Chapter 14 #2
Holding a human in each hand, he was the only thing standing between these women and certain death, and he had to hurry. If they were this sensitive to the gas, there was a chance it was harmful to them. Time was critical.
“Fuck,” Rykal growled. He was completely exposed. If a Xargek came across them now…
He had to get the humans out of the shaft. Above him, light filtered in through the door Arin had managed to open before she passed out.
He couldn’t see her face. She was hanging upside down, and his hand was clenched tightly around one of her calves.
If only he could reach the fucking doorway. He needed to be about four rungs up to get there, and he was all but immobilized.
Ah, this was going to be a pain in the ass.
Rykal raised himself up from an upside-down position in an extreme version of a sit-up, his powerful abdominal muscles flexing as he managed to get his torso horizontal.
He slowly extracted one leg from the ladder and planted his foot against the wall.
His knee was bent all the way up, but if he extended his body, he could wedge himself in between the two walls of the shaft.
Taking a deep breath, he removed the other leg from the ladder.
For a moment, he lost his balance and started to slide down, but when he straightened out, planting his other foot against the wall with a sharp crack, he was able to hold.
Of course, he did this while holding onto the two humans. Slowly, he began to climb up the shaft like a Kaiin-cursed Xargek, his back pressed against one wall, his feet firmly planted on the opposite side.
When he reached the open doorway, he gently slung the two women out, briefly dropping back down to retrieve his sword before emerging into a dimly lit corridor.
He breathed in and found that the air was cleaner here, although that putrid-smelling gas was spilling from the shaft’s open doorway. Rykal turned and pulled the door closed.
Exposed to fresh air, Arin began to stir. Rykal sighed in relief. Her friend was responding in the same way, her limbs moving slowly as she started to regain consciousness.
Rykal dropped to his knees beside Arin, gently caressing her cheek with the back of his hand as she moved her head from side to side, mumbling something in human-speak. She began to cough, her chest moving up and down as her breathing became deeper.
She’d lost her jacket back in the comm room, shortly after she’d draped it across his naked loins. It was a nice garment; Rykal had liked how it looked on her. If he had time, Rykal would go back up and retrieve it for her.
Her crystalline eyes flew open, and there was no recognition in them. Her fist flew to his face with a sharp crack, connecting with his nose. Blood started streaming down his face as pain blossomed along the bridge of his nose.
He welcomed the pain, savoring it.
It so rarely ever happened, but she’d surprised him.
“Goddess, you hit hard, woman,” he murmured, his cock feeling as if it were about to crack through the solid plate of his armor.
He tasted blood on his lips and grinned savagely as he licked them.
Arin fought with all her strength as he pinned her down, gently holding her wrists against the floor as he straddled her. “Calm down, Arin. It’s just me.”
Her blue eyes fluttered in confusion. Rykal had seen this before.
Low oxygen states could cause temporary disorientation.
Concern for her overrode his arousal, and he pushed his lustful thoughts aside as he held her down.
He was getting used to being constantly horny anyway, thanks to her mystifying presence.
“It’s just me,” he said again, slowly this time, injecting force into his words.
“You’re safe with me, so relax, ashika.” He leaned in so his face was close to hers, so he could feel her warm breath feathering his cheeks.
“Arin,” he said gently, savoring the taste of her name as it rolled off his tongue. “Relax.”
Eventually, she stopped resisting. Recognition dawned in her eyes. She blinked and went still. “R-Rykal?”
“Yes. It’s only me.”
“Death is everywhere,” she slurred, still not completely herself. “This entire freighter is a floating death-trap, and I’ve become obsessed with him.”
“Who?” Rykal’s voice was sharp. The thought of her becoming besotted with another tickled his fierce killing intent.
“Death,” Arin replied, bringing her hand up to his face. She caressed his cheek with her fingers, bringing them down to Rykal’s lips, which were stained with traces of his own blood. “I never knew death’s smile could be so brilliant.”
Her touch was like a spark, igniting his desire all over again, stoking the conflagration to new heights. He burned with the need to touch her, aching to feel her bare skin against his. He became acutely aware of her body underneath him.
His gaze was drawn to her rising and falling chest, to the sweet creaminess of her bare skin between the molded material of her black suit, to the alluring valley between her generous breasts.
“A-ah.” For once, Rykal was lost for words. All he could manage was a low, strangled expression of pent-up desire.
“Rykal?” she asked again.
“Yes?”
She shook her head, realization dawning on her handsome face. “Oh, shit.” She was fully lucid now, and embarrassment colored her cheeks, quickly covered as she tried to sit up. “Get off me, Rykal.”
“Y-yeah, leave her the fuck alone, Kordolian!”
Rykal looked up. The other human stood over them, pointing a bolt gun at his head. Her arms trembled, and her eyes were wide.
Rykal would usually act with extreme hostility in this kind of situation, but there was something about this scene that was faintly ridiculous, and he was so overwhelmed with Arin’s nearness that he simply laughed. “What are you going to do with that thing, little human?”
“Get the fuck off her, or I’ll shoot.” Her voice wavered, but her aim steadied, as concern for her fellow human overrode her fear.
Rykal raised his eyebrows, put his hands in the air, and slowly rose to his feet. “I’m not going to hurt her, see? Now, may I at least help her up?” He didn’t really know why he was acting so polite. It was probably because he wanted to make a good impression on Arin.
“It’s okay, Riana.” Arin was sitting up now. “Don’t antagonize him. He isn’t our enemy right now.”
“Are you fucking serious, Sarge? He’s killed half our squad.”
Arin sighed, rolling her eyes at Rykal. “Harris is dead, but the others aren’t.”
“Th-they’re alive?” Riana regarded Rykal with a look of pure mistrust. “Are you sure?”
“Have I ever given you bad intel, Riana?”
“Once or twice, maybe…”
“Your memory is too sharp for your own good,” Arin grumbled, getting to her feet without Rykal’s help. “You belong in an infotech development lab, not out here shitkicking with the rest of us.”
Rykal’s comm buzzed. “Ry. If you’re done playing with your humans, can you get your ass down here?”
“You dying, Kail?”
“Nah. But I got another red-stripe in the area, and you’re closest by far.”
“Two in the same vicinity? Where have all these cocksuckers come from?”
“Beats me. Just get your ass down here.”
Rykal hesitated. He didn’t want to leave Arin alone, especially if Xargek were crawling all over the ship. For the first time in longer than he could remember, he was torn and indecisive.
Kail’s grunt of pain diverted his attention. “Hurry up, pretty-boy. I’ve taken a claw through my gut, and this asshole’s at full speed. I can only hold it off for so long. I need some recovery time, or I’m dead in the next two sivs. Consider it one of the two favors you owe me, Ry.”
The line went quiet as Kail terminated the comm.
Rykal swore, turning to Arin. “I have to go,” he said gently.
His brother was in danger, and Rykal knew all too well how quickly the situation could go from bad to catastrophic.
He pulled out his plasma gun and pressed it into her hand.
“I will be back. Use this instead of that flimsy little thing you people call a firearm. Shoot any Xargek larvae you see. If you encounter an adult, get out of there at all costs. Don’t use the elevators.
Don’t use the emergency stairs. Check for bad air before entering any confined space.
Stay safe, Arin Varga. I will come for you. ”
Riana was staring at them in open-mouthed shock. Arin took Rykal’s gun. “Same goes for you, pretty-boy. Don’t worry. We’re on one of the docking levels. No more dodgy stairwells or compromised elevators for us.”
Rykal opened his mouth to protest at the name-calling, but then he realized he liked it when Arin called him that.
“Rykal,” Kail grunted over the comm, sounding like he was at death’s door.
“On my way, brother.” He drank Arin in with a longing gaze. “I’ll ask one of the others to come and map out a safe exit route for your people. Make sure you get your ass onto that evac ship, woman.”
He turned and ran.