Karn's Brows rose. Tork never passed up any chance to pilot the ship.
"Anything important I should know about?” He asked.
"I'll fill you in later."
Tork shared almost everything with Karn. They were closer than brothers, but the discovery of his mate left him feeling selfish. He did not want her near anyone until he had formally claimed her and she had accepted him.
Tork sat down and began the procedures for take off. Now he could set his mind to getting home and finding out what pleasures awaited him in the form of his new mate. He kept picturing her body stretched out on the bed in his cabin. With any luck she would be stretched out under him soon. Lost in his thoughts, he didn't even notice Jorn and Haar enter the nav center.
"Anytime you're ready!” Karn yelled across the chamber.
Shaking his head to clear it, Tork began the takeoff sequence yet again. Within minutes the ship was ready to leave Tul. After navigating out of Tul's atmosphere, he gave the controls over to Karn and headed for his quarters. He could feel the first wave of the mating fever washing over him. It was time to claim his mate.
* * * *
The first thing Britta felt before she opened her eyes was the soft bed she stretched out on. For a moment she thought she was home. She started to snuggle under the covers until she realized the familiar smell wafting through the room was not a good homemade breakfast, but that of a star ship engine as it revved up.
"What the HELL!” Her yell was rewarded with pain shooting through her temple. Easing up and leaning on her elbows, she looked around the room. The dim light was still enough to hurt. She shut her eyes against the pain and groaned. Raising her hands to her head, Britta felt her scalp gingerly, making sure it wasn't really split open
After a moment she tried again to look around. This was not any type of ship she had been on before or any type she was familiar with, she could tell by the sound of the engines and the way it moved through space. The cabin she was occupying wasn't standard crew quarters either, if the furnishings were any indication.
"Oohh fancy” she muttered under her breath. Grunting with pain, she sat up some more only to discover she was completely naked under the sheet.
"Shit” she muttered. A quick mental check told her nothing had happened to her while she was unconscious, besides having a killer headache, but that was still not much comfort. Remembering the fight in the bar she grimaced.
"You shoulda been more careful girl. See now you've got yourself kidnapped. Let's just hope that it's not the slimy merchant.” Britta mumbled to herself realizing she needed clothes and she needed to get out of the cabin she was in fast before she ended up on some alien planet as a love slave.
Getting up, she noticed her clothes and her blasters were missing. She never went anywhere without her blasters even when she was working on a ship. Males of any species got a little too frisky when you were out in space for any length of time. She had learned to be prepared. She wasn't going to go anywhere without them now. A quick search of the cabin led her to a hidden drawer inside the closet. Jackpot! Grabbing an oversized shirt and pants, she made herself presentable.
Hoping to get out of the room as soon as possible, she went to the door and listened for sounds of anyone in the hallway. Hearing nothing, she pushed the button and—nothing. She was locked in.
"I guess we'll just have to do this the hard way.” She reached down to pull off the small panel that would allow her to bypass the locking mechanism. Within seconds the door swooshed open and Britta was quietly going down the corridor. She recognized the layout of the ship instantly. The mid-sized ship could carry up to ten crewmen and had a large cargo bay. The cabins ran down the center of the ship with a hallway on either side. This was going to be easy.
She knew she could be out of the ship and back in her hotel within a few minutes. Only a few feet down the corridor she came upon the first porthole and realized she was in much bigger trouble. She was in deep space. Britta was still standing at the porthole staring out in shock when she heard a roar and the sound of large footsteps in the hallway. Pulling her blasters, she turned to face whoever it was that had kidnapped her and put her on this ship. As a man came around the corner she steadied herself.
"Stop right there!” she called out. The male who faced her was not the Vok trader who had hit her in the brawl at the bar, but a very large, very handsome man. She fought the urge to sigh in relief. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but he was still one hell of a big angry guy. Definitely not the kind of man she was used to seeing. This one was a barbarian. With his long blonde hair brushing his shoulders and unbelievably bright aqua eyes fixed on her. His face was captivating. He wore an open vest and skintight pants and looked like a wet dream. Everything about him screamed trouble. She knew then she was in more danger than she had ever imagined.
"Who are you? What the hell am I doing on this ship?"
"Put your weapons down woman. You are on my ship and I will not have you pointing a weapon at me on my own ship."
"How did I get here?” Britta demanded. There was no way she was putting anything down until she knew exactly what was going on. “One minute I am in a bar fight and the next I'm who knows where in space."
She could see he was trying to keep her calm as he kept his hands up while he approached her. As enthralled as she was with his body, she was still uncomfortable with him being so close to her. She flexed her right hand, gripping the blaster more securely and was satisfied when he stopped walking towards her.
"You were hurt in the bar at the space port. As a Raran woman, with no protector I have claimed you."
"Like Hell” It was the first thing that Britta could think of to say. She saw his eyes bulge, and his nostrils flared as he digested that bit of defiance from her. Good! He looked like the kind of man women fell over themselves to get at. She was not going to be pushed into anything, much less some barbarian mating.
"I am not a Raran female subject to your arcane laws. You have no right to kidnap or claim me. I am not Raran and I want to be taken to the nearest spaceport now.” She was on shaky ground demanding anything while she was being held on a ship, but gave it a try anyway.
"Or what?” challenged Tork with a grunt. She watched him as he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. “You have no right to demand anything. I am in charge here, and as your protector, none aboard this ship will take your side. No harm will come to you in my care, nor will I do anything that will harm you. You should be relieved you have my protection. You have nowhere to run, so I suggest you give me your blasters and return to the cabin where I left you."
Just then she saw Tork look past her to someone who had slowly been coming up behind her. After an almost indiscernible nod from Tork, the other man grabbed her from behind before she could do anything. The unknown man pulled her arms down, forcing her to drop her blasters. As soon as she was secure, Tork bent down to retrieve the weapons, handing them to Karn, and picking up his prize. Without a word, and with Britta still struggling in his grip, he made his way back to his cabin with her slung over his shoulder.
* * * *
Inside his quarters Tork set her gently on her feet after the door was closed and locked. He breathed a small sigh of relief. What if someone else found her? What would he have done? Panic started to engulf him, rising through his gut, until it almost choked him. All was normal during the onset of the mating fever, but still Tork could feel it beginning to envelop him, it was a feeling so alien that it was beginning to sap last vestiges of his control. He wasn't sure how much longer he could fight the urge to mate with her.
"Woman, you fight for no reason. You have been claimed. You will be my mate. You are fighting something you cannot change.” He did not understand why she fought against the claiming. He didn't care she said she could not be claimed by him. Tork eyed her as she backed away from him and into the farthest corner of the cabin. Her eyes darting around as if to look for a weapon to defend herself with, only ther
e was nothing within her reach. Sighing, he sat down in a chair opposite her. He could see how scared she was. If she had been raised on his home world, this would not be a moment for her to fear. Instead, he was fighting every primal instinct he had.
"You will find nothing here in this room that can hurt me. Come, tell me your name and where you are from. I would like to know more.” With that he folded his arms and waited for her to reply. He watched her take a shuddering breath and wondered if she would do as he asked her. He like the way her breasts bounced in his shirt, a shirt he was sure he'd never be able to wear again. He crossed his legs to hide his arousal. He was rock hard, and it looked like it would stay that way for a while longer.
She looked at the door, but he knew she was aware of the fact even if she could get out, there was no place for her to go. She took a deep breath before she answered.
"My name is Britta. My home is on Malach.” She was deliberately evasive to his questioning, giving him only the barest answers to his questions. “Now answer some of my questions. Where are you from and where is this ship headed?"
"Rara is my home and that is where we are heading. You will not have a chance to escape before you get to your new home.” His confidence radiated out from him. “Your name,” he continued “is unusual for a Raran female. From where does it come?” he asked.
"Ah, finally he gets it. I'm not Raran. You have made a mistake. I am not one of your females to be claimed. What you did is punishable by galactic law.” Her voice rose to a yell by the last sentence. Her frustration with him was obvious, but it wasn't enough to turn him off.
Britta sat down in the nearest chair and stared at Tork. As she rubbed her temples, he got up coming to her side. She looked up at him just as he leaned down to look at her. Looking at her closely a worried expression settled on his handsome face. “What?” she asked him, her voice soft now that the pain was getting worse. The throbbing was now sharp and seemed to echo in her head.
"I would have it so you were not in pain” Tork said gruffly. “Lay down and rest. I will bring you the hypo spray. I have not been able to tell you, but your head injury was severe."
Britta did not resist as he picked her up and put her on the bed. And for just a second, the feel of his warm body and hard muscles made her feel safe. She did not have the strength to fight him. It would be better if she just waited until her head stopped trying to explode. She kept her eyes closed as he covered her up and gave her the hypo spray filled with painkillers.
Damn that Vok trader to hell! He must have hit her harder than she thought. All of sudden she noticed how heavy her limbs were getting. Damn him! He must have put a sleep agent in the spray. One moment with her eyes closed, and this is what happens. She opened her eyes to see his beautiful green eyes leaning over her. As she drifted off to sleep, she muttered exactly what she was thinking.
"Sexy bastard."
Tork's eyes widened when he heard her words uttered before she slipped off into sleep. He then broke out into a wide grin. It seemed that his little she-beast was not so immune to his charms after all. Ha! He thought to himself. This was going to be easier than he thought. She would stop fighting soon and resign herself to her new life. Still, he did enjoy her small attempt to escape. It was clear she knew how to use weapons, and he was not sure how the door had become unlocked. But it would not matter anyway, since she could not hide anywhere on the ship where he would not find her.
As he left the room he decided to leave it unlocked. It was probably a waste of time. Besides, now that they were on their way home, there was nowhere for her to run. By now Karn had probably told the others of his mate and there would be all sorts of questions to answer from him and the rest of the crew. Tork did not feel like dealing with that now, so instead he made his way to the dining area. Dealing with Britta had made him hungry.
Chapter 3
Dinner was not pleasant. By then the story of his escaped mate had made its way around to Jorn and Haar. He had put up with knowing smiles and grins. But when Jorn asked him if he had found what he'd been looking for, he'd almost lunged across the table at him.
Afterwards Tork had gone back to his cabin to make sure she slept. Her scent enveloped him and he breathed it in deeply. Even though the Ber Toc was beginning to bother him, he had not yet reached the point where he could not control himself. Her luscious form tempted him beyond belief, but he would wait until she felt better.
As hard as it was, he sat down at his desk and began to sort through some of the paperwork he had been putting off. There was always plenty of trade paperwork to be done after a voyage like the one to Tul. Various guilds had to be satisfied. A slight to one would result in weeks of further negotiations. Tul, being a trade planet, was even more bureaucratic than most other planets. Even though the ship flew itself, someone needed to be at the bridge, constantly monitoring the navigational controls and sensors in case anything went wrong.
It was several hours before Tork went to see Karn in the control room adjacent to the bridge. Tork walked in quietly and sat down without a word. Karn seemed very calm and did not immediately get up to go get his evening meal. Tork sighed,
"I know I should have mentioned Britta, but I wanted her to become accustomed to the ship before I told anyone."
Karn turned around and looked at Tork in surprise. Tork never apologized to anyone about anything.
"She's your mate.” It was a statement of fact rather than a question. Tork would have only brought a strange female onto the ship if she meant something to him.
"Yes. Is it that obvious?"
"I've never seen you cavort with any female while on a business trip, much less bring on one the ship. I figured if you brought her onboard, she must be your mate."
"To tell you the truth, I don't know what came over me. I would not have brought her here against her will, but a drunken Vok trader struck her unconscious and I thought this would be the safest place for her, at least until I could explain to her she was my mate. There was no male there to claim her so I did.” Tork then turned all of his attention to the control screen in front of him.
"So I take it she was not happy to wake up and discover she had been claimed and taken aboard an alien ship?” Karn asked.
"Nay, she was not. She will soon adjust though, she has no other choice. She is my mate and will stay with me” replied Tork, confident that once she adjusted to her situation she would see things his way.
"Have you told her who you are yet?” Karn asked.
"No. I want to wait. I have enough problems with females trying to get their hands on me and the status my family offers. I want to get to know her before I tell her she's now a princess."
"It might help ease the shock a little if you did.” Karn knew it was useless to argue with Tork but gave it a try anyway.
"No. She will adjust because she has no choice. When she resigns herself to being my mate, I will tell her."
Karn shook his head. Tork had a long way to go before he knew anything about wooing women.
"Well, it's no wonder she has not accepted your claim yet with an attitude like that. Why are you not with her now?” he asked.
"She is still in pain from the blow to the head. It was serious, and her display in the hallway did nothing to help her recovery. I gave her some pain medication and a sleep aid. She should wake up within the hour."
"You should be there when she wakes up. I'll get Jorn to take the next watch.” Tork thought about lying in bed with the beautiful Britta, and taking all of the clothing, his clothing, from that sweet body of hers. When they arrived at his home he would see her clothed as befitting a beautiful Raran female. It would show off those lovely legs perfectly.” He could feel himself getting stiff just thinking about those legs.
"I'll see you later. I'm going to check on Britta.” He said and exited the room hurriedly.
Karn chuckled to himself. He could just imagine what he would do if he had a lovely female waiting for him in his bed. Turning back to the c
ommunications panel he grinned and called Jorn's quarters to summon him for his shift.
* * * *
Britta was in the middle of one of the most erotic dreams she had ever had. Her mystery lover was making her squirm. She could feel her nipples harden and pebble, pushing up against the sheet in the bed as a warm mouth made its way down her belly. It was heading towards her dripping slit. His long hair tickled her belly and just added one more sensation to drive her crazy. Her frustration was growing. She wanted the ache deep inside her to go away. Her clit was aching and moisture was pooling between her thighs. She almost screamed when a finger lightly caresses her clit. The sensations were sharper than before. She usually did this to herself, and it never felt this good. The hot wet mouth stopped at her navel and she groaned in protest.
"Don't stop.” she moaned, arching her back begging for more without uttering a word.
The dream would be over soon. She always woke up before she could cum, but this time she hoped the sweet feeling would last until she could climax. It wasn't until her dream lover's mouth slipped over her clit and began to lap at her that she opened her eyes. Screaming in pleasure her hands twisted in the sheets, her back arched and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. Britta realized she was dreaming.
* * * *
Tork paused and looked at her face. Her eyes were still closed as she moaned and twisted on the bed. He ran his finger down her swollen lips and then up again until he circled her clit. The nubbin stretched out to meet his finger. He circled slowly, and watched with delight as Britta moaned and screamed. She was totally out of control now. Just the way he wanted her. Her tangy taste was better than any fruit he had ever sampled. It fueled his desire for her. He sucked her clit and grinned against her lips at the moans coming from her. Her juices were running freely now, soaking the bed beneath them. Moving from her clit, he placed his mouth over the channel that would give him so much pleasure and lapped at her nectar.
The Running Mate Page 2
