“Good.” Jadara dropped his arm. “Then, I call for your oath that you’ll take care of this Terran as if she were your fated mate. You will protect her at all costs and guard her body with your own. Will you accept?”
“What the hell?” I stomped toward her and yanked her elbow. “What are you doing?”
“It’s important.” She swatted at my hand.
I curled my fingers into a fist to stop from grabbing her again and shaking some sense into her. “You can’t ask something like that of a perfect stranger.”
Before either of us could continue, Daegan stepped forward and fell to one knee. “I accept. My body shall be your shield. My kedara, the blood of my life, your weapon.” He reached for me, taking my hand gently in his larger grasp. “With all that I am, I will protect you, guard you,” his voice dropped an octave as he whispered, “pleasure you.” My jaw fell open at the last statement and I tried to tug my hand free, but he held fast and continued, “You are safe in my care until the the void takes me or darkness claims me. I am yours.”
My mind fragmented into a million tiny pieces, the thoughts running through my head at hyper speed. But the one that came out of my mouth was…
“Oh fuck.”
3
Daegan
The lovely Terran’smouth uttered obscenities, and my cock hardened in response. I was a twisted bastard with my mind addled by this female and my senses a mess.Why?When the rebel had asked for my oath of protection for the little pajuara, I hadn’t hesitated. Not a shred of doubt sparked within me. Granted I’d be glad to guard any female—all were sacred to my kind. As a reflection of Celestia, they were to be revered, cherished…pleasured.
And there went my cock again.
What the crex is wrong with me?I rose to my full height, staring at the beautiful Terran. I had bedded plenty of females throughout the cosmos. Albeit with the loss of emotions due to the hunger claiming me, it was a purely biological affair every time. But this, it was, well, different somehow. Her captivating gaze kept me entranced like an ancient spell. Waves of thick, brown hair tumbled to her shoulders. Her lips pursed when she snapped her mouth shut as if she were lost in thought. By the void, I knew how she felt.
And drav it all, I didn’t even know her name.
“Well met then.” The rebel Jadara broke the magic floating in the air, linking the Terran to me and I to her. She turned to leave, and the action brought me to my senses.
“You cannot go that way, rebel fighter.” I motioned to the hall where the escape pods resided. My brathers and I had done ample research before boarding to account for any contingencies. While I preferred to rejoin my fellow Rhonar on our fighter in the docking bay of this behemoth cruiser, it would not be safe to lead the two females through a vessel set to self-destruct. Hence, the escape pods were the logical choice.
“Yeah, what he said.” The Terran stuck a thumb toward me and grasped her friend by the shoulders. “You need to come with us.”
“My friend,” Jadara rested her palm over my pajuara’s arm, “believe me when I tell you you’re in good company with the Rhonar. He’ll keep you safe.”
“And what about you?” Moisture sprang to her alluring eyes, and it took everything in me not to hold her and give her comfort. When had I developed such desires? Surely, I wasn’t…feeling.Am I?I didn’t have long to think on it, and the two females argued while time flowed on toward our demise.
“I have to go. The ones I told you about, Maena and Tallis, left when I was arrested to fetch me an arbitrator.” Jadara’s red hair dulled as if in sync with her emotions. It was an odd sight. “I don’t know if they made it back yet, but I can’t risk them being here.”
“So you’ll risk your life on the off chance they might be?” My pajuara’s voice grew higher pitched. “Even if they came back, the announcement is blasting all over the ship. They wouldn’t stay.”
She sighed. “You don’t know them like I do. They would never leave me behind.”
The Terran growled, full on primal response. If the situation weren’t dire, I’d press her into the wall. The sound fired my lust like nothing else could. I focused on her words as if my life depended on it. Crex, maybe it did. “Yeah, I get that.” She ran a hand through her hair, then across her neck. “But now you’re askingmeto leave you behind.”
“Sweetie,” the rebel fighter had a glint in\ her eye I didn’t like, “I’m not asking.” Without warning, she pushed the Terran into me and swiped at the control panel. The door between us shut tight. “I’m sorry!” she shouted from the opposite side of the door. “Don’t hate me. Be safe!”
“Jadara!” My pajuara dove out of my arms and straight for the door. “Don’t do this!”
With no controls on this side, it was a done deal. The door’s construction was the same design as the floor and walls. Even my Valkar axe, made of the toughest material in the universe, would take time to break through it. And time we didn’t have.
“Until the stars align…” Jadara placed her palm against the door’s solitary window. It was no bigger than her hand, and she curled her fingers at the top. “And we meet again.”
“We’d better, Jadara!” My Terran let the tears spill from her eyes, and it cracked something inside me. She placed her palm against her friend’s hand, the thick glass between them. “Or the stars will not be able to help you from me.”
The rebel fighter laughed at that, then took off. The hole she left behind in my pajuara’s heart was apparent. Although I dared not come in-between a true friendship, for I knew the immeasurable value of it, I vowed to be the balm that healed my Terran. “Come now, pajuara. We must go.”
The deepest parts of my spirit called to this female. I had to get her to safety, and I had to know her name. It was only the black hole centered in my chest that stopped me from asking. For I suspected something I dared not hope for. To be denied it would push me into the void. My kedara raged at the thought, my life’s blood coursing through me, but it would not change fate. If the Terran was not mine, I would be lost.
Forever.
