by S. E. Smith
Her pulse jerked as the huge head lowered to rub its muzzle against her leg. She reached out her hand and gently touched the thick fur. She bit her bottom lip to keep the smile from showing when she felt the massive chest rumble with a purr.
Leaning forward, she couldn’t help but whisper in its twitching ear. “You are pretty cute for being a big hairball.”
The huge cat jerked its head up and shook it back and forth as if denying it was merely ‘cute’. Vox’s eyes narrowed dangerously before he let his long sandpaper tongue stretch out and run the length of Riley’s cheek drawing a startled shriek from her. His lips pulled back, showing his long fangs as he reacted to her outrage.
“Vox, here they come,” Tor called out looking down the corridor as Marastin Dow poured from the upper and lower levels.
Bob turned a pale green as he watched what looked like hundreds but was more than likely fifty or more of the species converged on the bridge. “I will protect Riley with my life,” he stammered out.
“Let’s give them hell, boys!” Riley said with false bravado as she stood up to look down the corridor at the mass of purple flesh rushing for them. She let out a squeal when Vox moved back over and pushed her back down into her sit forcefully.
“You will not move!” He snapped out.
“Will you quit changing back and forth!” Riley snapped back, startled. “First you are a man, then you are a cat, then you are a man, then you are a cat, now you are a man again! Do you have a frigging personality disorder or what?”
Vox opened his mouth to snap back a reply but he never got a chance before the first group burst through the door. He turned, raising his laser sword and rushed forward with Banu, Tor, Lodar, Adur, and Titus right beside him. An emergency hatch near the far wall blew upward with enough force the lid sealing it flew through the air barely missing Fred who had been standing to the right of it. The fact he was so short was probably the only thing that kept him from being killed. Even so, he fell backwards. His hands shook as he fired on the purple male coming up through the hole.
“Fred, look out!” Riley cried out as another male popped up behind the one Fred shot.
Riley didn’t think twice, she lifted the laser pistol in her hand, flip the activation button and shot, hitting the male between the eyes. She stood up to go help Fred when Vox turned with a loud roar. She froze when she saw his face twist in a savage rage.
“Riley! Sit your big ass down in that chair and don’t move or so help me I’m going to smack it,” Vox roared out over the noise of battle.
Riley fell back into the chair in shock and disbelief. He had done it again! He had told her she had a big ass. Tears of anger and hurt pooled in her eyes before she settled to burning fury. That was it. His ass was toast as far as she was concerned. He had told her she had a big ass at least three times if not more. She knew her ass was big but there was no need for him to rub it in her face every chance he got. Not only that, he had said it so everyone, friend and enemy could hear. So help her, she was going to shoot his hairy alien ass the first chance she got. Let him see what it felt like to be on the wrong side of Ms. Riley St. Claire! She would show him.
Riley turned in her chair and crossed her arms refusing to watch what happened. She would shoot anyone who came near her and if the battle ended badly, well she would figure out what to do then. She stared down at all the glowing lights on the panel in front of her. She started when she saw one suddenly light up. Reaching to push it, her mouth dropped open when a deep, sexy male voice came over the line.
“This is the Horizon, do you need assistance?” The deep voice asked as soon as a communications link was pushed.
Riley glanced behind her at the mayhem of bodies flying through the air. Luckily, it looked like the only ones doing the flying, or falling, appeared to be purple. She shrugged her shoulders and turned back to the console panel. It looked like the guys had things under control, at least for now.
“I’m sorry we can’t come to the phone right now but if you would like to leave your name and number after the beep we’ll be happy to return your call as soon as possible. BEEP….” Riley replied.
Vox’s head turned when he heard Riley’s husky voice talking to someone on the communications console. With his luck, she was probably having a conversation with the Marastin Dows letting them know that they were vastly outnumbered. His gaze turned to a female Marastin Dow as she slipped past Fred who was battling two of the damn creatures. He pulled a knife from the chest of one of the dead warriors and threw it, striking the female in the chest.
“Riley, who in the Gods are you talking to now? You are just supposed to sit there! You aren’t supposed to be touching anything,” Vox roared out as he swung his fist and connected with the jaw of another male.
“It’s someone called the Horizon,” Riley replied with a wave of her hand.
“Who in the hell is Horizon?” Vox asked as he sliced through the stomach of another male. Guall’s balls, how many more were there going to be? They were having trouble moving around the bodies piling up.
“How the bloody hell am I supposed to know who the hell the Horizon is? You just ordered me to sit here and not move, damn it!” She yelled back.
“Well, stop pushing buttons! The last time you did that you blew up the asteroid we were on and we ended up on this piece of dragon dung!” Vox huffed out as he tucked as a blade flew at him.
“Well, if you don’t want me pushing the fucking buttons then don’t put me where I can reach them!” Riley said turning around and glaring at Vox before she stuck her tongue out at him for added measure.
Laughter sounded from the console behind her reminding Riley that she had never cut the transmission. “I repeat this is…” The deeply amused voice started to say.
“I know who in the fucking hell you are,” Riley bit out in frustration. “I heard you the first time. We are just a little busy at the moment and there’s a big pussy pissing me off right now. Will you just leave a frigging message and I’ll have him call you after I declaw his ornery ass?” Riley said before she cursed in rage as Vox sliced through the throat of one of the purple guys who was just a few feet from her. It was so close, blood flew through the air almost getting on her handbag. “Vox, I swear you need to be neutered! If you get blood on my handbag I’ll do it with the first dull knife I can find. Do you have any idea how much I paid for that damn thing?” She had almost forgiven him for ruining her ultra-expensive jacket but she would never forgive him if he ruined her handbag. She had paid almost three hundred dollars for it just days before she moved to New Mexico.
Perfect, now the big hairball has shifted into his kitty cat again, Riley thought peeved. She was about to make another derisive comment when she saw a huge purple guy trying to sneak up on Bob through the hatch in the floor. She twirled around to line up a shot but Bob was in the way.
“Bob! Look out behind you sweetie. There’s another ugly purple guy coming up through the hatch.” She turned to see who could help him since that guy appeared to be twice the size of the others. “Fred, be a sweetheart and give Bob a hand.” She cursed when she saw that Fred had a deep cut on the brow of his right head. “Lodar baby, I think Fred might have a little cut on one of his heads. There is blood all down the side of it. When you get a chance can you look at him?” Riley called out to Lodar who was fighting two others on the far side of the bridge. “Tor darling, why can’t you just zap their asses out into space? I thought you knew how to do things like that,” Riley called out, pushing a wave of hair back when it fell into her eyes as she swung back and forth in the chair. She swiveled back around when she heard Lodar’s muffled voice. “What did you say, Lodar? I couldn’t hear you because a certain hairball was making too much noise when you spoke,” Riley replied, ignoring Vox’s loud roar at her criticism of him. “Oh yes dear, I’ll tell Fred you’ll see him as soon as you finish fighting,” she replied before swiveling again so she could locate Fred in all the chaos going on. “Fred honey, Lodar is
busy but he’ll see you as soon as he is done killing the bad guys,” Riley called out cheerfully. It looked like there were fewer purple people eaters than there had been just minutes earlier. Her cheerful mood evaporated when Vox sliced his claws across the back of one of the purple bad guys. Blood flew through the air again, this time landing in a splattering along her thick, green skirt. Dark stains appeared and Riley shuddered in horror. “Vox, damn it, you are totally on my shit list! You got blood on my skirt, you jerk! Go kill someone on the other side of the room. I can shoot the bastards near me! I don’t need your help!” She yelled angrily as she reached into her purse to get a Tide pen out to see if she could get rid of the blood before it stained her skirt. It was the only heavy one she had with her. All the others were too thin to wear since the guys didn’t believe in turning on a damn heater.
Riley’s frown turned to amusement when she heard the laughter from numerous voices coming from the console. She heard the deep voice speaking to someone else on the other end. “I think we have found our missing hairball,” the man said between chuckles. “I’m just not sure who he needs rescuing from, the Marastin Dow or the female who is manning the communication’s console.
“I heard that, honey,” Riley replied with an exaggerated mid-western drawl. “I would place all bets on that bossy, arrogant, demanding…” Vox’s loud roar of rage interrupted her descriptive response. She turned and glared at the huge cat that was glaring back at her in fury. “Well, if you don’t like what I have to say about you then you can just dump my ‘big’ ass back on my planet!”
Riley refused to back down. She was royally pissed at him and he was about to find out just how unpleasant she could be when she was pissed. She had enough self-esteem problems without him broadcasting to half the solar system that she needed to lose weight. She was happy with the way she was and he could just shove it up his hairy ass if he thought she was going to let him put her down. She had to deal with that from enough people when she was growing up.
She turned when she heard the voice of a woman on the other end of the console. Her face flushed when she heard the woman introduce herself as Carmen Walker from Wyoming. She clenched her jaw as a wave of emotion swept through her. Tears stung her eyes before she forced them back. Her chance to go home might just be on the other end of this console and she was going to grab it with both hands. If Vox didn’t like her the way she was, well, that was probably for the best. It was better to stop these annoying feelings coursing through her before things went any further, anyway.
Riley was just telling Carmen she hoped she’d had a better time of it than Riley had when Bob’s deep melodious voice spoke out in protest. He was asking her if it had really been all bad. Riley released a resigned sigh before explaining to Bob he had been a dear. “…. I was referring to that annoying pile of cat…” this time her voice faded because Vox had shifted back into his two-legged shape again and was walking toward her with a look that promised retribution.
“By Guall’s balls Riley, I’m going to spank your ass until it is bloody red if you don’t stop giving me a hard time,” Vox snarled out impatiently as he thrust the dead body of a Marastin Dow away from him and headed for her.
“Don’t you mean my ‘big’ ass, you moron,” Riley replied sarcastically, determined to make him more than willing to toss her ass on the nearest spaceship heading toward Earth.
Her eyes widened when his face darkened and a low, dangerous snarl escaped him. His eyes glittered with determination. Riley could have handled it if the determination written on his face promised he was tired of her smart mouth. Instead, the look smoldered with a deep passion that scared her more than any amount of anger could have.
“Female, I am going to…” Vox’s voice faded in disbelief when Riley raised her arm pointing the laser pistol Banu gave her at him. She remembered at the last minute to flick the charge to the lowest setting before she aimed it at his arm and pulled the trigger. Vox’s loud curses filled the air. “You shot me!” He roared out in astonishment, freezing and looking at her as if he couldn’t believe she had really pulled the trigger. If it wasn’t for the burning on his arm, he wouldn’t have thought she had it in her.
“But not where I was aiming for,” Riley snapped back defensively. “So help me Vox, you better stay away from me until my temper has cooled or I won’t miss where I’m aiming for the next time I shoot you.”
“Vox, do you need assistance?” A different male called out from the console.
“Yes! I need you to come and ….” Vox growled out taking another menacing step toward Riley, his mouth set in fierce determination. He was going to whip her ass good for this little stunt! He groaned when she aimed and fired at him again when he took another step toward her, almost grazing him in the leg. “Come on, Riley. I didn’t mean anything when I said you had a big ass. I like big asses,” he stopped when he saw her standing up and taking aim between his legs with fury glittering from her eyes. Shit, she was really pissed off at him this time. “I…” He started to say before he jumped to the side when she fired again. “…. Shit. Will you quit shooting at me!” He yelled out, moving behind a chair before he finally took refuge behind Tor and Lodar who were too busy laughing their asses off to move fast enough to get away from him.
Vox peeked out from behind his chief engineer and his medical officer with a low moan. “I thought you two were my friends,” he muttered as he looked at Riley who was busy adjusting the charge on the pistol in her hand.
“We are, otherwise we wouldn’t let you hide behind us,” Lodar chuckled. “I think this is a fitting payback for the hell we’ve been going through knowing Riley is your mate. You have no idea the effect she has had on all of us, including Fred and Bob! I need a good fuck so bad I’m about ready to take a Marastin Dow female as a captive.”
Vox ducked back behind Tor who was shaking with laughter when Riley looked around the room to see where he was hiding. “I would kill you two for that comment if it wasn’t for the fact I need you two standing so she doesn’t kill me!” He snapped out ruefully.
Tor chuckled again. “Well, you have to admit you can’t complain about being bored anymore.”
Vox glared at the back of his friend’s head wishing he could smack it but knowing if he did that Tor might move and give Riley a clear shot. He opened his mouth to make a smart-ass comment but the freighter gave a horrendous groan at that moment. The lights flickered on and off before finally staying off. Vox had no trouble seeing in the dim lighting but he knew Riley would. He made his move, pushing Tor and Lodar out of the way and springing for his aggravating mate. His large hand wrapped around the laser pistol, pulling it to the side where it fired into one of the control panels. Smoke rose and alarms sounded as an automated voice came on announcing that the life support system was in critical failure, immediate evacuation was recommended.
“Oh hell,” Riley huffed out blowing her hair out of her eyes. “Not again! How many frigging things can go wrong in my life?”
“That’s alright, Riley,” Fred said coming over to where Vox had his arms wrapped tightly around her. “I’ll get your pink case for you.”
“You might want to let me get it, Fred,” Tor said with a deep sigh. “It’s heavy.”
Riley smiled at the guys, happy that everyone appeared to have survived the attack. “Thank you, guys, for protecting me and everything.”
Vox listened as Riley’s voice softened when she talked to the other males. His cat hissed angrily, blaming him for the mess they were in. All he wanted to do now was to get back home so he could have Riley in an environment totally controlled by him. He hoped if he was at least on his home turf he could finally quit acting like such an idiot where she was concerned.
“Come get us off this piece of worthless Trillian shit,” Vox snarled out to the Horizon. “There are ten of us on board. You can kill any number over that,” he added as he pulled Riley closer to him.
“A shuttle will be dispatched immediately,” the mal
e responded with a chuckle. “It is good to hear your voice, my old friend.”
“Yeah, well your uncle isn’t going to like to hear it. That piece of Valdier royal ass is mine! He’ll wish he had never messed with this Sarafin prince,” Vox bit out harshly as he recognized Creon Reykill’s voice.
“Yewww, the big puddy-cat is hissing again,” Riley’s sarcastic voice grated out. “Watch out, the next thing you know you’ll be shooting hairballs,” she snapped out in a drawl as she stomped down on his instep and darted away from him when he jumped back with a startled yelp.
“Riley, so help me I’m going to wring your neck when I catch you!” Vox snarled out as he watched her jump over a pile of dead purple bodies as he stomped after her.
“Tor!” Riley called out loudly as she hurried down the corridor after Titus, Adur, Cross, and Banu who were laughing loudly. “Vox is being mean to me again.”
“Don’t you listen to a thing she says. I am not being mean to her! What did I ever do to deserve a mate like this?” Vox groaned out before the communications link blinked out as the emergency power failed.
Chapter 12
Riley nervously smoothed down the robe over her nightgown as she stared out the viewport at the darkness of space. She had always been a sucker for sexy lingerie. It was the one thing that made her feel all girly and not like an oversized cow in a china shop. She had to admit, she thought she looked good in the stuff. She had a full figure with an hour glass shape. She was big on top and had wide hips which made her waist look small. She shook her head when she remembered what one boy told her when she was fifteen. She had gone to an afterschool dance, it had been the first and last one she ever attended. She had been standing awkwardly to the side watching as one girl after another got asked to dance. The night was almost over when one of the football players, Todd Patterson, came over and asked her to dance with him. It was a slow song and she had been thrilled. Sure, she stood a couple inches taller than him but it wasn’t that bad. He had placed his hands on her hips and they had rocked back and forth for a couple of seconds before he squeezed her, pulling her closer.
