Dating Outside Your DNA (31 page)

but he was only overcompensating because he was a coward.

"Why wasn't it smart? Because I scared you?"

"Because I hold Lyraka in another cage." He gloated. "Because

I can do anything I want to her. Does that scare you?"

Roan refused to let the man see how much it did scare him.

Instead, he went another route. "Who are you?"

The man stood straighter. "I am Banyon, son of Ethgar, and  King of the Rovert nation."

He'd suspected as much. They were all similar in their looks.  What Roan couldn't understand was why he'd taken them hostage.

"Why would a king take two people who have no worth?"

"Because I can."

"You'll be hunted down, king or not."

"Will they travel to Rovertia? I think not." He laughed again.

"Oh, I assume you must have thought we were still on your disgusting  little planet. We left many hours ago, and I covered my tracks well.  The Adnams have been very helpful. Nasty, but helpful."

"What are you going to do with us?"

Banyon looked as though he thought Roan would never ask.  "When I tire of playing with the both of you, I will kill you. Maybe I'll let  you watch her die, see the absolute terror in her eyes just before her  life force burns out. Would you like that?"

Roan slammed his body against the glass. "I'll kill you. I'll make  you wish you'd never been born!"

Banyon only laughed as he turned and left the room. Roan pounded on the glass, but the leader of the Roverts didn't turn

around. A door slid open and he walked out leaving Roan to worry  about what would happen to Lyraka. He didn't doubt Banyon would

kill them. There had been a look of satisfaction when he'd told Roan

what he planned to do.

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As far as Roan knew, he hadn't pissed off any Roverts, and he was pretty sure Lyraka hadn't, either. But Aasera was another matter.  Lyraka had said her mother was an interplanetary traveler. He probably had figured out the why, he just needed to know the how. As in, how the hell was he going to escape?

He went to the glass wall on his right and placed the palms of his hands against it. How thick was it? He knew it was solid, from when he'd slammed against it. He looked around . Other than a scratchy blanket and a few pillows, the cage was empty. He only had one choice, try to weaken the glass enough so that he could eventually shatter it.

This side would work the best. If anyone else came to check on him, or to taunt him, they might not notice that he was cutting into the glass.

He fisted his hand so the diamond in his ring could make contact, and drew it across the glass from one corner to the next, then felt along the line he'd just made. Barely a scratch. He kept repeating  the action as his mind formed a vision of Lyraka being tortured by that maniac.

His gut clenched. Every possible way there was to kill a man flashed before him. Each line he drew in the glass was like cutting  Banyon's throat from ear to ear.

After the twentieth pass there was still just the barest scratch on the surface. It would take him days to weaken the glass enough so that he could break through it.

God, Lyraka must be scared out of her mind by everything that had happened. His stomach churned. What if he couldn't save her?  No, he wouldn't think like that. Not when he loved her so much.

His hand stilled. Love? He rested his head against the glass.  When had that happened? He had a feeling he knew--the first time he'd seen her. She'd been a little unsure, but hadn't backed down.

No, she'd met his gaze head-on, as if telling him she was there to stay.

He drew in a shaky breath. All the more reason to escape and

free her. Roan had to tell her how much he loved her.

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Lyraka was pissed off as she walked the perimeter of her glass cage again. It was eight by eight. The middle of the floor was covered with satin pillows in an array of jewel -toned colors. It was a gilded cage. On the other side of her glass walls, it appeared she was in someone's bedroom. There was a massive bed with a velvet draped

canopy.

Where was she? Why had they kidnapped her? She refused to  think about what they might have done with Roan. If they'd harmed  one hair on his head, she'd make sure they suffered horribly.

At one point, they'd forced her to drink a bitter liquid that left her  coughing and feeling woozy. Her clothes had been stripped from her  body. A shiver of revulsion rippled over her as she remembered lying  on a cold table, her hands tied down, and the man in black standi ng  over her, staring at her nakedness.

He'd touched her, cupped her breasts in his hot, moist hands.

"Beautiful."

"Yes, Your Majesty," someone else spoke.

She'd cringed away from the man in black. "I'll kill you," she

spat, but her words were thick. Sh e'd pulled against the ties that

bound her wrists.

He laughed. "I think not." He trailed his fingers over her stomach and through the curls at the juncture of her legs, then moved back to her breasts.

She caught the scent of dead roses when he breathed close to her face. She tried to turn away, but he caught her chin. "You are mine, my sweet captive. How does it feel to know I can do anything I want to you and there's not a thing you can do?" To prove his point, he moved his hand back to her breast and sq ueezed her nipple.

She gritted her teeth to keep from crying out. Just when she thought she would give in to the pain, he laughed. A dark, raspy sound that sent shivers of fear over her.

Abruptly, he moved away and ordered her dressed in the thin white g own that she still wore. It hid little.

She was forced to drink more of the bitter liquid, then she was

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bathed in darkness and oblivion.

A door opened and the man in black entered the bedroom. She stood tall with her head held high. She refused to shield her body.

What did it matter? He'd already seen everything there was to see.

He noted her rebellion and smiled. "You're so much like your mother. Aasera fought, too. If the guards hadn't been surprised, I would have tamed her. But she escaped. A shame. She would have provided many days of entertainment. As will you."

"Go to hell."

"I don't believe in your religion, but I know of it. Hell is the place  where evil goes. I think I would enjoy ruling there." He walked closer  to the enclosure.

"What have you done with Roan?"

"Your friend is dead."

Suddenly, she couldn't breathe and sank to the pillows. Roan, dead? No, she would've known if that were true. Wouldn't she have felt his heart stop beating? He couldn't be dead. Not when she had just realized she  loved him.

She looked at the man in black and saw the way he watched her reaction. There was something about him that told her he was lying. Hope sprang inside her.

"You're lying." She met his gaze, daring him to tell her differently.

"Yes, I am."

Her  eyes narrowed. "Who are you and why are you doing this?"

He bowed slightly. "I am Banyon, Ruler of the Roverts.  Welcome to my planet."

Her gaze swung from one side to the other. "No, you couldn't..."

"But I did. It was quite easy, in fact." He raised his eyebrows.  "You call yourself an agent with an elite force? It took very little effort to take you."

"Easy for you to say when you had someone else doing your dirty work."

"True, but then I am the king so I can do whatever I want." His gaze moved slowly over her. "I'm going to have you. You do know

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this, don't you? I'm going to mate with you often."

"I'd rather you just kill me."

He brushed an imaginary fleck off his dark coat. "Yes, I will do  that, too. Then I will send your head to Aasera. When she comes  after me seeking revenge, I will also kill her."

"Is that how you got that scar? Did my mother give it to you?"  She sneered. "You have the audacity to think you can beat her? That  you will be able to kill her? I don't think so."

His face turned dark red, then he visibly forced himself to relax.  "Yes, you are like her. It will be fun breaking you."

"You'll never touch me," she promised, raising her chin and  glaring at him.

He smiled, then pushed a button on her cage and everything  went dark. She cou ldn't see. Fear swept over her. She could take just  about anything except being caged in the dark.

"Rest, my sweet. I will return."

Anger flared inside her, but it was short lived. In the dark, she  had time to think about what was going to happen to Roan , to her.  She knelt down, then curled up on the pillows, hugging one close to  her. Damn Banyon! If she got the chance, she would give him more  than a scar to remember her by.

Banyon could see Lyraka, but she couldn't see him. He enjoyed watching her. Sh e was probably the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. She was dark like a Nerakian warrior and had a lot of the fierce

determination that he saw in their genetic make -up. Usually he had

no desire to mate with a warrior. They were often cold and analytical.

Lyraka was different, though. Her eyes weren't dark like a

warrior's. Her eyes were pale blue, and when she looked at him, it

was as though she looked deep into his soul. They were

mesmerizing.

He wanted her. He wanted to spread her thighs and plunge

deep into her body again and again. He wanted her to cry out his

name, to do his bidding. Then, and only then, would he kill her.

He watched her as she flung the pillow away and rolled to her

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back. She hugged her middle, her breasts pushing up. He licked  his  lips as he stared. The thin material hid nothing from him. He wanted  her begging him to plunge inside her.

Maybe he would let the man watch them mate. He knew the  earthling had deep feelings for Lyraka. It would give Banyon great  pleasure to have him  watch them mate. Yes, he would arrange for  that as soon as she was submissive.

Life was good.

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Chapter 26

"W
e've found the Jeep." Reeka and Link strode into the training  room where the others were gathered.

Joe looked up. Dread filled him . He'd been worried since  yesterday morning when Roan and Lyraka hadn't shown up. He'd  known there was something between the two. A blind man would've  seen the attraction, but Roan wouldn't have skipped training. Not  when the Adnams were raising hell.

He  looked at Reeka and Warren, and hoped they weren't going  to tell him that it was at the bottom of one of the deep ravines that  snaked through the mountainside.

"Where?"

"In town. The one just down the mountain. Springtown."

"And Roan and Lyraka?" he asked.

Reeka shook her head. "No sign."

"There's a carnival in town," Warren said. "We talked to some of  the people who run the booths. We showed their pictures. One of the  guys remembered them. Said the woman could shoot as good as a  man."

Alesha snorted.

Warren looked apologetic. "His words. Not mine. The Ferris wheel operator said he noticed a man dressed all in black glaring at them when they...uh..."

Warren's face turned a bright shade of red. Knowing Roan, it didn't take much imagination to figure out what they were doing.

Warren squared his shoulders. "He said that people started clapping when they kissed. He wouldn't have thought much about it, but the guy in black was evil looking. Someone you wouldn't want to

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meet on a dark deserted street."

"I knew there was something going on between them." Link  leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs at the ankle.

Ray frowned. "Hell, I thought they hated each other the way he  always rode her." He cleared his throat. "I mean, the way he wanted  her to be the best and all. Do you think they might have gotten a  motel room and time sort of slipped away? That happened to me  once."

"There's something else." Warren reached into his pocket and  pulled out a set of keys. "We found these just under the Jeep. Roan

wouldn't have left them. That isn't all There was a spot on the

pavement. It tested positive for blood."

"Damn." Joe stood, walking to the window. What had Roan and

Lyraka gotten into? He scraped his fingers through his hair.

"What do we do, boss?" Alesha  asked.

Joe turned from the window. He still didn't think she fit his idea