Ari whistled under his breath. His woman was formidable as hell.
JR12 hopped. “To quote the great Hannibal Smith from The A-Team,‘I love it when a plan comes together!‘”
What surprised Morgan was most of the females in their cramped cages still lived. Best of all, she was happy to find out several of their mewling young were alive and in pretty good health as well.
But by the time Ari finished teleporting the females to the common eating room, then locked the males into those cramped cages, Morgan’s stomach tightened with worry.
His face had paled, shadows gathered under his eyes, and his movements had lost their usual steadiness. He lingered, taking a labored breath, as his shoulders slumped a bit more with each step.
Morgan hesitated at first, not wanting to leave him. But the females needed food, and she didn’t want to ask him to teleport the consumable-food making machine when she could just run to the engine room and grab it. Giving him one last look, she darted out and hurried there while leaving Ari to finish switching the Ozevroc.
By the time she returned, the females had settled in and silently watched her enter. Taking the machine to Zara, she showed her how to use it. Then she and Ari handed out shredded meat on platters to the starving females. Soon the sounds of happy murmurs filled the air as the females ate and consumed cups of clean precious water.
Morgan promised herself that before they left, she’d show them how to use the replicron to make anything else they’d need.
Now her worry over Ari deepened, almost more than she could bear. The weight of exhaustion etched into his features was sharp, making his cheeks hollow. His clenched jaw sent a ripple of unease through her as he continued to work as if nothing was wrong with him. She didn’t need to be a psychic to see he was on the verge of collapse. Someone had to look after this stubborn ass—a job she was more than ready to take on.
“Ari—“ Morgan approached him with a soft smile. ”—JR12 and I can take it from here.” She rubbed his arm and nodded to the spybot next to her. “I want to show Zara and some others how to use the replicron and the communication console so they can talk to Chloe and Aylzrunth on their journey to Runihura. Why don’t you rest inElemi? That way, we can enjoy some alone time on our trip back.“ Tilting her head, she gave him a sultry glance through half-lidded eyes.
The gunmetal color of Ari’s eyes darkened as his full lips curved into an alluring grin. “Irnini,“ he bent down to meet her face-to-face. His tense expression smoothed as he whispered against her lips. “I look forward to having lots of ‘alone time’ with you.”
Morgan’s face heated as unbidden memories of their Dreamwalk rushed back. Waiting to be with this incredible man might be tough, but she wanted him to be ready for her… not exhausted. She sucked in a shuddering breath and reached up to give him a light kiss. Placing her lips over his, she wrapped a hand behind his head to bring him in closer. She fused her lips to his, joining their tongues and turning the kiss into a passionate foray, intent on revealing to him how much she craved him. That way, he’d never consider she’d reject him.
When Ari pulled back, she swallowed her mewl of disappointment and looked up at him. She squirmed with desire as she absorbed his rugged handsomeness. How amazing was it someone like him noticed someone like her? Much less aimed such a direct, intense look in her direction. She licked her lips, savoring the flavor he left behind.
His eyes narrowed. “You’re playing with fire,irnini.“ Wrapping her in his firm embrace, he whispered in her ear. “And I love playing with hot things.”
Morgan giggled. Oh lordy, trust him to make a hokey statement to break the mood. “You nut.” She pulled back and playfully swatted his firm pecs. “Go on, now.” She gave him a mock shove. “I promise you, you’re going to need your strength later, mister.”
“As my lady commands.” Ari stepped back and put his hand over his heart, then disappeared.
His amorous grin made her lighter than air. With a sigh, she turned back to the group of Ozevroc females.
JR12 landed on her shoulder. “Okay, miss Wrench Queen.” The bot settled, folding his iridescent wings under the smooth golden elytra over his back. “What’s first?”
Morgan surveyed the females getting comfortable. Some moved more than others. Pulling out her multicorder, she adjusted it to a medical level. “First thing, I’d better double-check each one of them and see if any are in critical condition. Once that’s done, we’ll hand Zara the Talon of Ancients and adjust the ship’s logs to show the transfer of leadership to Zara. Then I’ll let Chloe know where we stand so they can head out to Runihura.”
“I wonder if Ari left those males frozen.” JR12 huffed. “I hope he didn’t since it’d serve them right to experience life in those cages.”
Morgan smirked. “Oh, I don’t think he was nice enough to leave them frozen.” With Ari’s tendency for orneriness, she bet anything he woke them up. “But it wouldn’t hurt to ask him when we’re done.”
Taking another glance around the room, she sighed. “Okay, we’ve got lots to do. Let’s finish this up so we can go home.”
Done. It was finally done.
It’d taken longer than Morgan hoped to get everything settled. JR12 proved invaluable since he learned how to communicate with the Ozevroc as well as she did.
After the initial surprise of his unusual appearance wore off, the females warmed to him with surprising ease. Especially the younger ones.
The spybot had to dodge several grasping young hands to avoid being played with like a toy.
While he dodged the little one’s hands, the older females told JR12 what they needed, and he’d bring their orders to Morgan so she could show Zara how to use the consumable-maker and the replicron. It was a pleasant surprise, how intelligent the female Ozevroc was.
It didn’t take Zara long to catch on to the intricacies of the machinery, and she quickly chose other females to help her.
Morgan was more than satisfied the Ozevroc were in excellent hands. “Okay, JR12,” she said to the spybot on her shoulder. “Let’s head back toElemi.Hopefully Ari got some sleep.”
“Yeah, he’s not the only one. Running around an obstacle course from all those younglings wore me out,” JR12 complained. “I swear if I was there any longer, I’d have to hide under your hairline just to save myself.”
