Lost Among the Stars (Sky Riders)

by Rebecca Lorino Pond

  She didn’t even turn around when he came up behind her.

  “It’s so pretty, Etor, and big. It’s got to be at least four times the size of Earth!”

  “Most of the planets in the Yahiri Galaxy are big, but Qetera is the largest.” He was happy to answer any questions she asked as long as he got to be near her.

  “How many moons does it have? I’ve seen two so far.”

  She looked up at him out of curiosity, making his cock jump. “Three. Yahiri also has two suns.”

  Her big blue eyes widen even more at his revelation. “Two suns! Shouldn’t we burn up or something with two suns? My galaxy only has one sun.”

  “Well, one of the suns is a red dwarf and doesn’t give off much light. It’s the large sun that gives us light and the heat we need.” Her hair smelled so good. Like fresh cut flowers from the forests of Qetera.

  “Fascinating.”

  “I came to escort you down to the surface.”

  “Oh, we’re going now?” she asked.

  “Yes, it’s a short ride down but you will be able to see what my planet looks like.”

  Together they walked slowly to the shuttle bay and waited for a shuttle to arrive. He sensed her legs were growing tired by the look on her face. “I can carry you if you would like.”

  Her head snapped in his direction. She was so short compared to him, with the top of her head coming to the middle of his chest. She had to lean her head all the way back to look up at him.

  “I’m okay. Will it be much longer?” she asked.

  He knew she didn’t want his help and it made him sad to know she didn’t want him to touch her. “The next shuttle should arrive any minute now.” Just as he finished speaking, a shuttle flew into the bay and landed quietly in the specified area.

  “There’s our ride.” He guided her to the shuttle with his hand lightly pressing on her back. Inside the shuttle he let her sit by the window while he went to sit in the co-pilot’s chair. He had informed Kelly and the other two females that he wanted them to ride down with Maggie and him. The three women arrived shortly after Maggie and he had boarded, full of excitement.

  “Hey, Mags! Glad to see you could make it!”

  Etor watched as the three females took their seats and strapped themselves in. The shuttle lifted off and flew out the shuttle bay. He had to smile to himself when he heard all four females say at the same exact time, “Wow”. He could only imagine how it would feel to see his world for the first time. Even he still liked to view his world from space. The view from space only gave away a part of Qetera’s beauty with its blues, greens, and purples swirling around in the upper atmosphere.

  The flight went quickly and they were soon landing. He saw his Kharis waiting for him to emerge from the shuttle. He was anxious to introduce Maggie to him and the rest of his family, especially his mother. She would be happy to know that one of her sons had found their one true mate.

  The door to the shuttle opened. Lexie and Hunter were the first two out and were greeted by Kharis. He waited for Maggie to leave her seat before he followed her and Kelly out of the ship.

  “Etor! Good to see you again. I see you survived yet another boring mission,” Kharis said as he stepped towards the shuttle.

  “Good to see you too, brother.” The brothers clasped arms in greeting.

  “I have…” Kharis broke off as Kelly walked by without a second look at him. “By the gods, brother, who is she?”

  Etor had a sense what his brother was feeling while he watched Kelly and Maggie walk by. “The one holding onto the other female is Maggie….”

  “No, no. The other one.”

  Kharis couldn’t take his eyes off Kelly. “That’s Kelly, my mate’s friend.”

  “Is she one of the survivors?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good because she is mine!” Kharis growled.

  ******

  “Have you found anything yet, Captain Zol’tsa?” Ruehar was growing impatient.

  “Nothing yet, Sir. The Qeterans have just arrived home.”

  “Get a man down on the planet and find out! Next time I speak to you, you had better have more news.”

  “Yes, Sir,” Zol’tsa said as he saluted his king. The screen went blank a second later.

  “Get the human captain on the screen,” Ruehar demanded.

  Because Earth was twenty-four light years away, it took longer for a transmission to go through. He tapped a skinny finger on his chin as he waited for the captain to appear before him. Before the transmission even cleared he was demanding to know what the human captain had found out so far.

  “You had better have some information for me, Captain.”

  “King Ruehar, I was just about to send you a transmission but you beat me to it.” The captain faked a laughed. “I do have some interesting news to report. Your transport’s last signal came from an asteroid field twelve light years from your position. It shows that a small asteroid struck the ship and knocked it off its programmed course. I haven’t been able to determine how much damage the ship incurred.”

  “Blasted! You should have made compensations for that damned asteroid field. It’s been there for eons!” Ruehar shouted at the screen.

  “I had no idea it was there!” The captain tried to defend himself.

  “I want no excuses!”

  “I have more to report, Sir. It seems that one of the women on board the transport is a wanted woman.”

  Ruehar whirled around. “What do you mean, wanted?”

  “Apparently, she is being accused of stealing a large amount of money from her ex-boyfriend. He is offering a reward to the one who brings her back to Earth.”

  “Interesting,” Ruehar said. “But, I paid for those females and they are mine now. This ‘boyfriend’ no longer has a claim to her.”

  “I understand that, sir, but he is insistent that she be found and punished.”

  “I don’t care what he wants! The female is mine unless he is willing to provide me with something in exchange for her. I am not willing to lose a breeder just because some human demands a female be returned.”

  “He could be a valuable asset if the transport has been found by another planet. All I need to do is send the information to the federation and have her flagged. This way we might be able to find out where the ship is much easier.” The captain waited for Ruehar to respond. This was a touchy situation and he didn’t want to be the recipient the king’s anger.

  “That just might work. See that it’s done.” Ruehar ended the transmission. He was growing weary of all this foolishness. The men on his planet were growing restless for females and he didn’t want a riot on his hands if the promised females were not found soon! Their peak breeding time was approaching and they all needed a female.

  Chapter 9

  Etor’s home was nothing like she expected. As the shuttle landed on the surface of the planet, she had thought the building before her was some kind of official building. Instead, she quickly found out it was his home.

  It was the largest palace she had ever seen, the only palace she had ever seen. The single-storied house had to be the size of two football fields if not more. The outside walls reminded her of the terracotta pottery people in the early 21st and late 20th century like to use to put flowers in for show. Large windows dotted the walls at even intervals and would let in the natural light provided by the two suns of Qetera.

  Etor walked beside her as he led them into his home. It didn’t go unnoticed that Kharis was staying uncomfortably close to Kelly who tried to move away from him every time he got near.

  “Dude, can you back off some?” Kelly hissed at Kharis once or twice. She knew that Kelly wasn’t the clingy type and that she hated men who were. It was probably the reason why her relationships didn’t last every long. As soon as she started to feel smothered she would breakup with the poor guy.

  Kharis responded by growling at her which kind of freaked her out. “Mags,” she whispered into her ear, “di
d that guy just growl?”

  She couldn’t help but laugh at her friend. “Yes, it seems as if they have a problem with that.

  They were led to what appeared to be the heart of the house. It was an immense room with floor to ceiling windows that were left completely bare. A large u-shaped sofa graced the middle of the room and sat directly under the sky lights overhead. All the floors were made from tile or ceramic and blended nicely with the other colors throughout the house. Natural tones of blues, greens, and violets were in almost every object in the grand room. A huge portrait of the night sky hung over an equally huge fireplace that had a fire burning. Solid colored rugs covered some of the floor in periodic locations mainly near the sofa and fireplace.

  “Geez, would you look at this place!” Kelly announced to the room. She stood there in the doorway with her hands on her hips looking around in awe.

  Kharis came up behind her and spoke into her ear. “My home is just a beautiful. I can take you to see it.”

  Kelly jerked around to glare at the man. “No thanks. I like this one.”

  Etor walked up alongside of Maggie, “How do you like my home?”

  “It’s beautiful.” She smiled up at him.

  “I am happy to hear this. It is your home too.”

  The smile left her face. “Etor, please…”

  “Everything I have is yours, my mate,” Etor said in front of everyone.

  “I am not…,” she was cut off by a loud screech coming from outside. “What the hell was that?”

  Kharis and Etor both laughed. “That, little one, is Rhaegos announcing he is home.”

  “Who is Rhaegos?” Kelly asked.

  Kharis looked at his brother, “She does not know?”

  “Know what?” Kelly looked confused by the look on all their faces.

  Kharis grabbed her friend’s hand and pulled her to the large double door that led outside. “I will show you!”

  Maggie didn’t need to be asked to follow. She hurried behind the pair as they exited the door out into a huge garden. She was dying to see Rhaegos at his full height.

  “I don’t see anything,” Kelly said.

  At the same time Etor and Kharis said, “Look up.”

  She and Kelly both looked up into the pale blue sky. It was a lovely sight to behold as a lite lavender cloud drifted by. Just then a big shadow passed over where they stood. Kelly reached out and gripped her arm in a death grip.

  “What the hell is that?” Kelly tried to back away and into the house.

  “No, no, Kelly! That’s Rhaegos! Etor’s dragon.” She pulled on her friend’s hand to keep her from darting away. There wasn’t much that scared her friend, but seeing a full size dragon for the first would scare the living crap out of anyone.

  “Did you say dragon?” Kelly ducked as Rhaegos swooped down low over their heads. “Is he going to eat us? I want to go back inside, Mags!”

  Without warning Rhaegos took a nose dive towards them and landed softly on the light green grass. He had to have a wing span of at least twenty feet. The air around them felt like a hard breeze as he flapped his wings a few more times before he folded them neatly to his sides.

  Maggie let go of Kelly and approached the dragon. Rhaegos lowered his head and waited for her to pet his nose.

  “No, Mags! Don’t touch it!”

  Kelly was panicking but she needed to show her that the dragon meant no harm. She reached her hand out and gently rubbed the scaly nose. “Rhaegos, it’s so nice to see you again. Where have you been hiding the last few days?”

  Rhaegos respond with a soft puff of smoke then a quick lick of her hand. Maggie couldn’t help but giggle at the feeling of the dragon’s tongue. “Well, that’s a first! Come see, Kelly.”

  “No way! I’ll stay right here.” Kelly was now hiding behind Kharis who looked happy about being the one to protect the scared female.

  “Come here, you big chicken!” She knew the taunt would get her friend to move. Kelly never let anyone call her a chicken.

  “Chicken am I?”

  All eyes were on Kelly as she cautiously walked over to where she stood with Rhaegos. She could see the fear in her friend’s eyes and tried to soothe her.

  “Just touch his nose,” Maggie told her.

  Kelly put a shaking hand out to the dragon who in turn sniffed it then lowered his head to her.

  “See I told you, chicken!”

  Rhaegos puffed out some smoke then jumped into the air. “Where’s he going?” Kelly asked.

  “He’s hungry and is going hunting,” Etor replied.

  The four of them stood watching until the purple dragon was out of sight. The breeze picked up as clouds moved over the two suns that were high up in the sky. Rather than being a light lavender shade, these clouds were dark and foreboding.

  “We need to move inside. It’s about to rain and the storms here on Qetera can be quite violent at times.” He put his hand on her back. A shock shot through her at his touch and she whirled around to look at him. “I felt it too, little one.”

  She huffed then strode past him back into the house. Inside, near the fireplace, stood several servants waiting to greet the Commander.

  One older woman stepped forward to greet them. “Commander, we welcome you home.” She eyed Maggie curiously. “Did you bring us a mistress of the house?” The old woman’s kindly eyes smiled at Maggie.

  “I did, Sumia. This is Maggie, my mate.”

  Sumia walked up to her and took her hands in the old, wrinkled hands of hers. “Maggie, a beautiful name. You will bring much happiness to the Commander’s home. You will bear him many sons.”

  “I’m sorry, Sumia, but I am not Etor’s mate. He rescued me and my friends. Our ship was damaged on the way to our new home.”

  “Ahh, but you are home, child.”

  “No, we are just here temporarily until Etor can provide us with a transport to Lephus.” She pulled her hands out of Sumia’s and took a step back.

  Behind them a deafening roar came from Etor. “No,” he shouted at her, “this is your home now. You will not be going to Lephus!”

  Etor moved so fast she didn’t even have time to realize what happened until he was out of main room and stalking down a hallway. She was flung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and she didn’t appreciate it. She used her fists to pound on his but she doubted it did any good. The man was thickly muscled and her little punches probably felt like flutters to him.

  “Put me down!” she yelled. Each step he took caused his shoulder to jab into her stomach, making it hard to catch her breath as she continued to hit him. “I said, Put. Me. Down.” Her only response was another of those low growls she was becoming accustom to hearing.

  He didn’t stop until he was slamming a door behind them and tossing her on the sofa. She scrambled to get to her feet as soon as she hit the cushions. How dare he treat her like that!

  “You will remain in this room until I return.” He stood watching her as she got off the bed.

  “The hell I will!” She tried to push past him but it was like moving a stone wall. “Get out of my way!”

  He gripped her upper arms and lifted her off her feet so she would be eye to eye with him. She swallowed nervously as she hung there in his hands, stunned. No words whatsoever came out of her mouth. All she could do was lick her suddenly dry lips. His eyes watched her tongue as it moistened her lips and left them glistening. The next thing she knew she was being pressed up against the wall with his knee between her legs. His lips captured hers in a rough kiss that demanded a response.

  She struggled against him, struggled to break the kiss that was beginning to affect her. His tongue ran along her lips seeking an entrance into her mouth. She tried to resist the urge to open and let him in but her resolve failed. She parted her lips and let him in.

  The taste of him filled her senses until she was dizzy. Her hands reached for his chest as he deepened their kiss. She basically sat astride his knee with her back pressed to th
e wall. Against her right knee she could feel the bulge growing rapidly in his pants. She shouldn’t be doing this!

  She felt the low, deep growl vibrate through her, sending tiny little waves down to her core. She needed to break away, but he tasted like heaven! He was the one who eventually broke the kiss to nibble on her neck.

  “By the gods, you taste wonderful!” One of his hands left her arm to cup her breast through the material of his shirt she wore. “I want to taste every part of you. I want to be inside of you.”

  That did it! “No!” She pushed with all her strength against his chest. He pulled back to look at her. “For the last time, I am not your mate!”

  It was like a slap in the face to him. He let her slide to the floor then moved away. Anger flared up in his eyes and his chest heaved from the combination of the kiss and his anger. “You will be my mate and I will take you. There is no denying the bond that we both feel. Soon you will not be able to resist me and it is then I will have you.”

  He turned and stormed out of the room. She heard the sliding of a lock as he locked her in the room alone. She touched her swollen lips as she stood motionless in the same spot for several minutes. What were these strange feelings she kept having every time he touched her? Why did his kiss affect her so much even though she tried to deny it? She didn’t want to get into another relationship when she knew she would be the one who got hurt after Etor tossed her to the side when he tired of her. No, she had to get away before it was too late. There had to be some way she could get off Qetera and make her way…make her way to where? She couldn’t go back to Earth nor did she want to go Lephus. There had to be some place she could go to start her life over again without the fear of being hunted by Mark or Etor. It would take her some time to figure out what she needed to do, but she was getting of this planet!

  Chapter 10

  “The female is infuriating!” Etor shouted as he paced back and forth in his office. “Why will she not accept me as her true mate?”