Pursued: A Sci-Fi Alien Warrior Romance (Raider Warlords of the Vandar Book 4)

run my fingers along the inside rim of the hearth. It was surprisingly cool, but held no secret compartment.
“Fuckity fuck.” I put my hands on my hips and darted a glance to the door. I needed to pick up my pace before I got busted hanging out in the Raas’ quarters and not bathing. With another impatient sigh, I headed for the arched doorway leading into the adjoining chamber, pulling off my shoes as I alternated walking and hopping on one foot.
I stopped short when I entered the room. Now this was a surprise. Not that it looked dramatically different from the rest of the quarters—the black-stone decor theme was still going strong—but it held the most unusual bath I’d ever seen.
Shaped like a half-moon, the sunken tub was huge and divided into four wedges. Each of these wedges was filled with a different color of water. Steam rose from the crimson section, bubbles danced along the surface of the orange water, the green water was completely opaque, and the blue wedge of water was crystal clear.
I forgot my frustration as I peeled off the rest of my grimy clothes and left them on the floor. What I’d told the Vandar was true. It had been ages since I’d had a real bath, and I’d never had one in vividly hued water like this.
I padded barefoot to the edge of the pools. “Maybe Vandar aren’t brutes about everything.”
I dipped one toe in the steaming red water and almost moaned. It was hot, luxuriously and decadently hot. None of the imperial ships had water this hot, and the outposts that I’d been frequenting barely boasted tepid water—on a good day. I lowered myself into the pool, my skin stinging slightly from the heat but adapting quickly. When I’d sunk down so the water reached my chin, I closed my eyes.
It was hard to be too concerned with my mission when every muscle in my body was uncoiling. I inhaled deeply, a faint spicy aroma filling my nose and relaxing me even more. What had I been so stressed about? I’d barely arrived on the horde ship. I had plenty of time to take down the Vandar and kill Raas Bron.
I frowned as I thought about the fierce Vandar warlord. The gorgeous, fierce Raas. Why had I reacted to him the way I had? He was just a male, after all. I had plenty of experience with males of many species. Some quite enjoyable. But no male had made my pulse quiver and my mouth go dry before. Not even when they’d made me come. What kind of dark warrior was this Raas Bron to make me feel something so uncontrollable? My entire existence was about control.
I shook my head to rid myself of the conflicted feelings. The Vandar Raas was still my target, despite what he’d made me feel. And I still had to assassinate him. My stomach tightened, and I bit my lip, forcing myself to think of him dispassionately as just another mark, my mind racing with a risk assessment.
This one would not be easy to kill, especially since no raider seemed to go anywhere without their huge, deadly axe. And if the rumors were correct, they wielded their weapons with impressive skill. My mind whirred as I considered how to divest him of his axe. The axe was key.
“That’s it!” My eyes flew open, and my heart fluttered with excitement. The Vandar battle axes. The only thing the Vandar personalized were their weapons, so maybe the battle axes that had been welded into a giant fan-like headboard held some sort of secret. “That’s fucking it!”
I pulled myself out of the water and ran out of the bathing chamber, leaving a series of puddles in my wake. I didn’t have time to dry myself or put my clothes back on. Not when I was sure I was onto something.
I leapt onto the bed and leaned close to the array of axes, squinting to inspect the etchings on the circular blades and the markings on the ornate handles. Most were ornamental or symbolic—swirls that mimicked the ones on their chests, or carved planets and stars—but it was the Vandar words I was most interested in. I’d taught myself basic Vandar before the mission, so I wasn’t an expert, but I could read the words that appeared most often—Zedna, Lokken. These were words I recognized as part of the alien race’s ancient mythology. I forced myself onto the tips of my toes as I peered higher to the largest axe at the center of the fanned design, and my breath hitched in my throat. I ran my finger over the one word that wasn’t part of the mythology I’d learned about the Vandar—a word that was written over and over next to the image of a planet—Zendaren.
“Found you,” I whispered, clenching my hand into a fist.
Then the door behind me opened and I froze, naked and dripping water onto the Raas’ crimson sheets. Fuck me.

Chapter Nine
Bron
I stopped when I entered my quarters. I’d expected the female to be in the bathing pools when I entered to retrieve a fresh battle kilt. My plan had been to get a clean garment and discard the one currently stained with sweat from my bout with the holographic gorgomil. I’d be in and out before she’d notice, and I wouldn’t come close to the door of the bathing chamber, or chance a glimpse of her naked. I had not intended to walk in on her completely bare and dripping water as she stood on my bed facing away from me.
The Vandar who’d been guarding the door inhaled sharply behind me, snapping me out of my stupor. I turned to the raider, whose mouth hung open unabashedly as he gaped at the human’s lithe, naked body and her perfect, plump ass.
“I will handle this,” I said, pressing the panel for the door to close on him before he could respond.
Alana’s head swiveled around