Harper
Obviously, our rescue ship was not meant to carry this many passengers. All of us that would have been sold at the auction were placed spread through three different spaces, the mess hall, a conference room and a gym. I was in the conference room with Kyanna Guryon and the other four Earth women. We sat at a long table while some soldiers passed around food and drink that was marginally better than what the slavers gave us. No one complained though. It was evident that this was the same food they ate. It stopped the gnawing in my stomach and quenched my thirst.
I didn’t know where we were going or when we would get there. I was just so glad not to be sold into slavery, I couldn’t worry about it. Maybe that’s why the room full of women was so quiet. We were all just letting it sink in.
We had been in there for about an hour when a young man in a soldier uniform came in through the sliding door. “Harper Avery,” he called.
“Here.” I raised my hand and waved.
“Come with me please,” he motioned.
I frowned, wondering what this means, and slowly pushed back my chair and stood up. The other women were all looking at me a bit apprehensively, like maybe I was going to be punished for something. That didn’t make sense. This was not the slavers’ ship.
I shrugged and followed the young soldier out into the corridor.
“What is this about?” I asked him when the door closed behind us.
“I don’t know,” he replied, “the Commander told me to bring you to him.”
“Oh,” I said, suddenly nervous. That look that passed between us meant something. What if I had escaped one kind of slavery for another? There was little time to speculate. It took about a minute and a half to get to the commander’s door. It opened automatically when the soldier stood in front of it. He stepped aside and motioned for me to enter.
To my relief, it was an office, not a bedroom---not that I wouldn’t entertain bedroom thoughts about the sexy commander. His back was to the door when I stepped inside. He was now dressed in the uniform of his company---dark green trousers with multiple pockets and a long sleeved shirt that fastened up the front by invisible closures. There was a barred insignia across his right breast pocket and on his right sleeve at the top of his muscular arm.
I stood inside the door, clasping my hands in front of me, embarrassingly cognizant I was wearing a thin white dress that did little to hide my nudity underneath. He certainly cut a fine masculine figure from behind, broad shoulders, rippled muscles in his broad back, tight ass, and sculpted legs and arms. He was big, too. I’m 5’8” and he was head and shoulders taller than me.
He turned around and gave me a slow, appreciative smile. The air should have been crackling with the intensity of the attraction that flashed between us. My body told me I wanted him before my mind even registered the thought. This man was dangerous in more ways than one. From the look in his eyes, it must have shown on my face.
“You feel it, too,” he said bluntly.
I swallowed and nodded. There was no use denying it. He could probably see my nipples poking against the thin fabric covering them. I hoped he couldn’t smell the wetness between my thighs. This was crazy. He was an alien, a freaking light blue alien with fluorescent yellow hair.
“It means you are my soul mate, my fated mate.”
He was dead serious.
“I don’t know how I’m supposed to take that. We definitely have chemistry. Does that mean we hookup tonight and live happily ever after? I don’t even know you or if we are even the same species.” I was just saying anything that popped into my head.
“We are genetically compatible, or we wouldn’t have the awareness between us. The scent of your arousal is irresistible,” he said evenly.
No way could I deny I was aroused, but my mind and body were at odds. For a change I didn’t have any snappy comeback. I just stood there looking at him---drinking in the mouthwatering sight of him. If he pushed it, I didn‘t know if I could resist temptation.
He crossed the room and stopped barely two feet in front of me. I looked up at him mainly because he was too close to ignore, trying to figure out his intent. He gently gripped my upper arms, and slid his hands down to take mine in his.
“Harper Avery from the planet Dirt, I wish to bond with you and become your mate,” he said, looking into my eyes earnestly. Then he lifted one hand then the other to his lips and kissed the backs of them.
“I—I it’s not the planet Dirt,” I asserted. “That’s only one definition of earth. It’s planet Earth, our world the ground we walk on---and I was hoping to go back there. It’s my home.”
“There is a problem getting you back to your world. We don’t know where this planet D---Earth is located,” he explained. “Can you tell me where it’s located?”
I sighed, disappointed. “Probably not so you can find it. It’s on the rim of the galaxy, in a system of nine planets with a yellow sun. Earth is the third planet about 93 million miles from the sun we call Sol. There is some debate as to whether the ninth planet is a planet or a moon because it’s so small.” I explained. “And that probably doesn’t narrow it down at all for you.”
“It doesn’t,” he looked apologetic, and oh so sexy. “We didn’t take any of the slavers into custody or hack their data. We only copied the data from the auction house. There are too many variables to determine the course they took to from your world to Ursaga and whether they took a direct route. That leaves a huge piece of the galaxy to search.”
“And if I don’t want to become your mate?”
At first, he looked like I had slapped his face, then a glint of understanding flickered in his violet eyes.
“It is, of course, your choice. I am asking for you to know me better before you decide,” he said carefully.
I smiled up at him. “Right answer.”
He let my hands go and cupped his hands around my face. His kiss was gentle at first, but heated up quickly once he slid his tongue into my mouth. Sparks of desire seemed to crash through my whole body. I so wanted to lean into his incredible body, but we were heating up fast enough. I just rested my hands on his waist, keeping the space between us. Had he not been a man of honor, we might have ended up doing the deed on his desk.
By the time he ended the kiss, I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist him. I’m sure he knew that from how I responded to his kiss. I don’t think I had ever been kissed that thoroughly or that well. When he finally ended the kiss, abate reluctantly, I felt stunned by my attraction to him. We simply stood there staring at each other like we had both forgotten how to string words together that made any sense.
Maybe there was a little hint of triumph in his eyes, daring me to deny the smoking hot chemistry between us. But I’m not that good a liar.
He stroked my cheeks with his thumbs. He seemed about to kiss me again, at least I was hoping when the ship jerked and we were nearly knocked to the deck. Alarms started going off and there was an announcement for personnel to go to various places. OMG! We were under attack just like on Star Trek.
“I have to go,” Zared said. “I will take you back to the others on my way.”
He took my hand and I followed him into the corridor back to the conference room.
“Tell the others to stay seated. We are under attack. The chairs are anchored to the deck automatically. You will be safe in there. I will come back for you as soon as I can.”
He was gone before the door finished closing in front of me. The other women inside looked as scared as I felt. We could only guess that the Ursagans didn’t appreciate these mercenaries stealing all the slaves from the auction house. I hoped our guns were bigger and better than theirs---or at least our ship was faster.