Afraid to take her eyes off the viewport, since that was the sole way to see now, she guided the ship toward the less congested area.A spine-jerking shunt from the rear popped them to the right.Tinges of black space were visible beyond the dust and the mass of rocks.
“Woohoo!”Scarlett cried.
She guided their ship in that direction.Another collision had her head snapping back and the vessel bursting free of the meteor field.
In the distance, the pale planet of Narenda glowed a silent welcome.Scarlett unclenched her hands one at a time from the controls, letting the blood flow again without restriction.She increased their speed before glancing at Ransom.He lay still on the silvery floor.Blood trickled down his cheek.No puddle.Hopefully, his shifter genes would take care of his ouchies.
With the autopilot sending them into danger, she didn’t want to risk her life that way again.Ransom would need to wait until she landed.
With their travel path input already, it was a simple matter of following the positioning system and guiding the vessel.They left the blackness of space and shot into the atmosphere of Narenda.As she took the ship lower toward their planned landing zone, she scowled.This was Narenda.She knew that for sure, but the landscape beneath them was full of verdant plants and…and…
She gasped as a big bird came into sight.It glided alongside the ship, its amber eyes sharp with intelligence.
With a flap of its giant wings, the bird soared past, outdistancing them in a few wing-strokes.Fast suckers.
Behind her, a groan came from Ransom.
“You’re still alive,” Scarlett said.“Can you consult your maps?We’re on Narenda, but I thought this side was more barren after the volcanic eruption.There are trees everywhere.”
Ransom groaned again, but he hauled himself to his feet.He staggered to the captain’s chair and slouched, breathing hard for long seconds before straightening.“I wish people would stay out of my head,” he muttered.
“What?”
“Nothing.I believe there is an open clearing in the trees two clicks to the west.”
“Two-twelfths of a cycle?”Scarlett glanced at the chart she’d pulled up on the map screen.“Are you sure?”
“Two clicks,” he confirmed.
Scarlett shrugged and set a course west.Soon, the trees became sparse.
“Over there,” Ransom said.
“I see it.”Scarlett guided the ship down.“Heck, the landing gear is damaged.Fasten your harness,” she snapped.“How many knocks on the noggin will it take you to learn?”
Ransom fastened his harness with shaky hands.Scarlett sucked in a fortifying breath and tried the landing gear again.The struts groaned but slid into position.
“Might not be as bad as I thought,” Scarlett said as they touched land and the struts took the ship’s weight.“Yay!We’re down.”
She unfastened her harness and stood.Ransom did the same and rose, his face pale.
“How bad is your head?”
“Feels as if I ran into a meteor rock.”
The ship tilted abruptly to the right, sending them flying off their feet.Loose objects sailed after them.A book struck her shoulder.Ransom hit the wall with anoomph, and Scarlett landed on top of him.
“Is it safe to move?”Ransom asked, a beat later.
“Think so.”
“Good.”Ransom curled his arms around her back and kissed her.The warm, physical contact of his lips on hers and the suddenness of his move startled her.She opened her mouth to protest, and the lout took this as an invitation to proceed.Her hands gripped his ears.She intended to yank them.She really did, but his lips softened, and he coaxed rather than demanded.He invited instead of presenting an alpha male challenge.Her feline votedhell, yeah,and before Scarlett recognized her surrender, she was participating.Exploring his luscious mouth.Tangling her tongue with his and gripping his shoulders, trying to climb into his body instead of assaulting him.His taste.A delicious honeyed sweetness.His scent of amber, warm and musky with a hint of burning earth.Addictive and enticing.His body—a hard stack of muscles that fit exactly against her curves.
Ransom pulled back, and Scarlett followed, pressing her lips to his again and nipping his lower lip.His dark groan thrilled her, and her feline purred, the sensuous sound echoing through Scarlett’s mind.
She stirred restlessly, the drag of her nipples against his chest a silent demand for more, more, more.
Ransom separated their mouths again, his expression tender yet with a note of seriousness that told her this interlude was at an end.
