Alien Warrior's Secret

by Mina Carter

  Wishful thinking.

  She ignored the little voice in the back of her head. Her options were limited. Caught behind enemy lines, she was technically a prisoner of war now. Shit.

  “It’s Randy. And I am hungry,” she admitted. Him offering to feed her was a good sign. “But how do I know you’re not going to leap on me and tie me up as soon as I come out.”

  He chuckled, the deep sound of amusement sending shivers down her spine. In a totally want to jump his bones sort of way. Okay, she told herself, we are not lusting after the sexy alien. That’s so not smart and we need to be smart if we’re getting out of here.

  “How about I promise not to tie you up, Randy? Would that work?”

  She edged a little closer to the opening, making sure he still couldn’t reach in and grab her, and got her first good look at him. Her eyes widened. He was gorgeous. Like panty-dropping gorgeous.

  “Why should I believe you?” she demanded but moved a little closer anyway.

  His lips quirked. “You asked me that already.”

  He extended a huge hand toward her in an offer to help her from the close confines of the storage bin.

  “Yeah. You didn’t answer me. Don’t think I didn’t notice that, handsome.” She really had no choice and she knew it. If she didn’t come out, things could get rough. And she really didn’t want things to get rough.

  “Because I give you my word as a warrior. On my honor I will protect you to the last breath I take.”

  They were an honor-based culture, so to get his promise like that… she believed him. Reaching out, she put her hand in his. A spark of awareness made her gasp the instant their fingers touched, but then his hand closed around hers and he started to pull her clear of the storage bin.

  The trouble was, the tiny space was not a good fit for her curvy frame and she got stuck halfway.

  “Just… a… little more,” she panted, encouraging him. With a yank that almost pulled her arm from its socket, her hips cleared the narrow opening of the grid and she landed on him.

  Literally.

  Big as he was, with how much he’d been pulling and her sudden release from the grip of the tiny storage bin, she bowled him right over. He ended up flat on his back with her straddling his lap.

  “Errr… hey,” she said, managing a small smile. The smile became a gasp as she registered the thick bar of his cock pressing against her inner thigh. Her eyes widened. If that was him flaccid… holy hell.

  She tried to scramble away but large hands on her arms held her fast as he smiled back. “You’re just as beautiful as I imagined.”

  The soft words, uttered on a low rasp, made the butterflies in her stomach dance. No man should look like this. It just wasn’t fair to womankind.

  Little green men, she reminded herself. He was an alien. He probably had a tentacle dick or something.

  His smile grew into a broad grin. “I can assure you I do not have a tentacle dick. I’ll happily show you to prove it, if you like.”

  “Please tell me you’re telepathic,” she whispered in mortification.

  He shook his head, amusement dancing in his dark eyes. “I’m afraid not.”

  Oh. My. God.

  She’d said it aloud.

  “Please… just shoot me now.”

  His brows snapped together and he pulled her closer. “Why would I do that? I promised not to hurt you and I won’t. You’re mine to protect and care for, yes?”

  She nodded hesitantly. If she was a prisoner of war, having one of them swearing to protect and care for her sounded way better than the treatment she was sure prisoners usually got. But still… a little warning went off in the back of her head. She ignored it. This whole situation had her instincts firing off warnings.

  “As long as I’m here, then yes.”

  His smile could have restarted a supernova. “Good.”

  She was sure he’d been going to say something else, but a sound out in the corridor made him freeze, twisting his neck to look toward the opening to the alien ship… his ship. That was when she realized he had long hair. It was scraped back, and the braided mass at the nape of his neck was perhaps the sexiest thing she’d ever seen.

  “We need to move,” he told her in a low voice. “I don’t want anyone else to see you.”

  “Huh?” That didn’t make sense if she was a prisoner.

  “They’ll take you off me. Put you in a cell,” he told her, somehow rolling to his feet with her in his arms. “And believe me, you don’t want that. You want me protecting you.”

  “Okay.” She clung to him as he walked toward the door. The last place she wanted to end up was in a Lathar cell. There were nasty rumors about what they did to women… alien breeding programs and stuff like that. The best place for her was with him.

  “Stay as quiet as possible,” he ordered, holding her closer as they reached the door. Leaning out, he got a quick look up and down the corridor. “All clear. Let’s go.”

  But instead of turning left, the direction she expected him to take… he turned right and carried her further down into the bowels of the ship.

  3

  It took Riis far longer than normal to get his little female back to his quarters. He took them on a roundabout route, making sure to avoid all corridors and areas command had eyes on. Since they weren’t looking for another human female just yet, he hoped the sensors wouldn’t register her if he kept her close enough. And once he had her in his quarters… well, his backed onto those of his brother-in-arms, Sardaan, who had also just taken a human mate. So if the sensors picked her up, they would just assume it was Sardaan’s female, Dani, anyway.

  At least, that was the plan.

  He managed to get her into his room, the doors closed behind them, and finally allowed himself to turn and look at her properly. He knew she was beautiful. He’d worked out that much in the brief time he’d had her in his arms in the Terran shuttle, but then his brain had been short-circuited by the feeling of her against him. Full of curves, she was so soft compared to the harder plains of his warrior’s body.

  But in the lights of his rooms, he could look his fill. And he was blown away.

  Delicate and curvy, she was even smaller than Dani or Kenna, the two Terran females he’d already met. But unlike them, she had a mass of hair like sunlight that fell in curls around her face and eyes, which reminded him of the clearest oceans of Lathar Prime. And just like that, every clever thing he’d planned to say when he finally managed to get a female of his own disappeared like leaves scattered before the wind.

  The next instant he was across the distance that separated them, and she was back in his embrace. She gasped, hands on his upper arms to keep some distance between them, but he wasn’t having that. He hauled her closer to slide a hand up her back and into her hair.

  A shudder rolled through him and he half closed his eyes in pleasure. “It’s so soft. I’ve never felt anything like it.”

  She held still as he touched her hair, sliding his big hands through it. At first he felt the wariness in her body and he gentled his movements, not wanting to make her fight him or run. For all her bluff and bluster earlier, she reminded him of a frightened animal now, ready to run at any moment. But gradually she relaxed against him, a soft catch in her breathing as his fingertips brushed against her scalp.

  Fascinated, he did it again, to be rewarded with another tiny catch and then a soft murmur.

  “Is that nice?” he asked, as softly as he could, wanting to know what she liked. How she liked to be touched. What brought her pleasure and what didn’t. If he could tempt her into his bed and get a set of mating marks, they’d never be able to take her away…

  She would be his permanently. And he wanted that. Wanted her.

  She nodded, closing her eyes as he stroked her again. The pretty little sounds she made hit him right in the cock, his shaft hard enough to pound rivets through the damn hull, but he held back. She had to agree to the claiming, or it would be void.

 
Leaning down, his lips were a whisper away from hers when her eyes snapped open. He froze, wondering if she’d fight or push him away. He desperately didn’t want her to do either.

  “Shhh… I won’t hurt you,” he murmured and claimed her mouth for the first time.

  It was like nothing he’d ever experienced before. Her lips were like warm silk, soft and delicate beneath his. Her nails bit into his upper arms, the slightest warning of her nerves as he feathered his lips over hers. Learned their shape and texture. Committed them to memory.

  He’d heard about kissing from older warriors, and those now mated, but he’d never experienced it himself. He hadn’t really understood why the males spent so much time simply mating their mouths to their females when there were… other body parts that would be so much more interesting.

  How wrong he’d been. The instant his lips had touched hers, he was a goner. He could spend a lifetime kissing her and it would never be enough.

  Then her lips parted under his and instinct took over. With a growl in the back of his throat, he pulled her closer and slid his tongue into her mouth. And groaned. Her taste exploded through his senses and the arousal he’d thought was all consuming before nearly brought him to his knees.

  A feral need ripped through him and he held her head still as he ravaged her mouth, took and plundered as he wanted to do with her body. Images of her without her clothing, naked beneath him as he claimed her for his own, assaulted him. He broke the kiss, panting heavily, the need to act on those impulses and take her now almost overwhelming him.

  Carefully he eased her from his arms and stepped back, his male pride massaged at her tiny sound of disappointment. She didn’t want to leave his arms. That boded well.

  “I will find food,” he announced. “To prove I can provide for you as well as protect you. Don’t leave the rooms,” he ordered, brows snapping together. “Another male might not be as careful and patient as I am. Most have never seen a Terran female and believe all are there for the taking whenever a male wishes.”

  Fear showed stark in her blue eyes and he almost regretted the harsh order. What he’d said was more or less true. Not many males would tell the female they actually had a choice, just that they had to accept the claim. Not many would go out of their way to prove to the female in question that they could provide for all their needs before pressing their claim.

  He would. He intended to win his female fairly so she knew he was good mate material before she accepted him. That was key to a happy mating, he decided, smiling at her as he caught her hand to kiss across the back of her knuckles.

  “I will be back shortly,” he promised her and left the room while he still could.

  Randy sat on the huge bed for a while, watching the door after Riis had left. The room seemed huge without him in it, as though the presence of the big sexy alien had filled all the available space and made it seem smaller than it was.

  “Oh my god,” she murmured, covering her mouth. Her hand shook. She’d been taken prisoner by the sexiest guy she’d ever met. Big and muscled had always done it for her. Forget Major Ryan… in the looks stakes, Riis blew the human pilot out of the water.

  And he could kiss. God could the guy kiss.

  Heat rolled through her just at the memory of her big, sexy alien’s lips on hers, his tongue parting her lips to delve within. Not cruel and hard as she’d expected, but seducing her into wanting more. Needing more. Needing everything.

  She pressed her thighs together, shivers rolling through her body.

  “He’s an alien,” she reminded herself.

  She so shouldn’t have the hots for an alien, no matter how sexy. Instead, she should be trying to get back to the shuttle and escape. Surely she could break through the lock they’d had on the shuttle if they weren’t expecting anyone to be trying?

  Standing up, she took a few steps toward the door. But each step was slower than the last. Riis had told her not to leave, that other males were dangerous. And they’d all heard the rumors about the women kidnapped from the Sentinel base. That they’d been forced to accept alien men as lovers. As mates. That meant sex with someone they didn’t necessarily want or find attractive.

  Riis hadn’t forced her. Instead, he’d gone to find her something to eat. As though on cue, her stomach growled. She hadn’t eaten since yesterday, too uptight this morning before the disciplinary.

  She groaned, rubbing her hands over her face. That all seemed a lifetime ago even though it was only this morning. It had to be approaching evening now. Her lips quirked up into a small smile. Well… she’d missed that transport for sure.

  Screw it anyway.

  Turning, she decided to explore Riis’s rooms. Within a few minutes she’d worked out they were just about as exciting as any quarters aboard a starship. The bedroom, while large, was filled with what appeared to be alien-sized furniture. A big bed against the wall under a narrow window with thick glass that gave her a view of the distant stars outside. No ships or planets. They hadn’t moved position then. The stars were all in the same place and she was a pilot. She’d have felt the ship move.

  Turning, she checked out the rest of the room. A huge couch, easily big enough to fit Riis, was tucked away on one side of the door with a desk on the other. The size of everything made her feel like a child again.

  She didn’t feel like a child where Riis was concerned.

  Locking that thought down, and the resultant heat that swirled through her veins, she explored further, finding the facilities and relieved it looked like every bathroom she’d ever seen. Obviously the Lathar weren’t so different then.

  The sound of the door opening again made her spin around, her heart in her throat.

  “You startled me.” A small laugh escaped her, her hand covering her chest at the sight of Riis in the doorway.

  “Food,” he announced, holding up some large boxes that looked for all the world like a space age version of Chinese takeout. Walking over to the couch, he put them down on the low table in front of it. “I wasn’t sure how long it had been since you’d last eaten so I brought field cake.”

  “Cake?” She blinked, flitting a little closer. A groan broke from her lips as he cracked the lid on the first container and the most delicious smell filled the room. It smelled just like warm—

  “Chocolate cake?” Her eyes opened wide at the gooey confection in the container he pushed toward her. It was warm chocolate cake, with what looked like ice cream on the side. Her stomach roared its approval of the idea.

  She looked up, catching the amused quirk of his lips as he held out a spork.

  “I do believe that’s what Earth females call it, yes. Apparently our version doesn’t get you… errr ‘fat’? They love it. I brought jellano as well because it has other nutrients you need.”

  “Oh my god, really?” Randy planted her ass in the seat next to him, trying to hide her eagerness as she reached for the box with the cake. Digging her spork in, she took a small bite and groaned with pleasure as the taste burst onto her tongue.

  “It is chocolate cake,” she managed between three large bites. Her stomach growled again, this time in happiness.

  Riis looked on and smiled as she ate, quickly polishing off what was in the box. The ice cream was just as delicious. She hadn’t realized she was so hungry, embarrassed by practically attacking the cake. What must he think of her?

  “Sorry,” she said, putting the box down on the table. “Haven’t eaten since last night.”

  His brows snapped together. “Do they not feed you on your ship?”

  She looked away. “They do. I couldn’t eat today. I was too nervous.”

  “Nervous about coming here?” he moved closer, his expression one of understanding. “That makes sense. It wasn’t an intelligent move to attack us like that. It was never going to work.”

  She met his gaze. “You knew we were there. Didn’t you?’

  He nodded. “We knew the moment your ship launched. Clever move to land in the vent tho
ugh. Dangerous but clever.”

  A burst of pleasure rolled through her. “That was my idea. We hadn’t expected how tough your shielding was. It was the only thing I could think of.”

  “You’d have been fried to a crisp as soon as our main engines came online.”

  She shrugged. “Acceptable risk with you all in a holding pattern for the talks.”

  His lips quirked and he reached out to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Clever, ruthless and beautiful. You’re perfect.”

  His voice was breathy as he leaned forward, all his attention on her lips. Yes… he was going to kiss her again. Her hand curled in the collar of the jacket he wore, holding him to her as he bent his head to seek her lips.

  4

  Time stood still as she waited for the brush of his lips against hers. The heat that had been lying in wait since he’d kissed her before flared through her body in a heartbeat. She moaned, parting her lips as she moved closer to him, needing more.

  A deep growl echoed from the center of his broad chest in response and a big hand latched in her hair at the back of her head. Holding her still, he slid his tongue into her mouth, gliding it slowly, sensuously against hers.

  Kissing an alien warrior, no matter how sexy, was so not a good idea. A fact the little voice in the back of her head kept trying to remind her. Loudly. She ignored it and moved closer to Riis, practically sitting in his lap. Her hands roved over his chest, hesitant at first, but at his rumble of approval, she grew bolder. Touched him. Explored him.

  Wrapping big hands around her waist, he lifted her up so she straddled his lap without breaking the kiss. Her breathing caught at the thick, hard length of his cock pressing against her pussy lips. Even through the layers of their clothes, she felt the heat of his body and moaned, the sound lost in his mouth.

  She shouldn’t be doing this, but each of his kisses were hotter than the last and she couldn’t help herself. Sliding her tongue against his, she teased him. Not letting him have what he wanted, forcing him to chase her and then holding out until he growled and flipped them over. If she’d thought almost riding him was good, having him braced over her, his big, muscled thighs keeping hers apart was something else. He rocked his hips and ground the rigid length of his cock against her, and she whimpered.