by Aria Bell
Outrage flooded through me. Someone big was carrying me…and my flight suit and the bodyglove underneath were soaked and clinging to me. I was being kidnapped.
I settled my hands on the big, very very big back of the unknown person carrying me. He wasn’t wearing any shirt and his skin had the lightest blue tint. Muscles like steel flexed under my fingers as I pushed myself up enough to look over my shoulder…only to see the back of a big head atop a huge set of back and neck muscles.
With a sinking feeling, I immediately realized this was the Jardan warrior I’d been sent to apprehend. Ryrke Zo’dan. Somehow he had survived the crash after the chase. Now he was carrying me off like a prisoner. Being carried like this was humiliating and absolutely could not go on another second. I was a full officer of the galactic law. I would not be slung around like a piece of soaking wet meat.
“Put me down now!” I bellowed in my best obey-at-once voice. “You’re under arrest!”
The same laughter I recognized from before rumbled in the air. “We are long past that nonsense now. I am getting us away from predators, and you can’t move as fast as I can. Besides, you are lucky to be alive, little female.”
“Put me down. And if you call me ‘little’ again, I will rock your head to sleep with my elbow.”
“You have the spirit of a true Jardan, little—”
I swung my elbow at the back of his head with all the force I could muster. I expected to knock him cold. What I didn’t expect was to nearly break my elbow.
“Sacred gerzam-dick snaffle-cock!” I shouted in pure pain. Now my elbow throbbed like mad, keeping counter time to my head.
The Jardan warrior merely kept on walking and kept on carrying me slung over his shoulder. My ass was right next to his face. He was holding my upper thighs so I wouldn’t fall off. The feel of the muscles in his arms was like rocks pressed against me. It was utterly humiliating how this huge male was handling me as if I were nothing more than a mammal pup.
“It doesn’t feel good when you do that,” Ryrke told me flatly. “So if you will stop, I will stop calling you little. Instead I will call you…petite.”
I let loose a long and colorful string of curses that would’ve set the ears of many a dockworker aflame. Ryrke didn’t bother to answer. He only continued to hike his way across the rocky terrain with long, fast strides. The big Jardan warrior didn’t seem troubled by my weight in the slightest. Just how strong was he? I’d heard that the Jardan were powerful, but it was humbling to realize just how powerful they truly were.
Eventually I had to stop inventing things to call him and catch my breath. So I took the opportunity to look around, since he didn’t seem willing to put me down any time soon and my blaster was probably back with my ship…wherever that was.
Yes, we were moving fast. His strides were very long, and he moved with a graceful, tireless gait that ate up the meters with ease. He also seemed to be in a bit of a hurry, which seemed to back up his claim about predators and needing to move quickly.
I scanned the terrain I could see, searching for evidence of us being hunted. I couldn’t see anything that looked dangerous. Everywhere across the landscape rose strange vegetation shaped like arches. Their surfaces were full of ridges and holes and covered with patches of fuzzy leaves. Huge rock formations rose like small mountains across the uneven terrain, covered with ridges and ravines in the distance. I could also see some kind of flying creature with wide wings circling far off, although it didn’t seem interested in us. And there was lots of smoke on the horizon. I wondered if that was from my ship or his. Being as we’d only crash-landed because the big, loutish fool couldn’t fly worth a damn. He’d deliberately rammed his ship into mine out of spite just because I’d shot out his engines.
Typical male.
Seeing no sign of the predators he’d clearly lied about, there was no reason I should endure the humiliation of being carried for one instant longer. I began to squirm again, trying to wiggle out of his grip and down to the ground. Then we’d see how this would end once he faced a highly trained galactic officer. Even giants would fall before me.
“Stop wiggling,” Ryrke grumbled, his voice rough and deep and annoyed. “I don’t want to drop you.”
I could actually feel the rumble of his voice from his chest up through my thighs and my abdomen. The vibration caught my pussy’s attention, shocking me. Stupid traitor body and stupid uncontrollable biological responses.
I pushed those crazy feelings away fast and snarled at him. “I told you to put me down, you lumbering, oafish buffoon.”
“I do not know what a buffoon is. But unless you would like to be prey to a bunch of four-legged predators I spotted following us, you will yield, submit, and cease being a problem for me.”
“Ha! Not a chance.” I would’ve elbowed him in the head again, but I valued my elbow too much. I needed to wait for the chance to kick him in the balls. That always worked. “I don’t see any predators. So put me down. Now!”
He didn’t reply, but he began walking even faster. So I started squirming harder, fighting against the steel arm that pinned me to his body.
Smack! A hand hit my ass, and I yelped in shock more than pain. As an enforcement officer, I did plenty of exercises and kept in top shape, so my glutes were tight muscle, but still the sting surprised me. I didn’t know what stung worse, the hand slapping against my ass cheek or the fact that someone had just spanked my butt.
“You bastard!” I bellowed, outraged beyond the bounds of outrage. My voice echoed back to me from the distant cliffs and rocks. This jerk certainly seemed to inspire a lot of yelling from me. “I hope you broke your hand!”
He laughed. “Such fire. I will set you down the moment we are safe. But these predators are persistent. They have tracked us for miles, so cease your distracting wiggling. If you don’t stop making this difficult, little female—”
I apologized to my elbow and hit him in the back of the head with it again. Harder this time.
He grunted. The shock and pain of the impact shot all the way from my elbow up to my shoulder, but this time my blow had the intended effect. He staggered off-stride for one critical moment, and I shoved against him. It was like pushing against a mountain, but I managed to launch myself off his shoulder.
And fell six feet to the hard ground with a grunt. For a moment, my head spun as my elbow throbbed, and I could only lay there with the wind knocked out of me. Then I scrambled to my feet and faced Ryrke Zo’dan.
He was scowling at me, as fierce-looking as an energy storm. He also towered over me. I mean, really towered over me. Ryrke must have stood over two meters tall. His shoulders seemed broad enough to land a space fighter on. The muscles on his arms were huge, and his thighs were as big around as a tsar-steel support. For a moment, my traitorous brain wondered what the cock of a male this big would look like…and then I pushed the distracting thought out of my sex-starved brain. Focus! There was a job to do. This man was wanted for murder by the government of Talov Seven, prompted by charges brought by Judge Gev Yordal of the Kyel Yost Space Station. It was my responsibility to bring him in.
Although bringing him in might be a little more of a challenge than I’d anticipated. I had already noticed that not only was my clothing soaking wet, but also I had no weapons and no scan-computer on my wrist. Also, not only did Ryrke tower over me, he looked like he’d been chiseled out of one of these nearby rock formations. His jaw was strong, his brow heavy, cheekbones that looked like armor plating, and he had bright green eyes that seemed to glow as they regarded me. He wasn’t wearing a flight suit, but some civilian outfit. Dark brown boots—I know my eyes widened at the size of those feet—that came just below the knee. Beige pants that had deep pockets on the sides, and some kind of blade weapon on his hip. His chest was bare, though, which I found strange…and unsettling. The broad expanse of his blue-tinged flesh included abs that looked as if they could grind down a mountain and pectorals bigger than my head and probably even ha
rder. His dark hair was done in one of the short styles of the Jardan warriors. A long zerophyte ore necklace dangled around his neck with a symbol that I guessed had mystical or political meaning for the Jardan. All in all, he was a staggering amount of masculinity stuffed into one massive package.
One I had just elbowed in the head.
Twice.
And he didn’t look happy about it.
I tensed, wondering if he would go for that blade. I wish I’d seen it before I’d set this in motion, but I hadn’t been able to from my position. My right ass cheek still stung, reminding me why I’d elbowed him in the first place.
He didn’t go for the blade. Instead, he reached one powerful hand up and massaged the back of his head while glaring at me as if he hadn’t been the one kidnapping me. “I guess you have my attention, d’mura osefei. You are down. What now?”
“Give me your weapon and prepare to be arrested,” I said boldly, ignoring the fact that I had no blaster, no bindercuffs, and no starship to lock him in.
“No.”
I drew myself up to my full height and put on my fiercest galactic officer expression. The one that showed that I took no meldora dung from anyone, no way, no how. “You are under arrest, Ryrke Zo’dan.”
He crossed his arms over that magnificent chest. I watched his muscles bulge and tried to ignore them. Unsuccessfully. His voice came out as a deep rumble. “If we survive the Charteznoq Wilds, we can discuss it later.”
He threw a glance behind him, frowning. I looked as well and didn’t see anything. Although the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I didn’t like to ignore my intuition. Something was out there. Hiding.
“We must move fast, d’mura osefei,” he continued. “We are hunted.”
“Not so fast. How did I get here?”
“I carried you.”
I waited, tapping my foot impatiently. Ryrke only watched me placidly. I got the feeling he enjoyed messing with me. I had a few choice curses for him too. I kept them to myself.
For now.
I broke first. “I mean, what happened back there and why did you…?” I shook my head, wondering about his reasons for taking the time and the trouble to save me. Especially when he was going to regret it after I tossed his ass in a holding cell.
“Why did I save you?” He smirked, then swore in Jardanian. Or at least I assumed they were swear words. They certainly sounded colorful enough and very growly, as if he were the predator here. “Ungeni knows I shouldn’t have saved you after you shot me down.”
“You were fleeing!”
“I am innocent.”
He said it so calmly I immediately wanted to march over there and kick him in the knee. “Innocent men do not flee the law!”
It was his turn to draw himself up…and he loomed like a mountain. It was unsettling. “Jardan warriors fear nothing. But I paid the Kyel Yost ship traffic controller to let me know if any law officer came on the hunt for me.” He shrugged. “As an innocent man, I did not wish to harm an officer doing his…or her…duty. You are lucky for that, d’mura osefei.”
“You keep saying those words. What do they mean?” I demanded, the wheels of my mind spinning. What kind of murderous criminal didn’t want to fight against the galactic officer sent to apprehend him? He was clearly capable and extremely tough…if my two elbows to the back of his head was any indication.
“I would tell you, but you wouldn’t like it. I don’t have time for more of your flailing.”
“I do not flail.” I might have arrested him for that alone if he hadn’t already had an outstanding warrant for murder. That was one thing I had to remember. He was wanted for murder. Even if he somehow, for some reason, had saved me, I still had to bring him in. It was my duty. But I let the whole thing about whatever he was calling me in Jardanian slide. I couldn’t get distracted by small stuff that didn’t matter.
He grunted, as if to show what he thought about my last comment, and then continued. “When you took out my engines and our ships collided, your ship went down in a lake.” He tapped the holo-screen computer on his wrist. “After I ejected from my ship, I tracked you down.”
“And instead of helping me and waiting for rescue, you thought you’d drag me off?”
“I scanned you and found your injuries minor. But your ship was sinking and there were predators in the lake. I pulled you from the wreckage and assessed your condition. But after I made it to shore, I realized we had attracted more predators. Soon the creatures were getting bolder. I had to leave with you as fast as I could.”
I kept quiet. I didn’t know how to process that information. Clearly, he had helped me from my crashed ship. Although my instincts had just given me a warning twinge, I hadn’t seen any predator stalking us yet. But when a Jardan warrior was on alert, I’d be a fool to ignore it.
I looked him over, noting the small pack slung over his other shoulder that I hadn’t paid much attention to when I’d been struggling to get down. “So, we are lost in some kind of wild land with no weapons. Tell me we at least have some water and rations and you saved the emergency beacon so we can be rescued.”
He settled his hand on the hilt of the blade at his side. “I have my iteran, the sacred blade of a Jardan warrior. I will protect us. Have no fear.”
I was worried though. About all kinds of things. Being stranded on a strange planet with a wanted Jardan who was built like a wall chief among them. Oh, and I could protect myself, thank you very much. But I could do it better with a ranged weapon.
“I don’t suppose you have a weapon for me, do you?” I asked.
A slight smile lightened that imposing, handsome—yes, he was good-looking, I would admit it but not aloud—face. “I think, until I get to know you better, I should carry the dangerous weapons.”
“Get to know me better? That didn’t stop you from smacking my ass!”
This time he gave me a full-on grin. “I wanted to get your attention.”
The bastard. I could see he didn’t regret it. Maybe he’d even enjoyed it. I suppose it made us even, since I had elbowed his head twice. And I still intended to knee him in the balls when I had a good chance and then I’d take him into custody. A guy this huge had to have a massive cock and big balls…which meant it would hurt even more when my knee connected with them. That would teach him.
Something moved back at a rock formation a dozen or so meters behind us. Stones and pebbles slid down in a small avalanche. I tensed, peering at the disturbance, but Ryrke already had his blade free. He stood between me and the small slide, weapon ready.
But there was nothing to see. Whatever predator had disturbed the rocks had vanished. I no longer felt like hanging around and talking though.
“You’re right,” I whispered to Ryrke, glancing around uneasily. “Let’s get moving again.”
“That is the best thing that has come out of your mouth yet, d’mura osefei,” he replied, sheathing his blade.
He started walking again. I really had to move to keep up with him, but I also got the annoying impression that he was keeping his walking speed slower than normal so he didn’t leave me behind.
“So you have the only weapon,” I said slowly. “Did you at least send a distress signal?”
“My ship was destroyed after some crazy female shot it down—”
“A crazy female doing her sworn duty,” I interrupted.
He grunted and clenched his jaw, although he did give a short nod. “I ejected. The ejection frame has a distress beacon.” He patted the pack slung over one massive shoulder. “It’s in here…but this planet has so much interference in the upper atmosphere, I don’t think the signal is strong enough to get through it and reach the space station or passing ships.”
That thought chilled me. “There must be settlements on this planet though. Cities and colonies.”
“No. Just the indigenous people. They are called the Voltuni. They are unfriendly to strangers. That is why everyone stays on a space station in orbit around the
planet.”
Great. Unfriendly aliens, and I had no weapon. “How soon until someone comes looking for us. I mean, we did race away from the space station at full throttle.”
He frowned at me. “This is the outer rim. We were both a problem, and they would rather not deal with problems like us. We are on our own. So behave yourself or I will…how did you say it? I will truss you up.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and tried to ignore his threat. He could do it too. Easily. Leave me all bound up and helpless. “What supplies do we have?”
“We have a portable water condenser and three weeks of high-nutrient emergency rations. A few basic tools. We have a very small emergency shelter. My blade. My computer. Also, my computer has a universal translator with every language variant in the quadrant in case we encounter someone who doesn’t speak galactic common.”
