by Abella Ward
He enjoyed it a lot.
Too much. He had looked to the bridal service for a woman he didn't have to care about. In his line of work, attachments were dangerous. If he allowed her to have any power over him, she could easily use his affection for her to her own end. He had already done more than he should have by promising to save her cousin. Why he had allowed her brown eyes and sweet face to sway him, he didn't know.
No, he needed to keep his distance by any means necessary. Even if that meant making her hate him. "Are you going to shower? You stink."
Erica's cheeks stained pink. She sat, smoothing her skirt over her knees. "Well, I was expecting that."
"What?"
"You get like this every day, right before you give yourself an injection. What are you on? It's gotta be a pretty tough drug to give you such obvious withdrawals."
"None of your concern."
"We live together and apparently I'm your wife. It is my concern."
Ronan growled. So she was already observing him, finding his weak points. Well, she wasn't going to get the satisfaction of learning about his disease.
He needed to stay in control.
"Ronan, whatever it is, I can help you break the habit. I've seen a lot of people on drugs during my medical training, I don't want to see that happen to you."
His shoulders relaxed slightly. Could he really trust her? He wanted to… maybe after this mission was done. They were getting closer to the Ruizers research vessel that he needed to steal information from, which put him on edge already. Add to it that it was almost time to take his perijan, and he wasn't in the best state to make decisions.
He would wait until he was sounder of mind to decide.
Ronan marched over to the comm console and gestured to the chair before it. "Come here and make a distress call. We are on our honeymoon, and we were attacked by pirates. Our oxygen filters have been damaged, and we need assistance repairing them."
Erica sighed, but she came over to the console. She didn't sit, instead leaning over the controls with an arch in her back. Her posture made the front of her dress drop low, revealing her ample pink cleavage.
With a growl, Ronan looked away. If he recorded the distress call, the Ruizers Corporation ship probably wouldn’t come. But Erica was human. They'd come for her. Whether because there was some religious fanatic onboard who worshiped humans as the first ancestors, or because they thought they could make a quick profit by abducting and selling her, they would come.
Erica recorded the distress call and set the controls to broadcast it in a loop. She turned to Ronan and folded her arms. If he didn't know better, he'd say she looked annoyed. "That good?"
He nodded.
"I don't know why I'm doing this. There must be hundreds of laws we're breaking by doing this."
"You're doing it because you want me to take back what I said and take you to bed without you having to beg."
The human turned a red that was almost as deep as his skin and spluttered. "You wish!"
"Then you're doing it because the sooner I get the information that the Planchet Corporation wants, the sooner we can save Bethy."
Erica scowled but didn't reply.
Ronan checked the thumb-sized hacking device he always used on these sorts of missions. It was made from a self-dissolving material. All he needed to do was put it on a ship's computer and it would upload all the information that was on it to his own ship. If he didn't enter the acceptance code within a few minutes of starting the program, though, it would destroy everything on both computers. It was a backup in case he got killed. If they took him down, he wanted to take them down with him.
Just as he predicted, it wasn't long before they got a communication from the Ruizers, telling them that they were coming to pick them up. Ronan smiled, chewing on a protein stick. Now that he had a way to get into the ship, his tense shoulders relaxed. Chances were, they would be able to get out of this without fighting. That was always a good thing, although it could be quite boring.
"So what exactly are you taking from them?" Erica asked.
"Information. That's all you need to know."
The human wrapped her arms around herself and didn't press the issue. Within a few minutes, the Ruizers ship had pulled up next to them. A portube, a large tubing that allowed for travel between ships in deep space, extended from the larger Ruizers ship and sealed itself around the cargo bay doors of Ronan’s ship. As soon as Ronan and Erica were across, he planted his little hacking device on the nearest computer.
The Trioeil who greeted them eyed Erica. She shrank back against Ronan, which surprised him. He didn't expect she would trust him to protect her from these beings. Although he understood why she wouldn’t want a Trioeil looking at her. They were disgusting little creatures that had worse reputations than T'shav. Ronan's people were considered mercenaries that would nonetheless defend their families. Trioeil were known to sell their closest relatives without hesitation.
"Thank you for rescuing us," Erica said. "Although my distress call may have been premature. I believe my… husband fixed the oxygen recyclers just before you picked us up. It's good to have some fresh air, though."
"It is my pleasure," the Trioeil said. "Come. I'm afraid this is a research vessel and doesn't have much in the way of refreshments, but I'm sure we can find something."
"We'd love to," Erica said before Ronan could say they were fine and wanted to be on their way. He scowled as they followed the Trioeil to a nearby kitchenette. Now that they were here, it was imperative to keep up the ruse. Getting blown out of the sky as soon as they were in his vessel again was not an option.
"Human and T'shav newlyweds, eh?" the Trioeil said, squinting her three watery eyes. "I didn't think T'shav did the whole marriage thing."
"I did," Ronan said. "It's what Erica wanted."
"Seems like that's what all you humans like. How you can cuddle up with something as hard as a rock and twice as dumb I don't know."
Ronan growled softly. He wished he had the traditional broadsword his people used. It was a great weapon for intimidation, and would probably silence these inane remarks. But he had given up all T'shav traditions long ago, when his father died, and these days he relied solely on blasters. A poor substitute, but there was no going back after the things he had done.
The Trioeil was openly appraising Erica now. "You have a pretty human here, T'shav. Are you willing to sell her?"
Ronan looked down at the human pressed against him. Her gaze met his, her eyes wide, her hands trembling. There were plenty of reasons why he should. He cared too much about her already. He spent most of this mission’s commission on buying her and was going to use up quite a few resources rescuing her cousin.
But the thought of Erica in the Trioeil's hands made him want to kill somebody. He shook his head. "I'd sooner kill you than sell her."
Erica's eyes widened. Her lips parted slightly, and Ronan was tempted to kiss her, Trioeil or no Trioeil.
The three-eyed alien sighed, bringing his attention back to her. "I was afraid that you'd actually love her. Oh, well. As my mother always says, the only good T'shav is—"
Ronan drew his blaster before the Trioeil could finish. The bolt hit her right in her center eye. She was dead before her corpse even hit the ground. Erica screamed, but Ronan whirled, firing on the three aliens that had just come through the door with their weapons drawn. He ignored his human's cries of shock as he gunned them down.
With one arm he grabbed Erica and slung her over his shoulder. There was no way that these people were taking Erica away from him. He raced back to the portube, keeping an ear out for enemies.
"In," Ronan ordered, gesturing towards the portube.
He followed Erica in, going backward to ward off any attackers. They were just reaching the other side when a couple of Dibats appeared at the Ruizers' end. They fired rapidly. Ronan fired back, roaring with bloodlust.
Erica screamed.
Ronan turned, his heart in his
throat. A bolt shot by Erica's ear and he leaped forward, enfolding her in his arms. He spun her around so that he was between the blaster fire and her. Sudden pain lanced through his back. It radiated up his arms and down his legs. He couldn’t breathe. The smell of burning flesh–his burning flesh–filled the room. His gaze focused on Erica's eyes, wide and frightened. Somehow he found the strength to turn once more and put two bolts in the approaching Dibats.
And then darkness overwhelmed him and he collapsed to the floor.
Chapter Five: Erica
"No!" Erica clutched Ronan's massive body as he sagged against her.
His eyes rolled wildly in his skull. Their bodies were pressed so closely together that she could feel his heart beating, wildly, desperately, as though it knew about his injury and was trying to keep him alive by redoubling its efforts. The two Dibat guards were running forward now, grins on their faces.
Erica grabbed Ronan's blaster as he fell, letting off a few rounds as she jumped to the airlock controls. She sealed the ship up before she ran for the flight controls. Her heart thumped wildly, and every fiber of her being wanted to run back to Ronan. If he didn't get medical attention, and fast, then he wasn't going to make it.
But if the Ruizers got into the ship, neither of them were going to make it.
Erica winced as the screech of the portube ripping from the hull echoed in the small space. The comm lit up with a hails, but Erica ignored them. She sped away from the Ruizers Corporation ship. The scanners showed the bigger ship coming around, pursuing their vessel. She threw all power to the engines.
The Ruizers ship grew larger for a brief second before just blinking out. Erica's heart stopped. They had stealth technology? Was that what Ronan was after? But stealth wasn't that uncommon, just highly regulated… so where had the Ruizers gone?
But moments later, the lights flickered and the artificial gravity lurched briefly, and Erica knew what had really happened. The Ruizers ship had blown up. She killed the engines, rerouting the energy back to the internal systems. What had happened? Was there another ship–or had that been Ronan's mission? To blow them up?
At that moment, she didn't care. The Ruizers had tried to steal her, and Ronan had protected her. For a moment she sat trembling, gulping in deep breaths. What if he had died saving her?
Only one way to know.
The paramedic ran back to her T'shav's side, relieved to see he was breathing, although she didn't like the faint orange color his skin was taking on. She rolled him into the recovery position and retrieved all the medical equipment Ronan had onboard. Her pounding heart calmed, and her breathing evened out.
This was familiar to her. This was what she knew. Right now Ronan wasn't the infuriating T'shav that she hated being so drawn to. He was a patient, and he needed a calm head taking care of him. He needed someone like her, who could put emotions aside and do what she had to do to save his life.
The wound was a small blast, dangerously close to his heart. The bolt seemed to have hit an odd bony plate in his back, though. It probably had saved his life. Erica had never worked on a T'shav before, but all the alien species were descended from humans, and so their biology was similar enough that she knew what to do in this case. Her hands were steady as she cut away the crispy, burnt flesh, then applied Fleshseal to encourage regeneration.
After that, there was nothing to do but wait. She tried to lift him and carry him to the bed, but he was too heavy. Instead, she covered him up where he lay. After that, she went through the shelves, hoping to find something that might speed up his recovery. At the very top, where she never would be able to reach without him noticing while they were on the ship, was the box of drugs he always used. Erica climbed up and retrieved it. Maybe there was some sort of enhancer inside.
Instead, she found multiple bottles of the enzyme perijan, along with dozens of needles in sterile packages, and a hand-written set of instructions addressed to her.
Erica, if you are reading this, it means I am unable to give myself these injections, and I am reliant on you. I have Cilaze, a disease that requires me to have regular injections of perijan to regulate my hormonal secretions. Follow these instructions or I will die.
The human stared at the page in shock. He could die? Why hadn't he told her that he had some crazy disease when she thought he was taking drugs? The page crumpled in her hands. Was he too proud to admit he had Cilaze? It was a disease that affected a significant portion of the population, there was nothing shameful about it!
Were all T'shav this proud, or was it just this idiot? Growling, Erica scanned him. His perijan levels were dangerously low. She quickly prepped and injected the enzyme. Tears blurred her vision when she was done. There was nothing left to do but set course for the nearest planet and then sit next to Ronan, waiting for him to wake up. She stroked his face gently.
Please wake up. Please.
***
It was several days before Ronan regained consciousness, but he was in no shape to talk. Erica helped him to the bed, removed the old Fleshseal and applied a new layer. Then she gave him some painkillers that would also help him sleep. Rest was the most important thing he could have now. They didn't have a regenerator, and without one, he seemed to heal very slowly.
She landed them on the closest planet without incident, and for another week Erica tended to the T'shav while also gathering supplies. Thankfully, he was out of the danger zone now. As soon as he was better they were going after Bethy, after all, and she wanted to make sure nothing would delay them.
She would never admit that part of the reason why she kept busy was that every time she stopped to think about what might have happened, she couldn’t breathe. He could have easily died. She hardly knew him, and she didn't like him–at least, she knew she shouldn’t. But their verbal sparring kept her on her toes, and she had to admit it. She cared. A lot. And he had nearly died for her.
Finally, Ronan had healed enough that there was no more need for fresh Fleshseal. His own muscle and skin regenerated enough to prevent further damage. He also took charge of injecting himself with perijan again.
"I told you to stay in bed," Erica told him one day when she came back from a shopping trip to find him in the cockpit, plotting a new course.
"I don't take orders."
"What's the use of having a medical advisor if you're just going to ignore me?" Erica put her purchases on the shelf. "You need more time to heal."
"If we're going to get your cousin, we need to go now. I thought you'd be more concerned for her than me."
"I am, but that doesn't mean I'm not concerned about you." Erica put her hand on his shoulder. She could feel his muscles relax under her touch. "Back to bed."
"Only if you come with me."
Erica's jaw dropped. She felt a tightening in her lower stomach but tried to ignore it. "You're wounded, you're in no shape for sex."
Ronan turned, shaking his head. "A T'shav could have his leg cut off and have sex the next day. I want you, Erica. I have from the start, and I know you want me. Can you deny it?"
"I could, but I don't want to. You saved me. I mean, I was only in that position because of you—"
Guilt flashed over his features.
Erica gently cupped his face with her hands. "But you nearly died protecting me. So no, I'm not going to deny that I want you. But you're still recovering. Besides, I'm not going to beg for your touch."
"I changed my mind about that. For now, at least. As much as I'd love to see you on your knees, I'm willing to break first this time. Like you said, I put you in danger. For that, all I can say is I'm sorry." Ronan paused a moment, then pushed himself to his feet. He grasped her shoulders and shook his head. "I shouldn't care about you. I should have just sold you to those Ruizers. But all of a sudden I… I…"
He brought his mouth to hers, hot and hungry. Erica was shocked but quickly kissed back. She clung to his body, exploring the contours of his muscles with her fingers. Heat flooded her body. Desire, heady pass
ion. His wound was almost completely healed… as long as they kept things somewhat tame it wouldn't hurt.
When she pulled back to look into Ronan's eyes, she saw that the almost-indistinguishable pupils of his black eyes were dilated. She stroked his cheek. "I guess I can forgo you begging me for my touch this time, too."
Ronan's dimple flashed as he grinned. "You'll beg first. But that'll be for another time… when we have some rope."
"Rope?" Erica pulled away and lightly smacked his chest. "I should have known you'd be into that BSDM stuff. Well, I'm not going to let you tie me up. Unless I can tie you up, too."
Her eyes widened. Holy crow! Did she really just say that? She felt her cheeks warming. Ronan, however, only laughed and tugged her even closer. He pressed another kiss to her that had her skin sizzling. He tugged the skirt of the crumpled red dress up over her hips, cupping her ass with his giant hands.
Ronan squeezed and broke the kiss. "I've never been tied before. Maybe I'll enjoy it."
"Okay," Erica gasped breathlessly. Her head spun and she grinned up at her T'shav mercenary. "So bed?"
"Nope." The dimple deepened. "Hands and knees, right here."
Erica's core tightened at the mental image and she couldn't stop herself from groaning. Ronan caught her face and kissed her again.
A full twenty piece orchestra went off. Erica melted against her warrior, then slid down his body, pressing kisses to his bare torso. She was rewarded by a deep throaty groan, which clashed like symbols in her brain. It was the single most arousing thing she had ever heard. When she was on her knees, Ronan dropped beside her. His eyes were dilated, a look of excitement and lust on his face. Erica's chest heaved, so giddy with anticipation that she could hardly breathe.
Ronan spun her around so her back was to him. The dress was yanked back up to her hips. With one hand the T'shav pinned Erica against his body. His other slipped between her legs, eagerly finding its target. He zeroed in on it, making the human writhe in his arms. A low chuckle and he pressed firm kisses on her neck and shoulder.