by Ivy McAdams
“Fifteen nitracs.”
I hold up a finger to stop him and frown. I’m not that knowledgeable in astronomy. Do I know that word?
“How far’s that?”
He turns back to look at me, toying with the band on his arm. “A nitrac is an approximate equivalent to twelve hundred of your light-years. Which seems to be nearly six trillion miles. Do you want that in inches?”
I wave a hand, eyes nearly bugging out of my head. “No, no,” I murmur, unable to unlatch my gaze from his techno-watch.
Six trillion?
I buzz through some calculations in my head—because I may not know space, but I know numbers.
Or smaller ones at least. How many zeros is that total? Thirteen, fourteen?
I feel as if I’ve spun on a merry-go-round far too fast. I may need to puke.
“How is that possible?” I breathe.
The corner of his lips tilts up. “This ship is fast.”
I blink, finally looking up at him. “No shit.”
The deep chuckle in his throat is sexy and I nearly forget all about that insane journey I’m on.
“We usually crater jump for distances like that though,” he says.
“Excuse me?”
“Wormholes. Like that one.” He points at a big black void in the distance.
It swirls and spins, pulling random debris into its center. I’ve never seen anything so dark and sinister in my life. I recoil and hug my knees in closer.
“Are you serious? Please tell me we’re not going in there.”
Dax stares at me silently a moment. Then he turns back to the dash. “It will shave days off our trip.”
It looks as if it wants to shave off half our ship.
I grimace and look away.
Space travel is not my forte. There’s no need to pretend I know what’s going on. I trust that Dax knows what he’s doing.
Zeus hops down from his seat and clicks over to mine, resting his head on my elbow and gazing up at me.
I smile as I scratch him behind the ears. This poor dog has been dragged onto a spaceship, out into the vast wonders of space, and has been locked inside this big tin can for days. I figured an animal would be losing its poor mind in such conditions, but he’s been a good boy.
“You’re sweet, aren’t you?” I whisper.
Probably because he doesn’t know what’s coming. It’s hard to be strong and casual when the end is near.
Well, it probably won’t be for him. I’m the one on the chopping block here.
The thought swirls and unfolds in my head and my shoulders sag. What’s going to happen to Zeus when I’m gone?
I press my lips together with a troubled sigh and run my fingers between the shepherd’s eyes. They’re so brown they’re nearly black. They make him look like a puppy. A sweet, innocent puppy that’ll be left out here in space.
Darn his loyalty, following me into this mess.
I slide my legs down and lean over to take his head into my arms, hugging it to my chest.
Maybe Dax will take him. It turns out the alien has a heart of some sort after all. He could like dogs.
While Zeus snuggles in close to me, a bleep bleep goes off on the dash. Dax’s shoulders stiffen. I sit up to watch as he shifts in his seat, blocking most of the dash from view. I lean to the side just enough to see the blue blinking light flicker beneath the windshield screen.
Bleep bleep.
Dax touches the light and the same shimmering, three-dimensional head I saw my first day here appears over the dash.
The purple image speaks in Dax’s rough language with some urgency.
“I’m fine,” Dax says without alarm, casually shifting into English.
“Tell that to Trex then. He’s losing it over here.”
“It’s always something.” Dax shrugs.
“He’s extra steamy today. Thought I’d give you a heads up.”
“Thanks.” Dax falls into a casual grin and even from my spot behind him, it’s still ridiculously sexy. And far from the reception this other alien got from him last time. His friend must realize this too because he tilts his head, his long spiraling horns arcing across the hologram.
“Oh, damn. He’s coming.” The other male snorts. “Good luck.”
The head disappears for a moment even though the connection doesn’t seem lost. Then the head and shoulders of a small goblin-looking alien appear. His brow is drawn down over his eyes and his ears tremble in what looks to be extreme agitation.
“What the hell you doin’ cruisin’ around out there?” he snaps.
“I’m en route,” Dax answers in a calm, collected voice.
The goblin’s eyes bulge and he scoffs loudly. “En route? Are you shittin’ me? You should be there by now.”
“We had some mechanical issues.”
“We?”
“The ship.”
The goblin snorts. “Tear off your aethfoil again?”
“Actually, Krut and his pigs hopped aboard.”
“Lemme guess. He stole your target.”
“You think we’d be having this conversation if she was gone?”
The smaller alien’s face skews and he lifts an eyebrow with attitude. “You gettin’ cocky with me?”
“Lay off, Trex. Everything is fine. Krut busted up a few nyprium pistons when he made an emergency detach.”
“Emergency?”
“He was being shot at. I guess he felt the need to run.”
Trex blinks wide eyes. “Shot at? What the fuck did you do?”
Dax’s head moves to the side as he shrugs a big shoulder but he remains silent.
When the goblin’s eyes jerk down to meet mine, I jump in my chair.
“It was her, wasn’t it?”
Dax shifts and glances back at me. His eyes soften when they land on me. As he turns back around, a snarl contorts his face. “You leave her out of this.”
“Are you kiddin’ me, Daxius? They ain’t paying you to frolic with some human. You better get her ass down to the Metagalactic Cruiser or they’ll toss your pay.”
“I don’t frolic with humans,” Dax growls.
The words are like a slap in the face.
Even the goblin looks a little surprised. His ears lower in the most sarcastic tilt I’ve ever seen. “Clearly.”
The rumble coming from Dax deepens.
“Whatever you’re doin’ out there, hurry the fuck up. Mar’kanzo Fr’a is breathin’ down my neck over here and I ain’t savin’ your ass over some girl.”
“I’ve got it under control,” Dax grumbles.
“Good. Get to the Metagalactic Cruiser pronto or I’m takin’ your penalty outta your bird.”
“Leave my ship alone.”
“You know I gotta.” Trex glares. “Get a move on.”
The goblin’s image fuzzes and disappears. The blue light on the dash goes dark again, and Dax leans back in his seat with a heavy sigh.
I have no idea what to say. After finally warming up to Dax and not feeling so afraid, he says something like that?
I don’t frolic with humans.
Is that all I am? A human?
He might not frolic with them, but apparently, it’s not below him to toss me in his bed for a little smash and dash.
Heat boils beneath the surface of my skin, and a knot tightens in my throat. I’m not sure what’s worse: the anger over being treated this way or the painful disappointment that’s constricting my lungs, because dammit, I thought we had a good connection.
But I’m still just a human. Like a rat infestation you just can’t get rid of.
My shoulders sag and I do my best to drag air into my deflated lungs.
Zeus’s sharp bark scares the utter shit out of me and I jump.
Dax turns on us, his fingers still pressed in hard against his forehead, as if he’s fighting a major migraine. He looks at the dog, then one of the screens.
“I see it,” he snaps.
At first, I frown, unsure of wh
at’s going on. But then Zeus barks again. He whines and snorts, his head jerking up and down once as if he’s nodding.
I’m frozen, looking between the two as Dax shakes his head in return.
“I know what I’m doing. We don’t need it.”
My eyes feel like they’re going to pop out of my head, and I can’t keep quiet anymore. “Okay, what is this? Really.”
Dax and Zeus both turn to look at me. It feels way too much like breaking up a disagreement between two fighting friends, even though one of them is a dog.
Zeus growls out the side of his mouth.
Dax’s frown deepens as he gazes at me. “I guess your friend doesn’t trust me much. He’s angry that we’re not on course.”
“What do you mean on course?” I glance at the side-view screen and realize we’re alongside the horrifying black hole.
Confusion twists in my stomach.
“We’re taking the scenic route,” Dax says, some of the anger in him sloughing off.
“W-what’s that mean?”
“If we’d hopped in the wormhole we’d be at the Metagalactic Cruiser and your drop-off point within the hour.”
I run a hand through my hair as I watch the black hole slip away. Not having to get swallowed by that horrible thing is music to my ears. There’s a vast spread of stars in front of us. Staring at them feels like freedom.
But why the delay? I almost don’t want to ask. “Don’t I need to make my trial time?”
“Yes.”
Dax twists his chair and leans over his knees to look at me. Zeus growls softly at first, but I pat his head reassuringly. Even though I almost want to let him go after Dax. Give the alien an even bigger reason to hate humans.
My jaw sets when I look up at him. I don’t know what stupid side gig he’s playing at, but he can leave me out. No more pirates. No more poisonous food and rat lizards that want to eat me.
As much as I’d like to avoid being taken to intergalactic court to face death or imprisonment, I consider taking it over sitting in this big metal tube waiting on Dax to tell me that I’m just like all the other horrible humans he’s met.
He clears his throat and kills my thoughts.
“Your trial is tomorrow morning. I was supposed to get you to that station yesterday. After the ship was derailed, the plans changed to dropping you off today. I think I’d rather wait another day.”
I frown, unsure where his thought process is going. “Are you sure? Your friend sounds pretty pissed about that.”
Dax’s brow furrows. “Trex can shove it. He doesn’t understand.”
“Understand that you’re screwing around with a dirty human out here?”
Dax’s eyes flash, glowing an ominous green as he stomps to his feet. Zeus snarls, but Dax shoves him aside, pulling me up by my upper arms. His grip pinches enough to bring me to full alert as he lifts me straight up. Then I’m standing in the chair, looking him right in the eyes.
“You’re much more than another human to me,” he growls. The sound comes from deep down in his abdomen, and I hate how it tickles my nerves. I like it, but I don’t want to right now. “And I’m not screwing around.”
Behind the anger in his eyes, I see them soften again.
Part of me wants to shove him to keep him from going soft on me. That look has already dampened my resolve.
“Bypassing the wormhole and wasting transit time is going to get under Trex’s skin, but he’ll live. It buys me another day with you.”
I blink up at him. Wait, what?
I’m still trying to decode what he’s saying when his hands loosen and move to cup my face.
Those big, warm hands. I have butterflies in my stomach when I finally open my mouth. “You mean you—”
“—missed our turn on purpose? Sure, but he didn’t need to know that.”
The slow, sexy smile that spreads over his face gives me a surprising jolt to the ovaries.
“You’re a little infuriating, you know that?” I murmur with a grin.
“Hmm. Did you know your eyes and face light up when you’re angry? I’m just testing my boundaries,” he whispers with a chuckle. “These horns can only protect me from so much.”
I wrinkle my nose at his jest and give him a playful jab in the chest. He laughs and takes me by the arms again, holding them down at my side.
“See? You’re violent.”
“Passionate,” I correct.
His head tilts subtly with a nod. “I concur. Though I’d like to see more of that.”
His eyes flicker with a glowing heat as he lowers his head to kiss me feverishly, and I’m surprised by how wrong I’ve been.
My alien captor continues to shock me. He’s not only deliciously sexy, but he’s also a sneaky son of a bitch. And thank God for it.
Chapter 12
“What is this called again?” I ask, holding up the bowl of jambalaya-looking food that I’ve been devouring as ladylike as I can manage.
“Jollofia,” Dax says through a mouthful.
The bowls are filled with a starchy grain that’s clear and resembles tiny glass tubes. They’re cooked soft like rice and covered with a mess of brown and pink gravies, vegetables of all colors, and more of that yummy blue meat. Well, yummy as long as I don’t look at it much. Otherwise, I feel like I’m eating some crazy alien green eggs and ham.
Dax and I sit next to each other on a balcony overlooking a beautiful landscape. I don’t know how Zeus could miss this for a nap in the ship, but I guess dogs don’t appreciate a good view.
A lake stretches out over the planet’s horizon, speckled with tall trees growing out of the water’s surface. They sway in the soft breeze, full of tiny blue birds.
“It’s really good,” I murmur, scraping my bowl clean.
Dax’s hand flexes around my thigh, and I’m even more delighted.
The airship restaurant isn’t exactly like eating somewhere on Earth—I’d rather be on the ground than up in the air still—but at least I’m not out in space anymore. And this place has an amazing view.
In the sky above the lake, flowing streams of purples and pinks flicker among the stars. Like a rosy rendition of Earth’s northern lights.
It’s beautiful.
Dax’s hand slides up and down my thigh as he watches the phenomenon. It’s difficult to focus on everything at once. The lights. His sharp, handsome profile as he gazes at the sky. Even the horns seem normal now, which I suppose I’m okay with. All part of the package.
The biggest distraction may be that warm hand on my leg, inching beneath my skirt on occasion.
After he admitted his plan to steal me away for another day and kissed me in the cockpit, we let all the tension roll off and he carried me back to his bedroom. His hand on me now reminds me how needy and fulfilling that bout of passion was.
And how much I’d like to go back to that damn stuffy ship and do it again.
“Do you have family back on Earth?” Dax asks without moving his gaze from the lights.
We’ve been focusing on our first hot meal in over a day, so his deep-thought question catches me off guard.
“Not anymore.”
The answer pulls his attention and his eyes find mine. “No?”
I shake my head. “My mother passed away last year. There was no one else.”
His eyes soften and he nods. “No wonder you’re strong.”
The pull of a smile on my lips is unexpected. “I guess so. What about you? You seem pretty strong yourself.”
He shifts, his fingers toying with the hem of my skirt and my thigh beneath. “Do I? I’ve come to realize quite the opposite in the last few days.”
“What do you mean?”
His eyes and mouth gleam with a muted amusement as he lowers and shakes his head, waving the curl of his horns in the air. “You make me weak.”
The words are both delectable and distressing all at once. They make me squirm.
“I’m sorry,” I murmur.
His fingers
tighten on my leg again as his eyes lift back to mine. This time they’re sharp, focused. “I’m not.”
My breath stops.
A long silence falls as we gaze at one another and something warm and safe passes between us.
“What’s it like in Praezoria?” I whisper, unconsciously digging for any distraction to keep me from jumping in his lap in public.
He scoffs out a chuckle. “Hot.”
“Sounds better than that Mandoo place we went to freeze to death.”
“Just as long as you don’t get eaten by the yexon.”
“So like Mexico with blood-thirsty chupacabra?” I used to think those things weren’t real, but I didn’t believe in aliens either.
Dax lifts a brow, and I smile, sure he’s never heard of those things before.
“Praezoria is very different than it used to be. There’s not much left besides the yexon monsters and a few small villages. And the League.”
I gaze up at him as he stares up into the colored sky. “What’s the League?”
“An orphanage by most definitions. It’s where many of us still on Praezoria grew up.”
I can hear the ache in his voice and I slip my hand into his, cradling it in my lap. With the other, I run my fingers over his lower back and along the top of his tail. Just butterfly touches after realizing earlier that his tail is more sensitive than I thought.
“Are they who got you into…” My voice falters as I realize where my question was going.
But he only tightens his fingers in mine and tilts a brow. “Bounty hunting?”
I bite back a grimace as I recover from what feels like a faux pas, but at least he doesn’t look offended.
“Yes, that.”
“Most of the Praezorian League orphans do fall into hunting. We have a hub there, covers all of sectors three through eight. If you’re good at tracking, you can hunt for many years.”
“How long have you been hunting?”
He pauses, green eyes moving away from the clear mug of blue liquid he’s got halfway to his mouth. “Twelve years.”
I blink at him. “You’ve been abducting people for over a decade?”
The side of his mouth quirks up. “You think I go around abducting innocent people?”