They hauled him onto what looked like a command deck and over to a man who sat with his back turned, working some kind of controls on a console that was unfamiliar to Larsson. When the man heard them enter, he turned around quickly, a huge smile lighting his face. It was Tarr Bonnet.
“Larsson, how good of you to drop by. ” Larsson snarled at him, struggling in his bonds. The men holding him tightened their grip and Tarr made a tsking sound with his tongue. “Settle down, nobyo. I don’t like hurting you like this. ”
“Is that why you’re having them do it?” Larsson asked, snarling at him. All he wanted at that moment was to feel his hands around that gorgeous neck of his. “Bonnet, you son of a bitch! If you’ve harmed Blayde in any way, I’ll…”
“Temper, temper,” Tarr broke in. “You cousin is fine and probably already home by now on your ugly little planet. And as I promised you that you would be, you arehere with me. ” His complacent, self-satisfied smile faded a bit as he leaned in closer, noticing for the first time the cut on Larsson’s lip where he’d bitten it when the ship alarm sounded.
His face turned dusky red, making the usually barely noticeable stripes on his face stand out in sharp relief. He glared at the men holding Larsson, his face full of rage. “Who did this to him? I said he wasn’t to be touched!” He reached out to trace the cut with his fingers, and Larsson jerked his head away. Impatiently, Tarr grasped his chin and turned his head back around.
“I’ll touch you whenever I want to, Lycan, so get used to it. Youbelong to me now. ” “Like hells I do!” Larsson glared up at him, glad for the first time that the men on either side of him were holding him up. He thought he’d grown immune to the weakness Tarr’s touch always brought him, but at the first touch of his hand, his knees buckled, and he would have fallen to the floor if they hadn’t been holding him up.
“No one touched him, sir, I swear it!” one of the men holding him said. “Maybe it happened when he fell, I don’t know. But none of us so much as harmed a hair on his head, just like you said. ”
Tarr seemed to calm down some, but still held Larsson’s chin in his hand, as if he didn’t want to stop touching him. Finally, he nodded and stepped back. “Untie him. ”
The two Rogers looked at each other over Larsson’s head and blanched visibly. They obviously knew what Lycans were capable of.
“But sir…”
“You heard me. Release him. Hewon’t hurt me, will you, Larsson? Afterall, I’m your mate, isn’t that right?”
Larsson only glared at him, and the men on his sides shuffled nervously. “You may be, sir, but we’re not! Idon’t like the looks of this one. ”
“Really?” Tarr said, rubbing one finger over Larsson’s jaw. “I like his looks very much indeed. ” He peered down into Larsson’s face. Larsson forgot how much taller Tarr was—he stood well over seven feet tall, so he was a good eight inches taller than Larsson. “Will you promise to be good and not hurt my men if I untie you?”
Larsson gave him a feral grin and a sly look. “Sure. ”
Tarr tilted his head to the side. “Somehow I don?
??t believe you. How about this? Swear it on your Lycan honor. On your love for me. ”
“Who said I love you, asshole?”
“Don’t you?” Tarr smiled down at him, daring him to deny it, and he desperately wanted to. But his wolf wouldn’t allow it, already leaping around inside him at the first touch of its mate in so long. Larsson shifted his eyes away stubbornly instead. Tarr laughed and dropped a kiss on his lips.
“Uther, come over here by me. ”
One of the huge Nilaniums holding him dropped his arm and quickly moved to stand beside Tarr.
Tarr grinned. “Now twist my arm behind my back until my mate agrees to behave himself. ”
All three of the other men looked at Tarr as if he’d gone completely mad, but he only smiled confidently. “Do it. Push it up until it hurts. ”
With a shrug, Uther pulled Tarr’s arm around behind his back and pushed upward until Tarr winced in pain. He gave Larsson a soulful look.
“Help me, baby,” Tarr said softly. “Promise you’ll be good so he’ll stop hurting me. ”
Larsson shook his head. “This is fucking ridiculous. ”
The Nilanium grinned and pushed up harder, making Tarr hiss in a sharp breath. Larsson cursed silently under his breath. The bastard knew his wolf couldn’t stand by and see him hurt, even if the idiot had asked for it himself. The Nilanium gave another sharp twist and Larsson gave in.
“All right! Stop it, you gods damn fool,” he said, not meaning the Nilanium. “Untie me and I won’t hurt anyone. Where in the hells am I going to go anyway?”
Tarr gave a broad smile and the Nilanium instantly released him. Larsson shook his head. “Stupid asshole. I knew you were crazy, but I underestimated just how crazy. I should have let him break your arm. ”
Tarr chuckled and sat back down in his chair rubbing his shoulder, while his men released Larsson’s hands and feet. “Take him down to my room and lock him in,” he said to his men. “And you,” he said, pointing a long finger at Larsson. “Remember your promise. We’ll see if Lycans have any honor. ”
Larsson lifted one corner of his lip. “As if a Tygerian pirate knowsanything of honor. ”