Choosing Riley

by S. E. Smith

  “What about your family? Do you have anyone else back on Earth that will miss you?” Riley asked pushing her own fears and problems aside as she felt the depth of pain in Carmen’s words.

  Carmen shook her head. “No. Well, except for Trisha’s dad. My sister is mated to Creon’s older brother. She is all the family I have left.”

  Riley bit her lip and looked warily at Carmen. “Do you think that Vox did something to me? I know they can turn into a big pussy cat but surely that doesn’t mean he did anything to make me turn into one.”

  Carmen chuckled reluctantly as she looked at Riley’s pensive expression. “Truthfully, I don’t know. Vox, Titus, and Banu are the first Sarafin warriors I’ve ever met. It is just the things you are saying you are feeling sound an awful lot like some of the things I was feeling before I turned into a dragon for the first time.”

  “Great! So what happens when I get home and turn into a big hairball? I really don’t see the local humane society as being a great place to visit,” Riley growled out as she started heating up again. This time not because of the changes but because of a certain something a soon to be dead hairball forgot to mention!

  Chapter 15

  Riley let out another stream of curses as she bounced on Vox’s shoulder. The huge moron and the two traitors had tricked her. Ha’ven had reprogrammed the device he had given her and Creon had tricked her into coming down to the dining quarters on the pretense Carmen wanted to meet with her. Instead, Vox had been waiting. He had lived up to his promise that if he got his hands on her again he wasn’t going to let her go. He had snuck up behind her. The next thing she knew, he had twirled her around so she could see the determination in his face before he bent over and tossed her struggling, cursing body over his broad shoulder.

  “Let me go!” Riley yelled out as she clawed at her hair to get it out of her eyes. “Damn it Vox, I am not talking to you!”

  “You could have fooled me!” He chuckled. “You have threatened me with every possible means of dismemberment. I did not know a female could even think of some of the ways you described.”

  “I can easily think of a few more,” Riley snapped in irritation. “Let me down, you moron. This is totally messing my hair up and I’m wearing a skirt, you creep. I don’t want everyone seeing my underwear.”

  Vox’s chest rumbled with a purr as he ran his hand up her leg and under her skirt to touch the soft skin of her ass. He grinned in delight as Riley burst into another round of curses and dire threats of what she was going to do to him the moment she got free.

  “Stop that!” She squeaked in outrage even as her body heated up as he slid his hand over the cheek of her ass.

  Vox breathed in deeply, sighing in pleasure as he picked up her reaction to his touch. She still wanted him even if she refused to admit it. He was not going to let her remain under the misconception that she would be returning to Earth. Creon had told him what Carmen had shared about her conversation with Riley. He needed to get her onto the Shifter and back to Sarafin as soon as they met up with Creon’s brother, Mandra, and took care of Raffvin. Once he had her back on his planet, he would seal her in his quarters and make love to her until she accepted her fate.

  Riley sniffed in frustration, tears burning at the back of her eyes. She was so damn confused! She thought she had her emotions, and her body, back under some small amount of control but the moment he touched her it was like she had grabbed the wrong end of an electric fence. Her whole body came alive, inside and out. Hell, right now it felt like whatever had been moving around under her skin was trying to brush up against Vox.

  She drew in a deep, calming breath. The scent that exploded through her had her practically writhing with need which really pissed her off. Since when could she smell everything so much better? The warm, musky masculine fragrance made her think of cool forests, soft grass and hot bodies tangled around each other. Just the thought of it turned the burning need in her up another couple of notches. She was so going to kill his ass for making her feel this way!

  “Guall’s balls Riley, I need you,” Vox’s husky, deep voice muttered. “As soon as we are on my warship I am locking us in my living quarters,” he promised as he moved with long strides down the corridors, ignoring the warriors who stopped to stare.

  Riley trembled at the dark promise. “I can’t go with you. Cal and Mel said Creon is taking them back to Earth. I have to go back!” She wailed, trying to fight her own desires.

  “Never! I am never letting you go. My cat and I have claimed you. You are now my queen,” Vox growled out in fury. “I will never let you return to your world.”

  Riley bit her bottom lip. She couldn’t go with him! There were too many things she still needed to do. She had a family, damn it. It may be small and dysfunctional but it was still her family. Grandma Pearl, Tina and her might fight like roosters in a cock fight but they were still very loyal to each other. Then, there was her ex-boss and his insane father. She had a moral and ethical responsibility to stop them from hurting others, didn’t she? Finally, there was the fact that she didn’t want to turn into a hairball and eat people. She liked fur but turning into a walking coat complete with a tail was not on her bucket list of things to do before she died. Which was the added bonus to her reasons, she was bound to end up dead, it happened in every single movie she watched! No, she needed to stay where she was at and think with her head, not her heart.

  Riley gasped when she was suddenly lifted off of Vox’s shoulder. He slid her down his long, hard length until her feet touched the floor. She used her one free hand, he refused to let her other one go, to push her heavy mane of hair out of her eyes. She looked around, disoriented, before she noticed they were in the same docking bay they had arrived in several days earlier. Now though, there was a strange looking shuttle with a long narrow nose that gradually widened toward the back. A small group of men stood talking with Lodar and Tor. One of the men turned to look at her through narrow, intense eyes. Riley stumbled back a few steps before Vox’s grip on her wrist stopped her.

  “That is my younger brother Viper,” Vox stated looking down at her with a sharp-toothed smile. “I think he just found out about you.”

  “Great,” Riley hissed. “You carry me in here like a damn rug over your shoulder, messing up my hair and putting your hands where they don’t belong, then introduce me to family. That is so totally wrong on way too many levels.”

  Vox turned her around to face him. His face was cut in stone as he looked down at her defiant one. He could see the flash of fear in her eyes before she covered it up with that stubborn look she got. His heart melted a little when he realized that she was terrified but trying hard not to show it.

  “You do not have to be afraid,” he murmured quietly. “No one will hurt you. You will learn to adjust once you are on my world.”

  Riley’s eyes flashed at the reminder that she wasn’t being given a choice. Well, she thought savagely, since when have I ever let that stop me? All she needed to do was get back to her living quarters and lock herself in her room until they reached Earth. And, she thought savagely, I won’t be coming out until I see the big, blue marble for myself. No more trusting the two Cheshire cats!

  “I am not afraid because I am not going anywhere with you,” she hissed out as she kicked her pointed-toe boot into his skin.

  “Son of the Gods,” Vox yelped as he jumped back.

  Riley used her free hand to yank down on the weakest spot of his grip breaking free from his hold. That was a clever move that she learned in a Crisis Prevention Intervention class that she took with a bunch of teachers. She drew her hand back as Vox reached for her and popped him as hard as she could on the tip of his nose just the way her Grandma Pearl showed her. She cried out when she realized she forgot to keep her thumb on the outside of her hand but it still had the effect she was hoping for …. Vox’s head snapped back and she knew he would have tears in his eyes.

  Riley vaguely heard several of the men who were standing
next to the shuttle yell out as she made a dash for the doorway. She could hear Vox snarling out loud curses. She was almost to the doorway leading out of the docking bay when Bob and Fred came through it, blocking her escape.

  “Move! Move!” Riley screeched as she looked over her shoulder to see Vox turning to glare at her with murder in his eyes. “Oh shit! Move!”

  “Riley, what did you do to him this time?” Fred asked looking back and forth in terror as Vox started stomping toward them with blood trickling from his nose. “He doesn’t look like he is happy with you.”

  “You think I don’t know that?” Riley growled out. “Bob, get out of the way.”

  “Riley, you are his mate ….,” Bob started to say before his voice died.

  Riley glanced over her shoulder before she let out a loud groan. Turning, she raised her fists up and glared at Vox defiantly. He didn’t look pissed, he looked like a volcano about to blow its frigging top!

  “Vox, you just stay away from me,” she bit out. “I don’t want to have to hurt you but so help me I will if you don’t leave me alone! I am not your queen, I’m not your mate, I’m going home!”

  “I…. am…. going…. to …. whip…. your…. ass…. for …. this, Riley,” Vox gritted out slowly between his clenched teeth.

  Riley stumbled backwards as she took in his dark face. Maybe the bop on the nose had been a little too much. She might have been able to get away with just the kick. Right now, she was cursing the fact that she didn’t have her mini-Taser or pepper spray on her.

  Note to self, she thought frantically, never go anywhere without it.

  “Just let me go,” she responded softly trying to get him to understand that this really wasn’t a good idea. “I’m nothing but a pain in the ass, just ask my grandma and sister. They were forever telling me I was a headache waiting to happen. I don’t belong on your world. I’m not queen material. Hell, I’m not even girlfriend material!” She added with a self-depreciating smile. “Just ask any of the guys who thought I was. Not a single one lasted more than a week.”

  Vox slowed as he came to tower over her. He shook his head as he took in her delicately raised fists. He could see the redness on her knuckles where she had hit him. His eyes roamed over her face as she stared up at him with wide blue eyes. The fierce determination on her face showed she really believed what she was saying. His eyes paused on where she was biting her lower lip. His body jerked in response as he remembered her soft kisses on his face, neck and chest while he made love to her. He could see the pulse beating rapidly in her neck, begging him to taste her sweet blood again. As he stared at the rapidly beating vein it dawned on him that she was terrified.

  Take mate, his cat hissed at him. Mate fight but I want my mate.

  She’s scared, Vox murmured. She acts tough but she is really very scared.

  We protect. We teach her to love us, his cat snarled back, pacing. I feel my mate. She is close.

  I know, Vox replied carefully. I think that is one of the things scaring her. I will not let her go.

  Good, his cat purred. I need her.

  So do I, my friend, so do I, Vox replied.

  “Riley, I won’t let you go,” he responded quietly.

  He reached for her in a move so fast it startled her. She reacted without thinking, swinging her arm around. Poor Fred was standing off to the side so when Vox grabbed her one wrist she turned, knocking him upside his right head which knocked it into his left one. He howled in pain as Riley turned again to hit Vox in the stomach. Vox pulled her arm around behind her back, twirling her and her fist became stuck in Bob’s rounded belly instead.

  “Now look what you’ve made me do!” She cried out, struggling to break the hold Vox had on her arm which was behind her back. “I’m stuck. Let me go!”

  “Let her go!” Carmen’s voice rang out from the doorway behind Bob who was trying to pull Riley’s hand out of his stomach.

  “Carmen,” Creon warned as he grabbed his mate who was moving into a defensive stance. “Let him take care of her.”

  “She told him to let her go. This is her decision,” Carmen snapped back at Creon before turning back toward Vox. “She doesn’t want to go with you. She wants to return to her family back on Earth.”

  Vox glared at Carmen over his mate’s head. “She is mine!” He snarled back. “She goes with me.”

  “For the last time, I am not yours! I am Riley St. Claire from Denver, Colorado and I am going home - alive, in one piece, without things bursting out of me or changing me into a zombie, or making me want to eat dead people,” Riley cried out in frustration as Bob finally freed her hand from his stomach. “Oh Fred baby, I’m so sorry I hit you. Vox shouldn’t have moved.”

  “That’s okay, Riley,” Fred said shuffling backwards away from where she was still trying to break free from Vox. “It doesn’t hurt that much.”

  “Riley, if you want to stay I’ll help you get home,” Carmen said taking a step closer.

  “Yes, I want ….” Riley started to say before she found herself lifted into a pair of arms that closed around her like steel bands.

  Carmen’s outraged cry echoed with Riley’s as Creon lifted her into his arms as well. “Get her to your shuttle now, Vox,” Creon growled out as his own mate began to struggle.

  “Creon, so help me I am going to put your ass down for this,” Carmen snapped out as she tried to break free of her mate’s hold.

  “I am not going with him, damn it!” Riley yelled getting one of her hands free and pulling on Vox’s short hair as hard as she could.

  “That’s it! Viper, get me some restraining cuffs,” Vox yelled out over his shoulder at his brother who had been watching the whole scene with disbelief.

  “Here you go, brother,” Viper said looking on as his brother lowered the voluptuous alien female down to the floor of the docking bay. “Are you sure you want to bring her?” He asked as he handed his brother the restraining cuffs.

  Vox growled out as he straddled his mate, holding her face down with one hand between her shoulder blades while he used his other hand to grab at her flailing wrist. He pulled first one than the other around and cuffed them. The thought of taking her like this burned through him with such ferocity that he had to close his eyes and recite another training script before he could rise up off her.

  “Bob! Fred! Do something!” Riley wailed as she was rolled over and picked up again. “You have to help me!”

  Bob put a hand out to stop Fred when he took a step toward Riley. “He will be a good mate for you, Riley St. Claire from Denver, Colorado. I will always be there should you need me.”

  “I need you now, you big bowl of Jell-O,” Riley sniffed. “You have to help me get back home.”

  Bob smiled gently and moved closer to where Vox was tenderly holding her now quiet form. He reached out and touched her cheek with a plump, green finger before stepping back again. He looked fiercely at Vox who fought back a grin that the huge, gentle Gelatian would think to threaten him.

  “I am sending you home, Riley,” Bob said, still looking at Vox. “I am sending you where you should be.”

  Riley’s face turned mutinous as she glared at the huge green creature that she thought had been her friend. He was just like the rest of the male species. They take what they want and don’t give a damn about the consequences. A fat tear rolled down her flushed cheek as she glared at Bob with a look of betrayal.

  “I thought you were my friend,” she sniffed. “I should have known better.”

  Bob looked down sadly at Riley. “I am your friend, Lady Riley. That is exactly why I am doing what I am.”

  “But….” Fred’s right head started to say before his left head turned and hushed him.

  “Bob’s right. Riley is Vox’s mate. We cannot interfere,” Fred’s left head said sternly.

  “I don’t need either one of you!” Riley said hoarsely. “I can get away on my own. You just wait. The first trader I find I’m going to kidnap his ass and make him take
me home. You just wait and see! I’ll be home before you know it!”

  “I hate to break up this little party but we’ve got to go! I just received a message from Adalard that they need help. Mandra has gone in after Raffvin,” Ha’ven said grimly coming up behind everyone.

  “Vox,” Viper said drawing his older brother’s attention back to the situation at hand. “We must go.”

  Vox nodded grimly, cursing Creon’s brother for confronting their uncle on his own. He had read the reports sent to Creon about the destructive weapon Raffvin had that could destroy their symbiot. If Mandra was killed, it would mean the death of Carmen’s sister, Ariel, as well. It was foolish for him to take such a chance but Vox knew he would have done the same thing if given half a chance. The Shifter would travel beside the Horizon to Raffvin’s hidden base. He was determined to make the traitorous Valdier royal pay for what he had done not only to him, but to his friends.

  Chapter 16

  Riley twisted around until she was in a sitting position on the bed. Vox had continued to ignore her protests as he and the other men boarded the shuttle that took them to the other warship. Riley had been quiet when they had exited the shuttle simply because she was too scared to say anything. There were hundreds of tall, deadly looking men working on the huge ship. Well, they were working until they saw Vox carrying her possessively in his arms. If she thought Viper and some of the other warriors were intimidating, it was nothing compared to a ship load of dark, suspicious and intense stares. Only Lodar and Tor were at ease, joking as one carried her huge handbag and the other rolled her bright pink suitcase behind Vox as he carried her down corridor after corridor. She had gotten so confused she knew it would take her a month to figure out how to get back to the docking bay.

  He had quickly deposited her on the bed. His fierce look and the grim tightening of his lips should have warned her he wasn’t going to undo the restraining cuffs he had put on her. Instead, he had attached them to a metal bar at the head of the bed. She had called him every single name she could think of from a hairy-ass horny toad to a grub-eating parasite. Tor and Lodar had chuckled until she started in on them. Vox growled out under his breath at them and the two laughing hyenas disappeared leaving them alone.