Adam slapped his hands over his cheeks. “Wow!”
“Wow, indeed,” Omni said.
“If you have any questions. Any at all, just call her name. She can tell you how to work something or tell you the name of a planet that you might see out the porthole.”
“What’s a porthole?”
“It’s a fancy way of saying a window on a ship.”
“What access should they be granted?” Omni asked.
“Guest.”
“I’ve taken the liberty and made the dangerous areas of the ship inaccessible to the children.”
“Thank you, Omni.” He glanced at Miranda. “We’re going to leave soon. I suggest taking a seat. You too, Adam.”
The ship moved under her feet. Adam ran back to the oversized chair he’d been sitting in.
Shit was getting real. Quick. “Whoa. Where should I sit?” Miranda asked.
“The closest chair will do.”
Miranda planted in the chair nearest to her. Fanian crossed the distance and took Lexi from her. “Hey, wait a minute!”
He placed Lexi in the other seat and pressed some buttons on the armrest. It immediately conformed to her little body then Fanian locked her in place with a harness. He picked up Adam and moved him to the seat he’d been sitting in and secured Adam in. Fanian then took the Captain’s chair.
“Hold tight to the bag,” Fanian told her. Miranda, wide-eyed, gripped the bad she’d had with her through The Hunt tight to her chest. Fanian turned back to the controls in front of him. “Omni, secure the ship for take-off.”
“Yes, Fanian. The ship is ready for take-off.”
The ship jerked and moved slowly at first, then rocked back and forth. If she didn’t know any better, she would think they were on water.
Miranda had a death grip on the armrests. “You’re good at this, right? Even if you aren’t, please lie to me.”
Fanian laughed. “I learned to fly a spaceship when I was Adam’s age. You’re in good hands.”
The humming grew louder and louder. The floor beneath her feet vibrated.
“Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God.” She squeezed her eyes shut.
“This is fun!” Adam yelled over the growing noise.
The ship rocketed forward. The back of Miranda’s head smashed into her headrest. “Ahhhhh!”
“Best adventure ever!” Adam squealed.
“Say goodbye to Turolois!” Fanian laughed.
FANIAN COULDN’T HELP but smile and laugh while watching Adam as he kicked his feet and laughed at the top of his lungs. He’d wondered if Adam would like space travel, and so far, he did.
“Faster! Faster! Faster!” Adam yelled between laughs.
“No. No. No,” Miranda yelled in response.
Fanian swung his gaze to where Miranda sat. Her face now had a green tint to it, and her eyes were opened wide. She was terrified. The whites of her knuckles were pronounced as she clutched the armrest of her chair.
“Don’t look at me!” she yelled over the roar of the engine. “Watch where we’re going!”
“I’m not steering the ship,” he told her. “Omni is navigating us.”
“Oh. My. God. We’re going to die.”
“Relax. Nothing is going to happen.”
“Says the person who can’t be killed! Turn around and pretend to do something useful!”
Fanian threw his head back and laughed again, then did as she said.
This was an odd experience. He’d bought the Fortitude six years ago when he’d decided to take his own bounty hunting jobs and left the agency he’d been with. Since then, he’d always been alone. He’d never allowed anyone on his bridge before. There’d never been a need. When he transported his bounties back to whoever had hired him, they’d always been locked in one of the cargo bays that he’d transformed into a holding cell. Besides, none of his bounties would’ve reacted as Miranda and Adam had to take off. Space travel was the norm for practically everyone besides humans.
Fanian found that he liked watching them having this new experience. There would be many other unique experiences, and a part of him wanted to be a part of those too.
He pushed that lingering thought from his mind quickly. He wasn’t going to hand them over to Az’ud. He had already considered that option, but now it was firmly in his head. But he couldn’t keep them either.
He had to remove all thoughts of pretending they were his family. He’d lost his family years ago, and he would never set himself up to lose another one. But if he did want another family, he wouldn’t mind if it was them. A mate who fiercely protected her children, a son as smart and curious as Adam and a daughter as cute as Lexi.
No. They aren’t mine.
He just had to keep reminding himself of the fact. Don’t get attached to them. The family life wasn’t for him, not with the threat of the Thruul hanging over his head.
Fanian watched Miranda from the corner of his eye. Her eyes were squeezed shut, and her mouth moved. Would she eventually get the hang of space travel? Would she enjoy it? Or would she be happier to keep her feet planted on solid ground?
Adam had turned toward the porthole and watched the nothingness of space. Lexi played with her harness, seemingly not caring about the engines’ roar or the slight change in gravity.
A thought hit him. Many areas on the ship would be harmful to both Lexi and Adam that Omni might not have thought of. His ship wasn’t childproof. He could think of ten things on this level alone that could harm them gravely. Omni might’ve closed off the ship sections to keep them safe, but had she instructed the mechanical bots to remove the containers full of food processor fluid that was poison and shouldn’t be ingested? What about the weapons he’d stashed around the ship in case he was boarded and taken unawares by space pirates?
After they left Turolois’s airspace and Omni leveled out their speed, he would sweep the ship and remove all things harmful to the children. Miranda would never forgive him if they hurt themselves, and truthfully, he would never forgive himself either.
Fanian turned his attention back to the control panel and plotted their next destination. He’d only gotten supplies for himself and one other guest. He inwardly chuckled at that. When he’d planned his departure from Turolois, he’d thought it would be with a female in his holding cell, provided the barest of amenities
The first thing needed was food. Miranda and the kids had lived off protein bars for far too long. They needed something good to eat, and for that to happen, he needed to stock his food processor properly. At the moment, it only had the pre-set food the machine had initially come with and his synthetic blood. There was enough food to last until they reached the nearest planet.
The planet he charted a course for wasn’t ideal. It was small and wasn’t known to be very welcoming to strangers, but they would have the items needed until he could travel to a hub where they could get the other needed supplies such as clothing, fuel, and toys for the kids.
He could get those items from any of the three hub planets to choose from. He ultimately picked the one he thought Miranda would enjoy best. Why should that matter to him? He glanced at Miranda again. Her eyes were still squeezed shut.
He realized it mattered because he wanted her to know not all planets were like Turolois, and not all aliens were like the hunters. She’d been through so much. She deserved happiness.
He couldn’t keep her, but he could make her happy for however long he had her.
Chapter Nineteen
After Fanian gave them the all-clear to move around the ship, the first thing Miranda did was find the kitchen and, with Omni’s help, figured out how to work the food processor. She fed the kids real food. Or rather, synthetic food that tasted real. After a few hits and misses, she found something that didn’t make her want to vomit all over the ship’s clean floors. They ended up eating so much they left the kitchen with stomach aches.
At Fanian’s suggestion, she’d picked a cabin with adjoining rooms. There were two beds in on
e and a larger bed in the other. The cabins were about the same size and shared a private bathroom. She’d decided she and the kids could share the double bedroom, and the other could be used as a playroom—if they had any toys.
Now, all adventured out from a very long day, the kids were finally sleeping. Her nerves were too shot to sleep.
She knew Fanian was in the shadows of the hallway, watching as she tucked the kids in. She expected him to visit sometime tonight. Or at least hoped. She had questions she needed answers to that couldn’t be discussed around an intuitive little boy.
“So how long does it take to get to this Az’ud person?” She tucked the blanket around Lexi’s sleeping form. Adam smacked his lips and smiled in his sleep.
Fanian slipped into the room and leaned against the wall. He looked refreshed and relaxed. His hair was down and to one side. He was dressed casually in off white, loose-fitting drawstring pants and a matching shirt. She’d only seen him as a hunter; skinsuit and weapons. Now he looked oddly relaxed while she was a bundle of nerves. If he hadn’t been trying to sell her and her kids, she might find him attractive.
“Why do you want to know? Are you in a rush to get to him?”
She kissed Adam and Lexi on the foreheads and stood. “Don’t be an ass,” she whispered through clenched teeth. “Of course, I’m not in a rush to get to him. I just want to know how long I have before my life as a breeding mare officially begins.”
“Don’t worry about any of that now.”
Don’t worry about it? Really!
She curled her fingers into fists and crossed the distance between them. With a firm hand on his chest, she pushed him out the door. When they were past the threshold, the door slid closed behind her. “Listen, buddy. I want to know how many days I have to make my kids happy and give them somewhat of a normal life. Is it one day? Two? Three?” She grabbed a fistful of his shirt, going to her tiptoes to meet him at eye level. “Tell. Me.”
“I don’t know.”
What? “Why don’t you know?”
“Because I don’t think I can go through with the deal.”
She frowned. “I-I don’t understand. What are you saying?”
Fanian grabbed the back of her head with one hand and wrapped the other around her waist, pulling her flush against his firm body. The hardness of his cock pressed against her stomach. The heat in his eyes made her stomach twist, and knees weaken. Her heart slammed against her chest. She let out a soft murmur, something incoherent, and didn’t know what she wanted to say anyway. Fanian groaned, and in an instant, his lips were against hers. Something she didn’t realize she’d wanted until they were there. She melted against him.
The enemy.
Miranda pressed against his muscular body. Every curve felt good against his hard lines. Fanian’s lips met hers, first tentatively. They were soft against hers, kissing her top, then bottom lip. The kisses soon turned to a nip then on a growl. His strong hands wrapped around her waist as he crushed her against him and devoured her mouth.
His tongue breached her lips to meet hers. She sighed, not realizing she’d wanted this for far too long. His kiss was feverish, but not overpowering. Need had her struggling to breathe. Her hands found his ears and cradled them. Fanian let out a moan that sent a tingling sensation firing down her spine and to the cleft between her legs.
“I’ve wanted you from the moment I saw you,” he whispered into her mouth.
Her response was to rake her nails across his neck and down to his hard chest muscles. She’d wanted him when she shouldn’t have. He’d told her kids stories to occupy them and keep them from being scared. He’d rescued them from the ice pit. And she’d wanted him, even more, when she’d sat on his lap, letting him drink from her. He’d been the only constant in this hellish nightmare.
She should’ve been pushing him away, trying to figure out how to take control of the ship and guide them back to Earth, but here she was, not fighting anymore and not wanting anything else but Fanian’s arms around her.
Fanian gripped her butt with sure hands and lifted her, helping to wrap her legs around his waist. He made his way toward the end of the hall to the lone door on the far wall. It slid open automatically as they approached and closed on his back. The light flicked on, illuminating the room.
He pulled away from her mouth. “Lights at thirty-five percent.”
The lights dimmed. Fanian crossed the short distance to his bed and lowered her to her back. It was soft and big and smelled of him, spicy. He stood by the edge and looked down on her as if he couldn’t believe she was there. His bulge tented his loose pants.
“Oh, my,” she whispered. Even in dim lighting, it was impressive.
“I never reviewed the part of the file on humans regarding sexual intercourse. There wasn’t a reason to think about this beforehand. We might not be compatible.”
She pushed herself up, and grabbed his waistband. She took a deep breath, not sure of what she would see, but preparing herself for the worst. Her nerves were jittering as she pulled the front down. His cock sprung free, proudly. Besides being blue, it was almost similar to a human’s. There was a bulbous head with pronounced veins snaking his thick and long shaft. All that was missing was a sack.
She let out a pent up sigh, grateful for this miracle. “Yeah, we’re compatible.” She moved closer toward the end of the bed, and before she could think of what she was doing, she took his length into her mouth.
It was like silk across her tongue, smooth.
“Mishka,” Fanian hissed as his hands grasped her head.
Her mouth slid down, taking all she could, letting him hit the back of her throat, before working back to the underside of his head. Her pace was steady and slow. Her hands gripped his hips, guiding his rhythm. Fanian’s fingers raked across her scalp, gathering up her hair. His hips pumped into her—his moans were deep and soft at the same time.
Warm liquid met her tongue when she played with his head. It tasted sweet. “So good.”
She licked and prodded the tip, encouraging him to release more. He rewarded her efforts. More liquid gushed from the tip to fill her mouth after a few minutes. Miranda lowered her mouth as far as she could and let the rest spurt down her throat. Fanian spasmed within her grasp as she drank everything he had to offer.
When he stopped spasming, she pulled her lips back up his still hard shaft. “I thought you came?” she asked as she looked up to meet his eyes and fisted his slippery cock with her hand.
His eyes were half-cast and watching her. His hair hung loosely about his face. There was no mistaking the satisfaction written across it. “I did.”
She raised her eyebrows and nodded toward his thick shaft. “You’re still hard.”
“Human males get limp after they ejaculate?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t. It’ll take some time to go down. Will that be a problem?” he asked as if he was unsure.
Her eyes widened. “It won’t be a problem at all.”
Fanian tugged down her pants and tossed them aside. He lowered a knee to the bed, and Miranda spread her legs, giving him enough room to fit comfortably between her thighs. He rained kisses up her stomach to reach the underside of her breast. He used his tongue to follow the curvature up to her nipple. His tongue played and teased the hard bud before nipping and tugging on it. He gave the other the same attention, but as he did, his fingers stroked up the side of her thigh and found its way to her pussy.
He stroked from her clit to her slit, spreading her wetness. When his finger delved inside, she let out a long-awaited sigh and pumped against him.
“Fanian,” she whispered. “I need you.”
Fanian was quick to oblige. His finger was replaced by the tip of his cock. It was hot and needy, waiting at her entrance. He watched her through the curtain of his white hair. “Are you sure?”
She thrust her hips up in answer. His bulbous head penetrated her. She closed her eyes and reveled in the feel of it, hot and throbbing
.
“Mishka,” Fanian groaned before sinking his length deeper.
“Oh, God!” she yelled as he stretched her fully, filling her core. Tossing her head on the pillow, she dragged her nails across his hips.
Fanian pumped into her slowly. She was losing herself with each thrust. Fanian bent low, his arms bracketed her head. One hand caressed her scalp gently. Miranda glanced up to watch. His head was tilted to the side, face strained and eyes closed. Lines of strain creased the sides of his mouth as he worked hard to restrain himself.
She didn’t want a restrained Fanian. She wanted a lethal hunter. Miranda dug her nails into his ass harder. He threw back his head on a hiss and she repeated the gesture. “Stop holding back.”
His eyes opened and he stared down at her with an intensity that left her shivering. When he pushed up to brace his hands, Miranda lifted her legs wider. They both moaned at the shift in position then Fanian thrust so hard she felt his cock in her stomach. She screamed in pleasure. This was what she wanted, what she needed.
In order to kill without remorse, she’d numbed herself. Now was the time to feel again. She needed to feel again.
“Again,” she begged.
He rocked in an aggressive surge that pushed her up the bed. At Miranda’s yelp, his lips curled in a smile. “Like that, Misha?”
“Again,” she whined.
This time when he pumped into her stars danced around her head.
“Again,” she said over and over after each glorious thrust.
Fanian pounded into her. Their bodies slickened with sweat. The sounds of their sex reverberated off the walls.
FANIAN HAD A LOCK OF her hair in one palm and used his other to stroke the strands. “It’s just as soft as I’d imagined.”
Miranda snuggled into his armpit with her head resting on his bicep. She trailed her fingers around his nipple, crossing his smooth chest to tease the other.
“It used to be softer. It’s all brittle now. I haven’t been eating right or getting enough vitamins.”
Hunted by the Alien Vampire Page 17
