Training His Human (Zandian Masters 3)

He helped her to her side, cock still inside her, and kissed her neck. “I missed you, sweet little human. I’m sorry I handled things so badly.” He eased out of her, kissing and sucking along her neck. His teeth grazed her shoulder. “I should’ve just punished you immediately. But you’d run away from me. And I realized losing you was my biggest fear. I tried to master that fear by facing it—giving you the freedom you deserve.”

She rolled to face him, sliding her swollen breasts against his chiseled chest. “Thank you for that freedom.” She touched the smooth skin of his cheek. “But I’m not leaving. And I preferred it when I thought you’d never allow me to leave.”

He ran a fingertip down her bare arm. “You like being owned. I told you so when we mated.”

“Only by you,” she murmured.

Zander pulled her against his body, tucking her head under his chin. She inhaled his masculine scent, nuzzled his chest, and sighed. Finally, things were right in her world again.

Chapter Eight

Seke put the battleship in cloaking mode, making it invisible to tracking, before he left the hangar. If would be disastrous if the Ocretions tracked ships flying to and from their training location. Zander had been granted asylum by the Ocretions after he escaped the Finnian takeover of his planet. If they Ocretions discovered he’d interfered with their justice system by intercepting the death pod, he’d have to engage in war with them, too. And that was a battle Seke doubted they’d win.

Even with the cloaking, he flew a roundabout course to get to the death pod, just in case. It lay moored on an uninhabitable planet outside of Ocretian territory. The two hundred humans who’d been destined for death were housed on it, and they’d sent several of Zander’s new battleships so Rok could teach the humans to fly.

Before Zander had assigned Leora to him for training, Seke had been eager to get to the death pod, as his skill in training for war would finally be put to good use. But now, he could barely dredge up excitement. Numbness seeped into every pore, weighing him down as if cold stones filled his chest.

Leora.

How had he left her behind? It had been a supremely selfish act—he’d needed to atone for his lapse in willpower—but at what cost? Breaking Leora’s heart?

Did his little human suffer over his sudden dismissal? When she’d turned pale and left abruptly, he’d wanted to tear his horns off. But maybe he read too much into it. Maybe he hadn’t hurt her.

Except he knew that was wishful thinking. He’d forged a bond with her and then broken it. A master did not abandon his pupil—or slave, as the case may be.

Still, separating from her was the only answer. He couldn’t give himself to her. He owed his allegiance to Becka. He would never mate again. And Leora deserved more than a master who used her body without any intention of mating. At least there was one thing he could do for her—send Lily back to visit.

Touching the communications device on his cuff, he called Rok and Lundric. “Seke to Zandian Freedom.” He used the new name they’d given the death pod. “I’m coming in for landing on Shooku. Send someone to meet me at the hatch.”

“Welcome, Master Seke. I’ll be there,” Lundric answered.

He landed the ship, putting an oxygen helmet on before disembarking, as the atmosphere on the planet was toxic. Until they recovered Zandia, the occupants of the death pod had to stay on it.

The hatch of the death pod opened, and he stepped into the decompression chamber. Once the opening sealed, a green light blinked, telling him it was safe, and he removed the helmet.

Lundric opened an interior door for him and bowed. “Master Seke, welcome.” Lundric briefed Seke on the status of the training, and they walked together to Rok’s headquarters.

“And the female?” Seke asked after his questions about the training had been satisfied.

A muscle under Lundric’s eye jumped. “What female?”

“The one holding you by the balls—was it Cambry? Have you won her yet?”

Lundric scowled. “Don’t ask.”

Lily rounded the corner as they arrived in front of the office used as a headquarters, and came to a stop when she saw them. Rok stepped out into the corridor, dropping a hand on her shoulder in a subtle sign of support and protection.

“Master Seke—what’s going on with my mother and sister? Are they prisoners?”

Rok folded his arms over his chest, his gaze assessing.

“No.” Thank the stars that matter had been cleared up before he arrived. “They await your visit—both are eager to spend time with you. Rok, if you wish to take her to the palatial pod, Lundric and I will oversee things here.”

Lily tilted her head to look up at her mate. Her hair slid back to reveal chips of flawless Zandian crystal decorating her ears. Rok, despite his lack of allegiance to Zander or his species, had mated her in Zandian tradition.

Why did that make Seke’s chest ache even more? Was it because he missed having a mate? No, the ache for Becka had left long ago, though the guilt had not. This pain came from longing for what he’d never have—Leora pierced and decorated with his crystal.

Bitterness welled up, coated his tongue. But bitterness at what? Returning to his celibate lifestyle had been his own choosing.