"I’ve got the engines primed," Tor’s voice came in. "Give it full thrust, Titus. She can handle it for a short period. Just get us the fuck out of here."
"Hang on," Titus yelled as he pushed the freighter past its specifications.
Banu cursed as he was jerked almost off his feet as the freighter lurched before surging forward. Cross reached out and grabbed Banu, pulling him upright at the last second. Banu muttered a quick thanks under his breath as he grabbed for the bar again. Vox whispered quietly in Riley’s ear as she whimpered. His heart beat heavily against his chest as he turned his face into her silky hair and pressed his lips against her.
"It will be all right, Riley," Vox promised in a soft, husky voice. "I promise I won’t let anything happen to you. It will be all right. I’ll keep you safe."
Riley didn’t answer. She just closed her eyes and held on as tight as she could to the anchor holding her. She could always kill him later, but for now she needed his strength and calming presence to keep her from having a complete meltdown.
Riley pressed her lips against his neck, hoping for that plane of total oblivion until the wild ride they were having was over. She had always hated roller coasters. She never understood why anyone wanted to go on something that scared the shit out of them and think it was funny. That was why she kept the damn old Ford she had. It couldn’t go faster than fifty miles an hour without shaking apart. Slow was good; slow was safe.
Vox chuckled as he listened to Riley whispering. That was something else he loved about her. She was totally open, there was no deceit in her. But most of all, she could make him laugh even in the face of danger.
"Yes, my sweet mate," Vox murmured. "Slow can be very, very good. But I still want to show you how wonderful fast can be as well."
Chapter 9
Vox muttered another curse as he wiped the sweat from his eyes. He and Tor had been working on the engines for the past two days. He had to hand it to his chief engineer, the man knew his engines. He had rebuilt the main engine while Adur and Cross worked on the defense systems with a little help from Bob and Fred. The damn Curizan was just as impressive when it came to his knowledge of electronics. He knew the species loved their toys. Hell, Ha’ven, the Curizan prince, and his brother, Adalard, loved to show off the damn things they had invented. They had a racing bike he really wanted, but Ha’ven refused to give him another one after he crashed the first one into a tree less than an hour after Ha’ven gave it to him.
"So, is Riley talking to you yet?" Tor asked as he walked up to where Vox was working. He was wiping down another sleeve that needed to be fitted into the new cylinder that attached to one of the boosters.
"No," Vox grunted out as he slammed the cover closed on the panel he had been working on. "Why she is upset that I said she had a big ass I’ll never understand. I love it, but she won’t listen to me when I try to tell her that I like her being big and soft," he complained as he looked up in frustration at Tor.
"Well, Adur is having to adjust the environmental systems to handle the extra power he needs for the shields and weapons systems. It is going to get chilly in here. We can handle it since we run hotter, but our mate will need to be kept warm. Maybe she will be more receptive to some cuddling," Tor said turning away with a grin as Vox snarl at his use of the words "our mate."
"She is my mate," Vox responded in a low voice. "I will be the only one to keep her warm."
Tor grinned at his friend and leader. "I am not the one you have to convince." He chuckled as he worked the sleeve onto the booster module and tightened it down.
Vox ran his hand over the back of his neck tiredly. Once they had made it far enough from the exploding mining asteroid to be sure they would be safe, Riley had demanded that he release her. She had smacked his chest and informed him with an inelegant sniff that she did not have a "big" ass, she had a maturely figured one and he better never forget it! She had then grabbed her large pink case that Tor had dropped and marched off to find her a room of her own. He hadn’t seen her since as Tor needed assistance trying to keep the damn piece of dragon dung they had appropriated from falling apart around them. Banu and Titus were working on the system controls, while Adur, Bob, and Fred worked on the weapons. Lodar was working on the single replicator that was malfunctioning and inventorying the medical supplies.
"Well, I think I have the replicator working temporarily," Lodar responded tiredly as he walked into the engine room. "Just don’t order anything elaborate. There is no telling what the damn thing might do. Oh, and don’t get hurt. The equipment on this piece of shit is downright barbaric. I wouldn’t operate on my worst enemy with it. There isn’t even a stolen Curizan portable regen machine—which, by the way, I would give my right arm to appropriate—and all the medicine is out of date by at least twenty years."
Vox grimaced. "Have you heard if Titus or Banu were able to get the communications system up yet? I want to contact the Shifter."
Lodar shook his head and lean back against the wall. "Not yet, but Banu thought they should have it fixed in another couple of hours. They are having to dismantle some of the non-essential control panels to get the parts they need to fix it. We are going to be operating on the bare minimum until we get off this death trap."
"Have you seen Riley?" Vox finally asked reluctantly.
Lodar laughed. "Yes, she has been like a small storm sweeping through the upper living and dining quarters. The only thing that works on this bucket of rust is the laundry unit. She has washed every piece of cloth on this thing. We all have nice clean linen on the beds that are available, any clothing she found was also washed and neatly hung up for our use, and she has refreshed all her clothing," Lodar added, raising his eyebrows up and down with a wicked smile.
Vox’s eyes narrowed. "Why did you do that?" he demanded.
"Do what?" Lodar asked innocently.
"The eyebrow thing," Vox growled in a low voice. "What did she wash that makes you smile like that?"
Tor stopped what he was doing so he could hear what Lodar had discovered. It had to be good if Lodar got that look in his eyes. It really took a lot to get a reaction out of his friend.
Lodar leaned forward excitedly. "She has these undergarments she wears that are all lacy and sexy. I’ve never seen anything like it before. There was this one set that looked like your cat’s coat, Vox. It had the same coloring and spots. I would kill to see her in it. There were two pieces to it. The top had these sheer cups that molded to her breasts, and they were like…" Lodar held his big hands out with his fingers spread wide. "I swear they would overflow both my hands easily! The piece that she wears over her mound was like…" His voice faded as his eyes glazed over.
Vox rose to his feet, grabbing the front of Lodar’s shirt in one of his fists. "Like what?" he growled out in frustration.
Hell, he was too damn aroused to care that it was Lodar telling him what his mate wore under her clothing. His curiosity was about to kill both him and his cat. The idea of his mate wearing something that looked like his cat was enough to make him want to hunt her down and strip her to see for himself. His cat was panting, wondering what Riley would look like in cat form.
"Lodar, tell us! This is killing me," Tor muttered.
"It is this little thing with two pretty little bows on each side and one long thin strip of material up the back. I asked her what it was for, and she told me it was called a thong. She liked to wear them because they didn’t leave panty lines under her clothes. I asked her if she would model it for me, but she just rolled her eyes and told me to get out or she was going to put me in the laundry unit so she could clean my dirty little mind." Lodar chuckled as Vox’s face turned dark with envy.
"Damn, my cat and I have been dreaming every night about drinking milk," Tor muttered as he turned away to hide how aroused he was. "Now we are going to be dreaming about her wearing nothing but those little pieces of cloth." He threw a pained expression at Vox who turned to glare at him. "Sorry, Vox. It’s been too da
mn long since my cat or I’ve had sex."
"Well, quit thinking and dreaming about my mate," Vox ordered roughly. "Dream about another female."
Lodar barked out a resigned laugh. "Yeah, like Titus’s purple mate?"
Tor shuddered and felt his desire cooling at the idea of the slender purple female. There was just nothing sexy about making love to a stick. Now, after meeting Riley, he wondered if even the females back home could stir his cock the way they used to. The Sarafin females were attractive, and they were definitely always in the mood for a sexual romp, but they were hard and muscular due to their cat. Now he wanted something he could actually cuddle up to without getting bruised. He looked at Vox, barely hiding his grin. Vox’s nose was still a little swollen from where Riley had boxed him yesterday. Well, there might be some bruising involved, but it would definitely be worth it.
* * *
Riley shivered. She was freezing her ass off. She needed to talk to the guys about working on the damn heater. She pulled her suitcase out from under the bed and unzipped it. She didn’t unpack her things. The biggest reason why was she was afraid they might have to evacuate the old tub they were on in a hurry, and she wouldn’t have time to repack everything. She dug around until she felt the soft fur lining of the jacket she had bought herself for her birthday two years ago. It would have cost her a pretty penny at that boutique where her sister worked if it hadn’t been on the seventy-percent-off rack. Even with Tina’s employee discount it had still cost her a small fortune, but she loved the damn thing. It was gaudy to the point of being chic. The rich, dark purple dyed rabbit fur offset the glittering silver sequins all over it. The damn thing practically glowed in the dark, and when she wore it to the bar with a pair of her black leather pants it screamed "unavailable rich bitch." Of course, the one and only time she wore it to the bar, Pearl had threatened to shoot the damn thing. She’d said nothing that ugly should be allowed to live.
Riley had ignored her dear grandmother and put it down to jealousy that Tina had shown it to her instead of Pearl who seemed to only like black leather and metal. Riley had drooled over the damn jacket every time she picked Tina up after work for almost a year. Tina must have hidden it so that the owner would finally mark it down from the twelve hundred dollars it had originally been marked at because she knew how badly Riley wanted the damn thing.
She gave a thrilled grin as she slid the quilted jacket on, rubbing her cheek against the soft rabbit fur. Yes, she was an animal lover, but she figured if she convinced herself that the damn thing died of old age or something similar she wouldn’t have to feel guilty about where it came from. Hell, as far as she knew it could have been roadkill. The only thing she cared about was that it was soft, flamboyant, and hers!
Riley zipped the jacket up and pulled the collar up until it covered her ears. The fur lining practically covered her face, and she was able to bury her nose in it to keep it warm too. She couldn’t wait to see how the guys reacted to it. The men in the bar had just stared at her all night like they thought she was some movie star or something. Of course, her grandmother said they didn’t know whether she needed help from the alien attacking her or if she was the newest hooker on the street. Riley had blown her grandmother the middle-finger kiss and told her that her john had given her the night off. Tina had groaned, mortified, while Pearl had laughed so hard she had to excuse herself so she wouldn’t piss all over herself.
"Some grandmother I have," Riley muttered as she walked down the corridor to the dining quarters. "She pisses her pants because she knows her granddaughters are virgins! Most grandmas would be proud of that."
"Hi, Riley," Fred said, coming up behind her. "What is attacking you? Did it come off the ship?" he asked, frightened, looking at the glittering silver and purple jacket she had wrapped around her snugly.
Riley rolled her eyes at Fred. "Yes, there are thousands of them on board. You better not lie down for too long or one of them will take over your body as well!" she grumbled, not looking at him as she turned to continue on her way. "Is it attacking me? He’s a freaking comedian, and I didn’t even know it!"
She sighed as she entered the dining quarters and found no one was there. Maybe she could just fix herself something quick and take it back to her room where she could bundle up in the nice, clean blankets that she had piled on her bed. Shit, she could see her breath now. What was their frigging problem? Did they forget to pay the damn heating bill or something? Riley shrugged her shoulders, just thankful she had something to keep her warm. She plugged her earbuds into her iPhone, adjusting the ear pieces so she could listen to Enigma as she fixed herself something to eat. She was totally oblivious to the fact that Fred had disappeared.
* * *
"How long before you can meet up with us?" Vox asked his younger brother, Viper, who was commanding his warship, the Shifter.
"It will take us two, possibly three days to get there. We have been raiding every damn Antrox mine we can find. I didn’t realize the greedy insects had so many. We’ve been to four star systems so far looking for you and have raided at least two dozen," Viper said, leaning back and grinning. "So, how did you escape? I would love to have seen the Antrox’s expressions as you gave them hell."
Vox flushed, not wanting to explain to his brother just yet that his new mate had been the one to save them, even if she had blown the damn mining asteroid to smithereens in the process. He shifted uncomfortably, wondering how his parents and brothers were going to react to Riley. His parents had recently reminded him that he was destined to mate with a Valdier princess. That had been part of the treaty his father and the old Valdier king had signed to ensure peace between the two species. Now, he was about to blow the treaty to hell because he had no intention of mating with anyone other than Riley.
"Remind me to tell you about it when you pick us up," Vox muttered in frustration. "Just meet up with us as soon as possible. I’m not sure how long this piece of dragon dung will hold up. We have it patched together with our piss and sweat."
Viper laughed. "There is a Valdier warship closer. I’ll notify them that you may need assistance before we can arrive. It is Creon’s warship. They could be there within a day."
Vox nodded in resignation. "That might be best. I need to speak with Creon Reykill about a personal matter anyway," he muttered. "I will contact you later."
"Gods be with you, brother," Viper said, signing off.
"I hope they will be," Vox said as he thought of how he was going to approach the youngest Valdier royal and ask for his help in breaking the treaty between their people without it causing a war.
Vox looked at Titus and Adur and rubbed the back of his neck wearily. Gods, he was tired. He hadn’t slept well since he was captured, and with trying to keep the damn freighter from falling apart, he hadn’t had a chance to even think about it in over two days. He sat back in the chair near the communications console and was listening as Titus and Adur talked about what still needed to be done when he heard the sound of Fred’s little feet scurrying toward them.
"Vox! Vox! You have to help! Riley! Help her! She has been attacked!" Fred said breathlessly as he skidded onto the bridge where Vox, Adur, and Titus were. "A strange creature! It has Riley in the dining quarters!"
Vox’s loud roar shook the room as he shifted into his cat. He sent Fred flying into Adur as he rushed through the door. His claws clattered against the metal flooring of the old freighter as he rushed down the long corridor. He vaguely heard Titus yelling for Lodar and Tor to meet them in the dining quarters, that Riley was being attacked. Bob heard the loud roars as it echoed through the old freighter to where he was working on sealing off another section of the ship so they would not have to maintain its environmental system. His huge body shook with rage when he heard that something was attacking Riley in the dining quarters. He turned quickly and moved as fast as his big body would let him through the narrow corridors.
Vox’s blood boiled at the thought of some unknown creature attacking
his beautiful, vulnerable mate. He would tear it to shreds. He would teach whatever creature it was that no one messed with his delicate, fragile mate. He rounded the corner leading to the dining quarters, skidding around it so fast his shoulder left a deep dent in the wall where he hit it. He slowed as he saw Riley coming out of the room. She had a tray in her hands, but that was not what caught his attention. It was the mass of purple threatening to strangle her. The thing had glittering scales all over it. Vox’s heart skipped a beat when he saw the purple tentacles embedded in her ears. The thing was trying to take over her mind!
Vox leaped to rip the thing off Riley at the same time she looked up. Horror and fear flashed through her eyes as she screamed. The tray in her hands flew through the air over her head at the same time as Vox hit her chest, knocking her backward and down to the hard metal floor. He used his teeth and claws to slice the creature off his mate, tearing and slashing in desperate fear that it might be too late to save her.
He shifted when he had most of the creature torn apart enough so he could use his hands to finish pulling it from her body. Riley’s screams of panic continued to tear a hole through his soul. Grief and rage made his fingers clumsy as he pulled the last bit of purple fur away from her face and neck. With trembling fingers, he gently pulled the remains of the tentacles from her right ear, the other had already fallen out.
"Riley, speak to me," Vox whispered hoarsely. "My lumi, please speak to me. Tell me if it is still hurting you."
* * *
Riley breathed in the scent of the hot soup she had programmed into the replicator that Lodar had shown her earlier how to use. She had decided she’d better stick with something simple like he suggested and decided on a broth and hot tea. Anything hot to warm her up since she was beginning to shiver even with the jacket on. She tugged on the fur lining, pulling it up around her ears and adjusted her earbuds so they wouldn’t fall out before she picked up the tray she had found.
Captured Boxed Set: 9 Alpha Bad-Boys Who Will Capture Your Heart Page 92
