Rescued

by Presley Hall

  With a ragged cry, I empty myself inside her, the relief of it greater than anything I’ve ever known.

  It takes me a moment to come back to myself. I feel her slump against my chest, panting hard as she buries her face into my neck, my softening cock still inside of her.

  “Oh, god,” she manages, pushing her damp hair away from her face as she finally finds the strength to slide off of me. “Oh… god.”

  “Agreed,” I manage weakly, trying to catch my own breath. I look over at her, a small smile on my lips as I finally manage to sit up, reaching for her and pulling her into my lap. I slide my hand over her breast and kiss her neck softly as I glance over at the pool. “Another bath?”

  “That sounds like a good idea,” Autumn agrees, her voice still faint.

  “And then…” I look down at her as I gently help her back into the water. “Maybe we do that again?”

  Her laughter, echoing through the small room, is the best sound I’ve ever heard.

  23

  Autumn

  I wake in bed with Sorsir, wrapped in his arms.

  I’m sore, aching in every muscle… and happier than I’ve ever been in my life.

  The moment when I thought I was leaving him behind forever seems a million years behind me, from another lifetime altogether. The memory of our hot, sweaty sex last night sends a warm flush through me, and as he shifts in the bed beside me, I snuggle closer to him, happy to be in the safe, strong circle of his arms.

  I love him. I couldn’t deny it any longer, and honestly, it’s a relief to have said it out loud.

  And to know that he feels it in return…

  I never thought I could feel comfort or safety or happiness in a man’s arms again. I never imagined spending my life with someone, being so closely bound to them that we never wanted to be separated.

  But somehow, I’ve found that.

  With an alien, no less.

  Sorsir told me last night as we lay in bed that he hopes we’ll be able to return to Kalix soon. He told me about his planet, more about the capital city and the lush country that surrounds it, and I fell asleep with those images dancing behind my eyes. With the idea of a new place, a new home, filling my thoughts. A place for me to start over with him, to have a new life.

  As if he can sense my thoughts, my mate stirs next to me. His mouth brushes against my shoulder, my cheek, and then finally my lips as I turn to face him, my body stretching out alongside his. I can feel him hardening against my thigh from that simple motion, and ideas of what we could do next spring into my head.

  Sorsir chuckles, the sound rumbling in his chest.

  “I wish I had time for that this morning.” He grimaces, running a hand over my bare waist and down to my hip. “But I’m going to have to eat quickly and go find Tordax before the morning’s training exercises.”

  “Why?” My brows draw together, concern flickering through me.

  He frowns, sitting up in bed as the blankets pool tantalizingly around his hips, just covering the part of him I want to touch the most at the moment.

  “I’ve killed several of O’Hozo’s men now, Autumn. It was in defense of you and Chloe, and I don’t regret it,” he adds quickly, “and I don’t think Tordax will blame me. But as the leader of a criminal outfit, O’Hozo isn’t going to stand for that. Someone will have seen it and reported back to him—a man like him probably has eyes all over. He’ll want retribution, and Tordax needs to be aware of what’s happened so that we can plan for what to do.”

  He does well at hiding it, but I can tell he feels guilty.

  Sorsir’s people have been trying to lie low for the entire time that they’ve been here, to fight in the arena and avoid trouble until they can get home, and now he’s brought the attention of a mob boss to them.

  I have, if we’re being entirely honest, and I feel the same guilt flood me. If it weren’t for me, Sorsir would never have killed O’Hozo’s henchman in the street all those weeks ago, and he would never have taken me back to his pod.

  Nothing that followed would have happened, and he wouldn’t be facing down the fury of a criminal boss now.

  Sorsir looks over at me and shakes his head, reaching out to touch my face gently. “Autumn, I know what you’re thinking, and don’t. Whatever happens next, I wouldn’t trade it. If I’d never found you…” He trails off, his expression darkening. “I’d fight off a dozen O’Hozos and their men if it meant keeping you and Chloe, having the family that you’ve given me. Nothing is more important to me than that. You’ve made me a better man, and whatever sacrifices are required to keep you safe, I’ll happily make them.”

  “But will Tordax and the others feel the same way?” I ask, biting my lip nervously.

  “He would do the same for Rose.” Sorsir’s voice is firm. “He will understand. And the rest will follow what he chooses.” He leans over and kisses me fiercely, still holding my face in his hand. “It will be fine, Autumn. I promise. But I do need to go.”

  I watch him get out of bed, his long and muscular body flexing deliciously as he strides across the room to tie on his loincloth, and I see the heat in his eyes as I get up too. His gaze rakes over my nude body as I reach for my other wrap dress, the red one with the gold trim.

  “I like these dresses on you.” He steps closer, flicking the cord at my breasts with one finger. “Although I plan to keep you out of them most of the time, on Kalix.”

  “We’ll have to leave the house eventually,” I tease him. “You’ll want me covered then, surely.”

  “No one else lays their eyes on you undressed ever again,” he says firmly, cupping my breast in one broad palm. I shiver as his thumb slides over it, and then he tears himself away with a groan. “Come on,” he says. “Get Chloe, I want you to come with me. I’ll fix us a quick breakfast while you get her dressed. Or else we’re going to wind up back in bed.”

  That wouldn’t be so bad.

  My lips twitch at the thought, but I know he’s right. I give him a quick smile and then go to collect Chloe, who doubtless is starting to wake up. I was hoping he’d see fit to talk to Tordax alone—the commander still makes me nervous despite his connection to Rose—but I can understand Sorsir not wanting to let us out of his sight.

  I’m anxious too. There’s every chance that O’Hozo has figured out where I’m staying by now. The last thing I want is to be alone in the pod with Chloe if someone breaks in.

  The determination that I saw in my mate’s eyes makes me feel safer than I have in a long time though. I know he’ll do whatever it takes to keep us protected. That’s something I’ve never had, someone I can depend on to protect me. It’s a strange, almost foreign feeling, but it’s one I could definitely get used to.

  I can take care of myself, but it’s good to not have to do it alone.

  After a quick breakfast of eggs, fruit, and a coarse bread that Sorsir seems to like, I gather up Chloe and follow him out to Tordax’s pod. Rose answers the door, and her face brightens immediately when she sees Chloe in my arms.

  “We’re here to see Tordax,” Sorsir says. “I need to talk with him, it’s important.”

  “Come in.” We hear Tordax’s gruff voice from inside, and Rose collects Chloe from me, whispering that she’ll watch her while we talk to her mate.

  “I have two things I need to speak to you about,” Sorsir tells him, and Tordax leans back against the wall, surveying him with a careful, considering expression.

  “Go on.” He gives a single nod, brows slightly furrowed.

  Sorsir reaches for my hand, threading his fingers through mine.

  “Autumn has recognized the mate bond between us,” he says, and I can feel the joy flooding him as he speaks the words out loud. “She is my Irisa, and I am hers. And when we return to Kalix, she and her child wish to come with me.”

  Tordax glances at me, and I feel a quick jolt of fear, a sudden worry that maybe he won’t approve, that he’ll tell Sorsir no.

  Can he tell him no?

&
nbsp; What would happen if he does?

  But then he smiles at me and Sorsir, nodding again, more emphatically this time.

  “That’s wonderful news.” His tone is even and measured, but I can hear the thread of happiness in his voice. “I’ve hoped that the bond might manifest for others, that it wouldn’t only be myself and Rose. This is good news for our people, Sorsir.”

  “I’m glad you’re pleased.” Some of the tension drains from my mate, and my own muscles relax a bit in response.

  “And what else, then?” Tordax glances at him, pushing off of the wall to go to the nearby table and collect his weapons belt. “The men will be gathering for training soon. We should get out to the yard.”

  Sorsir winces. “The other is… not such good news.”

  I watch Tordax’s face darken as Sorsir explains what’s happened. He spares no detail as he describes my background with O’Hozo, my escape, O’Hozo’s pursuit of me, and finally what he did on the landing dock yesterday to rescue me and Chloe.

  Tordax doesn’t look angry, exactly, but I can see irritation in his face, his forehead wrinkling as he crosses his arms and looks sternly at Sorsir.

  “You’ve put us all in danger,” he says, his voice low and quiet. “It’s my duty to see that my men are safe, and by extension our mates, as well as the Terran women for whom we’ve taken responsibility. Your actions have drawn attention to us all and endangered our purpose here.”

  Sorsir lifts his chin, squaring his shoulders.

  “I know.” Guilt colors his tone, but his voice grows stronger as he continues speaking, more determined. “But you trained me to be a good warrior, Commander, the best among us. And the best warriors fight for what they love. That’s what we’ve done all these years—fought for what we love most, our people and our home. We’ve fought for the love of battle and the glory of Kalix and to make sure that the Orkun pay for what they’ve done, until the last of us is too feeble to hold a weapon.”

  Conviction rings in his voice, and he glances down at me, his eyes softening.

  “But now I have something else that I love, something else to protect as well. And so I’ve done as you taught me, Commander. I’ve fought to protect her and her child. And I have no regrets about doing so. I will protect them alone if need be, but it’s my hope that you’ll stand at my side, as I’ve always stood at yours.”

  My heart swells with love, the feeling so overwhelming I almost can’t bear it. My fingers curl tightly around Sorsir’s as I look up at him. The devotion and passion in his voice is real, sincere, and it’s hard for me to believe that I have this at last.

  Tordax shifts his weight, drawing my gaze as he crosses his arms over his chest. Something warm gleams in his eyes as he regards Sorsir, and I think I understand what it is.

  Sorsir has always been the most reckless of the men. Hell, he himself admitted as much to me.

  But now Tordax is seeing Sorsir take responsibility and grow into the man and warrior that I’m sure his commander always hoped he could be. The pride and respect in Tordax’s face echoes my own, and I squeeze Sorsir’s hand tightly.

  “The Alpha Force is a team.” Tordax gives a decisive nod. “What affects one of us affects all of us. And I don’t wish to lose anyone else, the way we’ve lost Harper and Malav.” He looks at me kindly, and then back at Sorsir. “The Alpha Force will help defend Autumn and Chloe from O’Hozo and his men, whatever happens.”

  I bite my lip as relief nearly turns my bones to jelly. And it’s not just relief that I won’t face the demons of my past alone. It’s bigger than that. It’s… belonging.

  I’m a part of this family now, this motley group that has managed to scratch out a temporary home here.

  “Thank you, Tordax,” I murmur, wishing there were adequate words to convey everything I really want to say.

  “Of course. You have my word,” he says firmly. “You will be safe.”

  Sorsir tells me to stay with Rose while he and Tordax go to tell the other women to join us in this pod. It’s the largest of the living quarters, so it makes sense as a gathering place.

  “You’re safer here, in numbers,” my mate says firmly. “And it will be easier to guard you if you’re all in one place. We’ll leave some small weapons with you. We’ll go to the training yard in small groups, leaving warriors posted in front of the door and more outside of the building.”

  As Tordax straps on his weapons and turns to go, Sorsir reaches for me, grasping my waist and pulling me to him as he bends his head and gives me a searing kiss. It leaves me gasping in his arms, my hands tangling in his hair as I kiss him back with a passion that matches his.

  It occurs to me that there’s a possibility something could happen to him, that O’Hozo could hurt him, even kill him. That the mob boss might somehow get to Chloe and me, that we might be separated from Sorsir.

  That I could still lose him.

  But he would always come for me. I know that now. And as for him being hurt… I can’t think of it. I have to believe that it won’t happen, that with his abilities and the strength of the Alpha Force behind him, they’ll succeed in driving O’Hozo and his men away.

  Fate brought us together, and I have to believe that it won’t allow us to lose each other, not so soon after we’ve found happiness.

  It doesn’t take long for O’Hozo to arrive.

  Sorsir was right—the alien crime lord undoubtedly has a network of spies through the city, and after the spectacle of violence Sorsir put on yesterday, gossip must’ve been buzzing throughout Monri. It wouldn’t take much for O’Hozo to piece together who came to my rescue and where I’m staying.

  Lucy is out on the balcony, crouched and looking down at the courtyard below where the entrance to the building is located, and when she comes scuttling back inside, her blue eyes wide and nervous, I know that the man I ran from four years ago is here.

  “There’s an alien outside who fits the description. I think it’s O’Hozo,” she says, her voice low. “And he’s got a lot of men with him. Thirty or so, maybe. They’re all armed to the teeth.”

  Fuck. That many?

  My heart clenches in my chest. I have to see for myself.

  I gingerly creep out onto the balcony, peering out. My stomach turns to water as my eyes take in the sight before me, my throat suddenly choked with fear.

  “It’s him?” Lucy asks.

  I nod, the movement jerky as fear floods my body. “It’s him.”

  Turning on my heel, I slip quickly back inside, taking Chloe from Rose and gathering her up in my arms. Outside, I can hear voices from the open window—the growling, angry tones of O’Hozo and the calmer voice of Tordax, likely trying to find a diplomatic solution before it all turns to violence.

  But when Lucy comes back inside after me, her face pale, I know that whatever talking he tried to do, it’s failed.

  She yanks the curtains shut, her eyes wide and fearful as she comes to huddle on the couch with the other women. Emma is sitting on the floor, her legs crossed and arms wrapped around herself, gaze nervously darting around the room. Nadia, Beth, and Madison are huddled together, hands gripping each other tightly. There’s a sort of hushed tension in the air. No one is quite sure what to do except stay quiet and hope that the warriors outside will be enough to keep us safe.

  I’ve never seen any fighting force like the Kalixians. The numbers aren’t even—O’Hozo has more men. But surely Sorsir and his force, with all of their brawn and experience, can outfight a bunch of criminal underworld scum.

  But as the sounds of the fight continue, even I can’t stop the anxiety growing in my stomach. The shouts and sounds of clashing weapons grow louder and louder. One of the other women, Cora, pushes the curtains back to look outside, ignoring Lucy’s hissed warning to stay back, and then quickly comes back in, her face white and bloodless.

  “It’s a full-on battle out there,” she says. “What if… what if…”

  She doesn’t have to finish the sentence; we all k
now what she’s thinking.

  What if they break through? What if they get inside? What if they defeat the Kalixians?

  It’s too horrible to think about, and Lucy shushes her, pulling her aside and comforting her with two of the other women while I try to keep Chloe from crying. She doesn’t know what’s happening, but the tension in the room is palpable now, and she’s clearly picking up on what everyone else is feeling.

  There’s a scream from outside followed by blaster fire, and I cover Chloe’s ears with my hands, kissing her forehead as I rock her back and forth.

  “It’s okay, baby,” I whisper. “It’s going to be okay.”

  It’s as much for me as for her, but I don’t think I’m comforting either of us very much.

  And then the door opens, and all of us jump at once. To my relief, it’s only the two Kalixians who were posted outside our door, but their faces are grim.

  “They’ve taken down four of our men already,” the youngest of them—Vrexen, I think his name is—says. “They could break into the building at any moment. It’s not safe for you here. We need to get you out, to a better hiding place.”

  My blood runs cold.

  “Are they dead?” I manage to whisper, my throat choked.

  The idea that men died because of this, good and honorable Kalixians, that Sorsir’s people have been harmed because of me… it’s too horrible to even think of, but it’s happening. And it feels like my fault.

  “Not dead,” the other warrior says. “Injured enough to have to be dragged back out of the fight.”

  “Sorsir?” I whisper, and I see Rose in my periphery, her face equally worried.

  “Sorsir and the Commander are still uninjured and in the fight,” Vrexen says. “But come on now, please. We have to go.”

  There’s no time to get things, no time to pack or do anything but make our way to the door in twos and threes, several of the women pale and on the verge of tears. Rose and Lucy stay with me, crooning to Chloe and helping keep her calm as the warriors usher us out.