Chapter 3
Maya
Maya could not tear her eyes away from the sexy Tallean who just fished her out of the swamp.
He was lean, maybe almost too lean, and every muscle showed plenty of definition.
Sharp fangs poked out under curved lips with a gleam.
His cheek creases, a feature that let Talleans extend their jaws when they went into an altered state called bloodlust, echoed the line of his chiseled jaw.
Several old scars marred the soft leather texture of his tanned skin.
But it was the way he looked at her with his dark green, almost black eyes—like he wanted to eat her up alive—that had her pulse quickening. It was hot and hungry, and she swore it could strip her clothes right off where she stood. Her skin prickled, and heat rushed through her.
For a moment, it felt like she was the only woman in the entire universe.
That wouldn’t be so bad, would it? As long as this sexy beast was the only man?
She shook herself out of it. What the hell was she even thinking? She didn’t even know this guy. He could be a slaver for all she knew. She wasn’t on Reka 5 anymore, where it was relatively safe for a lone human female.
Maya swallowed, her eyes drifting over the scars on his face and down to his broad shoulders and chest. He looked dangerous. This wasn’t some pampered son of a merchant, but someone who’d lived a life of violence. And what was he doing out here in the middle of a bog anyway?
Her sexy savior could be a pirate for all she knew, ready to sell her right back to the Dominion.
It was Commander Chaos’s snarl that finally broke the spell, making her realize that she was still plastered to the stranger’s chest and covered from chest to toes in muck. In fact, she and her four-legged friend had managed to get stinky mud all over their rescuer.
She shoved herself away from the stranger, and they separated with a wet plop of mud.
Eww.
But there was no time to worry about that now, because Commander Chaos was making that huffing sound he made right before he—
Too late! The muddy fluffball lunged at their rescuer, his teeth bared. He might still be just a baby, but dragus teeth were sharp as fuck. Then he bit down on their rescuer’s boots.
Tallean footwear always had an opening in the front for their curved claws, and Maya was sure Commander Chaos’s teeth had made contact with one of her sexy savior’s toes. The alien moved, lifting his arms, and for a split second, Maya was sure he was going to hit the dragus pup off himself.
“Noooo!” Maya reached to protect the pup.
But all their rescuer did was pick him up by the scruff and lift him up to face height.
Commander Chaos hissed and snarled, swiping at him ineffectively with his little claws.
“You’re a vicious little thing, aren’t you?” His voice was deep and resonant, but it didn’t hide his amusement at the creature struggling in front of him. “You’d be cute if you weren’t covered in mud.”
Maya nearly collapsed in relief. She didn’t know what she’d do if the stranger had yeeted Chaos back into the swamp, or worse.
“I’m sorry,” she said, taking the struggling dragus pup from him. “He was trying to protect me.”
The Tallean glanced at her inquisitively. “I am Ranek. Who are you?”
Ranek. Well, at least she had a name now, and didn’t need to mentally refer to him as her “sexy savior” the whole time.
“Maya.” She stuck out her hand.
Handshaking was a human thing, but many of the Talleans on Reka 5 where she lived had picked up the habit. Ranek just stared at her hand like he didn’t know what to do. Okay… so he wasn’t from Reka 5. There went that hope.
Maya was pulling her hand back when Ranek suddenly grabbed it, making her gasp. He didn’t shake her hand, though; he just held it.
“Maya. You will tell me your story. But first, we must get to shelter before the flying creatures return. My shuttle is nearby. Follow me.”
He turned and started into the trees.
“Wait! I’m supposed to stay by the pod!”
“The pod is sunk, and we need to leave now.” He continued moving, pulling her along as she held onto her dragus pup in one arm.
She glanced over at the hunk of metal in the middle of the bog.
It was mostly sunken by now. Good thing she’d hauled the supplies along, though; she was certain that everything was covered in mud by now.
So far, everything she was told the escape pod would do had not actually happened.
How would she know if it actually transmitted her location?
But it was the shrill cry and the shape of three flying reptilians that had her making up her mind for good. Those things were coming back, and she didn’t want to be around when they got here.
It turned out his shuttle was really nearby.
It was the type of shuttle meant for short flights between nearby planets.
The craft had seen better days, but by the fancy gold-colored gilding on some of the details, it was clear that it had once belonged to a merchant.
Clearly, that was in the past, because this Tallean was no merchant; he wasn’t wearing nearly enough gold or jewels.
He hadn’t stolen this ship, had he?
She narrowed her eyes at him, her question unasked, as he opened the hatch and gestured for her to enter.
Inside, she was greeted by a mix of practicality and wear.
The walls still bore faint traces of decorative filigree, but they were dulled by years of neglect, their golden trim chipped and tarnished.
Both sides of the shuttle were piled high with crates, strapped down to the floor with cables and nets. The floor was worn and covered in scuff marks from boots and claws.
But while it was rundown and worn, there was no stink of unwashed bodies, which was more than she could say for the delivery ship she’d recently escaped.
That ship had smelled like the inside of a high school locker room.
Here, there was the faint scent of oil and metal, clean, and mingling with something pleasant, a perfume or cologne.
She’d smelled that somewhere before, but where?
Toward the front, the shuttle narrowed into a space filled with mismatched panels and blinking lights.
Some of the controls were clearly original, ornate and gold, almost too fancy to be on a shuttle, while others had been swapped out with utilitarian replacements.
Only one set of the original seats were left, and they’d been recently reupholstered.
The rest had been removed to accommodate all the crates.
Clearly, Ranek did what he could to care for this shuttle, regardless of how he’d acquired it.
Maya stood awkwardly, trying not to get mud everywhere. But it was nearly impossible, especially with Commander Chaos wriggling to be let down in her arms. They were both caked and dripping. She stared at the puddle of muddy water under her feet in dismay.
“Sit,” Ranek said, taking her by her shoulder and moving her to the seat.
“But the mud!”
“It will clean off. We must head back to the mining station now, before the skies are filled with those creatures. There is a working cleansing unit in the infirmary.”
Mining station?
“You look confused.”
“I am,” she said honestly. “I wasn’t aware there were any mines in New Rhea.”
He frowned, the expression making him look even more terrifying. “You’re not on New Rhea.”
“So that pod was dicking with me.” She knew it.
He continued to frown at her words. “My translator must be acting up; pods do not have dicks. But you will explain everything to me when we are safe.”
She sat, and Ranek took the dragus pup from her. Too surprised, Commander Chaos didn’t even manage to complain before he was plonked down onto the seat next to her. Then Ranek knelt down in front of her, getting right up in her space.
Her heart rate sped up, and she was suddenly very aware that she was alone with a predator, one that had already told her he thought she smelled tasty. She shrank back in her seat, wishing she could disappear into it. But all he did was reach for the harness and buckle her in.
Then he was climbing over the crates to the front and starting the shuttle.
Ranek
Ranek swerved to the side, avoiding yet another set of airborne claws. He’d made a mistake believing the creatures had left, but the second he’d lifted into the air, they’d been there waiting for him. Their best bet was to get back to the mining station and stay there till morning.
Spotting the abandoned building, he angled down for the landing. The shuttle, old and not made for this kind of flying, especially with such a heavy load, creaked at the sudden shift. Maya gasped behind him.
He turned, their eyes meeting over the strapped-down crates, and the barely hidden panic he saw in them had his chest aching. “Hold onto the dragus. The landing will be rough.”
There was a small sound of acknowledgement as Maya clutched the little dragus pup to her chest.
The scent of fear coming from the human female had Ranek’s protective instincts all riled up.
He wanted to destroy whatever was making her wary.
And failing that, he wanted to hold her in his arms and distract her until he was the only thing she could think about. But currently, he could do neither.
She didn’t trust him, and he didn’t blame her.
They were on a planet known to be a pirate’s hideout, and he doubted any of them would have good intentions when it came to her.
Stars, he didn’t even have good intentions himself.
He wanted to strip her naked, bend her over, and fuck her until she was crying his name.
But unlike the pirates, he’d want her to enjoy it.
But even more than that, he wanted to claim her and keep her safe.
This must be the universe telling him she would make a good partner of convenience.
If Ranek didn’t already know that his mate was long dead, he would’ve thought it was a budding mate bond.
Stars, he had thought it was for a few moments before logic had won out.
If she couldn’t be his mate, then he’d have to make sure she’d become the next best thing.
Partnerships of convenience weren’t held as highly as true mate bonds, but they were sometimes just as strong.
While the name wasn’t particularly romantic, the reasoning behind it was, unless it was for financial or business reasons.
It usually meant two people were so devoted to one another that they chose to stay together as false mates. Many in partnerships actively avoided meeting new people out of fear of finding their mates in someone else.
Ranek would never have to worry about that if he decided to form a partnership of convenience with anyone. He was just very confused why his body kept insisting it be this random human female he’d fished out of a swamp.
Ranek set the shuttle down just outside the mining station, and for a moment, silence filled the cabin. Then the whole shuttle shuddered, vibrations rolling through the floor and walls, rattling the panels.
“What’s going on?” Maya’s voice shook as she looked around the shuttle, her hands reaching for the harness buckle.
“They are attacking the shuttle.” Ranek made his way to the back, suppressing a grin at the frustrated but adorable face she made, clearly not knowing the trick on how to release the harness. He reached for the harness. “Let me help you.”
She threw her hands up, clearly done with it. “If they’re attacking the shuttle, then why are you so calm?”
“The sonar weapon will give us a chance, but only for a short time.” The buckle released, and Ranek snatched his hand away just as the feisty little dragus pup snapped at him with its small but sharp teeth. The human female did not trust him, but the pup trusted him even less.
“They’ve already felt it once, so they won’t scatter as far, but all we have to do is reach the station door. It isn’t far. If we move fast, we’ll make it. When I say run, run.”
Maya clutched the pup squirming against her chest tighter, her chin lifting in determination. “Okay,” she whispered. “Let’s do this.”