Joan and the Juggernaut: A SciFi Alien Romance (Alien Abduction Book 10)

by Honey Phillips

  Varga returned to the small group and immediately tugged Joan against his side. Saka raised a knowing eyebrow, and Joan did her best to keep from blushing.

  “I agreed to rescue females, not males,” he said firmly. “And none of us are going to escape if we don’t keep moving.”

  She obediently fell in step beside him but was already trying to come up with the best way to change his mind. The poor male was only there because of her—and Ukhaan’s gluttony, she forced herself to remember.

  But when they turned the corner and found the next cell, she felt the doubt creep in. There were two occupants of this cell: the slender, purple-skinned female who had been on the ship with her and a huge, lethal-looking male. He was as tall as Varga, his height accented by the black crest that topped his wedge-shaped head. His body was covered with matte black scales, and sharp spikes jutted back from his elbows and knees. How could anybody think someone like that could be compelled into sexual slavery?

  She didn’t realize she had misunderstood until he thrust the female behind him and glared at Varga.

  “My time is not yet up.”

  Varga had his weapon out and pointing at the male before he finished speaking. “Back away from the female.”

  The female in question gave a frightened cry and huddled behind the dark-skinned male as he glared at Varga.

  “It’s all right,” Joan said quickly. “We’re here to take you out of this place.”

  A face peeped out at her from behind the male—a very pretty face with dark purple eyes set at an angle amidst delicate, alien features. White hair waved gently, seeming to cling to the male’s skin. “Really?” she asked doubtfully.

  “That’s the plan. Just move away from him.”

  The female looked from Joan to the weapon in Varga’s hand, and her eyes widened, her hair whipping around her face.

  “No! Don’t hurt him!” She tried to throw herself in front of the big, dark male, but he gently restrained her.

  “Be calm, Taliane,” he said softly, then frowned at Varga. “Does the female speak the truth?”

  Joan glared up at him. “I’m right here, and of course I do.”

  The male looked down as if seeing her for the first time, and she thought she caught a flicker of amusement on that strange face. “Forgive me, small female. What is the plan?”

  Varga growled before she could respond. “Not one we will offer to a stranger.” After a momentary hesitation, he added, “But it has a reasonable chance of success.”

  “Fair enough.” The male sighed and looked down at Taliane, now clinging to his arm. “Perhaps you should take that chance.”

  “I’m not leaving you, Issar.”

  Saka gave an exasperated sigh. “Don’t be a fool. You can always find another male.”

  “I don’t want another male.” Taliane’s teeth fastened on her lower lip. “He has been… good to me. I’m not leaving him.”

  “Do not worry about me, Taliane. You must take this opportunity for freedom.” The dark-skinned male stared at Varga. “You will protect her.”

  “He doesn’t need to protect me because I’m not leaving without you,” Taliane repeated.

  Varga looked equally determined not to let Issar accompany them. Joan understood that he was probably concerned about letting such a deadly-looking male join them, but if Issar sought Taliane’s freedom over his own, he must be a pretty decent person.

  She gave Varga a pleading look and he sighed. “It’s a very small ship, little bird.”

  “We can’t leave them here.”

  He frowned at Issar. “Will you give me your word of honor that you will follow my orders and make no attempt to harm my female? Or any of our party?”

  Issar studied him for a moment, then bowed his head. “In the name of Napisten, I so vow.”

  “Very well.” Varga sighed again and unlocked the cell.

  Chapter Twelve

  “When you said there was a male ahead, I thought you meant another slave,” Joan whispered to Rummel, relieved that she had misunderstood.

  “I did,” he said grimly as they turned another corner.

  The entire party came to a halt. This cell was smaller, barren but spotlessly clean. A slender purple male with white hair sat quietly on the mattress, his shoulders slumped.

  “He’s Gliesan too,” Taliane gasped, and at the sound of her voice he looked up.

  Like her, he had delicate, pretty features but there was a world of painful knowledge in the big purple eyes regarding them.

  “This is new. Are the two of you planning on having some type of strange orgy? Very strange,” he added as he took in Saka and Rummel. Despite the almost casual question, she could hear the thread of despair in his voice.

  “No,” she said quickly. “We’re escaping. Do you want to come?”

  Varga swore under his breath. “Little bird, I told—”

  “I know. It’s a small ship. But we can’t leave him here. They took him instead of me!”

  “Ah, you must be the cook. Thank you for the food.” The male smiled at her, a sweet, weary smile.

  She shot a quick glance at Rummel, and he shuffled his feet, looking uncomfortable. “Felt sorry for the boy.”

  “I’m glad you did. I’m so sorry… What’s your name?”

  “I’m Nepala. And it’s not your fault.”

  “I’m Joan.” She introduced the others, then turned back to Varga. “Please?”

  He studied her face, then shook his head as he reached for the keys.

  Varga reluctantly released the Gliesan male. Like Rummel, he felt sorry for the youngster. Although he wasn’t in as bad a shape as Polly, bruises shadowed his skin and he walked with a careful step that indicated pain.

  “No more,” he told Joan firmly. “Or do you expect me to free everyone in this place?”

  Polly moaned and started to back away from them.

  “Calm down, Polly,” Joan said soothingly. “He didn’t mean it. But what if there are others who deserve to be released?”

  “No one deserves to be here.” Surprisingly, Nepala was the one to respond. “And most of them aren’t that bad. No one asks to be made a slave.”

  Joan turned to him, her expression eager. Fuck. This was supposed to be a rescue mission, not a revolution.

  “No, little bird.” He hated the way her face fell. “I wish there was something we could do to help, but my first priority is getting you away from this planet.”

  Over her head, he could see Issar nodding in agreement. Taliane looked worried, Polly scared, and Saka irritated, but it was the disappointment on Joan’s face that made his chest ache.

  “Do you really want to help?” Nepala asked. “If you could do so without endangering your female?”

  “What did you have in mind?”

  “Give me the keys. Let me go back and free all of the slaves currently in their quarters.”

  He shook his head, pointing back down the corridor. “The tunnel is blocked. You can’t get through.”

  That surprisingly sweet smile flashed across the young male’s face. “One of my… visitors had done some repair work on the cells. There’s a utility tunnel that runs behind them. It may be open.”

  “He’s right,” Rummel agreed. “It’s possible he could get through that way.”

  “And then what? The guards have weapons. The slaves have none.”

  “But there are more slaves than there are guards. And they won’t be expecting us.” Another quick smile. “Perhaps we will even make enough of a diversion to cover your escape.”

  “And perhaps you’ll get yourself killed, you young fool.” As much as he admired the boy’s courage, the odds were against him.

  “Then I’ll die trying to do the right thing.”

  Varga looked at Joan. Her eyes were filled with tears, but she nodded.

  “Very well. Here.” He handed over the keys, then silently gave Nepala his blaster.

  The male’s eyes widened. “Don’t you need t
his?”

  “I’ve never needed a weapon yet,” he said truthfully.

  “Thank you. All of you.” Nepala gave them a solemn nod, then vanished down the corridor.

  “All of you are fools,” Saka muttered. “And he’s the biggest fool of all. Why would he go back?”

  “He has a brother,” Rummel said. “The guards were going to take him and Nepala volunteered in his place.”

  Fuck. He actually took a half-step after the boy before he came to his senses. First, he had to get Joan and the others off of this planet. Then he would send in every mercenary he could find to assist in this revolution he had started. He could only hope it wouldn’t be too late.

  He turned back to find Issar watching him. “I’ll send for help as soon as we’re free.”

  The Asing male nodded, even though Varga suspected that he too wondered if that help would come too late.

  “It would be an honor to fight beside the young male,” Issar said solemnly. “Perhaps even to die a glorious death for this noble cause.”

  “No! You can’t, you can’t!” Taliane cried, and Issar gave her a gentle smile.

  “Of course not. Your safety is paramount.”

  Varga heard Joan give a soft sigh and she smiled at the other male. Did she not realize that he was every bit as concerned with her safety? He scowled at Issar, who appeared completely unconcerned by his irritation.

  “Perhaps you could stop posturing and we could get moving,” he growled.

  “Varga.” Joan frowned up at him, but he ignored her disapproving look and tucked her under his arm as he started back down the corridor.

  The supply room was as quiet and deserted as everywhere else had been. Rummel found coveralls for all of the females, although Varga didn’t think that the clothing would fool anyone into believing that his curvy female was a male. But it was better than nothing.

  “Where do we go from here?” he asked Rummel. “You said you knew a back way?”

  “It’s the oldest part of the mine. It’s played out now so no one should be there.” The other male cast a doubtful glance at Varga and Issar. “But the equipment they used to dig it out was less sophisticated than the current equipment. The tunnels are smaller, and it’s going to be a tight fit for you two.”

  Varga suppressed a shudder. He hated being confined, especially underground. The only thing that had made the cave-in easier to take was the amount of room remaining in the tunnel and the cell. But it had to be done. “Where do the tunnels come out?”

  “Between the smelter and the ore lift.” Rummel frowned and scratched his chin. “But the entrance to the new mine is close. The odds are good that we will encounter someone at that point.”

  He spared a fleeting thought for his blaster, but Nepala needed it more than he did. Instead, he glanced at Issar, who gave him a fierce grin in return. The other male might be annoying, but he would be a worthy companion in battle.

  “Then we will eliminate them,” he said firmly. “Lead the way.”

  As soon as they entered the first of the old tunnels, Varga knew that he was going to hate every minute of this journey. The heat increased dramatically as the walls closed in around them. Even raised in the fires of Sorvid, he found it uncomfortably hot. Joan’s face was flushed, her skin glistening.

  The roof of the tunnel brushed against his head, and he shuddered. He hated this, hated the reminder of what it was like to be buried beneath the surface. When he was small, small enough that his armor had not yet begun to form, he had been trapped in a cave-in. It had seemed like days before they managed to reach him. His father had scolded and hugged him; his mother had cried and hugged him. They were both gone now, lost in another cave-in.

  He didn’t realize how much the memory was affecting him until Joan slipped her hand in his and he could barely feel her soft little fingers.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked softly.

  “Nothing.” He pushed the memories away and forced his skin to soften so that he could feel her skin against his.

  She didn’t look as if she believed him, but she didn’t ask any more questions and she let her hand remain in his.

  He could hear the others panting, their steps beginning to slow. Only Issar seemed undisturbed. Rummel remained at Polly’s side but to Varga’s surprise, she didn’t cry or complain. Her fists clenched at her sides, but she moved forward with determined steps. Saka, on the other hand, complained bitterly at first, but the heat wilted her down and she eventually lapsed into silence. Issar assisted Taliane, his arm around her waist despite the narrowness of the tunnel as he half-carried her. Joan’s hand remained tucked in his, but he could tell she was tiring, weariness in every line of her body. He would have carried her, but there just wasn’t room in the narrow passageway.

  “There should be a water station up ahead,” Rummel said, his voice hoarse, and Varga realized he wasn’t quite as unaffected as he seemed to be.

  The next interval seemed to drag interminably, the knowledge that relief awaited them making each step that much more painful, but at last they rounded the corner and saw water trickling down the wall and into a small basin.

  Saka gave a harsh cry and rushed over to the basin, lapping frantically at the liquid. He would have pushed her aside, but Joan shook her head. To his frustration, she waited until each of the other females had taken a drink before she took her turn.

  She frowned as she lifted her head. “I thought it was water but it doesn’t taste like water.”

  Fuck. He hadn’t considered the possibility that the substance might not be tolerable for humans. He took a cautious sip, then sighed with relief.

  “It’s water. It tastes different because of the minerals in the cave walls.”

  She shrugged. “It doesn’t taste bad. I just wasn’t expecting it.”

  Issar settled down against the wall and pulled Taliane onto his lap. “We should rest while we have the opportunity,” he said.

  Varga suspected that the Asing didn’t need rest any more than he did, but the others in their small group were obviously exhausted. He urged Joan to sit, then pulled Rummel aside.

  “How much further?”

  “About twice this distance.” The small male frowned. “But the next water station isn’t until close to the end. I wish we had some way to carry it with us.”

  The need to be on their way was a constant warning in his head, but he wasn’t sure that the females had recovered enough. Taliane was asleep in Issar’s arms, Saka was curled into a ball on the floor, her eyes closed, and even Polly’s body had slumped against the wall. Joan’s eyes were half-closed, but when she saw him watching her, she made a valiant attempt to climb to her feet. He shook his head and sat down next to her, gathering her into his arms.

  Despite the circumstances, it was immensely satisfying to have her in his arms again. The memory of their time together flashed in his head, and his cock responded. Joan wiggled against it, then looked up at him, her eyes wide.

  “Now?” she whispered.

  He lowered his head and breathed in her ear, delighting in the way she quivered against him. “Always.”

  Her eyelids drooped, but this time he thought it was from desire rather than exhaustion. As he gathered her closer, he caught the sweet scent of her arousal. Looking around the cave in the dim glow of the emergency lighting, he realized that everyone else appeared to be asleep. Even George had his head buried beneath his tail.

  “You must be very quiet,” he murmured, and before she could respond, he slipped his hand inside the open front of her coveralls. She had lowered the fastening due to the heat, and he had no problem reaching her luscious breast and circling her nipple. The taut peak hardened even further at his touch, stabbing against his palm. He longed to take the tempting morsel in his mouth, but he did not want to expose any more of her body. Instead, he concentrated on the tight little bud, rolling and pulling until she started to squirm in his arms.

  “Quiet,” he repeated and she nodded, arching
impatiently into his touch.

  He removed his hand and saw her bite back a frustrated cry. With deliberate slowness he moved to the other breast and repeated the treatment until it too was swollen and throbbing against his hand.

  “Varga…” she whispered urgently.

  After another look around to make sure that everyone’s eyes were still closed, he let his hand descend further, skating over the soft curve of her stomach until he reached her damp curls. Not just damp, he realized as he explored. Her delightful little cunt was dripping, slippery with her desire. He slid a thick finger through her folds, and she turned her head, burying her soft cry against his chest.

  Then her mouth closed over his nipple, hot, wet, and demanding, and he had to bite back a cry of his own. He had never considered that a sensitive area, but the urgency with which she was sucking on him sent a corresponding pulse through his cock. He remembered all too clearly what it had felt like when she took him into her mouth.

  His cock ached, pulsing beneath her ass, and he felt her push down until he was cradled between her soft cheeks. He did his best to ignore it and concentrate on her. He circled the swollen pearl of her clit, until it emerged from its protective cover, then tried to insert his finger in her small channel. Gods, she was tight, her body resisting even the single digit. How had she managed to take him?

  He adjusted his hand so he could continue teasing her small nub while he pressed deeper inside her. Her mouth on his chest was frantic, urgent, and the scent of her desire made his head swim with pleasure. He wanted to plunge inside her, to wring a scream of ecstasy from her lips, but he forced himself to keep his movements slow and quiet, even as her body tensed.

  He pressed harder, stroked deeper, and felt her convulse, her whole body shaking. The muffled cry that escaped her lips was almost as satisfying as hearing her call out his name. She quivered against him, her climax continuing to roll over her until he finally, reluctantly, removed his hand.

  His cock was so hard it was actually painful, but when she smiled up at him, he had no regrets. He dropped a quick kiss on her lips as her eyes fluttered closed and her body sagged against his. He let her sleep, keeping watch against any danger.