If I have sent her into harm’s way, I will never forgive myself.
The door opens and I rush to hold it open, thinking it is Kalia. It is not.
A Joadah female stands in the doorway. She wears a very short robe and what appears to be colored paint on her lips. She rests her claw on her hip, and seems to be smiling at me. It is hard to tell, because her face just looks angry. But I think that is the usual resting face of this species of being.
I raise my eyebrows politely, even though I would really prefer she moves out of the doorway so I can see when Kalia is coming back.
She babbles at me in her strange language. I do not understand a word of it, so I shake my head.
Instead of offering gestures, or attempting sign language, she just smiles. Then she tries to take my hand.
I block her move.
“Do not touch me,” I order her.
She does not understand, of course. She attempts to take my hand again.
I rip my hand away and take a step back, holding my hand up in a warning gesture.
“This is your last chance,” I say. “Do not touch me.”
I know she does not understand the language. But my firm tone and facial expression tell her everything she needs to know. Surely?
Yet, she does not leave the room. Instead, she shuts the door behind her and leans on it.
What on Yolcadia is she doing?
As she prattles on in her nonsensical language, she begins to peel off layers of clothing.
“No,” I say, firmly.
It does not stop her. She continues to strip away layers of her uniform, talking at me the entire time.
I walk away from her and stand on the other side of the room, with my back to her. So she cannot comprehend a verbal ‘no’, or a reproachful face? Well, she must at least understand the message sent by someone turning their attention away.
By the Chronos moon—is she really attempting to seduce me? It is ridiculous.
I am startled to discover that not only has she continued disrobing, but she is now singing a tuneless ditty too.
A mysteriously-shaped garment comes flying over my head and hits the wall I am now facing.
I spin around. “Cease this unnecessary display. I do not have any interest in you. Can you not see that?”
She begins to make a high-pitched squealing noise. I stare at her, perplexed. Then she begins to wriggle and stomp in circles around the room, squealing and clapping her claws together. I assume it is some kind of Joadah mating dance, but it can never work on me. I only have eyes for my beloved Kalia.
Where is Kalia anyway? Humans cannot possibly take that long performing their bathroom rituals.
My stomach clenches with physical need for her presence.
I need to look for her. She has been away much too long.
I head for the door.
Before I can reach it, the Joadah woman takes out a red stick, the same length as her forearm. She aims it at me, and a small bolt of lightning shoots out. I receive a jolt of electricity to the back.
Ouch. That actually hurt.
“What do you think you are doing?” I snarl, grabbing the stick from her hand. I break it in half with one swipe.
She shrieks at me, with an even more high-pitched wail. I cover my ears with my hands.
“Where is Kalia?” I bellow.
The Joadah female cannot understand Yolcadian, of course. But I am sure she can understand my question, because she looks at the door, and then back at me. She has a smug, hateful look in her red lizard-like eyes.
“I demand that my slave is returned to me,” I yell.
The female stops smirking at me and starts muttering. She is still in a state of half-undress. I avoid looking at her while she rearranges her clothing.
At least the strip-show has been shut down. That was highly embarrassing and unpleasant to witness. I am committed in my hearts and soul to my Kalia. She is mine, and I must have her back right now.
Before I can make my demand again, the door flies open. In walks a small procession of Joadah females, all dressed in semi-transparent lilac chiffon.
Behind them walk four Joadah males. They wear lilac uniforms and what look like sun visors over their eyes. On their shoulders, they carry a large pillow made of some kind of color-changing silk.
Then I notice what is on top of the pillow.
My beloved is on the pillow, sitting cross-legged in purple robes with a collar around her neck. Attached to the collar is a chain.
My eyes follow the chain down to someone’s hand. It is the Joadah leader who we saw earlier.
He does not take his oily gaze off Kalia.
It only takes fractions of a micro-sun-turn for me to notice all of this. I roar with rage, and spring at the Joadah animal who dares to imprison my beloved.
But as I leap forward, somebody freezes me mid-flight. I am literally zapped into stillness, like a sculpture in a Yolcadian relaxation park.
All I can move is my eyes. I cannot shift my body in any way. I can only watch. And I cannot do a thing to stop whatever is going to happen.
The repulsive Joadah leader waves his arms. He gestures to show that the males carrying Kalia should set the pillow down on the floor. They do as they are instructed.
I use every bit of my energy to try to move a muscle and break out of this paralysis. But nothing works. I am stuck, apart from my eyes, which swivel easily.
Whatever was just done to me, I do not know. But the effects of it have not worn off yet.
Kalia looks remarkably calm and composed. I note that she is not looking at me, and does not catch my eye. This is understandable, if it would upset her.
I am now desperate to make eye contact, but I respect her choice. Nonetheless, I crave a connection. She has been much too long away from me, and I insist on making it clear to these stench-hogs that she is mine.
But I have no way of attracting her attention. I am as still as one of the glinterberry bushes outside on a breezeless day.
The Joadah leader yanks the chain attached to Kalia’s collar. Rage builds inside me until I am sure it will burst out, like a blue Yolcadian volcano. But once again, I remain motionless.
He gestures for Kalia to sit on his lap. She obeys him, because there are laser guns pointing at both her and me.
Kalia wraps her arm around the disgusting beast and he slides his claws along her leg. He moves the purple robe aside so he can reach the uppermost part of her thigh.
Inside me, my protective fury threatens to melt down the entire planet. I want nothing more than to rip the heads off every one of these vile aliens.
How dare that foul oaf lay a single claw on my precious, perfect mate? She is worth more than every Joadah on every planet combined.
Yet all I can do is yell silently inside. Not one part of me is capable of the tiniest movement, except my horrified eyes.
All I can do is watch the horror unfold.
14 Kalia
“Concubines cannot pick and choose. If you accept our hospitality, you must return the favor.”
The leader’s breath stinks of something muddy and damp. He’s got to be kidding if he thinks I’m going near him in any capacity at all.
I’m especially worried about Scorvan finding out. He’s going to go nuts, and it’ll get us both killed. He won’t wait to find out whether I’m dealing with it my own way. He’ll just go off like a firework.
But I think I can get us both out of this situation without having to go hand-to-hand with them.
I just have to bide my time.
The bathroom they took me to was so luxurious. That doesn’t make up for the fact that they expect me to sleep with some scaly asshole. Still, it was nice to have a second of calm to think about what to do next.
The collar they put on me is uncomfortable. Not as uncomfortable as the face of the lowlife who put it on me, though. He’ll be nursing that broken nose for a while. My fist hurts too, but fuck that guy. He pinched my neck in the metal
fastening, and he slobbered all over me while he fixed it. The punch was worth it.
So now I’m perched on a pillow, and it’s being carried by four hulking dudes. And it seems they want to do all of the ‘seduction’ — yeah, right — in front of Scorvan. Because this leader guy is a special kind of sadistic prick.
We get into the room, and I see my sexy seven-footer in the corner. I look away, because I can’t trust myself to stay focused on the plan if I look into his mesmerizing eyes.
It quickly becomes obvious that they’ve put some sort of spell on Scorvan. Okay, not actually a spell. We aren’t talking about magic here. It’s science. I just don’t know what the hell kind of science can freeze a dude in mid-air. So, as far as I’m concerned, we may as well be dealing with magic.
The leader pulls the chain around my neck and tells me to sit on him. Ugh.
But this is my chance.
I have already noticed where he keeps his gun. All the Joadah guys seem to have holsters on their backs, so the laser weapons are slotted neatly into those. They wear jackets with a slit that allows them to reach behind and grab their guns. I just saw the guards do it when we re-entered the room.
I make my most submissive face. And holy fuck, that isn’t easy when you really want to throw the sleazy buttface over your shoulder.
And I sit on the leader’s lap, like a good little concubine. Little does he know what I’m really thinking.
It’s easy to reach my arm around behind him. I don’t know why he didn’t guess I was about to do that. Maybe the Joadah aren’t used to females who fight back? Who knows.
He runs his scratchy claw up my leg. I grit my teeth and let him do it, even though I am sorely tempted to rip that arm right off him.
He’s so taken with my charms, he doesn’t feel his gun loosening in its holster.
I slip it out very slowly and pass it up the flapping sleeve of my robe, until it reaches the halfway point. Then I hold it in the crook of my elbow, until his attention moves elsewhere.
He orders his guards to arrange the couch pillows so he can have me placed there. He talks about me like I’m a new throw blanket.
As he speaks, I slip my other arm backward into its sleeve and edge it across my body, inside the robe. Nobody notices.
With that hand, I reach for the concealed gun in my elbow. I move it across my body so it’s resting on my belly, with my fingers are on the trigger. It feels like a pretty standard laser FK299, so that’s a relief. I’m used to handling weapons of this size.
Scorvan is still completely still, frozen in the air. It’s the weirdest thing.
My breathing is shallow because I’m preparing to take action. My heart pounds so hard, I’m worried someone else can hear it.
I don’t want anyone to notice I’m getting agitated, so I make a conscious effort to calm down.
The gun feels solid and reassuring in my hand.
My pillow is being lifted again, and I’m being guided over to the couch. Scorvan is touching distance away now. I’m still making a point of avoiding eye contact, just in case I lose my nerve.
I don’t even know if he can see me, or hear what’s happening. If he can, he must be going crazy inside.
The Joadah leader has me climb off the pillow onto the couch. I have no choice but to wedge the gun into the top band of my panties, and use both hands to steady myself as I step down.
Shit. I’m not holding the gun now, so I feel more vulnerable.
I arrange myself as artfully as I can. The Joadah guy barks out a command. He wants his four handmaidens to undress him so he can have me.
Ew, this is not good.
Scorvan is right beside us, probably on the point of exploding. I look up at him for the first time and catch his eye.
Oh my God — he can move his eyes! He can see everything.
I wink at him discreetly, to let him know I’ve got this.
Suddenly I notice a beam of light coming out of one of the Joadah females’ heads. What the hell?
It’s like she has a little peephole in the top of her forehead and there’s a really faint pink ray coming out. It’s aiming straight for Scorvan.
Could that be what’s freezing him?
If I can find a way to make her look the other way, would she freeze someone else instead? Would Scorvan go free?
I’m still waiting for the perfect opportunity to use this gun. I hate hurting anyone, but self-defence is one of those times that makes it okay.
But when should I make my move? I need to get this right, because everything is riding on my timing.
As the Joadah leader puts his grasping hands right on my boob, I decide enough’s enough.
I kick him hard in the face so he falls backwards off the couch. He shouts for his guards, but it’s too late.
I shoot the laser gun and sweep the rays across everyone in the room. They all collapse instantly.
So this is a stun-gun! It’s not going to kill any of them. It’s just made them all really easy to manage.
I’m half-relieved, because I didn’t want to be responsible for a massacre, even if it was in self-defence.
But I’m also scared, because that means we only have a short time to get the hell out of here. At some point, they’re going to wake up and come after us.
Scorvan is still frozen. I step over all the unconscious Joadah people and locate the woman whose head was beaming out that pink ray. She’s out of it, but the light is still there.
Do I need to kill her to stop it?
Yeesh. I really don’t want to have to.
I’m just trying to talk myself into it when I notice one of the guards twitching. Without thinking, I grab the head-light-beam woman and throw her toward the moving guard.
Her light-beam hits him right between the eyes, and he freezes.
I turn back to Scorvan and gasp. He’s moving!
He bursts back to life, big and powerful and gorgeous as ever. He runs toward me, scooping me up and spinning me around until I’m dizzy.
“You saved us,” he says. “Now I am going to save you.”
I don’t object. It feels pretty good for someone else to care for me. I’ve been looking after myself for a while now, with no backup except my contacts at the rebel headquarters. It’s great to feel like someone has my back.
He runs out of the room with me and through the front door of the cone-shaped building.
Outside, there is a room full of Joadah patrol members.
“Over to you,” I say. I throw the gun to Scorvan.
He punches, shoves and kicks his way around the entire room. He doesn’t even need to stun anyone with the gun. He moves so fast, pushing one against another, until every one of them is knocked out or flailing helplessly on the floor.
“Nice job,” I say, as we run out of there.
“I could say the same to you,” he says.
We keep on running, right through the verdantarium field thing, and all the way back to a vast thicket of trees and tangled shrubs.
“What’s this?” I say.
He sweeps aside a bunch of branches and I finally see what he was doing. There, lurking behind the leaves like a cheeky kid playing hide-and-seek, is my little ship. My Hummingbird.
“Let’s go home,” I say, putting my eye on the glass square for the retina scan. The door opens and we tumble inside.
15 Scorvan
I am so glad to see my beloved again, I can hardly keep my hands off her. She is so beautiful and clever.
She outsmarted the Joadah, with her brain. She didn’t need to smash any of them to pieces. Violence was my only option, but she used something more. She used her wits.
I am awed by her.
Truly, I am glad I gave up my military career for her. I would do it all again, in one beat of each of my two hearts.
My instant burning passion for Kalia is only stoked further now I have seen her in action. She is an accomplished pilot, calm under pressure. She handles this flimsy ship with grace and agil
ity. And she is an excellent captain on the ground.
Once we are set on course, my beloved taps the control panel and sits back. Her smile makes me want to pin her to the navigation desk and claim her, right now.
“Autopilot engaged,” she says to me. Her leg extends toward me and her toes touch mine. The soft sensation in my foot is in marked contrast to the hard jolt I feel in my pants.
“I think we’re alone at last, Commander,” I say. My own heartbeats are deafening in my ear.
“You’re right, Officer,” she says, smiling in a shy way that makes me so hard it’s almost painful.
It’s too much. I cannot resist her a moment longer.
I unclip my seatbelt and do the same to Kalia’s. Then I pull her onto my lap. Her eyes widen with surprise, but she lets me do it.
We kiss urgently, like the world is ending.
But it is not ending. For me, life is only just beginning.
I grasp the black spiral ropes of her hair in my hands and pull them tightly. She moans gently as my hands search her soft curves, tracing every outline of her body through her spacesuit.
“Lola, go to sleep,” Kalia gasps.
“Nuh-night, now,” comes the computer’s reply. Then the lighting in the cockpit dims and switches to a pink-amber color.
“She’s switched herself off,” Kalia says. Then she kisses me back twice as needily.
I gather from this that humans are protective of their privacy, even when the only onlooker is a computer. The sweet, simple creatures.
“So this is what fated mates feels like,” she says, as my hand tugs furiously at her zipper. I don’t speak, because I am too busy unwrapping my female. Her spacesuit appears to be in multiple layers, which frustrates me.
It takes much too long to reach the soft flesh I crave. I take the garment in both hands and rip it in half. One breast is exposed, and she whimpers.
My blood is pumping fast now. I cannot wait another moment.
With a growl, I shred the remainder of the garment from her. She sits on my lap, totally bare, apart from the wrist gadget she and I both wear. I allow her to keep it on.
The Million Miles High Club (Scifi Alien Romance) (Celestial Mates) Page 8