Punished, Tana Stone [top reads .txt] 📗

He didn’t look convinced by my words, his full lips pressed together, and his brow furrowed. Even though his face looked even more menacing in the shadows of the hallway, I had an urge to touch him and run my finger down the scar slashing his cheek. But I had a stronger urge to punch him in the gut.

I jerked my gaze back to his. “If I came here to kill you, where is my weapon?” I pinned him with a sharp look. “Even I’m not cocky enough to think I could kill a Vandar with my bare hands.”

He shifted his hold on my wrists to one of his large hands, using the other to move deftly down my body. His fingers skimmed down each arm and then across my breasts and stomach.

I bucked against him. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Searching you for weapons.” His voice was a dark purr, as his hand slid around my back and down the curve of my ass. “Spread your legs.”

My breath caught in my throat. “What? No.” I glanced down. “Even your arm isn’t that long. Trust me. I don’t have any weapons strapped to my legs.”

“I don’t plan to use my arm, and I do not trust you.”

When I felt something move up the outside of my calf, unwanted shivers of pleasure made me twitch. He was feeling me up with the tip of his tail. I bit my bottom lip to keep from moaning as his tail slipped between my legs and moved higher. His eyes were pools of darkness, his gaze never leaving mine as his tail slid over my body and finally coiled around my waist.

I released the breath I’d been holding. “I told you I wasn’t armed. I didn’t come to kill you. I came to talk to you.”

His eyes held me for a moment longer before he dropped my wrists and stepped back, although his tail remained around my waist, keeping me from moving away from the wall. “I wasn’t aware we had anything more to discuss.”

Now that he wasn’t on top of me, it was easier to breathe, and my heart wasn’t beating like a tripwire. It would be a lie to say that my pulse had stopped fluttering at the sight of the massive Vandar looming over me, black marks etched across the hard swell of his chest muscles. But then the indignation I’d felt after he’d kicked me from the training flashed fresh in my mind. “You know I was the best fighter out there today.”

“I never said you weren’t.”

I rubbed at my wrists, the skin still buzzing from the heat of his flesh against mine. “Then why won’t you train me? I thought the Vandar were all about being the best warriors in the galaxy. Well, I’m the best. At least, on Kimithion III.”

“But your planet doesn’t allow females to fight. I would be going against the code if I allowed you in the training.” He scraped a hand through his long hair. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not, but I’m a guest on your planet. And not a very welcome one.”

For the first time I thought about what it must be like for him when all the villagers stared at him or moved away when he approached. I knew what it was like to feel like you didn’t belong. “I’m glad you’re here. You’re the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to our planet.”

He choked back a rough laugh. “Then I feel sorry for your planet.”

“You should. Nothing ever changes here. We might live forever, but we’re stuck in a backwards existence where everyone has certain roles and no one can ever do anything different or be anything that’s unexpected, and we can never leave.”

Something flickered behind his eyes. “I’m not sure what you think I can do about that.”

My shoulders slumped. “Nothing. I don’t expect you to do anything about it. I know you can’t. You may be a badass Vandar warrior, but you’re not magic.”

The corners of his mouth quirked up. “Thank you, I think.”

“All I’m asking is that you teach me to fight. I know I’m good at it. It’s the only thing I’ve ever been truly good at. It’s the only thing I’ve ever loved doing.”

He angled his head at me. “You love fighting?”

I nodded. “When I’m fighting it feels like the world slows down, and it’s just the beating of my heart and the movements of my body. It’s like some kind of outside force takes over, and I instinctively know what to do.”

He grunted and his tail tightened around my waist. “You sound like a Vandar.”

“Thanks. That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me. Usually people here think I use too many old Earth phrases.”

One of his dark eyebrows lifted. “Donal doesn’t say sweet things to you?”

My face warmed, but it was anger that flushed my cheeks, not arousal. “I will never marry Donal, no matter what he says.” I spit out each word.

“I believe you.” Corvak uncoiled his tail from my waist and turned from me. “Unfortunately, he doesn’t believe that.”

I put my fingers to my waist, already missing the warmth of his tail. “It doesn’t matter what he thinks. No matter how important his father is, he can’t force me to marry him. I’d rather die.”

Corvak walked a few steps and spun around to face me. “It’s shocking you aren’t Vandar. Still, I didn’t come here to get embroiled in domestic disputes or cause a scandal by teaching a female to be a warrior.” He held up a hand. “No matter how good she is. Even your presence would cause a disturbance, like it did today. That will not make it easier for me to prepare your people to defend themselves against the empire. And that is my priority.”

I opened my mouth to argue with him, then I stopped. He was right. The community would never allow me to train with the males. I’d been a