Lost Among the Stars (Sky Riders)

by Rebecca Lorino Pond

  “I think you need to rest. Medic Jonik will be by later this evening to check on you and I don’t want him to think I have been keeping you from your rest.” He stood up then bent down to pick her up.

  “What are you doing?” she squealed. She threw her arm around his neck to hang on while Rhaegos took off flying by the sudden movement.

  He walked with her to a closed door she hadn’t noticed before. It slid right open as he neared it then slid shut again behind him. “I am putting you to bed. That’s what I am doing.”

  The bedroom was very impressive, even more so than the living room. A bed that had to be the size of two king-sized beds, was sitting against a wall of windows that looked out into space. Covering the bed was a gray and white comforter that had intricate geometrical designs embroidered on it. Matching pillows lined the metal headboard that allowed one to see through the bars and out the window while lying on the bed.

  It was even cooler in the room but it felt wonderful on her still heated skin. She wished she had something better to sleep in than a hospital gown. She had gone to the convention center with nothing more than her purse. She didn’t want to give Mark any clue she had taken off until it was too late for him to do anything about it.

  He surprised her with how gentle he could be with her for such a large man. Usually, men his size were often clumsy and unsure of their movements. But there was nothing unsure of Commander Etor. There was an air about him that demanded respect and admiration. His movements were fluid and gentle in everything she had seen him do so far. She wondered how those large hands would feel on her body as he made love to her.

  Crap there I go again! Snap out of it, girlfriend!

  He placed her on the bed then helped her get under the thick cover. “I want you to stay in this bed until I return. Do not try to get up on your own. If you need assistance or something happens call out for Rhaegos and he will inform me.” He pulled the comforter up then gently rubbed the back of his fingers down her cheek. “I need to go check on the ship and take care of some duties. I’ll be gone for a few hours, so just rest.”

  The smile he gave her stopped her heart for a moment. No man had ever looked at her the way he did. She was so used to Mark’s scowls and bad moods that a man genuinely smiling at her didn’t feel quite right.

  “Can Rhaegos come in here with me?” she asked.

  The smile faded for the briefest second then returned. “I think that would be a good idea. That way Rhaegos will know if you have a problem. Rhaegos!” he shouted.

  Seconds later the door slid open and in walked Rhaegos. He had shifted back to the size he was supposed to be at while on board the ship.

  “Can you stay in here with Maggie while I return to my duties? I would feel better if she had you in here.”

  Of course. I will watch over her with my life. Rhaegos jumped up onto the bed, circled around a couple of times then plopped down with a loud sigh and puff of smoke.

  “Thank you my old friend,” he said. “I’ll be back when I can.”

  As soon as he left the room, it became oddly quiet. Rhaegos immediately fell asleep next to her curled in a tight ball. With some difficulty, she turned onto her side. The room curved somewhat so she was able to look out the window at the stars twinkling back at her.

  She began to think back as her mind tried to replay the recent events in her life. How had she become lost among the stars? How had her life taken such a drastic turn of events? Not only was she lost in space, most of the women she had travelled with were dead, her ex-boyfriend probably still wanted to kill her, and she now had a humongous man from an alien planet claiming she was his mate! Could things get any worse? What would her dead parents think?

  Her eyes grew heavy. Sleep was calling for her and she didn’t have the energy to fight it off.

  ******

  He left her sleeping in his bed after he checked on her twice. He needed to return to the bridge but he couldn’t take his mind off of Maggie. The ship was headed home and would arrive on Qetera in four days. For the time being, his duties would keep him from spending a lot of time with his new mate but it was unavoidable. The ship still needed to be run and orders needed to be issued and he couldn’t neglect his duties or the lives of the hundreds of others on the ship.

  As he stepped onto the bridge all eyes turned to him. News sure did travel fast on board his ship! Some of his crew was smiling at him while others cast their eyes down when he caught them staring at him.

  “Alright, alright. Let’s get this ship on a course set for home. It’s been too long since we were home and I am sure everyone needs break.” He walked to the center of the bridge where his Commander’s chair stood. Countless hours he spent sitting in the chair but now he was too anxious to even sit.

  “Open up a secured line to my brother, Kharis.” He waited for the connection to be made. The viewing screen came to life with static then a clear picture of his brother popped up. “Kharis, it is good to see you.”

  “Ah, brother. You’ve been gone far too long. When are you returning to Qetera?” Kharis, the second son of Folmar, addressed his oldest brother with respect, only because Etor was on duty on the warship. Other than that, he would have been drilling his brother about where he had been.

  “I’ve set a course for home and should arrive within the next four days.”

  “Good, it’s about time. How is the mission going? Anything unusual?” Kharis asked, not expecting to hear anything out of the ordinary.

  “Something very unusual happened, but I don’t want to speak about it on here. It’s too easy for someone to intercept the transmission.”

  “I understand. Any sign of Lephusans? They’ve been quiet for a while now,” Kharis changed the subject. He knew Etor would fill him in once he returned to Qetera.

  Etor folded his arms across his chest. “No, nothing. Quite unusual for them. What I have to tell you might change that though.”

  “Really? Now you’ve peaked my interest. I’ll meet you at your home when you arrive.”

  “Okay, see you then. Commander out.” The transmission was cut off as the screen went black.

  Etor sat down in his chair after the call to his brother. He wanted to run through a system check to make sure everything was in tiptop condition. The last thing he needed was engine problems.

  “Vigo, start a system check, please.”

  The young Qeteran did as he was ordered. The rest of the room worked in silence or talked quietly among themselves as they waited for the check to complete. It normally took about fifteen minutes for the entire system to check out. They were about half way through when the security alarm was set off.

  “Commander, there is a transmission coming in. I’m unsure of where it has originated though. Would you like to put it on the screen?” Vigo asked.

  “Put it on the screen,” Etor said.

  The screen was filled with static as they waited for the picture to come through. When it did it was still fuzzy and out of focus but there was no mistaking who was on the other end of that transmission.

  The Lephus leader stood facing the camera with his face scrunched up. His pasty looking skin made him look sickly along with his pink eyes. Etor’s hands clenched into fists when he looked at the man who was responsible for the deaths of forty-six females and who could have possibly had Maggie if their transport hadn’t been struck by the asteroid.

  “I am Lephus Leader Ruehar. A transport headed for my planet has gone missing. I am offering a reward to the one who finds the transport or knows the whereabouts of it. The transport was due to arrive on Lephus six months ago and has not been heard from. If, by chance, my property has been stolen by space pirates or some other band of thieves, know that I will find out and will hunt you down. The cargo was very precious to me and I will stop at nothing to retain it.”

  Ruehar’s image was cut off as the transmission stopped. Etor was furious. How could Ruehar be so bold to send out a transmission like that? The fool would have every bo
unty hunter and space junkie scouring the universe until something was found out about his missing transport. He did notice though, the leader didn’t mention where the transport had come from which would have given the leader some very unwanted attention.

  “Was that the entire transmission?” he asked Vigo.

  “I believe so, Sir. There’s nothing else coming in behind it,” Vigo said as he worked on the disappearing signal.

  This was not good. He knew Ruehar’s reputation and how the man handled things when he didn’t get his way. It was one of the reasons the Lephusans were banned from most planets in the Yahiri galaxy and its neighboring galaxy, Epsilon. Ruehar ruled his planet with an iron fist and didn’t tolerate any disobedience. Ruehar was personally responsible for the last two wars between Qetera and Lephus because the man was so greedy. Ruehar had been systematically taking over weaker planets in the nearby by galaxies. He would take any females of breeding age prisoner and have the rest of the planets inhabitants slaughtered.

  Qetera stepped in to halt the evil that was trying to spread through the universe. Hundreds of good men and soldiers had been lost in the two wars and Etor wanted to avoid another war at all costs. Each war had taken years to push the Lephusans back to their home world and bring peace to the universe again. Restrictions and bans had been placed on the corrupt planet, thus limiting their access to any foreign world. That’s where the problem now came in. How did Ruehar succeed in having Earth send females to his planet?

  As soon as he reached Qetera he would have to have a meeting with his two brothers, father and troop commanders. He wasn’t about to let Ruehar start another war and if he had to, he would completely eliminate the entire Lephus race to keep the peace that now existed.

  His thoughts veered back to the woman sleeping in his bed. He could feel the Rage starting to build as he thought about the Lephusans. What would have happened to those women if that asteroid had not hit the transport? What kind of a miserable life would they have had? What kind of life would Maggie have had? His Maggie, his mate. He would kill anyone who ever dared to harm her or the other women who survived. The Rage in him would continue to grow until they were completely mated and their life bond formed. Until that happened he would be vulnerable to losing his self-control.

  Chapter 7

  “I want that transport found! I don’t care how you do it just do it!” Ruehar shouted at his top generals. “I paid too much money to those damn Earthlings for it to just disappear!” He threw the glass he was holding across the room causing it to shatter. “Get that dim witted fool of a captain on a secured line, NOW!”

  A lesser officer, Morgay, scrambled to do as their king asked. Morgay was all too familiar with Ruehar’s temper and didn’t dare to disobey. “The transmission is coming through now, Sir.”

  Ruehar stood in front of the viewing screen waiting impatiently. If he could get his hands on the lowly Earthling he would surely wring his neck. It took longer than usual for the image to come through but when it did he instantly went off on the captain.

  “Where is my transport?” He shouted at the screen.

  “Ah King Ruehar, it is good to see you again,” the captain said trying to placate the alien.

  “Shut up and tell me where the transport I paid for is.”

  The captain visibly paled at Ruehar’s statement. “What do you mean? It should have arrived months ago.”

  “Do you really think I would be contacting you if it had? You had better find that transport and soon. You will not receive any further compensation until you do so. Is that clear?”

  The captain nodded his head quickly. “Yes, King. I will find it for you.”

  “Oh and captain. If you should fail in finding that transport I will personally come to Earth and skin you alive for deceiving me!”

  Ruehar hit the button that would end the transmission. He knew he shouldn’t have trusted that little weasel of a man! He and his creepy counterpart didn’t look trustworthy enough to pull off such a scheme without being caught. Of all the damn Earthlings he chose to confront! Now, he was out of his money and the females!

  He turned to face his captains again. “I want that ship found! Search every planet and moon in the surrounding galaxies! It has to be somewhere.”

  He turned his back to them which signaled they were dismissed. “Captain Zol’tsa, may I have a word.” He waited for the sound of the door to close before he faced the man.

  “Yes, Sir.”

  When he faced the waiting man, he had taken control of his temper and was now calm again. “Captain, I would like you and your men to head to the Yahiri Galaxy. I have received reports that our old enemy has recently been patrolling the outskirts of the galaxy. I wouldn’t put it past the filthy Qeterans to have stolen my ship!”

  “I will see to it, Sir.”

  “Good. If you succeed in finding where that transport is and bringing it to me, I will give you the choice of any of the females.” He knew this would entice the man. Every man on Lephus was dying to have a female or two of his own to breed with. He wanted to repopulate Lephus with strong soldiers who could aid him in taking back what was his and the only way to do it was by having females of any compatible race, shipped to Lephus. He had every intention of paying that fool of a captain on Earth more money for another shipment of females, but not until the first had been found. He would personally see the man skinned for betraying him and taking his money. No Earthling was going to get away with making him look like a fool.

  ******

  Maggie liked the feeling of the man’s hands on her body. What a glorious dream this was! The bad thing was she couldn’t see his face, but his hands were wonderful. The long, thick fingers massaged the tingling muscles in her thighs and calves to bring them back to life. Each stroke of his hand sent little sparks of fire to her core as she lay on her stomach. She moaned in pleasure as those fingers moved further up her body to massage her bare ass. God, she could stay like this forever! The man’s face still stayed hidden as she told him, “That feels so good.”

  Next to her ear she felt the warm breath and the tickle of spoken words. “I am happy to do it for you.”

  Her eyes instantly shot open at the sound of that deep voice. She twisted uncomfortably as she tried to look at Etor sitting next to her on the bed. “What are you doing?” she shrieked as she tried to pull the cover up over her semi-clad body.

  His eyes held amusement as he watched her scramble to cover herself. “Your skin looked so inviting and I thought it might help your legs regain their feeling.”

  She heaved her body up into a sitting position and glared at him. “That doesn’t give you the right to touch me! I was sleeping for God’s sake.”

  He chuckled. “I know you were but you were also talking in your sleep.” He shifted his position on the bed so he could sit closer to her.

  “I was?” That was odd. “What did I say?” Jesus, she hoped it wasn’t anything to do with Mark.

  “I couldn’t make out everything, but you said something about having to hide.”

  Shit! It was about Mark. What would he do if he found out she was a hunted woman? That her ex-boyfriend probably had a hit out on her.

  “I don’t remember what I was dreaming before I felt someone rubbing on me.” Her cheeks flush with the thought of Etor’s hands touching her again and he clearly knew what she was talking about by the look on his face.

  “Did you enjoy the feel of my hands?”

  “I…I…yes…I mean no….oh I don’t know!” Geez, she was so embarrassed she had to look away.

  Strong fingers gripped her chin and turned her face back to his. His eyes held hers and he spoke to her. “There’s no need to be embarrassed, little one. I enjoyed it too, but I will not push you until you are ready to accept me.”

  “Accept you? For what?” This gorgeous man sure could confuse the hell out of her.

  “As my mate,” he softy said.

  She stiffened at his words. There was no way in he
ll she was going to be someone’s mate again! She just escaped one relationship with her life and wasn’t about to jump into another one. “I am not your mate. I wish you would get that through your head.”

  He held her chin tighter. “Yes, you are and as soon as you accept the fact, the sooner we can move forward.”

  “Move forward my ass! I didn’t ask to be here. I would like to be put onto the next transport headed to Lephus.” The words escaped her mouth before she could stop them. It was the wrong thing to say and by the look on Etor’s face, she had angered him a lot.

  He stood up and frowned down at her. “You are mine and will be going nowhere but with me! Did you not understand what I told you about the Lephusans?”

  “How do I know what you say is true? You could be lying to me just to keep me for yourself.” Her brain told her to stop, but her mouth had a mind of its own. “You could be the ones needing females to breed with!”

  She pushed him too far and she knew it. His eyes darkened to a deep purple and his hands turned into fists at his side. What’s the matter with you, Maggie? He was being nice to you and you have to go and piss him off again!

  He moved so quickly she didn’t even see him move until he was in her face. “Listen to me, female! You are mine and no one else’s. I will never let you go even if I have to keep you locked up. The Lephusans would have raped you over and over until you were breeding and after the babe was born, the process would have started all over again! I will not permit any female, much less my mate, to live a life like that. You had better get used to the idea of being my mate because I will have you. We will be mated together to form the life bond.”

  She sat there fuming as he stormed out of the room. He was an infuriating man and she wasn’t about to let him bully her into mating with him. She got on that transport wanting to start a new life for herself not to become another man’s play thing.