Artificial Intelligence Page 9

  “We wish to remain peaceful, Captain Jax. But we still determine your vessel belongs to us.”

  Jax raised one eyebrow. “I have only your word for that. I hereby stake the claim that your vessel belonged to one of my kind and now you inhabit it. Do you see the ridiculousness of that claim? How we obtained this ship is none of your concern. It is now mine, and while you can forcibly board it, we will kill each and every one of you. Then we shall deliver the Dorian, a former Zetan ship, to our own planet.”

  “If your vessel has a staff of two hundred, you would not have shields blocking our sensors.”

  Jax laughed a humorless laugh. “Seriously, Captain? You sound like a petulant child.”

  Captain Silak’s gray face grew dark with fury. “You are insubordinate.”

  Jax leaned forward. “We will not release our shields to your scans. I owe you nothing, and you are lucky I answered this hail. As I said, your weapons are stronger than ours and you can board our vessel. However, you will not leave it whole. And you will lose your ship in the process. The choice is yours.” With a flip of a switch, Jax disconnected the hail.

  “Now what?” Arian whispered.

  “We wait. It is a gamble whether he calls our bluff.”

  Behind her, one of the council members spoke. “If they do breach our ship, they will send as few men as possible. If their ship holds a maximum of twenty, they probably have the full staff. They do not want to lose unnecessary manpower. Logically, they will send five to board our vehicle. While we do not outnumber them yet by twenty to one, chances are good that we can take out all five of their crew, making our point of dominance when they lose contact with them. Their faster vehicle will turn and flee as soon as communication is cut from their fallen crew.”

  “They may flee to obtain backup,” Arian said.

  “We will be long gone by then. By the time they return, our crew of two hundred will be complete.”

  “Do not forget,” Jax whispered to her. “We were created to become the first line of defense. We know war. We will take out five men easily.”

  Tess’s computerized voice came overhead. “The Zetan warship released a tagging mechanism that will follow us. It will attach itself as soon as we release our shields, letting them know where we are headed. It appears they do have plans to return with backup.”

  “Dammit,” Arian murmured. “That’s new technology.”

  “Arian, we’re going internal to speak with one of our own technology experts. Hold on.” Jax went still, his blue eye lights flashing. She looked at the rest of the board, they also flashed. Even Tess was eerily silent.

  “Do you have an emergency shuttle aboard?” His voice had taken on a monotone quality when he addressed her.

  She nodded. “They’re standard safety protocol on a service vessel. They’re smaller than a normal shuttle. It’s basically the size of a one-person box, and there is one for each cabin. Why?”

  “We will release one, and set it on course for the planet debris you obtained us from. The tag will attach itself and lead them to the core.”

  “Is it still around?”

  “Barely. It will destruct soon. Even so, once the tag attaches, we don’t care if it runs into a meteor and destroys the tag and shuttle.”

  “Zetans will have thought of that. The tag will not attach to anything that is shuttle-sized that releases from our shield.”

  “We will reprogram the shields to appear as if the shuttle is the same dimension as our ship. Instead of releasing all four walls of shield, we will release the south wall behind us slowly, allowing it to appear as if the ship is emerging through the shield. In a flash, we will drop the north wall shield. At the exact same time, we will projectile the ship in the opposite direction until it is out of range of the tag. Then, the east and west side walls of the shield will dissipate after the shuttle is free. To a sensor-based tag, it will appear that the ship is emerging from the force field on the south side. In reality, the ship will escape on the north side.”

  “We won’t be able to move fast enough to get out of range before the shields are gone.”

  “It doesn’t matter. We just checked the computer link to the tag. The tag doesn’t think. It will watch us sailing through the asteroids, but it will be attached to what it targets as the primary vessel by then.”

  She nodded. “Okay. Let’s move on it.”

  “You heard, Tess. Release the first shuttle, but do not open the door yet.”

  In a few moments, her computer’s voice verified. “Shuttle released.”

  “Okay. Tess, you will slowly drop the east and west shields on our count. At the same time, drop the south and north fields immediately. Turn on the manual controls for Dieroc to command. As soon as we move, turn off all lights except for emergency control.”

  “Understood.”

  “Countdown…five. Four. Three. Two. One.”

  Jax wrapped his arms around her, holding her steady as the ship swayed. The lights flickered in and out as they warped into their highest speed.

  “Shuttle released,” Dieroc said. “Door shutting.”

  The lights went dark as the ship released. Arian braced herself, but she needn’t have bothered. Jax held her still. The engines of the ship were loud, as they were pressed to their limits.

  “Success,” Echo said. “The tag attached to the shuttle. We’re out of here.”

  They sped a safe distance before the lights came on.

  “Slowing the engines now,” Sifahn said.

  When the ship slowed to a normal speed, the loudness of the engine drone slowly quieted.

  “Engine check,” Jax called from behind her.

  “Seventy-five percent. We’re still good.”

  “There’s a black hole directly ahead. Where does it release?”

  “At the edge of the Sirian galaxy.”

  “Place a smoke tracer at the edge.” Vann grinned, the first emotion she’d seen from this man.

  “What does that do?” Arian asked.

  “Just a diversion tactic. If they should happen to come this way, they’ll assume we’ve taken the hole.”

  “As soon as we’re a safe distance from the black hole, I’d suggest dropping our speed to allow the engine to catch up to full power,” Rune said.

  “Agreed. Let’s get back on course and go raise more bodies,” Jax said. Then, Arian yelped as he scooped her up into his arms.

  “What are you doing?” she hissed.

  “Taking you to our quarters for some rest. The others have this.”

  He carried her easily down the hallway. Once they reached the cabin, she slid down his body. “I’m trying really hard to keep things semi-professional. It’s one thing to have a relationship. Another to throw it in their faces that we’re sleeping together.”

  “I’m not denying it. After that fiasco with Serepto, I don’t care what anyone thinks. Life is too short, and now that we are embodied we have to face that. We’ll need to revive Serepto as soon as possible.”

  She wrapped her arms around his hard frame. “Lucky I can’t resist you.”

  “That’s what I bank on.”

  If she reached her arm out straight, she could brush her hand over his black leather uniform. It molded around his biceps enticingly. His hair style gave him a bad-boy image, emphasizing the lean cuts of his cheek and sleek line of jaw. The tiniest cleft dipped into his chin.

  The scent of leather, masculine soap, and male pheromones teased her. He looked directly into her eyes. She froze, her breath catching in her throat. He tilted his head, his full lips curving upward slightly as his gaze left hers to slowly travel down her body.

  Then he reached for the bottom edge of his uniform. He tore it over his head and then gripped the waist of his pants. He pushed them down lean hips and over muscular thighs. She watched the muscles in his calves work as he pulled his legs free, revealing naked, beautiful tawny skin. He seemed soft, warm, and smooth but his body was instead hard with muscle, his cock rock-hard
, jutting straight out and curved up. Her attention lifted back to his face when he stood totally naked just feet from her.

  “Go to your knees,” he ordered softly.

  She never hesitated, lowering herself to her knees.

  He looked intense as he took a step closer, his cock nearly brushing her face. That close, it was big, thick, and impressive as hell. It made her mouth water.

  His next instructions came. “Open your mouth wide.”

  She took a breath, placing her hands on his muscular thighs. He trembled beneath her touch. She opened her mouth, and then his hand came up to cup under her jaw. Her gaze flew up again to look at his face as he stared back down at her.

  His thumb gently slid along her jaw, up, and he brushed it over her lips. “I love your lips. Do you want me like this?”

  His thumb slid along the inside of her lip, lightly, and then he turned his hips just slightly, inching closer to her. His cock brushed her cheek. He stopped there, and then he withdrew his thumb from her lips. He kept hold of her jaw in his palm.

  “I do want you,” she said, and then slid her tongue out to trace the rimmed edge of the crown of his cock. He inhaled loudly and she shifted, facing his sex straight on, opening her mouth wide to take his cock between her lips.

  He tasted delicious. She licked the tiny bit of pre-cum gathered on the head of his cock. It had a sweet flavor. She slowly fed more of his length into her mouth, exploring how much of him she could take as he held very still. She pulled back, nearly removing his cock completely, but then moved closer again, taking it deeper inside her mouth. She tilted her head and began to suck on him.

  Jax softly groaned. “You are incredible, Arian. It feels so good.”

  She moved quicker, using her mouth to tug him more firmly. His breathing increased as his deep groans sent chills skittering over her skin. Hearing the passionate sounds he made, along with the taste of him, turned her on incredibly. She suddenly wished he were buried deep inside her pussy. Her vaginal walls tightened as her belly quivered with need.

  An ache built between her thighs. Jax suddenly grabbed her head with both hands. He pushed her away from his cock.

  “Slow now,” he urged, then released her. “I’m so close.”

  She looked up to see his head tilted back, his hands fisted at his sides while he stood waiting. She licked her lips, taking his cock back into her mouth. He didn’t last long at all before he groaned loudly.

  “I’m going to come,” he warned in a shaky voice a few seconds before he did.

  She sucked harder.

  Arian swallowed every burst of his release, the flavor delicious and wanton. Her pussy throbbed.

  Jax pulled back, forcing her to release his cock from between her lips. “Stand up.”

  She rose. He moved slowly, pulling her uniform apart at the seams and letting it drop at her feet until she stood bare-breasted. Then he released her waistband, and the musky aroma of her own arousal wafted up through the air. He inhaled deeply, and dropped to his knees to push her pants down her legs and over her feet.

  He inhaled again, placing a kiss square on her mons before rising to stand before her.

  He gripped her arm and spun her around to face the bed. He pushed her a few feet toward it and then spun her again.

  “Lay flat,” he instructed. Shakily, she moved to the bed to lie down. He pulled her forward so her ass was near the edge, and he dropped to his knees, placing her feet on his shoulders.

  He lowered his face between her thighs and used his hands to spread her open to his mouth, which zoned in on her clit. His tongue rapidly licked at her in long strokes, over and over, and pleasure ripped through her core.

  His lips sealed over the swelling bud and he applied more pressure with his wet, wonderful tongue, and wiggling it against the most sensitive part of her body. She clenched her teeth against the moans that wanted to escape at the pure ecstasy that shot up her body straight to her brain.

  He was merciless as he continued to torment her clit in fast, even strokes. She squirmed, heavily sensitized, digging her butt into the bed as she grew closer to climax. Big hands slid to her hips and lifted her, forcing her closer to his mouth as he sucked her. She cried out, unable to stop herself. She threw her head back as her back arched, the action pressing her pussy tighter against his face when she just wanted to squirm away earlier.

  Her heavy breathing was the only sound in the room. Jax suddenly released her, standing up with his cock bobbing huge and heavy. Big hands slid to her hips and then she gasped again as he lifted her a few inches from the bed and rolled her over.

  The bedding slid against her stomach and oversensitive breasts as he jerked her toward him until her knees hit the edge. His knee pressed between her thighs, spreading them, and his hands gripped her hips again, lifting her a few inches higher where he pinned her against the bed. He entered her without warning as his thick, hard cock stretched her pussy.

  He felt magnificent inside her, hot and full and oh, so wet. She didn’t care anymore how he did it as he started to move, pumping in and out of her slowly, creating a new kind of pleasure. His rugged body contained so much powerful strength yet he wasn’t hurting her.

  The pleasure he gave her became more intense for her this time, as if his cock had swelled bigger and harder than the last time he’d been inside her.

  “I can’t get enough of you,” he rasped. “So damn hot and tight.”

  He gripped her at the back of her neck, gently pushing her face down against the mattress so her cheek pressed into it. Then she felt his hands caress her hips, smoothing over the curve of her buttocks. He started to fuck her harder and faster, his powerful body forcing her to take his cock deeper. Rapture invaded her as his hips slammed against her ass, making a slapping sound, and she didn’t want to think anymore. Especially not when his balls slapped against her clit.

  “Oh God,” she moaned as the friction between them became so intense she didn’t think she could take much more.

  He didn’t slow the pace, but he reached out and placed his hand on her lower back, arching her spine to point her ass higher into the air. His hand returned to her hip and then slid to her stomach before it inched lower until the side of his thumb pressed against her clit. With her bent over, the wetness of her arousal and excitement coated his hand. With every drive of his hips, it pressed her clit against his thick finger. He pounded into her at a slightly different angle and her pussy clenched around his hard cock. Ecstasy tore through her, catching her breath.

  “Fuck,” he roared and emptied himself into her.

  The climax had been intense, and she was still feeling the waves.

  Their combined heavy breathing seemed magnified in the otherwise quiet room.

  “Are you doing okay?” he asked.

  “I am.”

  He withdrew from her and she collapsed on the bed. He went into the bathroom and ran the water, coming back with a cloth. He cleaned her up, and tucked her in bed, then crawled in next to her. Arian curled onto his chest, yawning once and closing her eyes.

  Just before she fell asleep, she heard him whisper. “I love you.”

  Chapter Eight

  Jax was gone when she woke, leaving her to wonder if she’d imagined his declaration of love. She showered and dressed and headed to the main hull, where she relieved Rune from commanding the vessel.

  “Where’s everyone at?” she asked him.

  “They’re in sick bay, reviving Serepto.” His eyes flashed, and she assumed he was under orders to let Jax know when she arrived.

  Sure enough, the main doors swooshed open.

  “Arian. This is Serepto.” Jax entered the hull with three of the council members. Arian rose from the captain’s chair, and Dieroc slid over into her spot to navigate.

  She held her hand out, noticing the pause before Serepto took it.

  “Arian.”

  “Welcome, Serepto. I’m happy your revival went well.”

  “Thank you.” His w
ords were clipped.

  Arian wondered if she was the only one that felt the chill in his tone. She felt slightly guilty for thinking it. Hell, the man had just been revived. His emotions weren’t fully activated. The others on the council were just beginning to show signs of emerging emotions.

  “Come here,” Jax growled, and dragged Arian to him. She melted into his embrace, her cheek pressing against his chest. She wrapped her arms around him.

  “Good morning,” she murmured.

  He reached down and traced the Zetan tattoo down the side of her face, down her neck and over her shoulder. “Did you sleep well?”

  “Out like a light,” she smiled, uncomfortably aware of the others staring.

  “What are our coordinates?” Serepto asked, his voice cutting.

  Dieroc tilted his head. “Our first course is to Arian’s planet, where we are needed by her people. We will reinforce a wall, and help them prepare for winter. After that, we can decide if we wish to stay or move on when Arian takes another flight out.”

  “Why do we need to wait to decide if she takes a leave?” Serepto said.

  There was silence at the rude comment.

  Jax’s voice was a dangerous whisper. “Because this is Arian’s ship, and by all rights, we’re guests of hers.”

  Serepto raised a brow. “We also outnumber her by two hundred to one.”

  Rune took a step forward, clenching his fists. “That is not our way.”

  “This is what was done to our own race,” said Sifahn, his voice outraged. “How dare you even suggest pulling it on another?”

  “All I’m saying is…”

  “We know exactly what you’re saying. And it’s out of line. Arian didn’t have to do all that she’s done for our people. As a matter of fact, she could have left you to die, but because I called you my brother, she chose to use her own DNA for your revival.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Your body was infected. The infection was cleared by a transfusion of bone marrow by new, infused DNA. The only person with DNA different than our own is Arian.”