Racing Toward Desire

by Lily Thomas

  They rounded a red dwarf planet, and he decided it was time to start playing the game a little more aggressively. He pushed his way forward, his thrusters pushing his ship up alongside hers.

  Then before he could blink the human woman’s ship turned, blocking his way, and he had to do some quick maneuvering to keep their ships from colliding.

  “Damn, human,” Roeq muttered as he attempted to get back up beside her. She was playing this race dirty.

  He should be angrier than he was at her for risking both their lives, but he was also impressed with her daring. She was determined to win this, and he was going to feel bad taking first from her, but it had to be done.

  Hanging back, Roeq looked for another opportunity to pass her.

  A Daen’su ship swung in trying to pass her, and the human did the unthinkable. She swung right towards the other ship.

  They were going to collide!

  And the other ship wasn’t backing down. Roeq braced himself, ready to maneuver his ship out of danger if they did crash. His heart froze for one second as his eyes were glued to the view screen right in front of him.

  Her ship did a barrel roll at the last second, dipping right above the Daen’su ship before landing safely on the other side.

  Roeq hit his thrusters. Now was his chance to get himself into first place while these idiots danced around each other.

  He shot past them and saw the space station show up on his navigation console. Good, because he was ready to put an end to the race and get away from those insane pilots. Every year he swore the pilots in these races got more daring. He could still see them flying dangerously close to one another as they jostled for second and third place behind him.

  Roeq flew his ship into the shuttle bay and landed it with a sigh of relief. He was glad that segment was over! He really thought he’d been about to witness a crash out there. It wouldn’t be the first time, but it always ended up putting a downer on the party atmosphere, and that would’ve been a shame.

  Hitting a button at his wrist, his helmet dissolved around his head and went back into his suit. The only problem with being a Krocosian? Finding helmets that worked around his horns without making him look like a walking blob was hard, nearly impossible really. Thankfully, this new nano technology was coming out and made his life a whole lot easier. It molded to his skin like a second protective skin.

  Walking over to his hatch, he opened it and jumped down to the metal flooring without waiting for the ramp to descend.

  Glancing around, Roeq attempted to find the human woman’s ship. Before they’d left, they’d made eye contact, and something similar to electricity had flowed through him. He needed to find out more about her. Not only had a spark flown through him, but he was taken away by her daring on the course.

  He was hoping she would prove to be fearless in all aspects of her life.

  Raised voices drew his attention, and as he strode around the front of his ship, he found the human woman and a Daen’su verbally fighting, their hands going a mile a minute.

  As he watched the Daen’su grow more animated, he felt his hackles rise. He might not know the human woman, but he felt his instinct kick in, demanding that he go to her aid. Krocosians already despised Daen’su. This just gave him another reason to kick some Daen’su ass.

  Roeq marched over to them a growl threatening to climb up his throat. “Break it up!” He hollered at both of them. There was no need for this to lead to them brawling on the shuttle bay deck. He was worried the Daen’su might get his ass handed to him by this daring woman, and although it might be fun to watch, she might get kicked out of the race.

  The Daen’su stepped forward and threw a punch at the woman. She ducked as Roeq threw his hand out catching the Daen’su’s fist in his. Quickly, he tightened his hand around the man’s hand until his black claws dug into the other man’s flesh.

  “There’s no reason to attack a woman,” Roeq growled at the Daen’su.

  “Let him,” the human woman spoke up behind him, “and he’ll find out exactly how tough I am.”

  Roeq rolled his eyes. “And get yourself kicked out of the race in the process. There’s no need to let him win.”

  The Daen’su’s eyes lit up with fire at her words, and Roeq applied more force, bringing the Daen’su to his knees. He wasn’t about to let this man harm a woman because they both played the game the same way. They’d both been stupid out there.

  Armed Daen’su marched into the shuttle bay, plasma weapons drawn and at the ready.

  “What’s going on in here?” A Daen’su guard marched forward.

  “Just breaking up an argument before it turns into a fight.” Roeq supplied helpfully. “I’m sure the cameras in the shuttle bay caught the whole thing.” Just in case the Daen’su thought he was the one who’d started something.

  “Vroe, you should know better. This may very well get you kicked out.” The Daen’su guard glanced down at the pilot who was still on his knees. Then he glanced back up at Roeq. “We’ll take it from here.”

  Roeq released Vroe’s hand. He knew very well that Vroe would get a stern talking to, but that was about it. There was no way the Daen’su would kick out one of their pilots when they were hosting the races. Not until he did something worse than yelling at a woman.

  He watched as they yanked Vroe to his feet and led him away.

  Then he turned his attention to the delectable creature in front of him. He stuck his hand out, “Roeq.”

  Her amber eyes glanced at his hand before reaching out and giving him a firm shake. “Nayli.”

  She didn’t even hesitate or flinch at his black claw-tipped fingers. He doubted there was much that scared her in this universe. The steel in her eyes said she was confident about her place in the galaxy, and she was ready to prove it to anyone who might doubt it.

  The fine hairs on his arm stood up as his heart rate skyrocketed.

  She was his mate.

  He gulped.

  She had to be. Her scent was swarming around him causing his head to cloud up with lust and his instinct clamored away inside of him. It screamed at him to push her up against a wall and claim her. It was a reaction he’d never had toward a woman.

  She pulled back her hand and folded her arms in front of her chest. “If I needed help, I would’ve asked for it.”

  Roeq reined in his roaring instincts, a little sweat beading on his brow with the effort. His instincts wanted him to claim her, but he wasn’t a Vrak’rir. He was a Krocosian, who were more able to control their baser instincts, even if he had just found his mate.

  With the way he wanted to shove her up against a wall and ravish her mouth with his, there was no doubt in his mind. The woman with purple hair was his. He just wasn’t sure she’d want him in return. This wasn’t exactly something he could spring on a non-mated species.

  “You did some stupid moves out there.” Roeq forced his desire back down as he criticized her. He didn’t need his mate doing stupid moves on the race course and getting herself killed, although he had to be gentle with her. She was a human, and she’d expect to be courted, not claimed.

  He could do this. One breath in, one breath out.

  Chapter 3

  Nayli felt some disappointment flow through her. The Krocosian wasn’t her mate. If she were, he’d have her pushed up against a wall and ravished her silly by now. Which meant flirting with him wouldn’t get her anywhere. She’d thought she’d seen a spark of interest in his black eyes, but nope! He wasn’t throwing her up against a wall in a passion-soaked state. That meant she was out of luck, but at least she knew now.

  “Thanks for coming to the rescue, but again I can handle myself.” She reassured him.

  “Not if you keep acting dimwitted.”

  She felt her mood darken as her hackles rose at his snippy tone. “Everything is fair game in these races. What we did out there was legal.” She had no idea why she was letting him bait her. She had no need to defend her actions.

 
“Yeah, but getting your ass pummeled in here would do nothing to help you with winning the race.”

  “Your lack of confidence in my fighting ability is appalling.” Nayli felt his eyes skim over her after her last comment. He was assessing her! Did he really have to doubt she could handle herself in a fight? She’d been raised to take no quarter and do what was necessary.

  “Whatever.” She waved her hand in the air as she turned and left him. She was hungry and in no mood to debate with him over who would’ve won a hand to hand fight or how stupid she was.

  She passed by Liam.

  “Talking to a Krocosian?” He glanced back over his shoulder as he fell into step with her.

  “Getting lectured by one more like.” Nayli grumped. That Krocosian was worse than any father… or mother in her case.

  “What’d he have to say?”

  “Did you miss the whole spectacle?” Nayli raised an eyebrow.

  “I just got here.”

  “A Daen’su was unhappy with how I flew my ship and decided to pick a fight with me when we got back to the shuttle bay.”

  Liam snorted. “Their one to judge. I’ve never known them to fly safely… or legally.”

  “He wanted to start a fight with me.”

  “A physical fight?” Liam bristled looking ready to hunt down the Daen’su.

  “Don’t worry.” She waved a hand in the air. “It never got that far. The Krocosian came to my rescue, although I might add the assistance was unneeded.”

  “Can’t hold that against the Krocosian. How was he supposed to know you’ve taken self-defense classes?” Liam asked.

  She shrugged. “I guess it bothers me more that he jumped to the conclusion I needed help before there was any evidence I couldn’t handle myself.”

  It was good to know her family was at least on her side. The Krocosian’s words still stung her. He was acting like she should’ve rolled over and let the Daen’su steal second place from her, especially after the Krocosian got first place.

  There was a lot of money on the line in these races. It wasn’t like she’d take a loss sitting down. This was her livelihood.

  “Where you headed?” Liam asked as she continued walking through the shuttle bay.

  “To the cafeteria.” She called out over her shoulder as Liam dropped back.

  “See you later then!”

  She waved at him over her shoulder without looking back and entered the corridor outside the shuttle bay. It was a large corridor filled to the brim with people clambering around each other.

  Nayli shoved her way through the crowd. It was the only way to get through it. One couldn’t say excuse me all day or they’d get nowhere quickly.

  Once she made it out of the crowded corridor and into the promenade, she took a moment to enjoy her life. She was on a bustling space station full of life and culture. All she had to do was walk into a business, and suddenly she would be surrounded by another culture and transported to another world. It was amazingly perfect.

  A four-armed alien strode past, and her eyes followed him until he disappeared into the crowd. And this adventure was all thanks to her job and the places it brought her.

  As she walked through the promenade, heading for a human restaurant she knew of, she passed a Krocosian restaurant.

  Nayli stopped and took a peek inside. She bit her lip. The Krocosian, Roeq, her skin goose-bumped in delight at the mere thought of his name, hadn’t shown any interest in her, but he was bound to come here to eat. It was the only Krocosian restaurant she knew of on the space station.

  Decision made. She would eat here and experience something new. She’d never eaten any Krocosian food, and she was eager for the chance to experience something new.

  She looked up to the window.

  “What can I get you?” A Krocosian female strode up to the window her horns swept around her face but were more delicate than a male’s. The woman had even adorned them with some gold bands.

  Nayli looked at the menu in front of her as it flashed in several well-known languages. “I’ll take the mien.” She wasn’t exactly sure what she’d ordered, but that was part of the thrill.

  “It’ll be up in a few minutes.” The Krocosian woman informed her.

  Nayli waited as people came up and ordered their own food, and she watched the crowd around her. She loved the hustle and bustle of the space station. There were a lot of people who enjoyed the quiet life, but she found it interesting to people watch.

  “Here you are.” The Krocosian woman stepped back up to the window and presented Nayli with her meal.

  She accepted the tray, paid by slipping a card past a machine and then made her way over to a table. She looked around at all the restaurants that lined this section of the space station, and all the tables that were spread out between the restaurants. It was like a cafeteria, but with awesome people watching abilities.

  Nayli glanced down at the tray she’d bought. It actually didn’t look too bad. It was some sort of fried dumpling. One huge fried dumpling. Grabbing her utensils, she broke it open to find it jam-packed full of tasty meat flavored to the nines.

  Steam rose up flooding her nostrils and driving her taste buds up the wall in anticipation. She scooped up a spoonful and brought it up to her mouth.

  “Mmm.” Nayli couldn’t help but vocalize her pleasure as the tender meat melted in her mouth. She had no idea what animal this had come from, and she didn’t care. All she needed to know was that it tasted amazing!

  As she looked up from her tray, she saw Roeq walk over to the Krocosian food stand. Her eyes skimmed over those massive grey horns that swept over around his face and over his shoulders. She’d known he would come here. A smile spread across her lips. No one could resist a taste of home, not even an alien.

  He placed his order, took his food and sat down at a table not even noticing her in the crowd.

  With a sigh, Nayli latched onto the sides of her tray, rose, and walked over to his table where she took a seat across from him.

  Roeq glanced up, surprise gleaming bright in his black eyes.

  “Hey.”

  “Hello.”

  “I just wanted,” she took a steadying breath. It was time for her to admit something that she hated to admit, “to say that you were right. I was a bit stupid out there during the race, but in the heat of the moment, I wasn’t about to back down.”

  He nodded his head, and she eyed the intimidating horns that swept around his head. This close she was able to see scratches on the grey horns from where she assumed he’d used them. Some would think she was crazy to lust after such an intimidating man, but what could she say? She wasn’t a part of that group that feared aliens.

  Roeq was pleased his mate was seeking him out on her own. He hoped it would bode well for the future wooing he’d have to do. The easier she made this on him the better because he hadn’t ever thought about being mated to a non-mated species.

  He motioned to her plate with his fork. “You chose to eat Krocosian food.”

  “I did, and I’m glad I made the choice.” She took a bit of her food. “I never would have guessed how absolutely delicious it was.”

  “Probably because it was made by the best Krocosian cook, Yra.” Roeq smiled grateful for the opportunity to get to know Nayli.

  “You know the cook?” Her eyes looked up at him.

  “I do.”

  “I envy you!” She said her amber eyes dancing with light as she ate a couple more bites of the mien. He was glad she was enjoying it. He’d always thought Krocosian food had something to say about itself.

  “Go on up and befriend her.” Roeq encouraged her. “Yra’s very nice and eager to teach everyone about her recipes. I’m sure she would be happy to teach you. Just be warned, she won’t let you leave her kitchen until she’s sure you won’t screw it up.”

  “I might just have to do that.” Nayli continued to dig into her meal, so he followed suit and dug into his.

  He wasn’t sure if this coun
ted as a date, in human terms, but at least they were bonding over some good food. It was a step in the right direction.

  He glanced up and noticed the Daen’su, Vroe, sitting down at a table. There were a couple of eating areas on the space station, and Roeq wondered if the Daen’su was following Nayli. Tension built up in his shoulders as he worried about her safety.

  Krocosians and Daen’su never got along, and the main reason was the fact that the Daen’su were such slippery creatures. One could never trust the words or actions of a Daen’su. Never.

  “What’s up?” Nayli asked as she noticed his attention had changed.

  “Nothing.” Roeq was most likely being paranoid because of his natural instinct to dislike Daen’su, which was unfair, but also hard to shake. Not all Daen’su were bad, but the majority of them definitely were.

  He turned his gaze back to Nayli and watched as she ate with gusto. His heart rate sped up, and he felt his cock go hard. His body was ready to claim her. He could feel it building inside him. Every time she wrapped those delicate lips around her fork, he wanted to leap over the table and claim her.

  He breathed in through his nose and exhaled through his nose. He would remain calm and level-headed. For her, he had to. He breathed in and immediately regretted it. His nose filled with her spicy scent, and he found himself leaning in slightly to get a little more.

  Nayli leaned back and patted her stomach. “Yum! I’m going to sleep well tonight after such a splendid meal.”

  The human man Nayli had been speaking with walked in and went to order some food from a stall manned by humans.

  “Who is that?” Roeq pointed over her shoulder with a clawed finger wondering who this human man was to his mate.

  Nayli turned to take a look behind her. “Oh! That’s my brother, Liam.” She faced him once more.

  “You two are close?”

  “Very. He’s the mechanic for my ship. I trust him with my life.”

  Roeq was pleased to hear this. He’d always wanted a mate with a close family life. It was important to him since he too was close with his family. He had four other siblings, and he always kept up with what they were doing.