Damaged (Planet Alpha) Read Online Free PDF Page A

libido grabbed it and ran away from her.
    He straightened up, lifting the heavy fuel cell effortlessly.
    “That’s why you do this,” she said instead of touching him. She needed to say something. “Why you work to free slaves. It’s because you were one of them.”
    His expression darkened. “Do you still insist on coming with me?”
    She frowned. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
    He turned on his heel and headed down to the small clearing. The ship sat silently in the fading sunlight, camouflaged with netting and dried grasses. She wished she had a way to use its old cloaking function, but maintaining that tech was way out of her price range.
    “I know what it feels like,” she said, following him.
    Abruptly, he stopped. Cori almost ran into him.
    “You know nothing of this,” he said tersely, waving a hand at his skin.
    “I was a slave, too,” she said, defiant. She didn’t care if it pissed him off. Nothing he did made sense. One moment he was strong and quiet, and the next, he was aloof and angry. She didn’t understand him.
    “I was born in slavery,” he said, dropping the fuel cell into the dirt. “Were you?”
    She swallowed, then shook her head. “No. I was captured from a refugee camp after my family died. I was very young.” She touched his arm, knowing she was playing with fire. His skin was smooth and warm. “Even so, I know what it feels like to have no freedom.”
    Reiyn laughed bitterly, muscles bunching under her fingers. “You think so?” He grabbed her forearms and pulled her against his chest, hard enough to bruise.
    Strangely, Cori wasn’t frightened. They pressed together tightly enough that the heat of him warmed her entire body. Arousal slid through her, fast and shocking.
    “You know nothing of what I suffered,” he said, then bent his head down and kissed her roughly.
    Cori gasped, mouth opening under the onslaught. When his tongue touched hers, she moaned. He’d had his tongue forked and pierced on either side. She couldn’t imagine the pain of it. She couldn’t believe he’d had it done. No one wanted to look like a Xyran.
    “You know nothing,” he said, biting her lower lip.
    Cori grabbed his shoulders, holding on tightly. One of his legs pressed between hers, rubbing against her clit. She ached. “You don’t know me at all,” she managed to say, trembling.
    His eyes glittered. She could see his contacts move when he blinked.
    “I know enough,” he growled, and bent down again. He kissed her harshly, as if he could erase what she’d seen through his actions.
    She returned his kiss with heat, hanging onto him as he moved them back, towards the ship. He licked into her mouth, tipping her head, and then her spine collided with the warmed metal of her ship. He made a sound in his throat and pushed closer, his erection grinding into her hip.
    Holy hell, she thought, slinging her leg up around his hip. All her good intentions about leaving him alone fled, and she scrabbled at his pants, wanting to feel more skin.
    He growled and pulled at her vest, ripping it open. When the air hit her breasts, he leaned back.
    “Shit, Reiyn,” she muttered, sliding her hands over his jaw. “Don’t stop now.”
    He narrowed his eyes, then slid his hands up her arms and over her shoulders. She shivered, heart skipping under his gaze. He trailed his fingers down her chest, then flicked at the silver studs set into her nipples. When she didn’t object, he plucked at them, sending fire down her spine right to her clit.
    “We do not have time for this,” he said.
    She thumped her head against the side of the ship. “Shut up.”
    He leaned down and took a nipple into his mouth, biting until she squirmed on his thigh. “Dammit,” she breathed, hands in his hair. From this angle, she could see the scars like decorative vines all the way across his back. She slid her palms down, smoothing over what she could reach. He shuddered, then went to his knees.
    “What are you