The Astronaut's Princess (Cosmic Cowboys Series Book 2)

by Medley, Lisa

  He stood inside the bay and closed the door behind him, waiting for it to depressurize, then opened the outside bay door. Directly across from him and to the asteroid side of the ship, the CORA’s bay door opened. Captain Flores appeared, suited up and at the ready. Noah motioned for him to take cover then aimed the tether as near the door as possible. He released the harpoon and it flew in excruciatingly slow motion across the hundred foot expanse to their ship. Holding his breath, he waited and prayed for a clean attachment. If the harpoon bounced off, he might not get another chance to retrieve and reset the harpoon before the wormhole intensified.

  When the harpoon seated, he sighed in relief. One obstacle down.

  Noah retracted the tether until it grew taut. Seconds later, the first of the three-person crew latched onto to it and pushed off toward his open bay. It was impossible to tell who it was from the distance. Nearing the halfway point, the vacuum of the wormhole became apparent as the tether bowed, pulling the astronaut toward it. Clearly panicked, the crewman increased the pace, pulling hand over hand as quickly as possible along the zip line. Noah broke into a sweat, helpless to assist. After several agonizing moments, astronaut Montaine, set foot inside the shuttle bay, and Noah pulled her to safety.

  Two to go.

  The second crew member latched a carabiner onto the tethered zip line and pushed off. This time, the wormhole’s force pulled him along the line quickly toward the center where he stalled. The harpoon magnet was strong, but soon even their ships couldn’t resist the pull of the wormhole.

  “Ela, any changes?”

  “No, it looks the same.”

  Noah’s heart pounded. It might look the same, but the intensity was clearly growing. Montaine pulled up close beside him to watch her crewmate’s progress. Communication was impossible until their coms were synced. The worry on her face through her viewing glass was clear, however.

  Noah prayed the tether held just a little longer.

  At last, the astronaut began to move, inching his way nearer the safety of the bay. Three more feet. Two. Noah reached forward to grab his arm, and Montaine grasped his other side, hauling him inside. His name badge read Carson. The three of them held tight to the opening’s grab bars as they watched Captain Flores latch onto the line.

  The shuttle jerked. Noah stumbled against the change in momentum but quickly righted himself.

  “Noah?”

  “Yep.”

  “It seems to be circling faster now. Hurry,” Ela said.

  “Yeah. We’re trying.”

  Captain Flores strained for each gain along the line, trying to control his progress. The hundred feet between them may as well have been a million miles. Hand over hand, he inched toward them, closing the gap, the line bowing even more as he neared the center. Flores’ body floated perpendicular to the zip line as the wormhole tried to claim him. The magnetic hold tore free, and Flores raced down the line.

  “Shit. Hold on, Captain.” Noah switched the harpoon into retrieval mode, preparing to reel in the line. The captain’s carabiner caught on the end of the free floating zip line, the magnetic end too large to pass through. Noah initiated retrieval, snatching Flores from the insidious pull of the hole. He prayed the carabiner didn’t rip free from the captain’s suit or Flores’ gloves weren’t compromised before he could be reeled back in.

  Remarkably calm, the captain held on for dear life, his mouth pressed into a grim line as he neared the bay. Montaine leaned out, one hand on the shuttle grab bar, while Carson took her free hand, extending his body out past the bay and reaching for Flores.

  Flores clasped Carson’s hand, and Noah helped pull them both into the shuttle bay then pulled in the harpoon and shut the door.

  He was exhausted, but they were far from safe.

  The ship creaked against the pull of their docking tether. Seconds later, the CORA broke free and was pulled past their portal window toward the hole.

  The bay pressurized, and Noah opened the interior door. The astronauts scurried in as best they could with no gravity and worked their helmet locks with deft but shaking hands, removing their bulky EVA suits.

  “Thank you,” Flores said. “You saved my ass.”

  “Not yet, I didn’t.” Noah pushed off toward the helm. “We have to break the pull of that hole first.”

  “Buckle in, Ela.” Noah said, settling into the captain’s chair. He accelerated the ship slightly toward the asteroid, enough to slacken their tether. “Everyone better hang onto something. Things are about to get sideways.”

  Captain Flores pulled up behind him, holding to the side grab bars. “How can I help?”

  “Hold on and pray.” Noah turned the nose of the ship, cut the tether, and fired all four of their propulsion jets. They might run out of juice before they got home, but it would get them close enough for a refuel. Getting out of the reach of the wormhole was the top priority.

  The ship stuttered forward, and Noah felt the slightest hesitation as their now invisible tether pulled at them. Noah closed his eyes and instinctively leaned toward the nose of the ship, willing it forward.

  “Come on, girl.”

  Like a rubber band stretched too tightly, the tension broke, and the ship shot forward, breaking the wormhole’s hold.

  Cheers erupted from behind him as the crew congratulated him, turning somersaults in the empty cargo bay. Ela’s hand clutched his shoulder, her reflection caught in the viewing window. He turned to look at her.

  “You almost got your wish,” he said.

  “What’s that?” she asked, clearly confused.

  “We almost went back through the wormhole.”

  “I think that is no longer my wish.

  “No?”

  “No. I don’t understand much of your world, Noah. But after seeing the wormhole up close, I do not wish to test the Creator further.”

  “Then what is your wish?”

  Ela leaned in and whispered into Noah’s ear. He felt the blush heat his face and down his neck.

  Yeah, I can get on board with that. Why not?

  Of course, now they had an audience, and he didn’t think his soldier was going to be at attention anytime soon. Life and death and all that.

  Still, he was relieved, and the farther they raced away from that damned hole, the better.

  Chapter Eleven

  SpaceXport Base, Briefing Room

  “We’re done. We’re not going back. Sir,” Flores said, speaking for his crew.

  Noah clasped Ela’s sweaty hand beneath the table as Janson turned to him.

  “Well, Captain Wright, it seems you’ve defied the wormhole yet again. At least now we know how to open the damn thing.” Janson said.

  “I don’t see that as progress. You’ve opened it, all right. It almost cost the lives of your crew.” Noah looked at Ela “And ours. But, worse, how long is it going to stay open…and what might come through it?”

  “We’ve been studying it since we landed,” said astronaut and astrophysicist Stephanie Montaine. “It has doubled in mass in the past twenty-four hours. If it keeps expanding at this rate—“

  “Bad, bad things are going to happen,” Captain Carlos Flores said. “Potentially apocalyptic, planet-ending things. Think dinosaur extinction. That would be a good case scenario. We suggest you send an unmanned rocket into it and detonate another EMP. The pulse should disrupt it enough to dissipate, if not close it completely.”

  Janson flattened his palms on the table top and leaned in. “I don’t want to close it. I want to send something through it and then figure out where and, more importantly, when, it goes. The plan hasn’t changed.”

  “You’re insane, Janson. You have no idea what you’re playing with or what the repercussions could be. You think the entire world isn’t glued to that thing now? It’s on every channel. Your ‘research’ is finished. The government controls it now. God help us all.” Noah rose and headed toward the door, Ela in tow.

  “And who do you think the government hired
to deal with the situation?” Janson smiled then pointed his finger at Noah. “Don’t think your passenger’s transgressions went unnoticed, Noah. You may have saved the crew, but your days of space flight are numbered.”

  Noah paused at the doorway. “You’re threatening me? I’m the only reason this base isn’t already shut down. I brought back a cargo ship. Just so happens this time my cargo was human. Your employees. If the government finds out you were the one responsible for that fucking whirlpool in the sky, you’ll be finished. I wouldn’t push my buttons if I were you, Janson.”

  He shoved the door open and walked out.

  Ela followed along as he headed to his quarters.

  “What will we do now?” she asked.

  “We need to get back to the reservation and get rid of that beacon before it’s too late.

  ***

  Six members of the council including Jonathan and Sheriff Jennifer stood outside the sweat lodge. The wormhole swirled overhead, filling the northern sky. He couldn’t be sure, but, to the naked eye, it appeared to be growing by the hour.

  “If you take the body, will that stop the hole from growing?” Jonathan asked as he pulled open the ship’s door.

  “Your bet is as good as mine. All I know is I’ll feel a lot safer if it’s gone.”

  “And what of the others?” Councilwoman Blazer asked.

  “Let’s worry about the ones that are glowing and humming right now,” Noah said.

  He eased down into his ship, no easy task considering it lay buried on its side. His flashlight beam illuminated the bridge; everything was strange but familiar. He followed the glow back to the cargo hold where the alien had been disposed of. The hum intensified as he approached the plastic tub. The damn thing looked menacing.

  If Janson wanted to send a government-sanctioned probe up into that hole, this guy was going along for the ride. The only way to ensure no more of its kind came searching for it was to send it back into space. There was no question in Noah’s mind this one at least was sending a distress signal and, with the wormhole wide open, it might as well have been an engraved invitation.

  Dealing with one of the bastards first hand was more than enough for Noah. What if an army of them came through the hole? When Janson’s probe launched, this crate would be on it. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

  Janson couldn’t be trusted to do the right thing, so Noah didn’t plan on asking him to.

  He carried the box back to the opening and hoisted it over his head. Hands reached down and grasped hold, lifting it from the ship. Noah climbed the safety ladder.

  “Sorry we had to meet under these conditions, Mr. Wright,” Sheriff Goodweather said. “Of course, you were both gone before I had a chance last time.” She looked hard at Ela. “Can’t say I’m sad to see this thing go.” She toed the crate and it hummed louder, causing them all to take a step back.

  The sky swirled ominously.

  “When will it go up?” Jonathan asked.

  “Tomorrow night. Janson convinced the feds an EMP, detonated within the hole, would close it,” Noah said.

  “Will it?” Sheriff Goodweather asked.

  “The last blast made it bigger.”

  “What should we do now?”

  “Cover the ship. And if you’re the praying sort, we could use all the good mojo you’ve got. We’ll come back out after the launch. Assuming we’re successful…and not in jail for sabotage.” Noah looked up at the sky. “Let’s load this thing up and roll.”

  ***

  Noah climbed the staging platform and stuffed the crate into the storage hold of the EMP shuttle. It was a small, unmanned rocket that would be flown remotely into the wormhole. No one had questioned his access to it. In fact, things were pretty quiet in the bay awaiting the last launch briefing in a few short hours. He’d stuffed enough insulation inside the crate that the glow and humming was minimal. It wouldn’t be detectible once the rocket was in the air, and all remaining system checks would be instrumental only. The rocket was locked and loaded.

  He was nearly scot-free when Captain Flores stepped around the bay platform.

  “What’s going on, Captain Wright?” Flores eyed the rocket behind him with suspicion.

  “Just taking a last look before it flies,” Noah said, easing away from the ship. “And you? What are you doing up here?”

  “I’m flying it remotely. Better it going into the void than me.” He coughed. “Sorry, no offense. I wanted eyes on it one more time.” Flores cocked his head, his brow wrinkling in concentration. “Do you hear something?”

  “Like what?” Noah asked, his heart thundering in his chest.

  “A humming?”

  “Probably the air handler. They’ve got it turned so high to cool the equipment, it vibrates the floors sometimes.”

  Flores placed a hand flat against the rocket hull. “Maybe.”

  “You’d better get some rest if you’re going to be up all night playing asteroids with this thing. I’m headed back to the barracks myself. I’ll walk with you.”

  ***

  Ela watched Noah pace the floor of his pod. “Sit. You make me worried.”

  “We should be worried. Flores is suspicious. That crate has to make it through that hole and off planet.”

  “How much longer before it flies?”

  “Two hours,” Noah said.

  Ela wrapped her arms around Noah from behind. One hand slid up under his T-shirt. The other hand dipped inside his cargo pants, cupping his balls and turning his cock instantly hard. “Then we should pass the time, so you do not worry.”

  “Worry about what?”

  Ela stroked his erection as best she could beneath the confining clothing. Frustrated, she retreated and whirled around him to struggle with his belt and pants for better purchase.

  “Let me help you.” Noah unclasped the pants and pushed them to the floor. Ela let her gaze roam across him then dropped to her knees before him. “Ela.”

  “Quiet,” she said, sliding her palms up his thighs then around to grasp his buttocks. “No more thinking.”

  She licked the underside of his erection from base to tip. Noah’s hands tangled through her hair as she teased at him in long wet strokes. Her lips slid around the head and closed with suction. Salty essence leaked from the tip, which pleased her all the more. This was the most powerful and intimate act, and she enjoyed the control.

  Pinching at the base of his balls, she worked his erection in slow stokes, her tongue swirling around the tip on retreat. Noah’s entire body stiffened beneath her and his balls tightened, hard as stones. Noah sucked in a sharp breath and his body shook with tension.

  Ela eased him backward until his calves met the bed then pushed him down, kneeling between his thighs to continue her attentions. Noah moaned and sat back up.

  “Too much. Come up here.” He pulled her up and across his body. His erection pressed against her core, making her crave him all the more.

  Noah palmed the sides of her face and brought her mouth to his in a needy kiss. She spread her legs across his hips and ground against him, her rough jeans an unwanted barrier between them. Noah bucked her off and rolled over, quickly unfastening her pants and yanking them down and off her body.

  “No underthings?” Noah mused.

  “They seemed cumbersome and unnecessary.”

  He slid his arms beneath her thighs and pulled her down the bed toward him. “I couldn’t agree more.”

  He laved at her core, parting her lips and dipping in and out with his tongue until she squirmed beneath him. Clutching at his shoulders, she urged him upward, wanting more than his tongue inside her. Noah retreated and searched through his night table. He tore open a wrapper and rolled it onto his erection. She knew what came next.

  Rolling onto her stomach, she spread her legs wide for him, tucking her knees to her stomach. She peered back at him, wondering what was taking so long.

  “Damn, Ela.” Noah brushed his open palms across her ass, sq
ueezing and kneading her cheeks. His tongue plunged into her once again, and she moaned, desperate for penetration.

  The slick head of his erection slid across her entry then skimmed beneath to clip her nub. “Do not tease me, Noah. Enter me!”

  Noah complied, grasping her hips and thrusting home. He seated himself within her and held firm for several long moments before beginning his cadence. Ela huffed on each thrust, the air pushed from her lungs with the force. Still not enough, she pressed into him, urging him faster, rocking on all fours like a beast as animal lust overcame her.

  He paused, then rolled her onto her side facing him. Pulling one leg onto his shoulder, he pushed into her again and snugged up even closer for deeper penetration. His thumb worked her nub as he drove into her. Stars exploded behind her tightly closed eyes as sensation built. The surge of pleasure ebbed and flowed until it became nearly too much to bear. Tensing, she rode the wave as she shattered.

  Noah stilled and finished.

  He collapsed beside her, throwing his leg over her and pulling her in.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Captain Wright?” Janson pounded on his pod door for emphasis. “We need to talk to you.”

  Ela roused beside Noah. He checked his watch. A half hour before launch.

  More door pounding.

  “Captain Wright, don’t make me break in,” Janson said.

  “I heard you the first time. Hold on a goddamn minute.” Noah dressed quickly then spoke quietly to Ela. “You’d better get dressed. I have a feeling they found the crate.”

  Ela nodded, gathered her clothes, then retreated for the bathroom to dress.

  Noah looked through the peep hole. Janson, Flores, and two US Army servicemen. Not good. Face the music or amscray through Tessa’s pod? He needed to decide quickly. The Bombardier was parked outside. Could they make it to the reservation before Janson tracked them down? If the aliens didn’t make it off this base, what was the point?