by Sadie Carter
There was shock on his face. And fear.
“He’s gone. Keely, he is gone.”
8
Keely stared at Que for a beat. “What do you mean? Who is gone?”
“A communication just came through from Alek. Zandar escaped an hour ago. He managed to get out of the cell he was being held in. They believe one of the human females helped him.”
“They think she helped him escape?”
“Yes, the human female who claimed that he could not have attacked the other female because she was with him at the time.”
“Shit. And now she’s helped him escape? This really isn’t good. How did he get off the ship?”
“Stole an emergency escape pod,” he stated woodenly. “There is more.”
“More? Jesus, what?” Didn’t Zandar realize he’d just made things so much worse. Now he looked even more guilty than he had.
“The female was with him.”
“Shit. Shit.”
“And there is footage of them escaping. Where he is carrying her over his shoulder and she is fighting him.”
Fuck. “Damn it. This is really not good, Que.”
“I know,” he said quietly.
“It makes him look guilty. He’s run. And he’s taken a hostage, his only alibi, who it seems he’s kidnapped.”
“I know. I do not understand any of this.”
She paced back and forth. “What are we going to do? I need to speak to Mila.”
“I have been in contact with Koran,” he told her. “He wants us to try and find them.”
She paused, turned to look at him. “Find them? How are we going to do that?”
“The emergency pod has a tracking chip. We will follow the co-ordinates.”
“Right. Okay. And then what? We find them and ask Zandar to quietly come with us? Somehow, I don’t think he’s gonna want to do that.”
“I am hoping he will still listen to me.”
“Did he know you were coming to see him?”
One beat of silence. Two. She knew what he was going to say before he said it. “Yes.”
Right. So he knew his younger brother, who he hadn’t seen in three years, was coming to see him and he’d run. She stared at Que and felt a crack form in part of her shield. Something stabbed at her chest. Empathy. Sympathy. The need to comfort.
She grew closer to him, placed her hand on his arm. At least now she didn’t have to worry about touching him. That ship had already sailed.
She felt him flinch beneath her touch, though, and she snatched her hand back. Or she tried to. He reached out and grabbed her hand, holding it so tight it was almost painful. But she didn’t say anything to stop him.
“I have grown used to trying to avoid touching you,” he admitted to her.
Back off. Put your shields back up.
No! Don’t! He needs you.
She grew closer, leaning her head against his chest then she wrapped her free arm around him. Their clasped hands rested on his wide chest. “I’m sorry, Que.”
“We will find him.”
“Not about that. I mean, I am sorry he’s disappeared. For you. But I’m mostly sorry about the way I reacted just before, after touching you. It was uncool. I was just. . .I was taken by surprise. I’m used to keeping everyone at a distance. Even my friends. They know me best, but still I keep a part of myself hidden from them. I’ve always had to protect myself. But with you. . .I’m not sure I can keep you out forever.”
He wrapped his arm around her, holding her tight.
She stiffened then forced herself to take a deep breath and let it out. “It’s hard to let anyone else close. I don’t trust easily.”
“Then I shall have to show you that you can trust in me.”
“Might take a while,” she warned.
He gently brushed her hair away from her face as she looked up into those dark blue eyes, surrounded by some of the lushest eyelashes she’d ever seen. God, he was gorgeous. All male. That short dark hair, his beautiful eyes, those sexy-as-fuck lips.
A small smile crossed his lips. “You think me gorgeous.”
“Shit,” she muttered. “I said that out loud.”
“You did. You are beautiful.”
“Are you gonna kiss me already?” she snapped, feeling ridiculously shy. She’d had lots of compliments on her looks. But none of them had felt as special as him calling her beautiful.
He ran a finger along her lower lip. “Yes.”
Then his mouth swooped down on hers, pressing lightly before he ran his tongue along the seam of her lips. She opened her mouth, letting him in. Her legs weakened, her heart racing. She would have fallen had he not picked her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he kissed her like a man starving and she was a giant slice of chocolate cake.
Everything else faded away. There was just Que. Just his talented tongue playing with hers, making her wonder what that tongue would feel like elsewhere. He drew back, his eyes half-mast as he stared down at her.
“You taste delicious.”
She had to clear her throat. Her arms and legs were wrapped around him as best as she could manage considering how large he was. He held her easily, his hands cupping her ass. Shit, she liked that. She’d always loved having her ass squeezed.
“You’re not too bad yourself, sweetcheeks.”
He opened his mouth, when a sharp sound filled the cockpit.
“That is the tracker,” he explained with a frown. He set her down, but did not let go of her, instead he wrapped his arm around her waist and drew her forward with him. He pressed a button and some co-ordinates appeared. “The emergency pod has stopped moving. It has landed on a nearby planet.”
She sucked in a breath. “So we know where they are.”
“Yes, now we just need to find them.”
9
“I’m coming with you,” Keely demanded, glaring up at him.
“No.”
He pulled on a shirt. Diclac, the planet where the escape pod carrying his brother and the human female had landed, had a cold climate. He grabbed a jacket and slid that on too. It hid his blaster from view. He also had knives strapped to his ankles and another blaster in the small of his back.
“I can help.”
He raised his eyebrows as he just stared down at her. She had been arguing with him ever since they had discovered that the emergency pod had landed.
“You are not coming.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, bringing his attention to her full breasts. What he would not give to have the time to strip her naked and explore every inch of her skin, to suckle on her breasts, to play with that place between her legs, to sink himself deep. . .
But he did not have time right now.
“I knew you’d become overbearingly bossy when we mated.”
“We are not fully mated yet,” he pointed out. “And the answer would have been the same had I not discovered you were my mate earlier.” Not that he hadn’t already known it.
She tapped her foot. “I’m supposed to be doing my job. How can I do my job if I’m stuck here on the ship?”
“Your job is to deal with the humans. To negotiate between them and us. To ensure that they did not turn around and go back to Earth.”
“I’m also here to help figure out what happened.”
“By speaking to the humans. The one who accused Zandar of attacking her and the human female who said he was with her. You were not supposed to deal with Zandar.”
He would never have allowed that. Not that he did not trust his brother. Well, that was not entirely true. Once, he would have trusted his brother with his life. Now, he was not so certain he knew him. No, he would not have trusted Zandar with Keely. She was too precious for that. Not unless he was close by and could protect her.
“There’s a human female out there with him now.”
“I know this. However, this is not a safe planet. It is dangerous. Here, females are subservient to males. It is a harsh place. There are
not many females and most are shared. To walk around with you, looking as you do, it would just be asking for someone to challenge me for you.”
“What do you mean, looking as I do?”
He cupped her face between his hands. “You are beautiful, my mate. I would be facing constant challenges for you. And while I would win each one, I do not have the time to do so. I need to find Zandar and the human female.”
“You would win each one? Arrogant brute,” she muttered. But he could tell she did not mean the words. There was acceptance in her face. She sighed. “I hate being left behind.”
“I understand that it is difficult for you. But I need to concentrate on the mission. Not protecting you.”
She sighed. “Fine, fine.” She waved her hands at him. “Go without me. I’ll just stay here and keep the home fires burning.”
His eyes widened in alarm. “There are no fires on board the ship. That could be very dangerous.”
“Not a literal fire. I just meant. . .it doesn’t matter what I mean. You’ve wasted enough time on me. Get out there. Find Zandar and the woman. Go.”
He leaned in and kissed her and the tension in her body gradually eased. She slipped her arms around his waist. He was learning it was a good way to get her to relax. Enjoyable for him, also.
“Stay here. Promise me.”
She sighed. “I promise. Unless I think you are in danger.”
“Keely,” he warned.
“That’s the best you’re gonna get.”
“I will be in no danger. I shall keep in contact with you so that you know this.” Also, so he could check she was obeying him. “And if you leave this ship, for any reason, I shall be very upset with you.”
She just rolled her eyes. “Got it, sweetcheeks.”
10
She’d had every intention of keeping her promise.
How she found herself in her current position was really just a series of mistakes that weren’t of her making.
Kind of. Sort of.
She stared down at the small creature leaning into her side. Then she studied the scouting ship. The ship she’d promised Que she would not leave. But she’d had to. Surely, he would see that. She couldn’t let this poor little thing wander around, crying on its own.
“I’m in so much trouble,” she whispered down to the creature. She couldn’t know for sure, of course, since it wasn’t human, but she was fairly certain it was a child.
It had green skin and four limbs. Two skinny legs and very short arms with hands at the end that had just two fingers and a thumb. The top of its hairless head didn’t even reach her hip. Its ears were large and pointed, its two eyes tiny and dark. Its nose was small and pointed like its ears. The creature kind of reminded her of something, she just couldn’t figure out what. And right now, she didn’t have the time to work it out. Since she needed all of her attention on trying to work out how the hell to get the door to the ship to open again.
She’d been sitting in the cockpit, looking out at nothing, when she’d seen movement in the trees in front of her. Que hadn’t wanted to land in the port, and since their ship wasn’t large, they only needed a small clearance area to land. So, he’d set them down close to the port, but in the middle of a forest that gave them some cover.
The movement hadn’t really worried her for a start. She’d figured it would be some sort of animal. But when she’d seen a little face peering out at her, she’d grown alarmed. Especially when that little face appeared to be in some major distress. It had stood on the edge of the clearing, looking straight at the ship. And cried.
She’d tried to resist. To be smart. It could well have been some deadly creature in disguise, trying to lure her out to eat her. She told herself all that. But as the poor thing just stood there and cried, she’d felt her resolve waver. Instinct had screamed at her that it was a child. And that it needed her. Finally, unable to stop herself, she’d gotten up, wrapped herself up in a warm jacket and managed to get the door open so she could drop the short distance to the ground. She hadn’t thought much about the door sliding shut behind her. She’d figured it would re-open for her.
She had figured wrong.
What was worse was that she didn’t have her communicator with her.
So, on the plus side the little creature hadn’t eaten her. In fact, as soon as it had seen her, it had latched onto her leg and not let go. It had also been shivering with cold, so she’d taken off her jacket to wrap it in.
And now she was shivering with cold, stuck on the wrong side of that damn door and with no way to get in touch with Que since her communicator was on the other side of that door.
Stupid.
“I am completely screwed.” She glanced down at the small creature. “What are we going to do?”
She breathed on her fingers in an effort to warm them. Her fingers and toes were starting to feel numb. The smart thing would be to wait for Que to return. But she was freezing. And she had no idea when he would be back. Which could mean she’d be waiting her for a long time.
Option one didn’t hold much appeal.
Option two. Go and try to find Que. This didn’t sound like the sort of planet where she wanted to be wandering around. It would be stupid to try to find him. She had no idea where he was. And it sounded dangerous as hell.
She glanced down at her little friend.
“Neither of those options really works. Then there’s the question of where you came from and how we’re going to get you back to whoever you belong to.”
Shit. She had the worst luck
She searched in her pockets for anything that might help. She didn’t know what she was searching for. A flare? A key to the damn ship? Something?
The little creature made a noise and she stared down at him as he drew something from the pocket of her jacket, which hung on him or her like a long dress, dragging on the ground. The creature didn’t even bother trying to put its arms in the sleeves as they were way too long.
She stared down at the credits in its hand. Okay, so she had a little bit of cash.
That was good.
“I can’t keep thinking of you as it,” she told him/her. “What should I call you?” She studied it. “How about Emerald? Yeah, I’ll call you Emerald.”
The creature just gave her a look she couldn’t decipher. She decided it was approval.
“All right, Emerald. If you were me, what would you do? We have a little cash, no way of getting into this stupid ship, and it’s damn cold. You have my jacket and I’ve now lost feeling in my toes. Plus, it’s growing dark and I don’t know about you but I’m not having a good feeling about being out here in the dark.”
Emerald yawned and leaned heavily against her leg, eyelids closing.
“Uh-uh, no way, little buddy. You are not falling asleep on me. You and me are in this together. And when Que goes ape-shit at me for leaving the ship, I need you there to shield me. Okay? One look at your cute face and there’s no way he can blame me, right?”
Emerald gave her a disbelieving look.
“Yeah, that’s what I figure too. He is totally gonna lose his mind.”
And with good cause. She’d broken her promise. Sure, she’d figured she had a good reason. She couldn’t live with herself if she’d sat inside her warm ship while this little guy or girl stood out and cried in the freezing cold.
Still, she should probably have thought about how she was going to get back inside. And that maybe she should have brought her communicator with her.
“Urgh, I hate dumb people, and right now, I’m the dumb person in this equation. This sucks. I mean, it’s not as bad as the time that dumb-ass slaver took me hostage or when our ship blew up or when we found ourselves stuck on that planet, slaving away for those assholes.”
She took a deep breath. “All right, I’ve had a lot of not-very-nice adventures in my life and I managed to get through them okay. I can get through this too. If it wasn’t so fuck—umm— flipping cold then we could wait for Que. But my toes
aren’t going to last much longer. And I like my toes. Which means we need to go see if we can find some civilization and either get ourselves some good blankets or pay someone to use their communicator, which means contacting one of my friends since I don’t know how to contact Que from memory and that’s another thing to add into the me being stupid column. Okay? Good plan?”
Emerald just blinked, staring up at her from those tiny, dark eyes.
“Okay, it’s a really stupid plan but have you got anything better?”
Silence.
“That’s what I figured. Let’s go then.” She remembered the direction Que had taken. She just hoped like hell that the settlement wasn’t far. Exercise wasn’t her favorite things and her high heels weren’t built for trekking through the dirt and mud.
She did not have a good feeling about any of this.
11
His instincts were screaming at him that something was wrong.
He looked around the seedy bar, searching. What was it? So far, he had found no sign of Zandar or his human companion. If he still had the human female. Stars. What if he got rid of her? What if she ended up here on Diclac alone? She’d be snapped up quickly by a slaver, sold into the black market, and they would likely never find her again.
And no doubt the humans would break their treaty, and many Zerconian males would be denied their mates.
His stomach knotted. All because of his brother. He just had to hope that there was still some of the old Zandar present. Because the old Zandar would never leave a female alone and defenseless.
It was now obvious that he didn’t know his brother as well as he thought he had. Because he never thought Zandar would leave him either.
That uneasiness grew in his gut. No one had seen a Zerconian around. He didn’t dare ask about the female, because that would just send everyone on a hunt for her. And they wouldn’t return her to him, even if he offered a bounty, instead they’d sell her on the black market.
