.
“You want me.” It wasn’t a question. He could smell her need. The idea didn’t embarrass her anymore.
“Yes.” She held out her arms to him. “I do.”
He moved so quickly she only saw a golden blur, and then he was pulling her to him. His mouth slanted over hers, hungry and demanding.
She didn’t resist. Instead, she embraced this part of him, the wild, untamed side that was dangerous to everyone but her.
She let her worries and hurts fall away as he kissed her, his hands in her hair.
Their tongues tangled, his hard body pressed against hers.
This was what she needed. Later, she’d have to think about everything, but for now, all she wanted to do was get lost in the pleasure only Havoc could give her.
Somehow they made their way to the shower without letting go of each other. He reached out blindly at one point, and she realized he was turning on the water.
“Wait until it warms up,” he told her when she moved away from him.
She didn’t want to wait. Not for hot water, not for him. She wanted everything right now.
When he moved again, she followed. A stream of warm water flowed over them, and she tipped her head back to let it fall on her face.
He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her in tightly enough she felt his cock press against her stomach. It was like leaning against a steel bar.
“Close your eyes,” he instructed. She did, and a moment later he was rubbing her face with slippery fingers. He must have found the cleanser.
He washed her face and then her hair, massaging her scalp with strong fingers. She gathered up some of the suds and began washing his chest, scrubbing away the blood and grime of his battles.
Their enjoyment was cut short by an update from the AI. “The water supply will be shut down in five minutes in preparation for departure.”
“We better hurry,” she said.
“I will but only because I want to fuck you before we leave.”
That was all she needed to hear. Maddison stepped back, intent on getting clean as quickly as possible. Havoc did the same, both of them laughing as they fought for space beneath the shower of now tepid water.
There were no towels, so Maddison sacrificed a shirt for the cause. She was still damp and her hair was dripping when Havoc caught her by the wrist and led her over to the bench. He shoved the rest of her neatly folded clothes to the floor and pointed. “On the bench. Hand and knees. Now.”
If anyone else had said something like that to her, she would have run away. But it was Havoc, so she simply laughed and did as he ordered.
“You could try saying please sometimes. You know, just to be different.”
“Not when I’m about to fuck you,” he said, his voice barely more than a growl.
She gripped the side of the bench with one hand and placed the other hand palm-down to help with her balance. Then she shifted her weight
forward and her knees as far apart as she could manage.
“Yes, like that.” He moved behind her and gripped her hip with one hand as he reached between her legs with the other.
His fingers caressed the seam of her pussy before pushing inside.
She arched her back and moaned, rocking against his questing fingers until he found what he wanted… the place she needed him to touch.
Her swollen clit throbbed as he circled it with a callused finger. “Please,” she whispered, needing more.
“There’s that word again. Tell me what you need, little star.”
“I need you to fuck me. Make me forget everything that happened today.” She turned to look over her shoulder at him. “Show me who I belong to.”
“That, I can do.” He worked her clit between his fingers, stroking her faster and harder. She lowered her head, her ass high in the air as she rode his hand, chasing release.
He took her to the brink and then stopped. She gasped when he pulled his hand away, her pussy aching with need.
His cock replaced his fingers, pressing against her opening with slow, steady pressure. Her body gave way to his, her arousal making it easy for him to slip inside.
He didn’t stop until she felt his balls press against the back of her legs. Then he withdrew just as slowly, the ridges of his cock making every second an exquisite torture.
He stopped when only the tip of him was still inside her. “Who do you belong to?”
“You.” The word flowed off her tongue so easily, a truth so profound it changed everything.
“Always,” he growled as he thrust deep inside her.
They fell into a rhythm then, a wild give and take that sent them both to new heights.
Each new wave of pleasure lifted her higher as her world shrank down to tiny details.
The warmth of his touch. The raw need flowing through her, the growls of her lover as he laid claim to her body one stroke at a time.
“Five minutes until take-off. Please take your seats.” The AI’s voice announced.
“Fuck!” Havoc snarled.
Maddison laughed, her joy blending with the bliss of this moment. Havoc moved faster, his cock swelling as his control began to break.
Every stroke brought her closer to orgasm, and she raced him to the finish line.
She climaxed first, her orgasm blooming like a firestorm that consumed everything it touched. She lost herself in pleasure, milking his cock as she came.
He followed soon after, coating her womb with his seed. When his cock swelled, she was ready, even eager, for the sensation. His ridges flared, locking them together and sending her into the throes of another orgasm.
“Two minutes to departure.”
Havoc growled. “I hate that thing.”
She laughed, the vibration triggering an aftershock of pleasure. Neither of them were ready to say it aloud, but she already knew. He might hate the AI, but he loved her. And she loved him, too.
They managed to throw on a minimal amount of clothing and make it to their seats before lift-off. Once they were underway, they both had time to think.
“Should we try to contact Bysshe?” she asked as soon as the idea formed.
Havoc shook his head. “We can’t risk someone intercepting the message. There have to be more teams on the surface. If any of them are still alive, they can’t know we have one of their ships.”
“Right.” Maddison thought about Joy and Loris. Were they alright? Had the mercenaries come for them, too? They had to be okay. Havoc had protected her. Surely Vengeance and Risk would do the same for her friends. And Loris could take care of herself.
“We could ask the AI to scan for any transmissions. Maybe the Harvest is broadcasting a message?” she said.
“I hope they aren’t. Though my brothers will be there by now. If there’s trouble, they’ll handle it.” He flicked a finger toward the ceiling. “Ask the AI to do that. It seems to like you.”
“AIs are programmed to be polite. I found that if you use the same level of curtesy in return, things go more smoothly. Ship, would you please scan all communication channels and provide us with copies of any transmissions you pick up?”
“Affirmative. Scanning now.”
Only a few seconds later, the AI spoke again. “One transmission detected. Source, unknown. Language spoken: verexi. Message as follows.”
A low, rumbling growl filled the cabin. Maddison tensed, but Havoc broke into a smile.
“This is Rage, known to the verexi as Subject One. To every ship who receives this broadcast, I have a message for you. Leave now or be destroyed. The gyr claim this system as blood price for the wrongs done to us by the verexi.”
Havoc roared, almost drowning out his clan-brother’s next words.
“If any of the fa’rel receive this message. Know this. I am coming, and I am not alone.”
After that, there was nothing but pulsing bursts of static.
“The message repeats. Do you wish to hear it again?” the AI asked.
She turned to Havoc and waited. This was his decision.
For the first time, he addressed the AI directly. “Play it again, please. But slow it down once Rage stops speaking. I need to hear that part.”
She cocked her head. After all this time, it made sense he’d want to hear his friend’s voice again. She couldn’t recall exactly, but it had to be more than a year since this whole incident made the news. But why did Havoc want to listen to static?
The message played again. She didn’t hear anything new, but Havoc did. He tried to stand but then snarled when the harness held him in place. “I need to answer him!”
“Answer him how?” She put her hand on his arm to calm him.
“Rage. The static at the end. There’s a pattern in it. It’s code. Our code. The one we used to tap out messages when we were locked in our cells and didn’t want the scrawnies to hear us talking. Bysshe taught it to us.”
“If you try to get to the cockpit, the AI will refuse to implement any instructions until you sit down again. Whatever you want to do, we can figure out how to do it from here.”
He blew out a breath and nodded. “Right. The AI can do this for us.” He flexed one hand, letting his claws extend for a moment. “I’m used to doing things myself. This is strange.”
“Welcome to my life the last few days,” she quipped. “What did the coded message say? How can we reach your clan-brother?”
“There’s a relay buoy in orbit around this planet. That’s the source of the broadcast. If we send a message back using the right protocols, it will send it back to Rage. It’s some kind of faster-than-light system.”
FTL communication was complicated, but she knew enough to understand that Rage would have to be somewhere relatively close in order for the reply to reach him without it taking weeks, if not months, to arrive.
“Did he say how long to wait? Or should we send it and return to the surface as soon as we’ve found the right coordinates?”
“He said to wait. That means he’s close.” He chuckled. “And he’s not happy with the verexi. Not at all.”
“Did he explain who the gyr are? I don’t recognize that name.”
“He didn’t. He only said that the verexi would pay in blood for what they did to us.”
“Do you know what you want to say to him?”
“Fuck yes.”
“Then let’s send that message. We can send him another one once we have the coordinates for your home.”
Maddison leaned into Havoc, resting her head on his shoulder. “I think our luck might finally be changing.”
He kissed her forehead gently. “Mine already has.”