Alien Escape

by Dena Christy

  “Only that I can't promise you more than this.” He stood there looking at her, and she stood up in front of him and put her arms around his waist. He pulled her close and held her tight for several moments.

  “I knew what I was getting into last night. You gave me no promises and I expect none. Let’s enjoy this, whatever it is, for as long as it lasts.”

  “For as long as it lasts.” He echoed her words as if it was a vow, gave her one last squeeze and turned and walked out the door.

  Once he was gone, her legs gave way beneath her and she sank back down on the mattress. She reached for her clothing, trying to put from her mind the danger she would be in if she let this go any further. Already she felt closer to him now that they’d been so intimate with each other. She’d made love with him without reservation and had opened herself completely to him.

  She pulled on her clothes and took a deep breath. It was done now, and there was no turning the clock back to undo it. She needed to be careful to ensure that her heart stayed safe.

  She grabbed the clothes she intended to wear that day. Thank God Rebecca had thought to grab the bag that Evie had left packed in her closet because otherwise she would have to wear the same clothes she’d worn yesterday.

  She walked out her bedroom door to make her way to the only bathroom in the house. It was very primitive, with only a toilet, a sink and a tiny bathtub. She didn’t bother even thinking about a bath, and after relieving herself, made do with a cold sponge bath in the sink.

  Once she’d washed and changed her clothes, she opened the bathroom door and ran into Rebecca, who was waiting in the hall. She let out a startled gasp as she reeled back, and Rebecca reached out to steady her.

  “Sorry, I wasn’t expecting to see you there,” Evie said as Rebecca let her hand drop, and she inspected Evie’s face. Evie tried to school her features into her usual expression.

  “Are you feeling okay?”

  “I’m fine. Why do you ask?” While she felt different on the inside, she didn’t think it showed on the outside, did it?

  “I thought you would still be upset after yesterday. Don’t beat yourself up about destroying the compound. You had no choice.”

  It seemed like ages ago that the compound had been destroyed and sleeping with Cynric last night had pushed all thoughts that didn’t involve him out of her mind. She knew that blowing up the compound had been her only choice, and she would make the same choice again if faced with the same situation. It was a building, and there were some things that were much more important. Like the health and safety of her friends.

  “I know. I wish things could have been different, but at least everyone is alive and out of the military’s clutches, which is the most important thing. Hopefully the destruction of the compound will slow them down a little.”

  She stepped around Rebecca and started down the hall back to her room. Rebecca kept pace beside her.

  “I wanted to run something past you, to see if you think it’s a good idea.” Rebecca stood in the doorway as Evie opened her case and put her folded pajamas inside.

  “What is it?”

  “I was tooling around with my laptop last night, and before the battery died, I received a notification that the Terronda safe house is going off-line. They need to get some renovations done late next week, and they’ve cleared the place out and no one is there. It would be close enough to Terronda military base that we could stop there for a night or two until we get a plan together to get the guys to their ship.”

  Evie was silent for a moment as she digested what Rebecca proposed. A part of her wanted to stay here, to hide away with Cynric in her bed for as long as she could. It was a selfish desire, one that she dismissed from her mind. This whole situation wasn’t just about her and Cynric. She also needed to think about Miranda, Collette and the men they’d chosen to spend their lives with. They needed to be able to move on with their lives together, and to do that they needed to be off the planet.

  “How risky is it? Would there be a chance that we could get caught while we are there?”

  “I don’t think so. If it’s off-line there is no reason for anyone to go there. We can’t stay here. It was a safe place to spend the night, but you have to admit that it’s less than ideal. I can’t work here with no power, especially now that my computer battery has died. And if we are closer to the military base where the ship is being stored, it will be easier for me to hack into their system to check it out.”

  Rebecca was right. They couldn’t stay here, and the key to the others getting off the planet was their ship. They needed to know if it was flight worthy, and they couldn’t do that from here.

  “We’ll go to the safe house. Let the others know to be ready to leave in an hour.”

  Rebecca nodded and turned on her heel and left. Evie closed her case and picked it up. Going to the safe house would bring her one step closer to saying goodbye to her friends. And one step closer to saying goodbye to Cynric. What turn her life would take after that she had no idea, but she knew that she was done hiding herself away. She didn’t know how much more time she had with him, but she was going to enjoy it while it lasted.

  Chapter Ten

  Cynric’s eyes went to Evie for perhaps the hundredth time since they’d gotten on the road. She sat in front of him, in between Collette and Miranda, and all three were talking in hushed low voices. Feminine voices were something he rarely heard, coming from a male dominated planet, but he liked it. It was soothing. He especially liked Evie’s voice, particularly last night when she cried out her pleasure in his arms.

  He tried to be discreet in his observations of her, and it didn’t look like anyone had noticed. He wanted to protect her privacy, their sleeping together was no one’s business, but he couldn’t keep his attention away from her. If he had thought he’d been attracted to her before last night, what he felt was ten times stronger now that they’d had sex.

  She turned her head for a moment, caught him looking at her and gave him a small smile. A flush crept up her cheeks, and she turned her face away, then she peeked back at him for one more moment before facing the front of the van again. She was adorable, and a grin spread across his face, replacing his usual stern expression.

  He looked away from her, his expression unchanged and he glanced at Synn, who was looking at him with a puzzled look on his face. Cynric schooled his features, and stared straight ahead, avoiding looking at Evie any longer for the duration of the trip to the safe house Rebecca had mentioned.

  One thing that last night hadn’t changed was his need to get everyone safely off the planet. A lot of that hinged on Hylda’s condition, and they wouldn’t know what that was until Rebecca could find the building where Hylda was held and hook into the security feed there. He didn’t like not having a backup plan, and he racked his brain to come up with one, but it was no use. His mind only wanted to revolve around one thing. Evie.

  Last night should have purged his preoccupation with her, but it only made it more tenacious. The only thing on his mind was when he could be alone with her when he could strip the clothes from both of them and plunge inside her. One night with her was not enough, but he knew that he wouldn’t have many more such nights with her. He would leave this planet, with his men and their women safely in tow.

  A small voice inside his head temptingly whispered that she could come with him, that they could build a life together on Latroth. As appealing as the notion sounded, he wouldn’t ask it of her. Despite the attraction he felt for her, there was no indication that she was his true mate. Unless the mark appeared on his chest, he would not ask her to sacrifice more than she already had for his sake.

  He’d been with other women in the past, on other planets, and the mark had never appeared. He’d been attracted to those women, otherwise he’d never have slept with them. He was older than both Synn and Ryce, and perhaps the mark never appeared because he wasn’t destined to have a mate. It happened sometimes, and he’d always felt sorry for the wa
rriors who never found their true mates.

  One or two had set up households with women despite not having the mark, and Cynric had observed a deep sadness in both the men and women. It was as if their relationship would not go beyond a certain level because they didn't have the deeper connection of being truly mated. Cynric would never ask that of Evie. If the mark didn’t appear when it was time to go home, and if he was assured of her safety on this planet, he would leave her to move on with her life.

  The van pulled to a stop in front of a large house that was set apart from the other houses on the street. Dusk was falling, and a glance out the window showed Cynric that there was no one on the street. He and his men got out of the van first. Tension coiled the muscles in Cynric’s body as his eyes swept the perimeter for any threat. A door opened behind him and Evie was framed in it.

  “Stay in the van until we check the perimeter.” He gave her a hard look, and she pulled herself back inside the van.

  He, Ryce and Synn spread out and walked the perimeter and grounds of the house. There was nothing to indicate any danger, but Cynric found the quiet surrounding them a little disconcerting. It wasn’t silent, which assured him that there was no one hiding and waiting to ambush them. He walked back to where Ryce and Synn stood in front of the house.

  “Did you find anything?” He looked at them both, and they shook their head. “Good. Let’s get inside and get settled for the night.”

  They went back to the van, and Cynric went back to the open door. He held his hand out and Evie took it. She got out of the van and looked up at him. He wished he was alone with her right now because the urge to pull her into his arms was nearly overwhelming. He let her hand drop and turned away. He helped the others get the gear out of the van and get it into the house.

  This house was much better than the last one they were in. It had power, hot running water and if the communication station that Rebecca was setting up was any indication, it also had a connection to the planet’s communication network.

  He walked over to Rebecca, and she looked up at him as she was booting up her computer.

  “Do you think you can find where Hylda is?” Information on the condition of their ship was vitally important, since whatever plan they came up with to get off this planet hinged on if they had their own ship or not. If Hylda wasn’t functioning that meant they would need to steal a ship from somewhere, and he had no idea how they were going to pull that off.

  “It will take a while. I have to mask my signal so my hack into their system is undetected. Then I have to pinpoint Hylda’s location and get into the cameras that may or may not be pointed at her. And I’d also like to sleep, it would be tomorrow at the earliest that we’d know anything. I’ll let you know if anything significant pops up.”

  Cynric turned away and walked out of the room. He explored more of the house and came to the kitchen. Evie stood in front of the counter, facing away from him. She looked to be prepping some vegetables for their dinner. He came up behind her and slid his arms around her waist. She made a startled noise before breathing out a sigh and relaxing back against him. He nuzzled his face in the side of her neck, and she shivered.

  “When can we go to bed? We’ve been apart for too long and I want you again.” The hunger for her body far outstripped his hunger for food right now. He smoothed his hands up under her shirt and came up to cup her breasts.

  “Cynric, I can’t concentrate on making dinner if you keep doing that.” She didn’t move away from him and put the knife she was holding down on the countertop. She turned her head, and he took advantage of the opportunity to angle his head so he could kiss her. The kiss didn’t last long as the sound of voices coming close drove them apart.

  Evie resumed preparing the vegetable with a blush on her face, and Cynric leaned toward her ear. “We’ll finish this later.”

  “I look forward to it.” She gave him a coy smile, and it took some effort to school his features into a neutral expression while the others filed into the room.

  “Evie, you should have come and asked us for help.” Miranda went over to Evie and helped her get the meal ready. Collette joined as well, and soon the intimate atmosphere that was there when it was just him and Evie was replaced with a more jovial air now that they were all in the kitchen.

  With all of them working together, it didn’t take long for them to get the meal on the table. Rebecca came in, snagged a plate and sat down.

  “Have you been able to get into the network?” Evie asked her as she put food on her plate.

  “Yes, finally. I took longer than usual since I have to mask my use of this network. The house is supposed to be off-line so I don’t want to send up any alerts that we are here.”

  “And were you able to find Hylda?” This came from Synn, who had been eager to be reunited with the ship ever since they’d learned where she was. It had been hard for the pilot to leave the ship, and Cynric was sure he was relieved to know that at least Hylda had made it through the asteroid field in one piece.

  “Not yet. I have a trawling program set up to use the data on your tracker to find the exact building she’s in. Because I have to mask the signal, it will take longer than usual. We won’t know until tomorrow.”

  “Then what are we going to do? Once we know where Hylda is, what are we going to do to get her out of there?” Ryce spoke directly to Cynric, and Cynric wished he had answers for him, but he had given little thought to that.

  “Until we know what condition Hylda is in, we won’t know how to proceed. If she’s not flyable, we must come up with something else. We can’t sit around and hope to be rescued, especially not now that the military has found us once already.” He didn’t mention the possibility that they may have to steal a ship. It was a measure of last resort because it would put all of them in extreme danger. The logistics of it alone were a nightmare, and he didn’t even want to propose it if there was even the remotest chance that they could get Hylda in the air.

  “If Hylda is flyable, and we sneak in and get her up in the air, how are we going to get past the gravitational shield? That’s what dragged us here in the first place, and if Hylda wasn’t strong enough to get out of it the first time, I doubt she will be now that’s she’s gone through the asteroid field. This is assuming we can get her in the air at all.” Synn set his fork down and looked at Cynric. He wished he had the answers, but he was in uncharted territory here.

  “I might be able to jam the militaries network and buy you a little time to get off the planet. I don’t know how much time I could buy you though.”

  “Thanks Rebecca. We must wait to see what sort of condition Hylda is in. Once we know that, we can make plans for what we need to do. If she’s not flyable, we must come up with another plan to get off this planet. We can speculate all we want on what we need to do, but until we know for sure what Hylda’s status is we can’t make any firm decisions. We’re safe for now, so why don’t we concentrate on taking some time here to rest and prepare ourselves for what's ahead.”

  The rest of the meal passed in silence. Cynric glanced at Evie as she ate her meal and decided that he didn’t want to even pretend to be apart from her. At least for now she felt like his woman, and he didn’t want to sneak around. Once the meal was finished, he would put his things in her room and spend the night loving her.

  Evie finally shut off the water raining down on her from the ceiling in the shower. If she stood here much longer there wouldn’t be any hot water left for anyone else in the house. Miranda and Collette had insisted that they clean up since Evie had done it the night before, and she hadn’t argued.

  The bathroom connected to her bedroom called to her like a siren, and she’d made a beeline for it as soon as she left the kitchen. The bird bath she’d had this morning had kept her from feeling too grimy, but the temptation of a proper shower was too much to ignore. She didn’t know how long she’d been in there, but after spending the night in Rebecca’s bolt hole, she had a greater appreciation of war
m water.

  She stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in one of the large bath sheets tucked on a shelf next to the shower. Her room was on the top floor, and it could only be the room of the person who ran the halfway house. There were tiny luxuries around that made little sense unless it belonged to the person who ran the establishment. She didn’t think that the women who came here would care about the size and softness of the towels, and they would have little use for the scarlet silk robe hanging on the back of the bathroom door.

  Evie dried her body and blotted most of the water dripping from her hair until it hung in damp waves down her back. She looked at the plain cotton bedclothes she’d brought with her, and her eyes darted to the red silk robe. What harm would it do just to put it on, for a minute? The owner wasn’t here, and would never know if she tried it on.

  She reached for it and slipped her arms in the sleeves. The material slid along her skin, and she closed her eyes as she ran her hand down the sleeve. It was so soft and smooth and reminded her of the clothing she used to wear before she escaped with Adam. She didn’t miss the luxuries she had in her parents home since most of the time it felt like the trappings of a very nice cage. But she had to admit when she looked in the mirror that the robe’s color was made for her. It contrasted nicely with her olive skin and made her pale brown eyes glow.

  She started to remove it, but decided against it. It wouldn’t hurt anyone to wear it for a little longer, and she had to admit that she wanted Cynric to see her in it. She wrapped the edges around her body and tightened the sash at her waist. She walked toward the door and paused for a second when she heard the door to her bedroom open and close. It could only be Cynric. A smile spread across her face, and she opened the door.

  Cynric stood in front of the closed bedroom door, with his duffle bag in his hand. She looked at it and then at him.

  “I’m staying in here.” He set the bag down as his eyes roved over her scarlet clad body. His normally dark eyes were rimmed in an electric blue color that she hadn’t seen on him before. His hair was damp as if he’d showered in the room he’d been assigned.