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.

She pushed against my chest with her free hand, a dazed expression on her face. “Oh no? Then why didn’t you want to sleep with me?” As if I’d personally insulted her by not letting the sex between us become transactional. But I understood what she meant; she didn’t know where she stood yet. This world was crazy and strange to her; it wasn’t safe.

“I do,” I declared fiercely, “Desperately.” I was not afraid to admit that, my tail curling against her hips to press her against mine. There was no mistaking the erection I sported from that kiss, and her eyes went huge as she felt it against her soft belly. “But not like that. I want it freely given, willing. You understand?”

She had no words in response, but I could almost taste the burst of arousal that hit her, her sweet scent growing stronger and tangy. I loved it. I wanted to throw her over my shoulder and pin her to the nearest wall. It was the sound of voices from behind me, loud and excited, that yanked me back to the danger we were in.

Tossing a glance over my shoulder, I spotted the males pushing through the crowd behind us. They hadn’t seen us, so I couldn’t be sure it was us they were after. Pulling her with me, I started weaving us through the crowd, my duffel and our new purchases clutched in one hand, her tiny fist in the other. When the door I was looking for came into view, I breathed a sigh of relief. “Almost there,” I said to her.

The access door led to the warren of narrow tunnels that serviced the station. Many of those doors had been hacked or broken so that those with access could get in. I’d paid good money years ago to gain access to one of these doors; it was an excellent way to get around unnoticed or to hide when you pissed off someone with more manpower than you.

Rikki looked a little worried as I used my stolen code to gain access. The door beeped with a dull green light and then it sprung open with a groan. There were plenty of people giving us stares on the street, but the door was partially hidden behind a dried meat vendor to my left. I pushed her through the door first, risking another glance into the street to see if we were followed.

A shot whined, laser fire whizzing through the air and striking the metal doorpost above my head. I cursed, counting at least five thugs closing in on our position. My pistol was in my hand on reflex, a shot squeezing off that hit the first male in the shoulder and sent him spinning into the crowd. Someone screamed, and the crowd panicked. People started running left and right to duck for cover.

I winged a second male, and then quickly turned to duck through the door after my human. As soon as I was through, the noise of the street died down, and the whine of another laser gun was the last I heard. Then it all disappeared when I shut the door behind us.

It was pitch black in here, so I flicked on the light on my com device. “Now, let me scan you again. I suspect there’s a tracker somewhere on you.” She gasped, her hand flying to her pale throat. I could taste a hint of fear in the air now. She was scared about what this would mean for her. But I had a hunch, and if I was right, it would be good news.

“Will you have to cut it out?” she asked, her voice going a little high and tight. An image flashed before my eyes of her pale skin, cut with a sharp knife, her red human blood dripping from the gash. I growled, the sound fierce and deep as it escaped me.

“No,” I said, “I think it’s in your clothing. I was very thorough last night.” I didn’t mean for that to sound like an innuendo, but when she blushed and chuckled… My mind spun back to kissing her again, my cock eagerly twitching in my pants. It didn’t help that I’d just fought, after-fight energy always made me want to fuck.

Her hand was soft and warm on my shoulder as I ran the handheld scanner from my duffel over the seams of her clothing, then ducked to scan her shoes. There we go, the sole of one of her boots. When I picked up her foot, her hands shot out, and she clasped my horns for balance. Sensation sparked through me, my unruly body going wild for that touch. I didn’t even have a lot of feeling in my damn horns. It was just the image of her using those as handlebars.