Isla

“Oh my god, we’re going to die!” I scream as the little spaceship Yarrel forced us into barrels towards a large blue-green planet.

The ride wasn’t so bad through space. It was a little fast for my taste, like somebody strapped a rocket to our asses, but at least it was smooth. Now that we’ve broken through the atmosphere though, the nose of the ship has dipped down and we’re dropping so fast I swear we’re hurtling towards our deaths.

“Calm, Isla. Remain calm,” Ryock says, trying to soothe me, but his voice sounds strained above all the little beeps and dings of the ship. “Everything will be fine.”

I wish I could see him. I wish I could just look over. But the force of our drop has me pushed so hard into my seat, I can’t find the strength to turn my head.

My body is trapped, and I can do nothing but watch the front screen as the land in front of us grows bigger and bigger.

“Ryock, do you know how to drive this thing? Is there some way to pull it up?” I call over to him.

“No, my star. The ship is on auto-pilot. Any second now we should begin to slow for landing…”

Okay, we’re going to slow down, that’s good. I totally trust him.

I take a deep, calming breath and stare at the window. Waiting, urging the ship to just make it happen already.

After a few more seconds though, it feels like we’re picking up speed.

Shit.

As the tops of the trees become more defined, I know we’re dropping faster.

“Ryock!” I scream just as the ship starts to blast an emergency alarm.

“Warning, engine one malfunction. Disengaging auto-pilot.”

“What?!” I scream in horror.

There’s a click and suddenly the roar coming from the outside quiets. For a moment, it feels like we’re floating in midair.

The nose of the ship tips up and there’s a lull.

Then the nose tips back down and the gravity of the planet begins to once more pull us towards our deaths.

“Remain calm, Isla, please,” Ryock pleads with me as we drop.

“I fucking hate technology!” I scream back.

“Warning, impending impact detected in ninety seconds.”

“It never fucking works right!” I continue to rant. I’m going to die. I know I’m going to fucking die and I’m terrified and pissed. “Especially when you need it!”

If I could kick this damn ship, I would. I’d kick the shit out of it.

“Warning, impending impact detected in thirty seconds. Deploying emergency parachutes.”

There’s a loud whoosh and we’re suddenly jerked back. I’m thankful my head is already glued to the headrest, otherwise I’d be suffering from an extreme case of whiplash on top of hurtling towards my death.

The drop of the ship begins to slow, but it’s not enough. The tops of the trees are still coming for us. It looks like we’re about to crash into a dense forest.

“Warning, impending impact detected in twenty seconds.”

“Ryock!” I scream over the computer.

I wish I could see his face. I wish I could peer into his beautiful eyes one last time before we die.

“Isla!” he roars back.

“Warning, impending impact detected in ten seconds.”

This is it. Oh god, this is it.

“I love you!” I scream, putting it out into the universe so it doesn’t die with me.

The projection fills with leaves.

There’s a loud crack and everything goes black.

* * *

“Isla. Isla,” Ryock’s worried voice pierces through the fog of my unconsciousness.

Slowly, painfully, I start to come to.

“What? What the fuck happened?” I ask, blinking my eyes open.

White. I’m surrounded by white. What the hell? For a moment I have to wonder if I’m actually dead.

There’s a loud ripping sound before the white in front of me splits open.

Ryock’s big beautiful face appears in front of me.

“Ryock!” I cry out and try to reach for him, but I’m still strapped to my chair. All I end up doing is jerking and struggling against my restraints like I’m a helpless child trying to escape her car seat.

A look of relief washes over his face and he reaches out, quickly and easily undoing the fastening of my harness.

“We crash-landed,” he says as the harness slides away and I fall into his arms.

“Oh, ow!” I yelp as his arms wrap around me.

Ryock frowns and his grip immediately gentles. He sets me on my feet and I have to reach out, bracing myself on his chest to keep from falling forward.

The ship, apparently, is tipped forward at a slant.

“Are you injured?” he asks, his face creasing with worry.

We both look down at my body. Everything appears to be as it should be. I’m not missing any limbs, nothing seems to be broken, and the clothes I ‘borrowed’ are still intact.

“Just a little bruised,” I say and reach up to rub at my chest. “Especially here.”

Ryock nods, looking relieved once again. He reaches down and places his big hand on top of mine, purring as he helps me rub my chest. “It’s normal, it’s caused by the harness.”

His hand cups around mine, guiding it in a tender, almost sensual motion.

Breath quickening, I nod my head and have to stop moving my hand. The ache between my breasts is fading quickly and I’m afraid if he keeps rubbing me the way he’s rubbing me, I’m going to start aching in newer, lower places.

His hand remains on top of mine and he stares into my eyes.

“Are you okay?” I ask, growing warm beneath his stare.

“I’m fine,” he purrs deeply, and the vibrations beneath my palm send the most delicious tingles up my arm and down my own chest.

“Oh, that’s right, you heal…” I smile and manage to pull my gaze away.

I take a deep breath.

Jeeze, what is wrong with me? We just crashed and nearly died, yet I’ve got the strongest urge to jump him and try to climb him like a tree…

He purrs again and I can’t stop my fingers from twitching. “Look at me, Isla.”

Now that I can understand him, his voice affects me in a different way. I’m no longer caught up in the strange growls and grunts of his language. No, now I feel every inflection. Every emotion he’s conveying.

I don’t why but I just can’t bring myself to obey his command and lift my eyes.

Perhaps it’s because there’s so much tension in the air between us… or perhaps it’s because I’m feeling extremely self-conscious about what I blurted out while we were crashing.

I told him I loved him… but I only did it in the heat of the moment. I didn’t really mean it…

Did I?

“Isla,” he says, his voice growing huskier and deeper. “You said you—“

Cutting him off before he goes where I really don’t want to go right now, I wave my hand at the fabric surrounding us. “What’s all this white stuff?”

Yeah, I’m a total coward.

Ryock makes a deep sound of displeasure and I sneak a little peek up at him to see him frowning thoughtfully.

I chew on my lip, afraid he’s going to ignore my question and keep pushing me to face what I said.

“The emergency inflatable devices. They deploy to protect us during a crash,” he finally explains.

“Oh, so they’re airbags,” I sigh with relief.

“Yes, they’re… airbags,” he says, drawing the last word out slowly like it’s foreign to him.

That makes sense. Of course, aliens would equip their vehicles with airbags and stuff...

“Escape pods and skiffs are designed with many protective features to protect their passengers. Nearly all escape vehicles crash when they land,” he goes on.

“Wait? What?” I ask, my eyes flying up to his.

His brows pull down. “What about that confuses you?”

“The whole nearly all escape vehicles crash when they land bit.”

Ryock nods his head slowly. “It is to be expected, especially when traveling at high-velocities.”

And I’m starting to feel stupider and stupider by the second.

“So… how much danger were we really in?”

Ryock smiles and his hand squeezes around mine. “Very little, my star.”

Wow. That would have been really nice to know before we started crashing.

I stiffen with the realization that I just totally made an ass out of myself over nothing. No wonder he didn’t seem to be freaking out at all and told me to remain calm.

“Ugh, I feel like a complete idiot,” I groan.

Using my hand, Ryock pulls me closer, and with the slant of the floor I can’t stop myself from leaning into him.

“Many things could have gone wrong,” he says gravely. “Our hull could have been breached by the local foliage. The inflatable devices could have failed to deploy. Our engines could have spontaneously combusted.”

So maybe I wasn’t so stupid after all.

“Okay,” I can’t help but grin up at him. “I feel so much better now.”

Ryock blinks then tips his head back and laughs. It’s the first time I’ve heard him laugh during this entire ordeal, and the rich, booming sound causes my heart to swell with joy even if the sound is a little loud for my ears.

“It is good to know that our potential deaths make you feel better, little one,” he rumbles.

“Yeah, well…” I squirm, uncomfortable with the warmth swelling inside me and the soft affection in his eyes. “Is it just me or is it getting hot in here? How do we get out?”

When in a tough spot, just change the subject. That’s my new motto.

Ryock grins, and I’m not sure how it’s possible but I swear I’m getting the feeling that he knows exactly what I’m doing. “We cut our way out.”

* * *

By cutting our way out, what Ryock really means is that he’s just going to rip every airbag open with his bare hands.

It takes a couple of minutes, but eventually we reach the door. And I get a nice little show in the process.

Ryock not being able to find a shirt that fit him on Yarrel’s ship really plays to my favor. With each grab and pull on the airbags, his muscles ripple gloriously. I find myself entranced by their liquid, rippling movements.

The way he rips the airbags open kind of reminds me of those bulky wrestlers I used to watch when I was a kid. You know, the ones that would roar and tear their shirts off their oily chests.

There’s no roaring on Ryock’s part, and no oil, but damn, I still feel like he should be charging me admission.

“Hot?” Ryock asks with a lift of his brow.

I’m panting. Yes, seriously, I’m panting and flushed. Thankfully, I can blame the heat for it.

“Just a little,” I smile, trying to play it cool.

Ryock nods and shoves the door open. He peeks his head out, glances down, then pulls his head back in. “I’ll go first.”