“I’m fine. Stark has taken very good care of me.”
From behind, Lilah nudged my thigh with her head before moving to place herself between me and the nearest pair of Prillon guards. I had to admit, they were intimidating. Even taller than Stark with sharp features and oddly colored skin. Some of them looked almost human with dark brown skin, or light beige that could have been fair skin with a good tan. But the others? Copper. Golden. Strange colored eyes to match. And the Atlans behind them? Well, they looked more human, but they had to be seven feet tall. At least. A couple of them looked closer to eight.
And they transformed into something evenbigger?
Lord help the girl who got herself mated to one of them. Then again, that’s why they were called beasts.
“And is this the big girl who got herself shot by those terrible, mean aliens?” Warden Egara had her hands all over Lilah, scratching her behind the ears—and Lilah was eating it up.
Traitor.
Some attack dog.
Warden Egara—still bent over to pet my traitorous dog—grinned up at me. Let’s go inside. It’s too hot out here.” She glanced at Stark. “We have taken your concerns into account, Elite Hunter. We have more than enough manpower here to help you catch your criminals and protect your mate.”
I looked around at the aliens standing guard out here under the bright sunshine. There had to be even more alien warrior guys inside. It was a large facility. I glanced up at Stark to find his lips not quite as thin and his shoulders more relaxed. He really had been worried about protecting me while he hunted.
He was adorable. In a totally scary way that made me want to rip his clothes off and make him chase me. Stark had warned me never to run from him unless I wanted to be caught and fucked into extreme bliss. Running would activate his Elite Hunter instincts. I’d seen him move too fast to track with the naked eye. I didn’t know what else he could do, but these aliens all seemed to show Stark a high level of respect. And Stark? No fear. None. Which was saying something, because these aliens were huge, scary and built like tanks.
Every single one of them made sure to keep a significant distance from my man.
Ouch.Stark was hot. Lethal. Andmine.
We followed Warden Egara inside and I ignored the fact that my brand new panties were already more than a little wet.
7
Stark
My small shiphad never carried this many. Warden Egara had offered to keep Rebecca safe in Miami. My stubborn mate, however, had adamantly refused to be left behind.
So here we were, crammed inside my ship with six Atlan Warlords, each one competing for Lilah’s attention. They were going to fatten our pet twice her already monstrous size if they didn’t stop using my S-Gen machine to make her favorite dog treats. Rebecca had taught them all of her pet’s commands and they were jostling one another aside like children to watch the drooling creature sit. Stand. Lay down. Back up. Roll over.
Play dead. That one was their favorite. I had to admit, the sight of Lilah lying on her back with her tongue hanging limply from the side of her mouth was highly amusing.
And Rebecca? She watched their foolish antics and laughed. Eyes sparkling, head thrown back. She was smore beautiful than ever and I could not bring myself to ruin her fun.
The Atlans? I would have tossed them in the containment cells in the back if Rebecca would allow it. I’d seen more than one admiring my mate. She was stunning. I couldn’t blame them for their appreciation, but I didn’t have to like it.
“We’re nearly there. Get on mission.”
Lilah,deadon the floor, twisted her body just enough to look at me upside-down. Rebecca sat back down in the co-pilot’s seat and buckled in, the smile on her face mellowing to a grin. Then worry.
The Atlans responded to their training, accepting the command and leaving Lilah alone to check their weapons and armor one more time.
Apparently nervous, Rebecca bit her bottom lip and leaned closer to the vid screens as the youth center came into view. “It looks so small from up here.”
“We will be there in just a couple of minutes. Review for us, one more time, the exact location of the safe.”
Rebecca recited the same information to all of us as she’d done at least a dozen times when we’d still been in Florida with the warden. “As long as it’s after ten, there shouldn’t be anyone there.”
I scanned the human communication frequencies and located the local time. “It is eleven fourteen.”
“Good.” Rebecca visibly relaxed, leaning back in her seat. “What does the AI thing do again?”
Velik’s tone was kind when he answered my mate. Which was good, otherwise I would have to break his knees so he could kneel before her and beg forgiveness. “The engram holds the core components for their ship’s artificial intelligence system. The AI runs the ship, makes all the calculations required for space travel and controls the ship’s systems. Without it, their craft won’t operate.”
“And that AI is actually smart enough to know it’s trapped in my safe and send out a distress signal?”
