by Selena Kitt
I tried not to laugh—she didn’t seem to like that. For some reason I couldn’t explain, making her happy had surpassed everything else in my mind. “How are you gonna do that?”
“They’ll find us. Our control team. Once they realize I’m missing, they’ll send a search ship.”
I froze. In my mating frenzy, I had to admit that it wasn’t something I’d considered. If it was true, that changed everything. “Do you have a tracking implant?” I asked sharply.
I looked away knowing what I’d need to do if she answered yes. I should have killed her anyway; I knew that. But I couldn’t. That didn’t mean that humans weren’t a threat—if there was even the slightest chance of a team tracking us here, then I’d have to...
“No,” she said.
I exhaled loudly before I could stop myself.
“You sound relieved? I don’t understand.” She sat up off my lap and stared in my direction.
I shook my head. “No. Of course not.”
“They can still find us.”
“When you were taken... was there any warning that they’d breached your ship?”
She thought about it. “No. No we were taken completely by surprise. We didn’t see anything. The first I knew of it was this strange sound on the roof. They were able to dock to us undetected.”
“Then...”
She shook her head, looking so anguished that I found myself pulling her into my arms again.
“Then there’s no way they’ll find you.”
“But they will. They’re the best...”
“They won’t find you unless you’ve got a personal tracking device inside you. These ships are untraceable. Trust me.”
“You don’t understand—our guys are the best.”
“Look how easily your ship was hijacked.”
“I’m not exactly Delta Unit’s posterchild.”
I froze. Delta Unit? This changed everything. I looked at her wondering how it was possible. Underneath her bravado, she seemed terrified. Was I the one being deceived here? That was the only explanation, wasn’t it?
“What about you?” she continued as if that hadn’t just happened. “Will any of your ah... fellow smugglers come looking for you?”
I watched her silently. I could tell her the truth and lose her forever. Or... “Maybe. I hope so. But you know smugglers—only care about their own interests.”
She leaned closer and frowned. “You don’t seem like that,” she whispered.
My heart leaped. I swallowed the feeling immediately. What was I going to do? Take her with me when they came? There was no way I could do that without her finding out the truth. And how could I get her out safely? I may have had a weakness for her, but the same couldn’t be said for my...
Her soft, plump lips were on mine, taking my breath away. I pulled her to me, clasping her shoulders. My pulse pounded in my body and the mating frenzy grew within me until I was convinced I could hear it screaming through my veins.
You don’t know what you’re doing, Laura Diez.
Chapter Ten
Laura
The same hissing noise broke the silence in the room. I jumped away from Dex, startled. What the hell had just happened? One minute we were talking; the next I was launching myself at him in the dark.
I bit my lip, remembering how his lips had felt against mine. And his arousal. Oh sure, he was huge and blue and alien, but that was something I could recognize. His shaft had been unmistakably hard, pushing against me and spurring me on.
I sighed in frustration at the interruption. I hadn’t felt that pull to a guy in such a long time—now these bastards were going to ruin that too? I know, I know—I had much bigger problems. I’ll say it again—seven.foot.tall.sexy.blue.man.with.a.giant.dick.
Who wouldn’t be distracted?
Dex grabbed my hand and pulled me to him.
“They can’t hear you now,” he whispered. “Only when they physically touch you. Then they can hear your thoughts.”
I shuddered at the idea. I opened my mouth to respond but Dex pushed me away. Seconds later I felt the same cold hand grasp my upper arm. It was them again.
She regrets not asking the male about us before she threw herself at him. Tell me, human. To throw yourself? What do you mean by this?
I cringed, trying my best to clear my mind. Could Dex hear them too? I wondered, before quickly stopping myself. Why was I so concerned about what he thought when I was in so much danger?
I cleared my throat. “Who are you and why have you locked me up here? You understand you attacked an Earth Planetary Guard ship?”
His grip on my arm grew tighter. I gasped in pain.
“Leave her alone,” Dex said suddenly, getting to his feet.
I heard scuffling, like he was struggling with someone.
“I don’t care who you are, you can’t treat a female like that.”
One encounter and the smuggler fights for your honor. The voice sounded amused.
I blushed.
He’s never seen a body such as yours.
My blush blushed. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not awkward and inexperienced, but here they were reading the thoughts of this tall hot alien and his thoughts were seemingly filled with me. There was something so hot about that.
Stop it, Laura, I thought. Haven’t you got bigger things to worry about?
Quite right, human. You have larger problems I would say. But you can’t stop thinking about this one here. Hm. Interesting. She desires the smuggler.
I squeezed my eyes closed, willing them to get out of my head. I needed to think; to find a way out of this mess.
Oh you’re not going to get out of this, human. You’ll be auctioned on Omacron.
I gasped; it felt as if they’d punched me in the gut. Auctioned? Of course, I’d had my suspicions about their intentions, but that? To hear it so clearly from them?
Yes. Yes. Here is your food. And a vessel for your waste. Use it wisely—you won’t receive further rations until tomorrow.
And that was it? No attempt to rationalize what they were saying. Just ‘we’re gonna auction you and here’s some food and a pissbucket.’
The door hissed closed; I fell backward on the floor, my eyes wide with despair.
“Auction,” I repeated faintly.
Dex scooped me up in his arms immediately. “No. That won’t happen.”
“But...” I stared up at him wildly, wishing I could see him in the gloom. For some reason, it felt like it might have helped.
As if he could tell what I was thinking too, his hand shot out and the room was dimly lit by one of his light orbs. I cast my mind back to class, to try and remember which species had this power but I couldn’t concentrate. What would usually have been fascinating to me was currently overshadowed by thoughts of my fate.
“Auction,” I said again, dazed and confused.
“No.”
There was a fierceness to Dex’s voice that I hadn’t heard before. I looked up into his eyes, and saw the burning anger within them. My heart fluttered. Was this because of me; this anger? It certainly seemed that way. And smuggler or not, I was happy to have him on my side.
“You fought with them. I heard you.”
He shook his head. “That was a mistake.”
“But you could overpower them. They can’t be bigger than you. I saw their shadows in the darkness. They’re slighter.”
“No.”
“Why didn’t you try?”
He pulled me to him again. “It doesn’t matter, Laura Diez. But you won’t be auctioned. I promise you.”
“You said there was no way my crew could track me. Do you have someone coming?”
He hesitated. “No,” he said at last. “The truth is I have no-one.”
“How are we going to stop them then?” I stared up into his eyes, and even after all that had happened, I felt my fear and worries begin to subside. What was it about him? It was like there was a magnetic force between us, pulling me to him.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, stroking the side of my face.
I snorted, immediately wishing I could take it back. It wasn’t the most attractive sound, to put it mildly.
“You have to ask? I’ve been kidnapped. My partner is possibly dead. And you’re telling me that even if a rescue crew does come looking for me, there’s no way they’ll be able to track down this ship.”
He opened his mouth to answer but I cut him off shaking my head.
“Oh and there’s the small matter of me being sent to auction in two days’ time.”
I looked up at him, setting my jaw triumphantly as if daring him to tell me that it was all going to be okay despite those hurdles.
Oh god I wished he would. I’d scanned that room a thousand times and there was no way out. I’d tried to struggle against their hold but it was useless. Unless...
“Will you help me ambush them the next time they come?”
Dex exhaled long and slow.
“Why?” I cried. “Why not? You won’t do it to save our lives? Why not? Are you in this with them?”
I hadn’t considered that before but now the thought stuck in my mind. What proof was there that he was on my side? Aside from calming me, from sharing his light with me? His word? What did that mean? They might have planted him in here to do just that; to keep me calm so that I would freak out before their goddamned auction. And it worked—I hadn’t even questioned his presence, I’d...
“Laura, stop,” he whispered urgently. “Look at me.”
“Stop what?” I asked, trying to back away but he was holding me hard. “I didn’t say a damn thing. Unless you can read my mind too. Can you?”
He shook his head, a sad smile on his face. “No of course not; I told you. You’re not exactly hiding your feelings right now. I can see it in your eyes. Calm down. Please. I’m on your side.”
“But you won’t help me ambush them.”
He sighed and stroked my arms. Sparks flew through my body sending my pulse racing even harder than it had been.
“No. Because if we planned to do that, they’d know the moment they touched you.”
I breathed out slowly. “We can pretend...”
He shook his head. “It’s impossible. Try it. Try not thinking about something that you want to think about.”
I closed my eyes and tried to block all thoughts of him.
“See?”
He shook his head. “It’s impossible. Believe me. Please.”
“Then how?” I asked desperately, shaking my head. “There has to be a way.”
“There is.”
Chapter Eleven
Dex
She was watching me intently. Enchanted, I found myself gravitating toward her. I stopped.
She made a sighing noise with her mouth that threatened to drive me crazy. I knew what it meant without having to ask her. It wasn’t difficult—her dilated pupils, her jagged breath—she was aroused by my presence; as aroused by me as I was by her.
My only hope was that we’d have time to...
I shook my head, realizing once again the seriousness of the matter. I couldn’t afford to be distracted like this, no matter how sweet the distraction.
“There is a way,” I repeated.
She put her head on one side and stared up at me. “Go on,” she said, reaching for my chest.
I grabbed her hands and held them tight before she could make contact. It was vital that she listen and remember the plan. Both of our lives depended on it. “Later,” I said, unable to stop myself from smiling.
She stopped struggling against my hold. “Okay. Go on.”
I leaned in and brushed her hair away from her ear. “The auction. We’re going to go.”
She frowned. “Uh-huh?”
“Yes. We’re going to go. It’s the best way to escape without arousing suspicion. When we land, we’ll act like we’re cooperating and allow ourselves to be led off the ship.”
“But I can’t fight them. You’ve seen me.”
I shook my head. “No, you’re just afraid of the unknown. Trust me, when you see them you’ll realize that their power is psychological, not physical. It’ll be bright in the landing dome. They won’t be able to use darkness against you there.”
She breathed out, long and steady. “That’s good. You know the planet they’re taking us to? You have people there?”
I shook my head. “No. But there’s likely to be chaos at the landing dome. We’ll use that to our advantage and slip away.”
“But...” Her bottom lip quivered.
Rage surged inside of me. All I wanted to do was punish them for scaring her like this. I shook my head.
No. Not after everything I’ve done to get myself here...
“Dex?”
I shook my head, trying to suppress my anger. If I released it now, I knew, everything I’d worked hard for would be wasted. I watched her, confused. How could she even cause me to consider doing such a thing? I couldn’t pinpoint one thing—her eyes blazed with emotion; her body was as curved and rounded as a ripe fruit. But it was more than that.
“We’ll escape just before we reach the auction house. Got that?”
She nodded, biting her lip in a way that had driven me crazy ever since they first brought her here.
I must resist her until it’s safe.
She seemed to relax then; her arms shot around my neck and pulled me to her with surprising strength.
When we’re both safe, I thought.
I groaned, grown fatigued from this strange new vein of thoughts that kept me from rest. What was I turning into? Was it my captivity that had caused this? I hoped so. Any other explanation for this madness was unthinkable.
Chapter Twelve
Dex
“Repeat that back to me.”
“Huh?”
“You heard me.” His eyes bored into me and I wanted this man—this alien—more desperately than I had ever wanted anyone before.
I’ll be honest—I was expecting him to tell me all about his grand masterplan to break us out of this cell, raid the armory and rain fire on the little bastards who were keeping us captive. So I was a little surprised, especially since we were supposedly waiting until the last minute.
But he was so... distracting. It felt like a thousand butterflies had just been released in my stomach when he shifted his balance and pulled me to him. I would have said anything right then to get the planning over with and move on to the...
“We wait until we reach the landing dome. In the confusion, you’ll give me the signal and then we’ll slip away and escape before they even realize we’re gone,” I said impatiently, barely pausing for breath.
He smiled thoughtfully, reaching forward to stroke my bottom lip with his huge thumb.
Oh.
My.
Gosh.
He may as well have torn my clothing off and pulled me onto him lap for the sensations it gave me. Realizing I was practically drooling, I closed my mouth and tried to maintain some dignity.
Difficult around this guy.
“That’s it?” I whispered.
Good god—I was looking to him for approval. But I couldn’t help myself.
He nodded with a predatory smile and I felt my breath catch in my throat.
“Remember Laura—the moment they touch you, you must put the plan to the back of your mind. Don’t allow them to access it.”
I nodded.
He seemed satisfied. He bent his head and clasped his huge hand around the back of my neck, guiding my lips to his.
It was like time stood still. I held my breath, waiting for the delicious sensation of his lips on mine. But nothing happened. I opened my eyes with a frustrated moan to find him staring at the door.
“What is it?” I hissed.
“They’re coming,” he murmured, quenching the light and marching back to the corner he alway
s sat in.
I was left standing in the middle of the cell, staring at the door in terror. What if I couldn’t hide my thoughts from them?
I listened—I couldn’t hear a thing.