Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Epilogue

Author’s Note

Chapter One, Alien Conquest

Faith and the Fighter

Alien Abduction Book 6

Honey Phillips

Copyright © 2019 by Honey Phillips

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author.

Disclaimer

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Cover Design by Melody Simmons (bookcoverscre8tive.com)

Edited by Nikki Groom @ Indie Hub Editing services (www.indiehub.co.uk)

Chapter One

Faith gathered her small bundle of belongings and took a deep breath as she slipped silently out of her cell. With any luck, this would be last time she saw the cold, bare room which had been her prison for the past eight years. Ever since the aliens had taken her from Earth and brought her to their research facility, she had thought about breaking free. She had tried to escape three times the first year. The first time she had hacked into the computer and overridden the locks on her room. She had only made it as far as the end of the corridor before a guard appeared and ordered her to return.

The second time she disabled the visual surveillance throughout the facility but only reached the gate between the scientists’ quarters and the outer section of the complex before she was caught. That was when she discovered that she had been implanted with a tracking device.

The third time she had actually made it to the exterior exit, only to find a world of swirling snow and subzero temperatures. There was nothing in sight except rock and ice, and she had neither the skills, nor the equipment, to handle that type of climate. Defeated, she had returned to her room to find Dr. Skevyk, the lead alien scientist, waiting for her. He was an imposing figure, tall and blue-skinned, his bald head covered with elaborate tattoos, but it was the complete absence of emotion in his pale blue eyes that caused her to believe his words.

“These escape attempts are as futile as they are tiresome. If they continue, I should like to remind you that your brain is of use to us, not your body. You could work just as well if you were say, paralyzed from the waist down.”

As the years had passed, she had become more and more engrossed in her research. The routine of work and study was so familiar to her that at times it was possible to forget she was a prisoner. About once a year, something—usually an abominable action by Skevyk—would remind her and she would spend a few days checking her options. The lab security was not an issue—she could bypass that easily enough—but the outside conditions were another matter. She couldn’t delude herself into believing that she would be able to survive out there. Supplies were delivered on a regular basis, but they were always heavily guarded. Electronic barriers she could overcome, armed guards she could not.

Then a few months ago, a stranger had stumbled into the secret facility. A solo trader of apparently limited intelligence, he had nonetheless managed to ingratiate himself with the guards and they had eventually allowed him to leave. A small flyer with only the pilot on board would be much easier to control. It opened up a possible avenue of escape and she began to make plans, even though she knew there was only a limited chance he would return.

Her renewed interest in escape was driven by another factor. Even though the Elginar scientists overseeing the terraforming project were infuriatingly vague about the parts which didn’t involve her directly, she knew it was very close to completion. Skevyk had made several very broad hints that her future depended on her ability to be “nice” to him. His leer left no doubt about what that niceness would entail. She didn’t actually think he was particularly interested in her sexually. No, what he craved was power—the power to see her on her knees before him. It was never going to happen.

As she left the inner portion of the facility, she heard the rowdy drunkenness from the guard’s hall getting louder. She checked her tablet and decided she would give them another hour before she put her diversion into effect. Just as she made the decision, a figure slipped out of the guard hall. It was the stranger. She had seen him on the video feed which she’d hacked in to, but seeing an actual four-armed, four-eyed, green-skinned alien in person was a lot more shocking.

She drew back into the shadows as she watched him walk by with a silent grace that belied the drunken buffoonery he had displayed earlier. Her heart dropped as she realized he was heading for the inner section of the complex. Most of the other scientists were also participating in the rampant drunkenness, although their efforts were a lot more subdued, but the electronic security was still in place. The idiot was going to get himself killed and blow her chances of escape. She looked at her tablet and cursed under breath. It looked like she was going to have to start her diversion early after all.

Using the small device, she quickly infiltrated the lab’s systems and initiated the sequence. The lights would blink a few times, then shut down. It wasn’t an unusual occurrence when a storm was raging outside the way it was now. When the lab switched to the emergency lights, no one would think much of it. What they hopefully wouldn’t realize was that all of the locks were not running on backup power as well but were completely disabled.

The question was, should she head for his ship while the trader was distracted or should she follow him and find out what he was doing before he ruined everything. She rubbed her nose, pushed her glasses higher, and went after the green man. He walked lightly, making no sound on the stone floors, while she tripped over an invisible crack and stubbed her toe. She managed to bite her tongue and duck back out of sight before he turned around. When she dared to peek after him, he was already at the door leading to the Elginar quarters. He raised a device to the lock, and she was just about to interrupt when he used one of his other arms to test the door. It opened. Hm, not so dumb after all.

She hurried after him, catching her thumb in the door as it started to close, and bit back a swear word.

The Elginar had their own dining room and lounge—heaven forbid they mingle with any of the captured scientists, let alone the guards or other workers—and she could hear signs of revelry from that direction. Apparently, they weren’t too superior to partake in the expensive free liquor the trader had brought. Elginar children must not have any Trojan Horse stories in their mythology.

The trader was silently opening doors, but all the doors on this corridor led to sleeping quarters. Surely he didn’t plan on robbing them? She doubted that any of them had anything which would compare to the value of the liquor he had brought with him.

The noise level increased as the lounge door opened, and she had just enough time to recognize Zartan, another one of the Elginar scientists, emerging before she flattened herself inside one of the small alcoves that framed each doorway. He vied with Skevyk as the most despicable of the Elginar. Although Skevyk had ordered him to leave her alone so that she could concentrate on her research, she’d still had to fight him off more than once. Fortunately, she was rarely alone. However, he was the reason she had developed a birth control formula as soon as she had access to chemicals, in case he ever succeeded.

Pulling out her tablet again, she used the video feed to watch him stagger down the corridor. He passed the trader, also hidden in a door alcove, without noticing him. As soon as he walked by, the trader moved, restraining him with two arms, covering his mouth with another, and injecting him with the fourth. Zartan went limp immediately and the trader slung him over his shoulder with no apparent difficulty before heading for the exit.

As soon as he was through the door, she took a second to alter the video feed and make it look as if Zartan had stumbled out on his own. As she stepped out into the corridor to follow them, something made her turn her head. Detauk, another one of the scientists, was standing by the lounge door. He looked directly at her and she froze in place, her heart pounding so hard she felt sick. They stared at each other, then his eyes… flickered. For a brief second, they were no longer pale Elginar blue, but completely black. Before she could even be sure of what she had seen, they were back to normal, but all he did was turn and enter the lounge.

Too grateful to ponder his actions right now, she turned and fled, still half-expecting to hear the sound of an alarm. But all remained quiet as she headed for the loading dock and the doors to the landing field. She reached the loading dock just in time to see the trader slip through, still carrying Zartan over his shoulders.

The locker room next to the external doors was equipped with outdoor gear, and in a stroke of genius, she pulled on Zartan’s equipment. Hopefully, they would just think he’d wandered off into the storm. She even left one of his scarves lying by the door as she stepped out.

The cold immediately took her breath away as she peered through the blinding snow and prayed that the faint glow of light from the trader’s ship meant that the landing ramp was still down. For a moment, she hesitated, but she had no choice. Her fingers and toes were already numb, even in the boots and gloves she had stolen. She couldn’t survive more than a brief time in the subzero temperatures. If there was no way onto the ship, she wouldn’t last very long unless she returned to the station. With freedom so close, dying seemed liked a better alternative.

With another quick prayer, she left the minimal shelter provided by the wall of the loading dock. The wind immediately hit her with enough force to blow her back several paces, but she ducked her head and kept moving. She could feel the icy wind penetrating the layers of material wound around her head and face, even as ice began to accumulate on the fabric. She blinked desperately, trying to keep that faint light in view. Her glasses were so cold she was hesitant to touch them, afraid they’d shatter.

She managed to get close enough to see the trader dragging Zartan through the exterior door at the top of the ramp. She knew she should probably wait, give him time to get through the airlock, but she was too cold and too terrified. She stumbled up the ramp, falling and hitting her knee painfully on the way, and simply smacked the entrance control. The door slid open and she fell forward, noticing gratefully that the airlock was empty. She managed to press the close button, just as the ramp began to rise. She’d made it. All she had to do now was pray that the luck which had never been her friend, held out long enough to make it off this planet.

Chapter Two

As Faith laid on the floor of the airlock, still shaking from cold and fear, she felt the vibrations begin. The ship was about to take off. The airlock should be safe, but she’d prefer to be inside the ship. Raising herself painfully to her feet, she peered cautiously through the circular window to the interior. Directly ahead of her was a ladder, no doubt leading up to the bridge. To her right was a large door that she assumed led to the cargo area. To her left was a tiny crew area with two stacked bunks opening on to the corridor. Zartan lay in the bottom one, still unconscious, with his hands and feet tied to the rails. The top bunk still had its screen in place.

Hoping that she’d been right about the trader being alone, she slipped through the door. It took her two tries to make it onto the top bunk, kicking Zartan in the ribs in the process. Fortunately, he only moaned and didn’t open his eyes. She had just made it onto the bunk and secured the screen again, when the vibrations reached a rumbling crescendo and the ship took off. Gravity pushed her back against the mattress. She was grateful she was there instead of on the floor of the airlock, but it was nothing like what she’d seen in movies, just a slowly increasing pressure which soon leveled off.

Once the flight smoothed out, she wrestled off the heavy outdoor gear as quietly as possible. Her hands, feet, and face tingled as the warmth of the ship penetrated, but she didn’t think she’d suffered any lasting damage. She relaxed back in the bunk and started considering alternatives. She’d been more focused on escape than future plans, but her brain immediately started turning over the possibilities.

Not long afterward, she heard feet on the ladder, along with the overpowering smell of alcohol. She froze, afraid to move, but all the trader did was check his prisoner.

“Still asleep, you bastard? Good. I don’t envy being in your position when Emperor Karthajin gets hold of you.”

He moved away and she heard the unmistakable sound of a shower in the sanitary facility. Apparently, he wasn’t any more enthusiastic about the smell of alcohol than she was. Since he was still so close, she remained motionless, pondering his words. Why would the emperor want Zartan? The terraforming project was important, but it didn’t seem important enough to interest the ruler of a galactic empire. And if he was interested, why hadn’t he simply sent someone?

The drying cycle came to an end and she heard footsteps again. They walked past her position, then paused and walked back. She held her breath but to no avail. The screen opened.

“Well, what do we have here? A stowaway?”

Up close he looked very, very large and very, very alien. She could see the fine green scales covering his skin as all four of his eyes surveyed her.

“A pretty little human stowaway at that. Do you know what happens to uninvited guests, little stowaway?”

He leaned closer, all of his eyes sparkling, and showed a lot of very sharp, white teeth.

She panicked, punching out at him blindly and somehow managing to connect with his face. He yelled, clapping a hand to his nose, and she tried to slip past him, only to land in an ungainly heap on the floor. Too terrified to try and stand, she started crab walking backwards across the floor. She’d only made it a few feet when two hands grabbed her ankles and pulled her back to where he was still clutching his nose with another hand.

“What the hell was that for?” he yelled.

“You scared me!”

“Me? Babe, I’m a lover, not a fighter.” Even as he spoke, Zartan started to stir. Without taking his eyes off of her, her captor used his fourth arm to deliver a quick blow that knocked the man out again.

“Oops. Not helping my cause, am I?” he asked, when she took a shocked breath. “If I let go of your feet, will you stay still long enough to talk to me?”

He grinned, and his teeth were still sharp and pointed, but now she could tell that he wasn’t baring them as an act of aggression. She nodded slowly.

“Good, good.” He checked Zartan’s bindings, then extended a hand. “Shall we go somewhere more comfortable to discuss this?”

That sounded entirely too much like a line for her liking, but he really didn’t seem aggressive despite his size and his… nudity? She hastily averted her eyes as she realized that he wasn’t wearing any clothes and he had a rather large green penis dangling between his legs.

“Only if you put some clothes on,” she said quickly, pleased that she didn’t stutter.

“Clothes? Oh, right. I’m used to having the flyer to myself.” Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as he turned to a locker and pulled out some pants. He turned his head far enough to see her peeking and closed two eyes in an outrageous wink. “Are you sure you want me to get dressed? Lots of ladies appreciate the sight of a naked Studoc.”

“I’m quite sure,” she said firmly. “Is that your species? Studoc?”

“No, I’m Rendashian. My name is Studoc. What’s your name, little human?”

“Faith. My name is Faith.” She suddenly made the connection. “How do you know I’m human? Did you meet another one? A little girl?” Although, she supposed her neighbor’s daughter was no longer a little girl now. Ella had been captured with her, and Faith had never stopped thinking about her or wondering what had happened to her. The red-skinned alien who had taken Ella away had promised she was going to a good home, but she had no reason to believe any promise made by an alien.

“I met one all right.” Studoc said, fastening his pants. “But Deb sure isn’t a little girl.” With a reminiscent smile, he sketched out curves in the air in an apparently universal gesture, then sobered. “Nice lady, though. She had a really tough time of it after she was kidnapped.”

“Is this Deb a scientist? Is that why she was taken?”

“No. Those bastards were interested in her body, not her brain.”

Faith gulped, sickened by the implications, and wondered yet again what had happened to Ella. She prayed that the alien who had taken Ella hadn’t lied to her.

“What about you? What’s your story?” Studoc asked.

“I’m a scientist,” she said,

“You?”

The doubt in his voice was quite obvious and she raised her chin. “Yes. They took me from Earth eight years ago to work on their terraforming project.”

“Terraforming?” The little ridges above his eyes rose. “That’s what you’ve been doing?”

“Yes. They weren’t sure how to reset the molecular structure—” she broke off. “Does it matter?”

He hesitated, a surprisingly serious look on a face that had been predominantly cheerful so far. “I don’t know. I’ll have to talk to the captain.”

“Captain?”

“Yes. He’s the one that sent me to get your friend here.”

“He’s no friend of mine,” she said quickly. “He’s one of the ones that was holding me prisoner. This isn’t your ship?”

“This? This is just a personal flyer. We keep it for shorter voyages, surface landings, things like that. The Dancing Lady is a real ship, an S class freighter. She’s got a few years on her but she’s the captain's pride and joy.”

“What’s this captain of yours like?”

“Athtar? He’s a tough old bastard. Doesn’t put up with shit but always has your back.” He shook his head, obvious affection in his voice. “Can’t wait to see what he thinks of you. Now, are you going to get up off that floor?”

“Oh. Yes, of course.” She started to climb to her feet but caught her foot in her jumpsuit and would have fallen if he hadn’t caught her.

“You remind me of Precious,” he muttered.

“Precious?”

“The captain's pet. She’s always tripping over her feet as well.”

Great. Still, she’d heard worse comparisons. “How long until you meet your captain?”

“A full shift. I told him not to get too close. Are you hungry?”

Her stomach growled at the question and he laughed. “I guess so. Come on. Let’s get you fed and we’ll talk some more.”

A short time later, the two of them were seated in the tiny galley with hot mugs of cafir and plates of some odd but delicious stew that was considerably better than anything served in the lab. Studoc had two eyes on his plate but she was conscious that he was studying her with the other two.

“So, you were taken from Earth?”

Her appetite suddenly deserted her, and she pushed the plate away. “Yes.”

“Do you know why?”

“Because my doctoral thesis in organic chemistry was about the use of molecular building blocks and they thought I could solve a problem they were having.”

“And did you?”

“Eventually.” She sighed, thinking back to that whole miserable first year. Her futile attempts at escape. Skevyk breathing down her neck the whole time, demanding results and making horrible threats. “They told me they would let me go once I discovered a solution. Of course, they lied. Next, they wanted faster, better results.”

“What did you do?”

Cried, screamed, thought about killing myself. Nothing she intended to share with this alien, however pleasant he was currently being. “In the end, I went back to work. Sometimes I could almost convince myself it was like working in a lab on Earth.”

“But you still wanted to get away?”

“Of course I did! I always kept looking for a chance. When you came before, I started making plans. Just in case you came back.” Her turn to ask questions. “Did you really come back just to get Zartan?”

“Not him specifically, but a scientist, yes.” He hesitated, twisting two of his hands together. “The project is not exactly… legal.”

“Because they kidnapped us and forced us to work for them?”

“Contact with a pre spaceflight world is illegal,” he agreed, but she had a sneaking suspicion that there was more going on than he was saying. Before she could press him, he continued, “What are your plans now?”

“To get back to Earth, of course.” Where else could she go? She couldn’t help but wonder what her parents had done when she disappeared. They had been so focused on pushing her to the next level of achievement from the moment she had shown signs of exceptional intelligence. She had been in advanced classes her whole life and they had thrust her into college at fourteen, no matter how socially unready she had been for the transition. When she’d completed double doctorates by the time she was twenty-one, they had been so proud—and already searching out the most prestigious research programs. If they could have bragged about the terraforming project, they probably wouldn’t have objected to her kidnapping, she thought bitterly.

All four of Studoc’s hands were intertwined now and he was looking at them rather than her. Her heart sank.

“I assume that isn’t going to be easy?” she asked.

“No,” he said finally, face sympathetic. “I think the best thing you can do is to talk to Captain Athtar. He has a soft spot for humans.”

“Am I going to get any direct answers from you?”

“Me? I’m an open book.” He grinned, and now that she had grown accustomed to his face, she recognized that it was a charming smile—completely untrustworthy, but charming.

“And what do you do when you’re not infiltrating secret labs?” she asked, tacitly agreeing to change subjects.

“Ship’s engineer. I keep that old bucket of bolts running.” Despite the disparaging term, his affection for his ship was obvious. With only a few encouraging questions on her part, he spent the next hour expounding on the virtues of The Lady and all of the improvements he was making.

The rest of the voyage passed pleasantly enough. By the time it ended, she was standing behind Studoc on the tiny bridge of the flyer, watching in awe as they approached the larger ship. This was the first time she’d actually been in space and able to observe. Studoc confidently maneuvered around the oversized rear end of the vessel and into an opening that looked much too small for the flyer. Once they were safely inside, doors closed behind them and a few minutes later, the lights in the landing bay came on.

“We’re home,” Studoc said cheerfully. “Ready to face the captain?”

Not really. But she had made it this far, she wasn’t giving up now. “Let’s go.”

Chapter Three

Athtar paced the bridge. Since he was very large and the bridge of his ship was quite small, it not only didn’t help with his frustration, it annoyed his second in command.

“Captain, it has been a while since you trained with Grabon. Perhaps this would be a good time,” Ultana suggested.

“He should be back by now. I knew I shouldn’t have sent that feckless bastard,” he muttered. “That fucking emperor. Using my crew to play his gods damned games.”

Since it wasn’t the first time he’d voiced the sentiment, no one bothered to answer him. They all knew he hadn’t had a choice. When a galactic ruler told you to do something, you did it. Not to mention the fact that his annoyingly troublesome conscience would probably have forced him to agree anyway. The emperor was trying to prevent the destruction of a planet and that wasn’t something Athtar could just ignore.

“Fine,” he sighed. “I’ll go throw Grabon around. Let me know as soon as you hear from him.”

Ultana tilted her head. She was Ylftek, an attractive green-skinned woman with long dark green hair and pointed ears, but despite her delicate appearance, she didn’t take shit from him or anyone else. “Thank you so much for the instruction. I would never have dreamed that I should inform you when our rogue engineer returns.”

A reluctant grin crossed his face. “That’s why I’m here. To give you necessary fucking instructions.”

“Yes, sir.” She grinned back but looked meaningfully at the door behind him.

“Fine. I’m leaving—”

“Studoc is hailing us,” Kanithe interrupted. His Asing communication officer was bent over her console, black scaled fingers flying. “He says he has the scientist. And a surprise.”

“What fucking surprise?” he roared. Precious growled, echoing his anger. The pup had been sleeping in his chair until he’d yelled, so he reached down and picked her up, cradling her to his chest. As always, the heavy little body tucked so trustingly against him helped to calm him down.

“He says you need to see for yourself.” She shrugged, her crest rippling. “You know what he’s like, Captain.”

“Only too well.” Charming, infuriating, reckless—and one hundred percent loyal. Whatever surprise he brought with him, it wouldn’t be intended to harm the ship or crew. Although how the hell Studoc found anything on that gods forsaken ice planet to bring back, he had no idea. “How long?”

“About an hour, sir.”

An hour. He was going to lose his mind before then without some type of distraction. He sighed. “Tell Grabon to meet me in the training room.”

Despite an intense and enjoyable bout with his head of security, Athtar couldn’t get his mind off of Studoc’s return. As soon as Ultana informed him that the flyer was docking, he headed in that direction without bothering to shower.

The landing ramp was down when he arrived, and Studoc was dragging an Elginar scholar down it. Gods, he hated those fucking bastards. A quick gasp made him look up. There was a female, a human female, standing at the top of the ramp. He had a brief impression of a tall, straight body and big dark eyes behind framed lenses before she stepped forward, tripped, and started to tumble off the side of the ramp. Without thinking, he dove forward, catching her before she hit the ground, and quickly placed her on her feet. Even that one brief moment of contact with a soft, warm, delicious smelling body had his cock stirring and he had to force himself to loosen his arms.

He stepped back and stared at the woman. The other humans he’d met were attractive enough, but small and fragile looking. This one came to just below his shoulder and looked far less likely to break when he was pounding his cock into her. Fuck. What the hell was he thinking? Pushing the thought, and resulting surge of lust, aside, he growled. “Where the fuck did you come from?”

She tossed her head, short, dark hair flipping out, pushed her glasses up her nose, and glared at him. Damn if his cock didn’t stiffen further.

“Thank you so much for that gracious welcome. Studoc assured me that you’d be willing to help a human female.” She glared at his engineer and he didn’t like it one bit. He wanted that fiery gaze only on him.

“He’s not the fucking captain,” he said, drawing her attention back to him.

“If you don’t want to help me, that’s fine. You won’t be stuck with me for long, Captain. Just drop me off at the nearest, um, space station.”

Leave a pretty, helpless little female at the mercy of the kind of scum that frequented those places? Never going to happen. “Why the fuck would I do that? Do you want to be taken by fucking slave traders?”

She paled but raised her chin. “I have valuable skills. I’m sure I can find a job.”

“Skills?” he asked skeptically.

“Yes, I’m a scientist. I have degrees in organic chemistry and applied mathematics.”

A scientist? The pieces dropped into place and he took another step back, fighting down his disappointment. No matter how enticing she looked, she was not only a scholar, she was one of the bastards who thought nothing of destroying a planet. He glared at Studoc. “Why the fuck did you bring her? We only needed one fucking scientist for the emperor.”

“She kind of escaped on her own,” Studoc admitted, then rushed on. “Faith was kidnapped from Earth eight years ago and forced to work on a… terraforming project.”

“Terraforming?” he repeated.

“Yes,” she said and gave him a deadly smile. “It may be a difficult concept for a mere captain to understand but it is the process of taking an uninhabitable planet and making it suitable for human—or non-human—life.”

“And that’s what you’ve been doing?” Fuck, fuck, fuck. She didn’t know. Why the hell hadn’t Studoc told her. He glared at Studoc again, but his engineer only shrugged.

“That’s what I just said. Now are you going to help me or not?” Her stubborn little chin was still raised and he had the oddest impulse to nibble on it, but he pushed the thought firmly aside. She was human and she was a scholar. She was most definitely not for the likes of him.

“Can we start over?” the big blue alien asked Faith. His tone was considerably softer, and she relaxed a fraction. He was the most intimidating alien she had met, and the most attractive—when he wasn’t being an asshole. He shared the same blue skin as the Elginar scientists, but the resemblance ended there. Instead of a shaved head covered with tattoos, he had a tangle of long white hair interwoven with tiny braids. More braids were woven into the beard which framed a remarkably sensual mouth. With the hair and the beard, he reminded her of a very large, blue Viking. She had always been tall, but he dwarfed her, making her feel unusually small and feminine.

His massive body only added to the effect. She had never been interested in athletes but there was something about the impressive array of muscles covering his very bare upper body that made her a little weak in the knees. The way he had stopped her headlong flight down the ramp without any apparent effort made it quite obvious that the muscles weren’t just for show. That brief moment of being held against all that warm, hard flesh, surrounded by his amazing scent, was permanently etched into her memory.

“I’m Captain Athtar. This is my ship, The Dancing Lady,” he continued, oblivious to her abstraction.

“I’m Dr. Faith Whittaker,” she said, then blushed. Why the hell had she introduced herself that way?

“Doctor?” He frowned. “You are a medic?”

“No. It’s a term used for scientists who have completed a certain amount of schooling.” Too much schooling, while she was way too young, but that was in the past now.

“You don’t look like a scientist.” He looked down at her with an obviously skeptical eye. She blushed at his surveillance and put her hand to her hair before she could prevent herself. The dark strands had been annoying her for some time and last week she’d had enough and chopped her hair to chin length. There wasn’t anyone she had to impress, including this captain, and she forced her hand back down.

“What do I look like?” she asked, before she could stop her unruly tongue. She could have sworn his eyes heated, but he didn’t respond to her question.

“We need to talk.”

Five minutes later, despite a pleading look at Studoc, she was sitting in what was pretty obviously the captain’s cabin. She had balked at the door when confronted with the sight of an extremely large bed, but he’d only sighed, pushed her gently but implacably inside, then taken a chair in the cozy seating area. She very hesitantly perched on the edge of the other chair.

“What did you want to talk about?” she asked cautiously, praying he wasn’t about to tell her she would have to earn her way on board the ship on her back. It didn’t seem likely—most men preferred dainty little blondes to women who were taller and smarter than they were—but she didn’t understand why he had insisted on a private discussion.

“Studoc said you’ve been working on a terraforming project.”

Surprised at his opening, she nodded. “That’s right. When I first arrived, they were facing an issue with the structure of their molecular building blocks. I resolved it, but when they deployed the first prototype, it took too long. That’s what I’ve been working on since then—a way to speed it up.” She couldn’t help the proud little smile that crossed her face. “They said the first one is still in the early stages of evolution. This one should be able to deploy completely before the other is even finished.”

Athtar tugged on one of his braids, then looked at her directly.

“I’m sorry, Faith, but they fucking lied to you. They are using it to destroy planets, not transform them. The first one has already killed millions of people.”

She stared at him in shock.

“They deployed it on a populated planet?” Her lips had gone numb and she had to force the words out.

“Yes.”

Her first horrified disbelief was followed by incredulous anger, not only at the bastards who had perverted her work to such an extent, but at herself. How could she have been so blind? Even though they had kept so much secret, how could she not have put that final piece in place? Nausea overwhelmed her and she jumped to her feet, just making it to the sanitary facility before she was violently sick. When she finally stopped heaving, she realized that Athtar was supporting her, his big arm warm and comforting. But she refused to take his comfort; she didn’t deserve it. She pushed him away.

“Get out,” she muttered between clenched teeth.

“Faith, listen—”

“Get out.”

With a muffled curse, he obeyed. Still shaking, she washed out her mouth, then caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her face was white, her eyes enormous behind her glasses, but all she could see was the face of a killer. Her vision blurred, and then she was crying, long heart-breaking sobs that racked her body as she collapsed to the floor. At some point she heard another curse, and then Athtar had her in his arms, carrying her back into the other room and holding her against his massive chest as she cried and cried. When she finally stopped, she tried to push him away, but he wasn’t moving and she was too tired to fight him.

“It wasn’t your fucking fault, Faith,” he said finally. “You didn’t know.”

“That’s not an excuse. A scientist should always consider how her work can be used. I was blind. Stupidly, willfully blind.” The tears were threatening again.

He growled. “Stop fucking blaming yourself. Those bastards were at fault. Not you.” He removed her tear stained glasses and pressed her head against his chest with one big hand. “Now just calm down.”

Since she had no hope of escaping his grip, and truthfully, no real desire to do so, she gave in. It had been an awfully long time since anyone had held her, and he was just so big and solid that she felt safe. And he smelled so good, like leather and spice. Turning her face into his chest a little to take a deeper sniff, his hair drifted across her face, the strands as soft as silk despite its wild appearance. She raised a hand to brush them away, the movement shifting her position in his lap, and she suddenly realized that he was hugely, massively erect.

With a startled cry, she sprang to her feet. He jumped up almost as quickly, stepping away from her, and she could have sworn that a look of embarrassment crossed that hard face.

“Not gonna fucking apologize,” he growled. “Not gonna fucking hurt you, either.” He flicked a hand in the direction of the bed. “Get some rest. No one will bother you.”

A second later the door slid closed behind him. Faith was still staring after him with her mouth open when she saw the light on the access panel flash red. He thought he was going to lock her in? Pushing aside the memory of just how good he had felt and the unexpected spark of arousal that still had her nipples hard, she turned to search for her glasses. No one locked Faith in a cabin.

Chapter Four

Athtar stood outside his cabin door and tried to force his arousal under control. What the fuck was wrong with him? He’d never let a woman lead him around by the balls and he wasn’t about to start now. A fucking scholar at that. Not that that had mattered when she had been crying in his arms. All he’d wanted to do was smash the fuck out of anyone who had ever caused her pain. Then when she had nestled against him, all warm, soft woman, his body had reacted with an intensity that he hadn’t experienced since those early days when he’d just won a fight and adrenaline and lust had turned him into an animal.

He took a deep breath, but that only brought her lingering sweetness closer. With a muffled curse, he set the lock on his door. She was still a fucking scholar and while every part of him insisted her distress had been genuine, he wanted some more answers before letting her have free rein on his ship. He stomped off to find Studoc.

As expected, he found Studoc in the engine room, checking to make sure that his assistant, Thynmirr, hadn’t done anything to damage his precious engines while he was gone.

“What the fuck happened on Hothrest?” Athtar demanded.

Studoc slanted an eye at him but kept checking the controls while he talked. “Started off smooth enough. I showed back up, full of praise for how they’d changed my luck. Started hauling out the Foldaran liquor before they wondered why I’d bothered to come back. I started drinking with them and losing credits. Most of them were half unconscious when I snuck out.”

He frowned and turned to face Athtar fully. “Weirdest thing, though. Once I left the dining hall, the lights flickered a few times and went out. I was thanking the stars that the storm was helping out. The generators kicked back on but when I got to the scientist’s quarters, the lock wasn’t working. Just slipped right in and waited for one of them to come out.”

“What about the woman?” Athtar demanded impatiently.

“I found her on the ship once I was on autopilot. Went to wash the stink of booze off of me and caught her scent as soon as I did. Damn, have you noticed how good she smells? Like warm pussy on a cold—”

Athtar had Studoc up against the wall before he finished his sentence. “You don’t fucking smell her. You don’t even fucking think about how she smells. And you sure as fuck never mention her pussy again. Are we clear?”

“Yes, sir.” Studoc said quietly. “You know I didn’t mean any harm.”

Fuck. The woman had him tied in fucking knots. He dropped Studoc and stepped back. He should probably apologize but he’d meant every fucking word.

“You all right, captain?” Studoc was frowning at him.

“Yeah.” He forced himself to return to the subject. “You believe her? That she didn’t know what they were doing?”

“Yes, I do.” Studoc was still watching him cautiously. “You don’t?”

“You know how I feel about fucking scholars.”

“I do. But they’re not all ruthless bastards. Don’t throw me up against the wall again, but would your mother ever have gone along with a project like that?” Studoc and Grabon were the only two members of his crew who knew that Athtar’s mother was a highly respected Elginar scholar.

“No, you’re right. Of course she wouldn’t.” He tugged on one of his braids. “But let’s go talk to that other fucking scientist and make sure.”

The Elginar scientist was fastened to the bunk in their small brig but he was awake and glaring. Even from his restrained position, he managed to look down his nose at Athtar. “Release me at once, verka.”

Athtar was used to the derogatory term but it didn’t stop him from casually backhanding the man and sending his head flying back against the wall. Fortunately for his plans to question him, it didn’t knock the scientist out. Blood trickled from his mouth as he glared at Athtar.

“What do you think you’re doing? The Elginar Council—”

“Can suck my big blue balls. Now shut the fuck up and listen. You’re on your way to the emperor. He wants to have a little talk with you.”

That penetrated. The man paled and stopped trying to speak.

“We know all about your fucking project. However, I didn’t realize that you weren’t fucking intelligent enough to accomplish your mission without help from some backwater planet.”

The insult to his intelligence made the scientist’s eyes flash. “That’s not true. I told Skevyk that we didn’t need her. I told him he just needed to be patient.”

“Her? You mean the human you kidnapped?”

“How do you know about the human anyway?” He directed his glare at Studoc. “I suppose your little traitor heard the guards talking. She got lucky, that’s all. I can’t believe that Skevyk thought that a human, a mongrel from some primitive planet would succeed where we had failed.”

“But she did succeed,” Athtar pointed out, enjoying both the man’s anger and a completely unexpected feeling of pride in his little human.

“Worthless bitch. She thought she was so smart, but she was too stupid to even know what we were really doing. I told Skevyk all she was really good for was fucking—”

This time his backhand wasn’t so casual, and the man’s head hit the wall with a crack. He collapsed silently.

“Is he dead?” Athtar asked, not particularly concerned, when Studoc stepped forward to check on the man.

“No. And he should stay not dead. I’m not making a third trip back to that hell-hole.”

“You will if I fucking tell you to go.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Studoc’s grin reappeared for the first time since their encounter in the engine room. “So what are you going to do about your woman now?”

“Fuck if I know.” He sighed. “Take her to Rast and Deb on Sherae, I reckon.” His friend Rast had recently mated a human and they lived on a beautiful, peaceful planet where she would be quite safe. The idea of taking Faith there did not sit well with him for reasons that he preferred not to think about, but where else could he take a helpless little female.

“You are not going to take me anywhere, Captain Athtar, except back to the lab,” a low furious voice hissed. He turned to find Faith standing behind them, a blaster held precariously in one hand.

“What the fuck are you doing here? Who let you out?”

“I let myself out.” She waved the blaster, and both he and Studoc flinched.

“You do know what will happen if that goes off and penetrates the fucking hull, don’t you?”

Faith looked at the weapon in her hand and paled. “Yes, of course. I was too mad to think clearly.” She glared at him and damn if his dick didn’t respond to her defiance.

“Hand it over,” he ordered. She hesitated, and he saw her hand tremble. Gods dammit, she was afraid. “Please,” he added softly. He felt rather than saw Studoc’s astonishment.

“Oh, very well,” she muttered, and started to hand it to him, barrel first.

“Woman, never point a weapon at someone unless you intend to shoot him,” he said, quickly taking the gun away.

“Maybe I meant to shoot,” she said defiantly.

“Did you?”

She couldn’t hold his eyes and her chin dropped. “No.”

“How did you get out of my fucking cabin?”

“Oh, please.” Some of her defiance came back. “I could hack an electronic lock before I was five years old.”

He had the uncomfortable feeling she wasn’t exaggerating, but before he could respond, she looked past him to the unconscious man on the bed.

“What happened to Zartan? He’s bleeding.”

He remembered the man’s implication. “Did he ever fucking touch you?”

“Touch me? All the time,” she said bitterly, and rage roared through him so quickly his vision paled. Fuck the emperor, the man was going to die.

“I’ll kill the scum-sucking son-of-a-whore,” he promised.

“Um, thank you?” A fascinating wave of pink covered her face before she shook her head. “But Studoc said you were taking him to the emperor. Which I guess makes sense now that I know what was really happening at the lab.”

“He fucking hurt you. He’s not going to live long enough for that.”

“Hurt me? Oh, I see. You think he… raped me?” She stepped forward and put her hand on his arm. His anger started to die down at the feel of those long, pale fingers. She looked up at him, eyes earnest behind her glasses. “He tried a few times, but he never succeeded. You don’t need to kill him because of that. He’ll get what’s coming to him.”

“All this talk of killing is making me hungry,” Studoc interrupted.

“You’re always hungry,” she said, and grinned at Studoc. “How many times did you eat in one shift? Five?”

“Are you hungry, Faith?” Athtar interrupted. He didn’t like the easy banter between Studoc and his woman. Deliberately placing himself between them, he took her arm to lead her out of the brig. She looked down at his hand on her arm, but she didn’t protest and she didn’t pull away.

Chapter Five

They were halfway to the crew lounge, Faith still tucked under his arm, when Precious came bouncing up. His pup had watched the first half of his training session with Grabon, her eyes following every move, before she got bored and made herself a nest in a pile of towels. Now, she’d recovered from her nap and was ready to play. She stopped short at the sight of Faith and her feet slid out from under her. When the pup yelped, Faith immediately abandoned him and raced forward.

“Oh, you poor little thing. Are you all right?”

Damn if his pet didn’t seem to be a magnet for women. He felt an unexpected pang of jealousy at the way Faith was stroking Precious’s head and a not so unexpected pang of lust as the sight of her ass straining the fabric of her jumpsuit as she bent over the pup. For a woman with her straight build, she had an unexpectedly lush and delicious ass. His cock quivered and he forced it back down.

“She’s heavier than she looks,” he warned, as Faith picked up Precious.

“I’ve got her,” she assured him, and immediately slipped when she went to turn around. He swore and jumped forward in time to keep her from going down. She gasped and gave him a rueful smile, her eyes sparkling behind her glasses.

“Fuck, woman. You’re more dangerous to yourself than you are to the rest of the galaxy.”

The light that had brightened her face disappeared and he could have kicked himself for being a thoughtless bastard.

“Fuck, I…”

“You’re right. I am dangerous,” she said sadly, her pretty mouth curving down. He had a sudden urge to kiss the sorrow away. Fuck, he was losing his mind. Usually his only interest in a woman’s mouth was seeing it wrapped around his cock.

“Get the fuck over it,” he growled, unable to think of anything comforting to say. To his relief, her damn chin came up, sorrow replaced by defiance. He still wanted to kiss her, but now he wanted to do it while he was fucking the resistance out of her.

Precious bleated, the odd little noise her way of letting him know she was hungry, and Faith jumped. “What was that?”

“She’s fucking hungry. Can we go now?”

“I guess I expected her to bark, but she’s really nothing like an Earth dog. What is she?” To his relief, she started walking again as she talked. He kept his hand on her arm—just to make sure she didn’t fall down, he told himself.

“Precious is a Pardorian war beast.”

“A war beast?” she asked doubtfully, looking down at the pup flopped over her arm.

“She’s just a fucking baby. What do you expect?”

“I’m not trying to insult her. She’s just so sweet.”

He thought about telling her about the violent history of Pardorian war beasts but decided against it. It wasn’t like Faith was going to be around long enough to see that side of his pet. He was still frowning at that thought when they reached the crew lounge and he bit back a groan. His entire crew was there. Apparently, Studoc had slipped away behind him and told everyone where they were headed. He glared at the bastard but Studoc just shrugged and grinned.

“Faith, this degenerate lot is my fucking crew.”

Faith looked around at the room full of aliens and tried not to panic. During her time at the lab, she had only encountered three types of aliens. In addition to the Elginar, there were some red-skinned aliens with small black horns that bore a startling resemblance to traditional images of the devil. A few of them were scientists, but the majority of them were assigned as supervisors for the guards. The guards were the third kind—huge aliens covered with long white fur and equipped with massive black claws and fangs, they had intimidated her at first. Over the years she had discovered that they were nowhere near as vicious as the Elginar. Squad Leader Njkall in particular had been very kind to her, escorting her back to her quarters when he discovered her snooping around, but never reporting her or trying to get her in trouble.

This group was a lot more varied. There was an enormous grey-skinned male with… wings? who resembled a statue of a gargoyle. He was the most intimidating, but there was also a tall and very alien looking woman with a wedge-shaped head crowned by an odd looking crest, her skin comprised of fine black scales. Compared to those two, a green-skinned woman who resembled a wood elf and a blue-furred man who bore a startling resemblance to a muppet, seemed quite common.

“Um. Hello? I’m Faith. I’m a human from a planet called Earth and I was kidnapped eight years ago by those bastard Elginar, pardon my French, and I promise I didn’t know what they were doing.” Oh God, she was babbling. Social interaction was so not her thing.

“We know what humans are,” the green-skinned woman said calmly.

“Oh, yes, that’s right. Studoc told me. I’m sorry.” She could feel the color heating her cheeks.

“There is no need to apologize. My name is Ultana.”

“Of course, she doesn’t need to fucking apologize. Why the hell are you all here anyway?” Athtar snapped.

“Are we no longer allowed to eat?” Ultana asked, raising an eyebrow.

“That’s not what I fucking meant and you know it.”

“I told everyone I would cook,” Studoc announced. “Can I help it if everyone loves my cooking?” There was a collective groan, but he grinned. “You know it’s true. Athtar and I are the only ones who can manage anything other than replicator meals.”

“You cook?” She looked up at Athtar in astonishment. He was just so big and masculine that she would never have expected him to do anything domestic.

“I like to eat,” he said, grinning down at her. The smile transformed his face from hard and intimidating to something so attractive that her nipples actually tingled in response. His eyes heated as if he could sense her arousal, the pale blue turning almost white. She was still staring up at him, caught in the moment, when a new voice spoke up.

“I am quite capable of cooking.” It was the black-scaled woman, her voice low and pleasant. Everyone else in the room groaned.

“You may be able to cook, Kanithe,” Studoc said frankly. “But no one is going near those weird little messes of yours.”

Kanithe shrugged, and Faith noticed for the first time that she had a sharp looking spur extending from the back of each elbow. That was… different.

“I liked the Bargan blood worms,” the gargoyle said.

“I don’t consider you much better, Grabon,” Studoc said grimacing. “Blood worms.” He shuddered.

Conversation in the room resumed, everyone competing to tell horror stories about what Kanithe considered edible. Faith relaxed as the attention moved away from her and looked up to find Athtar watching her. The lingering arousal was still there but she only raised her chin at him. He focused on it, then caught it between his thumb and finger.

“If you knew what it did to me every time you raise your fucking chin, you wouldn’t be so quick to challenge me,” he growled in a low, husky voice. Her mouth dropped open, but before she could respond, he was leading her over to the table that ran down the center of the room. To one side of the table was the kitchen area where Studoc was working. On the other side was a collection of worn but comfortable looking furniture.

Athtar ushered her gently into a seat, then reached down to take Precious. As he did, the back of his fingers brushed against her breast and they both froze. His fingers flexed, and for a minute she had the sudden, crazy desire for him to turn them over and cup her breast with that enormous hand. Instead, he only picked up Precious, although his fingers seemed to linger as he slowly drew the puppy away.

“Precious doesn’t sit at the fucking table,” he growled.

There was another collective groan from the crew.

“You had her up on your lap this morning, Captain,” Ultana pointed out.

Athtar scowled at her. “She wasn’t feeling well.”

“You had her up there last night as well,” Grabon said.

“Fuck all of you.” Athtar glared at them. “I decide where she fucking eats.”

“Maybe you should stop deciding and just feed her.” Faith couldn’t resist pointing out as Precious made that odd little sound again.

Athtar growled again but he immediately went to one of the cabinets and began preparing the puppy’s food. Precious danced around his feet, bleating happily, and for the first time, Faith got a glimpse of the inside of her mouth—a mouth filled with a double row of very sharp looking teeth. Perhaps war beast wasn’t so far off after all.

During the meal—which was in fact delicious—Faith mostly kept quiet and observed the crew. Despite the variety of races, they all seemed to get along very well, with a camaraderie that spoke of a long time together. Athtar didn’t speak much, either, although she noticed that they all paid attention when he did. She was overwhelmingly conscious of his big warm body so close to hers and she knew her body was responding to him. Hormones, she decided firmly. It was only to be expected after eight years surrounded by nothing but creepy red-skinned guys and asshole Elginar.

“What are you thinking, little scientist?” Athtar asked softly. He had Precious in his lap and was stroking the puppy’s head with one big hand. She wondered again what those hands would feel like on her body.

“Faith?” He leaned closer and his eyes were turning ice blue again as they drifted over her. “Is there something you want?”

“Yes,” she said firmly. She saw his eyes flare before she continued. “I want to go back to Hothrest.”

“What the fuck?” he roared. Everyone went silent and looked at him.

“I want to go back to Hothrest.” Before he could say anything, she hurried on. “I’ve been thinking about it. The project has to be destroyed. I can’t let them destroy another planet.”

“It’s not your fucking job to prevent it. That’s why we’re taking that fucking scholar to the emperor. Let him handle it.”

“And what if he doesn’t? I can’t have that on my conscience.”

“And how do you think you’re going to stop it? It’s a fucking military grade weapons lab. You can’t fucking get into it.”

“I fucking got out of it,” she yelled. “I think I can get back in.”

“Well, you aren’t going to get a fucking chance to try.”

Precious growled, echoing Athtar’s anger, and he glanced down at her. “Kanithe, will you take her?”

“Yes, Captain.” As the woman put down her utensils and rose calmly to her feet, Faith realized that the rest of the crew had disappeared. Kanithe took the puppy, gave Faith something that looked suspiciously like a wink, and followed them.

“You see?” she said triumphantly. “You scared off your whole crew.”

“More likely they left to avoid your fucking hysterics.”

“Hysterics? You big ass. I’m not hysterical. I never get hysterical,” she yelled.

“Call it what you will. You’re not going back to fucking Hothrest and that’s final.”

“Just because you make an announcement doesn’t make it so.”

“It does when it’s my fucking ship.” He shoved the chair back, and before she could move, yanked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

“What are you doing?” she demanded. Beneath her anger, there was something that felt unexpectedly like excitement. Being carried off by an enormous Viking, even a blue alien Viking, made her remember the few times as a teenager when she’d managed to sneak a forbidden romance novel in between her endless prescribed reading lists.

“Taking you to my fucking cabin where we can continue this discussion without the whole fucking ship listening,” he growled. As he stepped out into the corridor, she saw Studoc whisking away around a corner and wondered how many of the crew were in earshot. With a huff, she subsided.

“I can walk, you know,” she muttered.

“I think I like you better like this.” Athtar said. He squeezed her ass and in spite of herself, she wanted to push back against his hand. Hormones, she reminded herself, although, lord, he did smell good. From this position, she couldn’t help but notice just how tight his ass was and how it flexed as he walked. Her anger started to fade. At least until they got to his cabin and he dropped her on the bed and stood over her with his hands on his hips.

“Now, enough of this shit. We’re taking Zartan to the fucking emperor and you’re going to fucking Sherae.”

The damn man had the nerve to actually turn his back on her and start to leave, as if his pronouncement ended the matter. She jumped up off the bed, stumbled, and regained her balance in time to beat him to the door.

“Oh no we’re not.”

“You’re lifting that fucking chin at me again,” he growled.

“Because you’re not the boss of me.” She poked him in the chest, wincing as she ran in to nothing but hard muscle.

“We’ll see about that,” he said, just as his head came down.

Chapter Six

Athtar hauled her up against him and then he was kissing her. The demanding kiss, the feel of all that rock hard muscle against her, most of all the urgency in his actions washed over and she was kissing him back just as hard. Their tongues dueled for supremacy as he lifted her up against the wall, wedging himself between her hips as her legs instinctively wrapped around him. Eight long, lonely years disappeared in a blaze of excitement.

Somehow, the top of her jumpsuit had disappeared and his hand was on her breast, squeezing the needy flesh as he groaned against her mouth. His need added fuel to her own and she ground herself against the incredibly large cock wedged between her legs. Her hands roamed across his chest, then up into the wild tangle of his hair as she tried to pull him even closer.

His hands went to her hips and she heard fabric rip before a rough finger plunged between her legs, immediately setting a demanding pace against her clit. She was vaguely aware that she was thoroughly, embarrassingly, wet, but all she cared about was the excitement rising in her body, washing over her like a tidal wave until her vision sheeted white and she exploded in his arms. She was still shuddering when she felt his hot, hard flesh at her entrance.

“Tell me now if you don’t want this,” he said between gritted teeth.

“I want it.”

The words had barely left her mouth before he thrust forward, his massive cock splitting her open with a painful pleasure that had her crying out a second time as her body tried to cope with the invasion. The overwhelming fullness was almost too much but she relished every demanding inch.

He froze, and she could see the fine sheen of sweat on his skin, see the strain in his corded muscles as he waited for her to adjust. But she didn’t want to wait, she wanted him to take her with the frantic urgency that made her remember that she was a woman, that made her feel alive and free.

She closed the fraction of space that existed between their bodies and whispered in his ear. “What’s the matter, Captain? Afraid you can’t handle me?” And she very deliberately bit his ear.

With a roar, he pounced, holding her helpless against the wall as he plunged into her with hard demanding strokes, a vibration traveling from inside her pussy to her clit with every thrust. His mouth came down over hers, taking her mouth as thoroughly as he was taking her pussy, and she met him every step of the way, tongue dueling, hips thrusting, until her body tightened and her nails dug into his back, and she came with an exultant cry which he echoed as he shuddered and pulsed hot liquid into her depths.

He collapsed against the wall, his weight holding her in place, and she tightened her arms and legs, clinging to him as she fought to get her pulse rate under control. He recovered first and raised his head to give her that devastatingly attractive smile.

“Woman, you’re going to be the death of me.”

The word reminded her of their argument and she pushed at him, although she didn’t put much heat into it.

“That’s why we have to go back, Athtar. I can’t be responsible for any more death.”

“Fuck, woman. You’re arguing with me when I still have my dick inside you?” He shifted his position and she felt the unmistakable sensation of his cock hardening, stretching her poor strained pussy.

“Yes?” she gasped.

“I like it when you argue with me,” he said unnecessarily. “Makes me fucking hard.” He rolled his hips forward and she moaned, her arms automatically sliding up to circle his neck.

“What… what are you doing?” Deep inside, she felt his cock start to thrum, the exquisite sensation sending waves of pleasure through her entire pussy. The first time she had been so overwhelmed by the entire experience that she hadn’t realized that his cock actually vibrated. Her already overstimulated clit responded, throbbing in unison with the feeling, and she arched her back, trying to get closer.

“Getting you ready again.” He looked down at her, his eyes hot. “This time I want those big fat nipples in my mouth when I make you come.” He stepped away from the wall, holding her easily, one big hand under her butt, the other spanning most of her back. She had a moment to feel small and helpless and feminine—and then he took another step and she gasped as his massive cock slid impossibly deeper. The vibrations intensified, sending wave after wave of little shocks through her pussy. By the time they reached the bed, she was on the verge of climaxing

He knelt, keeping her hips raised across his knees, and lowered his head to her breasts. The hot sucking pull added to the constant vibration was too much and she convulsed around him, her breath emerging in a strangled gasp.

He raised his head long enough to look at her, satisfaction and something else she couldn’t read crossing his face. “Are you going to come every time I suck on these fucking perfect tits, baby? Because I’m nowhere near finished with you.”

Her whole body was tingling and alive and she wasn’t about to stop now. She tilted her hips as much as she could, relishing his corresponding groan, and grinned at him. “I hope not. I’d hate to think you were giving up.”

“Challenge accepted.” He bent back down, sucking and tugging until she was a trembling heap of satisfied flesh. And that was when he adjusted his position and got serious, pounding into her with demanding strokes that left her helpless to do anything but cling to him as the sensations washed over her and she abandoned herself to pleasure.

“We’re still going back,” Faith said sleepily as they curled together in his bed. Her lids fluttered up for a minute, big eyes staring at him. They weren’t black like he’d thought but a deep dark green, vulnerable somehow without the lenses covering them.

“Woman, you never give up, do you?”

“Never,” she said firmly, spoiling the effect with an enormous yawn. The sight of her pretty little mouth stretched into a circle distracted him for a moment, imagining his cock sliding deep between those luscious pink lips, but her eyes were closing again and she’d winced when he’d finally pulled free. She needed rest.

“Go to sleep, baby.”

“But—”

He pressed a finger to her lips and tucked her against his chest. She huffed but didn’t try and push free. A few minutes later, she was asleep in his arms. Fuck, she felt good there… right. His fists clenched. No, it was impossible. She was a fucking scholar and he knew only too well what that meant. His eyes went to the reassuring sight of stars outside the viewport. He wasn’t about to give up his ship, his freedom, for a woman.

Despite his resolution, when she whimpered in her sleep, he stopped gazing at the stars and wrapped himself protectively around her. A feeling of satisfaction washed over him when she relaxed and snuggled closer. He buried his nose in her short, silky hair and went to sleep.

Athtar awoke the next morning with an unexpected feeling of contentment. Faith was sprawled across his chest, her head tucked under his chin, her luscious thighs cradling his morning erection. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d woken up with a woman. Even back in his early fighting days when he could go through two or three women a night, he’d never stayed with them. Although he’d kept his birth control implant up to date, since he’d acquired The Dancing Lady his escapades were few and far between—just an occasional encounter when they were in port with a woman who knew the score. A few drinks, a quick fuck, and he was on his way. But this—Faith all warm and soft in his arms, her delicious fragrance surrounding him—he could get used to this.

No, he fucking couldn’t. She was going her way, he was going his, and it would be better for both of them if he kept his distance. He had just decided, regretfully, to slide out from under her when she yawned and stretched, rubbing all that soft warm flesh over his body and all thought of leaving abruptly left his head. Her body stiffened as she realized what she was doing and she tried to fling herself off of him, digging a sharp little elbow in his ribs and almost falling off the bed. With a sigh, he caught her and stilled her frantic movement by the simple expedient of rolling on top of her. She gulped and looked up at him, eyes wide and defenseless without her glasses.

“Going somewhere?” he asked.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know how I ended up on top of you. I’m sure you were uncomfortable but all you had to do was wake me up and tell me to move.”

“I wasn’t uncomfortable,” he growled.

“You weren’t? I’m kind of heavy.”

“A little bit of a thing like you?” Before she could argue, which he could already tell she was about to do, he rocked his hips against her and let her feel his erection. “Does that feel like I was fucking uncomfortable?”

“Um, no.” The tide of color rose in her cheeks and he watched it travel down over her chest to where her big pink nipples were already pouting at him. To hell with keeping his distance. He bent his head and kissed her. She responded every bit as fervently as she had the night before, her legs coming up to wrap around his hips, her tongue dueling with his, but unfortunately, she came to her senses first. She pushed his head away, although since she still had her legs wrapped around him, she didn’t seem to want him to go far.

“We need to talk,” she said breathlessly.

“Why do women always need to fucking talk?” he demanded.

Ignoring his question, she took a deep breath, pressing her breasts even closer to his chest, and peered at him earnestly. “I don’t want to take advantage of you.”

That was not what he expected. Before he could think of a response, she rushed on. “I enjoyed last night. A lot.” Her color deepened, but she kept going. “And I wouldn’t mind doing it again. That is if you wanted to.”

Not sure where she was going with this, he pumped his hips in silent response.

“Um, good. That’s good.” Her eyes fluttered closed for a second as she lifted her pelvis to meet him. “But you need to understand that it isn’t serious. As soon as we finish our mission, I’m heading back to Earth.”

“We don’t have a fucking mission,” he growled

“Yes, we do. We’re going to shut down that lab.”

“The hell we are. We’re delivering fucking Zartan to the fucking Emperor and then you’re going to fucking Sherae where you’ll be fucking safe.” His voice rose steadily as he spoke, but she didn’t back down, just glared up at him.

“You swear too much,” she yelled back.

“My fucking language? That’s what you want to fucking argue about now?” Dumbfounded, he could only stare at her, then he burst into laughter. Her chin lifted defiantly, and he did what he’d wanted to do since the first time she’d made the gesture and nibbled on the determined little chin.

“What are you…Oh.” She melted against him as he worked his way along her jawline to one of her delicate ears. His rock hard cock was already vibrating, and he rubbed it against her clit. Her legs parted as she arched up against him and he was angling for her opening when a long eerie moan filled the cabin.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, her eyes wide.

“Nothing’s wrong,” he sighed. “Precious wants to be let in.”

“You left her outside by herself all night?”

“Of course, I fucking didn’t. She was supposed to be with Kanithe, remember?” The noise level increased again, loud enough to shatter their eardrums. He winced, rolled off of Faith, and went to open the door. Precious bounded inside and circled his legs, whining and shaking her stubby little tail so hard she almost fell over. He reached down to pick her up but before he could, she bounded away, took a flying leap, and ended up in the middle of the bed where she proceeded to give Faith the same treatment.

“You poor little thing. Did that mean old man leave you alone all night?”

Precious whined and licked Faith’s face before turning around twice and settling down against her. Both of them glared at him.

“She was not fucking alone,” he growled, but neither female seemed inclined to listen to him. He strode back across the room and at least had the satisfaction of seeing Faith’s eyes drop to his cock. She licked her lips but he ignored the temptation and pulled on his pants instead. “I have duties to attend to.”

“We didn’t finish our discussion.”

“There’s nothing to fucking discuss. I told you what I’m going to fucking do and that’s the end of it.” He hesitated, taking in the appealing picture she made in his bed—her pale skin rosy, her lips swollen, his marks covering her breasts. She looked like a woman who had been thoroughly fucked, but more than that, she looked like a woman who belonged there. She bit her lip at his survey but didn’t look away. “As for your other concern, you can take advantage of me as much as you fucking want. I won’t get the wrong idea.” I fucking know better. “I won’t lock the door this time, but try and stay out of trouble.”

Her chin lifted again and it took every ounce of determination he had to resist the urge to finish what he’d started. Instead, he whistled for Precious, who completely ignored him, and he left the room feeling unexpectedly desolate.

Chapter Seven

Faith stared after Athtar and wished she had something to throw.

“Infuriating man.”

Precious gave a miniature growl of her own. “You think so, too, don’t you girl?”

The little animal panted in what Faith chose to think of as agreement. She was an odd looking creature, so ugly she was cute. Her mottled brown skin looked too big for her small stubby body, falling in heavy wrinkles around her neck and legs. Bulbous black eyes topped a head with almost no sign of ears or nose but a wide mouth that seemed stretched into a permanent grin.

“Well, he’s not going to stop me.” She climbed out of bed and remembered that she was naked. Her jumpsuit still lay in a heap by the wall, but the front had been ripped completely open. Athtar had destroyed it in his eagerness to get inside her. Mm. The memory made her nipples harden and started a corresponding ache between her thighs. Not only from excitement, she realized as she went to collect what was left of her clothing. The combination of eight years without sex and Athtar’s massive cock had left her more than a little sore this morning. But it had been worth every ache.

“Why does he have to be so stubborn?” she asked Precious, but the war beast had made a nest in the rumpled covers and only blinked lazily at her. “I don’t suppose you know, either.”

Shower first, she decided and made quick use of his private san. She could only find one tooth cleansing brush but she shrugged and used it anyway. Considering he had intimately explored every inch of her mouth last night, she wasn’t getting squeamish now. Clothes presented a bigger problem. Her spare jumpsuit—now her only jumpsuit—was back on Studoc’s flyer. While she had no issue raiding Athtar’s wardrobe, everything was ridiculously oversized. In the end, she cut the ruined top off of the jumpsuit and tied the pants on with a sash she found amongst his clothes, then covered the whole thing with a flowing silk shirt that seemed more like something a pirate captain would wear than her Viking warrior.

Not that he didn’t look just fine in nothing but leather pants and a scowl, she thought reminiscently. Or even just a scowl. He really had the most magnificent body, every inch covered with bulging muscles, and that cock… Did the Elginar women even realize how lucky they were to have men with vibrating penises? The ache between her legs increased and she realized she was getting aroused just from the memory. But it wasn’t only his body, it was the fierce protectiveness hidden behind the scowl, the quick intelligence in his eyes, even the way he spoke to Precious. Don’t be ridiculous, she scolded herself. He’s just a man.

Determined to forget about Athtar and his positive qualities, she turned her attention to solving the problem of getting back to Hothrest.

“Faith! What the fuck did you do now?” Athtar’s bellow reached all the way from the bridge down to the crew lounge. She had been too nervous to wait in his cabin until he discovered that the ship was no longer responding to his commands. Although she had curled up in one of the oversized chairs and started going through her calculations, part of her had been waiting for this moment.

She ignored the yell and continued to work on her tablet, but her heart was racing. She wasn’t afraid, exactly, but she wasn’t quite sure what would happen if he let his Viking tendencies take over. The atmosphere in the room changed and she knew he was in the doorway, but she didn’t look up. To her surprise, he didn’t start yelling immediately. Nervous about his silence, she finally took a peek in his direction.

He was leaning against the door frame, his eyes like white flames.

“Do you have any idea how fucking hard I am right now?” he said casually. He lowered one hand and gripped his erection, and she could see that he was indeed, extremely aroused.

“Oh.” Her mouth went dry and she had to fight down the desire to add her hand to his. “Why?”

“Because in spite of the fact that I hate fucking scholars, I find a woman with a smart mind sexy as hell.” He tugged on his erection again and then began stalking towards her. “I’m having a hard time deciding if I want to fuck you, spank you, or throw you out of the fucking airlock.”

“You… you wouldn’t.” she gasped, ignoring the fact that two of the three options sounded rather enticing.

“No,” he agreed, as he reached her and leaned down over her. He was so close she could see every detail of that hard, intimidating face but all it did was cause an ache between her legs. “I wouldn’t throw you out of the airlock, even if you are a mutineer.”

“Um.” She wet her lips nervously and he watched the movement like a hawk. “What about the other two?”

“They are definitely still on the table, baby.” His tone was deceptively mild but his eyes were still blazing. “Now are you going to give control of my ship back to me?”

“N-no.” Damn. She hadn’t said that as firmly as she would have liked.

“So what are you going to do with it?” he asked casually.

“Go back to Hothrest?”

“You know how to get there?”

She stared at him in dismay. That was one thing she hadn’t taken into consideration. She could probably figure it out eventually, but she wasn’t sure how long it would take. She firmed her chin. “You’ll take me there.”

“We’re not moving one fucking inch from this spot unless I give the command.”

“I could cut off the air,” she threatened.

“Then you’d die, too, and I know you’re too fucking smart for that.”

“I can learn how to navigate the ship,” she said stubbornly, and his eyes grew even hotter.

“I’m sure you could, baby, but could you do it while you’re tied to my bed?”

Another shiver of something suspiciously like excitement rolled up her spine but she ignored it. Unfortunately, her body responded as well and Athtar saw. He closed one big, warm hand around her breast and pinched a taut nipple.

“Looks like you might enjoy that,” he whispered, his voice husky.

“I wouldn’t.” He pinched her nipple again and her eyes fluttered closed for a moment before she remembered herself and glared at him. “Well, maybe I would—but we’d still be sitting here.”

He growled. “You’re a damn stubborn woman.”

“Yes, I am.”

“But I’m an equally stubborn man.”

He released her breast and stepped back, and she had to fight not to show her disappointment. He tugged on his beard and frowned down at her.

“Do you have an actual plan? One that wouldn’t involve getting us killed?”

“I’m working on it,” she admitted, waving her tablet at him.

“Then here’s the fucking compromise. We’ll take Zartan to the emperor. You’ll work on your ‘plan.’ Once we drop him off, if you can convince me—and my crew—that it’s possible to shut down the lab without getting fucking killed, then I’ll consider it.”

She frowned at him. “How do I know you won’t just take me to that planet you keep mentioning?”

“I give you my word.”

It might be foolish, but she trusted him. “All right.”

“Now return control of my fucking ship.”

She ran a quick code snippet on her tablet, releasing the override. “It’s done.” She didn’t think it was necessary to tell him that she could take it back just as easily.

“Fine. I’m going to tell my crew to get my ship back on course.” He leaned over again. “And, baby, don’t forget about that spanking. Tonight, your ass is mine.”

Her mouth went dry, and he leaned even closer, close enough that his lips were brushing hers and she could feel the soft tickle of his beard. “Fucking is optional.”

Athtar had to pause outside the crew lounge, fighting the urge to go back and take his little scientist in hand. Damn, she was one hell of a woman. His cock was still pressing painfully against his pants, but he ignored it and headed for the bridge. Ultana, Kanithe, and Grabon all turned to look at him.

“Yeah, it was her. Ultana, head back to Kaisar, full speed.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“She took control of the ship?” Grabon asked, scowling. “Do you want me to lock her up?”

“No,” he growled, then sighed. Grabon was only doing his job. “First of all, she’s not going anywhere near that piece of shit we already have in the brig. Second of all, I took care of it. And third…” He couldn’t hide his grin. “I doubt you could keep her locked up. She already broke out of my cabin once.”

“A nice set of chains would take care of that,” Grabon said grimly.

Only the fact that he knew Grabon was just doing his job, kept him from the man’s throat. “Grabon, if you ever lay a finger on her, you’ll lose your job and your finger. Do you understand me?”

The man’s eyes widened. “Fuck. She’s your mate.”

“No, of course she isn’t. Elginar don’t believe in true mates like you fucking romantic Dhalgroll. Now don’t you have anything better to do?”

“Yes, Captain.” Grabon shook his head. “I’ll go check on that piece of shit in the brig.”

When Athtar turned back around, Ultana was watching him speculatively. “At the risk of losing my job,” she said dryly, “what are you going to do about our… guest? I’m not thrilled with the idea that a stranger can take control whenever she feels like it.”

“She wasn’t doing it on a whim.” He really didn’t want to have to justify Faith’s actions, but this was going to involve the entire crew eventually. “You heard her last night—she wants to go back to Hothrest.”

Ultana tilted her head. “She liked being a prisoner?”

“No, of course not,” he snapped. “But now that she knows what they were really doing, she’s determined to stop it.”

“Do you think she can?”

“If anyone can, she can.” He paused then looked at both women. “I told her that after we drop off fuck-face we would listen to her plan. But that everyone would have to agree before we took any action.”

“No offense, Captain, but I still have a scar from the last time we went on a rescue mission.” Ultana rubbed the almost invisible scar at her hairline.

Kanithe grinned, a rare sight on the normally stoic Asing’s face. “I enjoyed that very much. Wherever you lead, sir, I’ll follow.”

“Well, of course, I’ll follow, too,” Ultana said, frowning at Kanithe. “I’m just not anxious to take on a secret weapons lab without some assurance that I’m going to live through it.”

“No one lives forever.” Kanithe shrugged. “The weapon is an abomination. It should be destroyed.”

“We’re getting ahead of ourselves,” Athtar said. “All I said we’d do was listen. It got us the ship back, didn’t it?”

“You didn’t mean what you said?” Faith’s soft voice came from behind him. Fuck. He turned to see betrayal in those big eyes.

“I meant every fucking word of it. Which is why I was explaining it to my crew. What the fuck are doing up here?”

Her back straightened and she glared at him. “I was looking for Precious. Do you want me to leave?”

“Precious probably went back to bed.” As he surveyed Faith, it occurred to him that going back to bed was a remarkably good idea. He’d been too enraged and excited to notice before, but now he realized that she was wearing one of his shirts, the one formal shirt he owned. It was ridiculously big on her but the sight of all that soft silk—his silk—drifting over her even softer skin had his dick responding again. What was it about this woman that made him react like a randy fucking teenager? Pushing the thought aside, he waved her onto the bridge. “Might as well come in, now that you’re here.”

“Thank you. You’re so gracious,” she said dryly, and he heard Ultana snort.

“Ultana, since you’re so entertained by our guest, why don’t you show her what you do?” His second-in-command raised her eyebrows and he nodded. It was a calculated risk. He had no doubt Faith would pick up on how to navigate easily enough, but he suspected she would never be ruthless enough to take advantage of his crew, especially once she got to know them.

Faith stepped forward eagerly and he caught her just before she tripped down the step separating the front consoles from his chair. Gods, she needed constant watching. Not that watching her was a hardship, he thought as she flashed him a grateful smile, then bent over Ultana’s console with rapt attention. He sat back in his chair and watched as she peppered Ultana with questions, then moved on to Kanithe. He liked seeing her here, liked having her on his bridge, on his ship. If only he could believe that she would be content to stay here.

Chapter Eight

“Athtar, there may be something wrong with the prisoner. Do you want me to take him to sick bay?”

Faith looked up from where she was interrogating Kanithe as the gargoyle alien stepped onto the bridge.

“He said his stomach hurts,” Grabon added.

“I don’t give a shit what kind of lies he makes up,” Athtar said dismissively.

“Um. It probably does,” Faith interjected. They both turned to look at her. “I was, um, slowly poisoning the Elginar scientists.”

They both stared at her, then Athtar roared with laughter.

“That’s my girl,” he said, when he finally stopped cackling.

Grabon was still staring. “You were poisoning them?”

“Slowly,” she said defensively. “They weren’t in immediate danger.”

“But why?”

“Why the hell not? They kidnapped her and stuck her away on that fucking ice planet,” Athtar said, glaring at Grabon.

His immediate leap to her defense gave her a little rush of pleasure but she forced it down. “It wasn’t just that. We all knew that the project was finishing. Skevyk had indicated that unless I was ‘cooperative,’ they wouldn’t have any further use for me, and I didn’t like his idea of cooperation.” Athtar growled, but she ignored him. “I wanted an alternative. The only way to reverse the effects of the poison is with an antidote and I’m the only one who knows how to make it.”

“Damn, you’re a dangerous woman,” Athtar said, giving her an admiring look.

She blushed but hurried on. “I should probably make the antidote now. For Zartan.”

He tugged one of his braids and looked thoughtful. “I’m not so sure about that.”

“Why not?”

“I trust the emperor—to a certain extent. But I don’t trust any of those other bastards for a minute. What if one of his so-called advisors manages to get enough information out of him to start the whole fucking project up again?”

“I don’t think that’s possible,” she said slowly, wishing she was a little more certain. “But I can’t just let him die.”

“The bastard wanted to fucking rape you and he’s responsible for millions of fucking deaths.”

A bitter laugh escaped her mouth. “So am I.”

“But you didn’t know. He did. And he was willing to do it again. What would have happened to a man who committed murder on your planet?”

“He would probably have been sentenced to death. But I don’t want to be judge, jury, and executioner.”

“Then I’ll be the judge. He is guilty. This is my ship and you’re not getting the ingredients for any fucking antidote.”

She looked around the bridge. Both of the women nodded in agreement. Grabon was the only one still frowning.

“I don’t like it,” he said slowly. “But if those are your orders, Captain?”

“They are.”

The big alien sighed, gave her another suspicious look, and left.

“Wait a minute, if you’re poisoning all the scientists, aren’t they going to die anyway? Why do we need to go back?” Ultana asked.

“Remember I said it was a slow acting poison? It was distributed through the water system, then I used the same water supply to provide a low level of antidote. Because Zartan is no longer getting water from the system, the poison is beginning to affect him. As long as the others remain at the lab, they’re safe.”

“You are a worthy opponent,” Kanithe said gravely.

Startled, she turned to look at the woman. Kanithe smiled, showing a ridge of sharp pointed teeth along both gums. Faith gulped and took a step back, forgetting the step behind her. Athtar swore and caught her before she fell, then hauled her up onto his lap. She froze, not at all sure what to do. She actually quite liked being in his arms, but it didn’t seem… dignified. She tried to squirm free, but he only pulled her closer.

“You keep fucking wiggling like that and we’ll be going back to my cabin a lot sooner,” he growled in her ear. Since he wasn’t exactly quiet, she blushed. Ultana shook her head, but her lips quirked as she bent over her console, and Kanithe grinned again.

“I hope you didn’t mean that you thought I was your opponent,” Faith said tentatively.

“Of course not. Only that a scholar may have a place in battle along with a warrior.” Kanithe looked directly at Athtar.

“No, she fucking doesn’t,” he said. Before Faith could protest, he pulled up a screen in front of them. “Would you like to know more about Kaisar? That’s where we’re going to deliver Zartan to the emperor.”

Part of her wanted to continue the discussion about a scientist’s place in battle, but the mention of Kaisar spiked her curiosity.

“Is it a religious site? All of the Kaisarians at the lab were very devout. A little too devout if you ask me.” She shivered, remembering the fanatical gleam that would appear whenever they spoke of their god Napisten and his plans for the Empire. Her knowledge of how the Empire worked was pretty sketchy since almost all of the documents available to her were scientific rather than political.

“Nah, it’s the fucking capital of the Empire. It’s a wretched hive of scum and villainy masked behind fake fucking smiles.”

“But we have to go there?”

“Yes. If I don’t take fuck-face to them, they’ll have the fucking Fleet after me. How long is he going to last?”

“Zartan?” She did a quick calculation. “Maybe six days without the antidote?”

“Good. We’ll be there in five. I’ll just shove the bastard at them and leave before he dies.”

“It's not exact,” she warned.

“Close enough.” He shrugged.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to give him an antidote?”

“I’m sure. And don’t even think of trying to sneak one past me, Faith, or I really will tie you to the bed for the whole trip.”

Her nipples hardened; she couldn’t help it. Of course, she didn’t really want to be tied to a bed for five days, but when he growled at like that, especially when she was close enough to feel his chest vibrate and remember those other, even more delightful vibrations, the thought of being at his mercy was not unappealing. She found herself swaying towards him and his eyes lightened.

“Later, little scientist,” he promised. His voice a husky murmur that was even more enticing than his growl. “Now, do you want to know about this fucking planet or not?”

The rest of the day passed pleasantly enough. After a fascinating half an hour on Athtar’s lap while he gave her his, undoubtedly biased, perspective on how the Kaisarian Empire worked, he sent her on her way with a swat on her ass and a muttered comment about distractions. Both the words and the smack left her with a feeling of warmth, and she hummed as she went on her way.

Precious emerged from the cabin and followed Faith eagerly as she explored the ship. The top level had the bridge, Athtar’s cabin and another cabin next to his. On the second level she found the crew cabins and lounge, plus a large area that looked like a gym. The other space on that level was the medical bay. When she poked her head inside, Grabon frowned at her.

Flustered by his obvious dislike, she found herself rushing into speech. “I’m sorry I can’t cure Zartan. I really don’t want him to die.” Inspiration struck. “I could give you the formula for the antidote and then you could administer it.”

If anything, he looked even more grim. “Captain Athtar has passed judgment. I won’t contravene his orders.”

“Oh.” Apparently, she was only making the situation worse. She turned to leave when he continued.

“The man’s death does not bother me. He is a worthless being who corrupted his natural intelligence to cause destruction.”

“If you don’t care that he’s going to die, why are you glaring at me?”

“Because I don’t trust you. You took control of the ship. You are capable of poisoning an entire complex full of people and I don’t know how to prevent you from doing that again here.”

“I would never do that!”

“Wouldn’t you?” He was no longer glaring, but there wasn’t any softness in his gaze as he looked at her. “You’re a scientist. Scientists tend to see people as experimental subjects rather than actual beings.”

Unfortunately, she couldn’t entirely discount his words, but she raised her chin anyway. “I assure you that I am not that kind of scientist.”

“I hope not. I do not like the fact that I do not know.” He paused, and the hard face softened the slightest fraction. “This ship is everything to Athtar—his home, his freedom. Don’t take that away from him.”

“Even if I wanted to—which I don’t—I have no way of doing that.”

“Yes, you do,” he said. “But neither one of you has realized it yet.” With that, he returned to whatever he had been doing and ignored her. After staring at his bowed head for a few minutes, she turned and left.

The lowest level contained the engines, engine room, and the entrance to the large cargo bays that dominated the rear of the ship. She found Studoc in the engine room. After the unfriendly encounter with Grabon, it was a welcome change to see his smiling face.

“Ah, my little stowaway. What are you doing here?” he asked.

“Just exploring. What are you doing?”

“Repairing a coupler. Thynmirr had to replace it while I was gone and I don’t like not having a spare. Want to help?”

“Sure.” The program she had set up to run on her tablet would take several more hours to finish processing, so she sat down next to Studoc. Precious bounded over to one of the rows of storage bins that lined one side of the room and began pulling it free.

“Hey, stop that,” Studoc yelled. The puppy sat back and gave him big eyes.

“What’s she doing?”

“That’s where I keep the rubber seals. Damned animal likes to chew on them.” Despite his words, he got up and searched through a drawer until he found a large yellow object which he tossed to Precious. She took it with an eager gulp and laid down to begin chewing on it with happy little growling noises. Faith decided not to watch after seeing her rows of teeth shear off the first section.

“That won’t hurt her, will it?”

“Nah, she’s got a belly like an incinerator. She could probably eat the entire ship given enough time.” Studoc grinned, then picked up the piece he’d been working on. “This is the coupler.”

Mechanical engineering had never been one of her areas of study, but she listened eagerly as Studoc first explained the repair, then began to talk about his engines. They were deep in a heated discussion about the benefits of molecular plastic over metal, when Athtar appeared in the doorway.

“What the fuck are you doing now?”

Chapter Nine

After Faith left the bridge, Athtar tried his best to focus. The emperor had paid for their little escapade with Foldaran liquor, a container of oishu furs, and a lot of credits. The liquor was almost gone, as was a fair potion of the credits, but the furs remained. He should be considering the most profitable place to trade them, and what would best accompany them. Instead, his mind kept returning to Faith. How she looked on his bridge, how she felt on his lap, that surprisingly ripe ass cradling his erection. His dick started to perk up at the reminder. After his fourth attempt to calculate a trading route he should have been able to do in his sleep, he gave up.

“I’m going to exercise,” he told Ultana.

“Is that what they’re calling it these days?” she murmured, then laughed when he glared at her. “Sorry, Captain. Go exercise.”

Deciding for the sake of his dignity to ignore her comment, he did just that. His cabin was empty and, fortunately, so was the guest cabin next door. He wasn’t about to let her move out of his cabin now. When she wasn’t in the crew lounge, either, he started to worry. Grabon just frowned at him when he cornered him in the med lab. “She was here earlier. Why do you want to know? Or do I even need to ask?”

“Is there a fucking problem?”

“No, sir.” Grabon hesitated. “I just don’t want anyone getting hurt.”

“For fuck’s sake, Grabon, she isn’t going to hurt anyone on this ship.” He had been friends with the other man since they were on the same fight circuit, but he wasn’t going to put up with him insulting his little scientist.

With a disgusted growl, he left to continue his search. The training room was empty, which didn’t surprise him. Given that she didn’t seem to be able to walk without tripping over her feet, he didn’t really expect her to be working out. However, as he surveyed the space, it occurred to him that maybe he should give her some lessons. Maybe that would help with her coordination. And if it didn’t—he eyed the equipment thoughtfully—there were some distinctly interesting possibilities for play.

With that thought still on his mind, the rage that swept through him when he saw her cuddled up with Studoc took him by surprise. He hated seeing her so close to his engineer, their heads together and both of them laughing.

“What the fuck are you doing now?” he roared, then strode in and snatched her away from Studoc, directing his most deadly look at the other man. Studoc raised all four hands in surrender.

“I was helping with a repair. Let me down, you damn Viking,” Faith demanded, and he realized that he had her dangling from his chest. He adjusted his hold, sliding a hand under her ass and lifting her high enough so that they were face to face.

“No,” he growled. “You don’t fucking need to be down here.”

“She was just helping me,” Studoc interrupted, but the man’s defense only added to his irrational anger.

Faith ignored Studoc and glared at him. “I can go anywhere I damn well please.”

“Not on my fucking ship.”

“I’m not your prisoner!” she yelled, and an unexpected feeling of guilt swept over him at the reminder of what she had been through.

“No, baby, you’re not,” he said quickly, but he didn’t put her down. They stared at each other and he saw her eyes soften.

“What are you doing here anyway?” she asked in a calmer voice.

“We have unfinished business,” he said, and very deliberately tightened his hand on her ass.

“Oh.” Her tongue came out to trace her lips and his partial erection went rock hard. “I thought that was tonight.”

“I don’t want to wait any longer.”

“Oh,” she said again, and he felt the shiver go through her. “That might be… nice. I mean if Studoc—” She started to look in the engineer’s direction and he growled.

“Don’t even fucking look at him when you’re in my arms.”

“Don’t mind me,” Studoc said cheerfully. “You two go about your… business.”

He really was going to kill the mouthy little bastard one of these days, but right now, with Faith in his arms, he couldn’t be bothered. Without another word, he turned and headed for their cabin. As soon as they were inside with the door safely locked, he put her down and stepped back.

“Strip.”

“What?” Her mouth dropped open.

“Take your fucking clothes off.”

Her damn chin came up. “You can’t talk to me that way.”

“Faith, I’m as hard as a fucking rock. I don’t have the patience to play games. Do you want this or not?”

“Yes?” she said tentatively. Her voice strengthened. “Yes.”

“Then take your fucking clothes off or you'll have to raid my wardrobe again.” He looked at her, her fat nipples already tenting the silk of his shirt. “And I’d hate not to see you in that shirt again.”

“You like it?” she asked shyly as she let the bottom of her jumpsuit slip to the floor. His shirt came almost to her knees but the sight of her long pale legs appearing beneath the cloth sent his arousal spiraling even higher.

“Like it?” Unable to resist, he stepped forward, cupping her breast as he’d done earlier that day. “Like feeling your nipples through the silk? Like knowing that you’re already wet for me while you’re wearing my clothes? Oh yeah, baby, I definitely like it.” He took her hand and guided it to the insistent throb of his erection.

“Mm.” She squeezed experimentally and he almost came just from that. Before he could recover, her long clever fingers were at work, freeing his dick and closing her hand around it.

“Fuck, woman.”

The next thing he knew, she was on her knees in front of him, her sweet mouth only inches from his cock.

“I’m not very good at this,” she said hesitantly, her warm breath caressing him.

“You’ll be fucking perfect.”

He reached down and lifted her glasses off her nose, just as she gave him a shy smile and swiped her tongue across the end of his dick. He almost broke her glasses, but he had just enough control remaining to set them aside before he buried his hand in her hair.

Faith tilted her head back against his hand and took another tentative lick. He shuddered and his hand tightened. She apparently took that as a sign of encouragement and continued with more confidence, licking him from root to tip before finally, finally, closing her mouth around him and slowly taking him deeper. She was obviously inexperienced and more than a little clumsy, scraping him with the edge of her teeth, but the slight sting only added to his arousal.

“More, baby. Take me deeper.”

She hummed in agreement, setting up an answering vibration in his cock. She gasped, and he took advantage of the moment to press further into her sweet mouth. When she looked up at him, her eyes wide and startled, her lips looking as perfect stretched around him as he’d imagined, he couldn’t take any more and he exploded. He held her head as he sent jet after jet of seed down her hot little throat as she swallowed and swallowed, trying to catch it all.

When at last he shuddered to a stop and eased back out of her mouth, she sat back on her heels and looked up at him, a pleased smile on her lips.

“I guess I wasn’t too bad after all.”

“I told you. Fucking perfect.” He reached down and pulled her to her feet. “Now it’s your turn.”

Faith gulped and stared up at Athtar. Her body was on fire with longing. The blow job had excited her much more than she’d anticipated. Seeing him watching her so hungrily and feeling his body tremble and explode, had been so hot. And he’d tasted amazing. Admittedly, it had been more than eight years since her last attempt, but she didn’t remember human men tasting that good. She licked her lips, trying to analyze the taste and he growled. Damn. Why did that primitive sound shoot straight between her thighs? Since the moment he’d come roaring in and snatched her away from Studoc, her pussy had been damp and ready.

“Are you really going to spank me?” she asked breathlessly.

“Oh, yeah, baby.”

“Because of the ship?” He prowled towards her and she couldn’t help backing away, her own primitive flight instincts kicking into gear.

“Not anymore.” He had her backed against the wall and there was nowhere else to go. “Now I’m just doing it because I want to.”

He grabbed the hem of her shirt and had it up and over her head before she could move. Pale flames lit his eyes as he surveyed her naked body.

“Perfect.”

“I’m not perfect,” she protested because, well, she wasn’t. Her tits were too small, her ass was too big, and usually she considered herself too tall, although that argument lost weight with Athtar towering over her.

He spun her around and delivered one short, sharp smack to her ass before spinning her back. His hand was so big that it covered most of even her generous assets and she gasped as the quick sting faded into a lingering warmth.

“I said perfect. Are you going to fucking argue with everything I say, woman?”

Her chin went up. “When you’re wrong.”

“I’m not fucking wrong. I love this ripe, juicy ass.” He caressed her butt, adding to the warmth flooding her. “I love these perfect fucking tits and these fat little nipples.” He cupped her breast, the whole mound disappearing into his palm, before giving her nipple a short, sharp pinch.

She didn’t have a response. Her brain had stopped working. All she could do was stare up at him. His face softened and he picked her up, cradling her against him as her legs automatically circled his waist.

“Pretty fond of those fucking long-ass legs, too,” he said casually before he kissed her. She didn’t hesitate, kissing him back with all the stored passion boiling inside her. Their tongues dueled hungrily as she wound herself closer, burying her fingers in his hair and accidentally grabbing one of his ears. He groaned and his hands tightened on her ass.

Curious enough to pull back, she traced the pointed tips. “Are your ears sensitive?”

“Yeah, baby. Just like yours.” He lowered his head again and nibbled on her earlobe before tracing it with his tongue, sending pleasant shivers of excitement down her spine. When she was quivering in his arms, he raised his head and grinned at her. “But you’re not going to distract me, woman. You have a spanking coming.”

Seconds later, she was face down across his lap, his erection pressed into the soft flesh of her stomach and thrumming hard enough that she could feel the vibration in her breasts and her clit. She had a brief moment to wonder how she looked with her butt so exposed to him before he spoke.

“Ready, baby?”

“No, I… Oh!” His hand came down before she finished talking, another one of those short, sharp stings that sent a streak of fire straight to her clit. He paused and rubbed the tender flesh, transforming the sting into a lingering warmth, hotter this time. While she was still trying to process the feeling, he repeated his action three more times, each time increasing the heat that was now coursing through her body.

“Let’s see how you’re doing,” he said, before he parted her legs and a thick finger traced her slit. She could tell how wet she was even before he grunted in satisfaction. “Oh yeah. Your little cunt is dripping for me. I think you’re ready for more.”

He smacked her again, the sting a little harder, the heat increasing when he rubbed her ass, and followed it with a frustratingly quick stroke across her clit. Even that slight touch had her body tensing, ready to come, but he had moved on. Smack, rub, stroke, each time not quite enough to get her there, her whole body pulsing and needy.

“Athtar,” she begged.

“Yeah, I think you’re ready.” He gave her one final spank, harder than the rest, and the brief flash of pain immediately morphed into pleasure as he pinched her clit between two fingers. Her vision sheeted to white as she exploded, convulsing in his arms as she came and came and came. When she finally stopped shaking, she realized he had her tucked against his chest, his cock vibrating against her ass.

“That was amazing.”

“It’s not over yet,” he said through clenched teeth. Before she could respond, he picked her up again, and dropped her down over his cock, the massive length forcing its way up through her swollen tissues and sending her into another climax. He fucked her through it, each down stroke bringing her heated ass in contact with his hard thighs, each upstroke increasing the vibration against her clit, so that she shuddered helplessly in his arms as he moved faster and faster, until he plunged deep and held her there while he flooded her insides with jets of hot liquid.

Chapter Ten

Athtar collapsed back on the bed, bringing Faith down with him so she was sprawled across his chest. She sighed and snuggled closer. “I seem to keep ending up in this position.”

“Nothing fucking wrong with that,” he mumbled, and she could feel the rumble of his voice against her breasts. She wiggled in response, but he groaned and lifted her up off his cock before tucking her head under his chin. “You’re going to wear me out, woman.”

She giggled, she actually giggled, a sound she could have sworn would never have come out of her mouth. Torn between being delighted and appalled, she kept silent, tangling her fingers in his beard and stroking the long silky strands.

“Why do you grow your hair so long? None of the Elginar at the lab have long hair.”

“And that’s why right there. There are two castes on Elgin—the fucking scholars and the workers. The scholars keep their hair short and the more extreme bastards shave their heads completely so you can see their fucking tattoos.”

“You have a tattoo,” she pointed out, stroking the symbols etched across his chest.

“That came later, after I left Elgin.”

“Why did you leave?”

He was silent for a long moment and she looked up to see him staring out the viewport at the stars.

“My father was a trader, too. Oh, not like this.” He waved at the ship surrounding them. “He had a ship that sailed the seas of Elgin. For the first ten years of my life, my mother and I accompanied him. I fucking loved it. Loved the sea, loved the travel, loved being with my family all the time.”

“But?”

He sighed. “My mother is a scholar. I guess the work she could do on the boat wasn’t enough for her. When I was ten, she was offered a research position at the main Center of Learning in Haskol. My fucking grandfather may have pulled some strings to get her in, but maybe not. She’s fucking brilliant.”

His eyes were focused on past events and she didn’t prompt him, although she was still struggling with the knowledge that his mother was a scholar. Eventually, he sighed again and continued.

“So, anyway, my father sold his fucking ship and we moved to Haskol.”

“And he hated it there?” Was that why he seemed so resentful of scholars?

“My father? No, I don’t think he did. He got a job on the fucking docks. He knew half the people already and he liked it down there. On the other hand, I hated every fucking minute of it. My parents made me go to this fancy-ass school even though I was already a head taller than those fucking little scholar kids.”

Her chest ached. She knew only too well what it was like to be the different one in the class; the one who was stared at and whispered about. “What did you do?”

“Skipped school a lot.” He shrugged. “Eventually, I started hanging out at the docks, too, but the docks at the space port. When I was sixteen, I finally managed to find a captain with low enough morals and a good enough eye for an investment that he was willing to make a deal.” He laughed. “Kefniss was a canny old bastard.”

“You had enough money to buy your passage?”

“Nah. I sold him the only thing I had. Myself.”

Tears sprang to her eyes. “Oh, Athtar, no.”

“Not like that,” he said hastily. “I sure as hell wasn't fucking pretty enough for that.”

Imagining him at sixteen, she wasn’t at all sure that was true.

“I made a deal to work for him—five years with no pay except room and board. Or at least that was the plan. Turned out I had a knack for fighting. He entered me in some fights, and I won. Just fucking dockside pits at first, but the fights got bigger. We had a… discussion and I started earning my share of the winnings. That’s when I got these tattoos.”

The thought of Athtar, chest bared, fighting some faceless opponent had a curious effect. Part of her was appalled, but another part of her was unexpectedly turned on. It might be barbaric but her primitive self reveled in the idea of her man as a triumphant warrior.

“What happened then?”

“Like I said, Kefniss was a smart bastard. He set up the fights, arranged the bets, didn’t fucking steal too much from me. We worked together for more than ten years. And while we were flying around the fucking galaxy, I learned everything there was to know about ships. When I had enough money to buy one, I quit.”

“Just like that?”

“Yeah. I’m a good fucking fighter but it’s not what I wanted to do with my life. The ship, the freedom—that’s what I wanted.”

“Like when you were young,” she said slowly.

“I reckon so.” He turned his gaze from the stars and looked at her. “I spent the past fifteen years building up this ship, this crew, my business. I’m not about to fucking give it up.”

Something in her throat hurt, but she swallowed hard. It was just as well she knew where he stood. She had her own plans, after all. Her voice was calm when she responded. “I didn’t ask you to.”

“Women never tell you they’re gonna try and fucking change you, but they always do.”

An unexpected flare of jealousy appeared. “Had a lot of experience with that, have you?”

“If you’re asking me if I’ve fucked a lot of women, I’ve had my share. More when I was fighting. I was young and my dick was always hard and there’s a certain kind of woman who goes for fighters.”

“You don’t need to fill me in on all your conquests.” She wondered how long it would take to program his sanitary unit so it would only emit freezing cold water.

“No, baby. You don’t understand. Once I got my ship, I never had much time for that sort of thing. And I never met a woman who made me even consider giving it up.” There was an unspoken before in his words that made her heart started to pound, but he kept going. “That’s why I’m not worried about you taking advantage of me. I’m not my father, content to work on the fucking docks and wait for my mate to come home.”

There were so many implications in his last statement that she could only stare at him. Packing them away to consider later, she pulled what dignity she had around her like a cloak.

“And like I said, I didn’t ask you to. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”

His teeth bared in an expression too feral to be called a grin. “I don’t think so. I’m not fucking through with you yet.”

“I don’t care. I—Oh.” His mouth had gone unerringly to the spot on her neck which made her brain disconnect, even as he was pulling her against all that hard, naked muscle. “Oh, what the hell. I’m not through with you, either.” And she raked her nails down his chest, sighing happily when he roared and rolled her under him. It was a long time later before either one of them were through.

Athtar lifted a sleeping Faith gently off of his chest and tucked her down in his pillows. She murmured a little then settled down. Fuck, she looked right lying there in his bed, just as she’d looked right on his bridge. But if nothing else, telling her the story of his past had reminded him why it would never work between them. This was a temporary arrangement, nothing more. Ignoring the discontented feeling in his chest, he went off to find Precious. His war beast was on the bridge, curled in his chair.

“I think she thinks she’s the captain,” Ultana said. She was the only one on the bridge, sitting in her usual spot, monitoring her console and playing a game on her tablet.

“Probably so. Any problems?” he asked as he scooped up Precious and sat down again with her in his lap. It was a routine question, but he didn’t really expect a response. While they were in transit, the only issue they were likely to run into was encounters with other ships. Since he was obeying the emperor’s orders, he didn’t expect the Fleet to suddenly appear.

“I’m worried,” she said slowly.

“About what?”

“About this whole thing. I don’t like being involved with the Imperial politics, even if we’re doing their bidding.”

He tugged his beard. “I don’t like it, either. Once we’re done, we should go do some trading on the fucking outer rim for a while.”

“Done with what, though? Delivering the prisoner? Or trying to destroy the weapon?”

“I told you you’d get a fucking vote. If you don’t want to go, vote against it.”

“And is that going to be the end of it? Or is your lady scientist going to want to go chasing after some other villain?”

“She’s not my fucking lady scientist.” The words felt wrong in his mouth. She was his, even if it was only for now.

Ultana gave him an openly skeptical look. “Are you sure about that?” Before he could answer, she kept going. “I like this job. I’ve been with you for a long time and you’ve earned my loyalty. But I want to be trader, not a hero.”

He had hired Ultana after the scumbag owner of the ship she had been piloting had tried to sell her to pay off the ship. She’d taken care of the owner but was left without a job in a dingy little outpost. Their original agreement was for one voyage. Ten years later, she was still here, and he didn’t want to lose her now. “You think I want to be a fucking hero?”

“A man will do a lot for a woman he loves.”

“For fuck’s sake, Ultana, I’ve known her for two days. Give me a fucking break.”

She shrugged. “My mother and father were mated three days after they met.”

“Well, I’m not fucking mating her, understand?”

“Yes, Captain,” she said, but she was clearly not convinced. What the fuck was wrong with everyone? So he was attracted to Faith. Why shouldn’t he be? With that mind and that body, she was perfect for… perfect for him. Fuck. He was screwed. It’s just temporary, he reminded himself.

The temporary part was increasingly difficult to remember as the days passed. His nights with Faith kept getting better, her passion equal to his own. And when she fell asleep in his arms afterward, he was filled with a deep contentment. During the day, she was everywhere. She spent long hours on the bridge with Ultana, and despite the other woman’s original concerns, he could see that she was won over by Faith’s intelligence and enthusiasm. Kanithe had decided that she approved of her and had taken it on herself to try and teach Faith some self-defense moves. He had watched one of their sessions but between cringing every time Faith stumbled and getting annoyed every time Kanithe ordered her around, he had decided to make himself scarce during those times.

Studoc, of course, already liked her and Athtar fought a constant battle with himself when he knew they were together. He wasn’t really worried about Studoc’s outrageous flirting; he knew the man well enough to know he’d never poach on Athtar’s territory, although he couldn’t help but wonder if the other man’s quick wit and charm were more appealing to a woman like Faith than his own blunt demands. Despite his good intentions, he found himself dragging her off to their cabin more frequently than usual whenever she was with Studoc, even when Thynmirr was present as well.

Grabon was the only one who still had not warmed to her. His security chief watched her constantly, a look in his eyes that Athtar couldn’t decipher. He would almost have thought it was longing, yet the man never showed any signs of physical interest. After one evening in the crew lounge when the man never took his eyes off of her, he’d had enough. He sent Faith on ahead and followed Grabon to the med lab.

“Why do you keep fucking staring at my woman? Do you want her?”

Grabon looked startled, then shook his head. “No, of course not.”

“Then why are you staring at her?”

Grabon sighed and rearranged the vials he had been studying when Athtar barged in. “Two reasons. The first is practical. I’m still not sure I trust her. I’ve been trying to come up with an antidote to the poison in Zartan’s system, just in case, and I have not been successful.”

“You can’t seriously think she’s going to fucking poison us, can you?”

“No, not now. But I don’t want to leave it to chance.”

“You’re a fucking paranoid idiot but since that’s your job, I’ll let it go. What’s the other reason?”

Grabon picked up a vial, holding it up to the light, and avoiding his gaze. “I want a mate.”

“You can’t fucking have her, you son of a bitch. She’s mine.”

Rage blinding him, it took him a minute to realize that the other man looked genuinely startled. “No, no. I don’t want your mate. I meant I want a mate of my own.”

“I thought you liked this life. When we were fighting, it’s all we fucking talked about.”

“I know. I wanted the freedom. I still do. But I’m getting older. I always thought I would find my mate eventually, but it hasn’t happened and I’m starting to wonder if it ever will. And, Athtar, I want a family. Being around Deb and Rast made me realize how much.”

Athtar sighed and sat down next to Grabon. His friend’s words echoed the same longing he had been pushing aside. Seeing Rast find happiness with a woman, ironically with another human female, had made him, not jealous exactly, but more conscious of being alone. The fact that Rast and Deb had named their son after him still filled him with pride, but also made him regret not having a child of his own. Which immediately made him think of Faith. He found it surprisingly easy to imagine her pregnant, to envision her body blooming with his child, to see himself… to see himself what? Coming home to her every day from some fucking job on the docks. No, he couldn’t do that. He wouldn’t do that.

“I hope you find what you’re looking for, old friend,” he said finally. “I already know it’s not for me.”

Grabon shook his head but didn’t say anything. His silence rang in Athtar’s ears as he headed back to their… his cabin. The light was on, but Faith was asleep, her glasses still perched on her nose. Pieces of paper surrounded her and flowed over onto his side of the bed. As much work as she did on her tablet, she liked old fashioned paper as well, claiming that it helped her think. Fuck, she looked right lying there in his bed. Something ached in his chest, but he pushed it away. Instead, he removed her glasses and kissed her awake, then made hard passionate love to her, trying to convince himself that this was only a physical arrangement. She responded with equal fervor but when they finally collapsed, and she settled into her usual position on his chest, he had the sinking feeling that he was lying to himself.

Chapter Eleven

When they emerged in the Kaisar system, everyone on board was tense, anxious to get rid of their prisoner and get away.

“How is the asshole?” he asked Grabon when he went to collect Zartan.

“Annoying,” Grabon said bluntly. “He seems convinced that we’re all too stupid to understand what important work he was doing.”

“Fucking scholars.” Athtar glanced over at the prisoner and lowered his voice. “How much longer does he have?”

“I don’t think it will be long. He doesn’t seem to be in any pain other than complaining about his stomach occasionally, but he’s getting weaker.” Grabon’s face turned grim. “You need to drop him off and get us out of here before he collapses and they want to send us back for another one.”

“Yeah, I know.” He spoke loud enough for Zartan to hear. “Come on fuck-face. Time to meet your emperor.”

“A Kaisarian,” Zartan sniffed. “They aren’t worthy to clean an Elginar’s shoes.”

“They were worthy enough to kick Elgin’s ass a thousand fucking years ago,” he said dryly. “Now get your ass up.”

“What about the human whore?” Zartan sneered. “Are you tired of fucking a mongrel yet—”

Athtar watched in satisfaction as the man crumpled to the ground from his blow.

“No wonder we got conquered. Assholes can’t take a blow.” He grinned at Grabon. “With any luck, he’ll stay unconscious until we’re out of orbit and on our way.

The transfer went smoothly enough, although Emperor Karthajin insisted on Athtar accompanying Zartan to his office. For an emperor, he was a tolerable enough bastard, with an air of authority that belied his youth. The visit also served to remind Athtar that the emperor, too, had a human companion. Athtar had offered previously to take her to live with Rast and Deb but Karthajin had no intention of giving her up. Watching the man’s face when he rejected the offer as firmly as Athtar would have done if someone offered to take Faith, he wondered if they were both fooling themselves. He thought of telling Faith about the emperor’s female but she hadn’t shown any interest in Deb so he supposed she wouldn’t be interested in Ella, either.

Once the ship was safely away from the Kaisarian system, he called a meeting. They all gathered in the crew lounge. “All right, baby. Time to convince us we can destroy the weapon and not get killed.”

Faith looked at the faces of the crew and tried not to flinch. This is no worse than defending your thesis, she told herself. Maybe even easier since half of her committee had been prejudiced against her to begin with because of her youth. If she could win them over, she could win this group over as well. Although she hadn’t asked her professors to put their lives in danger.

She took a deep breath. “The lab has a back entrance. It’s supposed to be a secret. Only the Elginar scientists knew about it, probably because they didn’t care if anyone else could escape in the event of an emergency.”

“How do you know about it?” Grabon asked with his usual suspicious look.

“I hacked into the utility systems, of course. The well that provides the water supply is located just inside the back entrance. That’s what I used to distribute the poison.”

“So toss in some more poison, and boom, we're done,” Studoc said cheerfully.

She frowned at him. “The water is used by everyone in the facility. The guards are innocent—well, at least most of them. I’m sure they don’t know what’s happening.”

“What do you mean, most of them?” Athtar asked.

“Some of the supervisors are Kaisarian. I’m sure they know what’s going on. They kept talking about Napisten’s holy mission.” She felt sick just remembering. “I thought they meant this Napisten of theirs wanted new habitable planets, not that he wanted to destroy them.”

“I do not believe that destruction would be Napisten’s wish,” Kanithe said quietly. She was rubbing the small gem she always wore around her neck. “I would not follow Him if I believed that.”

“I suspect you’re right. They seemed more fanatical than devout. And there are a few other scientists, too, ones that were captured as I was and forced to work.” There had been less and less of them as the years wore on. If they “failed to perform,” as Skevyk would put it, they conveniently disappeared.

“So if we can’t poison them all, what are you proposing?” Studoc asked.

“First, I go in the back entrance again. I will remove the antidote and add a new formula to the water. It will enhance the poison and weaken them so that they won’t be able to fight.”

“Each person’s chemistry is different,” Grabon said. “You can’t be sure that everyone will be helpless.”

“No. That where part two comes in. After the drug has had a chance to affect them, I can release a sleeping gas. They would be unconscious when the rest of you showed up. When they wake up, we will give them a chance to abandon the project. If they do, I can give them an antidote and send them on their way. If not…” She bit her lip remembering Grabon’s accusations. “If not, then we don’t let them leave and they will be there when the destruction begins.”

“Bombs? Tell me we’re going to set off bombs.” Studoc said eagerly.

“No, I don’t want to do that. I’m not sure what will trigger the planetary weapon. This will be a chemical reaction. It will melt everything it encounters.”

There was a moment of stunned silence.

“You can do that?” Ultana asked finally.

“Um, yes.” She looked around at their faces. “So what do you think?”

“Even if you do get the drug in the water,” Grabon said skeptically. “Won’t they get suspicious when they start getting sick? The logical solution would be to call for help.”

“Yes, I’d thought of that. I’m going to deploy a communications blocker—no messages will go in or out of the facility while it’s active.”

“You keep fucking saying, I will do this, and I will do that.” Athtar growled.

“Of course. I don’t want to involve any of you more than necessary and I don’t need any help with the first part. But once everyone is unconscious, I will need help getting them together and guarding them. I thought you could drop me off at the back entrance and come back a few days later after I deploy the gas. Since no one goes back there, I should be fine in the tunnel.”

“If you think for one fucking second that I’m dropping you off on that fucking planet all by your fucking self, you’ve got another fucking think coming,” he roared.

Oops. When he was driven to that level of swearing, there was usually a spanking in her future. It had only happened one other time on the voyage—when he discovered her about to fall down the stairs with an armful of glass beakers that she’d borrowed from the med lab. At the time the spanking had been exciting, and she’d come so hard she’d almost passed out, but she’d definitely sat a little cautiously the next day.

“I don’t want to put anyone in danger,” she said soothingly, but it didn’t seem to work. His glare intensified, so she lifted her chin instead. “It’s only logical.”

“You and I are going to have a long discussion about fucking logical tonight,” he promised, and she actually felt herself dampen.

“If I can interrupt your current discussion for a minute,” Ultana said dryly, and Faith forced herself to drag her eyes away from Athtar to study the other woman. “Aren’t you forgetting something? The emperor is going to send his Fleet, and probably sooner rather than later. Why don’t we just let them take care of it?”

“Do you trust the Empire?” Faith asked. “Back on Earth, I wouldn’t have trusted this kind of weapon to anyone.” She sighed. “It may already be too late. Once a scientific discovery has been made, there always seems to be someone else who achieves the same thing. But maybe this will be the time when no one else discovers it. I hope that if nothing else we can delay it.”

“No, I suppose I don’t trust them,” Ultana said slowly. “They would tell themselves they needed to know how it was done so they could prevent it happening again.”

“Exactly. We have a saying about not being able to put lightning back in the bottle. I’m hoping that it hasn’t already escaped and we can destroy the bottle before it does.”

Ultana shook her head but smiled at Faith. “All right. I’m in.”

“As am I,” Kanithe said. “If for no other reason than to prevent a tragedy being carried out in Napisten’s name.” Then she grinned her slightly terrifying smile. “And I always love our little adventures against overwhelming odds.”

“Why not?” Studoc said. “You only live once.”

“I will come,” Thynmirr said. “Even though I am not a fighter.”

“That leaves you, Grabon.” She turned to the big alien and held her breath. She knew he didn’t like her or trust her. He sighed and shook his head and her heart sank, but then he spoke.

“Yes, I’ll come. Because I know that Athtar is going to go and I will always have his back.”

“You agree?” She turned to Athtar last of all.

“No, I don’t fucking agree,” he growled. “But since I’m sure that if I don’t fucking take you, you’ll find a way to go anyway, I’m going to have to fucking come along so I can make sure you don’t get yourself fucking killed.”

Damn, her plan had come together. Tears welled up in her eyes. “Thank you, all of you. I know I can’t change what I’ve done in the past but at least I can try and make sure it never happens again.”

There was moment of awkward silence, then Ultana cleared her throat. “I’ll plot the course for Hothrest. The sooner we get there the better, especially if the Fleet will be coming.” She left and the rest of the crew drifted out, leaving her alone with Athtar.

“About that discussion we were going to have,” he said, advancing on her. Damn, he was sexy when he got all growly and demanding.

“Do we have something we need to talk about?” she asked innocently.

“You’re fucking right we do. Did you really expect me to drop you off on a fucking ice planet and leave you there alone?”

“I’m sure it will be fine.” Actually, she was more than a little nervous about the idea. She’d never admit it, but she would be delighted to have him accompany her.

“No, it would not be fucking fine. You can barely make it around the fucking ship without hurting yourself.”

She winced, knowing he was right. “So you’re going with me?” she asked, a little more hopefully than she intended.

“You bet your sweet little ass I am.” He lifted her out of her seat with his usual effortless ease and she automatically wrapped her legs around him. He was holding her at face level, and she couldn’t resist stroking her hand down his hard features and tangling her fingers in the soft strands of his beard. With a muffled curse, he responded, closing his mouth over hers. She had expected one of his usual passionate, demanding kisses, but instead he nibbled gently at her lips, teasing the seam with his tongue before coaxing her lips apart. Even then, he kept the kiss slow, thorough, and achingly tender. She was on the verge of tears when he finally listed his head.

“That was… nice,” she said, running an unexpectedly shaky finger along his mouth.

“I’m not going to let anything happen to you, Faith,” he promised, his eyes deep blue and solemn, and she absolutely believed that he would do anything he could to protect her. Despite his bluster, she didn’t think anyone had ever cared so much about her safety.

“Thank you,” she whispered, and hugged him, burying her face in his neck before he could see the tears in her eyes. He hugged her back, strong arms wrapped around her, and they stood there in silence for a long moment before he raised his head. The sparks were back in his eyes.

“But I still have plans for this sweet little ass.”

Chapter Twelve

Athtar carried Faith back to their cabin, but to her surprise—and if she was honest, her disappointment—he didn’t spank her. Instead he spent a long time with his head between her legs, teasing her with that incredible talented tongue of his, but he didn’t let her come. Instead he rose up over her, lifting her hips up on to his thighs and pulling her against him. This was one of her favorite positions, her pussy lips parted around his massive dick so she could feel those incredible vibrations against every part of her slit, while he sucked and tugged on her nipples, and she could have cried with disappointment when he lifted off of her again without letting her climax.

“I think we need a change,” he said thoughtfully.

“No change,” she said quickly, trying to tug him back down, even though she had no more hope of moving him than she did of moving a boulder. “I liked what we were doing.”

“I did, too, but we don’t want to get complacent, do we?”

“Complacent?” She stared at him. Her clit was throbbing, her nipples were swollen and needy, her pussy was aching, and he was talking about complacency?

“Yes.” He flipped her over with his impressive strength and smacked her ass. “I think I want to focus on this luscious ass for a while.”

“Are you going to spank me again?” She couldn’t even pretend that she wasn’t enthusiastic about the idea.

“Not this time.” He caressed one of her buttocks, then slid his finger between them, stroking down until he reached her back entrance. Instead of moving on, he began circling the tiny entrance. “Has any man been here before, sweetheart?”

“No. And no man is going to go—” He hit something that sent a ripple of excitement up her spine. “Ooh, do that again.”

“Up on your hands and knees,” he ordered, and she obeyed. There was a moment of silence and she started to feel self-conscious until he spoke.

“Fuck, that’s a beautiful sight.” He grabbed her hips with his big hands and pulled her back. To her shock, she felt his tongue dip briefly into her needy pussy before swiping up to probe her bottom hole.

“Athtar! What are you doing?”

“Getting better acquainted with this perfect fucking ass,” he mumbled. His tongue circled and stroked, awakening nerve endings she never even knew existed, before prodding delicately at her pucker. It felt wet and dirty and amazingly good, and she quivered.

“That’s my girl.” He pulled back and before she could protest, his finger replaced his tongue, pushing slowly but implacably into the tiny opening. Her body resisted, then opened, and he slipped inside with a burning stretch that made her wiggle uncomfortably.

“Easy, baby.” His other hand was at her clit, teasing the hard little nub. The stretch morphed into something else, something pleasurable and undeniably erotic, and she slipped over the edge into an unexpected orgasm. Her muscles tightened and she clamped down on the intruder, the fullness adding to the pleasure as she shuddered.

Athtar watched in satisfaction as Faith trembled beneath him. Fuck, she was beautiful when she came. Her ripe little ass clamped down on his finger, unbelievably hot and tight. He could only imagine how it would feel around his cock.

“I’m going to fuck you here, sweetheart,” he growled, working his finger slowly in and out while she was still shaking from her climax. He slid his thumb into her sweet little cunt, thrusting in unison.

“What? No, you can’t. You’re too big.” Her voice was slightly panicky, but he felt her grow even wetter at his words.

“Not today,” he agreed, although his cock was dripping at the thought. She wasn't ready and he would never hurt her. “We’ll have to work up to it.”

“What if I don’t want to work up to it?” she protested, but she was already thrusting her hips back to meet his hand. He was too impatient to wait any longer and moved his thumb away, grinning when she moaned at the loss, but immediately replacing it with his cock and pressing into her. She was always tight but his thick finger in her ass made her that much tighter and he had to work his way inside. His balls were already drawn up, the base of his spine tingling, but he was going to make her come at least once more before he lost control. His cock was thrumming rapidly and he could feel it pulsing against his finger. Once he was buried to the hilt, he resumed the slow strokes, pulling in and out of her ass as she gradually softened around him.

“That’s good, baby. You look so fucking perfect taking me like this.”

Her whole body was flushed and trembling and he knew she was ready to come again. He gave her fully exposed clit a demanding stroke, and as soon as he felt her tighten, he slid a second finger into her ass. She wailed and came hard, the pressure around his cock and fingers almost unbearably tight, and he gritted his teeth trying desperately to hold on until she softened, until he could finally release his control and thrust once, twice, and erupt inside her in long shuddering waves.

Her legs gave out and she collapsed down on the bed with him right behind, trying to retain enough control to keep his weight from crushing her. He landed a little to one side, their faces close together, and he watched as she opened her beautiful eyes and smiled at him.

“Damn, Athtar. You just keep getting better and better. Is it always going to be like this?”

“Fuck, yes. Always,” he said without thinking. They both froze as the words penetrated. How could he have forgotten that there was no always. This was temporary.

“I mean…” he started to say, but the words wouldn’t come.

“I know what you mean,” she whispered, and closed her eyes.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. He reluctantly pulled free and seeking refuge in action, he fetched a cleansing cloth and came back to clean her gently. She didn’t respond but he knew she wasn’t asleep. For a fleeting second, he thought about leaving her alone in his bed, knowing that staying only added to the illusion that he could keep her, but he couldn’t fucking do it. He climbed back into the bed and pulled her into his chest. She resisted for a moment, then sighed and snuggled back against him. With a grateful sigh of his own, he wrapped himself around her, buried his nose in her hair and tried to forget about tomorrow.

The trip back to Hothrest passed both too quickly and too slowly. Too quickly because Athtar was always aware that, assuming Faith’s plan worked and they destroyed the lab, he would have to take her somewhere and leave her. Too slowly because he hated waiting to implement a plan. They made one stop along the way at a disreputable trading station that was close to their route and unlikely to be frequented by official vessels. He wanted cold weather gear and Faith needed supplies for her part of the plan. He flatly refused to let her accompany him onboard the station.

“Why not? I want to see what it’s like.”

“Not a lot of women out here, especially beautiful little scientists. I don’t want to have kill every fucking man that looks at you.”

She blushed but shook her head. “I’m not that special. And what if you don’t get the right ingredients?”

“They’re fucking basic supplies. I’m not going to fuck it up.” He shook his head. “Who knew that bleach and fertilizer could be used to wreak destruction?” Her face clouded over, and he could have kicked himself. Hastily changing the subject, he leaned closer and whispered in her ear. “I won’t be gone long. I have more plans for that sweet little ass of yours tonight.”

Her face was scarlet now, but her nipples pouted at him and he noticed that she didn’t object.

Athtar usually enjoyed stopping at trading stations, even ones as seedy as this, but this time, all he could think about was getting back to Faith. He strapped on his weapons harness, added a coat, and then strapped more weapons on top of that.

“Expecting trouble?” Grabon asked as they prepared to disembark.

“No, and I don’t fucking want any.”

“Some men would see that array of weaponry as a challenge.”

Athtar bared his teeth. “Then they’ll fucking lose.”

Grabon sighed and fastened on an extra set of weapons as well. As they walked through the station, the other customers did indeed give them a wide berth. Faith’s supplies were quickly located and purchased, then sent to the docks to wait for their return. The outdoor gear was harder to locate but they finally found a dusty looking shop with an array of survival equipment. He purchased thermal layers for himself and Faith and then added enough outerwear for the entire crew. Everything was a little ragged looking, as was the ancient proprietor, but it should be sufficient for their purposes.

“Do you have any survival kits?” Grabon asked.

The shopkeeper nodded eagerly, already excited by the size of their purchase and hobbled off to the back of the store.

“I don’t need a fucking survival kit,” Athtar muttered. “We’re only gonna be on the surface for an hour.”

“You hope,” Grabon responded grimly. “What if the female makes a mistake?”

“You’re a fucking paranoid idiot. Why the hell do you think she’d do that?”

“I don’t know.” He sighed and his wings fluttered. “I do not wish to think ill of her, but she is dangerous, and I do not know if she fully considers the consequences of her actions.”

He thought of telling Grabon the number of times Faith had agonized about her plan, but he wasn’t going to discuss his woman’s doubts. “She fucking considers them,” he growled instead.

“Even with the best of intentions, accidents can happen.”

The proprietor shuffled back with two worn containers. “Everything you need here, sir. Keep you alive for days these will.”

Grabon raised his eyebrows and Athtar scowled and gave in. “Add them to the fucking bill.”

Chapter Thirteen

Three days later they were in a high orbit over Hothrest.

“How’s it look?” Athtar muttered to Ultana.

“It’s hard to tell since the cloud cover is always so predominant but I think there’s a storm approaching.”

“Could be good news. Easier to fucking hide in a storm.”

“And quicker to freeze to death.”

“Thank you for that helpful fucking advice.”

“I try.” She hesitated. “Are you sure about this, Captain? Why don’t Grabon and I go with you? I can cover you from a distance and he’s handy to have in a fight.”

“There isn’t going to be a fucking fight. Studoc will drop us off. Faith will do her little chemistry experiment, and then he’ll pick us up and we’ll wait for it to work.”

After a previous heated debate about the risk of two flights, versus the risk of trying to remain in hiding, Athtar had prevailed. He didn’t want to be on the surface a moment longer than necessary.

An hour later, Studoc landed behind a small ridge for just long enough to let them out, then immediately took off again. On the other side of the ridge was a narrow valley leading to the larger spur of rock concealing the lab. Despite Ultana’s dire predictions, the weather wasn’t bad. Only a light snow was falling and almost no wind disturbed them as they made their way as quickly as possible across the valley. He carried the pack of supplies, over Faith’s objections, of course. After her third stumble, he tucked her against his side. It was colder than a Braxian morloc’s tit, but he was filled with an unexpected feeling of contentment. He had his woman at his side and they were finally taking action instead of fucking talking.

Just before they reached the outcropping where Faith assured him the rear entry was concealed, she stopped him and began rummaging through the pack. She pulled out a small metal object that opened out into a tripod like base and dish like top.

“What the fuck is that?”

“It’s the communication blocker. It will stop any electronic signals from coming in or out.”

“Where did it come from?” He didn’t remember anything like that in the ship’s equipment.

“Oh, I made it. Studoc had some spare parts that I could use.”

“Fuck, woman, is there anything you can’t do?”

She blushed and turned away from him to set the device in place. As she did, she tripped and would have fallen on top of the device if he hadn’t caught her. She gasped and clutched his arm with her free hand, then laughed.

“Apparently, walking is one of the things I can’t do.”

Her face flushed with cold and laughter, framed in the white fur hood, she looked as beautiful as he’d ever seen her. Ignoring their deadline, he bent down and kissed her cold lips until they warmed beneath his. She softened against him, opening to his demand, and he savored the sweet taste of her mouth and the feel of her perfect body pressed tightly against his. Only the memory of their task and his reluctant acknowledgement of the conditions stopped him from taking her to the ground.

“Fuck, you’re a distraction,” he muttered when he finally raised his head. It took a few more seconds for her eyes to flutter open.

“You were the one who kissed me,” she said.

“Can’t help it when you look so fucking good.”

She blushed and swayed back towards him, but he turned her around and swatted her ass. “Put that thing up and let’s get this done.”

With his help, she concealed the little device in a crevice of rock. A small red light blinked at the base but wasn’t visible unless someone was right on top of it. With a satisfied nod, she then led the way along the rock face to where the entrance was concealed. The door was disguised to look like part of the surface, and they were within a few feet of it before he could tell that it was there. Faith pushed aside some stones to reveal a small concealed panel and then pulled out her tablet.

“They may have changed the passwords since I left,” she muttered, fingers flying.

“Is that a problem?”

“Oh, no.” She pushed up her glasses gave him an impish grin. “They can’t keep me out.” A few more keystrokes, and then the door silently slid into the wall. They were through and the door closed behind them within a few seconds. Even inside the corridor, the air was below freezing, but without the constant wind it felt warmer. He pushed back his hood and shook his head. Fuck, he hated wearing so many clothes.

Now that they were inside, he could tell from the rough construction that this had never been intended as a major passageway. A narrow path had been cut through the rock, but the walls had been left unfinished, only the floor smoothed out enough to be walkable. There was general air of neglect and decay.

“Doesn’t anyone come here?” he asked

“I don’t think so. Even the video surveillance doesn’t extend this far. The only reason I discovered it was because there was a door in one of the supply closets and it didn’t seem to lead anywhere.” She shrugged. “I was curious. When I hacked into the utility systems, I realized that this was where the water pumping system was located. It’s just down here.”

They followed the passageway around several turns before it opened into a larger cavern. The air was warmer here and damp enough that moisture trickled down the walls and dampened the floor. On one side was an array of tanks and pumps making low rhythmic sounds and Faith headed directly for them. He caught up with her in time to catch her as she slipped on the wet floor, but she was too focused to do more than throw him a quick smile.

Together, they wrestled off the heavy metal grate topping one of the tanks. Or more accurately, he removed it while she made admiring noises.

“How did you do this before?” he asked.

“I didn’t. I just dumped the poison through the grate and left it to circulate.” She pointed to four small bags tied to the underside of the grate. “Those contain the antidote. I made them small enough to fit through the holes.” She gave them a worried look. “They’re getting low. The rate of absorption is faster than I calculated.”

“Will they last long enough for this new potion of yours to take effect?”

“They should.”

“Then don’t fucking worry about it. What next?”

“Hand me that white container from the pack. Carefully. You don’t want anything inside there touching you.”

He handed it to her and watched as she twisted the lid slightly, then lowered it very carefully into the water. There was an immediate reaction, the water bubbling around the lid as the container sank down out of sight.

“It gives me fucking nightmares thinking of you working around chemicals.”

“Oddly enough, I’ve never been clumsy there.” She gave him a rueful grin. “I guess I make up for it everywhere else. We just need to put the grate back on and we can go.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it. Tonight, everyone will start feeling kind of queasy. Tomorrow they’ll be weak and shaky, and it will get worse over the next few days. With any luck, they’ll just assume it’s food poisoning.”

Fuck, she was a dangerous woman. His dick throbbed approvingly. “Pretty fucking simple.”

“I told you I could have done it by myself.”

“You couldn’t have fucking moved this by yourself,” he said, hefting the heavy metal back into place and watching her eye him appreciatively.

“No. I would have had to spoon it out.”

Remembering the way the water had bubbled around her concoction, he shuddered. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

As soon as they emerged from the tunnel, it was obvious that conditions had changed. Despite the respite of being inside, the air was noticeably colder. The wind gusted through the valley, almost strong enough to sway him on his feet, but at least the snowfall hadn’t increased. Clouds loomed heavy on the horizon, already obscuring the tops of the surrounding mountains.

“We’d better hurry,” he said grimly.

She nodded, raised that determined little chin, and set out with him. They were two thirds of the way across the valley when disaster struck. Even though Faith was tucked against his side again, her foot caught in a narrow gap in the rock and she pitched forward. He caught her but her face turned pale.

“My ankle,” she cried.

Her foot was still wedged between the rocks, and the ankle was at an awkward angle. He carefully worked it free, but she cried out as soon as she tried to put any weight on it. Fuck. He lifted her into his arms, and she turned her face into his neck with a small sob.

“Don’t cry, baby. You’ll be fine.”

At first, he actually made better time carrying her than having to help her along, but the wind continued to pick up and the snow started coming down in big flakes that swirled about them with increasing fury. Even though he knew Studoc wasn’t going to be able to land in this, he continued in that direction since it was closer than the tunnel and he could still make out the ridge through the snow. He had seen some small caves when they started their trek and those were his goal now. When they finally reached the rocky outcropping, his feet felt like lead. Faith was silent in his arms, except for the frequent shivers wracking her body. The slow laborious process of trying to find a suitable shelter in the ever-increasing blizzard sapped his strength, but he forced himself to go on. The first opening he found was a mere crack in the rock, too small and too exposed to provide any real shelter. Determined not to fail Faith, he kept going, finding his way along the rock face more by feel than sight, one arm trailing along the surface to check for gaps.

When his arm actually disappeared into the cliff, he was too sluggish to do more than stare at it for a few minutes. The realization slowly dawned that there was an opening. It was barely larger than his body, but he managed to wedge his way slowly inside, carefully keeping Faith away from the sharp edges of the rock. Once he was through the narrow gap, the sound of the wind dropped away, leaving his ears ringing in the silence. Very little light filtered through the opening but there was enough to see that he had found a small cave. His head was scraping the ceiling but there was enough room for both of them to sit down and he collapsed gratefully to the floor.

“Faith, Faith are you all right?” His voice sounded odd, hoarse and slow, but her eyes fluttered open.

“C-c-cold,” she whispered.

“I know, baby. Just hold on.” Reluctantly putting her down for a minute, he dug through their pack with clumsy fingers, until he found the survival kit that Grabon had insisted he buy. It took him three times to actually light the small portable heater that was included but once it was lit, it immediately began to emit a gentle warmth. With his last shred of energy, he placed himself between Faith and the opening, gathered her in his arms, and turned her toward the heat source. She nestled closer to him as he fell into an exhausted sleep.

Chapter Fourteen

Faith was dreaming. She was lying on a tropical beach, the sun beating down on her exposed body. At first it was pleasant, but the temperature gradually increased until she felt like she was on fire. She tried to stand up, but her ankle hurt as soon as she moved it and she cried out in pain. The sensation woke her, and she peered through blurry eyes at the rock surrounding her. Where was she? Was she back in the lab? Tears began to trickle down her cheeks.

“Don’t cry, baby,” Athtar’s voice came from behind her, and she realized that the heat coming from his big body had entered her dream. She tried to turn towards him and accidentally moved her ankle again. She whimpered.

“Stop fucking moving,” he growled, before carefully picking her up and sitting her across his lap.

“Where are we?” She remembered twisting her ankle and Athtar carrying her, but it all disappeared into a blur of cold and pain after that. All she’d been able to do was to hang on to him and pray for it to end.

“One of the caves near the pickup site. But we’re not getting the fuck out of here anytime soon. Listen.”

Now that he called it to her attention, she could hear the winds howling outside the small cave. Fortunately, the angle of the opening meant that little snow actually made it into the confined space, and a tiny heater gave off more than enough heat to counteract what did make it through. In fact, she was so warm that she started to pull off her coat.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

“I’m hot.”

“It’s not that fucking warm in here.”

Ignoring him, she continued to take off her coat. That helped some but when she reached for her sweater to pull it over her head, he grabbed her hands.

“Stop taking your fucking clothes off.”

“That's something I never thought I’d hear you say,” she said, then started giggling.

“Faith, are you all right?”

“I don’t know. I feel so strange.” Flashes of heat kept surging through her system, and she was suddenly acutely aware of Athtar’s closeness and his big warm body. “You’re wearing too many clothes,” she whispered.

“That’s because we’re on a fucking ice planet. Fuck, baby, what are you doing?”

She had managed to open his coat enough that she could snake her hand through the opening, feeling his taut stomach muscles flex beneath her fingertips. An eight pack at least, she thought dreamily, as she let her hand drift down over them to his waistband. She began working at the fastening of his pants, her nipples already hard and her pussy slick.

“Faith, this isn’t the fucking time—”

“Yes, it is. It’s time for fucking.” She giggled again, aware that her voice sounded strange but ignoring it as she finally managed to open his pants and grab hold of his big, perfect cock. Despite his protests, he was already hard and pulsing in her hands.

“I want you inside me,” she said as she tried to unfasten her own pants with one hand, refusing to let go of him with the other. “Ouch.”

“What’s wrong?” he asked immediately.

“My stupid ankle. I can’t get my pants off,” she wailed.

“Are you sure you want to fucking do this now?”

A tear dripped down her cheek and her lip trembled. “Don’t you want me anymore?”

“Of course I fucking want you,” he growled. “I always want you.” He still didn’t move, and another tear appeared. That hard face softened. “Don’t cry, baby. I’ll help. Just hold still.” With his usual effortless strength, he very carefully eased her pants down and freed her uninjured leg, then swung her around so that her legs were resting over his and his cock was thrumming against her pussy.

“Fuck, you’re wet,” he said as he slid her back and forth a few times, teasing her clit with those marvelous vibrations. It felt fantastic but she was consumed with the need to have him inside her. She tried to lift herself up and cried out again.

“Fuck, if you don’t stop moving, I’m going to spank your ass.”

“Yes, please.”

“This is not the fucking place,” he growled.

“Just fuck me, please.” Heat and need kept washing through her body and she was desperate to have him inside her.

“Oh, I’m going to fuck you.” The familiar white flames were glowing in his eyes. “You just hold on and don’t fucking try and move. I'll take care of you.” As he spoke, he lifted her up, then lowered her down over his cock. Even as wet as she was, he had to ease his way into her while she bit her lip, trying her best not to wiggle. Her whole body was hot and aching for him. Too slowly, he thrust his way up inside her with the familiar stretch that would almost have been pain if it didn’t feel so good. Ripples of pleasure were flooding her from the constant pulse of his cock. When at last she was completely full of him, he stopped and lowered his forehead to hers, letting the vibrations flow between them, building each other’s pleasure.

“Give me that fucking perfect mouth,” he growled, and tilted her head back to give her a long demanding kiss, still holding her impaled on his massive cock. She returned it eagerly, but the heat was already building, and she started to squirm, trying to get some friction on her swollen nub. He smacked her butt and the pleasant sting only increased her need.

“Please, Athtar. I need you.”

“Put your arms around my neck and fucking hold on,” he ordered. She obeyed immediately and he finally began to move. As he slowly lifted her, she could feel her pussy clinging to him, reluctant to let even an inch of him leave her needy channel. When she was suspended at the top of his cock, only the broad head still stretching her open, he let her drop back down. She squealed with pleasure at the rapid, overwhelming fullness, and clung to his neck. He lifted her again, just as slowly, before dropping her back down. The contrast of slow withdrawal and sudden aching fullness had all of her senses firing. All she could do was cling to him as the pleasure built, her clit vibrating in time with his cock as he moved faster and faster. His body tensed and she could feel his muscles straining as he no longer let her drop but forced her down faster and faster.

“Come for me,” he ordered, and she flew over the edge just as he shuddered and started filling her with jet after jet of hot liquid while she trembled and clung and called out his name

For a long moment, they stayed locked together before he finally raised his head and gave her a gentle kiss. She kissed him back and suddenly realized she was shaking again, and not from excitement this time.

“C-c-cold,” she stuttered, chills wracking her body even though she was still pressed close against his warmth.

“Fuck. I knew I shouldn’t have let you take your clothes off.” He quickly lifted her free, then put her pants back in place and wrapped her coat around her. It didn’t help that her teeth were chattering so hard she could actually hear them. Athtar picked her up and put her back on his lap as she tried to get closer, desperate to get warm. The cave started to spin.

“I-I d-don’t feel v-very good,” she managed.

He cupped her face, then swore. “Fuck, you’re burning up. Gods dammit, Faith, why didn’t you tell me you had a fucking fever?”

That wasn’t fair; she didn’t know that she had a fever. She tried to tell him, but the words came out all garbled. She felt him sigh as he gathered her close, rocking her gently.

“I know, baby. I’m sorry. Just hold on, everything is going to be fine.”

The cave continued spinning around her and she closed her eyes. As she drifted off, she heard Athtar swearing continuously but he had her cradled gently in his arms and his voice was a soothing rumble beneath her ear and she gave in to the darkness.

The next period passed in a confused blur. She drifted in and out of consciousness, vaguely aware of Athtar’s constant presence. He brought her cool water to drink and washed her down when she was burning up with fever. When she was cold, he gathered her close to him. A few times she was aware enough to see how worried he looked as he urged her to take a sip of water or the broth he’d made from the emergency rations.

During one of her periods of consciousness, she woke up to find Athtar looking across at the cave entrance. His face was drawn and tired and as she watched, he rubbed his hand across his eyes.

“Athtar?” Her voice was weak and shaky.

“Faith.” He looked down at her immediately, and she could see the relief in his expression. “Thank the stars, you’re awake. I think the storm is dying down.”

“How—” Her voice cracked, and he helped her into a sitting position before handing a cup filled with more broth. Her hands shook so much that he had to hold it for her, but she took a few sips and felt better.

“How long have I been sick?”

“Two fucking days,” he said, his voice strained.

Two days? She forced herself to focus. “The drug should be taking effect. We need to get back to the lab tomorrow.”

“I don’t give a shit about the lab. You have a fucking broken ankle and you’ve been fucking unconscious for two fucking days. As soon as fucking Studoc returns, we’re getting the fuck out of here.”

“We can’t do that. We have a job to do first,” she said, trying to make her still shaky voice as firm as possible.

“Fuck woman, is there any circumstance under which you won’t fucking argue with me?”

“No.”

A reluctant grin spread across his face before he bent down and kissed her gently. Her eyelids were already closing but as she was drifting off to sleep, she could have sworn that he whispered that he loved her.

The next time she woke, Athtar wasn’t actually holding her. He had left her curled by the small heater and he was standing at the entrance with his outer clothes on.

“What are you doing?” she whispered. Her voice was still weak, but it no longer seemed as uncertain.

“Thank fuck you’re awake. The storm has stopped. I want to go out and signal Studoc.”

“We can't leave.”

“I know. I gathered that from our last conversation. Do you remember it?” He had an odd look on his face and she suddenly remembered that she’d thought he had told her that he loved her. She really wanted to know if that was true and figure out what it meant, but this was not the place for that conversation. Instead, she took the coward’s way out. “Parts of it.”

Was that relief or disappointment that crossed his face? She just couldn’t tell, especially since he immediately changed the subject.

“I didn’t want to leave you without telling you I was going, but I’m not sure how long this break will last. Will you be all right on your own?”

“Yes, I think I’m fine. I feel weak as a kitten, but my head is clear.”

“Then I’m going to leave. I’ll be back as quick as I can, baby.”

“I know you will.”

He took the one stride over to her and bent down to kiss her. Again, there was something in his kiss—desperation? sorrow? —that she couldn’t read, even though he was as passionate as ever. “I won’t be gone long,” he said again.

“I’ll be right here waiting for you,” she promised.

Once he left, she tried to go back to sleep but her mind was working again now. Had he really said he loved her? And if he had, why hadn’t he repeated it? She couldn’t help but remember the times he’d told her that he never wanted to be tied down. And what difference did it make to her? She had to get back to Earth. Didn’t she? She had just started thinking about other possibilities when a shadow crossed the entrance to the cave.

“That was fast. What could you possibly have forgotten?” she laughed. She fumbled for her glasses before she looked up, but Athtar hadn’t entered the cave. Instead, Squad Leader Njkall was standing there, his massive furred body looking even larger in the small space, and his fangs and claws on full display.

Chapter Fifteen

Faith stared at the Hothian guard, her first reaction complete panic. She scrabbled back against the wall of the cave.

“You can’t take me back.”

“Dr. Whittaker.” Njkall shook his head. As always, the deep, pleasant voice took her by surprise; she always expected him to growl. He shook his head. “I should have known it was you. I never truly believed that you died in the storm.”

“Wh-what are you doing here?”

“We were tracking an incoming signal not long before the storm began. I decided to patrol and see if anything remained after the storm.”

“You can track ships like that?”

He actually laughed, a deep rumble. “Of course. We’re not as primitive as you seem to think.”

She could feel her cheeks heat, and not from fever.

“I don’t think that at all. I just never saw any tracking on the lab computers.”

“You wouldn’t have. My people do our own tracking. We don’t like unannounced visitors.”

Was it her imagination, or did that sound like a threat?

“Do you know what they’re doing in the lab?” she asked quickly.

“No, and I don’t care to know. We have an arrangement with Dr. Skevyk. A very lucrative arrangement.” He shook his head again. “I don’t wish to take you back. I did not approve of how you were treated. But I can’t let you go free, either. You should have stayed missing.”

“I had to come back. I found out what they were doing with our research. Njkall, they are creating a weapon that can destroy planets.” She held her breath, waiting for his reaction. To her astonishment, he threw back his head and laughed, revealing even more of his fangs in the process.

“Who told you that fairy tale? It’s impossible.”

“It’s not impossible. And now that I know what they are intending to do, I can see how it was done using my research. That’s why I have to stop it.”

He frowned. “This is a theory that you have developed?”

“No. The… people who are helping me said that it already happened to one planet. I think he called it Sardor.”

The laughter left him immediately. “Sardor? That was the result of this type of weapon?”

“Yes. And this new one will be more powerful and much faster,” she said miserably. “At least in part because of my work. Can’t you see I have to stop it?”

There was an odd clicking sound and she suddenly realize it was because he was tapping his claws together. His very long claws.

“How do you plan to do that?” he asked finally.

“Have you noticed that everyone in the lab is getting weaker?”

He frowned. “There is a bout of food poisoning going around. My people are largely unaffected.”

Her heart sank. If the guards weren’t affected by the drug, there was a good chance they wouldn’t be affected by the gas, either. They had little hope of infiltrating the lab unless the guards were unconscious.

“They aren’t sick. It’s a drug I gave them,” she said.

“How?” He held up a hand before she could decide how to respond. “Never mind. So you’re going to swoop in and take this weapon for yourself?”

“No. I’m going to destroy it—the weapon, the data, everything.”

“And what of the other scientists? They have this knowledge in their heads.”

“Parts of it, perhaps, but not all. I’m going to tell them the truth and give them an option. Abandon the project or die.” Put like that, it seemed terribly harsh and she couldn’t help thinking of Grabon’s words again. She just didn’t know that she had a choice except to be ruthless.

“You’re tougher than I expected, Dr. Whittaker,” Njkall said approvingly.

“You’re not going to try and talk me out of it?”

“No.” He stepped further into the cave and settled down on his haunches. His fur gave off a not unpleasant musky fragrance. “You present me with somewhat of a moral dilemma. We do have an arrangement with Dr. Skevyk. Our understanding at that time was that this was purely a research facility. However, a weapon of this nature is an abomination. What’s more, it endangers the safety of everyone on Hothrest.”

“I’m not asking you to help me,” she said quickly. “But if you will just stay out of my way, I promise you I’ll take care of it.”

His claws clicked. “If we are still employed by him, we cannot permit him to be harmed.”

Tears sprang to her eyes, but he held up his hand again.

“I said if we were still employed.”

“What are you going to do? Are you going to quit?” she asked eagerly.

“No. I’m going to ask him the nature of the project.”

“But he’ll lie to you.”

“If he does, then we have grounds for breaking our employment contract. And if he does tell us the truth—” A frightening smile crossed his face, baring all of his teeth. “If he does, then we have grounds for breaking the contract due to the danger involved.”

She would have laughed at the ingenuity of his solution if she hadn’t been so relieved. “Really? Thank you, Njkall.”

“I am not doing this for you, Dr. Whittaker, although of course I am relieved that I no longer have to resolve the issue of what to do with you.”

Sagging back against the rock, she gave him a tremulous smile. Now that they had reached an agreement, the stress of the conversation and the weakness from her illness were telling on her. Njkall surveyed her, glowing blue eyes intent on her face.

“You do not appear to be yourself.”

“I hurt my ankle and I have been sick for the past few days.”

He dug into the pouch attached to the belt that was his only clothing and produced a small packet of powder. Taking the broth that Athtar had left warming on the tiny heater, he added a pinch of the powder before stirring it with a long claw and then handing it to her.

“Drink this.”

She peered doubtfully at the rather disgusting blue liquid that resulted. She didn’t want to offend him, but she wasn’t enthusiastic about the prospect of drinking it. “Um. What is it?”

“It is sothiti. Our atmosphere can be dangerous if one is injured. Sothiti is used to reduce fever and aid in healing.”

“For your body chemistry,” she pointed out.

“You are correct,” he said, with that frightening grin. “However, we trade it very successfully at Port Eyeja. It will work for you.”

After a cautious sip, she relaxed. It was nowhere near as disgusting as it looked and instead, had a pleasant herbal taste.

“What is this made from?”

“It is a small parasite that grows inside the intestines of certain cave fish,” he said, and she choked. That didn’t sound very… appetizing. She gave the cup a doubtful glance, but it was almost gone so she shrugged ruefully and finished it.

“Did your people historically live in caves?” she asked.

“We still do. It is easier to control the temperatures and much of our food grows there. We have other settlements, of course, but a residence in one of the ancestral caves is considered highly desirable.”

Fascinated, she started asking him additional questions about the types of plants and animals found in the caves. They were deep in a discussion about the effect of darkness on some of the rarer forms of cave fish when Athtar reappeared. A low growl filled the space, sounding much more feral than any noise she’d ever heard from Njkall.

“Get the fuck away from her.”

Njkall whirled so quickly he appeared to blur and crouched, claws out, in front of Faith. There was barely room in the small space for the two men, let alone Faith, but she tried to scramble to her feet and get between them.

“Stop, Athtar. He’s a friend.”

Her words didn’t help. He snarled louder and tried to reach around Njkall to get to her. Njkall swiped at Athtar and she cried out as three streaks of blood appeared on his arm, shockingly red against his blue skin. The two of them were face to face, teeth bared, both growling.

“Stop it, both of you.” She finally managed to work her way around Njkall and tried to slip between them, but her ankle twisted and she cried out in pain. Athtar immediately switched his attention to her and lifted her into his arms. She clung to him, partially from the relief of seeing him, but also to prevent any more fighting. Njkall calmed and stepped back the single pace allowed by the small cave. He looked at the two of them, then inclined his head.

“You do not belong here, Elginar,” he said calmly. “However, since I see that Dr. Whittaker is your mate, I will make an allowance for your behavior and not kill you. This time.”

“You could fucking try,” Athtar growled. “I’ve fought your kind before.”

Njkall’s nails clicked. “Where was that, I wonder?”

“What fucking difference does it make?”

Njkall hesitated. “As you know, my kind rarely leave our planet. I had a… friend who left many years ago. I have often wondered what happened to him.”

Athtar scowled and she poked him. Finally, he shrugged. “A fight pit on Sigrast. He lost, but it was not a death match. He was alive when I left him.”

“Defeated by a naked skin.” Njkall shook his head. “How far he fell after he left.”

“We were the last two fighters,” Athtar said, then bared his teeth in what could have been a smile. “But I was better.”

Despite an unexpected feeling of pride, she rolled her eyes. “I’m sure you’re both great fighters.” Ignoring Athtar’s growl when she said both, she continued. “Athtar, Njkall is going to speak to Skevyk to see if they are in violation of the contract.”

“So?”

“If they are in violation, the Hothian guards will leave. Then we only have to deal with the scientists, although the Kaisarian guards will still be there.”

Njkall and Athtar both made a derogatory sound.

“They are not true fighters,” Njkall said. “They would rather trust their god than their skills.” He looked at Faith. “They are also suffering from this mysterious food poisoning that is sweeping the complex.”

Relieved that at least that part of her plan was working, she smiled up at Athtar. “See, everything is fine.”

“Everything is not fucking fine. You’re still fucking injured. And what if your fever comes back?” A shadow crossed his face. “I can’t handle that again.”

“I have given her sothiti,” Njkall said. “She will be fine.”

“Sothiti?” Athtar raised his brows, then gave Njkall a curt nod. “Thank you.”

“You’ve heard of it?” she asked.

“Fuck yeah. It’s a very profitable trade item but it’s not easy to get hold of.”

“I will return to the facility,” Njkall said. “My guards will depart tonight. I would suggest that just before sunrise would be the best time for you to return.” He looked at Athtar. “If you wish to return to your ship until then, it will be permitted, as will your return to the lab tonight. However, no other transportation is authorized. Are we clear?”

“Yeah, I got it.”

The guard gave him a thoughtful look. “I wish that we could have met on the field of battle. I think you would find that I am not easy to defeat.”

“Yeah? The more they fucking talk, the easier they are to defeat.”

Njkall made an odd sound that Faith decided was a laugh and dipped his head. “Perhaps you are correct. However, unless you wish to find out, do not return to this place. You are, of course, welcome to continue trading at Port Eyeja.” He maneuvered around Athtar and disappeared through the entrance.

Athtar immediately pulled her closer. “Gods, baby. I about had a fucking heart attack when I walked in and saw him here. They’re fucking vicious bastards.”

“But you could take him.” She smiled up at him. “You said you did before.”

“Yeah, but that was one of the hardest fucking battles I ever fought. You just fucking stay away from them, do you hear me?”

She was tempted to point out that Njkall had been the one to find her, but he was looking seriously concerned, so for once she didn’t argue. Instead, she nodded quietly. He looked both relieved and skeptical, but he bent his head and kissed her until she was clinging to him. She could feel her body responding but she was still too exhausted to be able to do anything about it. Athtar raised his head and smiled down at her flushed face.

“That’s better. Those were the longest fucking forty-eight hours of my life.”

“I only remember a little of it,” she said, wondering again about what she’d thought she heard, but he didn’t respond to the hint. With a muted sigh, she changed the subject. “Did you get in touch with the ship?”

“Yes, Studoc is on his way with Grabon. And don’t make that face. I want him to look at your fucking ankle as soon as possible and see if he can figure out why you ran that fever.”

“He’ll probably just poison me,” she said grumpily.

Athtar growled. “Don’t fucking joke about something like that. He would never harm you.”

“No, I know.” She sighed. “I’m used to people not liking me, but I know he’s your friend.”

“Why the fuck wouldn’t anyone like you? You’re fucking brilliant and fucking beautiful.”

“You’re the only one who has ever thought I’m beautiful.” And the only one whose opinion about it mattered to her. “And most people aren’t fond of smart, geeky women who never know how to say the right thing.” She shrugged. “I just never fit in that well.”

“Then they were a bunch of fucking idiots. Why the fuck would you want to go back to that?”

Put like that, it didn’t sound very appealing to her, either. “What else would I do?” she asked and held her breath. A flash of something that looked like longing crossed his face, but he only shook his head.

“Let’s worry about that after we get off this fucking planet.”

Chapter Sixteen

Athtar carefully put Faith back down while he gathered their few supplies. He was trying very hard not to think about her question. Gods, he wanted her to stay with him, but how could he ask her? Oh, she might agree for a while, but how long would she be happy traveling around on a freighter? How soon would she abandon him for fucking science? Forcing his concerns to the back of his mind, he helped her into her outerwear. The last thing he did was to turn off the small heater.

“This was Grabon’s idea, you know,” he said. He didn’t think it would help to mention that Grabon had insisted he take it in case Faith betrayed him.

“In other words, he expected things to go wrong?” she asked dryly.

“He likes to be prepared.”

She rolled her eyes. “He’s a damn Boy Scout.”

“He is not a boy.”

“Never mind. Is it time to leave?”

“Yes.” He picked her up and, despite the circumstances, loved having her back in his arms. Like everything else with her, she felt right there.

The air outside was bitterly cold but the wind wasn’t blowing and no snow fell from the heavy clouds. Faith shivered and buried her face in his neck. Luckily, the landing site wasn’t far and by the time they made it around the jagged spur of rock at the end of the valley, the flyer had landed.

Grateful as hell to see it, he carried Faith on board. Grabon was waiting just inside the airlock.

“How is she?” he demanded.

“She is just fine,” Faith said tartly.

“No, she’s not fucking fine. Like I said, she broke her fucking ankle and she ran a fever for two fucking days.”

“Put her in the bunk. I brought a portable scanner and I want to check her ankle.”

“It’s fine,” she muttered again, but both men ignored her.

He laid her carefully in the bunk, his chest aching at how small and helpless she looked. Grabon moved closer and he had to bite back an instinctive growl of protest. Instead, he moved to the head of the bed and took Faith’s hand in his.

“There’s no sign of fever now,” Grabon said, running a medwand over her.

“She had a dose of sothiti.”

“Hm. It seems to have worked. All of her vital signs are within normal ranges. It was probably just due to exposure.”

“Njkall said the atmosphere can be dangerous if you are injured,” Faith said.

Grabon frowned at him. “That is not something that has previously been disclosed. I will take a sample to study. Now I’m going to examine your ankle.”

While Faith gripped his hand, Grabon carefully cut away her boot. Athtar had been afraid to remove the boot previously and now he swore viciously at the bruised and swollen flesh.

“Gods dammit. I knew I should never have let you come down on this fucking planet.”

“You didn’t let me do anything,” she said, and fuck if she didn’t lift her damn chin. “We had a deal.” Then she winced as Grabon probed her injury.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Athtar growled. “You’re supposed to be helping her, not hurting her.”

Grabon sat back on his heels and sighed. “Athtar, I can’t help her unless I know what’s wrong. Why don’t you go sit with Studoc?”

“Fuck, no.”

“Then stay quiet.” Grabon turned back to Faith, his face softer than usual when regarding her. “It is not my intention to hurt you, but I have to examine you.”

“I know. I’m not as crazy as some people,” she said, giving him a pointed look.

Grabon’s lips twitched, then he focused on Faith’s ankle. After another quick manipulation of her ankle, during which she paled and Athtar clenched his fists on the bunk rail to avoid throwing Grabon against the nearest wall, he used the scanner to survey the injury.

“It’s not broken but you have a severe sprain. I’ll put a healing gel on it to help with the bruises, then wrap it tightly to hold it in place, but you need to stay off of it until it heals.”

“I can’t,” she said. “We’ve got to back down to the planet tonight.”

“If you need to stay the fuck off of it, then you’re not going back down to the fucking planet,” Athtar growled.

“Oh, yes, I am. The scientists are sick and the Hothians are leaving tonight. It’s our best chance.”

“The Hothians are leaving?” Grabon asked.

“Yes,” he admitted reluctantly. “Faith talked them into it.”

“And you are determined to do this?” Grabon turned back to Faith. “Even at the risk of permanent injury to yourself?”

“Yes,” she said defiantly, tilting that stubborn little chin.

“Fuck, no,” he roared, but both of them ignored him.

To his shock, Grabon inclined his head. “Then I will do what I can to assist you.”

“Fucking forget it. We’re leaving this fucking hellhole before anything else fucking happens.”

Faith turned back to him and took his hand, her eyes pleading with him. “Athtar, you know we have to do this. Please don’t be upset.”

Fuck, fuck, fuck. His every instinct told him to carry her as far away from this place as possible. He couldn’t stand the thought of her being in pain, but neither could he resist the look of entreaty in those big eyes. Part of him also knew that she was right—this was the best time to destroy the weapon. Frustrated and concerned, he growled and pulled away from her touch.

“I’m going to see if fucking Studoc is actually following my fucking orders since no one else will fucking listen to me.” He looked down at Faith, his chest aching. “Stay in the fucking bunk. When we get back to The Lady, I’ll carry you on board.”

“Yes, dear,” she said meekly, but her eyes twinkled at him from behind her glasses. With a reluctant grin, he shook his head, pressed a quick, hard kiss to those tempting lips, and went to join his pilot.

For once, Faith actually listened to him and stayed in the bunk for the rest of the short trip. He stood on the small bridge, bullying Studoc and fighting the urge to join Faith. Once safely on board The Lady, he carried Faith to the med lab where Grabon worked on her ankle before wrapping it tightly in a bandage.

“Stay off of it as much as possible,” Grabon warned. “Your determination is… admirable, but you should not take any unnecessary risks.”

“I won’t,” she promised.

“You’re damn right, you won’t,” he said as he picked her up and headed for their cabin.

“What are you doing? I want to check my formulas again.”

“Why? I don’t for one fucking second think you made a mistake.”

Her cheeks turned pink. “Well, probably not. But I like to be sure.”

“And I like to see you in our fucking bed and that’s where we’re going.”

“Bully,” she muttered, but then she gave him a speculative look from under her lashes.

“What are you thinking?”

“Just that it’s going to be a long wait until tonight. We’ll need to do something to pass the time.” She twisted in his arms enough to rub her breasts against his chest. His body responded immediately and he felt his dick start to stiffen.

“Is your fever coming back?”

“My fever? Why would you think… Oh.” Her cheeks were bright pink now. “I’m sorry about that. I shouldn’t have forced myself on you.”

“You didn’t fucking force yourself on me. I always want you, baby.”

“I always want you, too, Athtar. I…” She hesitated and he tensed, half hoping, half dreading what she was about to say. Instead, she bit her lip and looked away, changing the subject. “I’d love a bath. I wish the ship had one.”

The vision of Faith surrounded by nothing but bubbles did nothing to make his dick soften and he had to fight the impulse to offer to have one installed. She wouldn’t stay with him. He had to fucking remember that.

“We’ll just have to find another way to get you clean.”

“Mm. I like the sound of that.” She leaned back and smiled up at him, so fucking sweet. “I’m going to forget how to walk with you carrying me all the time like this.”

“Fine with me,” he said, as he carried her into their cabin. Precious was curled up in the middle of the bed. She jumped to her feet, her whole body wagging, and tripped over the covers in her rush to get to them. He put Faith down carefully, then untangled Precious. She licked his face repeatedly with her long forked tongue then tried to do the same to Faith.

“I don’t think that’s the kind of bath she had in mind, Precious,” he said as the little animal lunged for her.

“She’s fine. Come here, sweetie. Did you miss us? I missed you, too.” Faith laughed as Precious jumped and wiggled in her arms, stubby little tail wagging frantically. He wondered if his pet was going to miss her as much as he was. Shoving aside the depressing thought, he went to strip off his clothes and start the shower.

When he returned, Faith and Precious were cuddled up together in the big bed.

“Would you rather rest?”

“No,” she said through a yawn. “I want to get clean first.” Her eyes traveled over his body appreciatively. “I assume you’re helping me clean up?”

“Fuck yeah.” As carefully as possible, he removed her clothes, trying to ignore the tempting sight of her naked body. She blinked up at him as he removed her glasses, then smiled.

“Why, Captain,” she said, as she reached for his dick. “You seem to be a little excited.” Her hand closed around his now fully erect cock and gave him a little squeeze as he thrummed in response.

“Shower,” he said firmly, trying to resist the temptation to simply join her on the bed. Of course, having his woman naked in his arms while he got her all wet and soapy wasn’t a bad alternative. In fact, it was a little too good as she squirmed and wiggled against him. Somehow he managed to get them both washed and dried without letting her eager little hands distract him too much—although he did spend a long time making sure that every part of her was scrupulously clean. She was still pink and glowing when he laid her back in the bed.

“Aren’t you going to join me?”

“I should check on the ship.”

“If I can’t check on my experiments, you shouldn’t be able to check on the ship, either.”

He shook his head and gave into temptation. Precious huffed as he picked her up and settled her in her basket, but she circled once and laid down. He returned to the bed and lifted Faith’s injured ankle up on to a pillow. He settled between her legs, keeping his weight off her body as he looked down at her for a long minute. The green in her eyes intensified and she reached up to cup his face and bury her hand in his hair.

“What is it, Athtar?”

“I love you, Faith,” he blurted, and immediately closed his eyes. Fuck. He hadn’t intended to tell her.

“I know,” she said softly. “You said it in the cave when I was sick, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.” Seeing her so ill, afraid that he was going to lose her, he hadn’t been able to deny his feelings.

“I love you, too, you know.”

His heart skipped a beat. “You do?”

“Well, of course I do. You’re everything I never even knew I wanted.” She tried to smile but her lips were trembling. “Tell me that means we can be together.”

Gods, he wanted to say yes. Instead, the truth tumbled out. “I… I don’t fucking know. I can’t give up my ship. And you won’t be happy here.”

“How do you know?” she said, lifting her chin.

“Because you’re a scholar—you want to study. What are you going study onboard a fucking freighter?”

Her mouth opened and he thought she was about to deny his words. A spark of hope flared, but then she shook her head slowly. “You’re right. I have to have something to occupy my time.”

Pushing aside his despair, he bent his head and kissed her, relishing her sweet taste and her eager response. When he raised his head, her eyes were heavy and her cheeks flushed. He growled approvingly before making his way down her body. He spent a long time on her breasts, teasing and tugging the fat little nipples until they were swollen and distended and she was lifting her hips impatiently. He kept going, dipping his tongue into the adorable dimple of her bellybutton before finally lowering his head between her legs.

She was flushed and swollen here, too, her clit emerging from its hood, and little pearls of moisture caught in the silky dark curls. Grunting impatiently, he spread her nether lips so that every inch of pink glistening flesh was exposed to him and took a long satisfying lick from her luscious cunt to her swollen clit. The small nub of flesh quivered against his tongue and he circled it, gradually increasing the pressure until she tensed and cried out, her hips thrusting upward.

“That’s one,” he said.

“One?” Her voice sounded dazed, but he ignored her, returning to long slow licks from bottom to top. She gasped and clutched his head, trying to use his braids to urge him on, but he ignored the slight, pleasant sting and kept the slow pace. Fuck, she tasted good on his tongue, and he worked it deeper into the tiny entrance to her luscious cunt. Even that was a tight fit and his cock ached. He ground it against the bed and tried to ignore the ache. Grabbing her sweet ass, he pulled her even closer, desperate for more, sending his tongue as deep as it would go into her quivering channel. He nudged her clit and she came a second time, milking his tongue with long stroking pulls.

“Two,” he said when her muscles relaxed, raising his head enough to breathe the word against her reddened clit. She shivered in response and he followed with a delicate stroke across the exposed flesh.

“Oh. I can’t…”

“Yes, you can.” Ignoring her muffled protest, he continued the tantalizing strokes, circling and teasing, until she was lifting her hips again. He pushed a thick finger into her clenching sheath and she rocked against him. Her juices coated his finger and he used it to circle her little pucker.

“Where do you want me, baby? Here…” He returned to her cunt. “Or here?” Back to her bottom hole, pressing harder this time so that she loosened and allowed him into that hot dark channel.

“B-both. I want both,” she gasped, rocking harder. He obeyed, pushing his thumb into her cunt and immediately setting up a demanding rhythm, gradually increasing the pressure on her clit until she was writhing beneath him, panting and calling out his name. He scissored his fingers and sucked her clit into his mouth and she exploded, her body convulsing, squeezing his digits so tightly that he could feel it in his neglected cock. With a roar he rose over her and stroked frantically, wanting her as covered in his scent as he was in hers. A soft hand joined his, and white jets of seed exploded, coating her stomach and hitting her still quivering clit, mingling in the dark curls. When the last drop emerged, he felt as drained as if he’d gone four rounds in the pit. He collapsed down next to her.

“Three,” he mumbled, trying to find the energy to move. “I should clean you up.”

“Later,” she whispered, wiggling closer. She kissed him slowly, tenderly, then smiled. “I like tasting us together.”

“Me, too, baby.” He tucked her in his arms and gave into exhaustion. He had his woman safe and satisfied in his arms and for right now, it was enough.

Chapter Seventeen

Faith laid awake long after Athtar’s body relaxed into sleep. He loved her. She hugged the knowledge to herself, even as she worried that it wouldn’t make any difference in the end. He was right; as much as she loved being onboard the ship, she couldn’t spend the rest of her days being idle. And she would never ask him to give up the ship. Perhaps she could find a job working on one of planets where he traded. And wait for him to stop by between voyages, the rest of the time as alone as she had been her whole life? The thought filled her with desolation and the stars outside the viewport disappeared in a blur of tears.

She eventually drifted off into a tired sleep. When they both woke, he carried her to the shower again, neither of them talking, but she took comfort in his tenderness. After they dressed, they met in the lounge with the rest of the crew and went over the plan. Athtar and Faith would take the flyer to the back entrance, landing immediately next to it this time, and slip in long enough to set off the gas. Once they rendezvoused with The Dancing Lady again, the ship would land on the field outside the loading dock. If Njkall had kept his word, the Hothian guards would be gone and she would be able to bring everyone in through the main entrance.

Bringing up a screen with her rough sketch of the compound, she went over the layout.

“The guard quarters are here, behind the loading dock and the supply chambers. Dining hall and lounge here. The Kaisarian guards should be somewhere in this area.”

Kanithe nodded. “Ultana and I will locate them and secure the bodies.”

“The cells are located here,” she continued. Athtar growled, but she ignored him. “Then this small pod of Kaisarian scientists and finally the Elginar quarters, right outside the main entrance to the labs.”

“How many in the cells?”

“Only three when I left,” she said sadly. “There were twelve originally.”

“I suggest we leave them there while we deal with the others,” Grabon said.

“I don’t like it, but I suppose you’re right.”

“How many Kaisarian scientists?” he asked.

“I don’t know for sure. They tended to rotate in and out, but usually no more than four or five at a time.”

“We’ll bring them into the Elginar quarters,” Grabon decided. “It will be easier to secure them in a central location.”

“And then I’ll wake everyone one up and give them a choice.”

“I don’t fucking like it. Let the bastards die,” Athtar growled. Looking around she could see that everyone agreed with him.

“I can’t. Maybe not all of them knew what was being done.”

Athtar sighed. “All right, baby. We'll do it your way.”

Everything actually proceeded according to plan this time. Athtar carried Faith through the back entrance to set off the gas, and then they rejoined the ship. After Faith opened the loading dock doors, she insisted that Athtar put her down. He did so reluctantly.

“You’re supposed to stay off your fucking ankle.”

“It’s fine.” Actually, it hurt like hell, but between Grabon’s bandages and a new boot, she could walk and that was all that mattered.

Once they had the Elginar and Kaisarian scientists assembled in one room, Faith tossed in a small ball. A green gas filled the room and as soon as it cleared, they entered. There were thirty Elginar and three Kaisarians gathered in the lounge and as they slowly regained consciousness, a babble of talk started. They were all pale and weak, but that didn’t stop them from glaring at Athtar’s crew as they kept guard at the door. Once Faith saw Skevyk was awake, she stepped inside.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded as soon as he saw her. Even though he was obviously ill and could barely sit upright, he hadn’t lost any of his arrogance. “I thought that idiot Zartan finally dragged you off to satisfy his unnatural lust and you both died in the storm.” The prospect had obviously not bothered him. “Where is he?”

“The Emperor has him. If he’s still alive.”

Did a flicker of fear cross his face? She couldn’t be sure because he immediately reverted to his usual sneer.

“Zartan won’t tell him anything, but I should have known you would try and sabotage my project. I suppose you were responsible for Detauk’s death as well.” He laughed bitterly as she stared at him in confusion. “Why did you bother to come back?”

“Because I found out what you’ve been doing with my research.”

He shrugged. “So?”

Ignoring him, she addressed the rest of the group. “I have discovered that this project is not about creating a habitat for life as I was told. Instead, it was used to destroy a planet and billions of lives. It will be used that way again.”

The scientists stirred uneasily. One of the Kaisarians stepped forward.

“It is as Napisten wills.”

She studied his face and saw only complete conviction. Nothing she said was going to convince him. She turned to the others.

“You have a choice,” she said softly. “You can leave now, abandon this terrible project, return home.”

“Leave now? When we are so close to completion?” Skevyk scoffed. “You must be mad.”

“Mad because I want no part in a project whose only goal is destruction?”

“What does it matter?” His eyes gleamed. “It is a tremendous scientific achievement.”

“But at what cost?” She shook her head. “No, I will not permit it. Leave or be prepared to pay the price.”

Some of the other scientists were looking at her uneasily, but Skevyk only sneered. “Do you think you can make me leave?”

“No, and I’m not going to try. But I’m giving you the choice.”

Vack, one of the older scientists, stepped forward, ignoring Skevyk’s glare. “I have a family on Elgin. I choose to leave.”

“You’re no better than a common verka,” Skevyk sneered. “Choosing family over scholarship.” He said the word family as if it tasted like dung in his mouth but Vack ignored him and moved to their side of the room. Two more of the Elginar scientists followed him but the rest remained, although a few of them looked uncertain.

“This is your last chance,” she said urgently. One additional man gave Skevyk a despairing look, then dashed over to join them.

“Traitor,” Skevyk hissed. “You’ll never find another reputable position.”

“Neither will you, Skevyk.” She turned her back on him and walked out of the room. The rest of her team followed, and she heard the lock click shut. Her hands were like ice and she realized vaguely that she was trembling.

“What now, baby?” Athtar’s big arm circled her and she leaned gratefully into his warmth.

“We leave them. The drug has increased the effect of the poison. It won’t be long now.”

“You drugged us?” Jepoc gasped. He was the last one to have joined them. “You traitorous bitch.”

Athtar backhanded him casually, sending the man to the floor without loosening his hold on her.

“Shall I toss him back in?” he offered.

“No, thank you, love.” She tried to smile but she suspected it wasn’t very convincing. “He made the choice to leave. Give him the antidote.”

“When he’s on the fucking ship.”

She didn’t try and argue. “I have to set off the reaction. Can you make sure the rest of the doors are open?”

“I’m not letting you out of my fucking sight. Thynmirr, guard these four.”

“Aye, Captain.” The little blue alien aimed his weapon at the scientists with a grim look on his face, not looking remotely like a muppet. Faith led the rest of them deeper into the complex and showed them how to set the doors to stay open. The crew split up but Athtar stayed at her side with his arm around her. She leaned into him.

“Does your foot hurt, baby?”

She nodded, but even though her ankle was throbbing painfully, the ache in her heart surpassed it. Her mind kept returning to the scientists locked in their lounge.

“Maybe we should let them go.”

“Fuck no. Did any of them not know that this was a weapon?”

She thought of their faces when she made the announcement—none of them had been surprised. She shook her head. “No, they knew.”

“Then fuck ‘em. You even gave them a choice to leave and they didn’t fucking take it.”

“I don’t think they believe I can do it.”

“After being around you for eight fucking years? Then they’re fucking stupid. I’ve only known you for two weeks and I know you can do it. You’re fucking brilliant.”

A little kernel of warmth broke through her despair. “And you don’t think I’m a terrible person?”

With a muffled curse, he pulled her up in his arms and kissed her until she was breathless. “You’re fucking amazing and you know it. Now let’s get this shit done.” He placed her carefully back on her feet and gave her a gentle smack on her butt. She wiggled against his hand and he laughed. “Later, baby.”

The labs were arranged in three tiers leading back to the central cavern where the project was located. She had seen it on the maps but had never gone beyond the first tier. With Athtar at her side, she went straight to the heart of the complex, then stopped at the entrance to the cavern and took a deep breath.

“Hand me the pack, please.” After he pulled it off his back, she put a hand on his chest. “Please wait for me here. I don’t want to take any chances.”

“You said it was fucking safe.”

Her part was—the ingredients inactive until they were ignited—but she didn’t know if there were any hidden security measures. Somehow, she suspected that telling Athtar that would only make him more determined to accompany her. Instead, she put a soft hand on his chest. “I just… I need to do this myself. Please.”

With a reluctant grunt, he released her arm. “I’m staying right fucking here.”

She walked alone into the vast cavern where the terraforming… where the weapon was being assembled. It looked so innocuous—a spherical metal object, perhaps fifteen feet in diameter, its metal shell still open to reveal the maze of components and chemicals inside. It was the first time she’d actually seen it and as she surveyed the interior, there was a bitter taste in her mouth as she recognized much of her work. Even though it had been under duress, she had been proud of what she accomplished. There was no longer room for pride. With a regretful sigh at her foolishness, she began placing the small canisters around the perimeter of the sphere, then carefully connected them with a thin wire. Unreeling it behind her, she backed to the door where Athtar was waiting. Her ankle was shaking, and with a curse, he pulled her up into his arms.

“Can we fucking go now?”

“Yes. I just need to string this out behind us. Once everyone is out, I’ll set it off.”

“Those little fucking bottles are going to destroy all this?”

“Not the stone, but everything else—metal, plastic, glass. There won’t be anything left to find.”

“Fuck. My dangerous woman.”

“The power of chemistry, baby.” She tried to keep her voice light, but it wasn’t a very successful effort. Athtar hugged her closer.

“Don’t you dare fucking cry. This is not your fault and you’re trying to stop it happening again.”

“What if it doesn't work? What if they have another lab?”

“If they do, they’re missing one brilliant scientist. They’ll fucking fail.” He shrugged. “You can’t save the whole fucking galaxy. Let the emperor do his fucking job and protect it.”

Somewhat comforted, she buried her head in his neck and let him carry her back to the entrance to the labs. The rest of the crew were already there, waiting silently as Athtar put her down.

“Step back outside the blast doors,” she said. “I’m going to light this and then we’ll close them behind us.”

The crew took off. Athtar, of course, refused to leave her and stayed while she lit the long fuse. The end ignited and a bright red glow began traveling rapidly along the thin piece of wire. As soon as he saw it move, Athtar rushed her through the doorway, then he and Grabon closed the massive doors.

“Could it melt these doors?” he asked.

“Yes, given enough time, but I designed it to burn fast and hot. It won’t burn long enough to penetrate them.” Even as she spoke there was a low rumbling in the distance. Despite the thickness of the doors, they could all feel the vibration and everyone instinctively took a step back.

“How long?” Grabon asked, looking grim.

“No more than fifteen minutes.”

“Maybe we should wait in the loading dock,” Studoc suggested.

“You don’t need to be here,” she agreed quickly. “Why don’t you get everyone on board ship while we’re waiting?”

“Where do you want us to put them, Captain?” Ultana asked.

“The Elginar can go in the fucking brig.”

“They won’t like it,” she responded calmly.

“I don’t give a shit.”

“Yes, sir. And the other scientists?”

“Put them in Birgraz’s old cabin. Once they’ve been dosed, we’ll find out what the fuck they want to do now.”

Faith realized that something was missing. “What about the Kaisarian guards? Didn’t any of them take the offer?”

“No,” Kanithe said shortly. “They were fanatics, not true believers. They will not receive Napisten’s mercy.”

Fuck. More people on her conscience. She didn’t argue with the other woman although she suspected that Kanithe’s method of questioning might have been a trifle one-sided.

“That’s it then.” She sighed. “Why don’t the rest of you go back to the ship? I—” Athtar growled. “—We will wait and confirm that everything has been destroyed and then join you.”

The crew departed, with the exception of Grabon.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “You—both of you—need someone watching your back.”

“Are you expecting trouble?” she said, trying to sound flippant.

“Always.”

Her legs started to shake, and she slid down to a seated position with her back to the doors.

“Fuck, baby. I knew this would be too much for you.” Athtar dropped down beside her and pulled onto his lap.

“You don’t have to hold me all the time,” she protested, even as she sighed and relaxed against him. He was much more comfortable than the stone floor and metal door.

“Yeah, I do,” he muttered. While I can. He didn’t say it out loud, but she knew they were both thinking it. She pressed a kiss against his chest and closed her eyes.

“This reminds me of that fucking fight pit on Dotov,” he said to Grabon, his voice rumbling against her cheek.

“You and I remember Dotov very differently,” Grabon said. “Now, Salos Thirteen, on the other hand, where we tried to trade pesh plants to those Veruvians? That was about as much of a clusterfuck.”

“Nah, that was just fucking trading. Gigantu, now that was a clusterfuck.”

The men bantered back and forth, and she found herself drifting into an exhausted sleep, worn out by pain and tension. The last thing she heard before darkness descended was Grabon’s voice. “What are you going to do?”

Chapter Eighteen

Athtar looked at his friend and then down at the woman sleeping in his arms. Her face was pale and strained, even in sleep and his chest ached. He hated seeing her like this.

“What am I going to do? Fuck if I know. I can’t give up The Lady and she wouldn’t be happy on board without her research.”

“A lot of captains have a home port,” Grabon suggested.

“I know. I’ve thought about it.” He tugged on his beard. “If she found something on Sherae, I could trust Rast and Deb to look after her while I was gone. Fuck.” He shook his head. “That’s the same fucking thing I suggested to the emperor. Now I know why he turned me down.”

“Because a man doesn’t want to be without his mate.”

“Yeah. Fuck.” He banged his head back against the door in frustration, wincing at the noise but Faith didn’t stir. Sitting like that, he gradually realized that the door was heating up behind him. With a startled oath, he scrambled to his feet, trying his best not to disturb Faith.

“What is it?” Grabon, too, was on his feet.

“The door is getting fucking hot. She said it wouldn’t come through, but…”

Grabon stepped up and put a hand to the door, then grimaced and backed up. “We should move further away. How much longer did she say?”

He checked his watch, “Another five minutes. And if it’s that fucking hot this far away from the fucking cavern…”

“Let’s go,” Grabon said grimly.

Faith finally stirred as they started moving rapidly through the corridors. “What are you doing?”

“Getting away from that fucking hellfire you created.”

She pushed her glasses up her nose and gave him a sleepy glare. “It’s not hellfire. It’s a controlled chemical reaction. I’m sure my calculations are correct.”

“Fine. They can be fucking correct from further away.”

She huffed but didn’t protest until they reached the loading docks. “I’m sure it’s safe to wait here.”

Since he really didn’t want to have to take her out into the cold unless he had to, he agreed to wait by the door. Grabon paced, his wings fluttering, an unusual sign of restlessness from the big man, while Athtar longed to join him.

“It’s been fifteen minutes,” Faith said finally. “It should be complete.”

“I’ll go check,” Grabon volunteered.

“It was my plan,” she said. “I’ll go. Just put me down, Athtar, and wait here.”

“Woman, we’ve had this discussion. Where you go, I go.” He glared at her and she lifted her chin and glared back. Fuck, this was definitely not the moment for his dick to get hard.

“By Napisten’s elbow, I’ll go.” Grabon was gone before either of them could protest.

“What if he gets hurt?” Faith said, frowning after him.

“You said it was safe and he believed you.”

“Yeah. He did, didn’t he? Maybe he’s starting to like me a little after all.” A faint smile tugged at her mouth and he couldn’t resist dropping a kiss on those pretty lips. Despite the situation, despite her exhaustion, she responded as passionately as she always did, and her sweetness aroused his own need. He groaned and swung her around in his arms so that her legs could wrap around his waist. She rubbed her breasts against his chest, trying to get closer and he was one step away from taking her up against the wall when Grabon reappeared.

“Can’t leave you two alone for a second,” he said, sounding surprisingly cheerful. “The door is cooling. Your experiment, lady scientist, appears to have worked.” He dipped his head and Faith grinned at him.

Athtar bit back his instinctive growl. “Do you need to see the damage, Faith?”

The smile left her face. “Yes. Just to verify.”

Without protesting, he carried her back, Grabon trailing behind them. When they reached the entry, the doors were cool to the touch and he put Faith down while he and Grabon pried them open. More than half of the foot thick metal was simply gone, and the inside surface that remained was pitted and scarred. They both stared at the doors in silence.

“I’ll be a dung-headed son of a swamp whore,” Athtar said finally.

“My thoughts exactly.”

Faith hobbled to the door. “I told you it would work.”

“You were right. Where now?”

“The cavern and the server room. If those two are destroyed, then I’m confident about the rest.”

Nothing remained in the server room except some patches of melted metal and they moved on. In the center of the cavern lay a circle of silver burnt into the rock. Nothing else remained.

“Eight years of work,” Faith muttered softly.

“Do you regret it?” Grabon asked.

“In many ways, the work was the only thing that kept me going. I regret the waste.” She looked directly at Grabon. “But I would never let it be used that way.”

“I believe that now. You have my loyalty, Faith.”

“Thank you,” she said softly, then blushed and pushed up her glasses. “We should go now.”

“Thank the fuck.” Athtar didn’t wait for her to change her mind but headed back the way they came at a fast pace. He saw her give the Elginar quarters a sorrowful look, but he didn’t give her a chance to renew her protests. As soon as they were dressed in their outdoor gear, he was through the door with a sigh of relief. He didn’t even mind the snow scouring his face or the wind trying to take his breath away. Once they were on board The Lady, he ordered Ultana to take off immediately.

Faith was still too pale and tired looking for his liking but they needed to decide on their next move, so he carried her to the bridge.

“Captain, there is an Imperial Fleet ship in orbit,” Ultana said immediately. “I have plotted our course to depart from the other side of Hothrest but I can’t guarantee they won’t record our departure.”

“Just get us the fuck out of here. Kanithe, monitor for any communications from the Fleet ship.”

“Already on it, but they are being unusually quiet so far. Too quiet.”

“Do you think they’re headed for the lab?” Faith asked.

“Yes. The sooner we get the fuck away from here, the better.”

“And then what?”

“My original plan was to head for the fucking Outer Rim and get away from fucking politics and saving the fucking galaxy.”

“I know.” Her voice was soft as she reached up and placed her hand on his cheek. “I did promise we would take the scientists home.”

“To Elgin.” The full horror of that sunk in. After more than twenty years, he was finally going to have to go home.

Faith was curled on his lap, Precious curled on hers, when Elgin came into view at last. The surface was spotted with landmasses—too large to be islands, too small to be continents—set in a deep purple sea. The last time he’d seen this view, he’d been leaving with Kefniss.

Despite his current apprehension, it had been a pleasant trip. Although he still kept a wary eye out for Imperial pursuit, none had appeared, and he was relieved that they had accomplished their task and destroyed the weapon. Over Faith’s protests, he kept the Elginar locked in the brig.

“They locked you up, let them get a fucking taste of what it feels like,” he said when she tried to argue against it. She frowned at him and he almost hoped she’d argue because of the way their arguments invariably ended, but she’d eventually shrugged and let it drop. The other two kidnapped scientists were actually excited to visit Elgin and its renowned Centers of Learning.

Faith bounced around the ship as her ankle healed, still curious about everything. She not only helped Studoc with his repairs, she had started spending more time in the med lab with Grabon discussing medical procedures and pharmaceutical remedies. Thank the gods he had talked her out of resuming her training with Kanithe, although he didn’t think that the other woman’s lectures about weaponry were much of an improvement.

“She doesn’t need to know that shit,” he grumbled when he found Kanithe demonstrating an Asing lightning blade. The sight of the slender black blade so close to Faith’s face made him roar with anger but both women found his objections more humorous than daunting. That experience had resulted in Faith receiving a spanking that both of them enjoyed so much he thought his heart would never stop pounding. Neither of them spoke about the future, although he was beginning to hope that maybe she would be willing to keep traveling with him, at least for a while. After all, his mother had lasted ten years before her love of scholarship overtook her love of family. Could he be satisfied with ten years with her, or would it just destroy him all the more when she finally left?

Now he shook off the gloomy prospect and pointed at the approaching planet. “The largest mainland, that’s where we’re headed.”

“What’s there?”

“Fucking Haskol.” At her raised brows he added, “Capital city. The largest Center of Learning is located there. It’s where my mother does her research and teaches a few classes.”

“Are you going to see her?”

“Yes, we are. Briefly,” he said, trying to hide his disquiet. As soon as they reached the system, he had sent a message to his mother about the Elginar scientists on board. He trusted her to make sure that they were properly supervised, but, of course, she had insisted on seeing him. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see his parents, he just didn’t want to drag up all the shit from his past.

“You have talked to your parents since you’ve left, haven’t you?”

“Yeah. Kefniss made me send a message as soon as we cleared Elgin space.” He didn’t mention that although he continued to send messages periodically, it had taken him three years to work up the fucking courage to have an actual conversation over vidlink. And what a fucking disaster that turned out to be. His mother had cried the whole time, even though she tried to pretend that everything was fine. His father had alternated between berating him angrily, primarily for upsetting his mother, and urging him to come home. But a year later, he tried again, and eventually tensions eased. “I contact them two or three times a year.”

“But you’ve never been back?”

“No. And I’m making this trip as short as fucking possible.” He had been determined never to set foot on the planet again and yet, here he was, about to do something he could have sworn would never happen.

Chapter Nineteen

As soon as they landed, they were met by a delegation of Elginar scholars. Faith shuddered and stayed in the background as they hustled the four prisoners away with disgusted looks. Even though they were obviously angry about the scientists’ activities, she didn’t like being so near to a group that reminded her of her kidnappers. Her fellow kidnap victims didn’t seem as concerned and chose to accompany them, leaving her alone with Athtar. The crew had already disbursed, leaving Kanithe to watch the ship and take care of Precious.

“Can’t we take her with us?” Faith asked anxiously as Athtar hailed something he called a hovercab.

“Dealing with a son who’s been gone for fucking years is probably enough.”

“I suppose.” She looked over her shoulder at the puppy longingly as they boarded the small vehicle. Having Precious along would have made her feel a lot less nervous. Athtar programmed in his parents’ address and they took off, the cab suiting its name by hovering slightly above the ground. Haskol was a pleasant city, with large trees framing a number of dignified buildings that carried a general air of age and scholarship. More Elginar scholars passed amongst the buildings and she huddled closer to Athtar.

As they neared the coast, the scenery changed, the streets becoming narrower and more lively, lined with shops and restaurants. The people thronging the streets bore more of a resemblance to Athtar, and a surprisingly variety of species intermingled with the native Elginar. The cab passed through a shopping district, then stopped half way down a street leading to the ocean. Tall, brightly painted townhouses lined each side of the street and Athtar led her up the steps of a yellow house to a bright blue door framed with flowering containers.

The door opened immediately, and a woman flew out, flinging her arms around Athtar and bursting into tears. He looked unusually helpless, but he hugged the woman, who had to be his mother, and patted her on the back.

“That’s enough, Lelani. You don’t want to drown the boy on his first day home.” Athtar’s father gently pulled the woman away, then clasped Athtar’s arm. Something passed between the two men that she couldn’t read, before his father nodded. The older man turned to her and took her hand gently, his big fingers rough and warm, as he bowed his head. “I’m Thordon. Welcome to our home. Please come in.”

“Oh, yes, please do. I’m so sorry. I’m Lelani.” She wiped her cheeks and turned to Faith. “I’m so happy to meet you, Faith. Athtar told me he was bringing his ma—, his friend with him. I’ve never met a human before.”

She said it so eagerly that it was impossible to take offense. Faith smiled a little ruefully. “Then I have the advantage. I have met several Elginar.”

“I’m sorry about that, too. Disgraceful.”

“I know you’re not all the same,” Faith said, darting a glance at Athtar. He took her hand and steered her inside. While Lelani led the way up another set of stairs, Faith studied Athtar’s parents.

Athtar’s father was almost as big as he was, obviously still in great shape. His hair was long as well but he kept it tied back neatly and he was clean shaven. Athtar’s mother was more of a surprise. A slender, beautiful woman dwarfed by her husband, one side of her head had flowing white gold locks while the other was shaved to reveal a series of intricate tattoos similar to the ones the Elginar project scientists displayed. She was only a little taller than Faith but her delicate grace made Faith feel like a baby elephant compared to her. It didn’t help that she tripped over a rug as soon as she started to enter a comfortable looking sitting room.

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” His mother came rushing forward. “I keep meaning to move that rug and I keep forgetting.”

Faith’s face was red to the roots of her hair but the other woman’s distress seemed genuine, so she forced a smile. “It’s fine. I’m just not very coordinated.”

“I’m not, either,” Lelani said with an enchanting little giggle. “Thordon is always telling me to be careful but I’ll start thinking about my latest experiment and—”

“I get distracted.” They finished in unison and Lelani smiled. Faith relaxed as she sat down on an enormous couch and looked around. It was an interesting room, with a mixture of large comfortable furniture and smaller, more feminine pieces scattered about. A wide window looked down the street towards the sea, the panes flung open to let in the air. On one side of the window was a desk and bookcase, as cluttered as her own work areas tended to be. The couch and several big chairs were gathered around a huge fireplace at the back of the room. She could easily imagine living with Athtar in a place like this. Pushing aside the painful thought, she focused on Lelani who was watching her thoughtfully. The other woman smiled. “Shall we have some tea?”

“That sounds nice,” she said with a doubtful look at Athtar and his father. His mother laughed.

“Don’t worry. Thordon likes tea and Athi used to—” A stricken look crossed her face. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, Ma. I still like tea.” Athtar collapsed on the sofa next to her and tucked her under his arm. She blushed and snuck a quick look at Lelani, but she only smiled before ordering tea using a small device.

An awkward silence fell before a very young Elginar entered the room carrying a big tray. He stuttered nervously as he offered it to Lelani and it was quite clear he had an enormous crush on her.

“Just leave the damn tray and go,” Thordon snarled. The young man jumped, the tray teetering in his hands, but he managed to put it down without spilling it and departed with one final lingering glance at Lelani.

“That bastard is in love with you,” Thordon said grumpily.

“Nonsense, dear. I’m old enough to be his grandmother.”

Somehow, Faith doubted the young man thought of her that way. Thordon obviously agreed, but he only growled and started pouring the tea into nice sturdy looking mugs.

“He’s a student of mine,” Lelani said quietly. “Very talented but no money at all. We give him room and board and a small salary in exchange for some housework.”

“That’s very nice of you.”

“Did you work your way through school?”

“Oh no. My parents were quite wealthy, and once they realized I was gifted, they wanted nothing but the best.” A bitter laugh escaped. “I would have been happier with a lot less best and a lot more love.”

Athtar tucked her closer and Lelani patted her hand.

“Many of our families are like that as well. My mother always pushed me, but my father made sure I had time for non-scholarly activities. Like casually walking past the docks ten times a day whenever a certain captain was in port.” She smiled at her husband, the love between them so obvious that a lump swelled in Faith’s throat.

Athtar squeezed her hand and she gave him a quick smile, wondering if her own feelings were as obvious. From the soft smile on Lelani’s face when she turned back to her, she suspected they were. With a quick cough, Faith changed the subject.

“How is your schooling organized?”

Lelani launched into a lecture about the testing required to move from one level to another in their school system. Fascinated, Faith probed for more details and the conversation moved on to cover subjects as varied as the technology behind the hovercabs and Lelani’s own research projects. The other woman was a witty and entertaining conversationalist, and Faith suspected she was an excellent teacher. Neither Athtar nor his father added much to the conversation, although both drank two huge mugs of tea and devoured the plate of sandwiches that accompanied them. Eventually they wandered off towards the window when she and Lelani started delving into the finer points of plant hybridization.

Athtar stood at the window with his father, acutely conscious that the man who loomed so largely in his memories was now a few inches shorter. An awkward silence hung between them until Thordon asked about his latest trading route and they spent some time discussing profitable smaller trades. He remembered having similar conversations in the past when his father had talked about his day. He’d missed this, he realized, and couldn’t help but wonder if his father had missed it, too.

“Let’s go get a beer,” Thordon suggested eventually. “I know that look on Lelani’s face. They’ll be at it for hours.”

“Yeah, all right.”

He walked over to tell Faith they were leaving. She looked up anxiously. “But you’ll be back?”

“Of course I fucking will. You’re not getting rid of me that fucking easily.” The words hung in the air between them and he wondered if she could hear the truth in them. He forced a smile. “We’re just going for a fucking beer. You and Ma enjoy talking about molecule blocks.”

“It’s molecular blocks.” She grinned up at him, looking so beautiful that he had to kiss her. When he raised his head, she was flushed and smiling.

“Don’t get into any fucking trouble while I’m gone.”

“I’ll try my best. Don’t go chasing strange women.”

“No one else I want to chase, baby.” Ignoring the suspiciously thoughtful look on his mother’s face, he jerked his head at his father and headed for the door.

Without a word they turned down the street to the docks. Somehow, he wasn’t surprised when they ended up at the Lucky Duktang. Fuck. Twenty-five years and his father was still drinking at the same place. And, of course, everyone knew him and, of course, his father had to present Athtar to all of them. He couldn’t help but notice how proud his father seemed to be to introduce him, but eventually Thordon led them outside to a small private deck overlooking the docks.

They drank in silence for a while, watching a ship preparing to depart. Men laughed and swore as they loaded the cargo. Birds circled overhead, checking for scraps. The sun beat down on the stone pavement but the breeze off the water cooled the air, bringing the smell of fish and ocean. How many times in his childhood had he sat and watched this same scene?

“Don’t you fucking miss it?” Athtar blurted out at last.

“Miss what? The ship?”

“All of it. The ship. Traveling. Freedom.”

His father laughed as he leaned back in his chair and put a foot up on the rail.

“Freedom? I reckon that’s one way to put it.”

“How the fuck else would you put it?”

“Responsibility?” Thordon raised his eyebrows. “You have your own ship now, you should know. Maybe you can choose where you go but you still have to pay your bills, same as everyone else.”

Fuck. He thought of the long years he had spent building his routes, worrying about keeping the old ship running and paying his crew. His father was right. Athtar’s memories of his childhood had been just that—the memories of a child, free from adult cares.

“So you don’t miss it?” Athtar asked again.

“Some of it, sure. I love the sea. Always have. And The Dancer was a fine ship.” He brought his chair down with a thud and looked straight at Athtar. “But what mattered the most to me was that your mother was happy. And she was worried about you.”

“About me? I was fucking happy.”

“I know you were, but she wanted you to have more opportunities.” Thordon shrugged. “Of course, you didn’t get ‘em quite the way she planned. It ‘bout broke her heart when you left. But in the end, I suspect it turned out for the best.”

“She took that job because of me?” he repeated. “Not because she wanted to do research at the university?”

“Yeah.” His father frowned at him. “What did ya think? I’m not saying it wasn’t a good opportunity for her, but she was happy with the work she was doing on the ship.”

“I didn’t know,” he said slowly. “And you agreed?”

“Told ya. Wanted your mom to be happy. Making your woman happy is the best thing in the world.” He coughed and looked back out at the docks. “Wanted my son to be happy, too.”

They sat in silence while they finished their beers, then headed home. It wasn’t until they were almost back to the house that his father spoke again. “Looks like you found yourself a good woman. Don’t fuck it up chasing after something that doesn’t exist.”

His father stopped in the kitchen to make arrangements for dinner while Athtar headed up to the sitting room. His mother was alone, sitting at her desk with two screens pulled up in front of her.

“Where’s Faith?”

“She’s in your room. She wanted some time alone to think.”

Fuck. That didn’t sound good. With a quick thanks, he took the next two flights of stairs at a run. Would he be too late? Had she already made a decision?

Chapter Twenty

Faith watched Athtar leave and blushed when she turned back to find Lelani watching her again.

“I never thought my son would choose a scholar for his mate.”

“Oh, he didn’t. I mean, it’s not like that.”

Lelani ignored her protests.

“I was so afraid that he would be prejudiced against them because of his childhood.”

Eager to change the subject, Faith asked, “You mean because of giving up the ship and moving here?”

“Yes. I wanted him to have a really good education and to get to know different types of people, to have opportunities he wouldn’t have on the ship. Athi was such a restless child and travel away from Elgin is very restricted unless you have adequate credentials.” She sighed. “Perhaps it was a mistake, but I wanted him to have the choice to leave Elgin if he wished. I just didn’t expect it to work out the way it did.”

She hated the worried look on the other woman’s face. “He’s happy with his life now.”

“Now that he’s found his mate.”

“No, no. I’m sure he was happy before he met me. And not that I’m his mate anyway. He doesn’t want to be tied down.” The words bubbled out in a rush.

“No man does, until he realizes that love isn’t restriction, it’s freedom.”

“He doesn’t see it that way.” The sorrow in her voice was entirely too obvious and she hastily changed the subject. “You were saying that you’d had a lot of success hybridizing the angiosperms?”

Lelani shook her head, a wry smile on her lips, and let her return to their previous subject.

When Athtar entered their room, she was standing outside on the small balcony trying to gather her thoughts. His room was at the back of the house, but past the jumble of houses, she could still catch a glimpse of the ocean and see a ship setting sail.

He came up behind her and put his arms around her waist, and she leaned back against him with a sigh. She loved the warmth of his big body, his subtle leather and spice scent—hell, she loved everything about him. Together they watched as the ship sailed out of view.

“It seems strange to have sailing ships and spaceships on the same planet,” she said idly, avoiding the real subject.

“Wind energy is cleaner. Fucking scholars don’t care that it’s ten times as much work.”

“You didn’t like sailing?” she asked, turning in his arms to look up at him.

“No, I fucking loved it,” he admitted.

“It’s a good thing I don’t love you for your logic.”

His eyes heated at her words and he started to lower his head.

“Your mother offered me a job,” she blurted out. His body turned to stone, then softened as his head came down and he rested his forehead against hers.

“I expected she would. I already sent Ultana a message to see if she wants to buy The Lady.”

“What? You can’t sell her!”

He shook his head and she couldn’t see any regret in his eyes. “I’m not going to leave you behind, Faith, not even for a short period of time. You’re more important to me than a ship.”

“What about your freedom?” Her head was spinning, her heart pounding with hope.

“It wouldn’t be freedom without you. I fucking love you, remember?”

“But this morning you were all, ‘I’m not staying on this fucking planet.’”

“I was being a grouchy fucking idiot. Baby, I already knew I wasn’t leaving you.”

She smiled at him and put her hand on his cheek. “Well, I’m not leaving you, either. Which is why I turned her down.”

“I can’t let you do that. My father just reminded me that I’m not going to be happy unless you’re fucking happy.”

“She came back with a counter-offer,” she said quickly. “If you can build me a lab on The Lady, I can go with you and take the job.”

“A lab? I’ll build you a whole fucking ship.” Whooping loudly, he picked her up and twirled her around until she was dizzy and laughing. When they finally stopped spinning, his face grew serious again.

“Are you sure about this? I’m willing to stay here.”

“I love that you’re making the offer and it might be nice to have a place to come home to sometimes, but I don’t think it’s here. Your parents are lovely, and I would love to visit them again,” she said hastily. “But seeing the scholars everywhere reminds me too much of the lab.”

He gave her a broad grin. “I know just the place.”

“Let me guess.” She rolled her eyes, despite the happiness bubbling inside her. “Your friend’s planet?”

“Yep. You’ll love it.”

“If you’re there, I know I will. I love you, Athtar.”

“I love you, too, Faith.” He kissed her, long and sweet, then stepped back. “Now take your fucking clothes off.”

Her nipples turned to throbbing little points. Her Viking. Damn, she loved it when he got all bossy and demanding. For her pride’s sake, she raised her chin anyway and watched his eyes flame. “What if I don’t want to?”

“Then I’ll fucking take them off myself and turn your ass a nice shade of pink before I fuck you.” His eyes narrowed. “Or is that only going to make you more disobedient?”

“Well…” She put a finger to her lips, pretending to consider. He growled and ripped her jumpsuit open.

“Athtar, I don’t have any other clothes,” she protested, laughing.

“I’ll buy you some. You need a fucking change anyway.”

“This is a perfectly practical outfit. Was a perfectly practical outfit.” She pushed her glasses up her nose and glared at him. “If you want some girly girl, you’ve got the wrong woman.”

“You’re the only woman I want, and you fucking know it. You’re sexy as hell no matter what you’re wearing.” He stripped the rest of the jumpsuit away with breath-taking ease. “Of course, nothing at all is best.”

He picked her up and she had a second to enjoy the feel of her naked body pressed against his hard chest before he dumped her on the bed. “Hands and knees.”

She thought about protesting, she really did, but she wanted him too much to keep playing. She almost fell off the bed trying to get up on her hands and knees, but he caught her with a soft chuckle.

“Perfect,” he said, smoothing one big hand down over her butt and between her legs. “You’re wet, baby. You like it when I boss you around.”

“N-no.” It wasn’t convincing, especially when she looked over her shoulder and saw him suck on the fingers that he had just dragged through her slickness.

“Fuck, you taste more perfect every time,” he groaned. Returning to her pussy, he stroked his fingers back and forth a few more times, teasing both her clit and her entrance before moving higher to circle her bottom hole. Taking a deep breath, she relaxed as he slid first one finger and then a second into the tight passage, breathing through the initial stretch. He had done this enough that she knew what to do.

“Good, Faith. Now take another.” He probed at her entrance with a third finger and she tensed automatically, even though she knew she shouldn’t. His fingers were just so thick.

“Relax,” he whispered, dropping down over her back to plant kisses along her spine. She shivered and he used his other hand to tease her swollen nub, already sensitive and aching. Just as the pleasure built, he added the third finger and sent her over the edge into a climax as she shook beneath him.

“You’re ready to take my cock, baby.”

To her surprise, he flipped her over and stood looking down at her, stroking his massive cock as he surveyed her hungrily, his eyes blazing white fire. He looked even bigger like this, his cock flushed deep blue and glistening, and her mouth went dry with a combination of excitement and apprehension. “Why did you turn me over?”

“Because I want to see your face when I fuck your sweet little ass for the first time.”

She started to remove her glasses and he shook his head. “Keep them on. I want you to see me perfectly. I want you to know who’s fucking you.”

“I know, Athtar. I know your body, know your scent. I know you.”

“Fuck, baby.” He shuddered and his hand clamped down on the base of his cock. “You’re gonna make me fucking come before I even get inside you.”

He knelt between her legs, lifting her hips up across his thighs. The position made her feel exposed and vulnerable but the combination of heat and tenderness in his eyes made her feel safe, changing the vulnerability from frightening to exciting. His cock was already vibrating, and he used the massive tip to part her folds as he worked it up and down her slit. Every time he passed over her clit, she tried to press up against him.

“Patience.” He kept tracing her slit with his cock, before finally pausing to push the thick head inside her pussy. She gasped at the familiar stretch and tried to clamp down on him, but he pulled free with a groan. Instead of continuing the slow torture, he pressed down hard on her clit with his cock while he reached up to roll her nipples between his fingers. The exquisite vibrations sang through her body as she arched her back and came in a shuddering wave.

“Never fucking get tired of seeing you come,” he muttered.

“Good,” she managed to say as she caught her breath. “I like it, too.”

“Not done yet,” he warned. He dipped his cockhead inside her pussy once more, then pressed the hot, swollen flesh against her bottom hole. “Look at me and breathe out.”

Taking a deep breath, she followed his instructions, trying to will her muscles to relax. Her body resisted for a long moment, then softened enough to let him push inside. The immense burning stretch made her cry out and he paused, every muscle locked tight.

“Fuck, baby. You’re so fucking tight,” he groaned through clenched teeth. He took his eyes off of hers long enough to look down and she saw him tense even more. “You look so fucking perfect, stretched open around my cock, I can’t fucking wait… I can’t…” He shuddered and she felt him come, felt the hot jets shooting up her dark channel, felt him swell and put more pressure on her strained flesh in a confusing mixture of pleasure and pain. He jerked and slipped another inch or two deeper, deep enough that she could feel the pulsating vibrations reverberating from her ass to her pussy to her clit, transforming the burn into something dark and pleasurable. Instinctively, she raised her hips, seeking more of the sensation and took another inch.

Athtar’s eyes flew to hers, the white flames burning. “That’s my girl. You want more, baby?”

Too overwhelmed to speak, all she could do was nod. He surrounded her clit with two thick fingers, pushing down while he pressed slowly deeper. His seed eased the way and he didn’t stop until he was buried to the root, leaving her impaled on his massive cock. Her body quivered, trying to cope with the deluge of sensations rushing through her, the still burning stretch, the constant thrumming reinforced by the pressure against her clit until her whole pussy was on fire. Her hands went to her breasts, pinching her rock hard nipples, the sharp little sting bringing an additional fiery spark to her already overloaded senses.

He began to pull out slowly and, oh God, that felt even better. Her body tried to cling to him, and he groaned. She could feel her channel fluttering, seeking more of that maddening pleasure, as he cautiously pushed back in.

“More,” she gasped, but he didn’t increase his speed, his muscles still taut with the strain of holding back.

“What’s the matter, Captain? Afraid you can’t handle me?” she asked, just as she had their very first time. She saw the recollection spread across his face, and then he grinned, that fierce Viking grin which made her heart pound.

“Hold on, baby,” he said, and rocked forward so that he was no longer on his knees, so that he had the full weight of his body behind him as he drove back in—shocking, painful, and so exciting that all she could do was reach for him. He came down over her, his hips still thrusting in a hard, grinding rhythm while she clung to him and tried to meet his strokes, the sensations washing over her in a tidal wave of pleasure until her vision sheeted white and she clamped down on him, as he cried out her name and came in another explosive rush. Her body trembled and shook beneath his and she felt the tears spring to her eyes.

“Fuck, Faith. Are you all right?”

Her tongue felt thick and unwieldy. “Yes,” she managed to gasp at last. “Just…” Words deserted her and she waved a hand. His face relaxed. “I know, Faith.” He kissed her and petted her until she quieted.

When he finally pulled free, she couldn’t suppress a wince.

“Sore?”

“Yeah. You’d be sore, too, if someone drove a pile driver up your ass,” she muttered.

He laughed. “I have no idea what that is, but I’ll assume it was flattering. Come on. I have just the thing.”

Picking her up, he carried her into the bathroom—a bathroom complete with a big tub.

“Oh my God! A bathtub.”

Shifting her easily to one arm, he bent down to turn it on, and she watched in delight as steaming water flowed from the tap. When it was full, he placed her in the water. She winced a little as the hot water hit her sore butt, then relaxed back into the warmth and smiled up at him. “This is almost better than sex.”

He grinned back, then stepped into the tub to join her. “Challenge accepted.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Later that evening, Athtar relaxed back in his chair, cradling a glass of Foldaran liquor, and feeling unusually content. The windows to the dining room were open and he could hear the distant sound of the waves and catch the scent of the sea. It reminded him of all of the evenings spent aboard with his parents, but those memories were no longer tinged with bitterness. Knowing that his mother hadn’t chosen her studies over her family eased a pain he’d never even acknowledged. Of course, it undoubtedly helped that he had his own woman now.

His eyes were drawn irresistibly to Faith where she was standing by the fireplace and arguing with his mother over some finer point of academic lore. After a long and very satisfying bath which resulted in a completely drenched bathroom, he had left her to nap while he made arrangements to begin purchasing the equipment his mother recommended for the ship. His mother had also arranged for Faith’s current outfit. While he had quite truthfully told Faith that he preferred her naked, he couldn't help but enjoy the sight of her lovely body clothed in dark green silk that picked up the color of her eyes and set off her pale skin. The top wrapped around her pert little breasts and showed a teasing glimpse of cleavage before fastening with a tempting little bow that made him long to unwrap her. Flowing pants hugged her luscious ass and showcased her long legs; however, his woman had been more excited about the fact that her pants had pockets than by how utterly delicious she looked.

“Faith said you were on Kaisar recently, Athi,” his mother said, drawing his attention away from Faith’s delightful body. “Were you there when they made the announcement?”

“What announcement?”

“The Emperor is taking a First Consort. A human.”

He threw back his head and roared with laughter. “Fuck, I knew it. Anyone could see that little girl had him tied up in knots.”

“What’s a First Consort?” Faith asked.

“It means he is officially taking her as his mate,” his mother said.

“Is there a Second Consort?”

“No. It means First in the Empire.” He shrugged. “Most of the previous emperors have had concubines, but I saw the way Karthajin looked at Ella. He’ll never take—Faith!”

He made it across the room just in time to catch her as she turned white and collapsed. While he gathered her up, his mother fluttered anxiously. His father pressed a wet cloth into his hands. “Put it across her neck.”

Pressing the cool cloth to the back of her neck, he was relieved when her eyelids fluttered open.

“Fuck, baby. You scared the hell out of me. What the fuck happened?”

“Ella. You said Ella.” Long fingers clutched his sleeve so tightly that her knuckles whitened.

“Yeah. I met her when the Emperor ordered me to get a scientist from the lab.”

“What did she look like?” she asked anxiously.

“Small, blonde, big eyes. Blue, I think.”

“It has to be her,” she mumbled.

“It has to be who? You’re not making any fucking sense.”

“When I was kidnapped, there was a little girl with me. She lived next door and I was babysitting her the night they came for me.”

“They took a fucking child?”

“Yes.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I begged them to let her stay with me but Skevyk said she would only be a distraction. The Kaisarian who took her promised me she was going to a good home, but I never knew what happened to her. Is she well? Is she happy?”

“I think so. I offered to take her to Sherae but she wrote that she didn’t want to leave.”

She frowned up at him. “What do you mean she wrote?”

“As far as I could tell, she couldn’t talk.”

The tears overflowed. “She could talk before. She was always telling me about something she’d read. She was so sweet and so bright. What did they do to her?”

“Hush, baby.” He pulled her closer and rocked her. “She really did seem happy. And very devoted to the fucking emperor.”

“It’s the first time an emperor has taken a non-Kaisarian consort,” his mother interjected. “For him to do such a thing indicates that he cares for her very much.”

“Do you really think so?” Faith bit her lip, then sat up in his arms. “I have to make sure. We have to go back to Kaisar.”

“Like hell we do. In case you’ve fucking forgotten, you destroyed a fucking weapon that the fucking emperor was fucking interested in finding out about.”

“You’re swearing too much again,” she said, raising her fucking chin.

“Because we’re not fucking going.”

“I have a few other things for Faith. I’ll get them packed,” his mother said, hurrying to the door.

“I’ll call a hovercab,” his father said, following her.

“Why the fuck doesn’t anyone fucking listen to me?”

“Athtar, please.” Faith’s hand came up to his cheek. “She was taken because she was with me. I have to make sure that she’s safe and happy.”

He stared down at her beautiful, pleading face. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

“Oh, thank you.” She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. As he lost himself in the sweetness of her mouth, he decided he didn’t mind losing every fight if they all ended this way.

A few hours later, his crew was gathered in the lounge on board The Lady.

“Faith and I are going back to Kaisar,” he announced. “Faith feels like she has to go but since I don’t know what our status is with the Fleet, I’m not going to order any of you to come along.”

“Why do you have to go, Faith?” Kanithe asked.

“Because the little girl who was abducted with me is going to be the emperor’s consort. I have to make sure that it’s because that’s what she wants to do.”

“And if it is not?”

“Then I’ll get her out of there,” Faith said, raising her chin.

Athtar shook his head. He should have known that was coming. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how they’d get the emperor’s beloved human out of the most heavily guarded palace in the galaxy. Still, if anyone could do it, it would be his woman.

“In that case, you will need my help,” Kanithe said calmly. “I will come.”

“This is a family obligation?” Ultana asked.

“We are not related by blood, but I always thought of her as a little sister.”

“Ties of affection can be as strong as ties of blood. I will join you.”

Studoc and Thynmirr exchanged a look, then Studoc grinned. “What the hell? I’ll say one thing, it’s never boring when you’re around, Faith.”

She grinned back, and Athtar frowned and pulled her closer.

“The scientists took a child?” Grabon asked, his voice hard.

“Yes. I begged them to return her, but they would not.” Her voice broke. “And they wouldn’t let her stay with me.”

Grabon stood, his wings flaring. “They died too easily. I agree. We must make sure that she is safe.”

“You’re all fucking crazy,” Athtar muttered. “But thank you. Ultana, plot a course.”

“Yes, sir.”

As soon as they were underway, he went up to the bridge for a private talk with Kanithe. Faith was playing with Precious when he slipped away. The pup had greeted them as if she’d been abandoned and left to starve and Faith had been overcome with guilt. Fuck, it bothered him, too, but after a few rounds of chase, he left them to play.

“Kanithe, I want you searching the channels for any chatter about us. As far as I know, they haven’t even put us at the scene so we should be safe enough, but I’m not about to take any chances.”

“Yes, Captain. But if the Fleet is keeping it quiet, you know I can’t listen in on most of their internal frequencies.”

“Why not?” Faith said from behind him. She was standing at the entrance to the bridge carrying Precious, not at all concerned that the pup was drooling all over the expensive green silk. So much for keeping his fucking concerns away from her.

“Too much encryption,” Kanithe said. “They add a layer with each level of security.”

“Hm. I wonder if they’re using the lower levels as part of the keys for the upper levels. If the encryption protocols are interconnected, it would make it easier to decrypt.” Frowning thoughtfully, she started towards Kanithe’s console. He caught her automatically as she tripped down the step. Her cheeks turned pink.

“Sorry. I don’t know why I keep forgetting that step is there.”

“Because your brain is too full of fucking encryption protocols. I don’t suppose you’d consider not trying to hack in to the fucking Imperial Fleet?”

“You wanted to know if they were looking for us,” she said.

“If they are, we’re not going any fucking closer,” he warned. “You’ll have to come up with another one of your crazy plans.”

“My plans aren’t crazy.” She pushed her glasses up her nose and glared at him. Fuck if that look didn’t turn his dick to stone. He hauled her closer and kissed her until she was clinging to him and Precious was wiggling impatiently between them.

“All right, baby. Just try not to get caught.” He took Precious from her and sent her on her way with a slap on her luscious ass. Faith blushed and Kanithe just shook her head. Feeling ridiculously satisfied with himself, he took Precious and headed for the training room before he grabbed Faith and carried her back to their cabin instead.

The next few days passed peacefully enough. No one seemed particularly nervous about returning to Kaisar, although Studoc and Ultana kept trying to top each other by thinking of ever more outrageous punishments.

“They’ll suspend us by one toe above the flaming pit of eternal stench.”

Everyone groaned at Studoc’s latest but Kanithe looked thoughtful. “I don’t technically have toes. The correct term is spur.”

“So it will be by toes and spurs.”

“That would be most unpleasant,” she agreed, and Studoc looked triumphant.

Faith laughed with the rest of them, but he could tell she was only half listening.

“What’s going on in that brain of yours, baby?”

“I was just wondering if the key to the next level is based on some factor of pi,” she said thoughtfully. Most of her time had been spent at Kanithe’s desk, trying to hack the Fleet codes. She had made it all the way to the top level but so far it had eluded her. If he hadn’t insisted she take a break, she would have been there now. “Maybe I’ll just go back to the bridge for a while.”

“Fuck, no. I have plans for you.” He stood up and threw her over his shoulder.

“Put me down, you damn Viking.” The word didn’t translate but whenever she called him that, he always found her wet and ready. Grinning at his crew, he headed for their cabin, Precious nipping at his heels, where he proceeded to erase all thoughts of encrypted codes from her mind.

Unfortunately, his efforts didn’t last long. He awoke the next morning to find her gone and Precious curled in her place.

“You should have woken me up when she left,” he told her sternly, but the pup only rolled over and gave him her belly to scratch. He obliged, then headed for the shower. His dick ached but he didn’t even consider trying to relieve the pressure. He wanted his woman, not his hand.

Standing under the hot water, he remembered Faith’s excitement at having a bathtub—not to mention the very pleasurable way they had put it to use. He was still trying to decide the best way to add one to The Lady when he walked onto the bridge. As he’d expected, she was hunched over the communications console, surrounded by slips of paper and muttering to herself. Apparently, she’d been in such a hurry to get back to work that she hadn’t bothered to do more than pull on his silk shirt. His morning erection returned in full force.

“Morning, baby.” He bent down and kissed the top of her head.

“Hm,” she said abstractedly.

“That won’t fucking work. First you sneak out of our fucking bed. Now you won’t even tell me good morning.” He hauled her up and kissed her hard.

“Oh.” She shook her head when he released her, looking dazed in a much more pleasant way, then smiled up at him. “Morning, love. You were sleeping so peacefully I didn’t want to disturb you.” She bounced a little, which did delightful things to her breasts and he had to force himself to pay attention to what she was saying instead of carrying her back to bed. “I think I’ve got it.”

“Got what?” He slid his hand inside the shirt and caught hold of a taut nipple. It hardened immediately and her eyes fluttered closed as she swayed towards him.

“Stop that,” she scolded, but she didn’t pull away. “I think I broke the code. I’m letting the program run now.”

“Good. We can go back to bed while it’s working.”

“I should—” Her protest died away as he lifted her high enough to take her breast in his mouth, sucking the tempting peak through the thin silk. She wrapped her legs around him. “Maybe I don’t need to be here,” she said breathlessly. “I did set up an alarm to notify me if it finds your name.”

“Good. I have the perfect punishment for naughty little scientists who sneak out of bed.”

He felt her dampen against his chest and grinned. They were halfway up the door when the console started beeping. Her arms tightened around his neck.

“That’s the alarm. It found your name.”

Another, much louder alarm filled the bridge, followed by a stern voice.

“Captain Athtar. This is Imperial Battlecruiser Resolute. You are wanted for questioning by His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Karthajin. We will escort you to Kaisar. Do not make any attempt to evade us or your ship will suffer the consequences.”

They stared at each other. Faith was the first to break the silence.

“Well, fuck.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Faith was actually grateful that they only had two days remaining in their trip to Kaisar. Easily ten times the size of the The Dancing Lady, the Imperial Battlecruiser loomed overhead the entire time, and her shadow seemed to penetrate the ship, casting a pall over everyone. Athtar was like a caged lion, pacing and growling. She knew how much he hated feeling trapped and tried to distract him with sex but was only partially successful. He responded to her advances as willingly as ever, but he was more concerned about her than he was about himself. He even went as far as suggesting that she use an escape pod to leave the ship.

“Don’t you think they’ll be looking for that?” she asked a little breathlessly. He’d just made her climax three times in a row and her body was still tingling with excitement.

“Maybe not. At least you’d stand a fucking chance.”

“My love, they’re not looking for me. Why don’t you use a pod?”

“If you think for one fucking second I’m going to fucking leave you…”

“No, I don’t. Which is why you should realize that I’m not going to leave you, either.” He grumbled and she tugged on his beard. “All we know so far is that someone wants to talk to you.”

“What the fuck am I going to tell them?”

“The truth.” She laughed at his expression. “Do you actually know how the weapon was destroyed?”

“Those fucking bottles.”

“Bottles of what?”

“How the fuck should I know?”

“Exactly. So the honest answer is that you don’t know how it happened.”

A reluctant grin spread across his face. “Fuck, you’re a devious woman.”

“Thank you.”

“Why aren’t you more worried?”

“I don’t know. I suppose because I don’t really think we did anything wrong. The weapon had to be destroyed.” She sighed and rolled over on her back to look up at the ceiling of their cabin. “Although, I wish I was as sure about the scientists.”

“Don’t you condemn murderers to death on your Earth?”

“Sometimes. Sometimes they just get locked up for the rest of their lives.”

He shuddered. “That’s fucking worse.”

“Maybe. But I still hate that I was the one who made the decision.”

“You weren’t. They made the fucking decision when they decided not to accept your offer.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

“I’m always right.” He pressed a finger to her lips. “And don’t fucking argue.”

She nipped his finger and saw his eyes heat. “Why shouldn’t I argue? I know how much you enjoy it.” Her fingers curled around his cock and his eyes heated. The subject of escape pods was abandoned.

His crew gathered in silence on the bridge as Ultana brought the ship into a landing on Kaisar. As soon as the engines shut off, a voice came over the speakers.

“Captain Athtar, please disembark. Your crew may remain on board. For now.”

Fuck. Still, it wasn’t like he had a choice. He turned to Faith. Despite her previous rationality, she looked pale and frightened.

“Everything will be fine,” he said softly, as he drew her close.

She lifted her chin and gave him a determined smile. “Of course it will.”

“Behave yourself while I’m gone. Don’t fucking blow anything up.” Before she could respond, he kissed her, trying not to worry that it was for the last time. He forced himself to let her go and nodded to his crew.

“Keep her safe.”

He could hear Precious howling behind him as he left.

At the bottom of the ramp, he recognized the same guard that had escorted him previously. He supposed it was a good sign that the emperor really did want to talk to him. Unfortunately, he wasn’t escorted to Karthajin, but rather to his advisor. Tanaca was an Elginar scholar, and a month ago, Athtar wouldn’t have trusted him as far as he could throw him, but his attitude towards scholars had softened considerably. It didn’t mean he had to like him.

“What the fuck do you want now, spymaster?”

“I want to know why you went back to Hothrest.”

“What makes you think I did?” Fuck. Their departure must have been observed after all.

“Let’s not play games, Captain. I know you were there. I want to know why.”

“I stashed some of the liquor there and went back to collect it. What the fuck difference does it make?”

Tanaca templed his fingers and looked at him thoughtfully. “Now why would you have done that?”

“Held some back as a bargaining tool.” He shrugged. “Didn’t get a chance to pick it up after we got your fucking scientist. Did he tell you what you wanted to know?”

“He’s dead.” Tanaca’s eyes narrowed. “Although somehow I suspect you know that. Just as I suspect you know how the other scientists died.”

“What other scientists?”

“Don’t play ignorant with me, Athtar. I know who your parents are, and I know you are neither stupid nor uneducated.”

He leaned forward, baring his teeth. “I don’t know how any fucking scientists died.” As Faith had suggested, it was the literal truth.

Tanaca looked down at a panel on his desk and then sat back, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

“You believe that.” It wasn’t a question and he realized that the bastard had been running a lie detector test.

“Yes. Can I go now?”

“No. I want to know what happened on Hothrest.”

“Don’t always get what you fucking want.”

“Most of the time I do just that.”

They stared at each other in silence for a minute, then Tanaca sighed and rubbed his eyes, looking unexpectedly tired.

“My job is to provide Emperor Karthajin with the information he needs to make the best decisions for the Empire. How can I do that when I don’t know what happened on Hothrest or how it happened? What if there is another weapon or a more dangerous enemy?”

Athtar was almost tempted to tell him the rest of the story, but despite his new tolerance for scholars, he wasn’t willing to trust this one.

“Let me talk to the emperor,” he suggested finally.

Tanaca’s eyes sharpened. “Why?”

“Maybe I have some advice for him.”

“He’s on his First Mating retreat.”

“They’re fucking joined already?”

A faint smile flickered across Tanaca’s face. “Emperor Karthajin did not wish to wait.”

Fuck. “When will he return?”

“Two days, perhaps three.”

Double fuck. He sighed. “I can wait until he returns.”

“How gracious of you.” Tanaca’s voice dripped irony. “Just to be sure of that, I have prepared accommodation for you here in the palace.”

“I can wait in my fucking ship.”

“I don’t think so. I have no intention of letting another avenue of investigation mysteriously disappear. Guards, please escort Captain Athtar to a holding room. Make sure he is… comfortable.”

“I want to send a fucking message to my crew,” Athtar demanded.

“They will be informed. If you think of anything you wish to say to me before the emperor returns, please feel free to inform your guards.”

It took every bit of self-control he had not to reach across the desk and wipe the smug grin from the bastard’s face. He looked at the guards. He could take one of them, possibly two, but in the end, he didn’t think it would help. Instead, he growled and went with them. He just prayed that Faith would understand and wait for him to return.

Faith paced the floor of their cabin. Athtar had been gone for more than twenty-four hours and any attempt to be rational had long since disappeared. They had received a single message stating that Athtar would be helping the palace with their inquiries and nothing since then.

“How long can those damn inquiries take?” she asked Precious. The puppy whined anxiously. Either she picked up on Faith’s anxiety or she was worried, too, because she had been unable to settle down. Instead of her usual nest in the blankets, she was following Faith back and forth across the room.

Stopping by the viewport, she strained her eyes again, searching for some sign that Athtar was returning, but the surrounding area was completely quiet. They had landed on a small field outside the palace. The palace itself was concealed behind a massive black wall. It was heavily engraved with bas relief carvings, but they did nothing to lighten its overall forbidding appearance. There was one large entry gate with two men on guard at all times. The guards… She shook her head. They were massive, easily as tall as Athtar, with another foot added by the horns rising over their heads. What she could see of their bodies was covered by short brown fur and they bore a startling resemblance to the minotaurs of Greek myth. She wouldn’t be able to get by them without some type of diversion; however, the fact that there were only two of them indicated that they must have additional forms of surveillance.

Surveillance… Her brain started to churn, then she nodded decisively and headed for the engine room, Precious trailing at her heels.

An hour later, she was walking as quietly as possible towards the landing ramp. She had almost reached it when a huge winged figure stepped out of the shadows. Grabon. She should have known he would be guarding the ramp. He folded his arms over his chest and looked down at her.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m going to get Athtar out of there. This is my fault.”

He regarded her thoughtfully. “You say that a lot.”

“Because it’s true. He wouldn’t have come back here if I hadn’t insisted.” Her lip trembled and she hastily forced it back under control.

“If the Fleet was looking for him, they would have found him eventually, no matter where he was. Perhaps it’s better to get it over with now.”

He sounded reasonable enough, but it didn’t calm the feeling of panic filling her chest. “Then why isn’t he back?”

“I don’t know.” He sighed. “I suppose you have a plan.”

“Yes. I’m going to hack into the palace video feed and find out where he is.”

“And then what? We’re surrounded by the Imperial Fleet. It’s not like we can blast our way free.” He frowned. “Or can you?”

“Possibly. Given enough time and the right chemicals. But I don’t want to blast out of here. I just want to find out who’s holding him so I can explain that it’s my fault and tell them to let him go.”

“Do you really expect them to listen to you? You’re a human female and you have no status here.”

She raised her chin. “The emperor picked a human female for his First Consort.”

“True. And if she is indeed your friend, you might have better luck asking her to talk to the emperor.” He grinned, showing a lot of sharp white teeth between those fearsome tusks. “Males are inevitably foolish where their women are concerned.”

“Do you think Athtar is foolish about me?”

“I did at first; I am no longer so sure. Your determination to assist him is admirable, if unwise.”

“I am not a fool.” She glared at him.

“No, you’re a female.”

“With that attitude it’s no wonder you don’t have a mate,” she sniffed, and saw the flash of hurt in his eyes before the rigid mask covered his face. She could have bitten her tongue. “Oh, Grabon, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Don’t apologize. You may be right. Perhaps I have become somewhat… inflexible with age.”

“No, you're not. You’re smart and loyal and a good friend and....” She cast around for something else positive to say. “And big. Big is good. Females like that. And wings! Wings are good, too.”

To her relief, he shook his head and laughed. “Very well, little scientist. I will not despair just yet.”

“Good. Then you’ll let me pass?”

“What are you going to do?”

“I want to set up an antenna so that I can pick up any feeds being transmitted from the palace, audio or video, maybe even both.”

“They’ll be encrypted.” he warned.

“Then I’ll have to decrypt them. I’m hoping that they use keys similar to the ones used by the Fleet.”

“That’s the antenna?” he asked, pointing to the small metal object she was holding.

“Yes.”

“Where do you want it?”

“Closer to the building. Higher is better.”

He turned and surveyed the wall thoughtfully. “I have an idea. Give me the device.”

Hoping she wasn’t making a mistake, she handed it over.

“Does it need to be activated?”

“No. It’s already running but I’m getting a lot of interference.”

“Fine.” He tucked it into a pocket and started for the ramp.

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to very politely ask the guards if I can take a flight and stretch my wings.” He shrugged. “If they object, we’ll try something else.”

The we had a nice sound. She really didn’t want to be the only one responsible for helping Athtar. “Thank you.”

“Of course. He is my friend, as well as my captain.” Grabon headed for the landing ramp and she automatically turned to follow him. He stopped and sighed.

“Faith, don’t you think it would be a little suspicious if someone is standing here watching my casual flight?”

She blushed and bit her lip. “Sorry.”

“Go watch through a viewport.”

Dashing for the crew lounge, she only tripped once and made it in time to see him exchanging a few words with the guards. Their alien features were difficult to read but when one shrugged and waved his hand, it was clear enough.

“What’s going on?” Studoc’s voice came from behind her and she jumped.

“Grabon is trying to plant an antenna for me.”

“Really?” He joined her at the window in time to see Grabon take off. She’d never seen his wings extended before and she’d had no idea just how large they were. They swept out on either side, easily twelve feet from tip to tip, as he launched himself in the air.

“Wow,” she breathed.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” Studoc sighed regretfully. “If I had wings like that, the ladies would be all over me.”

“From what I’ve heard, you do all right.”

“I could always do better.” He grinned, and they both returned to observing. The guards, too, had watched Grabon take off, but once he was circling overhead, they resumed their positions in front of the entry. Grabon circled a few more times, then landed on edge of the wall, easily fifty feet above the guards’ heads. Perched there, he had an even more striking resemblance to a gargoyle, and she had a fleeting moment of utter disbelief. How had she ended up in this utterly alien world?

Grabon took off, then repeated the pattern a few times, settling on the top of the wall for brief periods between flights. The sun was starting to set, and he took on a mythic appearance as he swooped and soared in the fading light, gold catching the edge of his wings. After about twenty minutes he dove back down to the ground, furled his wings, thanked the guards and returned to the ship. By the time he reached the lounge, she was already receiving signals.

“That was perfect, Grabon. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Can you get access now?”

“Just a minute. There,” she said triumphantly. “It was related to the Fleet encryption algorithm. They really need to have someone do a better job with their security.”

“You can suggest that once you infiltrate the palace,” Grabon said dryly.

“I’ll keep it in mind. Good lord, do they have a lot of feeds. I don’t think there’s an inch of the place that isn’t under surveillance.”

“Wouldn’t surprise me. The grandfather of the present emperor was a paranoid old bastard,” Studoc said.

“How do you know?”

“One of the times we came here to drop off Rast. I had a little encounter with one of the old emperor’s concubines.”

“That’s a good way to find yourself buried in the deepest cell in the palace,” Grabon said grimly.

Studoc shrugged and grinned. “She knew what she was doing. Lots of tricks that one, in and out of bed. Worth the risk.”

Faith listened to them banter as she scrolled the feeds. Even private apartments seemed to be under surveillance—and, wow, that was something she never wanted to see again—but it took a while to narrow it down to what appeared to be the behind the scenes views. She was scanning so quickly, she almost missed him.

“There. I found him.” Her eyes filled with tears. “He’s in a cell.”

Grabon and Studoc gathered behind her, trying to look at the small tablet screen. Athtar was pacing a small, windowless room. There was a cot, a table, and two chairs. He looked beyond frustrated, but he was alive and undamaged. She put her finger on the screen and stroked his face. I’m coming for you, my love.

“Nah, that’s not a cell,” Studoc said, distracting her. “Just a holding area.”

“I don’t care.” She glared at him. “I want him out of there.”

“Can you tell where he is?”

Now that she had isolated the right feed, it was easier to move through the different sections it covered. The cell was located in some kind of administrative area that didn’t appear to be too heavily populated, although the entrances were guarded both physically and electronically.

“So now what?” Studoc asked, all four of his eyes sparkling with excitement.

“Now I go get him.”

“Faith, we had this discussion.” Grabon said. “Even if you could get him out, we can’t get him off the planet.”

“I know.” She smiled at him. “You also said I should get Ella to talk to the emperor. So that’s what I’m going to do. Go get him and then find Ella.”

“Do you know where she is?”

“Yes and no. There’s a section of the palace which is not under surveillance. Or at least if it is, it’s not part of the feeds I can find. It’s only logical that that area would be the emperor's private quarters. So that’s where we’ll go,” she said triumphantly.

They both stared at her, then Grabon shook his head. “Somehow I suspect that this isn’t as easy as you’re making it sound. How are you even going to get into the palace to begin with?”

“I could knock out the guards,” she said tentatively.

“You?” He looked so skeptical that she would have been annoyed if she didn’t know that he was absolutely correct.

“Not physically. I was thinking of a knockout gas. Could you throw something so that it lands in front of them?”

“Yes, but I’m not going to. You may find their security lax, but I’m sure that they have regular check-ins. Two unconscious bodies would be a little suspicious.”

“Oh.” Her heart sank, and she started searching for other possibilities.

Grabon sighed. “Athtar is undoubtedly going to kill me for this, but there is an entrance on the roof. I suspect it’s for maintenance but it’s unguarded. If you can determine where it leads and if we can work out a route from there, I’ll fly you up there.”

“But the guards…”

“That’s where our favorite distraction comes in. He has to be good for something.”

“I’m good at many things,” Studoc protested, then grinned. “But distraction works. When?”

Grabon regarded the gathering darkness outside the viewport. “Around midnight, I think. Still early enough for me to want to take another flight and for you to be getting bored and looking for some company. And assuming Faith can map out a path.”

“I can,” she said fiercely.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Several hours later, Faith was once again approaching the landing ramp, the rest of the crew gathered around her. She had found a schematic of the section of the palace they were targeting and managed to map out a path where the only barriers she would encounter were electronic locks. At this time of night, there shouldn’t be any administrative personnel wandering the halls. Grabon had reluctantly admitted that it was a feasible approach.

Disappointed that she wasn’t going along, Kanithe had nonetheless loaned her a tight-fitting black bodysuit that covered Faith from neck to ankles. Despite the differences in their body types, the suit had stretched to cover Faith’s body. Kanithe claimed that the material also interfered with heat detection. A utility belt that would hold all of her equipment accompanied the sleek black outfit, and Faith felt like a ninja—right up until she tripped over Precious.

“How did you get here? You’re supposed to be in the cabin.” She bent down and picked up the puppy to give her a quick cuddle, then tried to hand her to Ultana. “Can you take care of her for me?”

Ultana reached for Precious and the war beast started to moan, the loud eerie cry she had used once before. The volume began to increase, and Faith hastily tucked her back against her chest. “Why is she doing that?”

“I don’t know, but if she doesn’t keep quiet, we’re going to have a diversion that we don’t want,” Grabon said grimly.

Faith tried once again to hand Precious over—to Kanithe this time—but the noise started as soon as she extended her arms. “What am I going to do?” she asked, trying not to panic.

Studoc looked at her and shrugged. “Take her with you?”

“I can’t do that. What if she gets hurt?”

“You said you wouldn’t be in any danger,” he reminded her.

“Well, no. I don’t think I will be—but she’s just a baby.”

“A baby who seems pretty determined not to leave your side,” Ultana said dryly.

Kanithe had disappeared at some point during the conversation and she reappeared now with a wide black sash. “Here. You can use this to make a sling to carry her.” Together they arranged the fabric so that Precious was tucked against her chest and Faith’s hands were free. Faith had been afraid that the puppy would protest again, but she settled into the fabric and panted happily.

Grabon shook his head. “A rescue mission carried out by a scientist with absolutely no combat training and her pup. Are you sure you don’t have a stuffed animal you want to bring along?”

Faith glared at him but before she could respond, Studoc stepped in between them. “That’s enough, children. Now I’m going to take my bored self over to the guards and see if I can’t tempt them into a game of cards.”

He walked down the ramp, whistling merrily and headed for the entrance to the palace. Faith watched in amazement from behind the door as he had the guards talking and laughing within a few minutes.

“Our turn,” Grabon said. “Put your arms around me and hide your face against my chest.” He picked her up and held her against his side with one arm, bringing a wing around to shield her from view.

As much as she was used to being carried by Athtar, this felt odd and wrong, but she pushed back her doubts and followed his instructions. He walked easily down the ramp, seemingly unbothered by her weight, and waved casually at the guards before turning his back to them and lifting into the air. The feel of the ground dropping away made her gasp and cling tighter. She hated heights and she kept her eyes firmly closed as he did a quick swoop that made her stomach drop. It couldn’t have been more than a few minutes, but time seemed to stretch interminably until at last he landed.

“You can let go now,” he said, and she could hear the amusement in his voice. She pried an eye open, verified that there was a solid surface beneath her and quickly dropped to the ground.

She shuddered. “I don’t like flying.”

“That was obvious.” He gave a quick look around but there was no one in sight, only a seemingly endless array of roofs forming large black shapes stretching into the distance. “You did block the surveillance of this area, didn’t you?”

“It’s a little late to ask that now, but yes, I did. It’s set on a loop which will continue for another hour. Where’s the entrance?”

“Over here.” He led the way to a panel set into the roof. It was fastened with an actual metal latch and Faith gave it a dismayed look.

“It’s not an electronic lock. I can’t hack through that.”

Grabon flashed her a quick smile. “Sometimes a little brute force is needed.” He bent down and gave a quick yank. The metal groaned and then the latch snapped in two.

Faith gulped. “Wow.”

“Hurry up now. I don’t want to be out of sight for too long.” He raised the panel, revealing a ladder leading down into the darkness. Faith gulped again but forced herself to remember that Athtar was down there in the darkness. She lowered her legs over the side and cautiously felt for a rung. To her relief, it was wide and flat and felt secure under her feet. She took a step down and placed her hands on the upper rung, trying to keep her body arched a little so that she didn’t squish Precious. Fortunately, the puppy was still curled against her and not trying to wiggle around. Two more steps down and her head dropped below the opening.

“I’m going to close the door,” Grabon said quietly. “Are you sure about this, Faith?”

Not really. “Yes,” she said as firmly as possible, relieved that her voice didn't shake. “Athtar and I will be back soon.”

“Very well.” He bowed his head for a brief moment, then stepped back and closed the door. As the sky disappeared from view, Faith had a moment of overwhelming panic. Precious whined softly, the noise unexpectedly comforting, as was her warm little body. With the door closed, Faith realized that it wasn’t completely dark in the shaft; there was a faint light radiating from below. She took a deep breath and started her descent.

By the time she reached the bottom of the ladder, her hands were shaking and her legs were trembling, but she congratulated herself on having made it without falling. Which of course meant that she tripped over the bottom rung and only her hand on the ladder stopped her from a nasty fall. Thankfully her ankle had healed well enough that she felt only a slight residual ache from the long descent.

Now that they were on solid ground, Precious started wiggling and Faith let her out of the sling, stretching her back with a relieved sigh. For a small animal, she was a hefty weight. As Precious sniffed around, Faith approached the exit door. The light from the next room shone around the edge and provided the faint glow she had seen from above. She tried the door, but it was locked. Fortunately, this was an electronic lock and after a brief effort with her tablet, it opened silently. She and Precious slipped through and closed it behind them.

On the other side was a storage room of some sort. Tall shelves lined the walls, stacked with a variety of containers but she didn’t bother to examine them. Instead, she headed for the outer door which should open into the corridor leading to the holding cells. This door was locked as well, but again, it took only a few seconds to free the lock.

She peeped cautiously into the hallway but didn’t see anyone. They stepped through and she paused to check her map. Before she could move away, the sound of hooves came pounding up behind her and her heart sank.

“Stop right there.”

Faith turned slowly and saw two of the big bull-like guards approaching rapidly.

“Who are you? Why aren’t you in uniform?”

“Um.” For once her brain deserted her and she couldn’t think of anything to say as they loomed over her. They were both enormous and their alien features terrified her.

“Why aren’t you in the slave quarters?” The larger guard spoke slowly, as if he didn’t think she could understand him.

Her mouth opened but no words emerged. The second guard shook his head.

“What is it with these humans not knowing how to speak? They must be a very primitive race.”

“Better not let anyone hear you say that, Stathix.”

Stathix laughed. “Yeah, I know.” He turned back to Faith and spoke very slowly. “We are going to take you back to the slave quarters now. It’s not safe to wander around on your own.”

As he spoke, he stepped forward and stretched out his hand. Faith shrank back, even though there was nowhere to go.

Precious had been hiding behind Faith’s legs but when the guard touched Faith’s arm, she growled and shook herself. The chubby little body grew, becoming long and sleek, while her mottled brown coat turned jet black. Her eyes glowed yellow, while her tail lengthened and thickened before ending in a cluster of deadly spikes. A ridge of matching spikes appeared on her head and stretched down her spine. The two guards stumbled back.

“That’s a fucking Iqune. Where the hell did it come from?”

The tail on the new animal’s body lifted, and Faith saw the spikes quiver.

“Fuck. Those things are venomous.” The guards scrambled away but the only refuge in the long corridor was the storeroom from which Faith had just emerged. They jumped through and slammed the door just as two spikes hit the surface, embedding themselves in the metal. Faith emerged from her shock long enough to grab her tablet and quickly program the lock closed again, adding an override to keep it shut.

Precious wound around her thighs, still sleek and black, and Faith dropped down to hug her. The yellow eyes flashed back to black as she did.

“What a clever girl you are.” She scratched behind the odd shaped ears and murmured praise while she regained her composure. “Okay, Precious. Now let’s go find your daddy.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Athtar paced his cell again, cursing in a low, continuous stream. He’d been locked in this fucking cell for a day and a half now and he was ready to murder the next person he saw. Tanaca had appeared once and asked him if was willing to talk or if he still insisted on waiting for the emperor. When Athtar refused to talk to him, he shrugged and left, once more refusing to let Athtar send a message to the ship. Gods only knew what Faith was up to while he was gone. During his brief attempt at sleep the previous night, he’d had nightmares of her charging up to the guards and demanding to be taken to him. Or blurting out a confession about her part on Hothrest. He couldn’t decide which would be worse—if they decided they believed her and threw her into a cell or if they just laughed and hauled her off to the slave quarters. Fuck. He didn’t care how many guards Tanaca had with him, next time he was going to wring the scrawny bastard’s neck.

As if in answer to his thought, the door swung open. He froze when instead of Tanaca’s smug face, an Iqune came slinking into the room. The beasts were as rare as they were deadly, and it was the last thing he expected to see in the emperor’s palace. He shook his head, wondering if lack of sleep was making him fucking hallucinate. Before he could decide, Faith tripped across the threshold, then flung herself at him. He had enough presence of mind to pick her up and put his body between her and the Iqune.

“Keep still,” he warned. “Those fucking things are lethal.”

To his shock, she threw back her head and laughed. “Don’t worry, my love. It’s just Precious.”

“What?” A purring sound came from below and he looked down to see the Iqune winding itself around his legs and purring madly.

“It’s Precious.” Faith repeated. “Go on. Pet her or you’ll hurt her feelings.”

“Precious?” The purring increased and he cautiously extended a hand. The Iqune rubbed her head against it and he stroked the soft fur, carefully avoiding the line of spikes crowning her head. “Well, I’ll be a three-legged son of a Braxian morloc. How the fuck did that happen?”

“I don’t know. She wouldn’t let me come after you without her. Then when the guard touched me—”

“A fucking guard fucking touched you?” he roared. “I’ll kill the son of a bitch.”

“No, no,” she said quickly. “He just touched my arm. He seemed to think I was a slave and he was going to take me back to the slave quarters.”

That statement didn’t help his anger but the fact that she wasn’t upset did. He shook his head and sat down on the bed with her in his lap. “And Precious stopped him by turning into an Iqune?” he asked more quietly, as the pup jumped up next to them and rested a large, sleek, black head on his thigh. He carefully shifted Faith away from the spikes.

“Yes, she did. It was amazing! Did you know she could do that?”

“I’ve heard rumors about Pardorians being able to camouflage themselves, but I never knew it extended to the war beasts—and that’s not fucking important right now. What the fuck are you doing here?”

“I came to rescue you,” she said cheerfully.

“Fuck, no. You just go back to the fucking ship right fucking now.”

Her face fell. “Aren’t you happy to see me?”

Happy? Having her in his arms again was an enormous fucking relief, but he wasn’t about to take any chances with her safety. “Of course I am. But you were supposed to stay on the fucking ship and fucking wait for me.”

Her chin lifted. “But you were in trouble.”

“I’m not in fucking trouble. I told that asshole Tanaca I would only talk to the emperor and instead of sending a message to him, he threw me in this fucking cell and told me I’d have to wait until he returned from his fucking First Mating trip.”

“First Mating trip? Does that mean they got married already? I mean, Ella is his First Consort now?”

“Yeah, I reckon so.”

“Damn. I really wanted to get here in time to make sure she was willing.”

“I know, baby, but like I told you, when I saw them together, I thought they were in love.” He hugged her and then very reluctantly put her on her feet. “Now you need to get back out of here.”

“I’m not leaving without you,” she said defiantly, and he could tell by the stubborn tilt to her chin that she meant every word. For the first time he noticed what she was wearing—a skintight bodysuit that showcased every inch of her perfect body. His dick gave an approving thrum but he forced himself to concentrate. He needed to convince her to leave.

“Faith, if you stay here, they’ll want to fucking question you, too. That’s what I fucking tried to avoid, remember?”

“I know, but I have an idea.”

He groaned. “Of course you do. All right. What is it?”

“I didn’t know that Ella and the emperor were on their honeymoon. I thought we would just go directly to their quarters and talk to them.” She held up her hand before he could speak. “You just told me you agreed to talk to him, and you know I want to talk to her.”

“But they’re not here and I don’t want you anywhere near that fucking bastard Tanaca.”

“I don’t want to talk to him, either, especially after he locked you up. But don’t you see? It still works. We can go hide out there until they return. If they’re not there, no one else would be, either, right?”

He hated to admit it, but it made a certain kind of sense. And the emperor’s quarters would be a hell of a lot more comfortable than this room. The thought of Tanaca’s face when he found Athtar missing pushed him over the edge. “All right, baby. You win. Do you know how to get there?”

“Sort of—it’s based more on what’s not showing up than what is. I have a path mapped out, but it’s kind of convoluted.”

“Both times before they took me through some fucking secret passage that led right to his office. It was guarded but if we can find that…”

“I have a schematic of the palace if that would help.” She brought out her tablet and he showed her where he thought the entrance was hidden.

“Hmm.” She traced a line on the map. “This is marked as a utility conduit but it’s much larger than it needs to be. I’m sure that must be it. This panel is marked as a vent, but I bet it’s an entrance and it’s not far away. Let’s go.”

“Just a fucking minute,” he growled, and hauled her back against him, kissing her until she was limp and clinging to him.

“What was that for?”

“Because you’re an infuriatingly brilliant woman who has definitely earned a fucking spanking, and I fucking love you.”

Tears sprang to her eyes and she gave him a misty smile. “I love you, too.”

Precious butted her head against his leg and he laughed and ruffled her fur. “Yeah, Precious, we love you, too. You’re a good girl for taking care of Faith.”

When they came to the spot indicated on the schematic, there was no sign of an entrance. He swore under his breath, but Faith pulled out her tablet and a few minutes later, part of the wall slid silently to one side.

“Fuck, baby.” After a quick check of the hidden passage, he pulled her through and she closed the panel behind them.

“They really should do something about their security.” Faith frowned at him. “I hate to think that Ella could be in danger if someone else got in this way.”

“I doubt that there are a lot of fucking genius assassins running around,” he said dryly. “But if it makes you feel better, you can let Karthajin know about all the holes in his security. Or even better, tell his fucking spymaster.”

“Why do you dislike him so much?” she asked as they began heading for the emperor’s office.

He shrugged. “He’s a fucking scholar with his fucking nose in the air for one thing. He has a reputation for being underhanded.”

“You don’t think we can trust him?”

It hurt to admit it, but he finally said. “Nah. I think he’s trustworthy. Everything that I heard about was done to protect the emperor and the Empire.”

“That’s good. Ella was always kind of… innocent.” A wry smile twisted her lips. “Of course, I was pretty innocent eight years ago as well.”

The inside of the corridor was as featureless as the outside had been, but once again, a vent marked on the plan indicated the entrance to Karthajin’s office. Faith worked her magic and they stepped forward into the huge space. The room was dark and quiet but a soft glow from a single desk lamp provided enough light to reveal their surroundings.

“Oh, this is nice,” Faith said, looking around. “Look at all of those books.”

He was more interested in the fact that the outer door was closed and locked, as was the set of windows that opened onto an interior garden.

“How long do you think we’ll have to wait?” she asked.

“Tanaca said two or three days, and that was what…a day and a half ago? It shouldn’t be much longer.”

“Okay,” she said, before a yawn split her face. “Do you think we could try and find a bed?”

The word conjured up a mental picture of her naked and ready in their own bed, and his dick stirred, but this wasn’t the right time or place.

“Nah,” he said reluctantly. “You said you couldn't see this section and we don’t know what other alarms might be set. Best to stay here.”

She yawned again and nodded. “The couch looks pretty comfortable.”

“Let’s find out.” He picked her up and carried her over, settling them so that she was tucked against the back and he was between her and the rest of the room. Precious followed them and circled twice before settling down on the floor in front of him, still looking like an Iqune.

“I wonder how long she’ll keep up the illusion,” he said thoughtfully.

“I’m not sure it’s an illusion,” Faith said around another yawn. “When she threw her spikes at the guards, they actually penetrated the metal.”

The hand he had extended to pet Precious stopped in mid-air, but then he shrugged and stroked her fur anyway. He didn’t believe that she’d ever hurt either one of them. Faith’s soft weight settled more heavily against his side and he realized that she was asleep. Now that she was back with him, the worry of the past two days lifted, and exhaustion replaced it. He drifted off into a contented sleep.

He awoke to find Precious growling and four guards standing over them, weapons drawn.

Chapter Twenty-Five

“Faith. Wake up.” Athtar’s voice reached her from a long way off but she was warm and comfortable and she didn’t want to wake up. Then she heard the sound of Precious growling and her eyes flew open. Four of the massive guards surrounded them, two with their eyes on her and Athtar, the other two pointing their weapons at Precious.

“Don’t you hurt her,” she cried, and made a flying leap for the puppy. Her knee caught Athtar between his legs and she fell over him to land almost on top of Precious. The war beast had reverted to her previous form during the night, and Faith gathered her close. Athtar groaned from behind her and she shot him a worried look.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. Did I hurt you?”

“I fucking hope you weren’t planning on us having any fucking children,” he growled as he hunched over. There was a choked sound from above her and she looked up to see one of the guard’s shoulders shaking. The one next to him just shook his head.

“Who are you and why are you here?” he demanded.

“I’m Faith Whittaker and I’m here to see Ella,” she said with as much dignity as she could manage from her sprawled position.

“And you know who the fuck I am, Warnax, since you’ve hauled me in here twice before,” Athtar said. He’d apparently recovered enough to sit up and he pulled her and Precious up next to him, putting a protective arm around her shoulders. The guard ignored him, staring at Faith.

“Did you say Faith?” he repeated.

“Yes. Why?”

“The Consort has been most anxious to find out what happened to you.”

“You know about me?”

“Oh yes, Miss.” Warnax nodded at the other guards and they holstered their weapons and stepped back. “But why are you here?”

“Because fucking Tanaca hijacked my fucking ship,” Athtar growled, and Precious echoed him.

The guard frowned. “I was not informed of this.”

“I have some information they fucking want but I told him that I would only give it to Emperor Karthajin. Apparently, the emperor didn’t think it was fucking important enough to interrupt his precious First Mating trip.”

“Would you wish to be interrupted on your First Mating trip?” Warnax responded.

“Fuck, no. But I wouldn’t send for someone and make him fucking wait for me while I was gone, either.”

Warnax sighed, then made a quick gesture with his hand and the other three guards departed.

“I suppose this is in reference to the matter on Hothrest?” he asked once they were alone. “I believe Advisor Tanaca may have acted on his own authority.”

“Fucking bastard. Does that mean we can go?”

“Unfortunately not. However, I will send a message immediately to let His Imperial Majesty know that you are here. That both of you are here.”

Athtar hesitated, then nodded. “Thank you.”

Warnax cast a look around the office. “I do not know how long it will be before Emperor Karthajin checks his messages. You may wait here but you will be guarded.” His face hardened. “And after the emperor is through with you, you will tell me how you managed to make it this far.”

“That was me,” Faith piped up, ignoring Athtar’s muffled curse. “And I want to talk to you about your security. I really don’t think it’s adequate.”

“Indeed.” He frowned, then shook his head, his horns twitching. “Have you been here all night?”

“Most of it.”

“Would you like some breakfast? We can talk after you eat.”

“Yes, please. And a sanitary facility?”

He hesitated. “You would need to be escorted.”

“Like fuck,” Athtar growled.

“By a female guard, obviously. I will send for one.”

“Better make it quick,” she said as her bladder protested the delay.

An hour later, Faith felt much better. The female guard had arrived in time to escort her to the bathroom before any unpleasant accidents occurred. Afterwards, they had been fed a delicious meal by a very pleasant Kaisarian. Precious had eaten until her stomach was a round little ball and she was now stretched out at Faith’s feet; however, Faith noticed that one eye opened whenever anyone approached.

“Now, about your security,” she said to Warnax, and Athtar groaned.

The chief guard had not joined the meal but remained quietly in the background. She found his presence oddly soothing, more protective than threatening. He stepped forward when she spoke.

“Don’t say another fucking word, Faith,” Athtar interrupted. “Warnax, I want your fucking word of honor that she will not be punished for outsmarting your security.”

Warnax nodded. “You have it. I do not believe that she intended any harm and she is willing to disclose her methods. I will consider her a… consultant.”

Athtar relaxed and grinned at the other man. “In that case, she oughta be paid.”

The guard’s lips quirked. “Perhaps. I will leave you to argue that point with Tanaca.”

“She is sitting right here, and she is not asking for payment,” Faith said tartly.

“Never overlook an opportunity to get some credits, baby,” Athtar said. Having received Warnax’s assurance, he relaxed back into his chair and grinned at her. She rolled her eyes and turned to the guard.

“The first thing you should do is stop using the Imperial Fleet’s algorithms as a basis for the palace encryption.”

They were still discussing approaches to security when the office door opened and a Kaisarian entered. He had the typical red skin and small black horns poking through curly dark hair, but he was the most strikingly handsome Kaisarian she had ever seen. Even before Warnax rose to his feet and bowed, she knew this was the Emperor. Despite his obvious youth, he carried himself with an air of absolute authority. She stood up as well and tried an awkward curtsy. Fortunately, Athtar caught her before she fell at the emperor’s feet. She saw his lips twitch and, although her cheeks flamed, she relaxed a little. Knowing that he had a sense of humor made it easier. She searched eagerly behind him, but he was alone.

“Where’s Ella?” she blurted out.

“In our private quarters. She doesn’t know you are here, and she won’t know until after you answer my questions.” It was said perfectly pleasantly but quite implacably, and she couldn’t stop herself from frowning at him as he moved to his desk and took a seat.

“Doesn’t she get a choice?”

“Only if I’m assured that she will not be harmed in any way. I suspect that you are a very dangerous woman, Dr. Whittaker.”

“I would never hurt Ella,” she cried. “I’ve spent the last eight years worrying about her.”

His rigid formality relaxed a little, and he inclined his head. “I am inclined to believe you; however, I will not take any chances with her safety. Are you the one who destroyed the lab and killed the remaining personnel?”

She winced and said miserably, “Yes.” Athtar had been standing silently next to her, but now he put his arm around her and pulled her against his side. The emperor’s eyes followed the movement, but he only continued his questions.

“Why?”

“I was kidnapped to work on a scientific project. I was told it was part of a badly needed terraforming effort. You have to believe that I didn’t know what they were doing with my research. Once I found out, I had no choice. I destroyed the weapon and all the records so that it could not be used by anyone else for such a terrible purpose.”

“Did it occur to you that perhaps it would be better for the knowledge to be placed in our hands as a deterrent?”

“No,” she said bluntly. “I mean, no, your majesty.”

“I’m not concerned with formalities. I want to know why you feel that way.”

“Because once the knowledge is out there, it can be used. And no matter how well-intentioned, it would be wrong.”

He regarded her thoughtfully. “And the personnel who died?”

“They knew,” she whispered, and a tear trickled down her cheek. “They knew what had happened the first time and they knew it would be used again. I offered them a choice. I told them they could give it up and leave but they wouldn’t.”

“None of them chose to leave?”

“Four,” Athtar said. “Only four of them were willing to give up the fucking project.”

“Where are they?”

“On Elgin. My mother has assured me that they will be allowed only limited access to other scholars and any research projects they undertake will be fucking monitored this time.”

“Ah, yes. Dr. Lelani. A most impressive woman.”

She felt Athtar sigh. “Why am I not fucking surprised,” he said, not bothering to lower his voice.

Emperor Karthajin’s lips twitched again but he redirected his attention to her.

“Could those four recreate the weapon?”

“I don’t think so. We all worked on very specific pieces. Even the data records were segregated, and a portion was kept off the network entirely. Dr. Skevyk and perhaps two others were the only ones with access to all of the information. They all chose to stay.”

“Hm.” Emperor Karthajin studied her face, then asked softly. “Could you recreate it?”

The air went very still. She felt Athtar tense, but she wasn't going to lie to this man. “Probably. Given enough time and access to the right materials. But I would never do that. Never.”

“Once again, I am inclined to believe you,” he said thoughtfully, but before she could sag in relief, he continued. “The question is whether or not I should trust my instincts enough to take the chance on something like this happening again.” Every muscle in Athtar’s body tensed and she clung to his hand while the emperor studied her face. “Assuming I permit you to leave, what are your plans?”

“Athtar’s mother is working on hybrid plants designed to live in inhospitable climates. She thinks that my research could be applied to modifying the soil to improve their viability.”

“From destroying planets to growing vegetables?” He shook his head, then laughed and relaxed, transforming before her eyes from an imposing ruler to a charming young man. “I find that acceptable; however, I will be monitoring your activities.”

“Yes, sir. I mean, your majesty. But we’ll be aboard Athtar’s ship much of the time.”

He waved a careless hand. “That’s of no consequence. And you might as well call me Karthajin. I suspect Ella will insist.”

“Can I see her now?”

“Yes.” He pressed a panel and asked someone named Saban to send Ella to his office. A few minutes later, the door opened, and a beautiful young girl danced in.

“Did you miss me already?” she asked in a sweet lilting voice.

This was Ella? Athtar had said she couldn’t talk. She saw him frown out of the corner of her eye, but she couldn’t take her eyes off of the girl whose only focus seemed to be the emperor.

“You have a visitor, kitten,” he said gently.

“Who is it?” She turned and locked eyes with Faith, and Faith no longer had any doubts. Those eyes were unmistakable.

For a long moment they stared at each other. Despite her certainty, Faith could hardly believe that this enchanting young woman was the little girl she used to babysit.

“Your hair is shorter.” Ella said finally.

“So’s yours.”

They stared at each other a moment longer, then Ella flew across the room and buried her face in Faith’s shoulder. “Oh, Faith. Faith, I missed you so much.” Tears flooded the big blue eyes that Faith remembered so well, and her own eyes filled.

“I was so worried about you, Ella. The man who took you promised me that you were being taken to a nice family, but they lied about so many things.”

“He didn’t lie about that. They were very nice and I loved them very much. I… I forgot a lot of what happened. I didn’t even remember you until recently. I’m sorry.” She sniffed and hugged Faith again.

“I don’t care. As long as you were happy.” She looked over and saw Karthajin watching Ella carefully. “But I don’t understand. How did you end up here?” She lowered her voice. “Are you okay?”

“I’m very happy.” Ella said quickly. “We love each other. But I’m even happier now that you’re here.” She turned to the emperor, her eyes sparkling. “Karthajin, can we find a room for Faith next to our quarters, so we can be neighbors again?”

“Fuck, no.” Athtar spoke up for the first time, stepping forward and putting a possessive arm around Faith’s waist. “She’s coming with me.”

Ella’s eyes traveled slowly from Athtar’s firm grip to Faith’s face and Faith knew she was blushing, but she managed to nod. Ella laughed and clapped her hands in delight. “You’re in love, too. That’s wonderful. But surely you don’t have to leave right away?”

She directed those big blue eyes at Athtar and Faith wasn’t surprised when he sighed and shook his head. “I reckon we can stay a little longer. Can I fuc—, communicate with my crew now?”

“Of course.” Karthajin said. “Why don’t you go and speak to them in person? I suspect Ella and Faith will wish to talk.”

“They can all join us for dinner,” Ella said gaily. “And don’t forget to bring your adorable puppy.”

“You met Precious?” Faith asked.

“The last time Athtar was here.” She giggled. “Did he tell you that my kitten and Precious had a fight under his coat?”

Faith choked back a laugh and looked up at Athtar. He looked a little shamefaced but he shrugged and grinned. “I didn’t want to leave her alone.”

“Yes, I remember you saying you had something precious on your ship when you returned,” Karthajin said dryly. “I suspect you were referring to more than just your war beast.”

Athtar’s arm tightened around Faith’s waist. “I was.”

The sound of her name must have woken Precious because she tumbled out from behind the couch.

“There she is. Do you remember me, sweet girl?” Ella knelt down, heedless of the fine dress she was wearing, and Faith remembered how much the little girl had always loved animals. A lump formed in her throat. Athtar’s other arm came around her and he hugged her close.

“Don’t cry, baby. She’s happy and you’re happy and the rest is in the fucking past.”

“You’re right.” She looked up at him and managed a smile.

“And don’t you fucking forget it, woman,” he said.

“Everyone’s right occasionally,” she teased. His eyes heated and he bent his head and kissed her until her sorrow was completely forgotten.

It wasn’t until Ella laughed that Faith remembered where they were.

“You two are as bad as we are,” Ella said. She was still sitting on the floor, Precious in her lap, but now Karthajin was seated beside her with his arm around her. “Now go on, Athtar. I want Faith all to myself for at least an hour.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Before Athtar could protest, Ella had jumped up and taken his woman and his pup away. He frowned after them, then turned to find Karthajin smiling.

“I think you will find that our women invariably get what they want.”

He snorted. “As if I didn’t fucking know that. Sire,” he added hastily.

Karthajin waved a hand. “Forget the formalities. I suspect we will be seeing quite a lot of each other in future. Is my cousin Rast aware that you have fallen for a human?”

“No.” He couldn’t help grinning. “He’s going to give me so much shit about it.”

“Perhaps sooner than you think. He’s still here on Kaisar. I will ask him to join us for dinner as well.”

“You really want me and my crew here? They’re not exactly the fancy type.”

“Of course.” Karthajin raised an eyebrow. “My consort invited you. And I believe I owe you a debt of gratitude.”

“You do?”

“Yes, for destroying the weapon.”

“I thought you wanted to study it.”

“No. I am in agreement with your mate. The technology is better lost.”

“Faith said that once something is done, it is more likely to happen again,” he admitted reluctantly.

“And she is correct. But for now, the threat has passed. I will trust her to keep her word.” The slightest hint of warning under laid his words but Athtar forced himself not to bristle. He hated the idea of Faith being under fucking Imperial surveillance, but the emperor had agreed to let the matter drop and he supposed it was a small price to pay. Instead, he turned his attention to something else the man had said.

“When you said Faith was my mate…”

“Isn’t she?”

“Of course she fucking is. But we haven’t had a ceremony. I think she would like it if we had it here and Ella could come. If I arrange for a ceremony on the ship, will you let her attend?”

“I seriously doubt I could stop her,” Karthajin said dryly, but Athtar didn’t believe for one minute that he would ever allow his mate to put herself into what he perceived as a dangerous situation. Of course, he felt the same way about Faith and he hadn’t managed to stop her yet.

“I have a better idea,” the emperor continued. “What if we have the ceremony here tonight? I assume you don’t want anything elaborate?”

“Fuck no.”

“Would Faith?”

“No.” He was quite sure about that.

“Then we will have the ceremony here in the garden tonight.”

He scowled, annoyed that Karthajin had taken over so quickly, but then he shrugged. All that really mattered was that he and Faith would be formally joined. A sudden grin split his face at the thought of his crew dining with the emperor. “It’s going to be an interesting night.”

Karthajin’s communication panel chimed and he raised an eyebrow as he looked at the message. “It’s going to be an interesting afternoon. Tanaca is on his way.”

The advisor showed up moments later, looking appalled at the sight of Athtar, sprawled causally in the chair in front of the emperor’s desk.

“How did you get here?” he demanded. “How did you get out of the holding room?”

“Tanaca.” Karthajin’s voice was quiet, but Tanaca immediately turned to him and bowed.

“Your Imperial Majesty.”

Karthajin regarded him thoughtfully. “Did you have Captain Athtar brought here?”

“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.”

“Without my leave?”

“I apologize, Your Imperial Majesty. I didn’t realize you wished to be informed. You did task me with investigating the matter of the weapon.”

“I was under the impression that the matter was closed when the true culprit was discovered.” Karthajin’s voice was still soft, but Athtar felt a chill go down his spine. “If I were a suspicious man, it might occur to me to wonder why my Elginar advisor was so compelled to investigate a weapon created by other Elginar scholars. Were you seeking to recreate the experiment?”

Tanaca looked so shocked that Athtar almost felt sorry for the bastard. Almost.

“No, Your Imperial Majesty. Of course not. It was because Elginar created it that I felt it was my duty to make sure that it was destroyed.”

“You did not trust Admiral Gernagan’s report?”

Tanaca hesitated. “I suspect that the skill it took to wreak the kind of destruction he found at the lab is the same level of skill it would take to recreate the weapon.”

“I’m only going to say this once, Tanaca. The matter has been resolved to my satisfaction. If I have even the slightest suspicion that you are still pursuing the matter, I will consider it an act of treason. Is that clear?”

The man’s skin had faded to sickly pale blue, but he gave a deep, formal bow. “Yes, Your Imperial Majesty. I can only say that I am completely devoted both to you and to the Empire. Everything I have done has been on your behalf.”

“I believe you, Tanaca, which is why I feel quite sure that this subject will never again arise between us. Be assured that I value your many years of service.” His voice lost its formal cadence. “And leave Captain Athtar alone. He is about to become… related to me via mate bond.”

“Sire?” The man looked a little dizzy at the abrupt change of subject.

“Athtar’s mate is Ella’s missing Faith.”

“Indeed?” Tanaca regained his composure enough to cast Athtar a look of acute dislike. “It’s a shame that the First Consort didn’t find her in time to introduce her to a more suitable candidate.”

Faith laughed as Precious tried once again to get Ella’s “kitten” to play with her. The animal was most definitely not any type of cat that she was familiar with, but then again neither did Precious bear any real resemblance to a puppy. Precious bowed her front legs and whined encouragingly, but Chika only yawned and ignored her.

“Do you miss Earth?” Faith asked. Ella had told her the story of her adventures and Faith was both relieved and impressed that Ella had managed to adapt so well. Her own story had made Ella’s eyes fill with tears, despite Faith’s reassurances. Perhaps it was just as well that they had been separated. Although she knew her friend had a tough core of inner strength, the sterile environment of the lab would have been especially difficult for her.

“No.” Ella sighed. “I really don’t miss it. Perhaps because I was so young. Perhaps because I didn’t remember it for such a long time. Even now, it feels more like a distant dream than a place I actually lived. What about you?”

“Not really. A few things. I miss pizza, even the cold leftover pizza I used to eat late at night while I was studying.”

“Deb misses it, or perhaps it’s just that she misses her family,” Ella said softly. “I feel bad that I can’t really reminisce with her about it.”

“I can’t wait to meet her. Athtar has mentioned her and Rast several times. And their baby.” She shook her head. “Cross species breeding is usually quite difficult.”

“Apparently not for humans.” Ella cast a quick look at Faith’s stomach. “You’re not, um…”

“No. Athtar has an implant and I developed a birth control formula as soon as I had access to chemicals. I didn't know if I was going to be raped and I definitely didn’t want to end up pregnant.”

Ella’s eyes filled with tears again, and Faith hastily changed the subject.

Despite Ella’s earlier words to Athtar, she kept Faith with her for most of the day. Karthajin sent her a message which made her eyes sparkle, while Athtar sent a message to Faith stating that he was taking care of some things on the ship and wouldn’t return until late afternoon. Ella had taken advantage of the extra time and sent for an extremely elegant Kaisarian who turned out to be her tailor.

“I don’t need any clothes,” she protested.

“Please, Faith. Don’t you at least want a nice dress for dinner tonight? Doesn’t Athtar like it when you get dressed up?”

He had seemed to appreciate the green silk, although he’d removed it with his usual haste. “I suppose.”

“Kolga is an absolute genius. I’m sure he can make you something that both you and Athtar will love.”

“It’s quite true,” the man said seriously. “I am a genius.”

Faith laughed. “Oh, very well, do your worst.”

After a whispered consultation with Ella and a few quick questions for Faith, he had taken her measurements, and disappeared. His visit had been followed by a round of bathing and pampering beyond anything Faith had ever experienced. On the whole she had enjoyed it, but she was ready to get back to Athtar and her normal life. They were sitting in Ella’s sitting room, wearing silk robes and drinking something a lot like champagne when Kolga reappeared.

“Do you wish me to dress you?” he asked, handing her a long white garment bag,

“I do not.”

“Then go and put it on.”

The dress was slim column of shimmering gold, shot through with emerald threads which picked up the green of Faith’s eyes. The halter neckline gave new prominence to her rather meager cleavage while the long straight skirt with a slit high on one leg emphasized the length of her legs. She’d never worn anything remotely like it and she felt ridiculously uncomfortable. But when she walked back into the sitting room, Kolga nodded approvingly and Ella clapped her hands in excitement.

“It’s beautiful. You look perfect.”

Kolga inspected the dress, then bowed his head. “I am quite satisfied. If you stay on Kaisar, you will allow me to dress you.”

Faith grinned. “I’m not staying, and I tend to prefer jumpsuits when I’m working.”

He gave a delicate shudder, bowed over her hand, and left.

“Don’t you think I’m kind of overdressed?” she asked Ella doubtfully. Ella had changed while Faith was getting dressed and now wore a simple dark green gown that fell from one shoulder and was much more subdued than Faith’s outfit.

“Not at all.” Ella giggled. “You should see some of my outfits.”

“I’m sure you look adorable in them, but I'm not a cute little blonde.”

“No. You’re a statuesque brunette.”

Faith rolled her eyes. “I’m no such thing, but as long as Athtar likes me, it doesn’t matter.”

“Loves you, you mean.”

“Well, yes.” She felt her cheeks heat. “I never thought a big blue Viking would turn out to be the perfect man.”

“I know. And my red devil is perfect for me.” Ella leaned closer. “Is he, um, big all over?”

Her cheeks were bright red now. “Yes.”

“Then it’s a good thing you’re a statuesque brunette.”

Faith laughed. “You’re a lot smaller than Karthajin.”

Ella gave a slow, sultry smile. “Mm. And we’re a perfect fit.”

Faith was about to ask her if Kaisarian cocks vibrated, when another human appeared in the doorway to the room. An extremely curvy brunette with long dark hair, also dressed in a dark green one-shouldered gown, she was stunningly beautiful. Faith felt even more awkward now.

“I’m not late, am I?” the newcomer asked. “I only just got the dress and my son Athtren was being fussy.”

“Not at all.” Ella jumped up and hugged the new woman. “Deb, I want you to meet my friend Faith.”

“Oh my gosh, it’s so nice to meet you. Ella has mentioned you so often.” A corner of her mouth curved up. “And Athtar desperately needed a mate.”

“He did?”

“Of course, he did, even though he would never have admitted it. And he’s so good with Athtren. Are you planning on having children?”

A little stunned, Faith wasn’t quite sure how to respond. “Um, not yet. I’m about to start working on a research project with his mother.”

“Sorry. I’m just so focused on babies right now that I want everyone to start a family.” A flash of sorrow crossed her face and Faith remembered Ella’s earlier comments, but Deb blinked and then smiled. “Thank you for inviting me.”

Inviting her? Surely that was Ella’s idea. She turned her head in time to see Ella shaking her head at Deb.

“What’s going on?” All of a sudden, the significance of the fancy gown and the fact that the two other women were wearing similar outfits sank in. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

Deb winced. “I’m sorry. I have a big mouth.”

“Athtar wanted it to be surprise,” Ella added.

“Wanted what to be a surprise?”

“The mating ceremony,” she said with a big smile.

“Which basically means a wedding,” Deb added.

The room seemed to be spin and Deb caught her elbow. “Are you all right? You turned white.”

“I’m just… I… He wants to marry me?”

“They don’t call it that, but yes. Surely you aren’t surprised?” Ella asked anxiously. “I saw the two of you together. I thought you would want to mate him. But if you don’t, we can call the whole thing off. You don’t even have to see him if you don’t want to.”

“Of course I want to see him,” she said automatically, her head still spinning. “God, it’s just like him not to even think about asking me. He’s so damn bossy.”

“But you do want to mate him, don’t you?”

“Of course I do,” she snapped. “That’s not the point.”

“You could make him wait,” Deb said. “Leave him wondering.”

“He’d just come roaring in here and carry me off. He seems to like carrying me around.” Both women sighed. “And then he’d spank me.”

Deb looked indignant but Ella gave her a knowing smile. “Does that mean you want to make him wait?”

Faith laughed. “No, I guess not. I do love him, even if he’s a pain in the ass sometimes.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I’m getting married.”

“Damn it. Now you’re going to make me cry,” Deb said. “You need to stop so that I can do your makeup.”

“Makeup?”

The other woman shook her head. “Let me guess. You never use it.”

“No.”

“You and Ella.” She sighed. “Natural beauty is all very well and good, but a girl should look her best on her wedding day. Just leave it to me.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

When Deb was finished, Faith barely recognized herself. Her eyes looked big and mysterious behind her glasses, the green enhanced by Deb’s magic touch. Subtle color tinted her cheeks and her lips looked pink and inviting. She licked them nervously and found the gloss tasted sweet.

“Now stop that,” Deb chided. “Wait and let Athtar kiss it off.”

“Mm. I like that idea.”

“Okay, you two. Everything is ready.” Ella danced back in and gave Faith a quick hug. “I’m so happy for you.”

“I’m glad you’re here.” They smiled mistily at each other and Deb sniffed.

With Ella and Deb leading the way, they walked out into the garden. The sun was setting, streaks of fire visible through the shimmering haze that covered the palace, but small lights already twinkled along the garden paths. Ahead of them, similar lights draped an open-walled tea house, mingling with multiple garlands of flowers. She could see the crew standing to one side, all of them dressed in their finest, while Karthajin and another Kaisarian waited on the other side with Warnax and another guard behind them. She knew the other Kaisarian must be Rast but she couldn't take her eyes off of Athtar long enough to really look at him. Athtar had tamed his hair, pulling it back in a single braid, and trimmed his beard so that it followed the strong line of his jaw. He was wearing the silk shirt she had stolen so often, and he looked magnificent, strong and proud and hers. Her eyes didn’t leave his until she was standing in front of him, but she managed to make it the entire way without tripping.

“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he said when she finally reached him.

“Thank you. Was there something you wanted to tell me?” she asked, waving her hand at the small gathering.

“We’re getting mated.”

She lifted her chin. “Isn’t it customary to ask first?”

He didn’t look the slightest bit remorseful. “No. There’s no fucking way you’re going to say no. You’re mine now, baby.”

She paused just long enough to see a hint of anxiety break through his bravado before she nodded. “Yes, I suppose I am.”

“Fuck, you drive me crazy.” He hauled her closer and completely ignoring their audience, kissed her until she was limp and clinging to him. “Now behave yourself.”

Together they turned to find a third Kaisarian waiting for them. He was wearing plain black robes and he exuded a feeling of calm serenity.

“Are you ready, my children?”

“Yes.”

“Fuck yes.”

In the warmth of the setting sun, with only their friends surrounding them, they were joined.

Much later that evening, Athtar prowled the room Ella had insisted that they take for the evening. Fortunately, it was a big room and he had plenty of space to roam around. He was well aware that he should be grateful for the luxurious surroundings, but he would rather have been back on The Lady. The carpet was too thick, the chairs too dainty, the fabrics too soft, the bed—well, the bed was all right. Despite more soft fabrics and way too many pillows, it was big and firm, and it would be perfect as soon as Faith was in it. Instead, she had disappeared into the bathroom to “get ready” although he had no idea why.

The evening had turned out much better than he expected. The ceremony had been short and simple but all he cared about was that it was done. Faith was his forever. Afterwards, there had been enormous quantities of excellent food and wine, but it had been served casually by a few discreet servants. He had spent most of the evening with Faith in his lap, while his friends enjoyed themselves. Rast had, of course, given him hell.

“Now you know how I feel,” Rast murmured, his eyes watching Deb as she introduced their son Athtren to Faith. Athtar couldn’t help but notice how perfect she looked with the baby in her arms.

“Yeah, I know.”

Studoc wandered over to the two women and said something that made them both laugh and turn pink. Athtar growled.

“I could have him sent back to Hothrest,” Karthajin suggested. The emperor had not taken kindly to Studoc’s outrageous flirting with Ella earlier in the evening.

“Tempting, but I think I’d prefer to give him a fucking training session once we’re back on the ship.”

“He’d probably prefer the ice planet,” Rast said dryly.

Athtar surveyed the rest of his crew. Thynmirr had joined Studoc and the women. Grabon was deep in conversation with one of Karthajin’s guards, a big Bukharan named Sendat. Warnax and Kanithe were comparing knives, while Ella was questioning Ultana about the history of Ylft. He sighed in satisfaction and raised his glass.

“Here’s to addictive little humans.”

Both men laughed and drank.

“And thank the Gods we found them,” Rast added

“May they always be at our sides,” Karthajin said solemnly and raised his own glass.

“Fuck yes.”

Now Athtar smiled again, remembering that moment, and wondered impatiently what was taking his mate so long. He was staring out at the fussy little garden, when she spoke from behind him.

“Hi.”

He whirled around and lost the ability to talk. She was wearing a sheer gold gown that drifted over her body. It concealed nothing and yet, the soft swath of color made her seem more naked than if she had been wearing nothing.

“Fucking gorgeous,” he managed at last.

Pink tinted her cheeks and she walked towards him, the gown concealing and then revealing her body with each step.

“You look pretty good yourself.” He had discarded his clothes as soon as they were alone and now she reached for his cock, long cool fingers closing around the throbbing length and stroking it slowly.

He shuddered, then lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bed. The soft covers no longer annoyed him, they were a fitting background for his beautiful mate. His chest actually ached as he looked down at her.

“You’re mine now,” he said, the words filling him with satisfaction.

“Only now?” she teased.

“You know better than that. You’ve been mine since the first moment you stumbled off the flyer and fell into my arms.”

“I remember.  You caught me.”

“I will always catch you,” he vowed.

She gave him a misty smile and put her hand to his cheek. “Oh, Athtar. I love you so much.  My husband. My mate.”

He groaned, her words running through him like lightning, his cock throbbing with the need to be inside her.  He kissed her, putting all of his passion, his love into his kiss, even as his hands sought frantically, ripping the pretty gown open in one swift move, groaning again when he found her delicious cunt already slick and ready.

“I can’t fucking wait,” he warned.

“I don’t want you to wait.”

The words hadn’t even finished leaving her mouth before he drove into her with one long, hard stroke. She arched her back and cried out, and he could feel her tight little cunt fluttering, trying to adjust to his size, but when he tried to pause, to give her time to adjust, she tightened those long fucking legs around his hips and dug her tiny nails into his shoulders.

“Don’t stop,” she demanded.

Thank the stars. He curled one hand over her shoulder and grabbed her hip with the other, holding her in place as he succumbed to his primitive instincts, his need to show his woman that she belonged to him, only to him. He drove mindlessly, deep into the hot tight fist of her cunt, pounding into her body as she met each stroke, rising to meet him, his beautiful, passionate little scientist. His. The satisfaction of that knowledge roared through him as his balls tightened and a line of fire shot down his spine, as he felt her body begin to convulse around him, as he shuddered and came, his seed erupting in waves of pleasure, filling his mate.

He pulled her close, too full of emotion for words, until at last he could speak.

“Gods, I love you so fucking much.”

She smiled up at him. “I love you, too. I’m glad we were mated tonight.”

“Even if I didn’t ask you?”

“Yes, you big lug.” Her hand came to his cheek and she stroked his shortened beard. “You trimmed your beard.”

“It seemed like the thing to do.”

“I like it, but I liked the long one, too.” Her hand moved up to his hair. “Take your hair down.”

He reached back and undid the braid. She helped, stroking her fingers through the long strands until they flowed around his shoulders again.

“That’s better. Now you’re my Viking again.”

“What is this Viking you keep mentioning?”

“They were fighters, too. Historical warriors who were big and strong and tended to carry off women so that they could have their wicked way with them.” Her cheeks turned pink, but her nipples were fat little peaks beneath the remnants of her gown. He rolled one gently and she immediately arched towards him. “I may have read a book or two where they were the heroes,” she added breathlessly.

“Do you want me to have my wicked way with you, Faith?”

“Oh, yes, please.”

“Should I start by punishing you for making me think for even one fucking second that you didn’t want to be my mate?”

For a second, she looked guilty, then she lifted that fucking chin.

“You should have asked me.”

“I didn’t think I needed to. I thought I was pretty fucking clear about how I felt.”

“I just don’t want you taking me for granted.”

“Take you for granted? Baby, you are the most brilliant, argumentative, challenging woman I have ever fucking met. I would never fucking take you for granted.”

“Oh. Well, in that case, have your way with me, my Viking.”

With a growl, he sat up, bringing her with him. He yanked the rest of her gown out of the way impatiently and lowered her down over his cock. Despite her wetness, she was still swollen and he had to work himself slowly into her delicious cunt. When he was buried to the hilt, he stopped and looked at her. Her face was flushed and her lids heavy, her big nipples pink and swollen, half covered by the torn gown. He could feel her channel quivering around him, still adjusting to his size. Perfect.

He brought his hand down behind her and gave a quick hard spank. He felt the impact where their bodies were joined, and her cunt clamped down even tighter. They both groaned.

“Ooh. I like that,” she gasped.

“I thought you would.” He repeated the gesture, keeping a steady rhythm of quick, sharp smacks as he felt her ass heat under his hand, as her cunt fluttered wildly around his cock while she tried to wiggle and squirm and get closer to him. When her ass was warm and glowing, he used one hand to pull her closer while his other hand reached between their bodies and pressed down on her exposed, swollen clit. His cock sang inside her and he felt her shiver and come, the grip of her cunt so tight he could barely breathe. As soon as her grip loosened, he laid her back against the bed and began thrusting, covering her mouth with his, his tongue matching the rhythm as he tried to bury as much of his body inside her as he could. Her legs came up, drawing him impossibly deeper, and her arms circled his neck, holding on to him so tightly he felt like they were one being. His balls tightened as he thrust deeper, harder, aware of nothing but this woman that he loved so fucking much, his mate now and forever, and he exploded in a long pulsating wave, vaguely aware that she had tightened around him again as he clung to her.

When his pulse finally slowed, he lifted his head and looked down at her. Her cheeks were flushed and she gave him a satisfied smile.

“Wicked enough for you, baby?”

“Definitely. I believe you could fight off a whole horde of Vikings.”

“I would fight anybody or any fucking thing to keep you safe and happy.”

“You don’t have to fight for me. I’m already yours. All you have to do is love me.”

“I do.” And he lowered his head and proceeded to show her again just how much.

Epilogue

Two and a half years later

Faith woke up feeling cold. She automatically turned to curl into Athtar’s body, but his side of the bed was empty. With a sleepy sigh, she put on her glasses and went to find him, her bare feet whispering over the polished coral floors. She loved this house. Athtar had worked with Rast to have it built for them here on Sherae and it was perfect. Set on a rocky promontory close to the spaceport, it was far enough away for privacy but an easy walk to the town and palace where Rast and Deb lived. All of the rooms opened onto the sea, even the huge lab built into the bottom level.

They had spent their first year together traveling and she had loved every minute of it. Her lab had grown to encompass half of one of the cargo bays, and between her work there and the interesting places they went, she had never wanted to leave. She enjoyed it so much so that even after she decided she wanted a child, they remained onboard until she was almost six months pregnant—at which point Athtar had put his foot down and brought her here. She had thought she would miss the ship and the crew, and she did, but it had been surprisingly easy to settle into this life.

Athtar was exactly where she knew he would be, sitting on the balcony outside their daughter’s room, looking out at the stars. Laella’s little body was tucked snuggly against his shoulder, looking impossibly small. Her heart still flipped every time she saw them together, her big, tough fighter so obviously besotted by his tiny daughter.

Precious was lying at his feet and wagged her tail happily when she caught sight of Faith. Her head reached Faith’s waist now, but she still acted like the same sweet puppy. Her ability to shift had only manifested twice since Kaisar, both times when she thought that Faith was in danger.

“Athtar, what are you doing?”

“She couldn’t sleep.”

“She couldn’t or you couldn’t?” she asked dryly. He frequently woke in the night, convinced he was dreaming. Depending on his mood, he would turn to her or go find their daughter.

He grinned. “Maybe a bit of both.”

“Well, put her back in her crib. You know Precious isn’t going to let anything happen to her.”

With obvious reluctance, he climbed to his feet and walked back inside, Precious at his heels. He placed Laella back in her crib, and for a moment they both stood there admiring their baby. Her skin was almost as pale as Faith's, only the slightest hint of blue reflecting her Elginar heritage, but her little fringe of hair was as white as Athtar’s and her eyes a matching shade of blue.

“She’s so beautiful,” she whispered.

“As beautiful as her mother,” he agreed. “And as smart.”

“She’s only six months old. I don’t think you can determine her intelligence yet.”

“Of course I can. I understand her fucking perfectly.”

“Well you can understand her in the morning. Come back to bed.”

He didn’t move. “What if she needs me?”

Her heart melted but she gave his arm a gentle tug. “I’m sure she’ll let us know. But right now, I need you.”

That got his attention and he turned to her immediately, the white flames growing in his eyes. “What can I do for my mate?”

“I have this ache. Right here,” she said, trailing her fingers across her breasts and down between her thighs.

“Want me to take care of that for you?”

“You’re the only one who can.”

“Fuck yeah.” He hauled her up into his arms with the effortless strength that still made her knees go weak and her pussy dampen. As he strode along the corridor, she ran her fingers through his beard. He had let it grow back out since the wedding and it was as wild as ever.

“My Viking,” she whispered.

“Your everything, baby.” He flashed a white grin and she rolled her eyes.

“You are entirely too sure of yourself.”

“Nah. I know how lucky I am.”

“I do, too.”

When they entered the bedroom, he dropped her on the bed, but she scrambled back off before he could join her.

“What are you doing?”

“I want to taste you.” Her hands were already pushing his sleep pants down over his narrow hips. He responded by whipping her nightgown over her head and she sighed as she heard the fabric tear.

“You’re very hard on my clothes.”

“Then stop wearing them in our fucking bed,” he growled.

Bossy man. She curled her fingers around his already erect cock, knowing that would shut him up. He stopped talking and buried his fingers in her hair. She still kept it short but that didn’t stop him from giving it the little tug that always zinged straight to her pussy. Eagerly, she leaned closer and took a long, slow lick as he vibrated against her hand. Mm, he tasted so good, smelled so good. She buried her nose against him before moving down and sucking one big, blue ball into her mouth. She rolled it gently with her tongue then moved to the other one, moving back and forth while she stroked his pulsating erection, until he was groaning with pleasure. When she finally took his cock in her mouth, he was so hard she knew he wouldn’t last. Dragging her tongue along the underside, she took him deeper, moving faster until his fingers tightened to the edge of pain, until he called her name and came in a delicious wave as she drank him down.

“Now it’s my turn,” he growled, lifting her to her feet, then higher so they were face to face. She wrapped her legs around him, acutely conscious of her wet, swollen pussy as it rubbed against his hard abdomen. He used one big hand to press her closer against his body while he kissed her, tongue thrusting deep into her mouth and demanding her response.

“I fucking love tasting myself on you,” he said when he finally raised his head.

“I know.” She grinned at him.

“Of course you do. You’re fucking brilliant.”

He lifted her higher so that he could reach her breasts. They were still engorged from motherhood and he growled approvingly as he tugged and sucked at her taut nipples. She arched her back, seeking more of the exquisite sensation and he reached under her to tease her hardened clit. Her hands tightened in his hair, as strongly as he’d held her, and he thrust a thick finger deep inside her pussy just as he scraped his teeth across a sensitive peak. She came in a great rolling wave, clinging to him as he worked her though it, drawing out her climax until the last faint shudder.

“Also fucking delicious,” he said, lowering back down.

“Which is your favorite?” she asked breathlessly.

“I haven’t tried your delicious cunt yet tonight. I need a full set of data before I can reach a fucking conclusion.” Living with her was definitely rubbing off on him.

“It’s the only way to be sure,” she agreed solemnly.

He tossed her onto the bed again, but this time he followed her down, parting her legs with a satisfied smile.

“Fucking perfect,” he said, then dipped his head and used his extremely talented tongue to wring two more climaxes from her. She was still shaking from the last one when he flipped her on her stomach and drove his cock deep inside her pussy in one long push. All she could do was hold on as he gripped her hips and thrust into her again and again with hard, demanding strokes, his cock pulsating with each movement and sending exquisite vibrations from her ass to her already swollen and sensitive clit. His hands tightened, and she felt him swell impossibly larger as he came with a hoarse cry and the hot seed flooding her insides sent her over into another soaring climax.

He collapsed down next to her, automatically pulling her close, before he rolled to his back and tucked her against his chest. She loved this, this moment of intimacy when their bodies were still flushed and sticky and the scent of sex filled the air. She snuggled closer and traced a finger along the lines of his tattoo. After Laella’s birth, he had added two more symbols—one for her and one for their daughter. Beneath her cheek, his heartbeat gradually slowed and she felt his body relax.

“You were looking very thoughtful earlier,” she said softly. “What were you thinking about?”

He shrugged. “I was just wondering…”

“Yes?” She tilted her head back so that she could see his face.

“What would you think of buying a ship?”

“Another one?”

“Not a spaceship, a sailing ship. This is a fucking water planet, after all. I thought we could do some exploring, as a family.”

“And maybe a little trading,” she said dryly. He didn’t need to work—Karthajin had shown his gratitude for their destruction of the weapon with a reward that was more than enough to keep them in comfort for the rest of their lives—but she knew how much he enjoyed trading.

He grinned, his teeth flashing white. “Maybe.”

“You would have to add a lab.” Her work with Lelani was making exceptional progress, despite her pregnancy and Laella’s birth, and she wasn’t prepared to leave it.

“Of course. I’ve already ordered the fucking equipment.”

“I suppose you’ve already bought the boat as well.”

“Maybe.” He grinned again, and she laughed and snuggled down in his arms.

Athtar lay back in the bed, savoring the soft weight of his woman across his chest, and watched the stars through the open window. A bright flash of light crossed his vision, a ship departing from the nearby space port, and he searched for any hint of longing. There was none. It crystallized the decision he’d been heading towards ever since his daughter was born.

“I was thinking about something else as well.”

“About what?” she asked sleepily.

“About selling The Lady to Ultana.”

“What?” She tried to sit up, digging her sharp little elbow in his ribs in the process. It was a good thing she never realized what effective weapons they were.

She reached for her glasses, then peered down at him. “Why do you want to sell her?”

“I’m never going back to that life.” Saying it out loud, he could hear the truth in his words. “It’s not fair to Ultana not to have her own ship.”

His second had taken over as captain, even though she had received her share of the reward along with the rest of the crew. The only one to actually take advantage of the money was Grabon. When Athtar and Faith returned to Sherae for the final stages of her pregnancy, Grabon had decided to leave the ship as well. He was taking short term security contracts but Athtar knew he was really searching for a mate of his own. He blessed the stars that he had been lucky enough to find his.

“You’re right about Ultana,” Faith said, and he saw her take a deep breath. “She does want her own ship. But not The Lady.”

“What the fuck’s wrong with The Dancing Lady?”

“Nothing,” she said quickly. “But she wants something she can call her own.”

“Why the fuck didn’t she tell me?”

“Because she knew you’d act like this?”

He grumbled a reluctant agreement, but she kept talking. “So I think we should take The Lady back and let her find her own ship.”

“You really want to keep her?”

“Of course. You know I love that ship.”

He believed her. In the time they had spent traveling before he finally put his foot down and brought her pregnant ass planet side, she had enjoyed every minute of it. Her boundless curiosity had her fascinated with every place they went and, other than having to spank her a few times when she tried to put herself in danger, he loved having her with him.

“We could get a smaller ship,” he offered half-heartedly. Now that she’d suggested it, he liked the idea of keeping The Lady close at hand.

“Why? It has everything we need for shorter trips, including my bathtub. We’ll be traveling back to Kaisar soon when Ella has her baby. And it already has my lab set up so if we decide to take the kids traveling for any longer period of time, we’re already prepared.”

It took a minute for her words to sink in.

“Kids? As in more than one?”

She gave him a rueful smile. “I’m not positive but I got a little distracted by Laella’s birth and never started back on my birth control. I always thought you couldn’t get pregnant while you’re nursing but…”

He was still frozen in place and she bit her lip. “You don’t mind, do you?”

With a muffled growl, he rolled her under him and proceeded to show her exactly how happy he was about her announcement.

A very long time later, Faith was asleep against his side and he was no longer watching the stars. Instead, he watched his sleeping mate and thought of his daughter sleeping nearby. He put a protective hand over Faith’s stomach and smiled. He had always thought he had been fighting for freedom, but this, this was the only thing really worth fighting for, and he would fight for the rest of his life to keep it. He wrapped his arms around his mate and went happily to sleep.

Author’s Note

Thank you so much for reading Faith and the Fighter! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it – Faith and Athtar were both so much fun to write, although I’m afraid I’ve worn out the F key on my keyboard! Whether you loved the book or not, it would mean the world to me if you left an honest review on Amazon. Word of mouth is incredibly helpful for authors and I’d love to know your thoughts!

I’m both happy and sad to come to the end of the series. (The end for now! I have definite plans to revisit the Alien Abduction universe. In fact, there is a tiny little clue in this book as to who the next hero will be, although you haven’t met the heroine yet!) This was my first series and I’m still beyond grateful to all of you who have encouraged and supported this dream.

So what’s next? I’m glad you asked! My next series is about Aliens invading Earth. When the Yehrin ships first appeared in the skies over Earth, they promised a new era of technological advance.  But after disaster struck, the friendly Yehrin scholars were replaced by fierce Yehrin warriors.  Ruthlessly suppressing any opposition, they are hiding a dark secret - they need Earth females for the continuation of their species. Read on for the Chapter One of Alien Conquest!

As I’ve said many time before, the SFR community is truly amazing, from both authors to readers. Tiffany Roberts was the first author to extend a welcoming hand to a rookie, but she was followed by many, many others. In particular, Bex McLynn is not only an amazing author, but a true friend. I’m currently working with her on an exciting project that you’ll hear more about in the very near future!

My readers also never fail to amaze me with their support! Among so many wonderful readers, it’s impossible to mention everyone, but I have to thank Janet S. and Kitty S. for their eagle eyes, Kathryn S. for her friendship, and Kate B. for always making me smile!

And in case you missed them, the previous books in the Alien Abduction series are:

Anna and the Alien

Beth and the Barbarian

Cam and the Conqueror

Greta and the Gargoyle

Deb and the Demon

Ella and the Emperor

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Chapter One

The incessant beeping of her alarm finally registered, and Emily reached out blindly to turn off the annoying noise. When her outstretched fingers couldn’t find her phone, she forced an eye open and immediately flinched at the light streaming through the window. The abrupt movement made her stomach churn and for a minute nausea threatened to overwhelm her. What on earth had happened? She rarely drank and hadn’t had a hangover since her first year of college. This feeling put that one to shame.

The alarm kept squawking so she managed to pry both eyes open and, moving with extreme caution, followed the sound. Her tiny studio apartment meant she didn’t have far to go before she discovered her phone under the coffee table. Turning off the alarm with a sigh of relief, she pressed a hand to her pounding head. Stepping carefully around a discarded pizza box, she made it to the window and closed the heavy curtains. With the sunlight dimmed, her headache receded a fraction and she was able to look around.

The small apartment was one of her job benefits and she usually kept it as neat as pin. This morning it was a wreck. Besides the pizza box, papers and books covered the floor. Only a sheet remained on her bed, the quilt and pillows strewn around. Even her clothes were scattered about the room. Her bra hung from a lampshade and it looked like her panties were mounted on the doorknob. Panties? As the sight of her underwear penetrated, she suddenly realized she was wandering around naked. She never slept naked. Her gaze traveled to the disheveled bed in horror. What had she done? This time the nausea could not be controlled and she barely made it to the miniscule bathroom before losing the contents of her stomach in an urgent rush.

She was still leaning over the toilet when a cold nose touched her ankle. She jumped, screamed, and clutched her head in pain. The cold nose nudged her again, followed by a chirping noise. This time she kept enough control to look down. Small black eyes looked up at her from a mop of purple-colored fur.

“Oh Tribs, I’m sorry. What are you doing here?” Even as she gathered him up, the memory started to come back. “That’s right. Sam brought you with him last night.” Tribs was an Anderian sekhmet who belonged to her colleague. Putting him down, she watched him scurry over to the water bowl, his six short legs barely visible beneath the fur that reached almost to the ground. As she brushed her teeth, more memories surfaced. Sam had come over last night to celebrate the end of the project they had been working on for the past two months. She had ordered pizza and Sam had produced a small bottle of orange liquor. That part was clear but after that, all she remembered was laughing a lot. Everything else was gone.

Pulling on the robe on the back of the door, she returned to the main room. As she grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator, she saw the note on the door.

My dear L'chka,

I am so happy you have agreed to be mine. I wish I could have been here with you this morning but I want you to relax. Do not worry about work. I emailed Margie and told her that you were sick.

Until tonight,

Sam

Work? Her eyes flew to the kitchen clock. It was after ten o’clock. The alarm had been a reminder of her weekly staff meeting. She picked up her phone to call Margie but saw the outgoing email on her mail app. Sam had sent the message from her account. Why would he do that? And why would he think she had agreed to be his? With a groan she collapsed on the small loveseat, clutching her bottle of water. Tribs chirped at her until she picked him up and set him on her lap. As she did, her robe parted. A blue stain ran down her inner thigh. She poked it cautiously and it felt slightly sticky. As the pain in her head subsided, she finally noticed the slight ache between her legs. Even though she hadn’t had a lot of experience, she had enough to recognize the sensation. She had a horrible feeling that she knew exactly what had left that stain.

“This is very bad, Tribs. It’s only been six months since the aliens came. Now it looks like I’ve had sex with one.”

Emily had been in her last semester of college when the spaceships arrived. The giant ships became visible simultaneously above New York, London, Moscow, Beijing, Tokyo, Mumbai, Cairo, and São Paulo. Within minutes a broadcast appeared on every television and radio station worldwide. The speaker was tall and slender, wearing a well cut dark suit that only served to accentuate the fact that he was not from Earth. His sharply angled cheekbones and jawline could almost have passed for human, making dark eyes with slit pupils even more alien in contrast. His skin was a shade of silvery grey that no man had ever possessed. Long dark hair was arranged in an elaborate style that didn’t cover the two small horns at either side of his head. His words were translated into the language of each country as he reassured the world that the Yehrin were there to guide the Earth into a true Space Age.

Reactions had ranged from riots to religious fervor. World leaders broadcast messages of restraint and used troops to enforce the message. The riots subsided as the spaceships withdrew to a higher orbit. When no aggressive actions were taken by the aliens, fear turned to curiosity. The Internet was alive with speculation and rumored sightings, with only the usual vocal minority spouting conspiracy theories. Within days of the first announcement, a small embassy appeared in each nation’s capital. In addition, the existing UN building in New York was topped with a much larger version that floated over the older building with only a slender shaft connecting them. It was rechristened the United Worlds Building and word emerged that they were looking for employees.

Like the rest of the world, Emily had been glued to the television and the Internet as each development unfolded. Excited about the opportunity, she hadn’t hesitated to apply for a job. After an extensive examination process, she had been hired and as soon as she graduated, she had begun work. Because of her degree in Communications, she was assigned to work with one of the aliens, S'ram, on a series of public messages. Even aliens seemed to recognize the value of good publicity. The latest series had been about the medical improvements the aliens were making. The video of the Leader healing a small girl in Africa had been especially well received.

Everything had been going so well. She missed her grandmother and the small town where she had grown up but she loved her job, despite the long hours. Communicating good news made her feel happier about the world. She made a few friends, and she and S'ram had become especially close. Like the Leader, he was tall and slender but his long dark hair was simply arranged in two braids. He never mentioned his life before arriving on Earth, but she soon gained the impression that like her, he was fresh out of the Yehrin equivalent of college. At first she had been nervous around him but after he gave her a shy smile and told her to just call him Sam, she relaxed.

They worked together closely and had such a good relationship that she was always a little startled when he said or did something that reminded her he was Yehrin. He would smile a bit wider than normal and she would notice just how sharp his teeth looked. Or her attention would be caught by his hand, three fingers instead of four and topped with rather pointed black nails. But on the whole, she thought of him as a close friend and found it easy to ignore the fact that he was an alien.

Now she wondered if she had ever known him at all. Embarrassing as it might be to admit that she had completely blacked out, she had to talk to him. She needed to know what had happened. Had they actually had sex? Unprotected sex? Despite the apparent evidence, she didn’t want to believe it. As close as they were, she had never had any type of sexual interest in him. Notwithstanding his note, a small sickened voice wondered if she had even agreed.

With shaking hands, she picked up the phone. When he didn’t answer her call to his private number, she almost gave up. Instead, she clenched her teeth and called the main office number, knowing her boss would answer.

“Hi, Margie.”

“Emily! Are you feeling any better?” Her boss’s concerned voice only added to Emily’s guilt.

“Not really,” she admitted. “I just wanted to make sure you got my message. Any issues this morning?”

“Nothing we can’t handle. The big guys are all thrilled with the medical project.” Big guys was Margie’s pet name for the Yehrin. They were all exceptionally tall.

“That’s good.” She hesitated and then gathered her courage. “Is Sam in?”

“Yes. He was here bright and early this morning and in a great mood.”

I'll bet he was, she thought bitterly. Margie’s observation did nothing to relieve her dreadful suspicions. She had to speak to him.

“Can you connect me?”

“Sorry, hon. He’s in a meeting with the rest of the big guys about the next project. It’s scheduled to last until after lunch. Should I tell him to call you then?”

“Please. There are a few loose ends we need to tie up.”

“Will do. Now you take some aspirin and go back to bed.”

Emily thanked her and ended the call. The aspirin sounded like good advice, although her head was no longer quite as painful. Going back to bed sounded even better. With a sigh, she moved to the window and cautiously drew back the curtain. If she leaned into one corner, she could just see the United Worlds building. What was Sam doing right now? Did he remember what happened last night? Her last clear memory was laughing so hard she almost fell down. He had been laughing, too, but he had caught her. She remembered his hand touching her lips and then...nothing. With a frustrated sigh, she started to let the curtain drop. As she did, a blinding flash of green light shot up the small shaft by the river that connected the old and new buildings.

For a moment nothing happened and she shook her head, wondering if she was seeing things. Then the building began to collapse slowly in on itself. A huge cloud of dust obliterated her view just as the roar of the blast reached her. The apartment building shook and her window exploded inward, the shock wave throwing her to the ground as the world went dark.

When she came to, glass covered the floor but the heavy curtain material had protected her from most of it. Every muscle in her body hurt but she dragged herself back to the window frame. Wind whipped through the opening, tossing her blonde curls in her face as she leaned out, but she managed to see that the United Worlds Building was completely gone. Only a giant crater remained and, even as she watched, the East River rushed in to claim it.

Margie had been in that building. Sam had been in there. Not only had any hope of knowing what had happened last night vanished with him, but he had been her friend and now he was dead. Tears slipped down her cheeks as she watched the water swirl in dirty grey waves. An unknown time passed as she watched and mourned. Eventually, a low moaning from the direction of the loveseat caught her attention. Numbly she picked her way across the glass covered floor and found Tribs buried in a pile of cushions. He shook all over but he didn’t appear to be hurt. Holding him tightly, she turned to survey what was left of the small apartment she loved. Her few pieces of furniture were thrown against the walls. Everything was covered in glass and ash. In a matter of minutes, she had lost her friends and her job and her apartment.

The clouds of dust outside began to clear and a shaft of sunlight illuminated the room, highlighting the glowing colors on her quilt—the quilt her grandmother had made. The thought of her grandmother—of home—was the only thing that made sense in her muddled head. There was no longer a reason to remain in New York. Vaguely aware that tears were still flowing down her face, she dug through the wreckage and haphazardly threw a few clothes into her suitcase. Pulling on some sweatpants and a t-shirt, she grabbed the suitcase, the quilt, and Tribs. At the last minute, she also took Sam’s note. The power was out and the elevator wasn’t working, so she walked down the fourteen flights of stairs by the dim red glow of the emergency lights. An eerie quiet surrounded her. Everyone who lived in the complex had worked at the United Worlds building.

Firmly pushing the thought away, she just concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. When at last she reached the ground floor, she headed for the parking space that had also been an unexpected perk of the job. She threw her suitcase in the back of her small car, made Tribs a nest in the quilt on the floor, and headed out of the city. Glancing at the clock on the dashboard, she realized that less than an hour had passed since her alarm had sounded.

Traffic was even worse than normal, a constant stream of emergency vehicles rushing by with their lights flashing. Ignoring them, she concentrated on only one thing—getting home. Two hours passed before she thought to turn on the radio. Speculation about the explosion filled every channel and she was about to turn it off again when the news broke. The spaceships were back. This time the original eight were accompanied by many more; so many more that every major city in the world now had a spaceship hovering overhead. The newsman’s report terminated abruptly. Instead of the Leader’s cultured tones, a harsh new voice growled out the announcement.

“People of earth, we came to you in the spirit of cooperation. That cooperation was met by violence. If that is the path you choose, that is what you will receive. I am now the Supreme Commander of Earth. I have declared martial law. Until further notice, all planes are grounded. Train and boats are also forbidden. Unless you have work responsibilities, you will be inside your residence by dusk and remain there until morning. Further orders will be transmitted by my section commanders. That is all.”

Shaking so hard she could barely hold the wheel, Emily pulled to the side of the road. She grabbed her phone but the only thing she could access was the same message repeated over and over, this time accompanied by the Supreme Commander’s image. A terrifying visage stared at her from the small screen. Instead of the small nubs that the Leader and Sam had, the Commander had a full set of horns that swept back from his brow before curling around to deadly points. Rows of sharp teeth filled his mouth when he snarled menacingly at the camera. A black uniform covered his massive chest but left his enormous arms bare. Even in miniature, he projected an impression of immense size and strength. No pity shone in that dark, reptilian gaze.

Terror broke through the numbness of sorrow. Refusing to let herself think about the wider implications, she focused on the curfew. What was she going to do? She still had eight more hours to travel. Even with the late summer sunset, she couldn’t reach home before dark. Home. She longed for the comfort of her home and her grandmother with every ache of her scared, sorrowful heart. Starting the car, she returned to the road. Driving as fast as the little car would go, she stopped only once for gas and a bathroom break. When she wiped herself, the paper was tinged with blue.

Despite her speeding, she was still an hour from home when darkness fell. Traffic had been steadily diminishing for the past hour and only her headlights broke the darkness. Her hands were numb from clenching the wheel when she finally pulled into the driveway.

Emily’s grandmother appeared at the door, her face pale and looking ten years older. Moving much faster than her appearance would indicate, she helped Emily grab her suitcase and Tribs. They had just closed the door when a white light swept the sky.

To be continued…

Alien Conquest, coming June 2019!

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Epilogue

Author’s Note

Chapter One, Alien Conquest