Without thinking, she swung her legs over the side of the bed. She had to pee. As soon as she tried to stand her semi-numb legs collapsed beneath her. She hit the floor with a muffled thud. “Shit!” She forgot she couldn’t walk because of that damn gas. Now she was stuck on the floor until Etor came back and she refused to call out to the over grown oaf. Rhaegos also wasn’t in the room, so she had to sit and wait. At least she had a nice view of the stars, but she really needed to pee.
It wasn’t too long before the door to the room opened again. “Medic Jonik is here to…Maggie?” Etor called out.
“I’m down here,” she chimed back as she stuck her hand up in the air to wave.
“By the gods!”
She heard Etor mumble under his breath. Even though there was carpet covering the floor the sound of two sets of footsteps had her glancing over her shoulder.
Etor was by her side and running his hands over her. “Are you alright? What are you doing on the floor?” Satisfied she was fine, he lifted her up and put her back in the bed.
“I had to pee and forgot about my legs,” she hissed as he continued to touch her even after she was in the bed again.
“I didn’t think about that after I left.”
“You mean, stormed out. I still have to pee.” She folded her arms refusing to look at him.
Jonik spoke first. “Go ahead and carry her into the relief room. I can examine her after.”
Etor did as he was instructed by the medic. Reluctantly, she wrapped an arm around his defined neck as he carried her into the bathroom.
“I can do this by myself,” she said before he sat her down on the toilet.
“No, I will stay with you in case you need assistance.” He wouldn’t let her arms go as he stood there in front of her.
“I cannot and will not pee while you are watching me! I don’t have anything on under this stupid gown so I won’t have to stand.” She glared at him as he glared right back. She was going to lose this battle. “At least turn around!”
He growled in dissatisfaction but turned around. She quickly took care of her business then told him she was finished. How humiliating to have to pee with a stranger watching you!
Jonik was waiting patiently for them to return with a grin on his face. She felt like slapping it right off his handsome face as well as slapping the one carrying her just for the fun of it.
Back in the bed she let Jonik do his thing without complaining. “Do you have any feeling at all in your legs?”
“I can feel them tingling, like they were asleep and are starting to wake up,” she answered honestly.
Jonik smiled as he ran a strange looking metal thing over her. “That’s good. I was worried you wouldn’t get the use of your legs back. I’m not sure why it’s taking so long for you to recover from the gas. The other three females are fully recovered.”
She perked up at the news of her friend. “Kelly? How is she? Can I see her?” She was desperate to talk to someone other than the medic and Etor.
“She is doing fine. She’s asked about you several times. I told her she could see you after I examined you this evening. She’s been quite worried about you.” He dug in his instrument bag and pulled out a gun with a syringe on the end.
“Umm…what is that for?” She didn’t like needles and definitely didn’t like the looks of the thing in his hand.
“This,” he waved the syringe gun, “is an antidote to the sleeping gas. I come across individuals with problems coming out of stasis every now and then. I’ve never used it on a human before though. It’s the last thing I have for the treatment of stasis paralysis. I’ve been studying you and the other females since you came on board and have found there is very little difference between us and humans. I’m almost positive this will work for you.”
She swallowed nervously as she eyed the needle on the end of the gun. She didn’t like the idea of him not knowing if it would hurt her or not, but it was either try it or remain paralyzed. “Where so you have to stick me?”
“It needs to be injected into your upper thighs once in each leg.”
She looked behind Jonik to where Etor was standing watching. He nodded his head at her as if giving her permission to go ahead with the treatment. “Will it hurt?”
Jonik laughed as he raised up the hem of the gown she wore and placed the tip of the gun on her extreme upper thigh. Behind him, she heard Etor growl low and deep in warning. Jonik glanced behind him then shook his head, chuckling to himself.
“Ready?” he asked her. “The needle isn’t as bad as the burn.”
She had no time to prepare for the big stick. She let out a squeak as the needle punctured her skin but it was the medicine that truly hurt! It felt as if he was injecting fire straight into her leg.
“Oh my God! That burns!” She squeezed her eyes shut to try and ward off some of the pain. Her fingers gripped the sheet on the bed as she felt the medicine make its way down to her toes. She barely heard the growl coming from Etor as Jonik, without warning again, stuck her in the opposite leg. “Son of a…” The burn in the two legs took her breath away. Etor’s voice sounded far off as he yelled at Jonik.
“You’re hurting her! Make it stop!” He was down on his knees next to her as soon as Jonik moved out of the way.
“The burn will go away as soon as it makes a full revolution in her legs,” Jonik explained.
Sure enough the first leg started to feel better. It was still burning but not as bad.
“It will pass, I promise you, Maggie.”
She cracked one eye open to find Etor’s concerned filled face staring at her. It took her mind off the burning in her other leg when she realized he was still there with her even after she had been mean to him. The look on his face told her he really cared for her. Any other man she knew would have left her to suffer on her won but not him. Give the man a chance, her brain told her. She let out the breath she had been holding as the burn in the second leg receded.
“Subsiding, isn’t it?” Jonik asked her.
She nodded in agreement
“That medicine should speed up the process of healing your legs.” Jonik started to put everything back in his bag. “Etor, you still can’t leave her alone though. It will take probably another day or two before she has enough feeling in her legs to walk on her own.”
“I’ll see to it,” Etor replied as he stood up again. “I’ll have one of the other females sit with her while I am on duty.”
“That will work. I need to go check on the others and will bring Kelly back when I am finished with them. Maggie, you need to stay either in the bed or on the sofa. No getting up on your own, okay?”
“Okay,” she said. She was trying to hide her excitement over seeing Kelly again.
“When are you on duty again, Commander?” Jonik asked him directly.
“In about an hour or so.”
“That should be enough time for me to see the other females and to bring Kelly back here. I’ll contact you if there is a problem. Remember what I said Maggie.” He winked at her then exited the room, leaving her alone again Etor.
The silence between them felt uncomfortable. She didn’t know what to say to Etor or if she should say anything at all.
“Do you need anything?” he asked her.
“Well, I am a bit hungry and I would love some water,” she said.
“Done.” He left the room and returned a few minutes later with the tray from earlier in the day.
“I thought since you liked the soup earlier, you might want some more. I also brought you some keno bread. It’s freshly baked by the cooks on the ship.” He set the tray on her lap.”
“Thank you,” she said without looking at him.
“If you need anything else just holler for me. I have some paper work I need to attend to in my office before I return to duty.”
“Okay,” she said around a mouth full of bread.
Why did she feel like such a heel as he left the room? Dang, he was the one demandin
g she be his mate! He was the one touching her while she slept, but it did feel good. Maybe if she explained everything to him nicely he would see that she wasn’t interested in a relationship right now.
Who are you trying to kid, her brain shouted out? I know you feel something for him. Your body betrays you every time he comes near you.
“Oh shut up!” she told her alter ego. “I don’t feel anything.”
“Liar, Liar pants on fire!”
She ignored her brain as she finished eating her meal. Kelly would be here shortly and she could talk to her about everything.
As soon as Kelly arrived Etor took off without even saying goodbye. His feelings were obviously really hurt.
“Maggie!” Kelly flew into the bedroom and landed on the bed with a bounce! She threw her arms around her and they hugged each other tight. “Oh my God, Mags. I thought I lost you! This was all my idea and look what happened. I am so sorry!”
Maggie hugged her childhood friend as if she would never see her again. “It’s not your fault. It’s no one’s fault really. We are just lucky we survived.”
They pulled apart but didn’t entirely let go of each other. “What the hell happened, Mags? No one has told us much expect that our transport had been damaged. Do you know anything? We’ve been so scared!”
“That part is true according to Commander Etor. But there is more to the story than that,” she choked up a bit as she tried to talk without turning into a crybaby.
“Tell me! Tell me everything you know,” Kelly’s friendly demand made her laugh. As a former police officer, she had a way to get information out of someone.
“Apparently, our transport was sold to a bunch of people called Lephusans.”
“Sold! By whom?” Kelly’s mouth hung open in astonishment.
“The Commander doesn’t know yet, but we were sold to those people as breeders. That’s why the transport only had females on it. Anyhow, on our way there our transport ran into an asteroid field and was struck by one which badly damaged it and knocked us off course. The Commander’s ship found us drifting when we entered their galaxy. He said we had been drifting for over nine months.”
“Nine months! Oh my God! We were only supposed to be in stasis for three!” Kelly said.
“I know, that’s why my legs won’t work. It’s something to do with the gas, a side effect.”
“They didn’t tell me you couldn’t walk! Is it permanent?” Kelly touched her legs as if she could bring back the feeling.
“No, they gave me some kind of injections a little while ago to help heal them faster.” She shrugged then continued with the news. “Any way, these bad guys wanted us to produce babies with them. I, for one, am glad the Commander found us even if he thinks I am his mate.”
“Whoa there, girlfriend! Did you say mate? What the hell, Mags?”
She had to laugh at her friend’s expression. “Tell me about it. Etor, the Commander, believes I am his one true mate. Crazy, right?”
“Dam, girl. I wish that hunk of a man would claim me as his one true mate. That man has got one fine ass body!” Kelly had a dreamy expression on her face as she thought of her Etor.
See, you are wanting to admit you are attracted to him, her brain interrupted. Was she really feeling a bit jealous? No way possible.
“Come on, spill it all, Mags! I want all the juicy details!”
The next hour they spent talking about Etor. Kelly couldn’t figure out why the Commander was claiming her best friend but she as hell was going to give him a piece of her mind the next time she saw him. Maggie had been hurt enough by Mark and she didn’t need some alien hurting her too.
Several times during their conversation, Kelly mentioned how hot and sexy Etor was or how she would like to run her hands over all those muscles that bulged our everywhere.
“Aww…come on, Mags. The guy is freaking gorgeous with a capital G! You got to admit it! Matter of fact, every guy I have seen so far on this ship is freaking gorgeous. It must be a requirement to be a Qeteran. I can see it now ‘Wanted: hot looking dudes with bulging muscles’.” Kelly laughed at her own stupid joke.
Her friend’s laugh was infectious. She couldn’t help but join in with her as she pictured Etor waiting in line to fill out an application for Kelly’s wanted sign. “What are we going to do?” She wiped away the tears from laughing so hard.
“We’re not going back to Earth, that’s for sure. Maybe we should just see how Qetera is and go from there. I mean, it’s got to better than where we were originally headed. These guys don’t seem like the cruel type even if they are as big as giants.”
“I guess so.”
Chapter 8
Etor heard the females talking as he entered his quarters. He had left as soon as the female Kelly had arrived and told her he would return in a couple of hours. He didn’t want to leave Maggie especially after receiving those injections. The pull of their bond was growing and he needed to be near her until he could totally bond her to him in every way.
He heard them laughing as the door closed and it sounded like music to his ears. He could listen to Maggie laugh for the rest of his life and he would be satisfied. No, that was a lie. He wanted, or rather needed, to bury his cock in her as she screamed out his name in ecstasy. It was becoming harder and harder to be near her as he felt his cock hardening as he stood there listening.
“You’re back,” Kelly said catching him off guard.
“Yes, there is an escort coming to bring you back to your quarters. He should be here in a few moments.” He looked to bedroom with the hopes of seeing his mate. “I trust everything went okay.”
“Sure did, but umm…can I talk to you in private for a moment?”
Was something wrong? The female wanted to talk to him without Maggie overhearing. “We can talk in my office.” He led her to the door on the opposite side of his quarters. Once inside Kelly took him by surprise when he turned around. She tried to shove him then decided to poke him in the chest as she started to rant.
“You had better be nice to my friend! She’s been my best friend for as long as I can remember and I won’t let anyone else hurt her. Got it?”
What was this female talking about? Who hurt his mate? He looked down at the tiny woman who steadily poked him in the chest. “Female! Would you stop doing that?” He grabbed her hand to get her to stop.
“I’m just saying, I don’t want to see my friend hurt again.”
“I understand what you are saying and what I want to know is, who hurt her? Tell me and I will have him killed!” He meant it. He would do anything to help his mate not hurt.
“Maggie really needs to tell you herself, but I’ll tell you this. She witnessed something that scared the crap out of her. That’s why we were on that transport, to get away.” Kelly backed down.
“Get away from what?” he asked.
“Her boyfriend.”
Just as Kelly told him, there was a knock on the door. The escort had arrived to take her back to her quarters. He didn’t want her to leave now that she had told him Maggie had been in some kind of danger.
Kelly walked to the door of his office then turned to face him once again. “Look Commander, Maggie means a lot to me and I don’t want her hurt. Just promise me you will treat her right.”
“That is a promise. I would do anything to protect her and make her happy.” It was the truth and he wanted Kelly to believe him.
“Ok, I believe you have good intentions, but you still need to ask her why she is running.” Kelly walked out of the room then left with escort.
He didn’t go to Maggie right away. He needed some time to think about what Kelly had told him. Maggie was on the run from something or someone and he wanted to know who. What did she witness that scared her enough to leave her planet?
He ran a hand through his hair then rubbed his tired eyes. It had been a long day and he was ready to take a shower and get some rest. Question was, would she be okay with him sleeping in the bed as her?
Three days later he was still sleeping on the sofa in his quarters. After his talk with Kelly he had gone into the bedroom to find Maggie sound asleep. In a way he was disappointed then again he was relieved. He didn’t want to fight with her again but he was dying to question her. After his shower he grabbed a pillow off the bed and a spare blanket from the closet. He was exhausted by the time he laid his head on the pillow.
Rhaegos was off roaming the ship somewhere, thank the gods! He would never hear the end of it from the nosy dragon if he found out a tiny human female managed to chase him out of his own bed.
The past three days had been torture. He barely spoke with her and avoided going back to his quarters until he absolutely had to. Kelly was more than happy to sit with Maggie but he knew he was avoiding her. Kelly even gave him odd looks each time she left for the evening.
Good thing though, Maggie had regain most of the feelings in her legs and was walking on her own. Jonik had come by each day to monitor her progress and he was pleased with the results. He just told her to take it easy and not to push herself too hard.
It killed him to see Kelly helping her walk when it should have been him. He hadn’t touched her since that day she had awoken and found him massaging her. It was so painful to see her each morning then again in the evening and not touch her. He had to give himself some relief a couple of times when he was alone in the shower. If he didn’t claim her soon, it would literally be too painful to walk any longer. His cock was hard for most of the day and nothing he did relieved the ache he felt for her.
He was sitting on the bridge when the Arabis approached Qetera. It would be a relief to get off the ship and take Maggie back to his home.
“Sir, the shuttles have arrived to begin transporting the crew down to the surface,” Vigo said.
“See that the ship is secured before leaving.” He was going to get Maggie and take her down to his home where his brother, Kharis, would be waiting.
“Yes Sir, Commander.”
Maggie was waiting for him when he entered their quarters. She was sitting near the window looking out at his home world. She looked so beautiful sitting there in one of his shirts.
Lost Among the Stars (Sky Riders) Page 6
