The door had already slammed closed when Diana finally managed to break free. “You bastard!” she complained, wiping the wetness from her lips and shouting loudly toward the door, “Wait! Come back!”
“Too late now,” said Breela as she operated the controls again, bringing the ship swiftly through the exit gate and up into the sky. Brackish, green clouds periodically emitted bolts of lightning in the unprotected zones to either side, but the ionic field surrounding the gateway gave the ship a lightning-free pathway to orbit.
“We’re free of the atmosphere, sir,” Private Doban told him. “Establishing low orbit now.”
“Very good,” said Meko. “Bring us around to the Gamalan. I believe we should be the last members of the crew to arrive. Inform nav-com that we must prepare to leave just as soon as the shuttle has docked.”
“Aye, sir,” he said with a nod.
“May as well stand down, little trooper,” he teased his new toy. “We’ll be orbiting the planet for about two hours before we reach our final destination. If you get bored, you could always enjoy the view.”
Diana turned her head patently away from the window, obviously unwilling to give him the satisfaction of taking his advice. A warm bubble of mirth welled up inside of him and burst free into laughter as he gave her knee a little squeeze.
Eventually, he was sure, Diana King would grow tired of her little game, settle into her seat, and catch sight of the massive planet out the window. It was difficult to miss the greenish-blue orb even if one wanted to.
He would rather not see it again. Only one good thing had come to him from Earth, in his estimation, and that was this girl. He had a feeling he would not regret taking her. She was beautiful, spirited, and obviously intelligent too. After all, who went through four years of advanced schooling and came back as anything less?
FOUR
Diana couldn’t believe it. She was finally in outer space, and instead of enjoying herself and checking out the world from above, she was acting like a petulant child. Sure, the circumstances were intolerable, but this might be the only chance she got to get a look at her planet from above like this, and she was wasting it.
Two hours, Meko had said. There was no possibility that she could hold her head in this direction that long, and she didn’t even want to try. Rather than make herself suffer needlessly, it made a hell of a lot more sense to simply look out the window.
“Well, I don’t think you’ll try to escape if I let you out now,” said Meko as he released his own belt, then moved to unlock hers as well. Diana watched how he did it on the sly, but she didn’t manage to figure out the little trick.
Meko tugged, and the two of them glided effortlessly across the ship, weightless. He used one strong arm to stop them near the window, and the other he wrapped around her, drawing her against his side. Her earlier efforts already told her it would be useless trying to make him let her go.
He brought her in front of him, splaying the fingers of one hand over her belly and using the other to catch her around her chin, gently pointing her eyes in the direction of her world. Despite herself, Diana felt a smile pulling at her lips which she couldn’t seem to keep from showing.
“Will you miss it much?” he asked her.
“Not really,” she shrugged. “I was already thinking of leaving anyway. But that doesn’t mean you can remove me against my will.”
“Have you never heard of destiny, little one?” he inquired. “It is my personal belief that there are no accidents in the universe. For whatever reason, you were meant to come with me.”
“That’s sure convenient to say, since you’re the one who took the actions necessary for me to be here now,” she scoffed. “I’m pretty sure I’d still be standing in my living room if you hadn’t.”
“But destiny brought you into the room,” he persisted. “My upbringing and beliefs made me act, and react, in the ways that would impel me to take you. Had you not walked into the room when you did, you might just as easily have found your father dead on the floor when you arrived.”
“You would have killed him over it?” she gasped.
“It is the height of dishonor not to pay one’s debts,” he shrugged, letting her go this time when she tried to push away. She whirled around to look at him.
“That is total crap,” she told him. “It’s just some nonsense you Andarians made up so you could have an excuse to war with each other some more. It’s no wonder they call your people the bullies of the quadrant, with attitudes like that even on the home front.”
Diana was furious with the man. But she was more furious with herself for the way she was feeling right now. As the alien had continued to hold her, his warmth and his scent had both begun to assail her senses, leaving her with tightening nipples and a sudden wetness between her thighs. That, even more than his words, had prompted her to push away.
“Well, well, aren’t we the opinionated one?” Breela mocked from across the room.
“Leave it be, Breela,” the commander said sternly. “She is only repeating what she has been taught, nothing more. She cannot possibly know if those words are true.”
“They sure seem true where you’re concerned,” Diana complained, glaring up at him. “Why else would you simply toss me over your shoulder in some kind of caveman tactic and drag me into this vessel? That sure sounds like a bully to me!”
“Commander, could you do us all a favor and kiss her again?” came Breela’s reply.
Red-faced now, Diana subsided. They returned to the window, and she gazed at her planet some more, trying to regain her sense of calm. Sure, the big brute had carried her off without her permission, but he’d managed to accomplish the goal now, and there was nothing she could do about it. She would simply have to make the best of a bad thing.
Breela’s voice sliced through her thoughts again. “Time for harnesses,” she said, and Meko brought Diana with him back to their seats, strapping her tightly in.
“All safe,” he said, smiling at her.
“For now,” she replied, making him chuckle as he strapped himself in too.
The Gamalan was just coming into view around the giant orb that had been blocking it from view. It hovered a bit further up than they were flying now, so Breela had to use the thrusters to break the shuttle free and maneuver it where it needed to be.
The ship was about the size of Manhattan, at a guess, not that Diana was well versed about such things. It was something like a cigar shape, with maybe ten rows of tiny windows dotting the central portion. She spotted what looked like laser canons in various places along the hull, but all of them were aimed inward as a show of peaceful intentions.
As she watched, the docking bay door at the back opened so they could land. Once Breela cleared the entrance, not long after there was a slight jolting sensation as the magnetic docking gear engaged, adhering the shuttle to the floor.
“Do I have to carry you all through the ship?” Meko inquired, his hand hovering over her belt again.
“No,” said Diana as she looked into his soft, purple eyes. “I’m angry, not stupid. We both know there’s nowhere for me to go.”
When he unlocked the belt this time, Diana kept her eyes neutral as she committed what he’d done to memory. In a pinch, she now knew how to get out of a belt on her own.
Meko folded Diana’s arm around his elbow as he led her out into the landing bay. The length of probably three football fields, the docking bay contained maybe twenty shuttles and plenty of space for a few bigger ships to land as well. Judging from the amount of empty space, it was obvious the ship must be operating with a skeleton crew.
Seeing the direction of her thoughts, Meko supplied, “We were here on vacation. The full complement is probably fifty times as many Andarians as we have aboard now. The lower decks are currently without power and air, sealed off from use until we get home. So if you want to run away, I don’t suggest you go down there.”
Diana cast him an evil glare, but it only made him chuc
kle as they stepped away from the shuttle. He really didn’t take her fury seriously, and he probably wasn’t far off the mark. What could she do to a giant of a man that would actually instill some fear? She sighed, shaking her head. Not a damned thing, that was what.
“I know that being here was not of your choosing, Diana King,” said Meko as he gave her hand a little squeeze. “But I hope you will grow to accept it, for your own sake.”
“I know,” she replied dejectedly. “But it’s going to take some time.”
A personnel transport pulled up in front of them, looking very much like the ones used on Earth. The top was open, and it was basically a large platform with numerous handhold pipes jutting up for people to grab onto. The entire group from the shuttle stepped onto it. With six crewmen, the woman who had been at the helm, her sidekick, the commander, and Diana herself, it made for a rather cozy ride.
Diana didn’t miss the way Meko’s hand dropped subtly from her arm to her hip, then moved up to her waist and drew her against his side. She also didn’t miss the way her body reacted to it. Her heart started to pound harder, and she suddenly found it just a bit more difficult to breathe.
No, she admonished herself. This was not the kind of guy a girl who’d spent all of her adult years thus far avoiding the whole sex thing. He wasn’t the kind of guy she would want for her first time.
But somehow, though her mind protested, the rest of her disagreed. If she had to stop thinking about it and start doing it, a really hot alien who did queer things to her insides might just be the perfect recipe.
FIVE
While the transport brought them to the lifts at the far end of the ship, Meko couldn’t help but think about what he should do with the girl. Until they managed to leave port and head into the stars, the Gamalan was still subject to human laws. And he had not gotten permission from either the father or the daughter to bring her aboard.
Still, to his way of thinking anyway, the girl was his. He was owed a debt, and he had taken what he wanted in trade. But in truth, if the authorities did say anything he was simply unwilling to let her go again. Not while his body was aching to explore hers, and certainly not when he found her just as stimulating to his mind.
Michael King should easily have awakened from Breela’s little love tap by now, and had plenty of time to alert the authorities. It had been nearly three hours now, and yet so far he had heard nothing to indicate the ship was being held. Surely if the man was going to protest he would have done so by now.
As they exited, Meko decided it would be best to put Diana into his rooms before heading for the bridge. There would be time enough to sort out everything between them once he was sure they’d left the Earth far behind.
Meko paused briefly while the others continued. “I shall join you on the bridge momentarily,” he called when Breela looked back. She nodded and continued on her way.
“What are we stopping here for?” Diana wanted to know. They were standing near the double doors that led into his sitting room.
“These are my personal quarters,” Meko explained. When he stepped forward the doors slid open for him and he led her inside. “Now, they are yours too. An untrained civilian has no place on the bridge during a departure sequence, so I thought you would be much more comfortable if I left you in here.”
“I see,” she said shyly as she looked around.
“This part of the ship will feel the least amount of turbulence during the initial thrust,” he added. “If you watch through this portal, you should be able to see everything. And when we’re under way, I will return so we can discuss some things.”
“Oh, so now you want to discuss things?” she snapped, turning to glare up at him.
“Well no, not until I get back,” he told her, feeling his face begin to flush. “First, I must go and do my duty. Duty is everything, don’t you agree?”
“Not really,” Diana said. “Though I suppose that’s just the sort of thing you’d learn in a military. Me personally, I’m much more attached to integrity.”
“And what else?”
“Loyalty? Friendship?”
“Well, that’s a mighty tall order from a plaything,” Meko scoffed teasingly as he headed for the door. “We’ll have to wait and see how all that works out. Oh yes, and please don’t break any of my things.”
Diana was still laughing when the doors slid closed behind his retreating form.
Stepping onto the bridge, he heard the customary salutes of the officers there. Breela’s, “The commander is on the bridge!” set everyone into a flurry of activity as they prepared to get under way.
The longer they remained in orbit, the more anxious Meko became. If the Earth authorities demanded the girl, he could always demand his money, but he found the idea of giving her back upsetting in a way he could hardly understand. Part of his reluctance was clearly centered on his dick, and it’s need for a taste, but that didn’t explain the stirring of emotions that came along for the ride.
She was—thrilling. A stunning, amusing, intelligent and gentle little spitfire, and he couldn’t seem to work out how those ingredients had managed to fill one slip of a girl. He fully intended to find out.
“Sir, we’re receiving a hail,” said the Communications Officer, Nillak, as his hand moved to punch at the controls to answer.
“Do not acknowledge that hail, Nillak,” said the commander urgently. “Are the coordinates set, Gortan?”
“Sir, we are ready to depart.”
“Engage immediately,” Meko commanded. “And if this ever comes up, the sequence was initiated before the hail came through. We were already under way. Got that?”
“Yes, sir, Commander Meko,” his officers agreed.
The ship slipped into the darkness of deep space within moments, and they left Earth far behind. Finally, Meko was able to breathe a sigh of relief.
The vastness of space was always a source of calm for him, but never more than it was right that moment. Meko turned and strode over to his chair, nodding at Breela where she sat by his side.
“You sure you know what you’re doing, sir?” she asked. “Kidnapping young women isn’t in your usual style.”
“I haven’t known what I was doing since the moment that girl stepped into the room,” he admitted, laughing at himself. “But we’re well away from Earth now. I don’t think they would be foolish enough to initiate a pursuit.”
“Into a battle-torn no man’s zone on the way to a world so far away it would take a hundred years with their current Earth technology?” Breela scoffed. “I hardly think so.”
“With Earth technology, no,” Meko conceded. “Then again, there are other ways. Go ahead and take over. I want to go check on my little plaything. I’m sure she’s in need of a meal by now.”
“Shall I have two meals sent in for you, sir?”
“Yes, that would be agreeable,” he said with a nod. “And then, I will be initiating a sleep cycle too. Kidnapping sure takes a lot out of you.”
Breela chuckled, and then in her louder tone said, “The commander is leaving the bridge!”
A chorus of salutes followed Meko on his way out the door.
*****
In the privacy of the Commander’s quarters, Diana was able to watch as her home world suddenly slipped away in a rush of stars, followed by the dark void of deep space. She thought about the big, blond behemoth and his parting words with butterflies dancing around in her stomach. And for some reason, she couldn’t seem to stop remembering how he smelled.
What was up with that anyway?
Diana wasn’t stupid. She knew that in all likelihood the alien commander would have sex on the brain when he came back in here. Her nerves jangled deliciously as she tried to decide what she would do about it.
Wouldn’t it be best to put up a token resistance? Especially considering the fact that she wouldn’t have any idea what she was even doing, and a big guy like him was likely to tear her in two? Yeah, she thought maybe that would be a good
idea.
SIX
Diana was gazing out the window again by the time Meko stepped through the double doors and they slid shut behind him. He cast her a reassuring smile as he stepped inside and pulled a small insignia off of his chest, setting it into a tray on a nearby shelf.
She looked up at him nervously, and realized he was blushing too. “What’s that thing?” she asked, just to break the ice.
“Com-link,” he replied with a shrug. Then he started to unbutton his vest, and set it aside too.
“What are you doing?” she asked suspiciously.
Meko chuckled. “Getting comfortable?” he offered. “And waiting for our meals to arrive. I’m certain you must be hungry, since you never got to eat anything when you arrived at the farm.”
“Well, to be honest, food has been the last thing on my mind,” she admitted ruefully. “However, now that you mention it, maybe hunger is what has my stomach tied into so many knots.”
Meko stepped over and caught her cheek with one of his hands, his purple eyes looking deeply into her stormy green orbs as she blushed at his touch. “Now why is it that I doubt that?” he asked her in a husky tone.
“So, dinner, huh?” said Diana briskly as she moved away from him. “I suppose you’ll be serving something from your world?”
“I’d say it’s a mix, really,” he said, allowing her to change the subject as he moved to have a seat on the bench at the center of the room. It was wide, and solid, and comfortable. A welcome change from all the wimpy little sofas he’d endured the past few weeks on Earth. “You see, we mostly grow everything here on the ship. There are numerous growing bays with the different plants at various stages of growth to keep a steady food supply. But while we were here, we also managed to pick up a large stock of Earth foods as well. So, it’s up to the chef which foods she’ll be sending us now.”
“I see,” said Diana enthusiastically. “I don’t’ suppose my father told you what I’d just been learning at college?”
A New Reason To Fight: An Intergalactic Romance Page 60
