Zandian Pet (Zandian Masters 7)

He shot out the new light and raced for the main entrance. Laser fire screamed past him, ricocheting off the wall and the floor next to his feet. These guards were not trained in expert aim by Master Seke, thank the stars.

The two guards at the entrance aimed their weapons at him. He could probably shoot them both before either one figured out how to fire their guns, but he didn’t want an intergalactic murder charge to follow him back to Prince Zander.

Instead, he lobbed another crystal through the electronic doors, sending sparks flying in all directions. It was enough of a distraction for him to plant his foot in one guard’s stomach while he bashed the face of the other with a right hook.

He ran for his ship as an alarm screamed and the pound of running boots sounded behind him.

Where are you, Mina? Veck.

He remotely activated the hatch door of his small spacecraft and dived through, smacking the button for it to close before he jumped behind the controls. He had the craft off the ground at the same time the hatch slid shut, but some guard, imagining himself brave, had attached himself to the outside of the craft.

He twisted and tilted the small ship, gunning it with power and sending it in wild circles until the idiot guard fell. Now to find Mina.

“Activate thermal scan.” He watched the screen light up with the heat prints of every being below, but none matched the size and shape of his little Mina.

Wait—there.

Two beings were in a junky old spacecraft zooming away at top speed. He redirected his craft and followed, but they’d hit the edge of the atmosphere and their ship shimmered, preparing to warp.

“No!” he shouted, but it was too late.

The little airship disappeared, destination unknown.

“Veck!” He smacked the control panel once, twice, a third time.

He’d lost her. His Mina. He hadn’t even had a chance to make things right between them. Didn’t get to bring her to her father, restore her to the elevated position she deserved at the palatial pod. She’d be vecking royalty there. Could choose from any male in their species.

Except that had him gritting his teeth. The thought of other Zandian males competing for her attention brought a surge of aggression pumping through him.

What was it about this female that turned him into a savage beast? He didn’t remember feeling this way about any female, even as a hormonal youth. But he’d been off-planet during what would have been his first breeding season. He’d spent the year in an alien-exchange study program on Ocretia, which was the only reason he was still alive after the Finn invaded his planet.

He had to find Mina. But how? And what would he say to her father when he returned? Did he dare say he’d seen her? But then he’d have to explain where and how.

And that, on top of telling Zander he’d lost the three-quarter million he’d invested in galactacarriers, made him never want to go back.

Perhaps he should stop somewhere first to lick his wounds and figure out how to deliver his news.

Yes, stopping at the major galactic trading post outside Ocretian airspace wouldn’t hurt anything. It may even be where Mina headed.

Chapter Three

Mina held the laser gun to the head of the small Stornigian pilot. She’d grabbed his weapon from his holster when she found him, half-drunk, outside his rickety airship. His eyes had bugged out, but she wasn’t sure if it had been from the gun or her breasts bobbing in his face.

Still stark naked, she’d attempted to make up for her vulnerable appearance by using a mixture of force and the promise of reward to get him to fly her the hell out of Aurelian airspace.

He seemed more amused than scared or angry, so it was probably the hope of reward that had motivated him.

She hadn’t promised sex. She’d offered the strange talisman she’d taken from her Zandian’s pocket.

But he probably hoped for sex.

She wouldn’t be above using it if she had to. Actually, that wasn’t true. She didn’t want any male touching her. Not when she could still feel the heat of the Zandian’s hands cupping her ass. The marvel of his tongue between her legs. The skitter of her pulse at his heated, violet gaze.

Since their encounter, the idea of giving herself to any other being repulsed her. Oddly, she felt she belonged to him. He’d risked his life to save her.

She hadn’t stayed to gawk, but caught glimpses of him attacking a guard and shooting out the lights as she’d made her run for it. Stars, she hoped he’d made it out safely. She hadn’t meant to endanger him—had never, in a million sun cycles, dreamed he would come to her assistance so quickly and capably.

And damn, he had been capable. Though he hadn’t been dressed as a warrior, he used his body like one. She’d forgotten the elegance and grace a trained fighter carried. Seeing him brought back memories of her father taking his warriors through their paces in the movement studio. The power and precision of each kick or lunge, the clarity of intention, the dance of bodies so clean it looked choreographed.