Royal Torment - Viola Grace Page 0,2
felt a presence behind her. There was something unmistakable about a Kiidar male who was approaching rut. She swallowed slowly and finished her business, stepping to one side so that she could put everything back in her pouch.
The male didn’t move. She turned her head and looked up at him and was slightly surprised. She hadn’t seen many Rasha Kiidar before. His skin was covered with a soft, white velvet interspersed with stripes. His hair was a complementary jet black. She stared into his bright blue eyes and swallowed.
“Hello.” She inclined her head.
He smiled slowly, and his pupils dilated as he looked her over from head to toe. “Hello. Travelling today?”
“Ideally. Yes.”
He made a small sound in his throat that made her shiver. “Paid passage?”
“Ah, no. I am travelling on my own.”
He didn’t even take a step, just angled his body toward hers. “May I delay your departure?”
She fought her shiver and managed to contain it. Two sentences and she was ready to screw him against a bulkhead. No wonder her mother didn’t have a chance. “I am afraid not.”
She nodded slightly. “Goodbye.” She spun and headed down to her slip to do pre-flight checks and smack herself in the head for ignoring the perfect opportunity. Her father was born a Fallo Kiidar—rich orange hair and black markings. His shoulders were broad and boxy, his body built for power. The Rasha, with their pale fur, were rare, tall, elegant, and lazy in their motions, which belied the deadly speed they were capable of.
Tydella swallowed and stopped her brain from imagining the differences in his body while shirtless or wearing even less. How far did the stripes go?
She mentally doused herself with water and got her ship ready for departure. There was a huge ship that was on its way out, and she was planning on hitching a ride.
She would think about that Kiidar wistfully when she had time, silence, and privacy. Lube might be on the agenda as well.
* * * *
Ador watched the small sprite of a woman slip out of his range. She had the most amazing scent, and now that he could detect it, he understood why so many of the station’s females had been making themselves available to him. He grimaced. He was entering rut, and that meant his mother was going to open that ridiculous competition for a true princess. No woman had yet satisfied his mother’s requirements, and he was wondering if she was making things difficult on purpose.
Chapter Two
Tydella took her exit trajectory, and she looped around to wait in the sensor shadow of the station for the large vessel to get underway toward the gate. It took two hours, but it started moving, and she flipped on her blurring effect and moved to attach herself to what she hoped was a blind spot on the vessel.
The ship continued its trajectory through the gate, and she smiled. She was just going to separate on the other side of the gate and go on her merry way.
* * * *
“Prince, we have a gate-tick.”
The captain’s voice came through the speakers in his office. Ador looked up and sighed, “Put it on display.”
The small, sleek ship was of Kiidar design. It was in immaculate shape and looked very fast.
“Bring the tick with us; we can ransom their ship back to them for the increased price of passage and labour.” He chuckled.
“Yes, Your Highness.” The captain returned to his duties, and they glided toward the gate.
Ador smiled as they travelled through the gate, and the tiny vessel remained in place until they exited the other side. The ship twisted against the hull, but it was stuck fast. That spot was a popular one for ships of that size, so precautions had been taken. That little vessel was going all the way home.
* * * *
Tydella was trying not to panic, but it was hard to fight that instinct. She was caught. “Fuck!”
She looked up the signature of the vessel and called it. She waited.
“Hitchhiking vessel, you are being held for ransom. Twice the gate fees.” The low, rumbling voice was familiar.
She swallowed, exhaled, and said, “Fine. Give me the number and let me get my ass out of here. I apologize for the intrusion onto your hull, but I am trying to avoid someone, and it was the easiest way to get anywhere else.”
The video link flared up, and she was staring at the Rasha Kiidar from customs. “Oh, fuck.”
He smiled slowly. “I think I can