Hope for the Alien Warrior (Treasured By the Alien #12)

Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

L uxor’s tail twitched as Felicity’s small hand slipped into his. The contact sent an unwelcome surge of warmth through his chest. He’d done what was necessary, regardless of her approval, and he quickly pushed away the feeling of relief as he led her forward into the hangar.

Carla followed more slowly, her son trailing along at her side, his eyes wide and awed as he took in the huge space.

The stale air carried traces of engine oil and corroded metal. Four vessels sat in various states of disrepair, their hulls dulled under the harsh overhead lights. His gaze swept over a gutted freighter, its engine parts strewn across the floor in a careless array. The transport ship beside it was built for hauling cargo, not speed—too slow to outrun any pursuit.

A mid-sized shuttle caught his eye. Decent range, room for passengers, although maneuverability could be an issue. But the worn paint and patches of rust spoke of questionable maintenance. His lip curled at the sight. The Ruijin treated their ships as carelessly as they treated their captives.

The sleek lines of a personal flyer drew his attention. Small but fast, with clean engines. The hull was in better shape than any of the other ships. The tight quarters would mean close contact with his unexpected companions, but speed trumped comfort.

“That one.”

He started to point at it, then remembered he was still holding Felicity’s hand. He reluctantly released her fingers and strode toward the vessel, the females trailing after him.

Bobby pressed against his mother’s leg as he looked up at the ship.

“It’s kinda small.”

“Small but fast,” he said, and the boy nodded.

“Like me.”

His lips twitched as both females smiled, then focused on the ship. He keyed in an override sequence on the entry pad, grateful that criminal ships tended to use similar security protocols. The hatch slid open with a soft hiss, an easy step up for him but more difficult for the humans.

Nina’s small hand touched his leg. He looked down to find her staring up at him with those solemn eyes. Without thinking, he lifted her into the ship first and made sure she was steady on those tiny legs. Before he could offer his assistance, Carla lifted her son aboard and scrambled up after him.

He turned to Felicity.

“May I?”

When she nodded, he put his hands carefully on either side of her waist. Fuck, she was soft. He could feel her softness through the thin material of her clothing, yielding easily to his touch. His tail curved, seeking that tempting ass, but he restrained himself. She wasn’t for him. As he lifted her into the ship, she smiled at him, and the warmth in his chest expanded.

“We need to hurry.”

His voice sounded hoarse and despite his words, his hands lingered on her skin.

“Yes,” she whispered, but she didn’t pull away, the sweetness of her scent increasing.

He forced himself to release her and climb in after her, then secured the hatch.

Once the lock was in place, he followed her through the airlock into the main cabin. It was a standard layout with the cockpit at the front and a small galley and sanitary facility at the rear. Two chairs on either side of the aisle could be converted into bunks for longer flights. Bobby and his mother had settled into one of the chairs, harness already in place, but Felicity had moved to the front.

When he slid into the pilot’s seat, she settled the co-pilot’s chair, Nina tucked in her lap. He liked the sight of them next to him too much for his comfort.

“The passenger compartment would be safer,” he said gruffly, but she only smiled at him..

“I’d rather stay here.”

She fumbled with the harness one-handed as her scent filled the cramped cockpit. With a silent curse at his own weakness, he reached across to help secure the straps around the two of them. The bare skin of her neck was impossibly silky beneath his fingers as he adjusted the shoulder strap. When he followed it down to the waist strap, the back of his hand brushed across a full breast, and his cock threatened to rise.

Doing his best to ignore it, his fingers traveled across the controls with practiced ease. The ship hummed to life, systems lighting up in sequence, and the engines sprang to life with gratifying speed. At least this ship had been maintained.

Through the viewscreen, the hangar bay doors loomed, sealed tight against the void of space. The control room above sat dark except for the glow of security feeds. If they were lucky, no one was watching the monitors.

“Hold tight.” He powered up the engines, keeping them at minimal thrust. “This next part might get interesting.”

Nina watched him, her dark eyes solemn, but there was no fear on her face, and her trust twisted something deep in his chest.

He keyed in the emergency override sequence—standard on ships that needed quick getaways. The hangar doors groaned, metal scraping against metal as they began to part, red lights strobing across the bay.

His hands tightened on the controls. Now they’d see if anyone was paying attention to those security feeds. As soon as the gap between the doors widened, he guided the ship out into the emptiness beyond. His instincts screamed danger even before the first chunk of rock appeared in his viewport.

An asteroid field. Fuck.

The proximity alarm shrieked. His hands flew across the controls, but the first impact rocked the small craft before he could adjust course. The hull groaned. Someone gasped—Carla or Felicity, he couldn’t tell.

Another rock clipped their port side. Warning lights flashed across his console—shield integrity dropping, power fluctuations in the starboard engine. He wrestled with the controls, trying to compensate for the damaged thruster.

The ship lurched, spinning sideways. His muscles strained as he fought to stabilize their trajectory. They weren’t going to last long with compromised shields and engines. The asteroid field stretched out before them, a deadly maze of tumbling rock and ice. The one bright spot about the dangerous area was that if the Ruijin ship had noticed their departure, they were unlikely to follow them into it.

“Status report,” he barked at the computer. Numbers scrolled across his screen—none of them good. The impact had torn through their shield generator and cracked one of the primary power conduits. They were running on auxiliary power, bleeding energy with every passing second.

The ship shuddered, fighting his commands. His hands tightened on the controls until his knuckles ached. They needed somewhere to set down, make repairs. He scanned the nearest systems as he did his best to keep the ship steady. The damaged thruster made every minor course correction a battle. His tail twitched with each wobble of the craft, counterbalancing their unstable flight path.

The nav computer blinked, highlighting a small planetoid. Class M atmosphere, no settlements or beacons. Perfect. The readout showed minimal geological activity and enough resources to affect repairs. At their current speed—and assuming the damaged engine didn’t fail completely—they’d reach it in twenty-six hours.

He punched in the coordinates, but the autopilot remained dark. The impact must have severed the connection to the guidance systems. Fuck. Twenty-six hours of manual piloting. He’d done worse, but never with passengers depending on him.

The ship groaned as he adjusted their heading. The sound of metal stress echoed through the cabin, followed by Bobby’s whimper from the back. He needed to check the full damage report, but leaving the controls even for a moment wasn’t an option until they were clear of the asteroid field. He checked the shield capacity. Thirty-two percent. They couldn’t take another direct hit. Power capacity was still at sixty-five percent—worse than he’d hoped, better than he’d feared. They’d make it to the planet if he was careful.

“How bad is it?” she asked quietly.

“It is not good, but I should be able to fix it once we land.” His tail curled around the edge of his seat as he made another course correction. “A day’s journey, perhaps a little more. I will need to stay here until then.”

After what felt like an eternity later but was actually less than an hour, he breathed a sigh of relief.

“We are out of the asteroid field. You can move around now if you would like.”

She nodded and fumbled with the harness. He was immediately distracted by the memory of her skin beneath his, the tempting swell of her breasts. If only her clothing had not covered most of her body… A sudden vision of her strapped to the chair completely naked danced through his mind and he swore as the ship jerked. He quickly wrestled it back under control, cursing his distraction.

“I can tell it’s going to be a bumpy ride,” she said, seemingly undisturbed by the movement.

She smiled at him as she left the cockpit, and soon unfamiliar sounds filled the ship. Footsteps, chatter, the rustle of movement—all so foreign to his usual solitary flights. The domesticity of it all should have set his teeth on edge. Instead, his shoulders relaxed fractionally with each passing moment. Even his tail, usually rigid with tension during difficult flights, swayed in a more natural rhythm.

“The food synthesizer is in the wall panel to your left,” he called back, keeping his eyes fixed on the viewscreen. “Press the green square, then the image of what you want.”

“Thank you.” Her voice carried a warmth he wasn’t used to hearing directed at him.

More movement, the soft whir of the synthesizer, then quiet murmurs as they ate. His own hunger gnawed at him, but he couldn’t risk leaving the controls. The damaged thruster required constant compensation.

“Here. You need to eat too.” Felicity appeared at his side, holding out a plate of steaming food. “The pictures weren’t much help but I think it’s some kind of noodles.”

His first instinct was to refuse—he’d gone longer without food—but the genuine concern in her voice made him pause.

“I can’t. I have to keep a hand on the controls,” he said gruffly.

“Then I’ll help.” She twirled the noodles around the utensil and held it out. “Open up.”

His pride warred with practicality. And hunger. He finally sighed and opened his mouth.

Her eyes sparkled as she fed him, and his tail twitched. She seemed to enjoy… caring for him. The warmth that he’d been fighting since he first saw her rushed through him again. He kept his eyes on the controls, but his peripheral vision was sharp. He couldn’t help watching her as she fed him, the graceful movements of her body, the soft curve of her breasts under the thin shirt. His tail twitched again and he forced it to curl around the seat.

When the plate was empty, she disappeared again, and returned with a cup of water. She held the cup for him and he gulped down the contents eagerly, then thanked her. The ship felt very quiet when she left the cockpit, despite the constant hum of the engines and the sound of the children playing. The silence settled over him, as cold and unwelcoming as the expanse of space stretching out beyond the viewport.

He’d thought he was used to the solitude of his life, but now he missed her presence. He wanted her here, close to him.

The cabin gradually grew quiet as well and his sensitive hearing picked up the quiet rhythm of sleep. Then soft footsteps interrupted the quiet, her scent reaching him just before she reappeared.

“Hi. Do you mind if I join you for a little while?”

He should tell her no, send her away before his attraction to her became any more obvious. Instead, he found himself nodding.

She took the seat next to him, her face tired but determined.

“I thought you could use some company.”

“I am not used to having others on board a ship with me.” The admission escaped him before he could stop it, and he braced himself for her response. For her pity. She only nodded thoughtfully.

“Do you fly a lot?”

“Yes. I am a trader. I move cargo from one place to another.”

Sometimes legal, sometimes not, but she didn’t need to know the details.

“No crew? No family?”

“I work alone, and I lost my family to the Red Death.”

And lost his world not long after. He pushed aside the familiar ache of the betrayal.

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Her face softened—not pity, but compassion. “It must have been awful.”

“It was,” he said shortly, and changed the subject. “How did you come to be here?”

“Lauren and I were walking home from a party when we were taken by the Vedeckians.”

His tail flicked. There was that name again. Lauren.

“Lauren is your companion?” he asked carefully.

“She’s my best friend—my very pregnant best friend. The escape pods were only big enough for one person and we were separated. I have to find her.”

She? Relief flooded him before he could prevent it.

“Maybe you could help me?” she added hopefully and his chest tightened.

No one had looked at him like that in years, perhaps ever, as if he could fix anything.

“I do not know,” he said reluctantly. “But I will try.”

“Thank you.”

She beamed at him and squeezed his tail happily. He hadn’t realized until that moment that it was wrapped around her waist again, but the feel of those small fingers against his sensitive flesh was electric. His cock stiffened, his tail tightening to draw her closer before he got it under control. Something he couldn’t read flashed across her face, but then she stifled a yawn, and he seized the chance to change the subject.

“You need sleep.”

“I’m fine.”

“Captain’s order,” he said firmly, his lips curving when she nodded.

“Aye aye, Captain.”

She rose and stretched, the movement emphasizing the lush curves of her breasts and hips, and his cock immediately responded. He barely managed to prevent his tail from reaching for her again.

As she passed his chair, she bent down and pressed her soft little lips to his cheek. The touch was feather-light, gone before he could process it.

She paused at the entrance to the cockpit, looking back at him over her shoulder. “Will you be okay on your own?”

“Yes. I have been flying alone for many years.”

And I will be alone again, he reminded himself as she disappeared from sight. This was only a temporary reprieve from the emptiness that surrounded him.