“By Coalition time, six days, ten hours.”
Coalition time, based on the orbit and spin of the planet Prillon Prime, the Coalition Fleet’s command base and home to the de facto military leaders of the Interstellar Coalition of Planets. Prillon Prime’s day was only about an hour different from one standard Earth day. Easy adjustment for us Earthers.
“How do you know?” I didn’t see a watch.
“NPU.” That authoritative, confident tone made me hot as hell. Of course. The Neural Processing Unit used by the Coalition as a universal translator had additional functions, I just never used them. Most of my ReCon team spoke English, so I didn’t think about the small piece of tech embedded in the bone behind my ear. Why would I think about my skull when my pussy was practically dripping, and I had to remind myself to breathe?
This man was a killer. A criminal. Brutal. Efficient.Smart.Not to be fucking messed with.
Trouble. Capital T. All the red flags. I spent enough time on Earth investigating gang members and fighting organized crime to know a predator when I saw one. A sexy, strong, powerful predator. No one would mess with this guy unless they had a death wish. I should be repelled, not turned on. He might not be an Atlan, but he was more of a true beast than any male I’d ever met, human or alien.
What would it be like to be protected by someone like him? Cared for? Fucked hard and fast by a giant of a man who couldn’t keep his hands off me?
Maybe he’d wear me out. Maybe I’d stop having nightmares and actually sleep. Then again, probably not. It would take more than a few orgasms to defeat the chaotic guilt spiral that took over the moment my head hit the pillow.
This alien was dangerous, no doubt. Butthispredator was not Hive. Not the enemy. I could ogle him and not feel guilty, not feel like I was betraying everything I spent the last few years fighting for.
Right?
I turned on comms. “Captain Mills? No Atlan here. We have a member of Astra Legion, Rogue 5. He is restrained and injured. He requests sanctuary and transport to Rogue 5.”
“A Forsian?” The captain let out a low whistle. “Is he lucid?”
The male’s gaze was more effective than any chain. I couldn’t look away.
“Yes.” Not just lucid. Intelligent. Intense. Sexy. Strong. So smoking hot I wanted to climb him like a wild animal. Maybe I should go to medical when we got back to the ship. Something was not right. I never lusted after blood-soaked, injured men. Aliens. Whatever. I just didn’t do it. Except he didn’tseeminjured or weak. He seemed like he could rip everyone on this ship to pieces with his bare hands.
“He’s a what?” Henry asked.
“Forsian.” The huge male answered. Could he hear our internal helmet comms? “My people share ancestors with the Atlans. Our home worlds share a star.”
Well, that explained a few things. He was Atlan adjacent. No wonder he was so big. “Captain, he’s covered in chains. Do you want to send medical before we release him?”
“Can he walk?” The captain asked.
“I am fully functional. Release me now.” The Forsian spoke directly to our captain. Yep. Definitely could hear our comms. Impressive.
“You heard the man. Let’s go. We’ve got incoming on long range scanners, and we don’t want to be here when those Hive reinforcements arrive.”
“Smash and grab.” Henry repeated our personal motto as he shoved his blasters into their holsters and moved to the Forsian’s opposite side.
“Roger that. Releasing the prisoner.” I inspected the chains and ignored the heated scent of his skin and blood. I shouldnottake a deeper breath. How did he smell this good? “Lots of chains, Captain. Gonna take a few minutes.”
Too bad he had shorts of some kind covering him from just below the waist to mid-thigh. Between the hem and the top of the metal boots? More muscle. Legs thick as the trunks of decades old oak trees in the city park back home in Savannah. More cuts. Burns. More blood. The shorts did nothing to hide the giant bulge that couldn’t possibly be his…Holy shit. Look away! Do not stare, Breanna Parks, you naughty bitch. Do. Not.
I cleared my throat and moved to stand behind him. Didn’t help much. His ass was full, toned. Grabbable. Jeez. I was going to have to get some action when I got back to the ship. My libido was, apparently, totally out of control. “What’s your name?”
I forced myself to make conversation as I wedged my gloved knuckles under the thick band that circled his chest. The hot skin of his back warmed me through my suit. I figured I’d start on the largest set of chains hooked to his torso, followed by the boots, then the arms last.
Henry had other ideas. Two chains dropped from the Forsian’s arm as I worked to release the thick band from his chest. For some reason, the idea of releasing his hands and arms sent a shiver of anticipation—and fear—down my spine. Heseemedlucid, in control of himself. Thereweretwo bodies on the floor,Hive bodies,that he must have taken out. So, hewason our side? Theoretically, he wouldn’t murder us the moment he was free.
How had he managed to eliminate his two guards, restrained as he was? The only part of him not chained to something was his head. Did he headbutt them so hard he cracked their skulls? Was that even possible?
“Mikos.” He spoke as the chest harness fell to the floor with a loud clunk. His sigh of relief sent an unexpected rush of pleasure through me. I wanted him to be pleased. Satisfied. For some sick reason I didn’t want to examine too closely, I wanted his approval.
I slipped one hand under the locking mechanism around Mikos’s waist. Fumbled with the lock. The angle was wrong, and my gloves were too thick. I’d have to take them off and touch his bare skin. Oh, hell.
“You got it, Bree?” Henry finished with one side and took up position just inside the open door so he could keep eyes on the corridor outside. He was weapons ready, which I appreciated. Nothing worse than being ambushed on a Hive ship. Well, amend that thought. Being captured would be worse. I’d rather die than be taken alive by the Hive. Proof of that stood bloody and battered right in front of us. I didn’t want to know whatMikos had suffered, knew I wouldn’t have survived. No human would have survived what they’d done to him.
