She played her hand on the wall, tapping and stroking. Nothing. How did they make the damn thing open?
The room listed to one side. She fell on her butt, sliding across the room to the bed where she ended with the covers flopping over her. The room tilted upright again. There was a shriek and the craft shuddered.
What the hell was happening? Who the hell was trying to fly this thing, anyway?
Orgasms, it seemed they could do. Fly a craft? Not so good.
Just great.
She scrambled back to her feet and pounded on the wall. If the door wouldn’t open for her, she’d damn well make it. There was another violent shudder and parts of the wall disintegrated before her eyes. The next thing she knew, she was face to face with Klaej.
He jerked to a halt, his brows rising up high on his forehead. “Mate? You’re awake?”
“You bet I am.” She thrust the device into his eight pack and pressed the switch.
The blue light did its job and Klaej collapsed to the floor like a ton of man-mountain.
She winced with the thud. “Sorry big guy, but I’ve gotta get back home.”
“Mate…”
She paused as she stepped over him. “The name’s Riley.”
“Riley. Use the Corrective on me. Please. You’re in danger,” Klaej said.
He looked so concerned for her, she might almost think it was real, but she knew the real nature of people, and they were selfish. She’d learned that firsthand the hard way. No way was she going back to being that naïve again. She knelt, tracing the lean length of his hard jaw, marveling at how much his skin felt like suede beneath her touch.
“I know I’m in danger. From you. That’s why I have to go.”
She couldn’t help the strange pull that made her bend down and catch his lips with hers, or the way she thrust her tongue into his mouth for one last taste.
When she moved back, she was tugged into his gaze. To the urgency and worry in his eyes.
“You don’t know what you’re doing,” he said, voice hoarse.
Her mouth twisted into a cynical line. “I know exactly what I’m doing. Your mistake was underestimating me. I told you I was a soldier, but what I didn’t say was that I’m a damn good one.”
There was another shudder and an ear-shattering shriek thundered about her. She cringed, putting her hands to her ears. The craft tilted and Klaej’s nerveless body slid across the corridor.
She flew over to him, covering him with her body. The breath whooshed out of her as her back slammed into the wall and Klaej’s inert body squashed her. She’d saved him from a few bruises, the least she could do since she’d rendered him helpless.
“Mate!” Klaej grimaced. “Are you hurt?”
She struggled out from the small space she was trapped in. She winced as she gently prodded her ribs. Pain flared beneath her touch and when she filled her lungs, white hot pain made her lightheaded. Looked like her ribs hadn’t fared too well.
“To be expected,” she said, steadying her breathing as much as she could.
A breeze ruffled her hair. A crack of light streamed through a door on the wall of the corridor outside.
The jolt must have opened it. How handy.
This was her chance.
She gave Klaej another peck. There was no time for kissing, despite an instinctive urge for more. An uncomfortable knot formed in her stomach as she wiggled up and over his body. She straddled him, his hardness pressed against the core of her body, and she almost groaned out loud. Lust boiled up inside her, achy, needy, white-hot and instinctive.
She shuddered and gave in to her urges. She lay over the top of him and thrust her tongue into his mouth. He tasted so good. So tempting.
Limbs trembling as she forced herself to move, she pushed against his chest and resolutely stood up. She had to go before one of the others came looking for them.
“Goodbye, Klaej. It’s been… interesting. Say goodbye to the others for me, can you?”
His skin morphed from emerald to the most stunning crimson as her gaze skittered over his body. Her heart hammered in her chest. Every cell in her body screamed at her to stay at his side. To seek Rujali and Setzan. To have the completeness of all four of them.
She eyed the door.
Utter nonsense.
His features twisted as though in pain, his eyes full of terror, “Mate. Don’t go. You don’t know what you’re doing.”
She sent him a lopsided grin that felt more like a grimace. She tucked the device into his waistband, despite it being her weapon. She was resourceful. She’d find something else. She didn’t want him helpless for longer than he had to be. “I’m sorry I did this to you. Hopefully one of the others will come soon, but I have to get home. You have to understand.”
“Your home is with us.”
“I’m so sorry, Klaej.”
Funny how that had a ring of truth of it. She had to be delirious.
She stood, making her body move almost against her will. She took one long last look at him before she forced herself to the door.
She yanked it open and squinted in the bright sunshine, putting a hand up to shield her eyes. Oppressive heat beat down on her, crushing compared to the relative coolness of inside the craft.
She perched on the lip of the open doorway. Beneath her, sand and small rocks raced by. Impact would be a bitch, but there was no choice. These men were possessive and it was clear they weren’t going to let her out of their sight long enough for another chance of escape. She could be trapped with them for a very long time. Even the risk of a broken bone or two was better than being held captive by three, very strong, very virile men. They could do anything to her and she’d didn’t have a hope of fighting them off.
Surrounding them, the landscape was flat, arid, and desert-like. The horizon was marked by a black dome that was quickly shrinking into the distance. At a guess, that was her space port. And her way home. There was no choice.
She glanced back at Klaej, but ignored the lurch of her heart.
There was a flash of light and an impact that made the craft shudder. It listed sideways. Right in front of her, the wing of the craft struck the ground with a resounding crunch, crumpling with the impact. Grains of sand and gravel flicked up and struck her. White-hot darts of pain burst over her body. She covered her face with her hand.
“Riley!” Klaej roared from behind her.
She slipped, blind, and reached for the doorframe. Her hand passed through air. She overbalanced and lost her footing.
And fell.
Chapter Eleven
Riley
Pain radiated from her shoulder with the impact of an unforgiving ground. She rolled over and over, bouncing across gravel, grit, and hard sand until she finally flopped to a stop in a heap.
She ignored the sharpness of pain radiating all over her body. She was adept at compartmentalizing any physical hurts. That was part of that training she was thankful for. She tensed her limbs, testing them out. Nothing broken. Skin intact. She could get by with scrapes and bruises. She wasn’t incapacitated.
A thunderous boom blasted over her. Their craft had travelled quite a distance while she’d come up close and personal with the ground. Her head shot up to see the wing had broken right off and remained lodged in the ground. The craft spun like a top on its belly, spraying a wave of dirt and gravel into the air. She put her hands over her ears as metal wrenched and screamed.
The remaining wing struck a large boulder and spun it in another direction. A great dent appeared down the middle of the craft and sheared apart, cracking it open like the brittle shell of an egg. Two halves finally came to rest in a crumpled heap of metal.
The sound of silence was deafening.
“Oh, my God!” Riley staggered to her feet and took a couple of loping steps.
Dust cleared, falling to the ground. There was no movement.
She swallowed through a dry throat.
What if they were injured? What if they were trapp
ed beneath a twisted hulk of metal. In pain. Bleeding out.
She’d left Klaej defenseless.
Her mind strung a series of horrible scenarios together. All included twisted limbs, blood, and gore.
She took another staggering step forward. She had to go there. Find them. Help them. She’d wanted to get away, yes, but she also didn’t want them to be injured or worse. They didn’t deserve that. She found herself limping towards the craft, heart strumming in her throat, mind trying to ride over the turmoil of jagged thoughts.
Her training kicked in. She’d been in plenty of attacks where soldiers were injured. Been first on scene in many. She knew what to do.
Only…
Only this time it was different.
She couldn’t seem to disconnect from her emotions. Couldn’t find the calm in the storm that would help her to do what she had to do. She needed a clear head, damn it. She didn’t need to think. She just needed to act. This shouldn’t be personal.
But it was.
Rujali. Setzan. Klaej.
Damn it all to hell. They meant something to her. Against all logic, they did.
She mentally shook her head. It had to be the shock. Why else would she be limping back to three men who could more than take care of themselves?
Because she couldn’t leave them. Because a soldier didn’t leave people to bleed out, to be in pain. To die.
She was a soldier, and duty came first.
That was what she told herself, and for the moment, that was all she cared to dwell on.
She would just go back. Make sure they were alive and okay, and then she would get back to the airfield and find a way home.
She was a soldier. A soldier. She repeated that to herself with each step. Nothing more. Nothing less.
Her heart did that strange little lurching thing again. She wasn’t going to listen to her heart, though. Soldiers didn’t get emotionally involved. It led to…
Well, it led to feeling like this.
She forced herself not to care. Not beyond her moral duty.
As a soldier.
She grit her teeth and concentrated on taking another step.
Something flashed from the dark mouth of a cave. She dropped to her belly. Keeping a low profile made it harder to be spotted at ground level.
Figures slunk out from inside the cave. Hissing and clacking sounds echoed over the ground. The same reptilian monsters from before! Her jaw ached from the pressure of clenching her teeth.
The dull green scales on the monsters reflected metallically. Their chests were bare, highlighting small, thin arms, but they wore weapons like clothing, more than making up for their limbs, although they weren’t completely harmless. She knew that from experience.
She studied them while she hid, needing to understand her enemy, assessing them for strengths and weaknesses. They were a cross between a gigantic iguana and a velociraptor. Several had a row of razor-sharp scales that ran from the top of their heads to the tips of their tails. Their tails were tipped with a lethal talon, reminding her of a scorpion. These creatures were built to fight.
They walked towards the downed craft in an organized clip, suggesting they were intelligent and had training. They were observant, orderly, and calm. They knew what they were doing. These creatures were dangerous. And they were on their way to the craft—with her men still on board.
The breath caught in her throat. “Come on, guys. They’re coming. Get out of there!”
She strained her eyes until they watered, but there was no movement from the craft. They could escape through the still-open hatch, or through the gigantic tear right through the center.
“Where are you?” she muttered to herself.
The Reptile monsters each held an evil-looking weapon that reminded her of a cross between a bazooka and a rifle.
“Come on,” she whispered under her breath.
But then several of the Reptiles reached the craft and disappeared into the gaping hole. The others remained outside, turning their backs to the craft and keeping a watchful eye.
She hardly dared to breathe. She was right out in the open. Any movement, no matter how slight, could be seen.
Why aren’t they fighting?
There was something wrong. Something really wrong.
Her men didn’t seem like the type to go down quietly.
Her men? She pushed away the thought for later.
After too long, there was movement at the hole.
Rujali appeared.
Her heart leapt.
He jumped from the craft to the ground and staggered forward. Blood oozed from a wound in his forehead, covering his head and dripping onto his shirt. Setzan appeared next, holding someone on both of his shoulders. Klaej! They hadn’t reversed the numbing wand!
As she watched, Setzan manhandled Klaej’s dead weight to Rujali. Klaej tumbled onto Rujali. A man not as strong would have fallen to the ground beneath the dead weight, but Rujali positioned Klaej and threw him over his shoulder in a classic fireman position.
Klaej’s skin was pure crimson, so she couldn’t tell if he was bleeding or not. But if he couldn’t move, then he wouldn’t have been able to protect himself in the crash.
Setzan jumped to the ground, his entire side shone with fresh blood. He used the momentum to lurch to a Reptile, snapping his fist into its jaw. There was a commotion of hissing and clacking. A Reptile aimed a bazooka at Rujali’s head.
Her entire body stiffened as a reptile slammed the end of the bazooka into Setzan’s head. Setzan fell to his knees.
“Brother, stop! Stand down!” Rujali’s booming voice rang out over the distance. Even hurt, he was to be respected. All three men stood down, hands held out to their sides, palms open to show they held no weapons. They were surrendering!
Riley swallowed a scream. Every cell in her body called for her to run over there and rip those creatures apart. But that wouldn’t achieve anything except get herself captured as well.
A river of red ran down Setzan’s temples. He shook his head, before wobbling to his feet. He steadied himself, hooking a gaze to the Reptile that had struck him that even made her quake in her boots.
The Reptiles herded them into the cave. She didn’t know if it was because they were hurt, or if it was that Klaej was totally helpless, but they didn’t fight back.
It was her fault they’d been captured. If she hadn’t rendered Klaej unprotected, if she’d stayed with them, they could all have fought. Instead, they’d been captured by those monsters.
They disappeared into the darkness of the cave. Except for the sound of grains of sand moving across the hard-packed dirt when the wind gusted, silence rained all around. Still, she didn’t move. She was completely unprotected out here. There wasn’t even a boulder to hide behind.
So she remained still, until she was half-covered with sand. Until her mouth felt as dry as the ground. Until her turbulent thoughts and self-recrimination engulfed her. Until it was dark enough to move with a modicum of safety.
She half crouched and slowly, so slowly, made her way to the craft. She ignored protesting muscles that had stiffened, dryness that stuck her tongue to the top of her mouth, and grit that had made its way under her eyelids.
If she had any hope of rescuing her men, she would need a weapon. And not just one. Luckily, she knew exactly where to find them.
Going against those Reptile fuckers wasn’t going to be easy. They were huge, strong, violent, immoral and had it in for her from the start. She’d be going in to an unmapped territory blind without any backup and the men she was going to rescue were injured and probably wouldn’t be able to help her fight her way back out if they caught her.
She put one foot in front of the other until she reached the wreck of the jet. If this was going to go bad, which it had a good chance of going, she’d go out on her own terms and take as many hideous Reptiles as she could, suicide mission or not.
Chapter Twelve
Rujali
Rujali pro
pped Klaej against the rock wall of the small cell they’d been stuffed into. By way of cell, it wasn’t too bad. Not if the impenetrable solid rock floor and walls could be ignored.
It seemed the scaled ones had merely rammed primitive bars into a natural occurring alcove. It was a tight fit, with barely enough room for the three of them to move, but effective. A strength test of the bars with barely contained curses had told him that.
He’d been knocked unconscious in the crash. A bulkhead had snapped off and smashed his head. When he’d come around, the jet was at an odd angle. He’d struggled to stand, fighting against his pounding head, the first thing he’d done was look for Riley and his brothers.
He’d found Klaej surrounded by reptiles, his body limp in the corner of the room. He’d drawn his blade, ready to fight when one of them had rammed the end of its weapon against Klaej’s head.
There’d been a scuffle when several had brought an injured Setzan into the room. There’d been ten reptiles, and three of them. Not bad odds, but Klaej was unconscious, Seztan was injured and there’d been no sign of Riley. He wasn’t going to risk anything if they had her.
Klaej had come to, but still didn’t move. Rujali thought he was more severely uninjured, but then Klaej had muttered something about the analgesic that their mate had used it on him. Rujali would have been amused, were it not for the fact their mate was nowhere to be seen.
He was worried sick not knowing where she was. Had she been injured, or worse?
A harsh growl erupted from the base of his chest.
Setzan sagged against the wall, his face dewy with sweat. Blood seeped between his fingers from a puncture wound in his side. “At least they didn’t find her. She could be safe.”
Worry etched harsh lines in his forehead, anyway.
Rujali settled next to Setzan on the floor. “Easy, brother.”
He carefully peeled back Setzan’s hand. Blood oozed from the wound. It needed to be treated, and soon, judging by the amount of blood that stained his side. “How did this happen?”
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