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Elite Force 2

Rings of Sapphire

August Ryker is a man intent on completing his assigned mission
and being left the hell alone. Thrown into close quarters onboard

the Onyx makes him a very grouchy communications specialist.
Crash landing on an abandoned space station just might be at the
top of his list of crappy days, but finding a man who belongs to

the venomous Andronian race hiding in the air duct might be more
than the Sayak can handle—especially when he can’t seem to

keep his hands off the guy.

Not measuring up in the eyes of his own race, Sapphire isn’t

surprised when his uncle abandons him in on outpost in the middle
of nowhere. Not knowing if he is going to ever be rescued, he's

overjoyed when a spacecraft crash lands on the planet. Who cares
if the man that finds him is an Elite Force soldier…and armed…and
so damn hot that he takes Sapphire’s breath away? He’s being

rescued.

Isn’t he? Can Sapphire convince August to take him along when

the unit leaves, or will he be left behind forever?

Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Futuristic, Science Fiction
Length: 37,398 words

RINGS OF SAPPHIRE

Elite Force 2

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

EROTIC ROMANCE

MANLOVE

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Erotic Romance ManLove

RINGS OF SAPPHIRE
Copyright © 2013 by Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62740-608-6

First E-book Publication: September 2013

Cover design by D. L. Benson
All cover art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be
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express written permission.

All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance
to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com

Letter to Readers

Dear Readers,

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Glenn and Lynn Hagen from BookStrand.com or its official
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Regarding E-book Piracy

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RINGS OF SAPPHIRE

Elite Force 2

STORMY GLENN AND LYNN HAGEN

Chapter One

August Rycker locked his jaw as he braced himself for impact, his

fingers digging into the nylon strapping that was holding him to his
seat. The Onyx—a ship he was currently aboard and in danger of
dying on—was plummeting toward a moon-sized planet. He ground
his molars and held on tight as he was violently jostled around,
wondering if he had made the right decision to join the Elite Force.

From the way the Onyx was sounding at the moment as the large

craft crash landed, August was beginning to think he should have kept
his ass on Tronos.

The ship spun sideways and for a second August feared it would

flip over from the violent impact, but it finally came to a grinding
halt, jerking him forward and then slamming him back. August was
more than thankful that he wasn’t lying in pieces and parts on this
godforsaken rock. He glanced around, making sure no one was
injured before releasing his seat harness and climbing out of his chair.

“Is everyone all right?” Lieutenant Ryan Devries asked as he

unfastened his harness and stood, looking just a bit shaken up and
relieved that they survived the crash.

One by one, everyone aboard the Onyx called out that they were

fine. August walked off of the bridge, heading toward engineering,

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

ready to find out exactly what they were up against. He wasn’t a
mechanic by any stretch of the imagination, but knew they had
sustained heavy damage. Not only from their crash landing, but from
a ship that had blown apart too close to theirs, becoming the catalyst
that had damaged them in the first place, sending them spiraling past
End of the Line.

We are past End of the Line.
The gravity of the situation wasn’t lost on August. No one

ventured past the last planet in the Turok system. Those who had were
never heard from again. Normally, August didn’t put too much stock
in rumors and jaw jacking of any kind, but there were too many
stories to dismiss the fact that there might be some truth to what was
being said about the outer regions.

August made his way down the corridor, careful of the debris that

had been jostled loose during their landing. Most of it was there
before their crash landing. The ship was a damn mess. The owner and
pilot, Vane Hayden wasn’t the neatest person in the universe. He had
to duck past sparking wires and protruding metal as he weaved his
way to his destination.

Once August made it down to the cargo bay, he pulled the loose

panel open and rewired the door, allowing it to open even though they
were on reserve power. No, he wasn’t a mechanic, but he was smarter
than the average bear.

His scores from the academy were so high that they were

unchartable. As much as August tried to hide his IQ, something inside
of him wouldn’t allow him to purposefully fail a test.

Fucking ego.
As the ramp began to lower, August took in the environment. It

was dark and a bit windy, and cold as hell. He snagged a battle jacket
from an alcove close to the door and slipped it over his shoulders,
zipping it into place.

Rings of Sapphire

With a lot of protesting noise, the ramp finally touched ground.

This ship was in disrepair. He was surprised it was still in operation.
Vane needed to retire the hunk of junk and invest in a new ship.

At least something from this century.
“Wait, August,” Ryan called out as he came down the corridor in

hurried strides. “I can’t let you just walk out there on your own. This
planet is uncharted and we have no idea what’s out there.”

August mentally rolled his eyes. He didn’t need a damn

babysitter. He was quite capable of taking care of himself. He had
seen and done things that would probably make Ryan’s balls shrink.

“Then hurry the hell up. I’m growing impatient.” He leaned

against the interior wall, his eyes scanning the area outside the ship.
None of them knew if there was any life form on this rock. A space
station had been spotted right before they crash landed and August
planned on checking it out. This part of the galaxy wasn’t on any
map. There shouldn’t have been a space station anywhere, let alone
sitting on a tiny planet.

The side of August’s mouth curled up into a smile when he

spotted Reno, the weapons specialist, heading his way with the PS50
in his hand. The phaser was a prototype, not even on the black market
yet. Ryan had managed to get his hands on it when General Merrik
had commanded the lieutenant form a team.

They had a “most wanted” list and people to track down. Reno

had demanded one of the prototypes in exchange for his services.

But as August looked around, he knew they weren’t going to be

tracking a damn thing down except parts to repair the ship. There was
no way in hell he was going to be stuck here. The place was dismal at
best. If they didn’t get the ship—or space station—operational, they
were all going to freeze to death.

“Ready?” Reno asked as he walked past August.
“I am, but my nanny insisted I wait on him.”
Reno chuckled, his strange brown-gold eyes twinkling with mirth.

“Are you going to let that stop you?”

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

August straightened. “Hell, no.”
“Good,” Reno said as August joined him. He wasn’t looking

forward to Ryan’s mouth about leaving the ship, but August wasn’t
much on taking orders—which was a contradiction to him joining the
academy.

But then again, August rarely made sense to anyone and he liked

it that way. It kept everyone guessing. He hadn’t even disclosed his
species when going through administration. August was a private
person and kept it that way. He wasn’t here to make friends. He was
here for a job. It was true that he could put his brilliance to better use,
but August had been there and done that, having a sour taste left in his
mouth from his experiences. All he wanted now was a quiet existence.

Once again, it was a contradiction to him joining the academy. He

was nothing if not confusing, even to himself sometimes.

“I think the space station is just up ahead,” Reno stated as he

tapped on the guidance coordinator wrapped round his wrist, pulling
August from his thoughts. He needed to stay alert. They were in
unknown territory, searching the place for a way off of this rock. He
didn’t need to come across some indigenous or hostile species and die
because his mind was wandering.

That would just ruin his day.
“I thought I told you to fucking wait?” Ryan bellowed as he

caught up with them, Vane, Cheyenne, Rhys, and Kurt following
behind him. August growled at the tone Ryan was taking with him.

“I’ll make sure to punish myself for insubordination just as soon

as we get back to Tronos.” Ryan may be his lieutenant, but August
would be damned if he allowed anyone to talk to him that way. Call it
pride, call it self-assurance, call it whatever the hell you wanted to,
but August wasn’t a man to be pushed around.

He was damn good at what he did or Ryan wouldn’t have asked

August to join his unit. In his mind, that gave him leeway to demand
that the lieutenant talk to him like he had some sense.

Rings of Sapphire

“I’ll remember that,” Ryan stated irritatingly. “Now, let’s find out

what we are up against.”

“Are we really past End of the Line?” Kurt, Ryan’s mate, asked,

looking a bit green around the gills—literally. August would never
admit it out loud, but he liked Kurt. The merman was a refreshing
change of pace from the hardnosed men he was used to dealing with.
Kurt wore his emotions on his sleeve and wasn’t afraid to fuck up or
show that he cared about someone.

August pushed the dark hair from his eyes as the light wind

continued to blow all around him. The place seemed desolate except
for the space station. It looked out of place here in deep space. Some
of the men were wearing insulated spacesuits, but August was one of
the few who didn’t need one. He could handle the cold just fine. The
atmosphere for such a small planet was surprisingly balanced,
allowing him to breathe without a helmet to assist him.

It appeared Reno and Cheyenne could handle the cold as well

because they weren’t wearing an insulated suit either.

With determination made of granite, August headed toward the

building closest to them. Fabric flapped through the windows where
reinforced glass should have been, and the place looked like it hadn’t
seen an inhabitant in eons. The security panel was smashed in, no
longer of any use to them, and aside from the wind, it was eerily
quiet.

August pushed the door open, listening to the worn metal creak as

he entered the building. There was a layer of dust covering every
surface, thick and black, confirming that no one had been here in a
long time.

“This looks like a mess hall,” Cheyenne said as he moved his

wide frame into the room and stopped next to August.

It did. There were two long tables in the middle of the room, a

buffet-style setting off to his right. What piqued his curiosity was the
state of the place. It looked as if the mess hall had been left in mid-

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

use. There were still plates on the table and ladles sticking out of the
trays on the buffet table.

He walked over to a far corner, spotting a cart that had small

pieces of fleck on some of the trays. August picked one up and knew
it used to be food. Just what in the hell had happened here?

“I wouldn’t touch anything until we know why this outpost is

deserted.” Ryan walked toward the door on the opposite side of the
room, the one they had yet to explore. August dropped the fleck,
agreeing that maybe he should keep his hands to himself until they
knew what they were up against.

He followed the others, walking out into a small courtyard,

glancing around and seeing that there were at least four buildings. The
next one they explored was a long-abandoned communications
structure. Even with the layers of dust throughout the room, August
felt at home as soon as he spotted the blank viewing screens and
consoles that held no life.

“Lieutenant,” Cheyenne called from another room. “You should

see this.”

August ignored the men as he skimmed his hand through the dust

and then rubbed his fingers together. He knew Ryan had warned him
not to touch anything, but technology was something that had always
fascinated August. He loved playing with the latest and greatest hi-
tech inventions. There was just something about tearing it apart and
finding out how it worked—and the software that was constantly
updated was nothing short of orgasmic.

There had been rumors that some of the scientists were currently

dabbling in artificial life. He wasn’t sure about ethics, but damn if
August wouldn’t love to get ahold of an AI robot. He’d have it
disassembled and be tinkering with its inner workings in no time flat.

And what better place to be at the forefront of that discovery than

in the Federation? After all, he wasn’t stupid. He knew where to be
and when to be in order to get his hands on prototypes.

Rings of Sapphire

But that wasn’t the only reason he’d joined the Elite Force.

August never felt as if he belonged. His IQ prevented a lot of people
from socializing with him, and those who did were pompous assholes.
The only thing August wanted was to be treated normally. He was a
down-to-earth guy, a brilliant one, but he liked to just hang out with
the fellas.

And that’s why he had joined Ryan’s unit, no questions asked.

This was a chance for him to be a part of something and get his hands
on the coolest goddamn toys at the same time.

“Hey, August, we need you in here.”
August wiped his hands off and then strolled to where he had seen

the men disappear. To his surprise, the next room was even larger
than the first.

“Do you think you can fix this?” Ryan asked, pointing toward a

bank of panels to his right. August walked down the row, studying the
panels and realizing he was very familiar with this model, although it
was a bit outdated. He brushed his fingers over the side, moving away
the dust, and saw the insignia that was widely known throughout the
universe. “This is Federation of United Planets equipment.”

“That’s exactly what I thought,” Ryan replied as he walked over

to the next set of panels. “But why in the hell would their equipment
be here, and more importantly, is this outpost theirs?”

“If it is,” Rhys—the scientist and medic pulled into this unit—

began, “then there are bigger questions we need to ask, like why the
place looks like it was deserted in such a fucking hurry.”

“You noticed that, too, huh?” Ryan walked to where August was

standing, pointing to the small insignia on the wall that August had
made visible. “That’s the Federation’s icon. This is not some outlaw
post where the inhabitants had to flee in a hurry. Why would our guys
desert this place in such a rush?”

“I don’t know, but I need to find the fuel cells and see what we are

working with,” August replied. “I might need one from the Onyx.

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

This place looks like it hasn’t seen life for a while and the cells may
be no good.”

“Just remember,” Vane said. “We need those cells to get the hell

off of this rock. Just use one for your experiment.”

August nodded. He wanted to find out what happened here, but

not at the expense of them becoming stranded on this planet. Their
food supplies were on the Onyx, but there wasn’t enough for a long
stay. He knew that they were supposed to stop for supplies on Paktil,
so that told him right there that they were already low.

“Go get me a cell,” August said to Reno and knew right away that

the he had offended the weapons specialist. He inwardly groaned.
August wasn’t a prick. He really wasn’t. But growing up in a
boarding school for the psychologically gifted, he really hadn’t
learned any social skills and his manners sucked. His teachings were
deeply submerged in developing not only his gifts, but his
intelligence.

Which left him socially awkward. That, in short, was why he kept

to himself and used barbs and snappy comebacks. It was a defense
mechanism. But he was by no means a pushover, either.

“Who in the fuck do you think you’re talking to like that?” Reno

asked. His lips had thinned and his forehead creased to the point that
the man looked like he had one long eyebrow. “What do I look, your
damn fetching boy?”

August ignored him and headed for the Onyx. He wasn’t going to

stand there and explain himself. Let the unit think what they wanted
about him. August didn’t care. As much as he wanted to be a part of a
group, to be accepted by these men, he wasn’t going to bow down to
them.

As soon as he was standing outside of the mess hall, and knew he

was alone, August concentrated. The ship was two hundred yards out,
a large scrap of metal at the moment, useless. He thought of the fuel
cells he had seen in engineering, their location, and their layout. He

Rings of Sapphire

focused on one in particular and then used his gift to pull it from its
resting place.

The cell materialized at his feet.
“Handy trick.”
August spun around to see Ryan standing behind him, a tight

smirk on his face. His eyes dropped to the fuel cell and then slowly
rose to stare right at August’s face. “From what I read of your file,
you never told them you were a Sayak.”

August cursed under his breath, wishing he had just walked his

lazy ass to the ship and retrieved the cell by hand. “That’s because I
never wanted them to know.”

Ryan leaned against the rusted building, his arms crossed over his

chest. “Because Sayaks are highly sought after or because you want to
use your gift for nefarious reasons?”

“You wouldn’t understand.” No one did. Anytime someone found

out what he was, August found himself on the run. Governments used
Sayaks for gain, locking them up in a suite and forcing them to
forecast the stock market—which incidentally August sucked at.
Black marketers used Sayaks to steal whatever they were after,
knowing all August’s kind needed was to know where the object was,
and wham, it was right there in front of them.

He was tired of being used. August just wanted to be one of the

guys, normal, accepted for who he was, not what he could do.

“You’d be surprised about what I understand.”
He doubted it.
“Now what?” A tight knot formed in August’s stomach. He

prayed Ryan didn’t exploit him. If the human thought August was
going to use his powers as his own, the man had another thing
coming. He would get off of this rock and run. He wasn’t going to be
used again.

“Nothing.” Ryan shrugged. “This can stay between the two of us.”

The lieutenant moved closer, his eyes narrowing to tiny slits. “But I

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

don’t like being deceived. We are after some of the worst scumbags in
the universe. I would like to think I can trust my unit.”

August was hesitant to believe the lieutenant. Everyone exploited

him when they found out who he was.

Everyone.
He hadn’t run into an exception yet. “You won’t tell anyone?”
“Your secrets are your own. But if we are in this together, I would

like to know the advantages I have on my side.”

Reluctantly, August reached out and shook Ryan’s hand.
He prayed he wasn’t making a mistake.

Rings of Sapphire

Chapter Two

August glanced around the quarters he had seized for his own.

The place was a dump. But none of the other quarters looked any
better. He dropped his bag on the floor, pulling the sheets from the
bed and tossing them into a corner, watching the dust fly up into the
air and then settle quickly on the floor.

He grabbed the sheets he had brought with him from the ship and

made the small cot. At least one thing in this room was clean now.
Kicking his boots off, he finally settled into bed, ready for a long nap.

It had taken them hours just to get one of the many generators

operational. It was enough for them to warm the barracks and give
them some light. Once everyone had enough rest, they were going to
work on the ship, repairing the damage as best they could.

Until that time came, August was taking his ass to sleep. He

tucked his hands behind his head, crossed his ankles, and closed his
eyes. He could feel his body slowly relaxing as sleep began to pull
him under.

But the quasi-drowsy state was quickly pulled away from him

when August heard shuffling noises overhead. Keeping his eyes
closed—making whoever or whatever was watching think that he’d
had fallen asleep—he listened closely.

There was a slight creaking noise that reminded August of hinges

that had been dormant for a long while, protesting being put back to
use. Someone was in the air shaft above him. Whoever it was picked
the wrong person to fuck with.

Without moving a muscle, August inhaled the scents surrounding

him. He smelled a heavy layer of dust, heated coils from the generator

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

that hadn’t been used in a long while, and an Andronian—the fiercest
creatures to walk this side of the galaxy.

August mentally assessed the weapons he still had strapped to his

body, anticipating a fight to the death. Andronians were large
creatures built for mass destruction. Their body height ranged
anywhere from five foot eleven, to seven and a half feet.

Using audio only, August tracked the creature’s movements. The

Andronian made no noise, which was surprising. The only thing
August had to work off of was the displacement of air. Wherever the
creature moved, dust particles were disturbed.

His body tensed and August’s fingers itched to grab a weapon. He

knew exactly which knife he was going to use. It was seven inches
long, made of Kulackian steel—the strongest metal forged—and was
serrated on both sides to ensure the maximum amount of damage
could be caused.

As soon as August sensed that the enemy was standing right next

to his cot, he moved lightning fast, throwing the creature to his bed
with a knife pressing at the man’s throat. His fangs were bared
threateningly.

He blinked a few times, his mind unable to register what he was

seeing. The person beneath him was definitely Andronian. August
could tell by the distinctive purple rings circling around the man’s
black irises.

But the stranger did not have the musculature August would’ve

thought belonged to the fierce race. He wasn’t freakishly large with
muscles nor was he tall. From what August could see, the man was
merely five foot five and a half inches in height and thin as a rail.

Although the man was an anomaly, August was not letting down

his guard. “Who the fuck are you?” August snarled the words, putting
the maximum amount of intimidation in his tone.

“S–Sapphire,” the guy answered in a squeakish tone. With his

arms crossed over the man’s chest, August could feel Sapphire’s heart

Rings of Sapphire

racing out of control. He could also smell the fear, the phosphorus
scent filling not only his lungs, but the entire room.

The Andronian was scared shitless.
“Why did you creep into my room?” August eased the knife back

but kept the blade close to the man’s throat.

“I was curious,” Sapphire answered as his eyes flickered

everywhere, purposefully avoiding August. “I heard noises and
wanted to see who was here.”

August leaned back, straddling the man’s slim waist, keeping him

pinned to the bed. “This place is deserted and the temperature is
below freezing. How did you get here and how have you survived?”

August sheathed his blade, already deeming Sapphire

nonthreatening.

“Who are you guys?” Sapphire countered with a question instead

of an answer.

“Your worst enemy if you don’t answer me.” August leaned

forward, placing his left hand next to the man’s head, baring his long
fangs. “Talk.”

Sapphire visibly swallowed as he gave a small nod. “I’m not sure

if you know about Andronians, but my race isn’t the nurturing type.
I’m what they refer to as a birth defect because I’m not tall and strong
like everybody else. My uncle, in his infinite wisdom, dropped me off
here on this planet to stop the others in my village from killing me.”

“Are you venomous?” August pulled at Sapphire’s mouth,

checking for the poison-filled sacs that lined the inside of an
Andronian’s mouth. He released the man’s jaw when he saw that the
sacs were absent.

Sapphire really was an anomaly.
August wasn’t sure what to think. He’d never run across an

Andronian this small or nonlethal. He wasn’t sure whether to release
the man or slice his throat and be done with the matter.

“I told you I’m a walking birth defect,” Sapphire replied. “I’m

about as deadly as a fly.”

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

August suppressed his chuckle, slightly amused at the tiny guy’s

indignation. “You still haven’t told me how you survived on this
planet.”

“By the skin of my teeth and just plain dumb luck. My uncle left

me with a duffel bag of supplies and food before he abandoned me.”

Perplexity filled August. How could the guy go from indignation

to witty charm in the blink of an eye? He was actually smiling at
August. Who smiled at him? August made sure he gave off an aura of
lethality every second of every day.

Either Sapphire was dimwitted or he lacked self-preservation.

Those were the only two options August could think of. “I’m going to
let you up, but if you try anything, I’ll pin you to the wall with a knife
through your heart.”

His brows furrowed when Sapphire gave him a hearty salute. This

man wasn’t drinking from a full cup of Brilliam tea. Easing back,
August stood. “You are my prisoner until I let the other men know
that you are here.”

So much for a quiet life. August wasn’t even sure why he was

making Sapphire his prisoner. He could hand the tiny man off to one
of the other men, but something was stopping him from hauling the
guy out of his room.

“So, nice place you have here.” Sapphire glanced around the

room. “The dust is a nicely added touch.”

August moved to the door. It didn’t look like he was going to get

any rest so he might as well go check out the busted computers in the
communication building. He needed something to occupy his hands
as he worked things out in his mind.

“Come.” August snapped his fingers and pointed toward the door.
Sapphire rolled from the bed and joined August at his side. “Do

you honestly think me a threat?” The skepticism was thick in the
man’s tone.

“I trust no one.” August strode from the room and headed toward

the communication building. That quickly he had forgotten the

Rings of Sapphire

subzero temperatures of this planet as the heat was pulled from his
skin by the frigid air.

“Where are we going?” Sapphire chirped as he skipped alongside

of August.

Yes, the freaky little man fucking skipped.
August grunted. It was better than answering and better than

popping the Andronian over the top of the head. Who in the hell
skipped?

“So, who are you guys?” Sapphire asked. “Did you come here to

rescue me? I’ve been here for a while and I had kind of given up on
the thought of being rescued but I suppose anything is possible.
Although, after everyone left so fast, I didn’t think anyone would be
coming back here. This place is kind of off limits, or at least I think
it’s off limits. No one ever comes here so it’s probably off limits. Do
you think it’s off limits because—”

The rest of Sapphire’s words were muffled under August’s hand

as he pinned the guy to the wall. He curled his lip back, revealing one
sparkling-white fang. “No talking,” he said in the thickest menacing
voice he could muster.

Sapphire’s eyes widened as he nodded quickly.
August slowly removed his hand from Sapphire’s mouth, unsure

if he should trust that the man wouldn’t speak. When Sapphire tucked
his lips in and didn’t make a sound, August moved back another step
then turned and started heading for the communication building once
again.

He couldn’t hear Sapphire walking behind him but he knew the

man was there. The displacement of air was just enough to make him
aware of the fact that the little guy followed right behind him…and
how right behind him Sapphire was made August nervous. He didn’t
like people being at his back, at least not that close. If he stopped
suddenly, Sapphire would plow right into him.

Without looking, August reached back and grabbed the collar of

Sapphire’s shirt, yanking him forward. He’d feel a whole hell of a lot

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

better if he could see the Andronian at all times, at least until he
decided if Sapphire was a true threat or not.

The second they walked into the building, August pushed

Sapphire into a chair by the door and headed for the wall of monitors.
He could already feel his fingers starting to itch with the need to take
everything apart and figure out how it worked.

Gods and goddesses, he loved technology.
August started with the monitors first. If he planned to get the

computers up and running, he would need the monitors so he would
know the computers were viable. The computer screens were fairly
standard, nothing spectacular about them. They were typical Tronos
equipment—which told him that the people who’d been stationed here
weren’t that important. August knew within minutes that they were all
in working order and just needed some juice to work properly.

The computer was another story. After trying unsuccessfully to

get the damn thing booted up for over two hours, August admitted to
himself that he needed to take the damn thing apart and figure out
what was wrong with the hunk of metal scrap. It was getting power,
although that was limited, and he could find no discernible reason
why it wouldn’t boot right up. As far as he could see, everything was
in place, right where it should be.

“Fucking piece of shit,” August grumbled as he slammed his sonic

screwdriver down on the floor next to him. It was just a machine.
They were all built relatively the same way. They had circuits, nuts,
bolts, wires, motherboards…you plugged it in and it turned on. On
rare occasions, there was a little more involved, but that was usually a
software problem. This infernal machine didn’t even want to turn on.

August growled, raising his hand to slam it down on the top of the

computer consol. He jerked back when he felt slim fingers wrap
around his skin. In the blink of an eye, he had his knife out, Sapphire
pinned to the ground, and his blade held against the man’s throat.

August glared down at Sapphire for a moment as he tried to rein

in his instinct to protect himself by maiming the small Andronian. His

Rings of Sapphire

heart was thumping hard in his chest and yet he knew not a sign of it
showed on his face or in his stiff posture. August had years to perfect
his features and the mask of calm he always wore. No one except him
would ever know he had just about screamed like a girl when
Sapphire grabbed him—especially not Sapphire.

“That was a very stupid move,” August gritted out through his

teeth as he slid his knife back into its hiding place inside of his boot.
“Don’t sneak up on me again or I won’t stop next time.”

Sapphire’s hard swallow was audible. The rings circling his irises

seemed larger, almost obliterating the black. When August sat back,
Sapphire scrambled to his feet, crouching down several feet away
from August. At least the man had the sense to look scared.

And why in the hell should that bother August?
“What did you want?” August snapped, probably a little harsher

than he should have, but he didn’t like feeling the way he was feeling.
So what if he scared the little Andronian? He shouldn’t care. But he
couldn’t dismiss the strange way his skin seemed to tighten whenever
Sapphire looked at him with fear in his eyes.

Sapphire slowly stood then walked over to a door on the far side

of the room. He grabbed the door handle with one hand and gestured
for August to follow him with the other one. Curious, August got to
his feet and followed. Why Sapphire wanted him to go into a storage
closet, he would never know—unless he followed.

“What are we doing in here?” August asked when Sapphire shut

the door, but his question was answered almost immediately when the
white overhead light flickered off and the small room was bathed in
fluorescent red light.

“What the fuck?” August exclaimed when he felt the floor

beneath his feet shudder. He quickly reached out and braced his hands
on the walls on either side of him.

The room was moving.
It only went on for a few seconds but August had the distinct

feeling of sinking into the ground. He knew that they were going

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

down, but down to where he had no idea. As soon as the room
stopped moving, August pulled his phaser out—just in case.

He cocked an eyebrow when Sapphire held a finger up to his

mouth then turned to open the door. Before Sapphire could step
through the doorway, August grabbed the smaller man and shoved
him back, moving in front of him. He had no idea where they were or
what they might be facing but he was pretty damn sure that they
weren’t supposed to be wherever here was.

It was some sort of tunnel. There were no lights and August could

feel a stale, cool breeze fanning toward him. His superior vision
allowed him to see in the dark, but there was nothing to see. The walls
were dirt-packed, as well as the floor. “Where does this lead?”

Sapphire quickly clamped his hand over August’s mouth. August

growled low in his throat and began to pull the hand away when he
heard a noise down the tunnel. His eyes darted over to Sapphire and
then back down the tunnel.

“You can’t talk so loud,” Sapphire whispered as he slowly

lowered his hand. “Their hearing is ultrasensitive.”

August was stumped. Just what in the hell was Sapphire talking

about? If the man had brought him down here as a sneak attack,
August was going to spill the man’s guts on the dirt floor. “Who?”

Sapphire’s eyes sparkled as he gave August a simple smile. “My

pets.”

August immediately went on alert, gripping the phaser in his hand

tighter. This was a deserted planet with an outpost that hadn’t been
used in a very long time from the looks of things. There shouldn’t be
any life forms living here—aside from Sapphire being dumped here
by his uncle.

“If this is some sort of trick—”
“It’s no trick,” Sapphire quickly answered. “I discovered them a

few days after I had been abandoned here. They are harmless. But I
noticed that when I talked loud to them, they tried to hurry away.”

Rings of Sapphire

August wasn’t sure if he wanted to find out who they were. He

had never met anyone who survived going past End of the Line. This
was uncharted territory—although this was an outpost for the
Federation—and he had a pretty good guess that the life forms were
undocumented.

There were only seven men in their unit—including Kurt, Ryan’s

mate—and Sapphire, a nonvenomous Andronian. If these pets proved
deadly, they didn’t even have a way to contact anyone.
Communication was down and the ship was being repaired.

August was damn good, but without knowing what he was up

against, he wasn’t going to take any chances. Reaching out, August
closed the door.

“What are you doing?” Sapphire asked. “I wanted to show them to

you.”

As soon as the door clicked shut, they began to ascend. “I am not

facing indigenous life forms without my unit. I don’t care how
friendly you claim them to be.” August hadn’t survived this long
being careless. He wasn’t buddy-buddy with the crew members, but
he knew he would need them when figuring out what lived below the
outpost.

“They didn’t hurt me,” Sapphire argued. “They acted like they

were glad I was here.”

August groaned at how naïve Sapphire truly was. The man was

asking to get killed by his pets. He remembered the way the mess hall
looked. The place had been abandoned pretty quickly. Had the last
crew left when they discovered what was down below or were they
killed by the inhabitants of this planet?

Until he knew, August was deeming this lift off limits.
“I am forbidding you from going back down there until I am one

hundred percent positive that they are not a threat.” He reholstered his
phaser as the lift stopped. August pushed the door open, waiting for
Sapphire to exit, and then slammed it shut. The metal echoed in his
ears. “Do not disobey me on this,” he said to Sapphire in a stern tone.

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

“You’re not my boss!” Sapphire shouted at him. “They are my

only friends. I will see them if I want to.”

The little Andronian was asking to get his ass spanked. August

was five seconds away from accommodating him when Reno walked
in. He came up short as his eyes skimmed over Sapphire.
“Stowaway?”

“PITA.”
Reno furrowed his brows. “What?”
August grabbed a heavy piece of equipment and began to push it

toward the lift. “Pain in the ass.”

“Am not!”
What the fuck happened to Sapphire being afraid of him? The

man was full of fire as he stood there glowering at August. He seemed
ready to battle in order to go visit his pets. “Go get Lieutenant
Devries,” he said to Reno. “We have a big problem.”

Reno looked like he wanted to argue. August knew the man didn’t

like taking orders, especially from a cadet. But to his surprise, Reno
turned and walked away. “I’ll be right back with the lieutenant.”

Well, that went pretty smoothly.
“You can’t keep me from seeing them,” Sapphire began to argue

again.

August spun around, gripped Sapphire’s upper arms, and gave

him a good shake. “I will not die on this godforsaken planet. Until I
deem them a nonthreat, you will do what the fuck I tell you to do. Do
I make myself clear?”

The scent of fear flooded the room as Sapphire quickly nodded.

Maybe the man had regained his senses. The purple rings around his
obsidian eyes seemed to glow darker as he stared up at August.
“Perfectly clear.”

Now if only he could believe the little shit.

Rings of Sapphire

Chapter Three

Sapphire was angry and scared in equal measures. He knew he

shouldn’t have shown August where his pets lived. That was his
problem. Sapphire continually trusted the wrong people. He should’ve
learned by now that the only person he could trust was himself.

He glanced around at the men who had gathered in the

communication room. Only one of them looked nonlethal. The guy
had been introduced as Kurt, and Sapphire knew right away that Kurt
was a merman.

Sapphire had never met a merman before. He kept staring at the

man’s gills that were on both sides of his head, right below his ears.
They moved as Kurt breathed, making Sapphire wonder if they
wiggled when he laughed. He’d have to ask…later, much later.

“Is that the only way to get down there,” Lieutenant Devries asked

Sapphire as he pointed toward the lift. “Can they get topside any other
way?”

Sapphire snickered. “They don’t take the lift.” They didn’t even

have hands. How could they close the door?

“What do they look like?” Rhys asked him. Sapphire was weary

of the medic specialist. He seemed a little too wound up, like he was
going to explode at any minute. How anyone lived like that amazed
him.

“They’re fuzzy.”
Rhys’s eyebrow arched in a disbelieving manner. “Fuzzy?”
“Yeah, you know, fuzzy.” Sapphire frowned as he thought about

his little pets. “I actually think it’s some type of fur because it’s very

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

soft to the touch, but I can’t be positive because I’ve never actually
seen one before this. It just feels like—”

“Wait! You’ve touched these things?”
“Of course.” How this man ever became a medic, Sapphire would

never know. He was a complete moron. “How else was I supposed to
pet them?”

Both eyebrows shot up this time. “You pet them?”
Confused as to how he was supposed to have pets without petting

them, Sapphire’s eyes slowly moved away from the medic, scanning
the room for August. As he passed the faces of the other members of
the unit, they all had similar looks of disbelief etched on their faces.
Only August didn’t seem surprised by what Sapphire was saying.

Nope, not surprised at all…he looked downright pissed.
“Um, yeah,” Sapphire replied as his eyes came back to the medic.

“I adopted them as pets so it only makes sense to pet them. I take care
of them, make sure they have enough to eat, that they stay warm, that
they’re safe. It’s what you do for a pet.”

Cheyenne Grant, the man August had introduced as the combat

specialist, suddenly started chuckling. “I just have to know, dude.
What could possibly make you adopt an undocumented species as a
pet?”

“Undocumented?” Sapphire gulped. “What do you mean

undocumented?”

“This entire region is undocumented, Sapphire,” Ryan said. “The

quadrant, the planet, even the space station. None of it is on any
maps.”

Sapphire stared for a moment then he started laughing. “You guys

are fooling with me.”

“No, Sapphire,” August said in the most sober voice Sapphire had

ever heard. It instantly made him listen to the man and dread what he
had to say at the very same time. “We are not fooling with you. This
place does not exist as far as most of the universe knows.”

Rings of Sapphire

“But that can’t be right,” Sapphire insisted as he started wringing

his hands together. The fantasy August was popping with his words
wasn’t one Sapphire was ready to give up. “My uncle knew right
where it was.”

If August was right, then that meant his uncle planned for him to

die here. Sapphire knew that he was considered a freak by pretty
much every member of his species and maybe every other species out
there. He even knew his uncle didn’t have much liking for him. He
just never thought the man—his only living relative—would
purposely plot his death.

“And I would be very interested in how he knew of this place,”

Ryan said. “But for now, the more important thing is learning what
type of creatures are here and why everyone left in such a hurry.”

Sapphire blinked back his tears, thankful that the subject at hand

had moved on. He didn’t want to think about his traitorous uncle let
alone talk about him right now. He’d have plenty of time to deal with
that betrayal later, when he was alone.

“I’m not sure why everyone left so quickly,” Sapphire said. “I

wasn’t sure I was really supposed to be here, you know. So, I was
kind of hiding. I heard a bunch of sirens going off. People were
screaming and yelling.” Sapphire shivered with remembered fear as
he pointed to his left. “There was an explosion off in that direction.
That’s where the medical bay is. There’s not much left now though.
The place was pretty much destroyed.” No one looked particularly
happy with Sapphire’s response, making him wonder if they blamed
him in some way for what had happened. “I didn’t do it,” he said
quickly as he took a step back. “I didn’t do anything.”

“We never said you did, Sapphire,” Ryan said as he took a step

forward, putting him closer. “I think we’re all just concerned about
what happened here, and how it might affect us now that we’re going
to be stuck here for a few days.”

Sapphire’s heart sank into the pit of his stomach as he glanced at

August out of the corner of his eye. “Only for a few days?” He had

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

kind of been hoping for more. While he really did enjoy his pets, it
was nice to have actual people to talk to. His pets didn’t talk. They
just made weird chirping sounds that he didn’t understand.

“We crash landed here, Sapphire. We didn’t land on purpose,”

Ryan said in reply to his question. “Once we get the ship up and
running, we have to return to our mission.”

Sapphire started racking his brain to come up with ways to keep

them here. It didn’t have to be forever, a week tops. He just wanted
real people to talk to. Sapphire would never admit it to anyone else
but he was starting to fear for his own sanity.

The chirps were beginning to make sense.
“But you can’t leave yet,” Sapphire said as he grappled with

something to keep their interest. An idea struck him and he went with
it. “You haven’t seen the cryogenic tubes.”

Jaws dropped in tandem, making Sapphire wonder if he should

have saved that little tidbit of information for later—or maybe never.
Granted, the tubes were empty, but something had been in them.

“What cryogenic tubes?” Rhys asked.
“The ones on sublevel three.”
Ryan’s eyes narrowed, his head cocking to one side in a

thoughtful, yet freaking scary, manner. “Just how many levels are
there in this facility?”

Sapphire shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t been here long

enough to explore them all.” Or break into them. The levels below
sublevel three were sealed up tight. As much as he tried, Sapphire
hadn’t been able to break the security code or find another way in. He
was working still on that. Even though this place didn’t have power,
the entrances were impenetrable. Maybe these guys could break in
and Sapphire could finally find out what was down below.

“How many levels have you explored?”
“The ground level and then sublevels one through three.”
Sapphire’s eyes widened, his head slowly turning as a low

rumbling growl started to vibrate the air. August’s dark eyes looked

Rings of Sapphire

like a thunderstorm was raging through them, and they were pinned
right on Sapphire.

“You will not explore any more sublevels before they are

cleared,” August snarled. His eyes flashed with the threat that
matched the menacing tone in his voice. “Is that perfectly clear?”

Sapphire nodded rapidly. He would have agreed to just about

anything in that moment. Sapphire was an Andronian by birth. He
might not look like one but he had certainly grown up around them.
He knew a predator when he saw one. On the evolutionary food
chain, August was somewhere near the top. Sapphire barely registered
as a snack.

“Yes, August.”
Just as soon as the words were out of his mouth, the air of danger

that seemed to surround August started to dissipate. Sapphire
swallowed his sigh of relief when he saw August suddenly stiffen. He
instantly scanned the immediate area with all of his senses, looking
for the threat. When he didn’t detect anything out of the ordinary,
beyond the strangers standing in the room, he glanced back at August,
wondering what in the hell was going on.

August just stared at him in the oddest manner then spun on his

heel and stormed out of the room. Sapphire started to go after the man
until he realized that he had started to go after the man.

Was he out of his fucking mind?

* * * *

Was he out of his fucking mind?
He had to be. There was no reason in this universe, or any other,

that he should get so fucking angry at discovering how irresponsible
Sapphire had been. He doubted the man even had a weapon when he
explored those sublevels.

He could have died, or worse. And August had been around long

enough and seen enough of the known universe to know that there

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were a lot of things worse than death. There were things out there that
would make any sane man beg for death.

He didn’t want that for Sapphire.
He just didn’t understand why.
The man was a pest at best. He asked too many questions and got

into too much trouble. August hadn’t been kidding when he said that
Sapphire was a pain in the ass. But if he caught him exploring again,
Sapphire was going to be the one with a pain in his ass—from the flat
of August’s hand.

And why did the thought of spanking the rail-thin Andronian

make his cock ache so damn much? That right there might be what
freaked August out the most. He could take crash landing on some
forbidden and uncharted planet. He could take discovering a secret
space station that had been abruptly deserted. He could even take
undocumented fuzzy pets that may or may not be deadly. What he
could not take was being attracted to a little wisp of a man that drove
him freaking insane.

The whole yes thing was confusing…and aggravating as hell.

August glanced around then quickly reached down and thumped his
aching cock, wincing. One simple word out of Sapphire and he had
gone as hard as Kulackian steel in one full second. That had to mean
he was insane, didn’t it? He had finally lost his marbles, fallen into
the abyss of insanity? Plenty of people said yes to him. Some of them
even meant it. But no one had ever gotten the reaction out of August
that Sapphire did with that one little word.

He had half a mind to storm right back into the control room and

demand to know what Sapphire was up to. If he believed in curses,
Sapphire would be the top ingredient. The man was created to fuck
with August’s mind and strip away years of honing his skills at
ignoring people and not letting anything or anyone affect him.

Frustrated at his lack of control, August stepped outside for much-

needed air. He could also use the cold to deflate his erection. He
hunched his shoulders, heading toward the ship. Maybe he could

Rings of Sapphire

work on the bucket of bolts for a few hours to relieve the stress that
was building inside his muscles. A hot shower would be nice, but that
wasn’t an option at the moment. He would use precious cells and
August refused to get stuck on this rock because he was tense.

Halfway to the ship, August’s head began to throb. It wasn’t a

full-blown headache, but the low thrum wasn’t pleasant either. It felt
like a massive hand was cupping the back of his head, squeezing
gently. This had happened before. Anytime someone—August
stopped walking, turning his head slowly and glancing up toward the
sky filled with millions of stars. He squinted, but didn’t see anything
amiss.

But he also knew that didn’t mean a damn thing.
August turned on his heels, racing for the building the other men

were currently in. He crashed through the door, seeing the men
immediately jump up, their hands on their weapons. “Someone is
coming.”

“How do you know?” Reno asked. Ryan locked eyes with August,

studying him for a moment, and then nodded. The guy believed him.
He was glad he wouldn’t have to stand there and explain things that
he didn’t want to explain. One person on this crew knowing his
species was bad enough.

“How much time do we have?” the lieutenant asked.
The throbbing in August’s skull was increasing. “An hour, maybe.

Hostiles.” He blinked past the pain—the only indication he gave that
his head felt like someone was slapping it with a wooden bat. His
eyes swung over to Sapphire, who was huddled close to the wall. He
looked like he was ready to bolt from the room.

“The ship is useless,” Vane stated. “It wouldn’t be a good place to

hole up.”

Cheyenne walked outside, and then came back a minute later. “I

don’t see any ship. How do you know someone is coming?” His tone
was accusatory, his eyes studying August just a little too hard, like he
could glare the answer out of August.

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

“It doesn’t matter,” Ryan answered for him. “We should get

whatever we need from the ship and haul ass down to the sublevels.”

“But we don’t even know what’s down there,” Cheyenne argued.

“You want us to use a place we know nothing about to set up camp?”

Walking across the room, August grabbed Sapphire around the

wrist and started walking toward the lift he had just barricaded. He
couldn’t believe he was going to step foot back in that death trap. But
what choice did they have?

August could feel the hostility coming from the unknown ship,

and knew they were dealing with either black marketers, or some
other nefarious outlaw group. Those types of people weren’t known
for their kindness and good manners. They cut throats first and didn’t
even bother asking questions later, because they just didn’t care.

Besides, he couldn’t get a lock on how many there were, so taking

cover and assessing the enemy while hidden was the better option.

“Get moving!” Ryan shouted the order, the men scrambling to get

to the ship. There wasn’t anything he needed from there, so August
decided to head down below.

“I’m going to the fourth level,” he said to Ryan. “Tell whoever is

last to disable the lift. We don’t need to be found.”

Ryan moved closer, out of earshot of everyone. The lieutenant

seemed to disregard Sapphire, as if he wasn’t important enough to
even consider. August knew Ryan’s reputation said he was a good
man, and so far, he hadn’t done anything to contradict popular
opinion. But the way he deemed the Andronian unimportant pissed
August off. “What else can you tell me about the approaching ship?”

August lifted his hand, rubbing at his throbbing head. He briefly

considered making Sapphire go to the other side of the room so he
could talk in private, but August didn’t want the man leaving his side,
not when enemies were approaching the planet. “They aren’t friendly,
Ryan. If I can feel the maliciousness from this far away, then things
are going to get bad pretty damn fast.”

Rings of Sapphire

“Reno and Cheyenne are grabbing what food supplies we have.

Vane is grabbing the rest of the cells so they’re not stolen. But he
won’t be able to get them all in time. Can you”—Ryan finally looked
at Sapphire—“do your thing and get them down to sublevel four?”

“I’ll do my best.” August should be pissed that Ryan was already

asking him to do things with his gift. But he wasn’t. He knew the
gravity of the situation and Ryan asking was something he would
have done himself if the shoe was on the other foot.

August began to head toward the lift once more, noticing that

Sapphire was staring at him, hard. “What?”

“You’re different, too, huh?”
August let out a long breath. “Yeah, I guess I am.”
“Does that make us friends?”
“Hardly,” August replied and then felt like crap when Sapphire’s

face shut down. Again, he had no manners and his socials skills
sucked. He wasn’t sure how to make that hurt look go away. “But I
don’t see why you can’t stick by my side.”

The little Andronian seemed to perk right up. “Well, I already

knew that. You made me your prisoner, remember?”

But that was only until the other men were aware of Sapphire.

August started to point this out but left it alone. For some bizarre
reason, Sapphire looked happy at the prospect of being his prisoner.

Guy doesn’t have a full set of marbles.
They both worked to get the lift clear, and then August stepped

inside. He waited for the Andronian to enter before he closed the
door. “This is a very bad idea,” he mumbled to himself.

“I can get my pets to help!” Sapphire seemed to bubble with

excitement at the thought of assembling his pets and readying them to
fight. August was not the least bit enthused. He still didn’t know what
kind of furry pets the man had and right now was not the time to find
out.

“No.”
“But—”

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

“No.”
“You won’t even—”
“No.”
Sapphire finally gave up, crossing his arms over his slim chest,

glaring at the wall as if the steel paneling had slighted him. The lift
continued to descend into the bowels of hell, the lights occasionally
flickering. August had to stop himself from chuckling at the miffed
look on the man’s face. His humor quickly fled when the lift came to
a stop. Even Sapphire’s angry expression was forgotten, replaced by
fear as the door slid open.

The air was even cooler down here, but there wasn’t an earthy

smell, nothing stale, nothing dirt-like. The floors were made of
concrete, the walls covered in a paneling of steel. Whatever was
hidden down here wasn’t meant to be found by anyone other than
authorized personnel. This only made August want to explore, to find
out what the Federation had been hiding in the depths of this planet.

Pulling the phaser from its holster, August stepped out of the lift.
“Give me a knife,” Sapphire said as he quickly moved behind

August, so close that he could feel the man’s warm breath on the
middle of his back.

“Not in this lifetime.”
“Oh, come on!” Sapphire argued. “What if there is some man-

eating creature down here? How am I going to defend myself?”

“Just stick close.” August moved down the corridor, making sure

it was clear before he turned toward PITA. “Keep your eyes open. I
need to do something.” He was running out of time. August needed to
summon those fuel cells before it was too late.

“I’ll hold your phaser for you.”
August gave him a droll stare. “Nice try. Now be quiet so I can

concentrate.” He didn’t really need total silence, but Sapphire was
still affecting him in ways he didn’t want to examine too closely.
Closing his eyes, August pictured where the fuel cells were located.
One by one, they began to appear at his feet. Vane would notice this,

Rings of Sapphire

and August knew once the pilot was down here, the inquisition would
begin.

“That is so freaky,” Sapphire whispered. “Can you make a pot of

Orillian stew and a jug of ale appear? I’m starving.”

August’s mouth twitched at Sapphire’s request. No one had ever

asked him to use his gift for food. It seemed harmless enough. He
thought of his favorite restaurant on Paktil, but instead of an entire
pot, he summoned two bowls. He didn’t like taking without paying,
and promised himself that the first chance he had, he’d pay the
restaurant for his stolen food.

The aroma of stewed meat filled the air and Sapphire gasped. “I

was only kidding. Well, not really, but how did you get this? Did you
steal it? Stew doesn’t just magically appear. You had to get it from
somewhere. I feel bad for whoever—”

Once again August was placing his hand over Sapphire’s mouth.

“Just enjoy it. I know the owner and he won’t mind.” If he even
noticed it was gone. It seemed that Mryke had outdone himself. The
stew smelled so good that August grabbed one of the bowls and dug
in. It didn’t go unnoticed that Sapphire protested thievery. The man
had no idea how many brownie points he’d just scored with August.
Once their bowls were clean, August hid them and then grabbed his
phaser once more, moving further into the sublevel.

“If these doors are anything like the other ones, then we won’t be

able to open them.” Sapphire moved right alongside August, his steps
measured as his eyes constantly flickered around the hallway. “It’s
creepy down here.”

This whole damn planet was one big creepfest to August. Nothing

seemed right, everything a clue he didn’t have answers for. August
came to a stop when they rounded a corner and he spotted a big glass
window.

“Oh, wow.” Sapphire breathed the words out. “The other levels

didn’t have glass rooms.”

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

He began to move forward, but August stuck his arm out, holding

the man back. “Not so fast, Sherlock Holmes.” He thought he would
have to explain who the famous detective was, but Sapphire didn’t
ask.

“How are we going to know what’s in there if we don’t look?”

The excitement surrounding the small Andronian was tangible.
August was pretty sure he could reach out and feel the electrical
currents swirling thickly in the air around them.

“Very carefully, that’s how.” He edged closer, his back to the

steel paneling, his weapon snug in his hand. “Stay right by my side.”

“Yes, sir.” The man had said it sarcastically, but August’s cock

didn’t know the difference. It jerked in his pants, hardening slightly at
those two little words. He shook his head, clearing thoughts he
shouldn’t be having while investigating the unknown.

As they slowly approached the large plate glass, August moved

his head just inches to view what was inside the room, letting out an
audible gasp.

Rings of Sapphire

Chapter Four

“What is it?” Sapphire asked, holding his breath and imagining

the worst. Gasps were never a good sound. They usually indicated
nightmarish things were coming. At least, that’s what Sapphire’s
experiences had taught him.

“Fucking heaven.”
He didn’t understand what August was talking about. “What do

you mean?” Sapphire let out a loud gasp himself when he stepped
forward and saw the bounty of the room on the other side of the glass.
If he had known this was here, he never would have even investigated
the upper levels. He would have been right here the entire time.

“Wow.” Sapphire splayed his hands out over the tempered glass

as he peered at all of the shiny robotic parts and expensive equipment
with something akin to total awe. “Do you think those are the new
A137s?” Sapphire shivered just thinking about the possibility. “I
heard that they have a level-five intelligence with a programmable
graphite communications port.”

“How did you know about the A137s?” August asked with a

mixture of suspicion and appreciation. “Those are supposed to be top
secret.”

Sapphire looked up at August with a smirk before glancing back

at the room filled with advanced technology. “Well, duh, anything
good is always top secret.”

“Then how in the hell did you know about them?”
“I read.” A lot. It was pretty much his only pastime. For one of

those fancy robots, he would definitely pick another pastime—like
playing with robots. “Man, could you imagine having one of those AI

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

robots to yourself? Just think of the things you could do with it. I’d
want one with at least a level-four intelligence and I’d have one of
those computer assisted biologically augmented genetic algorithms
installed. That would be so cool.”

Sapphire felt practically giddy at the prospect.
Turning away from the large window, August tucked his arms

over his chest as he looked cynically at Sapphire. “Like take over a
space station by creating a fake emergency cool?”

Sapphire blinked in confusion then turned to stare at August.

“Huh?”

“Just exactly what happened when everyone left?”
Wondering where the man was going with his line of questioning,

Sapphire slowly shook his head, his stomach filling with
apprehension. He didn’t like the look on the guy’s face. “I don’t
know. I told you that. I was hiding.”

August’s dark-grey eyes seemed focused, speculative. “Were you

really?”

Sapphire frowned as he turned to fully face the large man. He got

it that he wasn’t the sharpest tool in the box but he felt like he had to
be a complete idiot at that moment. He totally didn’t understand what
August was going on about, but didn’t like the expression on
August’s face. It wasn’t the least bit friendly.

August’s finger tapped the glass as he asked, “Or did you know

about these little beauties and want one?”

Sapphire’s breath faltered in his throat. “Want one what?”
August’s dark eyebrows slanted in a frown as he started to

casually walk around the hallway, except there was nothing casual
about the rigidness of his body. August was a predator ready to attack.
Sapphire could feel it in his bones.

He just hoped he lived through it.
“You seem to know an awful lot about those robots, Sapphire.

Why is that?”

Rings of Sapphire

“I told you. I read a lot.” Maybe he wasn’t the idiot. August

seemed to be asking the same questions over and over again. Sapphire
had told the truth and the truth didn’t change.

Unless August wanted him to say something differently.
Which begged the question of why. Sapphire quickly glanced

around the hallway, looking for any sign that they were being
monitored. Maybe August knew that someone was watching them and
he wanted Sapphire to say something different because of that. It was
the only reason he could come up with for the repeated questions.

When August’s slow stroll brought him closer, Sapphire stepped

back only to realize that the glass window was directly behind him.
He pressed back into the glass, his eyes darting around the hallway
once again as he looked for an escape route.

August suddenly stopped and leaned into Sapphire’s personal

bubble space, his hot breath blowing across Sapphire’s ear as he
whispered, “I can smell your fear.”

Well, there was a shocker.
“Look, you can have the robots.” Sapphire squeezed his eyes

closed as he spoke, wondering if that was the reason August had gone
all weird on him. “I don’t want one. I never really wanted one.
They’re all yours.”

The high-pitched squeak that fell from his lips as he was suddenly

spun around and trapped between the glass and August’s powerful
body was so unmanly that he knew he would have to give up his
macho club membership.

Sapphire could feel his cheeks heat up with embarrassment.
And it wasn’t all because of the noise he had made or even his

fear. If August could smell his fear, then the man could probably
smell how much Sapphire liked having the strong man pressing up
against him. Sapphire was just glad that he was facing away from
August. Irrefutable proof of exactly what he was feeling was smashed
against the glass as a pleasant knot of warmth filled his body.

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

“Let me go,” Sapphire protested halfheartedly. “I didn’t do

anything wrong.”

“That remains to be seen, Sapphire.”
Sapphire sucked in his bottom lip and bit down on it to keep from

groaning when he felt August’s callused hands start to move over his
body. He didn’t know what the man was searching for but whatever it
was, he could have it if he just promised never to stop touching him.

“Do you have any weapons on you?” Once again, August’s hot

breath blew out across Sapphire’s ear. Sapphire shivered, partly
because of those strong fingers touching him everywhere and partly
because of the low timbre in the man’s deep, whiskey voice.

“N–no, but—” Sapphire’s eyes popped open as he realized what

he was about to say.

He was a fucking idiot.
“But what, Sapphire?”
“Nothing!” There was no way in hell that Sapphire was going to

admit that he had been about to tell August he could continue
searching as much as he wanted.

He wasn’t that dumb.
Hard fingers tightened on his thighs. “No, you were going to say

something, Sapphire. I want to know what it was.”

No way, no how.
Sapphire pressed his lips together mutinously, even though he

knew August couldn’t see his gesture. It still felt good to at least
pretend like he was standing up to the overgrown ape.

“I always get what I want, Sapphire,” August said in a voice thick

with menace and dipped in acid. “Always.”

Sapphire shook his head. Nope. He wasn’t going to talk. Not

gonna happen. August could put bamboo shoots under his fingernails,
boil him in oil, stake him out in the desert, but he wasn’t going to talk.

A groan rumbled up his throat when he felt the full weight of

August’s body press him against the window. Honed muscles and
hard limbs kept him pinned, soaking into him like the heat of seven

Rings of Sapphire

suns. Sapphire knew there wasn’t even enough room between their
bodies to fit a breath of air.

August was the ultimate temptation.
The heat coming off his body was a physical caress, intimate and

exquisite. August smelled of danger and wildness and passion, all the
things Sapphire had never allowed himself to feel. His entire body
started to shake, his heartbeat a jackhammer against his ribs. August
made him hunger, made him feel raw inside, needy.

“Please.” Sapphire gave a frustrated little cry.
Okay, he’d talk. He’d sing. He’d fucking dance if that’s what

August wanted. He’d do whatever it took to get August to back
off…or come closer. Both ideas were torturous and both were
something Sapphire wanted more than anything he had ever desired in
his life.

“Tell me what I want to know, Sapphire, and this will all be over.”

August’s voice was a deep purr that rubbed against Sapphires insides in
a way that was disturbingly intimate, but there was a thread of steel
underlying his teasing words. The fingers that had been holding
Sapphire’s shoulder slid along his neck to linger on his jaw before
dropping off. “Tell me, Sapphire.”

Sapphire sucked in a breath but didn’t speak. He was teetering on

the edge of something and he was terrified that he was going to fall
over the edge into an abyss that he would be lost in forever.

“Tell me.” August’s words were a silky whisper against

Sapphire’s ear.

“I…I can’t.” He couldn’t remember the question.
August’s hand tightened on Sapphire’s hip, holding him still,

holding him in one spot. When August surged against him, Sapphire
groaned, the hard thickness of August’s arousal pressing against his
ass through his pants. August’s other hand fisted in Sapphire’s unruly
hair, tugging his head back until his neck arched, his thumb playing
absently over Sapphire’s heated skin.

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

Sapphire bit back a whimper, his resistance crumbling. He could

barely breathe through the sensations rocketing through his body. His
face burned with heat that had nothing to do with embarrassment.

A big hand flattened on Sapphire’s abdomen, bare inches from the

hard evidence of his own arousal. August leaned down to nuzzle at the
crook of Sapphire’s neck. “Tell me what I want to know, beautiful.”
August’s heated words were accompanied by a scrape of his sharp teeth
over the outer shell of Sapphire’s ear.

A muddled cry spilled from Sapphire’s throat as his body erupted

and released his load into his pants. It was the most intense orgasm
he’d ever experienced. As his abdominal muscles pulsed with each
shot, his ass contracted, wanting to be filled, pleasured.

Sapphire panted heavily as he leaned his head against the cool, hard

glass. He had just come from someone biting his freaking ear.

He was such a dork.
August’s grip tightened on him as the man pulled back slightly. He

inhaled deeply before asking, “Did you just orgasm?”

Sapphire no longer wanted to look at robots. He no longer wanted to

stand there and talk. The only thing on his mind was a nice, long nap.
“If that’s how you interrogate people, then no wonder you always get
what you want.” He followed his words up with a large yawn.

He heard a deep, soft chuckle. Was the man really smiling?

Sapphire glanced over his shoulder to see August looking at him
strangely. Not like he had before, with anger and suspicion, but more
like admiration and warmth.

“Son of a bitch!”
They both turned when they heard someone shouting by the lift.

Thankfully they were around the corner and no one could see Sapphire
and August. It gave him precious seconds to gather himself and try to
look presentable. There was nothing he could do about the stain in the
front of his pants. Gods, he wished he could shower. The cum was
turning cold and feeling pretty gross.

“You could have at least put these damn cells away!”

Rings of Sapphire

“What’s that smell?” someone else asked and for a second Sapphire

feared the men in August’s unit could smell his release.

“Is that stew?”
Sapphire breathed a sigh of relief. August moved away moments

before the men came around the corner, their eyes falling on the two
men before they flickered over to the glass window.

“Are those AI robots?” one of the guys asked.
Sapphire was relieved their attention was diverted. Now if he could

only find a way to change out of his pants.

* * * *

“They are,” August answered Ryan, but he couldn’t stop his eyes

from wandering over to the little Andronian. He was still baffled that
he’d made the man orgasm just by touching him. He had been trying to
find out if Sapphire had created an emergency to get the last inhabitants
off the planet so he could have the robots to himself, but never had he
thought the man would explode in August’s arms.

As he gazed at Sapphire, August noticed that the purple rings around

the man’s irises were twice as large. Was that because of his climax?
His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a metallic clink and then
Vane was prying the sealed door open. A rush of stale air blasted toward
them before the room was theirs to investigate.

Sapphire had grown quiet, pulling back slightly as the others entered

the room. August didn’t say a word. He just wrapped his fingers around
the man’s wrist and gently tugged until Sapphire was walking next to
him.

“Just what in the hell was the Federation up to?” Ryan asked as he

picked up a circuit board from one of the tables, turning it over and
looking at it. August went straight for the already-assembled robot that
stood in the center of the clean, white room. Releasing Sapphire’s hand,
he skimmed his fingers over the cool metal, searching for a way to turn
the thing on.

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

“Do you think whoever is landing on the surface knows these are

here?” Reno asked. “Because if they do, we aren’t safe on this level.”

“I want you and Cheyenne to secure the cells that were sitting in the

hallway,” Ryan said to Reno. “If trouble comes down here, I don’t want
them to destroy our only means off this rock.”

Sapphire moved closer when Rhys walked toward them, and August

found himself moving in front of the Andronian. He’d never tried to
protect anyone in his life, but at the moment, he didn’t want the medic
close to Sapphire.

What a damn strange reaction.
As Reno was leaving the room, he stopped dead in his tracks and let

out a long groan. August had no clue what the guy’s problem as until his
fingers slid over something metal on one of the tables. “I think I’m in
love.”

Cheyenne joined Reno and the widest smile August had ever seen

appeared on the man’s face. “No fucking way!”

“What?” Kurt asked. “What is going on over there?”
August watched as Ryan pulled the merman into his arms and

wondered what it would be like to hold—whoa! Was he just about to
think that? There was no way he was wondering what Sapphire felt like
nestled in his arms.

“There was talk a while back about creating a weapon with the

capability to neutralize a person’s nervous system, making it impossible
for that person to move if struck by the blast.” Reno picked up
something that looked like a sleek, archaic remote control that August
had once seen in one of his books that he studied. “I think they
succeeded.”

Ryan grabbed the device from Reno. “Then we don’t need to touch

it.”

“You drain all the fun out of a situation,” Reno argued before he and

Cheyenne walked out of the room in a huff. August agreed with Ryan.
If that thing could do what Reno claimed it could do, no one needed to
handle the damn thing. He shivered at the thought of being rendered

Rings of Sapphire

useless, watching his attacker as he lay there motionless, unable to
defend himself.

“I don’t understand what the Federation was doing here,” Sapphire

said under his breath. “It’s like a mad scientist lab filled with illegal
technology.”

August knew that the Federation was locked in battle over the belief

that AI robots wouldn’t have the morals and integrity that living
creatures were born with. They wouldn’t be able to differentiate
between a bad guy needing to be saved or a good guy needing to be
saved. It would calculate the logical outcome of the one most likely to
survive and save that person. Even if the fight was between an Elite
Force Officer and a criminal. There were too many uncertainties and
they had tabled the talk of allowing the production to take place.

It seemed someone thought themselves above the law. Having the

outpost on a planet in an uncharted region was a big clue.

“I’m not liking this, Ryan.”
“Yeah, me either.” August’s lip curled back when the lieutenant

glanced over at Sapphire. His eyes widened in confusion even as Ryan
gave him a puzzled frown then looked at Sapphire again. “Just how
many levels have you explored?”

“Oh, I’ve never been down this far.”
“So, no idea how many levels might be beneath us?”
Sapphire shook his head.
“Damn.” Ryan stared at the room as if he was in deep thought as he

rubbed his cheek on the side of his mate’s head. When August followed
the direction of Ryan’s gaze, he discovered that the man was staring at a
wall of computers.

“What are you thinking, Lieutenant?”
“Truthfully?” Ryan’s smirk was self-deprecating as he looked at

August. “I wish I had Zackary here.”

“Zackary?”
“Zackary Cortez.” Ryan’s grin grew. “The best damn computer

hack—uh, computer specialist in the galaxy.”

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

August didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Computer specialist?”
“His mom gets mad when you call him a hacker.” Ryan blinked

innocently. “She’d never give me another fruitcake if she found out
what I said.”

“Riiight.” August grabbed Sapphire’s wrist and took a step back.

Maybe he had signed on for the wrong mission. There were shallow
depths to the guy in charge, depths that frankly, August was afraid to
explore. “Sapphire and I are going to go check the security protocols on
the lift, see if we can temporarily disable them.”

“Well, before you do that, I need a hand with this computer. If I’m

right, and I think I probably am, that wall of computers is hooked up to
a central nervous system that goes throughout the entire complex. We
might be able to lock this place down from here.”

Okay, maybe he was wrong. Maybe the commander’s depths

needed a little exploring.

“Let me take a look.” August pulled Sapphire with him as he walked

over to the main console and sat down. “Sit,” he said to Sapphire,
pointing to the seat next to him. He didn’t want Sapphire out of his
sight. He’d deal with the why of that later.

August tapped a few buttons on the console then grinned with

satisfaction as the large monitor screens in front of him hummed to life.
August tapped a few more buttons then waited.

Sapphire gasped when the screens suddenly flashed with bright

colors then began to display codes and algorithms. “This thing looks
like it has advanced neural activity.”

“Advanced what?” Ryan asked.
“ANA,” Sapphire said. “A control unit, often called a control

system or central controller, manages a computer’s various
components. It reads and interprets the program instructions,
transforming them into a series of control signals which activate other
parts of the computer.”

“Okay, so where does this ANA thing come in?”

Rings of Sapphire

August grinned as he sat back and watched his baby teach the

commander a thing or two. Sapphire was just as smart as he was sexy.
He was—whoa! He’d done it again. August pulled his hand down his
face, trying to wipe away the thoughts he was having about Sapphire,
thoughts he shouldn’t be having.

“I’ve only read about this in theory,” Sapphire said, “but there’s

been talk of a super computer with ANA or advanced neural activity,
which mean that the entire computer, and any systems linked to it, are
run by a posotronic operating core that can think on its own.”

“You’re talking interactive kinetic intelligence here, right?”
“In a manner of speaking, yes. According to everything I’ve read,

advanced neural activity can only be brought about by the merging of
man and machine. And you can only do that when there is a central
mainframe with about a dozen humanoids in stasis hooked up to it.”

A cold chill swept through August. “Hooked up to something like

those stasis tubes you mentioned earlier?”

Sapphire nodded.
“Well, shit!”

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

Chapter Five

Sapphire did not like the looks he was getting. Just because he read

a lot and knew things did not mean he was a freak. “I could be wrong.”

Just then, a red light started flashing from a small panel by the door.

Big red letters displayed across all three of the big monitors. “Intruder
alert. Intruder alert. Intruder alert,” was repeated over and over again
in a very monotone female voice.

Personally, Sapphire thought a sexy male voice would have been

better.

August immediately started tapping away on the console. “Make

sure she isn’t talking about us. Certain computer systems have the
capability to suck all of the air out of a station if there is a threat. I
noticed sensor strips along the corridor and in the rooms topside. I’m
really hoping they are active.”

Sapphire’s eyes rounded as he swung his chair around and started

tapping away at the light-grey keyboard. It took him a few minutes to
work through all of the systems and the security guarding those systems
but by the time he found video surveillance, he was damn impressed
with whoever had built the system.

“It’s not us.” Sapphire wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad

thing. The damn place was getting very crowded. “A Nine Craft landed
on the surface about five clicks from your crashed ship.”

“Are they going after the ship?” Ryan shouted as he pushed up

between Sapphire and August, peering up at the computer screens.

“I don’t even think they see it,” Sapphire replied as he watched five

armed men disembark from the black marketer ship and head directly
toward the space station. “But they are definitely aware of this place.”

Rings of Sapphire

“Can you lock down all the lower levels—any level that should not

be accessible to anyone without a security clearance?”

Sapphire gaped at the man. “Including us?”
“No!” Ryan scowled as he pointed to the screen. “Them.”
“I knew that.” Sapphire felt his face flame as he started working his

magic on the computer again. He wasn’t a computer genius by any
stretch of the imagination. Computer systems just made sense to him.
He liked the way the programs worked, the codes needed to operate
them, the simplicity of it all.

He wished humans were so easily dealt with.
“Done,” Sapphire said after several tense moments. He pulled up a

three-dimensional schematic of the station. Unfortunately, it only
displayed the top level and the four sublevels—basically all of the levels
that had been explored.

It was almost like the computer wouldn’t acknowledge that more

sublevels existed until they were discovered, which was totally
impossible unless there were no more sublevels…or this really was one
damn smart computer.

Sapphire wasn’t sure what he was hoping for more.
He highlighted the different areas so that the commander could see

where they were, where everyone else was located, and what levels
contained what. There were still rooms on their current level that were
blank but again, Sapphire was pretty sure that was because the doors
hadn’t been breached there.

“Can you tell me if there are any weapons on this station?”
“I can try.” There were still some systems that Sapphire couldn’t get

into no matter how hard he tried. It felt like something was continuously
blocking his every move, steering him off in different directions.

But it also felt like the computer was helping him with the systems

he needed to access in order to keep the space station safe from
marauders. Any systems that weren’t pertinent, like the data files that
might explain why the station had been built in the first place, he
couldn’t access.

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

But that was ridiculous…right?
“There are schematics for some planetary defenses but they were

still being installed when everyone left.” Sapphire clicked a few more
buttons before he found the information he was looking for. “There is a
weapons locker on sublevels three and four. According to the computer,
they still retain their complete inventory.”

“Can you get me a list of that inventory?” Ryan asked.
“Sure.” One button later and the list of weapons—along with their

picture, location, quantity in stock, and their capabilities—were
displayed.

“Holy shit! Who are these fucking guys?” Ryan moved in a bit

closer, peering at the security screen, which made Sapphire inch back
just a hair. He really didn’t like sitting so close to other people. Well,
except August. He’d sit in the man’s lap if given the chance.

“What?” August asked.
The tip of Ryan’s finger tapped the holographic screen. “These guys

have three PS50 phasers.”

Sapphire spun his holographic screen to move the invading men in

a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree angle. From what he could see, they
were armed as if they were invading a small country, but he could see
the PS50s in the units’ hands. “But isn’t that…”

Ryan nodded. “Yeah, that’s the prototype. It’s not even supposed

to be in production yet.”

“It seems someone is well connected,” August said as he slid his

finger across a clear screen, and then suddenly some of the lights on
the schematic layout turned from green to red.

“What did you do?” Ryan asked.
“Locked down the lift.”
Sapphire watched as August studied the map, his dark-grey eyes

flickering all over the place, his expression one of deep concentration.
His fingers moved every now and again, and some of the green lights
turned red. He realized that August was learning the system.

Sapphire was extremely impressed.

Rings of Sapphire

He reached for the control that would zoom in on Reno and

Cheyenne, only to have his fingers accidently graze over August’s.
“Sorry,” Sapphire apologized as he felt the heat suffuse his body from
the touch.

August’s eyes slid to him and then back to the screen. He wasn’t

sure what the man was thinking since his face was inscrutable, but
Sapphire wondered if he was thinking about the hallway.

Sapphire was.
Hell, he was having a hard time concentrating on anything else.

Every time August looked at him, his body started to feel as if it were
being submerged in hot water. His skin was sweaty and his heart was
beating a little faster in his chest. Sapphire felt the need for the
world’s longest cold shower.

Most of the time Sapphire had been ignored growing up because

he was an outcast, an anomaly—a damn freak. It wasn’t until he had
become an adult that the others in his village had starting taking
notice, and not in a good way.

That’s when his uncle dropped him off on this dusty rock. He

wasn’t used to attention, not the kind August was giving him.
Sapphire was both thrilled and a bit intimidated by those enigmatic
looks.

A thought suddenly occurred to Sapphire. “I highly doubt the

Federation—or whoever it is behind all of this—is just going to cut
their losses. Do you think that maybe they are sending in mercenaries
to clear the place out so that they can get back to whatever it was they
were doing here?”

“That would mean—” The lieutenant looked a little green as his

eyes settled on Sapphire before he glanced over at August. “That
would mean that those men up there are here to kill all of us.”

“But we’re Elite Force,” August argued. “Are you telling me I

joined a unit that was highly expendable?” The man didn’t look the
least bit happy. As a matter of fact, Sapphire scooted back, afraid that
the man’s wrath would extend to him if he was in the way. “Un-

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

fucking-believable! And here I thought I was—” August’s jaw turned
to granite as he stood and stormed out of the room.

“That went pretty well,” Sapphire said as he glanced at the

doorway.

“How so?” the lieutenant asked.
“We’re still breathing.” Sapphire slid from his chair and walked

out into the hallway to see August pacing manically back and forth.
He was murmuring something under his breath and in a language
Sapphire didn’t understand. He wasn’t sure if he should approach the
guy or not, but he didn’t like seeing August so upset.

The guy had been nice to him. Okay, not so much, but he hadn’t

knocked Sapphire around or tried to kill him. That was an
improvement compared to what he’d gone through in his village.

“Is there anything I can do?” Sapphire asked hesitantly, hoping

August didn’t get pissed that his mumbling monologue was being
interrupted.

August’s dark-grey eyes snapped over to him and Sapphire

suddenly wished he’d stayed with the robots. The grey was dark,
deadly, and reminded him of a storm brewing in the night sky. “Why
the fuck do you care?”

Sapphire jerked at the man’s acerbic bite. But he didn’t back

down. He was used to being talked to that way and had become
partially immune to the acidic tone. “Because I’m your prisoner.”
Sapphire grasped at whatever came to mind. His social skills sucked.
“If something happens to you, who is going to boss me around?”

Pausing in his pacing, August looked taken aback by Sapphire’s

comment.

“Besides”—Sapphire hedged a little closer to the intimidating

man—“us misfits have to stick together or the normal people just
might take over the galaxy.”

An undignified snort left August’s kissable lips as his head shook

slightly back and forth. “Trust me, there is nothing normal about the
unit I am with.”

Rings of Sapphire

Sapphire was trying his best to connect to the stubborn man, but it

seemed August had an answer for everything. He was losing ground,
and fast. There had to be some way to get through to the Sayak.

Oh, Sapphire wasn’t stupid. He knew exactly what August was

when the man did his little trick with the fuel cells back by the lift.
But that didn’t matter to him. Sapphire had no intention of using the
man in any way. He knew what that was like.

“Okay,” he began. “Then if something happens to you, who will

give me another mind-blowing orgasm?”

That got the guy’s attention. If Sapphire wasn’t mistaken, an

inferno of desire shot through the man’s dark eyes. He even saw how
August’s chest expanded and contracted just a little faster.

“I don’t understand you, Andronian.” August’s expression held a

note of mockery as he stared at Sapphire, almost as if he was amused
by where his thoughts were going. “I’m pretty good at figuring people
out, yet you are a true puzzle to me.”

“Good. I wouldn’t want to be easy.” Sapphire winked at him.

“That would make things dull, don’t you think?” God, Sapphire had
never talked that way in his life! He wasn’t sure what had come over
him, but the insanity that seemed to be taking a hold of him was
getting August to pay attention to him.

The side of August’s tanned mouth twitched, his eyes growing

lighter, right before the man burst out laughing. Sapphire had never
heard such a melodic sound before. It was breathtakingly beautiful.

“You are very unique, Sapphire.”
Sapphire blinked at the guy, knowing he had to have heard him

wrong. A thick and deep accent had entered the man’s dialect and
August had just pronounced his name like say-fire. He had a feeling
he was getting a glimpse at the real man, a look without all the
firewalls and hidden veils.

He liked what he was seeing.
“I like to think so,” he said as he placed his hands on the small of

his back. Sapphire cocked his head to the side, gazing directly into

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

August’s eyes. “What if those sensors recorded what took place here?
What if we can find out why everyone fled the station?”

In one fluid motion, August’s eyes widened as he hugged Sapphire

tightly. “That’s brilliant thinking!” The guy was caught up in the
moment, Sapphire could tell because August didn’t seem the type to
give in to outbursts.

Suddenly the hallway became stifling as they stared at one another,

August still holding Sapphire in his strong arms.

“Simply brilliant,” the man murmured before his head lowered as

his tongue licked sensually across Sapphire’s lower lip. He wasn’t
expecting the move and had no idea it was coming, but there was no
way Sapphire was going to pull away. Not when it felt so right being in
the Sayak’s arms.

He placed his hands on August’s chest and Sapphire could feel the

man’s strong and powerful heartbeat against the palm of his hand.
Never before had he been kissed and it was the most aching kind of
tenderness.

One hand slipped to Sapphire’s lower back, the other cupped the

back of his head as August pulled him closer, pressing their hard bodies
together. His hands clenched as he felt the evidence of the man’s arousal
against his own erection

“Say-fire.”
A shiver webbed out through his body and had Sapphire ready to

give the man anything he asked for. The man’s body was pure heat and
sensation under Sapphire’s hands as August’s tongue probed at his lips
until Sapphire opened for the Sayak. He sucked in a breath when their
tongues began to mingle, dance around the other.

The action touched him on the most intimate level.
Sapphire made no move to halt August’s exploration. The guy’s

tongue and hands could do whatever the hell they pleased. Sapphire felt
like he had been starving his whole life, only he hadn’t known it. A
fierce hunger roared inside of him as August pulled him ever closer,
their bodies melding together.

Rings of Sapphire

“Get a room.”
Sapphire ripped himself out of August’s arms when one of the men

came around the corner, a glint of knowing in his eyes. When he turned
back toward the Sayak, August had once again pulled the veil back into
place, his features neutral. His expression was a stone mask of
indifference.

“We should see if we can find that data recording.” August’s tone

was professional, no nonsense, and Sapphire felt the cold creep back
into his body as the man moved away from him and headed back into
the computer room.

Sapphire stood there gasping, his chest moving rapidly as he tried to

breathe through the fire raging in his body. He didn’t understand how
August could go from hot to cold so quickly. His body was still
humming, still aching. Hell, he could practically still feel August’s lips
pressed against his, the man’s large callused hand wrapped in his hair.

Sapphire pressed his hand over his lips as he remembered August’s

kiss, knowing that he needed to forget it but doubting it would actually
happen. Even if it never happened again, Sapphire doubted he would
ever forget it.

Of course, if he could arrange for it to happen again, that would be

even better. Sapphire just needed to figure out a way to make that
happen.

He frowned as he watched some of August’s fellow soldiers come

around the corner. One of the men was the one that interrupted the most
spectacular kiss in the universe. The man just smirked when Sapphire
glared at him.

In that moment, Sapphire knew that the only way he was going to

get another one of those spectacular kisses was to make it happen away
from the rest of the Elite Force unit that had arrived with August.

And to make that happen, he needed to get rid of the mercenaries

that were apparently there to kill them all. Sapphire drew in a long
breath as he pushed his hand through his hair, brushing it back from his
face.

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

He had a very strong feeling that he was about to begin the fight for

his life, and it had nothing to do with the mercenaries attacking the
station. August Rycker was a stubborn-ass bastard. He wouldn’t be an
easy egg to crack.

Sapphire just knew he had to try. There was something about the

handsome Sayak that called to him on a soul-deep level, something he
had never experienced before. And Sapphire was terrified that if he
didn’t explore this overwhelming fascination he had for August, he
would never get the chance again.

Sapphire set his jaw and headed for the same room August was in.

Even if he couldn’t pursue things at the moment, he could still give in
to his need to be close to the gorgeous man. Whatever happened after
that was up to fate.

Rings of Sapphire

Chapter Six

August watched Sapphire walk into the room out of the corner of

his eye. He would have been aware of the man even if he had been
blindfolded. He could smell Sapphire, sense him. He knew every
breath the man inhaled, every flick of his eyelashes.

And he didn’t know why.
That uncertainty wasn’t something August was used to. He always

knew where he was going and what he was doing. Swimming in
uncharted waters was not something he was comfortable with.

August ground his molars together and turned away from the

tempting sight of the Andronian, determined not to let the sexy man
get to him a moment longer. He was here to do a job and he needed to
get his mind on that task.

He began tapping away at the keys on the console, his mind

slowly moving away from Sapphire and into the safer territory of the
mercenaries sent to kill them all. And he was a little freaked out that
he would prefer to deal with a group of armed mercenaries than a
venomless Andronian that was at least a foot shorter than him.

There was something seriously wrong with that.
“August,” Sapphire said, breaking into August’s silent pondering,

“I think they have a map to this place.” The man pointed to a tall
brown-haired mercenary standing in the middle of the group. “He
keeps looking at his vid-pad.”

“That’s not a vid-pad. It’s a portable communication link,” August

snarled as he peered closer, his upper lip curling back. His nostrils
flared with the depths of his anger. “Someone is feeding them
information.”

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

“Now?” Sapphire’s eyebrows peeked. “Right now?”
“Hell, yes, right now.” August tilted his head, confused by the

sudden grin that spread across Sapphire’s lips. “What are you
thinking?”

“I’ll tell you if it gets me another kiss.”
“Sapphire!” August snapped with a loud growl. He was not in the

least bit amused, mostly because he liked the idea. “This is not a
laughing matter.” August felt like a monster when the smile slid from
Sapphire’s face and the amusement drained from his eyes. “Just tell
me.”

When Sapphire tucked in his lip, August thought that the man

would remain silent, but Sapphire nodded as if he had made some sort
of decision about something, and then he started tapping away at his
computer consol.

A moment later, the mercenary with the com-link stopped and

started wildly tapping the buttons on his tablet. He waved it up into
the air, his face growing angrier. It suddenly dawned on August what
Sapphire had done.

“How long can you block that signal?”
Sapphire shrugged, his eyes avoiding August like looking at him

would be worse than facing off against an Orillian wildebeest. “Only
until whoever is sending the signal breaks my encryptions.”

“Can you reroute the signal and send it to this console?”
Sapphire’s eyebrows slowly climbed up his forehead as he

glanced at August. He stared for a moment then turned and started
working on the computer again, his purple-ringed eyes darting from
one monitor to another, codes rolling down each screen so fast that
August’s eyes hurt just watching.

The sound of Sapphire’s delicate fingers tapping away at the

keyboard was the only sound in the room beyond their breathing. It
was almost as if everyone was holding their breath, waiting to see
what Sapphire could do.

Rings of Sapphire

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Sapphire finally said as he

turned back to August and tapped the keyboard directly in front of
him. “Any signals sent to this installation will automatically be
rerouted to this computer console.”

“Sapphire,” Ryan said as he stepped between them once again,

“can you show me a schematic of the station again?”

Sapphire hit a couple of buttons, and the three-dimensional

blueprints of the station popped up on one of the monitors. “What are
you looking for?”

“I need to know if there’s another way to the surface besides the

lift.”

“Oh sure,” Sapphire said quickly. “I used the heating ducts to get

between levels.” Sapphire zoomed in on some large square metal air
ducts that led between each floor and from room to room. “You’ll
have to use the lift to get to sublevel three because I’m not seeing any
ducts on this level, but from there you should be able to get to the
surface.”

“What’s up, Ryan?” August inquired.
“I need you and Sapphire to stay here with Kurt and monitor these

screens. I need to have constant updates on what these guys are doing
and where they are at.”

“Because?”
“The rest of us are going to make our way through the air ducts to

the surface and get to their ship. I want to see if we can scavenge
anything that will help us get our ship up and running.”

August cocked an eyebrow at his commander. “And going to their

ship wouldn’t have anything to do with finding out why they are here
or who sent them, would it?”

If it didn’t, it should.
Ryan smirked as he pulled a small silver device. It was about two

inches long, a half an inch wide, and so thin that it looked almost
paper-thin. “Zackary gave this to me after I helped to clear the crew
of the Lady Blue.”

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

“What is it?” Sapphire asked, voicing the question floating around

in August’s mind.

“It’s a custom-designed vid-pad. When interfaced with any

computer, it will download its mainframe. Now, granted, you still
need to break whatever security measures are in place, but at least
you’ll have the time and opportunity to do so.”

“Damn.” August felt like his eyes were going to glaze over with

envy. “I have so got to meet this friend of yours.”

“If we get out of here alive, I’ll introduce you.”
Right. That would be the tricky part.
“Let me know when you are at the lift and I’ll make them

operational, but only until you reach sublevel three. After that, I’m
shutting them down again.” August turned as Ryan and the others
walked out of the room. It was deadly quiet now, nothing but the
sounds of machine beeps around them.

It was awkward as hell.
Sapphire stared at the console like it had the answers to the

universe, his body rigid, and his face inscrutable. August knew he had
hurt the man’s feelings, but he wasn’t sure what to do about that.

“That was pretty brilliant what you did,” he commented off-

handedly, wishing he had learned to interact with others just a little
better. That knowledge would come in handy right now. Instead, he
sat there fumbling for something to say in order to get the man talking
once again, to get that exuberant energy back.

Kurt was on the other side of the room, looking over the robots

lined against the far wall. Why aren’t you over there with him,
exploring the AIs? He hadn’t a clue. August wanted to be over there
with Kurt, checking out what the Federation had built, but he didn’t
want to leave Sapphire sitting here, feeling so downtrodden.

“Listen, Sapphire, I—”
“We’re at the lift,” Ryan’s voice crackled over the com-link

August had sitting to his right. As much as he wanted to explain to

Rings of Sapphire

Sapphire that he had no clue about relationships and romantic
interludes, it would have to wait.

They had their asses to save first.
“Get ready,” he warned to Sapphire as he released the hold on the

lift. The light turned green, signaling it was ready for use. They both
watched as the diagram showed it rising to a level higher and then
stopping. August counted to five—giving the unit enough time to
exit—before he shut it down once more.

Now he had all the time in the world to stick his foot further in his

mouth.

“Sapphire—”
The Andronian lifted a hand, stopping August from saying

anything further. He still wouldn’t look at August even as he spoke,
his eyes darting off just to one side of August. “I get it. I’m a feared
species that no one wants to deal with. I’m not your type. You prefer
women, but were just placating me when we kissed.” The man
continued to give August a list of reasons to why the man was being
rejected.

None of them were true.
“Just do me a favor and don’t leave me here when you get your

ship up and running. I’d appreciate a lift to the nearest populated
planet.” Sapphire turned away fully from him, his jaw firm as his dark
eyes that held the prettiest purple rings looked heavily at the screen.

This was his opportunity to end what hadn’t yet begun. August

could just agree with Sapphire and be let off the hook. So why did
that idea downright piss him off? “You think you got it all figured
out? You think you know me that well?” His words were spoken
softly, remembering that they weren’t alone. “You don’t know
jackshit.”

Sapphire strengthened his shoulders, making them rigid and

straight. “I know your type, August. You take what you want when
it’s convenient for you and then toss aside whoever it was you were
using when they serve no more use.”

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

“Is that—” August was stunned. He grabbed the back of the chair

Sapphire was sitting in and spun the metal around, making the
Andronian face him. “I don’t use people, Sapphire. I’ve had that done to
me enough to last me three lifetimes.” He was trying his best not to lose
his temper, but the stubborn set of Sapphire’s jaw was making him
insane with anger. “I’m a fucking Sayak. Using me is a given for most.
If you think that’s what I was doing to you, then…then fuck you.”

August got up, crossing the room in a quick stride. But he didn’t

walk over to where Kurt was standing. He moved to the opposite side,
seething at Sapphire’s accusation. How dare he! August had never used
another living soul in his life.

Since he was taken from his family and shoved into that institution,

August had been nothing but groomed for what he was supposed to do
with his gift. There were times he downright hated who he was. No one
ever befriended him just because they liked him. Everyone always had a
purpose, a motive, a reason behind being his friend or lover.

Sapphire was the first person who hadn’t found out his heritage and

tried to find a way to profit from it. Well, the guy did ask for food. But
August didn’t consider that using him. The man was just hungry. Ryan
knew what August was, and it was yet to be seen if he would use
August like so many had.

“I’m sorry,” Sapphire said as he walked up to August. “I didn’t

mean to say those things to you.”

“Then why did you?” he asked as he shuffled his feet, glancing over

to where Kurt was standing. The merman wasn’t looking at them, but he
could tell the guy had perfect hearing. To give the man credit, he looked
like he’d rather be anywhere but in this room with them.

“I’m used to people just taking,” Sapphire confessed. “I’m used to

my kind knocking me around and acting as if I’m the scum on the
bottom of their shoe.”

August turned his head toward Sapphire, feeling his eyes burning

with anger. “Have I treated you that way? Have I laid one hand on
you?”

Rings of Sapphire

“Then why didn’t you…” Sapphire glanced toward the ground as if

his shoes were very interesting.

“Agree to kiss you again?” August finished the man’s question with

certainty. “Give me a target and I’ll take the son of a bitch out. Give me
schematics and readouts, and I can have them figured out in a decent
amount of time. Give me something to steal with just the barest of
information and it’s yours. But shove a cute Andronian in my face and
I’m clueless.”

Sapphire looked stunned that August confessed a weakness, a

vulnerability. Yeah, he was just as stunned. It seemed he turned inside
out when this guy was near him. August wasn’t sure what to make of
that. He reached out, tucking Sapphire’s chin between his thumb and
index finger, tilting his head up.

“You are a complete enigma to me.”
Sapphire swallowed as he gave a subtle nod, the purple rings

expanding and then contracting. It was the strangest and most gorgeous
sight he’d ever seen. “I’m not exactly worldly when it comes to men,
either.”

“I’m gonna…” Kurt glanced around the room and then back over to

where August and Sapphire were standing. “Well, I was going to give
you two some privacy, but there isn’t anywhere I can go. Ryan would
kill me if I left the room, and all I see is a closet. Sorry, but I’m not
stuffing myself in there.”

Grabbing Sapphire’s wrist, August hauled the man toward the door

behind the computer console. “Shout if any alarms go off or if our unit
tries to contact us.”

Kurt nodded, a knowing look in his eyes before August opened the

door to see it was indeed a storage closet. But it had a lot more room
that Kurt had predicted. And even if it didn’t, August didn’t need much
room for what he had in mind.

August pushed Sapphire into the small enclosure, closing and

locking the heavy steel door behind them. Before Sapphire could even
turn around, August reached for his pants, unbuttoning them and

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

pushing them down off his feet. A moment later, he dropped to his
knees and pressed Sapphire up against the wall, sucking the man’s
hard cock deep inside his mouth.

“Oh, fuck, August, I’ve never…” Sapphire cried out above him as

his hips thrust forward, driving his cock deeper down August’s throat.
Sapphire’s hands clenched in his hair.

August didn’t know exactly how much experience Sapphire had.

He didn’t really want to know, but Sapphire seemed to love what
August was doing to him. And August knew he loved being the one
doing it.

August’s hands roamed over Sapphire’s body freely, as if they

truly were lovers, softly caressing him, arousing him, driving him to a
fever pitch. August took his time, his hands and mouth leisurely
mapping Sapphire’s body through his clothes.

“August, I can’t—” Sapphire cried out after only a moment. His

hips pumped furiously against August. Sapphire’s hands tightened in
August’s hair to the point of pain. August ignored the sharp tug and
sucked harder, his cheeks hollowing out at the force of his suction.

His reward came moments later when Sapphire stiffened and cried

out. Then tangy cream filled August’s mouth. August swallowed it all
down, licking the long shaft, then around Sapphire’s balls until he
cleaned up every last drop of the sweet liquid.

“August,” Sapphire said, his voice sounding all breathless.
“My turn.”
August tried to keep his breath steady as he worked his way

through the implications of Sapphire’s words. His heart went wild,
and blood rushed hot through his veins. A groan rose up in his throat
as arousal caught him in a vicious grip and shook him hard.

His body, of its own accord, melted into Sapphire’s as his shirt

was eagerly stripped from his body, his pants pushed down to his
knees. He felt an explosion of heat when Sapphire’s mouth pressed
against his naked skin.

Rings of Sapphire

Sapphire seemed to have a small obsession with August’s nipples.

His tongue licked over the twin peaks, rough, rasping his flesh.
August arched against Sapphire, needing more. When Sapphire kissed
his nipple, tugged on it, and teased it with his fingers, August thought
he might be able to come from that alone.

“Sapphire,” August moaned when Sapphire’s lips moved from his

nipples to his abdomen. He felt Sapphire’s tongue encircle his belly
button. He swirled his tongue, drawing patterns along August’s
sensitive skin.

Sapphire’s mouth moved further down. August’s breath caught in

his throat as he waited for Sapphire’s mouth to touch his hard cock.
He waited and waited. His whole being seemed to be filled with
waiting, anticipating, his hunger consuming him.

“Sapphire, please,” August pleaded as he humped his hips toward

Sapphire, an anxious groan falling from his lips. He gritted his teeth
when Sapphire just chuckled at him.

A moment later he felt Sapphire’s wet tongue lap against his

pelvic bone. August could almost feel the very air around him moving
over his sensitive skin. He felt flushed, hot, and needy.

August groaned.
His hands clenched in Sapphire’s dark-brown hair. He tried to

direct Sapphire to his aching cock. Sapphire just stuck out his tongue
and licked August’s balls then took each one into his mouth and
sucked them one by one.

“Sapphire!” August growled in frustration. Fire raced through

August’s body, melting him from the inside out

Sapphire’s extraordinary purple-ringed eyes blazed and glowed as

he glanced up and met August’s gaze. “Patience.”

August considered it but he really, really wanted to feel

Sapphire’s lips wrapped around his cock. He knew it would take him
right where he needed to go. On the other hand, Sapphire seemed to
have a wicked imagination. August knew that whatever Sapphire

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

planned for him would blow his mind. He just wasn’t sure he could
wait that long. He already felt way past needy.

“I…Sapphire, I…” August stammered.
“Trust me, August,” Sapphire said as he stroked his fingers along

the sensitive skin of August’s thighs.

August closed his eyes. He took several deep breaths to hold back

the orgasm he could feel creeping up his body. His body trembled for
a moment, and then he let the air in his lungs slowly release.

“Okay,” he whispered.
Warm breath blew across his balls until they drew up close to his

body. August started panting. He didn’t know what Sapphire would
do next and it drove him crazy. His heartbeat throbbed in his ears as
he waited for Sapphire’s next move. He just wished the man would
hurry the hell up.

August was about to go out of his mind.
“Ahh,” August cried out when Sapphire gave August his wish. He

wrapped his lips around August’s cock. His body shook and
undulated. Red-hot need rushed through his body like a tidal wave
and crashed together in his cock.

August’s body stiffened as Sapphire’s mouth sank down on his

cock. Sapphire swallowed it until August felt the man’s nose brush
against his short, curly hairs right before Sapphire began to move his
mouth along August’s hard length. August couldn’t believe the
hotness he felt, the exquisite pleasure.

He’d felt heaven and he could die now.
When Sapphire’s fingers breeched his ass, August started to

moan. He didn’t know whether to push up into Sapphire’s mouth or
down onto Sapphire’s fingers. Sapphire solved that problem for him
by pressing his fingers into August’s ass at the same time he
swallowed his cock.

It let August concentrate on the incredible pleasure coursing

through his body. His balls drew up tight against his body, and he
knew it wouldn’t be long. Using his hand to push his hair back,

Rings of Sapphire

August watched Sapphire as the man moved his head back up and
down the hard length of August’s cock.

It was an alluring sight.
“Oh, Sapphire, gonna…” August cried out as a heavy pressure

built in his balls. It moved up to the base of his cock then erupted out
the top as August found his release. August shouted as he came,
flooding Sapphire’s mouth and throat with hot, salty liquid. Sapphire
sucked down every last drop until August melted.

When Sapphire lifted his head, August stared at him a little

dazzled, uncertain what to think or even how to think. The gorgeous
little Andronian had just rocked his world in ways that it had never
been rocked before.

What did he say to that?
Thanks seemed so inadequate.
“So, uh…”
“Yeah,” Sapphire whispered as he stood to his feet and began to

rearrange his clothes.

August quickly did the same, feeling slightly embarrassed to be

standing there with his dick hanging out. After zipping and buttoning
everything up, August pushed his hand through his hair.

He couldn’t exactly remember ever feeling this unsure of himself.

It was not something he was comfortable feeling. “About what just
happened…”

“I won’t say anything,” Sapphire whispered as his head dropped

down to his chest. “I’m sure your friend outside will keep quiet, too,
if you ask him. No one has to know.”

August’s jaw dropped. Sapphire actually thought that he planned

to keep quiet about what had just occurred between them? Granted,
August was the last person to broadcast his personal life but he wasn’t
ashamed of what had just happened between them.

Sapphire was a hot little Andronian, and smart as hell. Any man

would be proud to be associated with him. August knew he was.

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

August reached over and grabbed Sapphire by the arm and yanked

him closer. He heard a small yelp fall from Sapphire’s lips a moment
before he covered them with his own, kissing the man until all
resistance fell away and Sapphire kissed him back.

When August finally lifted his head a few moments later, he was

excited by what he saw. Sapphire’s face looked flushed, his lips wet
and swollen. His beautiful eyes looked dazed. Sapphire looked like
sex incarnate.

“If you think I’m going to hide you in my pocket, then you’ve

been sniffing way too much Paktillian dust.”

Sapphire’s eyes rounded, the rings growing larger until all August

saw was deep royal-purple orbs. “I’ve never sniffed Paktillian dust.”

“And I’ve never hidden anyone away in my life, Sapphire. I don’t

intend to start with you.”

Sapphire blinked rapidly, his thick eyelashes fluttering wildly.

“Really?” he asked on a breathless whisper.

“Really.” August started to grin, a feeling of peace and

contentment filling him unlike anything he had ever felt before. He
didn’t know if it came from Sapphire or from how he felt at seeing the
joy in the man’s eyes, but he felt it nonetheless. “I—”

August jumped when someone suddenly started pounding on the

closet door.

“Get your ass out here!” Kurt shouted through the door. “This

damn computer is flashing red all over the freaking place.”

August groaned. “Sorry, baby.” He quickly leaned in and brushed

his lips across Sapphire’s then turned and unlocked the door. It was
yanked opened and a very frightened Kurt stood there bouncing from
foot to foot.

He just pointed to the bay of computers and monitors.
August’s eyes narrowed when he saw the alarms going off on the

console. Not only had a Nine Craft landed on the planet, but so had a
Battle Cruiser with the Federation’s insignia embossed on the side. It

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

Chapter Seven

Cheyenne Grant knew they were in over their heads when he

spotted a Federation Battle Cruiser landing on the planet. He was good,
damn good—but not that fucking good. It seemed whoever had set this
place up wanted it back, badly. The men who manned the cruiser were
even better than the Elite Force. They were highly trained combat
specialists who had permission to do whatever it took to get the mission
accomplished.

Cheyenne should know. He used to belong to that branch of the

Federation.

“Just hold off,” Lieutenant Ryan Devries said as he held up his

hand. “We need to see just how many men we are dealing with.” The
lieutenant moved to the side of the Onyx, his back pressed into the cold
metal as they watched the ship land. It wasn’t as big as the Battle
Battalions the Federation normally used, but just having the cruiser here
was a problem.

“Son of a bitch,” Cheyenne mumbled under his breath.
Ryan turned his head to look questioningly at him. “What?”
“That’s Oliver Hanson,” Cheyenne answered as he pointed toward

the man leading the team of men who had just disembarked. “I’ve
worked a few covert missions with him. The bastard is ruthless and
cunning. We have to keep on our toes around him.”

And Oliver was the man Cheyenne had wanted something with for a

very long time, but since the lieutenant never showed any interest in
him, Cheyenne had given up—but damn if he didn’t look good standing
there gazing out over the terrain. He had an air of authority and lethality

Rings of Sapphire

about him that had made Cheyenne’s cock hard on more than one
occasion.

And he was here to ensure Ryan’s team was wiped out.
How fucking ironic.
Reno and Vane moved to the other side of the ship, silently going

after the men who had just exited the Nine Craft. He wasn’t too sure
how well Vane could fight. He was a damn pilot. Cheyenne had
confidence in Reno, though. He’d fought with the man in a few
situations and was always impressed with the man’s skills.

Rhys was still onboard the Onyx, getting his essential medical

supplies. They were going to have to defend their ship if they didn’t
want their medic killed. Cheyenne also didn’t want their ship disabled in
any way. He didn’t plan on sticking around this place longer than he had
to.

“Move out!” Oliver ordered to the group of soldiers, his tone full of

authority. “Find out who we are dealing with and bring them to me.”

Cheyenne’s eyebrows inched up his forehead as he glanced at Ryan.

“They have no idea the Elite Force is here.”

Ryan didn’t look happy. The confidence he normally wore like a

familiar coat was slipping from his eyes as his head shook back and
forth. “I don’t think that will matter. We saw things we weren’t
supposed to see. Whoever is behind building this place has done so
illegally. They are going to make sure no one can report a thing to the
others in the Federation.”

Cheyenne knew that Oliver was a man who always got results, but

he had never taken him for a coldblooded killer. Maybe he really didn’t
know the wolf shifter after all, but something deep inside of him was
telling him that Oliver wasn’t that sort of person.

Of course, he could be dead wrong, which just made this situation a

hell of a lot worse. Could he kill the guy? Was he willing to? If it came
down to him or me, then yeah, he could do it, but he would have to live
with that guilt.

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

“Get your head in the game,” Ryan whispered roughly to him. “Life

and death here, Cheyenne. Time to show these men why we are a part of
the Elite Force.”

And time to kill the one man who crept into Cheyenne’s dreams,

night after night. For once, Cheyenne’s heart was not in the coming
battle.

* * * *

August found the level with the weapons cache. He armed himself

to the nines in phasers and RK05s. He’d also snatched the neutralizer
they’d discovered in the lab with the robots. He knew this wasn’t a get-
to-know-you gathering and he wanted every advantage he could get.

He just hated that he’d left Sapphire and Kurt in the lab by

themselves. But what choice did he have? The unit he was with was
outnumbered, and fuck if August was going to lose those men and he
wasn’t going to be stuck on this planet.

After traversing the heating ducts, he came out in the

communications room. August scanned the room for any movement
before he slipped free and landed on his feet. Now that he knew the
layout of the weapons room, if he needed anything else, he could use his
gift to summon more weapons.

Quickly dropping to one knee, August watched four men enter the

building, armed and ready for battle. He instantly recognized them as
mercenaries by the black band around their arms with the double fist
and swords insignia.

Bastards.
He kept low, watching them from around the row of computers. So

far they hadn’t spotted or scented him. August wanted to keep it that
way. The lift was disabled, so he wasn’t real worried about them finding
Sapphire or Kurt.

His eyes shot up toward the heating duct when he heard slight

scraping noises.

Rings of Sapphire

What in the …?
August prayed like hell that Sapphire hadn’t followed him. He’d

given the Andronian strict orders to stay with Kurt. He glanced over at
the mercenaries, but from the way they were searching the room, they
hadn’t heard the noise.

His eyes shot back up to see the tips of claws creeping past the grate

of the vent. August wasn’t sure what he was seeing, but he knew it
wasn’t either man he had left below on sublevel four. He was pretty sure
neither had claws that looked that deadly or sharp.

When August looked back over at the men who’d been scouring the

room, he saw one of them looking directly at him, his gun aimed right at
August’s chest. “Just get up slowly.”

How he’d let his attention become diverted, he wasn’t sure, but just

looking away for mere seconds seemed to have been his downfall.
August slowly rose, his hands in the air just in case the man was trigger
happy.

“Who are you?” the one aiming his phaser at August asked. “And

how did you find this place?”

August’s shoulders rose an inch as he shrugged. “I’m just a guy who

has nothing but bad luck.” Which wasn’t far from the truth. He’d ended
up with a unit that was expendable and crash landed in hell. That
definitely fell under the bad luck category.

“Check the rest of the place out,” the man ordered. “I got this one.”
“Do you now?” August asked as the other men did as they were

ordered. “Are you really sure about that?”

“You’re a big one, I’ll give you that, but I’m the one holding the

phaser,” the guy replied with cocky confidence. “That makes me really
damn sure.”

Gods, August hated mercenaries. They had overinflated egos and

not enough common sense. He stared at the phaser, hard, ready to
transport it from the guy’s hands when the grate overhead flew open.
Ducking down low, August pulled his weapon from its sheath when a

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

furry little creature shot past him, going straight for the guy ready to
shoot August.

“What the…?” August watched as the small creature attacked. It

was no larger than a monkey, his ears pointy, and razor-sharp teeth in its
mouth. Two more jumped free of the heating vent and made a mess of
the mercenary.

August’s eyes quickly scanned the room, trying to get a lock on the

things. Were these Sapphire’s pets? There was nothing friendly about
them. They were little monsters on steroids. He was aiming at one of
them, the one advancing toward him at a very rapid scramble, when he
heard a low whistle.

Over by the lift, Sapphire stood, his head shaking back and forth.

“Not him.”

The creature stopped moving forward, cocking its small head to the

side before retreating. All three wandered over to Sapphire and sat by
his feet. August’s head was spinning. He was expecting furry little mice
or something.

Not these terrors.
“What in the fuck are those?” August asked, his phaser still aimed at

the group. He didn’t trust those things. But now that they were sitting
there idly, they looked harmless.

Yeah, right. I just watched them kill a man.
“My pets,” Sapphire announced proudly. “Aren’t they cute?”
August gaped at the man. Cute was not a word he would use to

describe them. “How many are there?”

Sapphire looked like he was considering August’s question before

he replied, “About seven.”

Seven?
Fuck!
August could feel his heart hammering in his chest. There were

seven of those nightmares? Just one was enough to cause massive
destruction. He ran a hand down his face, wondering just how naïve

Rings of Sapphire

Sapphire truly was. “Those aren’t pets, Sapphire. They’re killing
machines.”

He aimed his gun higher when one of those creatures seemed to

glare at him. Could they glare? It sure as hell looked like a nasty little
glare. He had an urge to flip the thing off. But those razor-sharp teeth
stopped him in his tracks.

“They are, too!” Sapphire argued. “Just because they’re

unconventional doesn’t mean they can’t be pets.”

“Unconventional?” August asked in astonishment. “That’s not

what—” He spun around in a defensive stance when the door flew open,
the Elite Force shooting at someone as they rushed in.

“Find cover!” Ryan shouted.
August growled with renewed frustration as he raced across the

room and used his arm to sweep Sapphire off his feet. He tried to be
mindful of the creatures at Sapphire’s feet just because he knew the man
would be upset if anything happened to his little pets.

When he tucked Sapphire beneath him, he almost jumped out of his

skin when fur rubbed against him and he realized that Sapphire’s pets
were burrowing under him as well. Eyes rolling, August widened his
stance and allowed the furry little critters to sidle up to Sapphire.

No one was ever going to believe this.
The huge explosion that suddenly rocked the building knocked

August right off his feet. Only by force of will and sheer strength and
determination was he able to keep a hold of Sapphire as they were
tossed about. He kept his arms firmly locked around Sapphire, his body
curling around the Andronian’s smaller one.

When everything went quiet, August cautiously lifted his head and

glanced around. Ryan was just lifting his head, looking around. Reno
and Vane were sitting up against the far wall, shaking the dust out of
their hair.

“Shit! Rhys is hurt!” The man lay on the hard cement floor near the

door, pieces of the ceiling and doorframe covering his unmoving body.

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

Ryan immediately scrambled over and started lifting debris off of the
man, tossing it aside.

“Is he okay?” August asked.
“He’s got a gash on his head, but other than that I think he’s okay,”

Ryan replied after checking him over.

Damn.
“August, can I get up now?”
August glanced down, having forgot that he was pinning Sapphire to

the floor with his larger body. “Sorry, baby.” August sat back, helping
Sapphire sit up. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

Sapphire blinked rapidly, looking kind of dazed. “I don’t think so.”
That wasn’t the answer August wanted. He decided to check

Sapphire out himself. August felt along each of Sapphire’s limbs,
looking for any sign of injury. He only breathed a sigh of relief when he
found no blood or wounds anywhere.

August snaked a hand behind Sapphire’s neck and pulled the man

into his arms. He didn’t understand the overwhelming relief that he felt
that Sapphire was uninjured. He just knew it felt like it was safe for him
to breathe again.

“Uh, August?”
August glanced over at Ryan to see the man staring at him, his

eyebrows so high up on his head that they nearly reached his hairline. It
was only as Ryan pointed that August realized the lieutenant wasn’t
actually looking at him, just in his direction.

“What are those?”
August groaned when he glanced down and saw the three little

monkey things curled around Sapphire’s legs like a pair of furry pants.
He drew in a deep breath then slowly released it. “Those are Sapphire’s
little pets.”

“No shit?”
August shrugged as he pointed to the bloody body of the mercenary

sticking out from a pile of rubble in the corner. “They killed him, just

Rings of Sapphire

ripped him apart. I thought for sure that they were going to come after
me but Sapphire told them not to so they didn’t.”

Ryan’s eyes rounded as he looked at Sapphire with deep reservation,

almost as if he didn’t know what to make of him. “Seriously?”

August tightened his hold on the little Andronian. “Is that going to

be a problem?”

“What?” Ryan’s eyes snapped to August. He stared for a moment

before shaking his head, as if he needed just a minute for August’s
words to sink in. “No, of course not. I was just surprised, that’s all.”

“Not any more than I was,” August murmured under his breath.
“Hey, has anyone seen Cheyenne?” Reno asked. “I thought he

was right behind us.”

“He was,” Ryan stated.
“Do you think he got caught in the blast?”
August hoped not. He wasn’t sure anyone could live through a

blast that hit them with such force. They had been lucky. They were
protected by the walls of the station. If Cheyenne was outside when
the explosion occurred, he had nothing to protect him.

“Reno, come keep an eye on Rhys,” Ryan ordered as he pushed

himself to his feet. He cautiously stepped over Rhys and walked to the
door, peering out through the blast-damaged entryway. He was
shaking his head as he glanced back. “I don’t see him.”

“We need to find him.” August refused to leave a teammate

behind, dead or alive.

Ryan nodded. “Let’s get Rhys down to sublevel four and then

organize a search team. We still have unfriendlies in the area and we
need someone to watch out for them as well.”

“I’ll take Rhys down,” August said, “and check on your mate for

you. I know you’re worried.”

Ryan nodded. “I know he should be safe being four levels

underground but…” Ryan shrugged.

“But you won’t feel good until you see him for yourself.”
Ryan smiled ruefully. “Right.”

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

August glanced at Sapphire, suddenly knowing exactly how the

lieutenant felt. “I can stay up here and check things out if you want to
take Rhys down and make sure everything is okay down there.”

Ryan’s eyes widened at the prospect of seeing his mate. “Are you

sure?”

“Go.”
August didn’t have to say another word. Ryan lifted Rhys up,

draping the man over his shoulder, and then headed for the lift. It took
a moment for the lift to arrive on their level, but the second the doors
opened, Ryan stepped inside and hit the down button.

August climbed to his feet, pulling Sapphire up with him. “You

might want to tell your little friends to go hide somewhere. I don’t
know what kind of trouble we have headed our way and I’d hate for
them to get caught in the crossfire.”

And he would really like to not have to worry those things would

suddenly turn on him when he wasn’t watching. August still wasn’t
convinced that they were friendly, despite what Sapphire said. He had
seen them tear a man apart piece by piece.

That made them extremely dangerous in his book.
While Sapphire squatted down and murmured something to his

furry little pets, August gazed over what remained of the control
room. Whatever had caused the explosion outside, it had nearly
destroyed the room they were in. August shuddered to think of the
condition of the rest of the station.

“Okay.” August rubbed the back of his neck as he looked across

the room at Reno and Vane, knowing that things were about to get
dicey. “We need to break into two teams. One team needs to find
Cheyenne and make sure he’s alive. The other team needs to do some
recon and find out what those fuckers outside are up to.”

Reno’s eyes slid to Sapphire. “I think Vane and I should do recon.

You seem to have your hands full.”

August couldn’t exactly argue with that. He would have preferred

that Sapphire go underground with Ryan where he would be safe but

Rings of Sapphire

letting the man out of his sight wasn’t possible. And that meant
Sapphire went where he did.

“Keep radio silence unless there is an emergency. We don’t want

to alert the enemy that we’re here if they don’t already know, and we
certainly don’t want them to know we survived that explosion.”

Reno nodded. “Understood.”
August glanced at his watch. “We’ll meet back here in twenty

minutes.” August was a little surprised when both men nodded and
followed his orders without question. He would have expected them
to argue with him.

“They won’t leave, August.”
“What?” August glanced down at Sapphire, surprised to see the

three little furry creatures sitting patiently at his feet, looking more
bored than dangerous in that moment. “What do you mean they won’t
leave?”

Sapphire’s face flushed, his head dipping down to his chest.

“They won’t leave. They don’t like it that I’m in danger.”

August’s eyebrows lifted. “They…told you this?” They could

communicate with Sapphire? What the fuck were these things?

“No, not exactly. It’s just kind of a feeling I have when I look at

them.” Sapphire suddenly snickered. “Well, that and the fact that they
just won’t leave.”

August shook his head. What the hell. He had to take Sapphire, so

he guessed the little terrors from hell were coming along as well.

His day was just getting better and better.

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

Chapter Eight

Sapphire wasn’t too sure about his pets going outside. He knew

they lived underground and the atmosphere topside was pretty darn
cold outside of the building. Their thin coat of amber fur wouldn’t be
much protection, but it seemed they were refusing to stay where it
was semisafe and warm. What could Sapphire do? They wanted to
come along so he let them.

As he and August rounded the building, Sapphire was starting to

wish he had stayed behind. He didn’t have the strength or the fighting
skills of his race, so when it came to a fight, Sapphire was nothing
more than cannon fodder. Sad, but true.

He hoped that he didn’t become August’s liability.
August had flattened his back to the cold metal wall, but still

looked confident and assured. Sapphire wasn’t feeling any of that as
he crouched down and scooted behind August’s legs, peering around
the side of the building.

Oh, that isn’t good.
Cheyenne was on his knees, his hands bound behind him. To give

him credit, Cheyenne’s head was held high even as some guy held a
gun close to his head. But that wasn’t everything. There was another
guy with his phaser pointed at the first armed man.

“Drop your weapon, Mills. We were supposed to find out if there

was anyone on this planet and make sure they left, not kill them.” The
guy looked relaxed, but Sapphire could see the rigid stance in the
blond man’s hard shoulders. “Put. Your. Weapon. Down.”

“It seems my orders differ from yours, Captain Hanson,” Mills

said with a malicious smirk curling his lip, his eyes never wavering

Rings of Sapphire

from the man kneeling on the ground in front of him. “It is you who
needs to lower his weapon.”

Sapphire wasn’t sure what to do. He didn’t want Cheyenne shot.

But August stayed where he was, watching the scene play out, so
Sapphire did the same.

The man must have a plan.
Whatever it was, he needed to do something before Mills killed

Cheyenne. When August just continued to stand there, Sapphire
scooted a little closer on the dusty ground, trying to figure out how to
get them out of this predicament.

“Don’t make me kill you,” Captain Hanson said. Sapphire’s eyes

skimmed over the man, taking in his hard jaw that was covered with a
dark-blond beard, the head of unruly hair, and grey eyes that seemed
to express just how serious he truly was. “I will not have you taking
out an innocent.”

“Innocent? Are you fucking high?” Mills scoffed as he glanced at

Hanson before settling his eyes back on Cheyenne. “He was one of us
and did shit that was off the books, illegal. How damn innocent do
you think Grant is?”

A veil fell over the captain’s dark-grey eyes. Sapphire had never

seen anyone look so empty, so…the man looked like he didn’t even
have a soul as he discharged his phaser, Mills falling backward before
he hit the ground. The captain looked at the other men in his unit.
“Anyone else have different orders?”

Just as Sapphire got to his feet to run over to Cheyenne, another

explosion rocked the building, making Sapphire fall to his hands and
knees. The smoke was so thick that it hurt to breathe. He knew there
were tiny particles in the smoke and he tried not to inhale too much,
but he had to help Cheyenne.

“The mercs are setting off explosives,” someone shouted in the

smoke. “We need to stop them before they destroy our way off this
hunk of rock.”

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

“Where are you going?” he shouted to his pets as they took off.

Sapphire watched them scurry off into the greyish smoke,
disappearing from sight. They were on their own. He didn’t have time
to chase them right now.

“Get these bands off of me,” Cheyenne shouted.
As soon as August cut his binding, Cheyenne was on his feet,

hurrying over to the captain. The guy was lying on his side, and the
man wasn’t moving. Sapphire pulled his shirt over his mouth and
nose as he watched Cheyenne pick the large man off of the ground
and hoist him over his shoulder.

Cheyenne’s knees looked like they were about to buckle.
They hurried back into the building, Cheyenne going straight for

the lift as Reno and Vane came rushing in through another door.

“Get your damn pets!” Vane shouted.
Sapphire gave a low whistle and the three furry creatures instantly

came to sit at his feet. He was quite proud of them. They weren’t as
bad as everyone made them out to be. Sapphire wouldn’t advise
anyone to take the little creatures around small children, but around
these grown men, they were behaving.

“What did they do?” Sapphire asked as he gazed at Vane’s

stunned expression.

“Do?” Vane asked with a smirk. “Oh, nothing much. They just

took out the rest of the mercenaries.”

“Bad boys,” Sapphire said as he shook his finger at his pets. “You

have to stop doing that.”

“Seriously?” Vane asked. “That’s what you’re going with?”
Sapphire opened his mouth to tell Vane that they weren’t little

terrors when the unit Captain Hanson was with walked into the
building. August immediately moved closer, stepping in front of
Sapphire like he was some sort of body shield. Sapphire had never
had anyone do that for him before. August was the first and it only
endeared the man to him.

“Where’s Captain Hanson?” one of the men asked.

Rings of Sapphire

“Dead,” Sapphire said before he could stop himself. He wasn’t

sure why he’d said that, but now that it was out there, he wasn’t
taking it back. Besides, he’d seen the way Cheyenne looked at the
captain. It was nothing short of adoration. He wasn’t willing to hand
the captain over and have him taken away from the combat specialist.

Kurt had given him the rundown on who everyone was and their

specialty. They all looked lethal to Sapphire. He wasn’t sure he
wanted to be around if the captain was taken away from Cheyenne.
The combat specialist seemed kind of obsessed.

“Where’s his body?” another asked, his eyes scanning around the

room. They landed on the dead mercenary that was still lying under
some debris. “Is that him?”

“The monkeys ate him.” Sapphire glanced over to August,

shrugging when the guy looked at him strangely. He quickly moved
to hide the monkey creatures behind his legs as much as possible. For
some reason he couldn’t fathom, he didn’t want the other soldiers to
see his pets.

“They did what?” the first one shouted, looking as if he were

going to be sick.

“Are you going to arrest us for being here?” August asked,

keeping his body in front of Sapphire.

“We are well aware that you men are Elite Force. That’s why the

captain wouldn’t let Mills kill Cheyenne Grant. I never signed up for
this bullshit.” The man’s eyes were still glued on the dead body. “We
had no idea mercs were called in. Captain Hanson was pissed when he
found out.”

“We’ll tell the Federation this planet it uninhabitable,” the second

man said.

“I wouldn’t say it’s uninhabitable,” August said. “Those fucking

little monkey things are here and more dangerous than a Nine Craft
full of mercs. You might want to tell command about them. I’m not
sure it’s safe for anyone to be here for any length of time. Those little
creatures seem to devour anything in their path.”

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

The guy nodded. “I’ll tell them. But it shouldn’t have gone down

like this.” His eyes were lost, staring at the dead body on the floor
before he turned and walked out.

“What are you doing here?” the first man asked as his eyes

strayed to the monkey-like creatures, then up to Sapphire, before
going back to August.

“We crash landed,” August replied as if it was an everyday

occurrence. “We’re only here long enough to fix our ship, and then
we’re taking off to finish our current mission.”

One of the soldiers eyed August speculatively. “Have you seen

anyone else here?”

“Besides the mercs, no.”
“What about on the sublevels?”
August’s eyebrows shot up. “There are sublevels?”
Sapphire’s eyes snapped back and forth between the two men.

August was lying through his teeth. Sapphire couldn’t figure out if the
soldier believed him or not. He sure hoped so or this place was going
to be crawling with Federation units—aside from August’s.

“This is as far as we’ve made it.” August shrugged nonchalantly

as he waved his hand around the room they were in. “If you want to
search for other levels, you’re gonna have to do it on your own. We
need to get our ship back up and running. We have a mission to
finish.”

“Well, maybe we were mistaken. Command says this is just an

observation post.”

That’s what they were calling it? It seemed that someone in the

Federation was full of lies and betrayal. The person wasn’t even
telling Hanson’s unit the entire truth. But keeping the truth hidden had
almost gotten a lot of people killed. Maybe that’s what the person
who sent the mercs wanted. Sapphire wasn’t sure. But he was glad no
one on August’s team was injured.

“For what?” Ryan asked.

Rings of Sapphire

“Sorry, sir,” the soldier replied as he gave a solemn nod of his

head, “that’s need to know and I don’t need to know. Hell, I don’t
want to know.”

“I don’t think I want to know either,” August added, his face

twisting into a deep grimace. “We’ve had enough shit since crashing
here. I just want off this hunk of rock.”

“I hear ya, man.” The soldier chuckled good-naturedly before

saluting Ryan. “Sir.”

Ryan saluted back, nodding to the man. “Stay safe out there.”
“Will do, sir.” The guy nodded before he walked out with the rest

of his unit. Sapphire breathed a sigh of relief when the ship with
Hanson’s unit lifted off the planet a few minutes later.

“You know what this means, don’t you?” Vane asked as he

walked closer, skirting around Sapphire’s pets. He rubbed his hands
together in a gleeful gesture and headed toward the door. “We have
the Nine Craft for parts.”

Sapphire’s stomach dropped as he glanced up at August through

the fall of his bangs. That meant they had a way off the planet and he
would be stuck here all alone—again.

Sapphire wasn’t sure he could survive it, especially not after

meeting August and experiencing the pleasure the simple touch of the
man’s hands could bring him. Nothing else in his life had ever made
him fly through the stars like August Rycker, and Sapphire was
terrified of losing that sweet ecstasy now that he had felt it.

He was terrified of losing August.
Sapphire scooted back against the wall, feeling in the way as

people hurried around him, clearing away the remnants of the room
that had been destroyed during the explosion.

August was clearing away the debris—and the dead mercenary.

Ryan had gone down to check on his mate. Cheyenne was off
somewhere looking after the captain, and Vane and Reno had headed
off to the Nine Craft.

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

There didn’t seem to be much left for Sapphire to do other than

stand there, not that he wanted to hurry the repairs to the Elite Force
ship along. That would just mean that every one left all that much
faster.

He’d rather just stand there.
“Come on, Sapphire.”
Sapphire glanced up when he realized that August was talking to

him. The man stood by the lift, his hand held out. Knowing he
probably didn’t have any other choice at that moment, Sapphire
gestured to his furry friends then walked across the room to join
August.

“Where are we going?”
“Back down to sublevel four,” August replied as he escorted

Sapphire into the lift then hit the down button. “I need to talk to
Ryan.”

“Is there anything I can help with?” Like maybe unpacking? Or

even possibly tying the entire crew up so they wouldn’t leave him on
this desolate planet by himself?

“No.”
No. Of course not. August didn’t need him like he needed August.

The Elite Force member would get back on his repaired ship and fly
off into space to finish his mission before moving on to the next one.
Sapphire doubted the man would even remember him once the ship
lifted off.

Sapphire’s throat felt like it was about to close up as the lift took

them down to sublevel four. Except for the excited chatter of the three
monkey creatures at Sapphire’s feet and the metal gears moving the
lift, not a sound could be heard inside the close confines except heavy
breathing.

Sapphire started to fidget, pulling at a loose thread on his pants.

“So, how soon do you think your ship will be repaired?” In other
words, how long until August and his unit left and Sapphire was alone
again?

Rings of Sapphire

“Depending on the damage, not more than a few hours,” August

replied as he crossed his arms and leaned into the wall, the lights
flickering outside the lift as it descended. “The ship should be
repaired by morning at the very latest.”

“Morning?” Sapphire murmured.
That was it? That seemed to be such a small amount of time.

Didn’t ship repairs take longer than that? Like days, maybe weeks?
Sapphire had an insane urge to go out and steal some parts or do
something to make sure the ship would never take off.

Except that would just piss August off.
Sapphire knew he needed to resign himself to the fact that August

and his men weren’t staying, and Sapphire wasn’t being invited to go
along. August was going to be here for a few more hours and he
needed to make the most of that. Maybe he could convince August to
give him some memories to have after he was gone.

“Have you eaten?” Sapphire asked as he gazed up at the

handsome man. He didn’t have a lot but he was more than willing to
share what he had, even if it left him a few extra days short of food.
The ache in his empty stomach would be worth it.

“I could eat.”
Sapphire almost jumped for joy. “I have some stuff stashed away.

I could get it for us.”

August’s lips suddenly tilted up in an unusual smile. “Yeah?”
Sapphire was going to swoon. “Yeah.”
“Is it easy to get to?”
“I’ll need to climb through one of the air ducts but—” Sapphire

cried out as another explosion suddenly rocked the lift, tossing them
about in the small rectangular room. Sapphire’s legs went out from
beneath him from the force rocketing through the metal cage and he
started to fall toward the floor. Before face struck metal, strong
muscular arms wrapped around him and then he was secured against a
massive wall of hard and toned flesh.

“I’ve got you, baby.”

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

As much as Sapphire loved it when August called him baby, he

was curious as to who had him. As hard as they were being tossed
around, Sapphire didn’t know how August could stay on his feet.

By the time the lift stopped swaying back and forth and the

sounds of the explosion died away, Sapphire was cradled in August’s
arms, the two of them sitting on the floor in the corner of the lift.

“Is it over?” Sapphire whispered. He wasn’t sure how far down

this shaft went and he wasn’t willing to find out. For all he knew, the
lift could go as far as the center of the planet. That was a pretty far
plummet.

August glanced around before he slowly nodded his head. “I think

so. Damn mercenaries.”

Sapphire didn’t want to move. He didn’t want August to get up.

He liked being on the floor in the man’s arms. He felt safe and warm
being protected by August’s powerful body. Sapphire soaked up as
much as he could, committing this moment into his memory so he
could pull it free when he was cold and here by himself.

“Where are your pets going?” August asked as all three monkey-

like creatures scaled the walls, grasping the metal as they made their
way to the top of the lift. The first one pushed the escape hatch free
and then they scurried up and out.

Well, that was a bit odd.
Sapphire wasn’t sure how to ask for what he wanted as he turned

back toward August. The man made no move to get up. He just sat
there staring up at the ceiling.

“I guess we should get moving.” Sapphire began to rise when

August pulled him back down into his lap. The Sayak reached up and
hit the stop button, halting anyone from trying to use the lift, not that
it seemed to be moving on its own at the moment anyway.

“Or, we could stay right here.”
That sounded like a damn good plan to Sapphire. But as he

thought about his one intimate moment with August, his heart began

Rings of Sapphire

to ache, wondering if he could actually go through with a good-bye
fuck.

When he first met the man, August had been tenebrous and bossy.

But he found the guy had many layers. Layers Sapphire wished he
had more time to explore. He wasn’t sure why there was another
explosion when the invading unit was gone, but he wasn’t going to
waste any time trying to figure things out. Not when August was so
close and smelled so good.

He smells warm, masculine, and is stealing my damn heart.
Sapphire blinked those thoughts away, stopping himself from

feeling the loss before the man even left. It wouldn’t do him any good
to beg or plead. August didn’t seem the type to be swayed by tears.

So he would just take what he could get and pray he didn’t wither

away when it was just him and his pets once again. Callused hands
brushed over his hair as August tilted Sapphire’s head back, pretty
grey eyes searching his face before soft lips descended. Sapphire was
lost in the kiss, lost in the man as he bowed his body to get closer.

He closed his eyes, letting the ripple of pleasure creep down his

spine and wrap around his groin. Just tasting the warm spice of
August had his cock growing thick in his pants. He reached out,
sliding his hands up through August’s dark hair, clinging to a man
who wouldn’t be here after tomorrow morning.

It hurt. God, it hurt, but Sapphire refused to let that thought ruin

this moment. He opened his mouth wider, taking August’s tongue into
his mouth as he sucked like he was tasting the food of the gods.

“So sensual,” August murmured as he lowered them until

Sapphire’s back was on the hard floor. “So damn tempting.” The
man’s hand skimmed up his side before he reached under Sapphire’s
shirt, his fingers tracing along Sapphire’s skin in slow, unhurried
strokes.

Sapphire gasped and then groaned, moving his head to the side as

August kissed a path down his neck and then over to his pointed ear.

This must be what heaven feels like.

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

It had to be because Sapphire never felt these enigmatic feelings

before and he never wanted to let them go, even if he didn’t fully
understand them. Needing skin, he pulled at August’s shirt, lifting the
thick fabric as August pulled back, allowing Sapphire to strip him.
His hands touched greedily, ghosting over hard lines and honed
muscles.

August just hovered there, watching Sapphire explore the man’s

body. Sapphire leaned up, sucking at one dark-brown nipple, teasing
the flesh with his teeth and tongue. August hissed, his head dropping
forward as he reached down and carded his hand through Sapphire’s
hair.

“Damn, baby. That feels so good.”
Sapphire licked and sucked, feeling the heat inside of him rising

to a fevered pitch, but he wasn’t going to rush this. It just might very
well be his last time and he wanted this moment to last all night.

A hand cradled the back of his head as Sapphire worked his way

over to the neglected nipple, teasing the taut skin. Sapphire peeked up
at August to see the raw pleasure on the man’s gorgeous face, lost in
what was being done to him. Sapphire was amazed that he was the
one putting that expression on the man’s face.

Beg him to keep you.
Sapphire ignored his inner voice as his hands slid down August’s

chest until he reached the snaps on the guy’s pants. With nimble
fingers, he unfastened them, reaching inside to palm August’s thick
and heated flesh.

“God, yes.” August’s hips shot forward, pushing his cock deeper

into Sapphire’s hand. He needed to know what the man tasted like.
Sapphire was desperate to take August’s erection into his mouth. He
tugged harder on the swollen shaft while pushing on August’s hip,
trying to tell the man without words to move further up Sapphire’s
body.

August understood because he crawled over him, his dark-grey

eyes locking onto Sapphire’s face as he fed Sapphire his cock. Dark,

Rings of Sapphire

musky, and wholly male—that’s what August tasted like. It was an
explosive mixture that had Sapphire moaning as he took the head past
his lips.

“Shit,” August said with a heavy hiss. His hips started rocking as

he fucked Sapphire’s mouth with his cock. Sapphire opened his eyes,
seeing August’s grimace of pleasure, the raw lust that transformed his
handsome face. He hadn’t thought the man could get any better
looking, but staring up at August, Sapphire knew he had been wrong.

August was the most beautiful creature Sapphire had ever seen.
I love you, August.
Sapphire sucked the man’s cock to the back of this throat to stop

those words from falling from his lips. For August, this was nothing
more than two people satisfying a need. There were no feelings
getting mixed up between them—not for August. Sapphire was
hopelessly in love with the man.

He may have never been in love before, but if these twisted up

feelings and butterflies in his stomach were any indication, then he
was heading straight down heartbreak road.

“Gods…Sapphire…” August gripped his hair, thrusting his hips

harder, pushing his cock deeper. Sapphire opened wider, trying to
take as much of August’s erection as he could. It wasn’t easy. The
man wasn’t small and Sapphire wasn’t that skilled at sucking cock.

With a hard yank, August pulled his shaft free, leaving Sapphire

to wonder—“Get your clothes off,” August said with a feral growl.
His eyes were a stormy grey, smoldering with carnal need. Sapphire
quickly lifted his ass from the floor, pushing his pants down his legs
before kicking them free. His body began to tremble as he watched
August do the same.

The man’s erection was so heavy that Sapphire thought the guy

would come before anything really got started. The head was an angry
red, the veins pronounced. Sapphire had an urge to take the cock back
into his mouth.

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

Using nothing more than spit, August wet his fingers and then

rimmed them around Sapphire’s pink iris. He clenched his cheeks,
nervous and excited in the same measures. August was going to take
him and Sapphire couldn’t wait to feel the man’s cock pounding his
ass.

“Just relax, Sapphire,” August murmured as he lowered his head,

pressing his fingers into Sapphire’s ass as he nibbled at his ear. Tiny
explosions sounded off inside of him as the man’s fingers stretched
him with a delicious burn. Sapphire had to count to ten in his head to
stop his cock from shooting.

“That’s my Sapphire.” Lips teased his flesh, fingers scissored

inside of him, and a heavy weight settled between Sapphire’s legs.
The combination was nearly his undoing. Sapphire was holding on by
a very thin thread, his fingers curling into August’s thick arms.

How am I going to live without this?
August pulled his fingers free, wetting them as he stared directly

into Sapphire’s eyes. He knew what was coming next, knew what was
going to happen, and Sapphire’s body jerked with anxious
anticipation. He felt the blunt head of August’s cock pressing at his
entrance and Sapphire let go of a small whimper.

He wanted this too damn badly.
“Slow breaths, baby,” August said as he began to inch his erection

into Sapphire’s ass. His breath hitched, his muscles locked, and
Sapphire was lost in a world of pain and pleasure as August moved
inside of him.

August planted the palms of his hands on the floor, on either side

of Sapphire’s head, as his eyelids fluttered closed. He blew out a long
breath before his hips began to move once again. There was no other
way to describe the growing madness inside of him. August began to
move inside Sapphire once his cock was completely buried, slowly at
first, pulling almost completely out and then pushing back in.

Rings of Sapphire

Suddenly the lift became stifling with a spicy and earthy scent,

filling Sapphire’s lungs to the point he almost drowned in the
exquisite aroma. “What is that?”

August stopped moving, staring at Sapphire as if he didn’t even

know who he was. His face went lax, his eyes growing darker and
darker by the second. Sapphire wasn’t sure what to do. He was
trapped in this small box with the Sayak and the man was buried deep
in his ass.

If August lost his mind, Sapphire was screwed—and not in a

pleasurable way.

Fangs began to lengthen in August’s mouth, the grey in his eyes

fading, replaced by a strange and beautiful yellowish-green color.
Sapphire wasn’t sure what was going on, but the fear he felt seconds
ago drained away as something deep inside of him seemed to snap
into place like a finely tuned instrument.

“What the…”
“Mate,” August said with an intensity that should have shaken the

walls surrounding them. Before Sapphire could fully understand what
the man was talking about, August struck, sinking those sharp teeth
into his neck.

“Oh, god!” Sapphire shouted as his cock erupted between them,

his body plateauing on a high he had never experienced before.
Sapphire shook, his body jerking as his orgasm seemed to go on
forever. August’s thrusts were fierce, animalistic as he drank from
Sapphire’s vein.

Sapphire couldn’t think.
He couldn’t speak.
The only thing Sapphire could do was try his best to pull in

enough air. There didn’t seem to be enough in the small confines of
the lift. August’s cock was pounding into him, the man making the
strangest noises before he threw his head back and shouted his
release.

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

The sharp fangs were still elongated and there was blood on the

tips as August slowly lowered his head, his funny-colored eyes boring
into Sapphire. “By the gods of my people, I have claimed my mate
and he is mine. If any man comes between us, he will be food for the
demons of hell.”

“Okay.” Sapphire just blinked up at August. The man had spoken

another language, but somehow Sapphire had understood every single
word. He was laying there stunned, unsure of what happened exactly,
but the one word he clung to was mate.

He was August’s mate.

Rings of Sapphire

Chapter Nine

August couldn’t tear his eyes away from Sapphire. Never, in all of

his wildest dreams, did he think he would find his mate. He actually
didn’t think there was one out there meant for him. He had seen too
much in his life, done too much. People like him didn’t get mates.

And yet, there he was, in all of his naked glory.
August growled at that renewed revelation. “Get dressed.” No one

got to see his mate unclothed. No one. August would destroy the first
person that dared to lay eyes on his beautiful mate’s naked flesh.

Sapphire was his now, his to protect, his to hold.
His to love.
August kept his eyes on Sapphire as he dressed. Not keeping his

eyes on his mate would be near to impossible. He had been wildly
attracted to Sapphire before. Now, he would simply be insanely
possessive. His words when he claimed Sapphire were truer than he
suspected Sapphire knew. He would gut the first person that came
between them.

“You must stay by my side, Sapphire,” August said as he reached

down and pushed the button to resume the lift’s descent to sublevel
four. “If anyone were to touch you, I would not be able to control
myself.” August leveled his eyes at Sapphire. “Do you understand
what I am saying?”

Sapphire swallowed tightly. “No.”
August’s expression softened. He snaked a hand around

Sapphire’s neck and drew the sexy Andronian into his arms. “I know,
baby.” He breathed deeply, inhaling Sapphire’s sweet scent as he

Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

rested his chin on top of the man’s head. “Just stay at my side. It’s
safer for everyone.”

“Okay.”
August’s arms tightened on Sapphire for a moment when the lift

came to a stop. When the doors slid open, August released Sapphire
from his arms but kept a firm hold of his wrist. He needed not only to
ensure that Sapphire stayed near him, but the physical contact.

What most of the known universe wasn’t aware of about

Sayaks—and what August had no intention of sharing with anyone
except his mate—was that Sayaks gained strength from physical
contact with their mates. The more he touched Sapphire, the stronger
he would become. If he could live under Sapphire’s skin, he would be
the most powerful Sayak that ever existed.

He had no designs on taking over this world or any other, so that

was beside the point. He was perfectly happy doing exactly what he
did. He just needed Sapphire to do it with him from now on.

August pulled Sapphire along as he walked down the hallway,

searching each room for Ryan. The first person he needed to talk to
about Sapphire was his commander. Without Ryan’s permission, he
couldn’t bring Sapphire aboard the Onyx. August wasn’t sure if he
needed permission from the others or not, and he didn’t really care. If
he couldn’t bring Sapphire with him, he’d find another way off this
damn planet.

“Ryan,” he called out when he spotted the man standing by the

computer bay in the robot lab. “I need to speak with you for a
moment.”

“Not now, August,” the man called back, never taking his eyes off

the screen in front of him. “We’ve got problems.”

What was fucking new about that?
August wanted to scream in frustration. At this rate, it wouldn’t

matter if Admiral Jordan Monroe himself gave August permission to
bring Sapphire back with him, they’d never make it. They’d be dead
before they could leave the surface of the planet.

Rings of Sapphire

“What is it this time?”
“Kurt did something and those encrypted files opened right up.”

Ryan’s eyes were huge as he glanced over his shoulder. “Shit, man,
the stuff they were using this facility for…” A little shiver rippled
through Ryan’s body before he turned back to the screen. “If anyone
ever finds out that we know what was going on here, our lives won’t
be worth shit.”

“Do I want to know?”
“Probably not.”
August stilled himself. He didn’t want to know what the

Federation was up to. But as much as he wanted to ignore their
growing problems, August knew he needed that knowledge just so he
could find out how much trouble they were really in. He needed to
know so he could protect Sapphire.

“Tell me.”
“Biomedical Engineering, August.” Ryan’s breath stuttered as it

came out. “They were experimenting on merging human DNA with
Nano-Particle technology. They’re trying to build a fucking super
soldier.”

August could feel his heartbeat stop and then start up again in a

ragged rhythm, jack hammering against his ribs. His gut curled into a
huge knot of fear. “Nano-Particle technology?”

He was going to be sick.
“Ryan, that’s—” August shook his head, unable to voice the

words hanging on the end of his tongue. Nano-Particle technology in
conjunction with Biomedical Engineering was still in the theoretical
stage. If someone had put it into actual practice, they were fucked.

And that included the entire universe.
From everything August had read on the subject, Nano-Particle

technology was best left in the theoretical stage. While the idea was
an interesting one—merging Nano robotics with human DNA to
create bigger and better life forms—it was best left a theory.

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Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

Nanotechnology involved the manipulation of matter on a

molecular level. Messing with anything on such a sublevel had the
potential to be explosive. One wrong move and entire worlds could be
wiped out.

“Is any of it still in operation?”
“Any of what?”
August rolled his eyes. “The Nano robotics, Ryan. They have to

be kept in a secured environment, like a lab with a vacuum chamber.
If they get loose, there is no way of recovering them.”

“Uh.” Ryan glanced at the computer screen really quick. “I don’t

know. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be looking for.”

“I do.” August pulled Sapphire over with him as he headed for the

computers. He paused when he got there, glancing down at Sapphire’s
bent head then to Ryan. “Sapphire is going with us when we leave.”

“You know it’s against regulations to have civilian personnel on a

mission, August.”

August’s eyes cut to Kurt, who was definitely not military.
Ryan just chuckled. “I could give two shits about regulations

when it comes to my mate. I just wanted to warn you.”

“Duly noted.” As far as August was concerned, that was the end

of that conversation. He had informed his superior officer that the
Andronian would be joining them when they left the station. He
hadn’t said shit about Sapphire being his mate and he wasn’t going to.
If anyone found out—and they had knowledge of Sayaks—then
Sapphire and this unit would be in danger. His duty was done as far
was Ryan was concerned. Of course, Ryan’s words of trusting his unit
came to mind, but August wasn’t willing to risk Sapphire’s life.

Now, he just needed to figure out how much trouble they were

actually in.

August felt Sapphire’s hands come down on his shoulders as he

sat in the metal chair and started tapping away at the computer
console. The fear Sapphire was feeling was coming off of him in huge
waves of apprehension.

Rings of Sapphire

101

August reached back and patted one of Sapphire’s thin-boned

hands, hoping to reassure his mate that he was safe. No one and
nothing in this universe or any other universe would harm his mate if
he had anything to do with it.

“We’ll have the ship repaired and be out of here before you know

it, Sapphire.”

“What about my pets?”
“Oh.” August glanced over his shoulder at Ryan. It seemed his

mate was pretty attached to those little terrors, and August didn’t have
the heart to tell him he couldn’t take them along.

“Oh, hell no!” Ryan snapped. “Those damn things are not coming

onboard the Onyx.”

“But—” Sapphire’s lower lip quivered before he sucked it in.

“They need me.”

“They need a cage!” A pained expression suddenly came over

Ryan’s face before he shouted and grabbed his shin, hopping around
the room.

August pressed his lips together to keep from bursting out

laughing when he turned to look at his mate and saw the angriest
frown he had ever seen on the man’s face. Sapphire was pissed and
August would bet anything it was the whole cage comment. Ryan
better watch his mouth or Sapphire was going to kick him in the shin
again.

“Baby, listen.” August wasn’t stupid. He didn’t want those furry

little man-eaters on the ship any more than Ryan did but he’d go with
another tactic. “Your pets wouldn’t be happy on the Onyx. It’s a small
ship, barely enough room for us. There would be no place for them to
roam. Here on the station, they have plenty of room, and since we told
the Federation soldiers that there was nothing here except your pets, I
seriously doubt anyone is going to come back here. Your pets can
have this entire place to themselves.”

“Maybe, but I…I just…they need me.”

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From the sadness August could see filling Sapphire’s purple-

ringed eyes, August was pretty sure it was more of a case of Sapphire
needing his pets than them needing him. Hopefully, he could give
Sapphire something else to need that would take that sadness away.

“We’ll come back and visit, Sapphire.”
The purple rings around Sapphire’s eyes widened, deepening to a

dark royal-purple color. “We can come back? Really?” A slow, easy
smile started to move across Sapphire’s lips, lighting up his entire
face with joy.

“Sure.” August wasn’t exactly sure how or even when, but if it

brought a smile to his mate’s lips, he’d make it happen.

“Actually, that’s not such a bad idea.”
August glanced at the lieutenant when he spoke. “What isn’t such

a bad idea?”

“It’s not such a bad idea coming back here or at least using this

place as a home base while we’re hunting for the criminals on our
warrant list.” Ryan folded his arms over his chest and leaned back
against the edge of the desktop. “You know how these missions go,
August. Too much time spent chasing the bad guys and not enough
downtime can make even the most eager soldier a cranky one.”

“And no one in their right mind ventures past End of the Line,”

Kurt pointed out as he joined Ryan at his side. “So the possibility that
anyone would come here and mess with this place is highly
improbable.”

“But do you honestly think the person or people who sunk their

money and time into this lab are just going to walk away?” August
argued the point that had been bugging him since Hanson’s unit left.
“It isn’t going to be that easy, Ryan. The research alone is worth
billions. What we need to do is blow this lab sky high and forget we
even discovered its secrets.”

It turned August’s stomach to think of destroying any of the

technology down here, but he knew he was right. Those mercs would

Rings of Sapphire

103

only be the first in a line of many more who would stop at nothing to
secure this space station.

“Can I keep the nerve neutralizer?” Reno asked, already having

the damn thing in his hand. “I promise to share my toy with others.”

August knew he was talking about Cheyenne.
“Just wait,” Ryan said as he held up a hand. “You’re talking about

destroying advanced technology that has the potential to change the
very way we live.”

“You’re not thinking, Commander!” August shot out of his seat,

taking a stance only feet away from Ryan. “You are looking at the
technology, not the dangers of this information falling into the wrong
hands or what we’ll go through when the owners of this post come
back to claim what is theirs.” August curled his hand around
Sapphire’s. “And they will come back.”

“Okay.” Ryan held up a hand. “Granted, I don’t want to see all of

this destroyed, even though I know it’s very bad. But we can at least
download the main software for the ANA? We could make the Onyx
into a better fighting machine.”

“I like that idea,” Vane said. “Can we do that?”
“We can do that,” Sapphire volunteered.
“Fine.” Ryan turned to the others who’d joined them. “Vane, go

see what needs repair on the Onyx. Reno, Rhys, Kurt, and I will go
strip what we can from the Nine Craft. I want any food, medical
supplies, fuel cells, weapons you can find. I’m not sure how much
time we have until someone else is sent here, so let’s get a move on
things, ladies.”

August watched as the room cleared out before turning back to the

console. Sapphire brought him a USB cord, and August tethered it
from his wristband to the mainframe where he began the download.
The band on his wrist was not only a guidance coordinator, but
capable of holding four terabytes of data.

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Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen

“Do you really think we can update the Onyx with this software?”

Sapphire asked. “No offense, but I’ve seen your ship. It looks like it
needs to be put out of commission.”

August gave a low chuckle as he shook his head. “I thought you

said it would work?”

“I think it will, if whoever is installing the programming knows

what he’s doing.”

“That would be you and I, Sapphire.” August glanced over the

lab, a part of him wishing that he could stay and study all this new
technology. He had wanted to be on the cutting edge of any
breakthrough, and here he sat, ready to destroy it all.

My life is nothing if not ironic.
“August?” Sapphire took a seat next to him, absently running his

fingers over the steel edge of the consol. “What about my pets? Do I
really have to leave them behind?”

As much as those things worried him, August knew they had to

blow this place up and he couldn’t bring himself to kill them. They
were little monsters with sharp teeth and claws, but hadn’t they taken
care of the threat to this unit? Hadn’t they protected Sapphire as well?
How could he in good conscience kill them?

Maybe he could find a steel cage onboard for those hairy little

fangs on feet. “You said seven, right?”

Sapphire quickly nodded his dark head, his radiant eyes

shimmering with hope. August would never get enough of looking
into those strange but wondrous eyes.

Ryan was going to kill him, and that was if he could actually get

them onboard without a fight. “Go gather them up, Sapphire, but
don’t stray too far. We’ll be leaving soon and I don’t want anything to
happen to you.”

August couldn’t believe how much he’d changed. He had gone

from a loner who didn’t want to be bothered by anyone, doing his
own thing on his own terms, to falling for a short and handsome
Andronian—mating him, too. He didn’t feel like that snarly person

Rings of Sapphire

105

who’d first arrived here. Well, at least not toward Sapphire. The man
was quickly becoming very important to August.

“I’ll go whistle for them.” Sapphire got up and walked just outside

the room, giving off a low whistle as he stood there. August turned
and just watched the man, smiling to himself at the innocent way
Sapphire looked at life. He never wanted to see that radiance
tarnished. That was one of the things he loved about his mate.
Sapphire looked at the world without jadedness.

His wristband began to blink and August knew he had what they

needed. Removing the cord, he shoved it into his pocket before
heading toward the door. August stopped when he spotted a data card
lying on the table by the door. He wasn’t sure what it was for, but his
curiosity got the better of him, so he pocketed that as well.

It wasn’t like the owner would know it was gone considering they

were going to destroy this place.

“I have all seven,” Sapphire announced proudly as he stood there.

August scowled when he saw the amber-colored creatures blinking up
at him. The biggest of the bunch seemed to be sizing him up. That
alone made August want to rethink his idea of taking them with him.

But he knew he couldn’t leave them behind. Sapphire would never

forgive him.

“I need to get what little belongings that I have,” Sapphire stated.

“I don’t have very much, but it’s all I have.”

“Then let’s go get your things.” August needed to go to the room

he had been ready to sleep in before running across Sapphire. He left
his duffle bag in there. He followed his mate and was surprised to see
he had his things stored a few rooms down from August. He thought
the man would have the items tucked away in an air duct somewhere.

Sapphire didn’t take long to grab his bag. It was one lousy bag.

August couldn’t understand how the man’s uncle could have done
something like this, just dropping him off on a planet with barely
anything. He would never understand people who betrayed those they
were supposed to care about.

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“I’m ready.” Sapphire walked with August so he could grab his

bag and then they headed out of the building. He spotted Cheyenne
helping Hanson onboard the Onyx. The man was conscious, but he
looked like hell.

“Whoa!” Ryan said as he quickly walked their way, waving his

finger back and forth like a fairy wand that could magically get him
exactly what he wanted. “You are not taking those things with us!”

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Chapter Ten

Sapphire sucked in his bottom lip as he fidgeted from foot to foot,

watching the silent war waging between Ryan and August. As much
as he wanted August to win so that he could take his pets with him, he
was terrified of coming between the combat specialist and his unit
commander.

Sapphire wasn’t stupid enough to believe that August was all of a

sudden going to make him more important than the Elite Force. It was
obvious to anyone that looked at the handsome Sayak that he truly
enjoyed being a member of his unit.

Sapphire couldn’t take that from him.
“Maybe if we didn’t blow up the station…” Sapphire hedged,

trying to give both men an out.

“That’s not an option, Sapphire.” August half turned his head,

giving the impression that he was giving all of his attention to
Sapphire while never taking his eyes off of Ryan. “As much as it
pains me to say so, the station has to be destroyed.”

Sapphire tucked his fists into his shirt when they began to shake.

He didn’t want to be a bother, not when he was pretty damn sure that
he was being taken off this freaking planet, but the thought of his pets
being left behind with no place to live or hide from marauders broke
his heart. “The Nine Craft maybe?” Sapphire threw that idea out
there. He knew his pets wouldn’t like it there, but at least it would
offer them shelter. “They could live there.”

No sooner were the words out of Sapphire’s mouth when a huge

explosion rocked the ground beneath his feet. An enormous plume of

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smoke billowed up into the air, right where the Nine Craft was
located.

Sapphire’s shoulders slumped. “Or not.”
“Baby, I know you were hoping your pets could stay there but

Reno had to blow up the Nine Craft to keep any remaining mercs
from coming after us.”

“I know,” Sapphire grumbled.
“Look, Sapphire,” Ryan said as he started to step around August.

A deep growl stopped him in his tracks. Sapphire’s eyebrows shot up
when he realized the sound came from August. Ryan didn’t seem to
be real surprised though. He just rolled his eyes and stepped back.

“Look, Sapphire,” Ryan began again, “I know you want to take

your little pets with you but they are dangerous.”

“Have they hurt a single one of you?”
“No, but there is always a first time.”
Sapphire felt like stomping his foot. In fact, the urge was so strong

that he went with it. He planted his hands on his hips and stomped his
foot right into the dirt. “I don’t understand you people. My pets saved
your lives! They haven’t harmed a single one of you. And yet you all
want to abandon them here on this planet with no place to live or stay
warm or anything.”

Sapphire’s lips curled back in disgust as he looked the commander

of the Elite Force unit up and down. “I’m starting to think I want to be
left here as well. I’m not sure I want anything to do with people like
you, people that so easily turn their backs on their friends.”

Sapphire knew he had gone too far when Ryan’s lips tightened

into a thin line. He braced himself for whatever was going to happen,
his eyes sliding closed. He didn’t want to see it coming.

Someone started clapping.
Sapphire popped one eye open then the other. His jaw nearly

dropped to the ground when he spotted Kurt standing there clapping
his hands. Most of the Elite Force unit stood behind him, their arms

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109

crossed over their wide chests. Sapphire wasn’t sure if they were
backing Kurt up or waiting to see what would happen.

“He’s right, Ryan,” Kurt said. “They may be dangerous but

they’ve not made a single move toward any of us. Just because they
are different doesn’t mean they are bad.”

“Did you see what they did to that merc unit?” Ryan waved his

hand back toward the battlefield. “They didn’t leave a single one of
them standing.”

“True.” Kurt pursed his lips for a moment. “But they didn’t attack

anyone in uniform either, now did they?”

Ryan’s head snapped back, his mouth gaping open and closed like

a fish. “They didn’t.” Ryan’s eyebrows drew together, a deep frown
darkening his features as he turned to stare at the creatures at
Sapphire’s feet. “They didn’t even attack Captain Hanson’s unit, just
the mercenaries from the Nine Craft.”

“They’re good pets, Ryan,” Sapphire insisted quickly. “They were

just trying to protect us from the mercenaries.”

Ryan stared at the furry creatures for another moment, rubbing his

chin as if he was in deep thought, or trying to come up with a good
argument for leaving them behind. Finally, he tossed his hands up into
the air like he was out of protests.

“Fine, they can come, but the first time one of those furry little

things goes after a member of my crew or harms anyone in any way,
they are off the ship, even if I have to shoot them out an airlock. Is
that clearly understood?”

Sapphire’s heart jumped, pounding rapidly against his ribs as he

nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Get them loaded. They can stay in the cargo hold until we find

another spot for them.”

“Oh, they need—” Sapphire quickly tucked his lip when Ryan

glared at him. Maybe asking for blankets to keep his pets warm
wasn’t his best option. He’d just wait until things settled down then
sneak some blankets to them.

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When August gestured with a wave of his hand, Sapphire shooed

his pets onto the ship with a hurried motion. A few whistles stopped
any that deviated from their path as they followed August down the
corridor to the cargo hold.

Sapphire grimaced as soon as he saw the inside of the large hold.

It was cold and unfeeling, the walls just as metal as the floors. There
was a large pallet of boxes stacked on one side, a small shuttle in the
middle, and barrels tied down on the other side. There was no place
for his pets.

This would not do at all.
August must have seen the reluctance on his face because he

grabbed him around the waist and pulled him toward the door. “They
will be fine in here, Sapphire. I know you don’t like it but it’s all we
have at the moment. Once we get underway, I’ll see what I can do
about getting them a crate to sleep in or something.”

Well, that was something at least.
“Come on, baby. We need to get to the bridge for takeoff.”
It was one of the hardest things Sapphire had ever done when he

turned away from his pets and followed August back out of the cargo
bay. “They’re going to need a blanket or something. It gets cold in
there at night.”

August chuckled. “I’ll see that they have one, Sapphire.”
Okay, that made him feel a little better. August might be amused

by him but he promised to make sure his pets were taken care of. That
was better than what Ryan had promised him.

“Where are we going now?” Sapphire asked as he hurried along

beside August. He was glad his mate knew where he was going
because Sapphire was about as lost as he could possibly be.

“To the bridge.”
“No, I mean, where are we headed? I heard you all talking about

being on some sort of mission. Are you going to continue that or
what? Or do you plan to head home? And where exactly is home? Do
you have a house somewhere or an apartment? Since you’re in the

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Elite Force, does that mean you live in the barracks? Do I have to live
in the barracks? Will they let me live in the barracks? If not, where
will I live? Will we be able to live together or what? I’d really hate to
be separated from you so I’d like to avoid that if at all possible.
Maybe we can get a small place close to wherever it is that you’re
stationed?”

Sapphire suddenly realized that he was walking down the corridor

all by himself. He turned, looking for August, only to find the man
standing several feet back down the corridor, just staring at him.

“What?” Sapphire asked, growing concerned when August’s

eyelashes lifted and lowered in slow motion. “What’s wrong,
August?”

“Are you breathing?”
“Yes, of course.” Sapphire inhaled deeply just to be sure. “Yeah,

I’m breathing.”

“How?” August asked. “You didn’t inhale a single time when you

were talking.”

Sapphire’s face flamed as he chewed in his lower lip and turned

away. This wasn’t the first time that someone complained about the
way he talked, or how much he talked. Considering it was probably a
character flaw, he seriously doubted that it would be the last time.

He just didn’t expect it from August.
Sapphire’s heart sank at the idea that he couldn’t really be himself

even with August. He had hoped for more, and maybe that was his
mistake right there. August didn’t know him at all. If he did, he would
have never claimed him. Sapphire just knew it.

“I’ll try to keep it to a minimum.” Or maybe not talk at all unless

spoken to first, and then one-word responses if at all possible. He’d
done it before. He could do it again, no matter how much it sucked.

August was at his side in two seconds flat. He didn’t look happy

and Sapphire thought maybe the man was irritated that he’d mated a
jabbering Andronian. There was pure heat in his eyes as he stared at
Sapphire.

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“You will do no such thing.” August placed his fingers at

Sapphire’s chin, tilting his head back so he could see August. “It just
took me by surprise, but I never want you changing anything about
yourself for me, or anyone else. Understood?”

Sapphire nodded his head rapidly as he gazed into dark-grey eyes.

He suddenly forgot what they were talking about as his eyes fell to
August’s lips. He wanted the man to kiss him so badly that time itself
stood still. August must have seen the need in his eyes because the
man closed the distance, breathing in before he feathered his lips
across Sapphire’s.

It wasn’t the kiss he was looking for, but just being near the man

was driving his lust higher.

“Let’s get off this planet and then we can discuss this further in

our quarters.”

“Discuss what?” Sapphire asked as he leaned in for a firmer kiss.
August chuckled. “Come on, sexy.”
It took a moment for the lust to clear from his head and Sapphire

was able to think again. The only thing on his mind was being naked
and the hard muscles of his mate wrapped around him. He wasn’t
even sure how he managed to walk. His mind was focused solely on
the backside of August.

His brain finally kicked in when the doors to the bridge opened

and he was staring at the Onyx crew. The bridge seemed to be a very
busy place at the moment. Sapphire wasn’t sure what to do, so he took
the closest seat and just observed.

“I made the necessary repairs,” Vane said as he sat at a console to

the right. “But we’ll have to make plenty more once we’re off this
planet. I pretty much bandaged this baby with spit and twine.”

That didn’t sound promising at all. Sapphire suddenly had images

of being dead in the water while in space, slowly dying when all the
oxygen was used up. He glanced at August, but the man seemed
unworried.

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113

“Our first destination is Paktil,” the commander said. “We need

supplies and from the intel I gathered before all this happened, ex-
Junior Officer Gregory Tyvak has moved from Lost Star three to
Paktil where he is holing up at an advisor’s home.”

Sapphire was lost. He had no clue who this junior officer was or

why they were going after him. He just knew that he was going with
them. Maybe he should ask August what was going on…when they
were alone.

The ship came to life, every light in the bridge blinking and then

growing steady as the thrusters engaged. Sapphire quickly strapped
into his seat as the ship lifted off. A shot of adrenaline coursed
through him as he watched the planet grow smaller and smaller. He
never thought he would leave that place. When he was dropped off,
he thought he would die there.

“Ready?” Reno asked with a glint of excitement in his eyes.
Ready for what?
Ryan nodded right before he looked at Vane and said, “Engage

the thrusters and get us the hell away from this place.”

Sapphire watched Reno play with some sort of vid-pad and the

next thing he knew, a ginormous ball of fire could be seen reaching
for the sky back on the planet. The lab was gone. They had just blown
it to pieces. He was pretty sure the sublevels were collapsed and
nothing of what had happened down there remained.

Good. Sapphire didn’t even want to think of what those

coldhearted scientists would have done if they hadn’t been stopped.

As soon as the ship settled on course, August walked over to him,

reached down, and removed his straps. “Follow me.”

He wasn’t sure what was going on, but Sapphire did as August

asked. They walked to a part of the ship he hadn’t seen yet, Sapphire
taking in the sad state of everything. “Why do I have a feeling it
looked like this before the crash?”

August grinned as he continued to walk. “Because it did.”

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Sapphire had an urge to join his pets in the cargo bay. At least he

would be near the shuttle if this dang thing fell apart.

They walked into a room and Sapphire instantly knew this was

where August slept. He was glad the bed looked comfortable, which
was a surprise considering how messed-up this ship looked.

“You can shower in there.” August pointed to a door on the other

side of the room. Just the thought of showering had Sapphire
grinning. It felt like forever since he had a decent, hot shower. The
water on the planet had been ice-cold, forcing Sapphire to wash up as
quickly as possible.

After taking what felt like a shower from the heavens, Sapphire

stepped out of the stall to see August standing there, totally naked.

Staring down at the floor, Sapphire all of a sudden felt awkward.

He wanted that bond he heard so much about that kept mates close.
He craved the intimacy of his Sayak, wanting to know what it was
like to have someone love him that much, that deeply.

“Sapphire?” August said his name softly, his voice deep and

soothing. God, the man sounded so freaking sexy. Before Sapphire
could turn around, August was at his back, his heat soaking under
Sapphire’s skin.

Neither said a word as August reached up and placed Sapphire’s

hands on the glass of the stall. “Do you trust me?”

Biting his bottom lip, Sapphire nodded, giving August a trust he’d

never given another.

Sapphire sucked in a breath when August dropped to his knees

and sensually kissed each exposed, wet cheek.

The feeling was hot and sent shivers across his skin. The man

kissed a line over the top of Sapphire’s ass and even though he felt his
heart rate speed up, all he could do was stand there with his toes
curled and his dick getting harder.

“August?”

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115

“Shhh,” August reassured him between kisses. “I think you’ll

enjoy this, baby.” He ran his fingers along the curves, kneading and
stroking. How could something so relaxing also be so intense?

When August ran his tongue down the seam of Sapphire’s ass,

Sapphire tensed up, but not because it felt bad.

Quite the opposite, he thought.
He shuddered at the feelings, the tickle on his nerve endings as

August played with him. He made a small noise before he could stop
himself and he just knew, even without looking, that August was
smirking behind him.

The massaging of his cheeks continued, strong hands moving

down his thighs before moving up to part him open and—

“Damn, I want to fuck you.” The voice was low, the rumble in his

mate’s chest causing a vibration down Sapphire’s spine, almost as
much as the words did. The heavy press of August’s body, pushing
him into the shower door, had Sapphire nearly losing his mind with
need.

His mate could have whatever he wanted. He also knew from their

earlier encounters just how gentle a lover August was. “I want to fuck
this tight ass until I have you screaming my damn name.”

Sapphire felt the air leave his lungs in a rush as August bit at his

cheek. He moved his tongue across Sapphire’s cheeks and he knew he
couldn’t take too much more of this before he passed out from too
much excitement, too much want.

Sapphire was longing for the intimacy so much that he would beg

for it. How had the Sayak become everything in Sapphire’s universe?
Sapphire was terrified of the unknown, but somehow he knew August
would make sure nothing happened to him. He wasn’t sure how he
knew this, but his heart told him that his mate would protect Sapphire
with his life.

But he wanted this, wanted it as much as he ever wanted anything

in his life. It was crazy, and fantastic, and downright scary, but true.

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Sapphire wanted August to claim him once more, reminding them
both who Sapphire belonged to.

He let his head fall forward as August parted his thighs. He could

feel the solid warmth of August’s shoulders settle before his hands
resumed their position, stroking and kneading before parting him
again, and this time Sapphire purposefully relaxed his body, trying
not to tense up as he waited.

He felt the warm air puff, sending tingles up his spine before a fire

rocket went off in his head. And then there was just heat. Heat and
solid currents of electricity shot from where August’s tongue moved,
down to his cock. The wet warmth of August’s tongue circled,
relaxed, as he licked down the seam again before pressing hard
against Sapphire’s hole.

It was intense—intense like Sapphire had never felt. The sensation

short-circuited any thoughts or brainwaves he might have had. It
made him grip at the door until he swore he’d rip the edge trimming
off. August made his cock throb and ache, pressing Sapphire’s shaft
hard into the glass and Sapphire moved his hand to ease the ache, but
August beat him to it.

Sapphire felt August slide a hand between his stomach and the

door, dragging down his skin before reaching his cock, encircling
with a tight grip at the base as his tongue continued to lave and lick.

August shifted behind him, and Sapphire felt a firm hand grip his

hip. The long fingers dug into his skin as he felt August lift him
closer, and then the tongue pressed harder against his hole, before it
gave way and allowed August to delve in.

Sapphire’s breath caught. What came out of his throat was a mix

between a moan and a gasp. Like the air had just been pushed out of
his lungs and he couldn’t complete the sound.

The pleasure had his skin humming and his heart was racing so

hard that he could feel sweat forming at his temples.

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117

His body was starting to take over—mind completely shut up

shop, cock desperately wanting to thrust into the glass, needing the
friction to finish.

The pleasure from August’s hot tongue made him want to push up

higher against his mouth. Both were unattainable as August’s heavy
body was pressing him in, shoulders and arms over the backs of his
thighs as he gripped and stroked him. He was unable to decide what
he wanted more, August to finish this or fuck him.

Sapphire clung at the door harder, and then pulled at it as his cock

jerked. He was flying, flying high at what August was doing to him,
and he didn’t want to land anytime soon.

August buried his face into Sapphire’s ass, his tongue fucking him

as his hand jerked his cock. Sapphire snapped his hips forward, and
then shoved his ass onto August’s tongue. Fireworks were going off
in his head, making him see stars as his lips parted to accommodate
more air.

Rolling his forehead over the cool glass, Sapphire lost himself in

what his mate was doing to him. He felt…actually felt something
stirring inside of him, making his heart pound faster.

Sapphire closed his eyes as August pulled his fingers free and

replaced them with his cock, slowly pushing his way in, a long groan
falling from between his clenched teeth. He arched his back, his eyes
sliding closed as August lifted Sapphire up and pushed right inside.

“Oh, god!” Sapphire shouted.
As Sapphire tried to breathe his way through the invasion,

August’s deep, dark eyes were smoky and filled with concern, as he
looked down at Sapphire. The feeling of being full didn’t even begin
to describe the experience. Sapphire felt his cock tingle, aching for
release, his balls drawn and tight already.

August blinked, his dark eyelashes fluttering slowly at first then

more rapidly as the seconds passed. His head tilted to one side as he
stared down at Sapphire. “Have I told you how beautiful you are?”

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Slowly, August’s tongue gained Sapphire’s attention as the man

licked his way around Sapphire’s neck, kissing and nipping as he
palmed Sapphire’s balls, which were tight and hard.

He groaned when his mate slid his tongue down his throat. August

pulled back, his cock grazing along nerve endings that made Sapphire
shiver. Tiny explosions were going off inside him as August fucked
his ass.

The sensations had Sapphire’s blood on fire. He closed his eyes

and took a deep breath, staving off his orgasm, wanting this time with
the man that he loved to last forever. His body was thrumming and his
cock was thickening as August thrust harder, deeper, and faster into
his ass.

“I’m close,” August said as he pressed his fingers into Sapphire’s

hips, his cock sliding in and out of Sapphire’s ass with greater speed
as a growl ripped from the Sayak’s chest.

All Sapphire could think about though was that this was August,

his mate. It was August’s hands smoothing over him as he dragged
Sapphire even closer. It was August’s hot lips against his heated flesh.
And those were definitely August’s teeth nipping at his skin as the
man fucked him into the glass stall door.

Sapphire glanced over his shoulder to see August’s eyes alight

with some kind of approval. There was a hunger there and heat more
intense than Sapphire had ever seen before.

Sapphire held on as August’s hips snapped with unbelievable

speed. The man’s cock continued to graze over nerve endings before
August growled his release.

Sapphire could feel every spurt of his mate’s hot seed in his ass.
Sapphire erupted, his seed hitting the door as he tumbled head-

first into his climax. Thank goodness August was holding on to him
or he just might have fallen to the floor.

“My mate.” August rested his forehead between Sapphire’s

shoulder blades, a contented sigh falling from his lips.

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Chapter Eleven

August smiled at Sapphire as he sat down at the computer console

and plugged in the data chip he had pocketed before leaving the
robotics lab. Curiosity about what could be on it was driving him
crazy.

“We’re going to head to Paktil from here,” August said as he

waited for the data to load. “We have a list of people that we’re
supposed to be apprehending and bringing in for questioning by the
Council on Tronos. Ryan believes one of the people on our list is on
Paktil.”

“Junior Officer Gregory Tyvak?”
August’s grin was proud as Sapphire repeated a name he had only

heard once and then just in passing. “Yep.”

“What did he do?”
August shrugged, barely having all the information himself. Most

of it was top secret and this unit was only privy to the bare minimum.
“It doesn’t matter much. He’s wanted for questioning. If there’s no
evidence he did anything wrong, the Federation of United Planets will
let him go. If there is evidence, he’ll stand trial.”

“You don’t know what he did?” Sapphire asked. “What if he’s

innocent?”

“My job is simply to bring him in, Sapphire, not to judge him.

That’s up to the Federation of United Planets Council.” Thank the
gods. “I wouldn’t want that job for all of the Brilliam Tea in the
universe.”

“But—”

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121

“If there is evidence that they have committed a crime, they will

be given adequate legal counsel and a chance to defend themselves.
They aren’t just arrested and tossed into prison, Sapphire. There are
laws that protect even the most heinous of criminals from wrongful
prosecution.”

August agreed that there needed to be laws in place, and for good

reason. But he also understood Sapphire’s objection to what his crew
was doing. They had to be very careful about who they took in and
how they took them in.

They learned that the hard way when Ryan’s mate was taken in

for simple questioning and was accidently questioned and tortured for
days by a sadistic guard who was now on their apprehension list. Kurt
was still recovering from the abuse he had suffered at the hands of the
crazy interrogator.

“Your stuff is up.”
“Huh?” August turned to look at Sapphire, the man’s words

breaking him out of the deep thoughts he had sunk into.

Sapphire gestured toward the computer screen. “The data card,”

he said. “It’s ready.”

“Oh, great.” August sat forward and started sifting through the

files on the mysterious data stick. Curiosity had always been a
downfall of his, and he knew it. If something confused him, niggled at
him, or was just a plain mystery, he had to solve it, learn about it, or
investigate it until he understood it.

Most of the files seemed to be medical and personnel files—along

with photographs—on people he had never heard of or seen before.
August assumed they were station personnel files and started to lose
interest until he spotted a file named Project: G.E.N.E.

Once again, his curiosity overrode his common sense and August

clicked on the file. Information started coming across the screen a lot
faster than he could read it, and what he was reading chilled him to
his bones.

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“Sapphire, baby,” August said without looking away from the

screen. He prayed Sapphire didn’t hear the waver in his voice as he
spoke. “I need you to go get Ryan for me and bring him back here. I
need to show him these files.”

“Yeah, sure.”
August blew out a relieved breath when Sapphire jumped up and

raced out of the room. He took a moment to ready himself for what he
was going to see then looked back at the screen—and the file labeled
“Sapphire.”

His fingers shook as he tapped the file open and started reading.

August didn’t get halfway through the first page before his jaw was
clenching with the need to rip someone apart. He’d start with
Sapphire’s uncle—the man that had sold Sapphire.

As far as August could tell, no experiments had been done to

Sapphire but the notes he was reading clearly stated what the
scientists intended to do to him.

There were some really sick people out there.
Due to his size and his lack of venom, Sapphire was considered an

anomaly in the Andronian species’ genetic code. The Andronian High
Council wanted to know why Sapphire was the way he was, and they
sanctioned the experiments that were to be carried out.

Sapphire had been betrayed by his own fucking race.
August wasn’t sure he had the heart to tell Sapphire. He knew that

the man was confused about being dropped at the station by his uncle
but August seriously doubted that Sapphire knew just how badly he
had been let down by everyone that was supposed to care for him.

August swore he wouldn’t be one of those people and the second

the man walked back into the room with Ryan on his heels, August
turned away from the computer screen and beckoned for Sapphire to
come to him.

“Baby, do you know what being mates means?”
“Uh…” Sapphire’s purple-ringed eyes darted over to Ryan then

back, growing darker by the second. “You have to like me?”

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123

“Not exactly.” August wished it was that simple. “It means that

there is a connection between us, a bond. It does not mean that we
have to like each other or anything else. That is all on us.”

“You don’t—” Sapphire licked his lips like they had suddenly

gone so dry that it impeded his ability to speak. “You don’t like me?”

“I adore you, Sapphire.” August wanted to alleviate Sapphire’s

worry but the second the words slipped past his lips, he realized that
they were absolutely true. He also realized that it was important that
he told Sapphire that. The man needed to know that he mattered to
someone. “You’re the best thing that has happened to me, ever.”

The purple rings around Sapphire’s irises grew more pronounced,

darker. “I am?” he murmured in a whisper so low that August might
have missed it if he hadn’t been watching the man.

“Yes, baby.” August gathered Sapphire in his arms, ignoring the

odd look Ryan sent him as the man took the seat next to him.

August felt the shudder that rippled through Sapphire’s slim body

and just held him closer. He knew he needed to explain things to
Ryan but he also wanted to give Sapphire as much time as he could
before he destroyed his world.

“Why are you telling me this?” Sapphire asked as he raised his

head. “Have I done something wrong? Are you leaving me on
Paktil?”

“No, baby.” August gently stroked his fingers over the satiny skin

of Sapphire’s cheek. “I’m never going to let you go.”

“Then why—”
“There’s a file on here, Sapphire.” August waved his free hand

toward the computer screen. “A file with your name on it.”

“My name?” Sapphire’s eyebrows climbed up his forehead as he

turned to look at the monitor. “Why?”

Fuck, he hated this part. August did not want the Andronian to

feel like his entire universe was collapsing, but the guy needed to
know what was going on. August fully believed that knowledge was
power.

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“Baby, your uncle sold you to the scientists on the station.”

August watched Sapphire carefully, fully ready to take the man into
his arms when he fell apart. His jaw dropped when Sapphire started
shaking his head instead.

“Well, that explains why they assigned me a room when I

arrived,” Sapphire said as if some of the puzzle pieces were finally
falling together and a clearer picture was forming in his mind. “I
thought they were insane.”

“I’m sorry, baby. If—”
“I’m not.”
“You’re not?” August glanced at Ryan only to find the

commander staring at Sapphire like he had suddenly grown another
head. “Why aren’t you sorry, Sapphire?” he asked as he looked back
at his mate.

Sapphire shrugged. “I’m much happier here with you than I ever

was with my uncle. My life wasn’t peaches and cream and I don’t
miss being abused and degraded for not being just like everyone else
in my race. It hurts to know I wasn’t accepted, but I’d rather be with
you and go into the unknown than live another day of misery on my
planet.”

August stared then slowly started laughing, the noise growing

louder and louder until his laughter echoed off the walls and filled the
room. He wrapped his arms around Sapphire’s waist, pulling his mate
as close to him as he could and just held him. They really were two
peas in a pod, two misfits who needed each other more than they had
ever realized. August wasn’t sure of what they were heading into on
this mission, but he sure as hell was glad that he had Sapphire by his
side.

“I couldn’t have said it better myself, baby.”
“That’s what I love about you,” Sapphire said as he wrapped his

arms around August’s neck. “You accept me for who I am.”

August inhaled sharply as he pulled back slightly and gazed into

Sapphire’s gorgeous eyes. “You love me?”

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125

Sapphire blushed as he nodded, looking a bit unsure, as if August

would reject him. The years of loneliness and being used by everyone
he encountered seemed to slip away as he tucked his fingers under
Sapphire’s jaw and tilted the man’s head back.

“Until you, I never even knew it could be possible.” August

leaned in and laid a soft kiss on Sapphire’s lips. “But now that I have
a part of me that has been missing my whole life, I know what it feels
like to love someone beyond measure. I love you, too, Sapphire.”

And he did, with every fiber in him. August still viewed the

universe through jaded eyes, but his heart no longer beat a lonely
tempo.

Not when he had his mate at his side.

* * * *

Cheyenne was not happy to be pulled away from Oliver to go out

on the retrieval mission for Junior Officer Gregory Tyvak. He’d much
rather stay at Oliver’s side and make sure that the man was recovering
sufficiently. Just knowing that Oliver had been hurt in that damn
explosion pissed Cheyenne off.

Which was pretty damn ironic since Cheyenne had been lusting

after the man for years with no returned affection. Oliver Hanson was
a large, tenebrous, and hardnosed son of a bitch, yet, Cheyenne had
fallen hard for the man. He hadn’t thought when Oliver had gone
down. Cheyenne had only reacted.

Now that he lay there on the bed, his usually stony face relaxed,

Cheyenne could see how handsome the man truly was. But he wasn’t
going to allow himself to be rejected again. No, he was going to do
what he had to do in order to make sure Oliver recovered, and then
drop his ass off at the nearest planet. He didn’t need the damn
heartache. Cheyenne didn’t need to moon over the guy, only to have
Captain Hanson turn a cold shoulder on him.

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He became rigid in his stance when dark-blond eyelashes fluttered

open. Cheyenne stopped himself from smiling, from going to Oliver
and asking if he needed anything. He’d been down that road before
and Heartbreak Hotel was not his final destination.

“Where am I?” Oliver asked as his smoky-grey eyes flickered

around the room.

“Dead,” Cheyenne stated sarcastically, refusing to allow himself

to care. “Welcome to the pits of hell.”

Once again a veil fell over the man’s face as he glanced in

Cheyenne’s direction. Cheyenne refused to squirm under the man’s
intense gaze. He learned years ago that Captain Oliver Hanson ate
weak men for breakfast and Cheyenne wasn’t going to be the man’s
next meal.

“Where is my unit?”
“On their way back to Tronos, I suspect.” Before Oliver had a

chance to fully regain his wits and interrogate Cheyenne, he walked
out of the room, taking in a deep lungful of air. Being around the
captain always made his cock hard and his heart beat faster.

“We’ll be docking in a few minutes. Will you be ready to go on

this mission?” Ryan asked as he approached Cheyenne.

Schooling his features, Cheyenne nodded.
Ryan, August, Cheyenne, and Reno were heading up the search

party. The commander didn’t want to take the entire crew, feeling it
best to leave some of them to guard the ship. He was going to have to
let Rhys know that the captain was awake so the doc could check on
the man.

That was as far as his kindness toward the captain was going to

extend.

Cheyenne spotted the monkey terrors in the cargo bay and

groaned. He’d totally forgotten about those things. All seven sat on
top of a crate, watching him closely as he entered. It was the creepiest
feeling ever.

Rings of Sapphire

127

“Damn,” Ryan muttered when he noticed them as well. “What am

I going to do about Sapphire’s pets?”

“Let them loose on Paktil and tell Sapphire they escaped,”

Cheyenne answered with all seriousness.

“Not likely,” August answered as he joined them. “If any one of

them comes up missing, I’m handing you over to Sapphire.”

That shouldn’t have been a threat considering the Andronian’s

lack of venom and short size, but Cheyenne knew just how much the
quirky man loved those things. He wasn’t willing to endure the man’s
wrath. Not when he already had Hanson to deal with.

“Stay sharp,” Lieutenant Commander Ryan Devries said as they

exited the Onyx.

For once, Cheyenne was glad they weren’t on a ship that had the

Elite Force logo plastered on the side. The Onyx was just an ordinary
ship among fifty other ordinary ships that were docked on Paktil.
They blended in and that’s what Cheyenne wanted.

There was no sense alerting anyone that they were here. If Tyvak

was actually on this planet, the Elite Force didn’t need the man to get
a heads-up so he could run.

As Cheyenne walked through the marketplace, taking in the

sights, smells, and sounds, his thoughts betrayed him and wandered
back to the man still healing on the ship. He didn’t want to think of
Oliver, but his thoughts wouldn’t stop imagining what it would be
like—

“Fuck,” Reno said as he came to a stop, all four men moving

quickly to shadow their presence by the side of a tan-bricked building.
Cheyenne wasn’t sure what Reno had seen, but he knew when to
make his presence known and when to blend in.

“Over there.” Reno jutted his chin toward a small courtyard where

people were sitting, enjoying a meal or the company they were with.
Cheyenne’s eyes landed on the man they were here to hunt down.

But he wasn’t alone. There was a disguised-looking gentleman

with him, both talking in hushed tones, their expressions intense.

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“What do you want to do?” Cheyenne asked Ryan. “I’m not sure

taking him down in public is wise. Didn’t you say this was a hush-
hush mission?”

“I did,” Ryan said as he nodded. The lieutenant was staring at the

pair, and Cheyenne swore he saw the man’s mind working to figure
the situation out. “We’ll just have to hang loose until he leaves the
courtyard and then follow him.”

“I’ve seen that face before,” August murmured from behind them,

his dark brows pulled together.

“He doesn’t really look like the type to be on anyone’s most

wanted list,” Reno commented. “Not that there is a particular look
that says ‘bad guy.’”

Cheyenne agreed, mostly. There were some characters who just

had that evil expression no matter how hard they tried to cover it up.
“Do you remember where you saw him?” he asked August.

Dark brows rose high on August’s forehead before his eyelids

lowered to slits. Whoever the man was, August didn’t have a fond
memory of the guy—not if that lethal look was anything to go by.

“Yeah, I remember,” August said with a sinister growl in his

voice. “He’s the head scientist that was in charge of Project:
G.E.N.E.”

“Project what?”
August grimaced. “Genetic Engineering Nano Evolution, the

damn project they were working on back at the space station.”

Ryan let loose a slew of curses as he glanced back toward the pair.

“Well, at least we now know one of the links that ties Project:
G.E.N.E. to the Federation.” The lieutenant turned back toward them,
a grim look on his face. “We just have to figure out who Tyvak is
connected to.”

Cheyenne had a really bad feeling that was going to be easier said

than done.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lynn Hagen loves writing about the somewhat flawed, but

lovable. She also loves a hero who can see past all the rough edges to
find the shining diamond of a beautiful heart. You can find her on any
given day curled up with her laptop and a cup of hot java, letting the
next set of characters tell their story.

Stormy believes the only thing sexier than a man in cowboy boots

is two or three men in cowboy boots. She also believes in love at first
sight, soul Mates, true love, and happy endings. You can usually find
her cuddled in bed with a book in her hand and a puppy in her lap, or
on her laptop, creating the next sexy man for one of her stories.
Stormy welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website
at www.stormyglenn.com.

For all titles by Stormy Glenn and Lynn Hagen, please visit