Get your head on straight.
He ignored the desire coursing through his veins and tried to hold his breath, pushing his shoulder a little here and there.
She moved closer and her scent rolled over him. It was fresh and clean, something he wasn’t quite familiar with, something entirely exotic and uniquely hers.Concentrate on freeing yourself and think inappropriate thoughts about the woman later!
There was a sudden banging noise, and the sound of an alarm echoed through the ventilation shaft.
“Oh no,” Captain Brooklyn said, her face turning white. “Oh no, no, no!”
“What is it?”
“That’s the propulsion alarm. Someone’s plotted a course and the engines are beginning to cycle. We have less than a minute to get out of this shaft or we’ll be burned faster than an ant under a magnifying glass.”
Ontarii wasn’t sure what an ant was, but he knew the chances of survival were terribly bad for them.
“We’ve got to get you out of here.” She pulled hard against his shoulder.
Ontarii pushed, trying to help her, but he didn’t move an inch.
“Leave me,” he said through gritted teeth. “Save yourself.”
“No one gets left behind on my crew,” she said, pulling with all of her might.
“I’m not a part of your crew. You owe me nothing. Now get out of here!”
The captain’s eyes narrowed and her face took on a stubborn cast.
“Think small thoughts and shift your hips to one side,” she told him, then proceeded to squeeze through the space between his legs and shoulder. Once behind him, she laid on the shaft floor and put her feet on his back.
“Okay, here we go.” She pushed with her legs. Her legs were apparently stronger than her arms, and when Ontarii added his force to hers, he finally popped free and slumped around the corner.
“Get moving,” she yelled from behind him, pressing against his backside to push him forward. He ignored the jolt of energy he felt at her touch and started crawling forward as fast as he could.
The alarm wailed behind them, setting his teeth on edge. He scrambled forward, moving as rapidly as he could, and yet it didn’t feel nearly fast enough.
“We’ve got twenty seconds at the most,” the human shouted from behind him.
“Almost there, I think,” he said, and reached the end of the shaft. There was a panel that resembled the one they’d taken off in the engine room and he immediately set about removing it.
Captain Brooklyn shuffled up beside him and helped. Her hands were shaking hard as she pushed against the corner of the panel. At last it popped free and the two of them jumped down from the shaft and into the cargo bay.
“We’ve got to get this panel back in place,” she said, holding it back into position and motioning him to help. “If the engine blasts off, the energy pulse will blow down the shaft and right out of this open panel. We’ll still be fried.”
They worked quickly, Ontarii making sure that the sections were back in place. The alarm cut off suddenly and there was a hard jolt against the ship.
“That’s the engine. Someone is trying to move the ship.”
Ontarii turned to face the captain.
Her expression was grim, her hands at her sides and curled into tight fists.
“Let’s go find out what’s happening.” He jerked his head to indicate that she should lead the way.
She began jogging across the cargo bay toward the exit, her long legs carrying her away from him quickly. The fact that she was in shape and able to keep up with him turned him on far more than he expected it to.
Ontarii followed, trying to keep a lid on his thoughts and failing miserably. He was furious that she’d risked her life to free him. She should have left him and taken care of herself.
But she’d stayed, and she’d saved his life. He wasn’t sure how he felt about it.
