Page 5 of Protected By the Alien Mercenary

I had absolutely no idea what was going on, my head spinning from the sudden shift. Whatever was going on, it was making Thar’oc bristle with aggression, so it couldn’t be anything good. I rolled from the bed and located the stupid catsuit that I’d tossed on the floor last night. Even though it was much more comfortable to just wear his shirt and my panties, I didn’t fancy going anywhere without pants.

By the time I’d shimmied into the skintight black fabric, I could hear what my mercenary had. Voices outside our door, and then a fist pounding loudly on the panel. I didn’t know who or what that was, but it had to be bad news in a place like this. I didn’t think we could hope for a visit from some of Thar’oc’s mercenary friends.

I yanked the shirt I’d worn all night back over my head to cover up the skintight suit at least a little. Wriggling my toes in the tight pair of high-heeled boots that went with the outfit. My mercenary looked exactly like he had last night, not a hair out of place, his body moving with confidence as he pulled things from the large duffel bag that had been in the room already.

“Put this on, tiny Rikki,” he said, his hands moving quickly to tuck a pair of dark glasses over my eyes. His fingers brushed gently along my cheeks, his eyes serious. I thought that maybe he wanted to lean in and kiss me again, but more pounding from the door stopped him. He turned, a round device clutched in his fingers. “Cover your ears, and count to ten.”

His tail swished behind his back, the knife at the tip back in place, and a wild grin split his face. I ducked into the corner and started counting. He looked like he was having a great time, while fear practically paralyzed me. His hand moved, opening the door to our room, and at the same time, he tossed something and a bang went off, accompanied by a light show that dazzled me.

Even with the big sunglasses on my face and my hands clutched over my ears, it affected me. My head spun, and my ears were ringing, but I could still focus enough to see what happened next. My heart racing at the sight of the big rhino guy barging through the door like a charging bull. How Thar’oc just danced around him on light feet and used his alien, high-tech pistol to shoot the invader in the back of his head.

As the first body went down, more stumbled inside, urged on by the guy who’d bought me at that auction. I recognized that white-marked face, so similar to a skull drawn on his flesh. How had he found me? I counted at least five more men with weapons, but my mercenary didn’t seem bothered by this. The weird flashbang he’d used had disoriented them, but they recovered faster than I did.

“Where is she? Give her back!” a male shouted petulantly. Nobody paid any attention to that, a full-on brawl raging through the room as the five remaining intruders tried to take care of my mercenary. It was a good thing I’d tucked myself into that corner. In minutes, the bed was a broken crater, the one chair splintered to pieces as Thar’oc threw it into someone, and blood had sprayed across the ceiling and walls.

It looked at first like, even disoriented, five against one was no fair battle. Then the tide changed so suddenly that it took my breath away. My grinning mercenary ducked beneath an arm, his tail slashing, and three of the five just went down. I couldn’t even tell how he’d done that, but it scared the remaining aliens, a purple one and a gray one with wings. They backed off and stumbled out of the room, chasing after their fleeing boss without a backward glance.

Thar’oc stood victorious over four bodies, blood dripping from a knife in his hand and the tip of his tail. I wasn’t sure what to think of that tail now. It had turned so deadly, but last night it had been so sweet, and so unruly that it had embarrassed the mercenary it was attached to.

“You okay?” he asked, right as I was about to ask him the same thing. There was blood splattered on his arms and probably his armor too, but it was hard to tell because his skin and suit were both black. He shook his head, horns dipping a little as he glanced around at the carnage. I didn’t want to know if he’d just killed four aliens or simply disabled them. A shot to the back of the head had to be fatal, right? But who knew when the alien that received that shot was a giant, two-legged rhinoceros?

“Fine, but we’ve got to go before that douche gets back here with reinforcements.” He picked up his duffel, chucked that weird flashbang thing inside it, and then he held out a hand toward me. His blue eyes glowed, and the longer I hesitated to grab his fingers, the brighter the lines on his skin glowed.

“Where are we going? Police?” I asked. Gingerly, I stepped over a sprawled-out arm, which was disturbingly human-looking. A nice honey tan, five fingers, but the shoulder was dotted with golden swirls. When I took Thar’oc’s hand, his tail curled around my hips, tugging me closer.

He had such a proud, handsome face, his expression a little broody and dark. His hair was wild, streaked with blue, his horns tall and fierce. The thick spirals had been carved with notches rising along the side I noticed; at least a dozen on each horn. “Somewhere safe,” was all he promised me, and I found myself thinking that was good enough. I trusted him to keep his word.

Chapter 6

Thar’oc

She took my hand after she saw me kill. Blood lust was still riding me hard, my heart pumping harshly in my chest. That rich prick had come really close to catching me by surprise in there, and that just wouldn’t do. It was a good thing that the Yengar space station was like a second home. I knew the warren of levels and corridors like the back of my hand.

With my Rikki held to my side by my tail and arm, I hurried us through the busy thoroughfares until I could locate the one door I was after. We needed a quick hideout, away from prying eyes, while I figured out how they’d found Rikki and me at the motel.

At least I was always prepared, my go-bag at the ready. Even if motels were out, we wouldn’t be completely roughing it. Although I didn’t much like the thought of making tiny Rikki sleep in a maintenance tunnel. There were rodents and leaks and beings that dwelled there that shouldn’t ever see the light of day.

“We just need to hide for two days,” I said to the female tucked beneath my arm. The fight was over, but my senses were still wide open. I could taste a hint of her sweetness on my lips and I couldn’t believe that she’d kissed me. That she’d let me take her mouth the way I had, tangling our tongues, touching the delicate curve of her throat. I couldn’t let my thoughts linger in that moment, and I couldn’t let these distractions rule me.

She steadily kept up with my quick pace, her heels tapping against the metal floors of the station. We were getting plenty of stares; even with my shirt covering her to mid-thigh, there was no hiding her beautiful, delicate features. The skintight body suit looked sexy on her, and so did the high heels, but neither could be comfortable to wear.

That was easy to fix. There were vendors everywhere, and when we passed a stall with clothing that might fit her, I paused. “Pick out what you need, quickly,” I said to her, urging her toward the nearest rack of things. Most of it looked like shirts, some made with cutouts for wings, but plenty that were appropriate for her body.

“Really? Are you sure? I can wear this,” she said, an apologetic look on her face. I shrugged a shoulder and yanked the nearest shirt from a hanger to hold it up to her. When she took it from my fingers, I pulled out another, followed by pants. She blushed when I asked the vendor, a grizzled older Tarkan female, to add panties.

She didn’t want to take much from me at all, but not long after; we were on our way again with three much more appropriate sets of clothing. Things that would keep her warm where we were going. We’d also located a pair of ‘sneakers’, as she’d called them, soft-soled shoes with laces. They didn’t offer any ankle support, but I had to admit that it was possibly the only option available at that stall that would fit her. They would be much quieter, and much more comfortable too, so that was a win.

The delay had taken no more than ten minutes, but my back itched as though I could feel eyes on us. I didn’t think the Asrai dandy had located us yet, but we couldn’t be certain. I needed to get us to a safe place quickly. Then I caught the little sniffle of Rikki’s nose as we passed a vendor with pastries, sweet and savory both; their scents overpowered those of the vendor next to it, who sold highly illegal herbs and drugs in plain sight.

“You must be hungry,” I heard myself say, and I was already ordering a bag of food before she could answer or object. Her eyes grew enormous at the sight of the still-hot meat pies and the delicate, crispy, sweet treats. Even over the hubbub of the crowd surging around us, I could hear the sound of her belly rumbling.

“You don’t need to. Clothing, food, the rescue, I can’t ask more of you. I can’t repay you…” She bit her lip, her words trailing off as she headed dangerously close to offering to pay me once again with the only thing she had on offer. I shoved the pastry at the top of the bag I’d bought into her hands, my mouth curling into a snarl at the thought.

“You don’t owe me anything,” I said, my voice rough as it came out. My tail curled more tightly around her hip, pulling her against my body. We were toe to toe. Her hands with the pastry stuck against my chest while I curled my arm around her back to hold her to me. “I get hazard pay. I’m flush. I can afford to buy whatever you need.”

She didn’t take a bite of the food, a frown lowering over her soft brown eyes. “So you just adopted me like a stray pet? Is that it?” She made that sound like it was a bad thing, though I didn’t think it was. She was wrong anyway. I knew she was no pet. I knew exactly what I wanted her to be to me. She’d soon understand that, too. She’d understand that I was exactly the male she needed to take care of her, that it was her right to ask these things of me.

I cupped her chin with my fingers, dipped my head, and then I covered her sweet mouth with mine. I meant for that kiss to just show her that I desired her, that I was her male, but it turned heated and possessive in a flash. I could not get enough of her, and she did not push me away. “It’s not like that,” I growled against her lips.