“I do,” the Terran said, yanking on her hair. “Which makes this all the more fun.”
He fondled her chest.
Freya winced. “No! Stop it,” she said, fighting his grip.
“Oh, I like that.” His hard hand clamped down on her breast, snagging on the brooch she’d received.
She winced—the brooch shocked him, and in effect, shocked her as well.
“Ouch,” he snarled and struck Freya.
“Stop,” Kian said, his voice low.
“What are you going to do?”
Kian tried to move.
The Charro kept him restrained.
Kian turned, looking first at her, then at the Terran who held her.
He didn’t have to say a word.
Fury burned in his white eyes.
15
In orbit over Sol-4, Veta held out her hand.
The ornate bracelet sparkled in the lights from the shuttle dash.
The jewelry contrasted with the streamlined ship she and Wrathin had taken to escape Sol-4 and find the others. Imperial Princess Caoimhe had given her the bracelet just moments before their craft came under attack. She, then, and the rest of the Terran Empire Ambassadors flew off in different directions to escape. Veta had landed on the Rhimodian moon Sol-3, where she met Wrathin.
The Ambassadors had been on a mission of peace.
In the distance, still floating in space, were the remnants of the Terran transport they had been on.
A dead graveyard in space. Charred and unrecognizable. Almost, anyway.
Some did not want the peace, Veta was learning.
Wrathin touched her hand. His long fingers grazed her wrists, and it sent a shiver through her. A good shiver.
He was her protector, sent from the Rhimodians to ensure she arrived at their world safely.
Now, he was her lover.
Her special someone.
Her bridge between the Terran world and the Rhimodian and her only helper to find the rest of the Ambassadorial party from the Terran Empire.
"You sure this will work?" she asked, skeptical of the plan they’d formulated to find the others. However, everything was sketchy at this point.
She watched the displays. So far, no new blips of incoming ships, Rhimodian or Terran. She expected more. She expected to see a squadron of Terran ships controlling the space, but there wasn’t, well, anything.
That made her highly suspect.
"No," Wrathin replied. "What choice do you have? We need to find the rest of your party before the Terran attackers do and get all of you to safety. With the eclipse, our technology remains unreliable until the cycle is over. I cannot guarantee any of this will work, but it might be trackable.”
