Damn, that washot.
“No, thank you. I can walk.” Walk where, I had no idea. And why did he keep calling me his mate? I didn’t volunteer for the Interstellar Brides Program. “Are you going to show me the rest of your spaceship?”
He led the way. I had seen the entire ship in a matter of minutes. A small cockpit with two seats and barely enough room to turn around. The medical bay we’d left, which was about the size of my mother’s walk-in closet. He explained that the small S-Gen machine along the long stretch of hall would produce a variety of pre-programmed food. He then promised to get a larger ship with a proper S-Gen machine as soon as possible.
I had no idea what the hell he was talking about, so I nodded.
Two chairs and a tiny table could expand and retract into the wall in this same corridor. Out for eating, hidden away when not in use. His sleeping area held a long bed that would accommodate his height but was obviously designed for one person, not two.
Shut-up, horny. One look at his chest and all you can think about is riding his…
“Woof!” Lilah crawled out from under the bed and made her way to me.
“Lilah!” I rubbed her behind her ears, scratched her neck, reached around and hugged her, stroking her belly the way she liked.
She whimpered and I pulled back. “Oh no! I’m sorry baby. Are you hurt?”
Lilah pushed her nose into my palm for comfort and I looked her over. A large area on her side was bright pink skin with no hair. It looked fresh. And sore.
“What happened?”
“After you tried to kill yourself throwing your body in front of an ion blast, your pet attacked the male who injured you and was shot as well.”
“What?” I looked down at my doe-eyed, two hundred pound baby. “You wouldn’t hurt a fly, would you girl?”
Lilah wagged her tale and stared at me with all the love in her huge heart.
“She went for his throat, mate.”
I sucked in a breath. Lilah? No way.
“She is very protective of you. I approve.” He leaned in and patted Lilah on her neck. She allowed it, clearly familiar with his touch. I watched his large hand glide over her soft fur and clenched my teeth. This was the first time in my life I’d ever been jealous of a dog.
What else had happened while I was in that pod?
“Do not worry. I took his life. The other male escaped, but you were dying. I had to tend to you first. I carried you here and placed you in the ReGen pod. Lilah had to make due with the ReGen wand.” He looked at Lilah, a sloppy grin on his face that I knew meant my girl had already worked her adorable magic on him. “Didn’t you, big girl?”
Her tail wagged but I could tell she was tired. Using the familiar commands we had trained with, I whispered in her soft, floppy ear :“Go lay down, Lilah. Go to bed. I’ll be back.”
She turned around and shimmied her way back to the space between the small bed and the floor, her new den. She had a kennel at home that she loved. It was her safe space, dark and cozy and private. I made a point not to bother her when she chose to go into her kennel. It was her way of saying she needed some quiet time, and I totally understood that.
Satisfied when I heard Lilah’s soft snoring, we continued our tour.
“This is the containment area.” He opened the door to a room with four cells, each barely large enough to hold one, maybe two people. If they were as big as he was? One. Definitely.
“Containment? Looks like a prison to me.”
“I am an Elite Hunter. I track criminals and eliminate threats to the Coalition. My orders sometimes require bringing the subject back alive.”
An Elite Hunter? Holy shit. When my friend Katie had volunteered, I’d read the brochures. I knew about the different alien types. “You’re from Everis?” It finally registered that he had told me he was speaking Everian when I first came out of the pod. I guess my brain was still not fully awake, unlike my very turned-on body.
“Yes. You know of my planet?” He looked genuinely pleased, his smile making dangerous things inside me simmer. A vision of his bare chest flashed through my mind.
Again.
Like every five seconds.
“I’ve read about it.” Why did I feel all warm and fuzzy inside just because I’d pleased him? I did my own thing, made my own way and paid my way through life. I did not bend over backwards to please a man, no matter how much I wanted to nibble on his chest.
