Colliding Worlds Trilogy 01 - Collision Read online

  Jax smirked. “I think that can be arranged.”

  “Grab us whenever you need the help. We need to leave. Sienna has training scheduled in a few minutes.” Legian came to his feet.

  “I do?”

  “Yes. You do,” he replied, sounding much more certain than she was.

  “Shoot. If you say so.” Legian held out a hand, she grabbed it, and he pulled her to her feet. She leaned on her cane as she looped an arm around Legian’s muscled bicep. “Catch you two later.”

  Sienna carried her cane, choosing instead to use Legian for support. They walked to their room a couple doors down from Jax and Risa’s. Once inside, she headed straight to the bathroom, peeling off her shirt on the way.

  “I forgot all about having training today. I’ll hurry.”

  “No need to hurry.”

  She turned to face him. “What are you — oh. Ohh.” He watched her with feral eyes, pulled off his shirt, and slid down his pants, revealing his true intentions.

  She walked her fingers up his chest. “I don’t have any training scheduled today, do I?”

  He smiled that decadent, melt-in-your mouth golden smile as his head lowered to hers. His tongue brushed her lips, and she opened obligingly to accept him, his kiss becoming fierce. It was so delicious she could drown in it. It was just so — God.

  “You are such a liar,” she murmured.

  Shameless, he shrugged. “I wanted you.”

  “You could’ve just said so,” Sienna whispered before nipping the tip of his ear.

  He sucked in a breath. “But sometimes the surprise is so much more fun.”

  Her hands clutched his back, stroking taut muscles. His heart pounded under her palm, radiating heat into her, filling her with warmth. Her fingers traced the outlines of hard muscles, and she craved to bury her face into his chest, to taste that skin.

  He started to say something more and stopped, inhaling sharply when she bit down on his chest and lapped up the salty bubbles of sweat forming.

  He was wild as he licked his way down her neck. He pushed her against the sink, his hands gripping her hips. Her mind faintly noticed the cold metal of the sink against her back. He shifted a leg between her thighs, and she felt his arousal, long and hard, against her. She moved her thighs unbidden to rub against him, and she felt a shudder surge through him, rippling down his body into hers.

  The rich, musky scent of him drifted through her brain, intoxicating her. At that moment the rest of the world no longer existed. It was only Legian and Sienna. “More,” she commanded against his skin as she moved her hand to grip his cock.

  With a sharp intake of air, he arched his back in response, his cock colliding against her opening, nearly sending her over the edge before even penetrating her. His hand slid down between her legs, moving up to cup her core. Large fingers slid between her folds, and she cried out in ecstasy. She entwined her legs around his waist as he slid a finger inside her and pumped slowly. She moved her hips against him to get him deeper. Instead, he stopped, pulled out his finger, and clamped his hands tight on her hips.

  “Suvaste. Gods,” he whispered, sounding like he was about to lose all restraint. He stared at her, the wild need on his face making her even wetter. She moaned, moving against him. Two fingers thrust inside her. She gasped, coming all too quickly. He growled as his fingers began to move in and nearly all the way out before pushing back in again. There was no gentleness. It was intense, rough, and exactly what she wanted.

  She wanted to feel him — all of him. Crazy with need, she tried to grind against him, but his hands held her firm. She cried out and grasped his head, pulling at his hair. His tongue drove into her mouth as she rode his hand until she shattered apart, and she tightened around the fingers deep inside her. He teased her orgasm, keeping it going as if he were desperate not to have it fade.

  Unable to stand it anymore, Sienna grabbed onto him as hard as she could, and brought her thighs up, trying to force him into her. She felt the tip of him brush against her. A growl escaped his lips as he slid in the large tip. It was hot against her skin, and she moaned in pleasure. For one long second, he didn’t move. Then he grabbed her by the shoulders and drove himself deep inside, filling all of her, and instantly bringing on another orgasm.

  In perfect rhythm, he kissed her, devouring, violently satisfying kisses as he drove himself deeper. He was passionate and needful as if he hadn’t touched a woman in years, even though he had her last night. He held on tightly like he was afraid if he let go she would disappear. She felt him inside her in her heart and soul, and all she knew was that she wanted more. And when she thought she couldn’t take any more, his thrusts deepened. He became feral — faster and faster, harder and harder. As she screamed out his name, their orgasms exploded in a burst of release.

  Utterly sated, her legs became jelly and gave out under her. In a whoosh, strong arms lifted her and carried her like a precious china doll to the bed. She nestled her head onto his chest with a sigh of pleasure, listening to his beating heart while her fingers traced his soullare, bringing forth a rumble from his chest. His gentle hands stroked her hair, and as her eyes slipped closed, she could only think of how this was so much better than any fantasy she ever had.

  Several hours later she awoke with the feel of light kisses on her closed eyes, and she found herself still wrapped in Legian’s arms.

  “Mmm. Now that’s the way to wake up a girl,” Sienna mumbled against his chest. “Ready for round two, sweet cheeks?”

  He ran a finger down her naked curves. “Yes, but no. I mean, I don’t have time to take you how I want to take you right now. Apolo has called the trinity to his room.”

  She rolled onto her side and yawned. “Oh. Hurry back. I’ll be right here. In bed. Naked. Waiting.”

  “No. You’re coming, too.”

  Sienna jerked forward into a seating position, instantly wide awake. Legian’s lips curved into a naughty smile as he reached toward her breasts, and she slapped his hand away.

  “Serious?”

  “Yes. But on second thought, we have time to fit in a fastee.”

  “It’s ‘quickie,’ and that’s not what I meant. Apolo invited me to join a meeting with his trinity again?”

  He lay back and raised an arm nonchalantly on the pillow over his head. The guy was too yummy for his own good, but she was not about to be swayed.

  “I didn’t piss him off, did I?”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Why would you think that?”

  “Why else would he invite me?” She’d figured the last time was a fluke. With all the chaos and political mess with the U.S. military, she’d thought he brought Jax and her in for a second opinion. A human opinion, that was. Now that all that was behind them, she’d figured things would snap right back to status quo.

  “Don’t know. Why don’t you ask him?”

  She rubbed her hands together and jumped out of bed, ruffling through drawers for clothes.

  A hot, hard body came up behind her and grabbed her hips.

  “You’re hopeless.” She gave a mock push against his chest.

  He shrugged. “Hopeless in love.”

  She rolled her eyes. “The things guys say to get laid.”

  “Does it work, tahren?” he asked in that innocent schoolboy voice of his as he pulled her closer.

  She dropped the tank in her hand as she succumbed to his kisses.

  “It always works. I’m addicted to your brand of golden love. And never forget it.”

  Then he went to his knees and began to show her how much he wanted her.

  And Legian was right.

  There’s always time for a quickie.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Check this out.” Nalea motioned Legian and Sienna into the room. Nalea, Bente, Jax, and Apolo were already there, sitting around the black table and looking down at a screen that covered nearly the entire flat surface.

  Sienna pushed the drades up her nose before she hobbled fashionably late i
nto the room, using her cane for support. Legian closed and locked the door behind them. No one else looked up when they entered. They were too absorbed with whatever was displayed on the screen.

  Their voices mumbled as the four of them hunched over the table. With Jax here as well, it seemed like Apolo had finally decided to pull humans into his meetings with his sacred trinity for good. If that was what he was doing, it was brilliant. What better way to show the humans that you’re on their side than to pull them into your inner circle? Although, the word trinity may no longer work, and quintet or quintity didn’t have the same ring.

  With Jax, it was a no-brainer. Especially from a political perspective. First, he was an Army Ranger of the Blacks Ops variety. But even more impressive, his dad happened to be a three-star general and head of the infamous 51st Army Division, aka Area 51. Even if the two men weren’t currently on the best of terms. That relationship still made Jax one hell of an “in” with both the military and the highest ranking government leaders. Sienna? Not so much.

  Sienna didn’t even know where her mother was right now. Still Argentina? Zimbabwe? Heck, she couldn’t even nail which continent her mother was on. With Kat basically severing ties with the civilized world, Sienna had been left with just enough clout that with some name-dropping at the right coffee shop, she could maybe get a café mocha upgraded to a café mocha grande. Doubtful.

  Of course, pulling Jax and Sienna into his meetings didn’t mean Apolo trusted them. She seriously doubted Apolo trusted anyone — Krysea and his trinity the only possible exceptions. And even then she got the feeling he always held something back. His blatant inability to trust others had rubbed Sienna the wrong way. After all, she was Legian’s tahren, which meant Apolo had a fail-safe lie detector always available when it came to her. As long as Apolo trusted Legian, he could trust her. Right?

  Legian pulled a chair out for Sienna, and she sat down, hanging the cane by its handle off the back of the chair. Legian took the seat next to her. Her eyes were drawn by the image on the screen. It was a detailed 3-D floor plan of what looked to be a large office building or warehouse. It was colored differently than any floor plan she’d seen, but the outline was the same. Sections were filled in with bright colors. Chartreuse for hallways, fuchsia for the wide open area. It was like seeing a rainbow for the first time. Beautiful, yet every color had its place.

  The image looked so real, she fought back the urge to reach out and touch it. The Sephians had the coolest technology. Actually, it was Draeken technology since the Sephians had been nothing more than their worker bees for hundreds of years. Designed by Draeken, built by Sephians. The real irony was that the slaves had used their masters’ technology to gain their freedom.

  And use that technology the Sephians did. The base was filled with technology adapted to their needs. They were experts at survival, and adjusting to other cultures seemed a tool of the trade. Since she came on the base, she’d begun to see familiar objects pop up everywhere. From video games to guns, from laptops to magazines, the Sephians were starving for anything they could get their hands on. She figured it had something to do with growing up in slavery. There wasn’t a Sephian on this base who owned much of anything before they broke free from Draeken control. Some, like Legian, maintained a minimalist attitude while many others turned into pack rats.

  Sienna wanted to spend more time pondering what made the Sephians tick, but there were far more important things at hand. Like — holy freaking bat shit — how she ended up in a meeting with Apolo’s trinity. She leaned back in her seat and made eye contact with Apolo. “What am I looking at here?”

  Apolo shot her a quick look before his eyes dropped to his wrist computer, which reminded her of an iThing with metallic straps. He hit a series of buttons, and a strange silver glow with a muted vibration fell over the room.

  “Dampener device,” Apolo said in Jax’s direction. “It prevents any type of electronic connection to or from this room.”

  A glow and vibration rose in the room that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. Squinting, Sienna examined the walls and ceilings for some small contraption, but she couldn’t find the source. Sweet.

  Apolo gestured over the image. “What you see before you is the last piece of viable intel I received from my Draeken scout before he went to black-out.”

  Sienna narrowed her eyes, waiting for Apolo to continue. He didn’t. And so she spoke up. “How do we know we can trust that what your inside guy gave us is any good? They could have gotten to him long before the base attack.”

  Apolo’s attention snapped to her. “We may have a traitor in our midst, but the Draeken did not know we infiltrated their ranks even before we considered coming to this planet. It’s because of my scout we learned about the Draeken coming to this small planet. His intel can be trusted. Besides, we still aren’t sure he’s been discovered. He may have simply gone to black-out to prevent detection.”

  Nalea shook her head. “Sienna’s right. We have to play it safe. We can’t trust any intel from your scout now, no matter how good he was. Not after the base attack. Until we know different, we have to assume his cover’s been blown.”

  Apolo scowled. “This intel came in two weeks before the ambush. The faulty intel was rushed. It felt off — different.” Suddenly, he hit the table with his fist, causing the image to shiver. Everyone froze in their chairs while he clenched his fists. Apolo’s moods were worsening, and rumors were spreading that he may eventually lose his mind after being separated from his tahren for so long. The odds weren’t in his favor.

  When Apolo finally continued, he never looked up. “I should have known better. Instead, I grabbed onto an opportunity that seemed too good to pass up. The chance to stop the Draeken in one fell swoop. The Draeken played me the fool.” He clenched and unclenched his fists as he spoke. “The intel that led us into the attack on the base was the last communication I received from him. Before that, he reported in several times a week.”

  He paused and glanced over each face around the table. “This data, although incomplete, is good. I’m sure of it. I have been holding onto it until my scout could send more information. At this point we know he’s gone black-out or has been compromised, and so I must assume we will be unable to collect more data any time soon.”

  “If they got to your scout, it makes sense that’s how they found the location of our base,” Bente added, softer than his usual brusque tone.

  Apolo shook his head. “Impossible. My man does not know the location of this base. He is nearly unbreakable — ”

  Bente raised a finger.

  Apolo replied to Bente’s unvoiced interruption by patting down the air with his hands. “Yes, I know every man can be broken. That was why I ensured my scout knew nothing of our base nor our strategy. It’s safe to assume we have our traitor to thank for leaking the location of the base to the Draeken. If only my scout shared the location of the Draeken camp before …”

  Apolo came to his feet, clasped his hands behind his back and ambled around the table. Everyone sat there in silence and watched the leader pace seemingly oblivious to anyone else in the room. On his third time around the table, he paused and pointed at the image. “We need to focus on what we can control. So far, we have nothing more besides this floor plan and a partial address.”

  His fingers brushed over the image, and the screen zoomed in on a section of rooms. “Bente, you’ve spent more time in Draeken facilities than any of us. Look closely at this block of rooms. My scout believed this to be the location of a Draeken medical center. A human breeding facility to be exact.”

  Sienna shoved her chair back from the table in a rush. “Human breeding? You can’t mean …” her voice trailed off.

  Apolo nodded tightly. “Yes. We know the Draeken female population was decimated in the Noble War. Their numbers are desperately low. It makes sense that they are pursuing the survival of their race through cross-breeding. In fact, we believe this may be the primary
reason they chose this planet. As we’ve discovered ourselves recently,” Apolo waved a hand in Legian’s and her general direction, “humans are genetically compatible with our race. There’s no reason not to believe it is also the case for the Draeken.”

  An alarm blared somewhere in the back of Sienna’s mind. Now the Draeken wanted not only her world, but they wanted Earth’s women, too? She shivered thinking of the fate of humans if they didn’t stop them. It would be worse than she imagined.

  Men would become slaves. Cattle.

  Women would become nothing more than concubines. Baby makers.

  A future like that would be unthinkable.

  “Unlike us, the Draeken are likely more compatible with humans. They don’t require the tahren bond to reproduce. But that’s just my guess,” Nalea said before turning her attention back to examining the floor plan.

  “That’s assuming they’re willing to stoop that low and taint their Draeken bloodlines,” Bente added from the side.

  “Unless their numbers are low enough that they can’t afford pride,” Jax retorted.

  Bente scowled. “You sure this is a medical facility? It’s not laid out like one.”

  “My scout couldn’t confirm but was confident about it being a breeding facility,” Apolo replied.

  Bente went back to looking at the screen. “This is new territory for me.” His eyes narrowed, and then he pointed at a long hallway with a series of rooms on the screen. “But it could only be this area.”

  Nalea nodded. “I agree. This area should be our primary target. Outside the larger area, all the smaller rooms attach to this hallway. It’s the hub. Most of their medical equipment and prisoners are likely contained here.”

  It was Apolo’s turn to nod. “Agreed.”

  “What’s the certainty?” Bente asked, his voice still sounded as ragged as he looked.

  “Seventy-two percent,” the Sephian leader replied.

  Legian shook his head. “An attack is too high a risk for that low of certainty.”

  “Is there any way we can verify the information?” Sienna asked.