6. Lis

6

LIS

S he was trapped again, this time strapped to a flat surface and wearing something light that crinkled when she moved. Something not her spacesuit. Entombed, sealed in a smooth dome covered in blinking patterns of colorful light. Her breath puffed out in short bursts as she fought back panic.

Flailing, she yanked at the wide bindings on her wrists and ankles. Who put her here? What did they want? She needed to get out of here.

Last thing she remembered was getting verbal confirmation of the absolute SNAFU her life had become and passing out in the hot alien's arms. An image of Nox, scarred, leather-clad and sexy as hell, popped into her brain, watching her with wicked intensity. Well, fuck , she thought. Now my heart's racing for a different reason . If she'd met him in a bar back home, she absolutely would have finished off the night in his bed.

But this was a different planet. A different galaxy. Did they even have bars here? They had to, right? After all, what sentient being didn't need a drink after a shitty day?

Her ping-ponging thoughts were not helping the situation. She needed to focus. She'd landed a next-gen F-35 Lightning IV with a blown engine on an aircraft carrier in the middle of a typhoon. Hell, she crash landed an experimental aircraft on an alien planet, for fuck's sake. Remember your training, Lis , she reminded herself. She took several slow, deep breaths and wiggled her toes and fingers to push back the stress reaction.

Raising her voice, she said, "Hey, anyone there? Let me out."

The tube's lights dimmed. With a sharp click, a line split the tube down the middle, the curved slides folding beneath the slab with a quiet whirr.

And waiting for her in what looked like a high-tech hospital room was the hot alien. Nox. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach as a pulse of heat shot through her at the mere sight of him. She blinked, nonplussed.

"You're awake. Thank the gods." Nox rose from the chair at her side and stretched out a hand as if he was about to touch her. Clearing his throat, he pulled back, curling his fingers. "How are you feeling?"

"A bit like a sacrificial lamb here." She tugged at the bindings fastened to her wrist.

"Ah," he said, noting her dilemma. "I've got you." Leaning over her, a hand braced by her shoulder, he reached behind her head, his tight black shirt riding up to flash some impressive abdominal muscles.

Her mouth may have watered a little.

An odd whooshing sound preceded a light, feminine voice. "Sorry about that." The speaker bustled around the room, opening drawers and rattling things. "Sometimes when patients come out of a medi-bed treatment, they're disoriented. The straps are there to ensure they don't re-injure themselves." The straps clicked off, retracting into the slab.

Nox leaned close, his head inches from hers as he loomed over her. "You okay?" he asked, concern in his dark green eyes.

The smell of him invaded her senses, worn leather blending with a scent she couldn't quite place. It felt like home. Tears prickled against her lids, and she took a shaky breath, drawing him deeper into her lungs.

Remembering he asked her a question, she blinked hard and nodded. "I'm good." Her eyes widened as she did an internal assessment. The pain was gone. "Actually, scratch that. I feel amazing." She felt like she'd had a full eight hours of sleep after a perfect day at the lake — energized, sharp, and back to her old self. An idealized version, even.

She reached up a hand and cupped his face. "Why do I feel like I know you?" she whispered.

He tipped his head, nuzzling against her hand, the light rasp of his stubble tickling her palm.

Suddenly feeling far too vulnerable, she grabbed his arms, using him as leverage to sit up on the slab. The too-large hospital gown slid off a shoulder. His eye flicked down then back up, but otherwise, he didn't move, his big body caging hers, surrounding her with his intoxicating scent and welcome warmth. His rock-hard biceps flexed beneath her touch. Surreptitiously, she took another deep breath, filling her lungs with the smell of him, the last of her tension draining away.

He put a hand on her bare shoulder, his thumb stroking her collarbone as he looked at her with concern in those deep green eyes of his. "I don't think you should be moving yet."

The other person in the room spoke up. "It's fine, Nox." A tall, curvy woman with dark copper skin, her shining black hair twisted up in a sensible knot on the top of her head, bustled into view. "You got her stabilized and brought her here. Between that and her time in the medi-bed, I have no doubt she can handle sitting up all by herself." She bumped Nox aside with her hip and inserted herself between them.

"Good evening, Lis. I'm Sona," she said, a steady hand at Lis's elbow as she swung her bare legs over the side of the table. "Or Doctor Vedure, if you prefer formality." She flashed a light in Lis's eyes with a satisfied hum. Sona then double-tapped her wrist, hologram with text Lis couldn't read popped up to hover over her palm.

The short gown crinkled as Lis reached out and poked at the image. It didn't so much as flicker. "Oh, that's cool."

She gave Lis a wide smile. "That's right. You're not from around here. Am I right to assume you don't have comms like this?"

"Not from around here." A laugh huffed out of Lis. "You could say that. And no. My people's tech is not nearly as advanced as this. In fact, I'm the first person to leave our solar system, much less our galaxy." She peered over Sona's shoulder at Nox. He leaned against a wall, his arms folded, his gaze intent as he watched Sona do her doctorly things. "And I'm guessing, since you've never heard of the Milky Way or Earth, there really is no way for me to go home?" She asked, a note of hope in her voice.

Nox's brows snapped together, clashing like thunderclouds. "No. You cannot leave."

With a slow nod at her new reality, she said, "Okay."

It wasn't okay, not really, but she had to deal with it, didn't she? She swallowed the lump in her throat, thinking about everything she'd miss. When she accepted the mission, she'd prepared for the high probability of never returning home. Now, faced with the cold, hard truth, she had to say it sucked. Hard.

"Nox. You can't say it that way. She's just lost everyone and everything she's familiar with," Sona scolded, throwing a dark look over her shoulder at Nox as she dismissed the holo. "Have some compassion."

He growled.

"It's okay, Sona. I appreciate bad news delivered in the bluntest way possible," she said dryly, her gaze flicking to Nox, who raised an eyebrow.

Sona snorted and gave her hand a squeeze. "You're taking this much better than I would in your place." Her grip tightened. "I don't think I would do well without my family, even though they drive me crazy sometimes."

"My family's gone. Long time ago," Lis said, waving away Sona's gasp of dismay and Nox's low grunt. "No pets, no significant other, either. I'll miss my friends, though."

Yeah, that part really sucked. Her heart ached at the loss of her close-knit crew. They'd served together, shifted into civilian life together, and three of the five of them worked at the same company as test pilots. They were the family she created after her parents died. And now they were a bazillion-plus miles away.

But a new spark ignited in her at the thought of discovering all this new galaxy had to offer. A feast of novelty and unfamiliarity. It wouldn't replace the friends she'd left behind, but it could be a hell of a lot of fun.

"Memories of your time together will remain forever yours." Sona cocked her head. "You know, if you need a friend, I've got an opening."

She brightened, grinning at Sona. "Sweet. My first alien friend."

"Hey, mine, too." Sona smiled back.

"In my culture, in order to properly cement our bonds of friendship, we need to get drunk together." A terrible thought occurred to her. "You do have alcoholic beverages in this galaxy, right? Please say yes because if not, I'll be really sad." There was nothing quite like a cold beer after a hard day, and she suspected this galaxy would send plenty of those her way as she learned to navigate it.

"Absolutely we do. To both the drinking and the getting drunk. I'm in." Sona's firm nod knocked her tidy bun askew. "And I want to hear about your human men. Are they as much a pain in the ass as the ones in this corner of the universe?"

"I wouldn't doubt it," she said with a grin.

Nox cleared his throat. "Doctor, if you are quite finished," he said, his words stiffly formal, impatience radiating off him.

Lis quirked an eyebrow at him. "Pretty sure we're just getting started."

Sona snickered. "Oh, my sisters are going to love you." With a brisk pat on Lis's knee, she said, "You're pretty much back to full health. We boosted your immune system to help acclimatize your system and added blockers to prevent the spread of viruses your body carries. The medi-bed also removed a worrying amount of toxins from your body, including heavy metals and a variety of chemicals."

"Yeah, I'm not surprised," she said, shifting on the uncomfortable slab as she tried to scoot the crinkly gown back down over her bare butt cheeks. "We're not taking such great care of our planet, and us humans tend to be drawn towards things that aren't good for us like pizza and french fries. But thanks for cleaning up the toxic sludge poisoning my body."

Now that Lis was healed and safe, she couldn't stop thinking about grabbing a hot shower, slipping on some comfy clothes, and finding something to eat. She needed all three of those things in any order she could get them. Ooh, a hot plate of crispy french fries and a well-seasoned, medium rare steak was calling her name, though she didn't hold out much hope for food options. They probably had super-nutritious food cubes or some such scifi nonsense.

"You can thank Nox for bringing you here," Sona said, the door sliding open automatically at her approach. "He insisted on only the best for his mate."

Lost in her comfort-seeking thoughts, it took a second for that last bit to penetrate her brain. Her head snapped up, her gaze narrowing in on Nox. "His what now?"

He pushed off the wall, glowering at Sona, a growl rumbling in his chest.

"Oops?" she said, giving Lis a wink before darting out of the room.