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ELENA
¡Mira! ¿Qué fue eso?I had no clue what came over me, and my thoughts reverted to Spanish in my agitation. I hadn’t actively used my family’s native language in years since babblers were given to all humans as children. Implanted behind our ears, they interfaced with our neural pathways to translate languages. Super helpful for space travel. But this alien warrior had me… rattled. Like yeah, okay, Daegan was hot. Five-alarm fire scorching in fact. And I hadn’t been with anyone—alien or no—that matched his attractiveness in like forever…or ever. But we were in the middle of trying to find my missing crew, and now, we were escaping a ship that appeared to be ready to self-destruct.Could the hormones stay in check?
“This way!” Jadara called over her shoulder, a few paces ahead of me.
Spying on the Rhonar warrior as he spoke with the Mangox capo had been eye-opening for two reasons, one bad and one worse. The bad was that my crewmates were not on the damn ship. If the slimy Gorox was to be believed, I was the only human aboard. The worse was that I had no idea where to find my people, and apparently, these Rhonar were searching for them too.But why?
With those thoughts swimming through my head, I ran smack into Jadara. “Hey, what gives?” I steadied us by pulling her toward me so that we swayed awkwardly before straightening. “Why’d you stop?” Pointing at a rounded access panel, she waited for the hot-AF alien to catch up with us. It didn’t take more than a breath or two. His long legs ate up the distance, the powerful thigh muscles contracting beneath black fabric. My gaze moved slowly up to the bulge between his…And there goes my hormones again. Shit.
Jadara jutted her chin at me as if she knew exactly what I’d been thinking. Considering I could feel my face growing hot, she probably did. “Pause and reassess, girlie.” She turned her attention toward Daegan, piercing him with her fierce rebel stare. “You, Rhonar, what’s your aim here?”
Daegan smiled, revealing a row of white teeth and a hint of…are those fangs?With my gaze locked on his mouth, he answered, “So you are a Craxion rebel. Thought I recognized you.”
“I amtheCraxion rebel.” She cracked a grin and held out her arm. “Jadara.”
As Daegan clasped her forearm in an obvious greeting, a pang soared through my chest. I clamped it down as I refused to be jealous of a simple gesture. He nodded at her. “I’m Daegan of the Rhonar warriors. You’ve met some of my people.”
“Yes.” She released the hold, much to my easement. “You’ve aided me before. I hope you’re here to help again.”
Stray dark hairs escaped the tie at his nape and fell across his brow as he angled his head, taking in both of us at once. The heat in my cheeks grew over my neck. He spoke to her, but he pinned me with that intense gaze. Flames danced in the depths of his eyes. “We were searching for the lost Terrans. But it seems my brathers have—”
He didn’t get to finish his sentence. The alarms had lessened in intensity during our run, but they were interspersed with warnings in different iterations. None of which had anything positive to say, but the computer voice was pure syrup as it proclaimed, “All personnel are advised to seek their exit off the ship. The self-destruct sequence has been initiated. We thank you for your time on SpaceZ Pleasure Cruise.”
“Well, that explains it.” Daegan gestured toward the unseen computer voice from above. “We were planning to take over the ship, but clearly the Mangox have decided it’s better to destroy it.”
“That’s what the Capo said before you knocked him out,” I muttered under my breath.
The alien warrior bent toward me. His eyes growing impossibly brighter. “Are you sad for that Mangox bastard,pajuara?”
“No,” I said and stood up straighter. I refused to be intimated by this cocky male. “And what’s a pag-wa-ra?”
“It’s a creature from my home world.” He edged closer, and I had to tilt my head back to look up at him. “It has golden brown fur and glorious wings. And it’s ferocity is a sight to behold.”
My eyes narrowed. “You haven’t seen my temper.”
“Not yet.” He bent lower still, his breath warming my face. “But I long to.”
“Ah-hem.” Jadara cleared her throat, and I scurried back at the noise. “I hate to interrupt, but we are on a self-destructing ship in case you’d forgotten.”
The damnable alien had the nerve to appear unperturbed. “We’ll continue this later, pajuara.” Turning toward the panel, he input a series of symbols onto the screen. The door beyond the panel slid open. “The escape pods in this sector are at the end of the hall.”
“Great.” Jadara shoved me toward the doorway. “Get going.”
“What?” I spun on my heel and met her gaze. “What do you mean? Where are you going?”
Ignoring my questions, she grasped the Rhonar’s wrist and stared at the metallic symbols on his arms. “These patterns, you call them katra, right?”
Deagan gave her a wary look but didn’t pull away from her hold. “Yes.”
“And they represent your family, your brathers, and eventually…” She cast a glance in my direction, then focused on the symbols on his arms once more. “Your mate. Do I have that correct?”
“You do, rebel fighter.” He smiled warmly at her. “If I am blessed by Celestia to be granted a mate.”
My insides tightened at his expression, but the grin he gave her was more brotherly than the hot stare he’d given me.And why do you care again, Elena? Get a grip.
“Ten minutes until the self-destruct sequence will complete. Please exit the ship. We thank you for choosing SpaceZ Pleasure Cruise.” The ship’s sanguine outlook about its impending doom jarred my senses.
