Punished, Tana Stone [top reads .txt] 📗

As I studied the female’s face, I knew she was serious. And although I didn’t know what “yodeling” was, I did not want to find out. Part of me wanted to string her up by her ankles and another part of me admired her tenacity.

“I would give my kingdom for an oblek right now,” I said through gritted teeth while she smiled up at me. “You are truly a malevolent creature, do you know that?”

“I told you I had leverage.”

I grunted. “I will admit that you have the cunning of a Vandar, and the heart of a warrior. I will agree to your proposal if only to keep you from harassing me.”

She jumped up and threw her arms around my neck. “Thank you!”

I stiffened at her embrace. I was not used to females embracing me unless they were well-paid, and then their embraces were more practiced and less exuberant. Heat coiled in my core as her body pressed against me, and my tail instinctively slid up the back of her leg.

Then she dropped her arms and backed away, her eyes wide. “Sorry. I was excited and got carried away.”

My tail released her and then twitched in frustration, mirroring my internal turmoil.

Sienna continued backing up until she’d reached the door, but before she opened it, I advanced on her, leaning one hand against the door so she couldn’t open it. I towered over her, my chest heaving.

“You have given me your proposal. Now hear my terms.”

She bit her plump bottom lip, all traces of excitement gone as she nodded mutely.

“This will be our secret,” I continued, my voice a deadly rumble. “Tell no one. I will give you no special treatment because you are a female. I will train you just as hard and ruthlessly as I do the males. Maybe even more so because you want this so badly. And when your body aches and you want to beg me for mercy, don’t. I won’t suffer your complaints. You wish to be trained like a Vandar raider? This is what you should expect.”

The hazel of her eyes had been almost entirely swallowed up by the black pupils as she stared at me without blinking or looking down. “I agree to your terms, Vandar.”

“Good.” I shifted my hand on the door down so that it was just above her shoulder and I leaned in so that my lips brushed her ear. “There is one more matter to settle.”

“Okay,” she whispered, shivering from my touch. “What is it?”

I inhaled the scent of her skin as I curled my tail around her ankle, letting my eyes close as I fought every primal urge roaring through my body. “The matter of payment.”

Chapter Eight

Ch 8

Sienna

My knees almost buckled. “Payment?”

His whispered words skated down my spine and sent frissons of desire arrowing through me as the furry tip of his tail circled my ankle.

“This should be a fair exchange, don’t you think? And you agreeing not to torment me isn’t a fair payment, although it is appreciated.”

I drew in a sharp breath, wishing I wasn’t pinned against the door. “I don’t have anything to give you. My family has no money, unless you wish to be paid in my sister’s pastries.”

He hummed, shaking his head slightly. “I was not thinking of pastries, although I suspect I now know who to thank for the warm roll this morning. But you have something I do want.”

I held my breath, steeling myself for what was coming. I’d had Donal’s eyes on me enough to know what male desire felt like, although being close to Corvak was an entirely different proposition than being close to Donal. The Vandar’s closeness made it hard for me to breathe, and every place he touched on my skin felt scorched. Donal only made me cringe.

Despite Donal’s persistence, I’d never been alone with him—or with any male. Our society didn’t allow for males and females to be alone if they weren’t married, at least not in any interesting way. So, like every female on my planet who was unwed, I was also untouched.

But, like all the other rules imposed on me, I didn’t care about breaking it.

“Now?” I asked, my heart racing.

He leaned back and met my gaze. “Now what?”

I attempted to keep my voice from quivering. “Do you want to do it now, or after we’ve started the training?”

He studied me for a moment, cocking his head and then taking a big step back. “I think you misunderstand me, Sienna. I don’t want from you what you think I do.”

I locked my knees to keep from sliding down the door and onto the floor. “What?”

His gaze raked me up and down. “As appealing as you are, I have no intention of claiming your body as payment.”

Relief flooded me, then a twinge of regret. “Oh.” I steadied my breath and put my hands on my hips, a little irritated that he’d made me think he was about to fuck me up against the door. “Then what do you want?”

“I want you to help me get off this planet.”

It took a moment for the words to sink in, then I shook my head as if to dislodge them. “But you just got here.” I leveled my gaze at him. “And you just agreed to my deal, which was to teach me how to fight. How are you supposed to do that if you aren’t on the planet?”

He turned, crossed the living area, and entered the galley kitchen. “Don’t worry, female. I have no intention of leaving right away. I will fulfill my promise to your leaders and to you. I will teach you all to fight and defend yourselves against the empire. But then I must go.” He opened a cabinet and pulled down a wrapped bundle. “I can’t spend the rest of my life here, even if I was exiled.”

I couldn’t exactly fault him, since I’d just railed against my planet. Kimithion III was