Unexpected Demon

by Layla Stone

  He didn’t think for one second that she was being casual. She was asking a serious question, and he felt that his answer would hold the weight of whatever happened with them—if there would even be a them.

  “He was heartbroken, and that made me want to go back and let him on the ship. But I couldn’t trust that he could do a good job. And that’s what stopped me. Sci knew, though. Told me that Sol would be a good addition to my division.”

  Vivra’s lips parted.

  They walked down the hallway and stopped at the elevator doors. Pax held out his hand, keeping her from entering. “But that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about. I wanted to see how you’re recuperating.”

  She looked up at him like she was trying to figure out a puzzle. “What?”

  “I know how upsetting the captain can be. He’s rough.”

  Vivra shoved his arm out of the way and stepped onto the elevator. Pax followed. She pushed the levels for his cabin and hers then answered, “I’m fine. And I don’t appreciate you assuming I’d be an emotional wreck.”

  The elevator descended to level five. Pax had forgot to press level seven.

  A Yunkin stepped into the car. Vivra stepped back, and Pax pushed for level seven then moved towards her. Facing forward, she pressed her hands against her thighs.

  Leaning over, he whispered, “Stay with me tonight.”

  Vivra turned her eyes to him, and they lit with a golden glow. “I would…but I have a flight in six hours. I need to get ready.”

  She… What? “Where are you going?”

  “Mish has the tanks. I’m going to pick them up.”

  Mish. The bastard Red Demon. “I’ll send Shady. You can’t go down to a hostile planet.”

  “It’s not hostile where he is, and Yon is flying me.”

  Yon…Pax was going to have words with the Yunkin for taking Vivra down to the planet. That was the one place she shouldn’t be. And if Yon was letting her, the executive officer was overstepping the ship’s security protocols – specific regulations that Pax was responsible for.

  “Fine. But I’m walking you to your cabin.” The doors closed, and he didn’t say another word until they were at her door.

  “Be safe. And don’t let Yon get to you. He has a tendency to rub people the wrong way.”

  Patting his chest, she said, “I notice you like to act like I can’t handle difficult males, and yet here I am, handling you just fine.” She smirked and continued. “We’ll be fine. I’ll be back in enough time to join the team on the bridge and monitor your efforts.”

  He wanted to laugh when she told him that she was handling him. It was entirely the other way around. But she could think what she wanted. It would get her in his room faster if she believed it was her choice.

  He pressed his hand on top of hers. “Watching over me? I could get used to that.” Then he leaned down and watched as her eyes lightened. She pushed up on her tiptoes and met him for a light kiss.

  Chaste, but still sincere.

  He forced himself to leave because if he stayed another second longer, he might ask for her to rethink staying with him. And since he didn’t beg, that idea was out. He’d offered, and she’d declined. When the mission was over, he’d offer again—and again and again.

  Vivra nipped his lip as he pulled away. “But when you get back, I’ll take you up on your offer.”

  He felt his chest loosen. Date was set. He would hold her to it. “You can always take me up on that now. You know I can take care of you quickly.” Another offer…it looked a lot like he was begging. He had to stop.

  “You already took care of me, it’s my turn to take care of you. But, I’ll need more time.” She pressed her body against his, bringing his hardening cock to attention. “And I doubt you will be quick.” Giving him a devilish look, she teased, “Unless what I heard about Red Demons was all wrong.”

  I’m about to show you everything you need to know about Red Demons, sweetheart.

  He lifted her up by her thighs and pressed her into her cabin door. Her legs hooked around his waist, and sexy images of taking her standing up filled his mind. “You don’t need to think of any other Red Demons. All you need to know is that I can make your dreams come true. Over and over until you’re so exhausted, you can’t make sense of anything but how you feel. Maybe not even that. That’s my personal guarantee.”

  Her eyes still held light, but they flooded with lust. “Promise?”

  “A personal guarantee.” Then Pax rocked his hard cock against her. “When we get back, you will be in my bed. Deal?”

  The last word came out by accident, but he saw the effect instantly. The light in her eyes disappeared. Her eyebrows drew together. “We’ll see. When you come back.”

  Damn! Maybe she was handling him.

  He let her down and stole one more kiss. When she kissed him back, he felt a little better. A little more hopeful. But he had stupidly put her on the defensive by using the wrong word.

  Why did Demons have to be so untrustworthy? He’d never know, but his race’s reputation was seriously ruining his plans.

  He reluctantly made his way back to his cabin to take the edge off and focus on his mission.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Listen to the Yunkin

  Vivra already missed Pax’s warmth, but she felt the long hours in her muscles. She stripped off her clothes and set them inside her special dry-cleaning washer. It used special solutions and maintained a specific temperature during the washing and drying cycles. She’d had the machine installed, and the other cleaner removed because she bought higher-quality tops and blouses. She adhered to Federation requirements, but she refused to let ship life affect her standards.

  She turned on the shower and let the heat sink into her scaled flesh. The drops cascaded softly from her special rain-imitation showerhead. The water beveled and ran off her skin, taking the dust and grime with it. Once she was relaxed, she lathered up with her moisturizing, Bolark body wash that gently cleansed each scale, leaving her cleaned to perfection and smelling like fresh morning fog.

  After the shower, she pulled on her Lotus Adaamas silk night clothes and slid into bed. She set her alarm for four hours, and after staring at the walls for the next half-hour, she fell asleep for two of them and woke up hissing a string of curses.

  Throwing off the covers, she grabbed her Minky pad and made a voice call to Dol. She hoped that he was getting his calls in the containment cell in the belly of the ship.

  “Ma’am,” Dol answered in a sleep-heavy voice.

  “Dol!” Vivra smiled. She already felt relief that he had access to his account. “I’m leaving in…”—she checked the ship’s and Brica’s time—“two hours and will be meeting with my contact to pick up the tanks. I need to know if there is anything I should watch for in case my contact tries to sell me the wrong goods.”

  The line was quiet for a few minutes.

  “Ah, sure. Bring a measuring tape, I guess. Mish said the walls were 2-inch thick glass, and the tank was twenty-six feet wide and twelve and a half feet long. If the plexiglass has water stains, find out what was held in it before, or what it was used for. We don’t want any more contaminants on board.”

  Vivra snorted at that. Yeah, the last thing she wanted was to be the person bringing on more diseases. And she already knew the size and shape of the tank, but she wanted to talk to Dol before heading out.

  Vivra reached into her closet of clothes and pulled out a light grey top and her official white Federation Jacket showing her rank and name. On the ship, no one wore the jackets, but on-planet, when doing official business, it was mandatory. Hers had been tailored to fit her curves, and the material was insulated with silk.

  “Is there any way to test for an aquatic disease in the tank?”

  “It doesn’t have to be an aquatic disease. If the tanks don’t look brand new, I will soak them in a gamma solution to clean them.”

  Taking her b
lack wedges from her shoe rack, she sat on the bed and slid one foot in. “Okay, well then, I will just tell Mish that he has to lick the tank in front of me to see if it’s sanitary and new.”

  “That might work.” Dol laughed.

  She smiled even though he couldn’t see. “So, how’s life in the underbelly?”

  Dol made a noise. Either he was sitting up, or he was not sure how to put his thoughts into words. “Ansel separated all seven survivors into their own containers that were once lifepods, but I was told that Sands gutted them and made them comfortable enough to live in. He’s running air quality tests on each of them.”

  Sands had gutted seven lifepods and was still able to take care of the ship? Vivra wasn’t sure if she should be leery about his work or impressed. She would find out when she returned.

  “So, what are you doing down there?”

  Dol took in a deep breath that sounded like a yawn. “Not much. A lot of sleeping and eating. Will need to be a regular attendee in the training room when I get out of here.”

  “Do you need to be tested, too? To return to the ship?” Vivra had finished dressing and grabbed her Minky pad to slip it into her pants. Now, she stood in front of the black Minky screen that only changed colors when Dol spoke.

  “Yep. If the tests come back negative for contaminants, I will be back on the ship in five hours.”

  “That’s great. I will see you when I get back. And good luck with the survivors getting on the ship. I’ve already assigned them berthing rooms. When they arrive, can you log them in? I sent you the room numbers. You will have to fill out the names and have them complete out the personal information so we can keep accurate records of our onboard guests.”

  “Sure. Will do.”

  Vivra terminated the call and finished getting ready. On the way out, she grabbed her pixy pistol and slid it into the lower pocket on her right-hand side…just in case.

  ***

  Vivra didn’t stop walking until she was next to transporter 806. Yon stood with his arms crossed in front of the ramp that led to the craft. He was also wearing his Federation jacket. The white against his pale skin made the outfit look underwhelming on him. However, the upside was that he was tall for a Yunkin, and the jacket made him look massive. Which was always a good thing when dealing with new contacts, especially males. Having Yon fly and join her on this pick-up was a brilliant plan.

  She waved her hand at him and offered a polite smile. Once she was close, she asked, “How long have you been waiting out here?”

  “I came early to do a flight-check.”

  She nodded, having no idea what that entailed. “Well, that sounds fun. Are you ready to go?”

  “I am,” he answered then turned to walk up the ramp.

  “I’m going to check the back to make sure we have the lift and straps for the tank.” She followed him up the ramp.

  “You do that. Or, you can take a seat because I already checked. It’s a part of the flight-check,” Yon said snidely.

  She remembered Pax’s words. To not allow Yon to get to her. She wasn’t going to let him under her skin, but she also didn’t appreciate him talking to her like she was an idiot. “I’m not a pilot. I have no idea what’s in a flight-check.”

  “You’re also not an aquatics specialist. Yet, here we are.”

  Vivra quickly snapped back, “You’re not a pilot anymore, yet here we are.”

  Yon’s head turned slightly to the side, but he didn’t stop nor turn around. He kept walking to the bridge where he would pilot the craft. Vivra veered off the hallway to enter one of the berthing rooms. Two beds and two bathrooms per room.

  Situated in a room, she linked the mounted Minky screen with her profile and sent a message to Clalls, asking him to update her on the Brica situation. She didn’t want to inadvertently walk into a hostile situation.

  The screen pinged after she sent her message. It was from Yon.

  No obligation, just offering you a comfortable chair in the bridge if you want it.

  She smirked. Apparently, Yon’s message personality was much nicer than his actual one. She didn’t respond. Instead, she checked the orders for the tank filters and other necessary items still in transit then joined Yon on the bridge.

  Once there, she received a response from Clalls and read it out loud to Yon.

  Merimore entered Brica at Prime Meridian 0° and has moved from the Ula mine to the Absaloka mine, location 39° 5’ 30.628” North, 81° 48’ 57.493” West. The ship travels every two to four hours. I suspect they are pillaging the mines and moving on.

  The Merimore, however, is not too far away from the Cenlura mine that was attacked. That mine is at 38° 53’ 41.292” North, 81° 56’ 0.493” West.

  Your current trajectory is location 66.7868° North, 169.5566° East. Not a great distance away, but you should be able to pick up and leave if the ship starts to head your way. I will keep you alerted.

  Yon pushed in the coordinates to get a visual representation of all three locations. The distances weren’t that great, and even though Vivra was pleased to have found the tanks so close, she would have preferred to fly them in and wait.

  Leaning back in his pilot chair, Yon finally spoke as they entered the atmosphere and the ship began to vibrate. “At least we both know if we die, this was all your idea.”

  Vivra looked over at the male and scowled. He didn’t even have the decency to look at her. Instead, the sides of his lips curled up as if he were pleased to have gotten such a reaction.

  ***

  Transporter 806 touched down, and both Yon and Vivra unbuckled at the same time. Yon held out this hand to let her exit first and then his long legs carried him past her so that he could be first down the ramp.

  Mish, the Red Demon, was waiting on the landing dock. Vivra watched Yon stomp down slowly. He didn’t greet the Demon with words or action. The Yunkin stopped at the end of the ramp and didn’t move until she was next to him. Then, he scanned the area.

  “Mish,” she greeted the Red Demon by name. Mish had already given Yon a once-over and must not have noticed his rank because he didn’t greet the Yunkin as the superior officer.

  “Sweetpea, what a delicious thing you are.” Mish tilted his head slightly. “I’m glad I’m able to see it in person.”

  Vivra had been told she was stunning. Mish, on the other hand, was not. He came up to Yon’s shoulders, but his chest was wider, and his belly was round. He was wearing a jacket as well, but it didn’t have an insignia or name on it.

  He was not Federation.

  “Where are the tanks?” Vivra gestured to the empty space where the tanks should have been. Yon remained silent at her side, but his eyes were constantly moving, scanning, and observing. His constant state of alertness caused her to feel protected and concerned all at the same time. She was thankful that she hadn’t left her pixy pistol on the ship.

  “In the back. Follow me.” Mish took off down the landing dock and had them sit in an old motorized land vehicle. It didn’t even hover, it moved on wheels.

  The storage hangar was a short three-minute drive from the transporter.

  Mish held open the door for her, and she stepped out and up to a large, eighty-or-so-foot-tall hangar. The farther in they walked, the stronger the smell of aged boxes, dust, and unfiltered air became. There was a heavy layer of sparkly, grey dust covering everything. The only thing that looked as if it had moved within the last decade was the dirt under their feet. She noted that there were several pairs of boot tracks both coming and going.

  “You could have brought it to the front,” Yon said when they headed into a darker part of the hangar.

  “True, but I also thought her Red Demon would be coming with, and I was going to let him do all the heavy lifting,” Mish stated smartly. Vivra didn’t like him calling Pax her Red Demon.

  “And now that he’s not? Will you be doing the heavy lifting?” she asked, half curiously and half expecta
nt.

  Mish slowed down to walk beside her. He was close enough that she could watch him lick his lips. “You brought a Yunkin with you. He can do the lifting while we get to know each other better.”

  “I really hope you don’t think I’m going to carry a twenty-six-foot tank all the way back to my transporter. You have a hydro-crane, I assume?” Yon asked as he squeezed in between the Red Demon and Vivra.

  Mish chuckled lightheartedly. “Of course, I do.” The Red Demon obviously didn’t miss the move Yon had made to push him away from Vivra. He winked at her, ignoring the subtle warming Yon gave.

  Yon started to slow down and held out his arm so she couldn’t go past. Once they were a good ten feet from Mish, who was still walking forward, Yon said, “Vivra. I want you to turn around now and start heading back.” His tone was soft. His arm was not. And then she saw in his rigid stance that something was wrong.

  Mish quickly spun around. “Wait. No, she has to check out the tanks first.”

  Yon’s massive hands grabbed her arm, stopping her in her spot. His dark eyes drilled into hers. “Run.”

  He spun her around and gave her a small push. It was such a change in the situation that she stuttered for half a second. There was no danger. At least any she could detect. But the look in Yon’s eyes, his tone, his fear flowed into her. She turned and ran.

  She didn’t make it two steps before several men rushed out of the darkness between the wall and the many covered objects—all with phasers pointed directly at her.

  Yon screamed for her to run again, but she was too terrified to move. The phaser in her face was the determining factor.

  The men rushed Yon, and the Yunkin took the hits from the phasers and kept fighting. She watched him use several unconscious males to block the blasts. He also punched so hard he knocked two to the floor. They didn’t get up.

  The man holding the gun on her moved his phaser towards Yon, and she quickly kicked out at his knee instead of his groin. The man went down, but the phaser turned in her direction. She went to kick him again when a pair of copper-red arms wrapped around her. “Not this one. We want to make sure she’s unharmed. Things go a lot smoother when our kidnappings aren’t so bloody,” Mish said.