Loc (Untamed Warriors Book 2), page 10
“Aurora is an escaped slave. She served on the courtesan court for several years before Echo and I found her at a gala. We helped her escape and she stuck with us. She’s smart and learned her way around a ship much faster than Echo or I ever did. She’s afraid to get close to anyone even though she craves physical contact, not just as friends but physically too. She has the passion gene. People who touch her are drawn to her on a psychological level.” He stopped for a moment and let out a long sigh.
“It took her many rotations to trust us. She would wake with horrible night terrors for at least a year after she joined our crew. Echo would soothe her back to sleep. They are too close in age to be mother and daughter but Echo definitely took on a maternal role at least in the beginning.” He smiled sadly.
“It’s because Echo is a mother. Her daughter was only four when they took her from Echo. Her owners claimed the girl was too much of a distraction and kept her from her daily duties. They sold her off. Echo fought back and was beaten severely. It didn’t stop her from trying to rescue her daughter. She managed to kill her master and took his ship...the Nightfall but the orion ship got away before she could catch it.”
“Part of the reason we do the humanitarian missions and help refugees seek shelter is to look for her daughter and to help people like us. She’s never stopped looking for Elodie. Echo’s tough on the outside, but once she gets to know you, she has your back.”
I didn’t know what to say to all that. It all sounded so tragic. It made Doug cheating on me with Jess seem like small potatoes. I’d had it easy.
“Our pasts are what drew us together. We have each other’s backs. Always. I’d do anything for them, and they for me.”
That’s what true friendship...family was. I wanted that for myself too. I hoped one day I’d get to meet Echo and Aurora. They both sounded like amazing women. “We are going to find them.” I put my hand on his. “I believe that.”
Three people that had lost literally everything had come together to make a family. That was something I would fight for too. Anything I could do to help. I would. Even if it meant waiting to get to my family.
Chapter Thirteen
Max
“So, this wire goes here and that one goes there?” I asked as I pointed to where I thought the wires should go. We were working on putting together a circuit board for one of the scrucains’ shuttles that we were repairing.
“You got it,” Loc said. He watched as I worked to hook the two wires to the circuit board. It took me a few tries. My fingers were not used to such fine motor work, but I finally got it. “Good. The switch is on that wall. Go ahead and turn it on.”
“It’s not going to blow up, right?” I asked. I’d meant what I told him. I bought extended warranties for a reason. I’d once taken the cover off Doug’s computer to dust the inside, it was disgusting, and had accidentally disconnected the hard drive. That thing beeped like it was possessed when he tried to turn it back on. I’d never cleaned it again after that.
“There is only one way to find out,” Loc said. His eyes lit up as he stared at me.
I put a hand on my hip. “That’s not very convincing.”
He chuckled. “If it does, it’s not because of anything you did.”
“I’m not sure that makes me feel better,” I said with a frown.
“How about we do it together,” he said as he came to me. I turned to face the circuit and put my hand on the handle. Loc came up behind me, his chest pressed against me. I could feel the hard plains of his chest and I leaned into him.
His hand came over mine. His lips went to my ear. The warmth of his breath made heat pool in my core. “On three. One, two, three.” We lifted the lever.
Nothing happened. “Was that supposed to do something?” I asked after a long moment.
“I think we did it right.” Loc kissed my neck and I whimpered. He went to check on the circuit. “Everything looks good. Good job.”
“This tech stuff still scares the crap out of me,” I admitted. The things we were doing could mean the matter of life and death. I had to admit watching Loc was a nice bonus. He looked hot when he was working.
“You’ll get the hang of it. This is how everyone learns,” Loc said. He put the circuit back into the wall and then pulled out another one.
“You don’t have any kind of education system?” I asked curious. How did people learn how to do things?
“Some planets teach their children how to do various things. It is usually the ones that are in the orion’s favor. The children are taught reading, writing, history and mathematics. Most other planets the children are slaves because their parents are. It is up to the parents to teach what they can. Most mechanics are self-taught.” He motioned to the room. “Some people learn faster than others, but ultimately if you have a ship, you learn how to fix it or you die.”
“That sounds brutal,” I said.
“It is a tough world. What is education like on your world?” Loc asked.
“All children are required to go through schooling until they are eighteen. Then school is optional. You can choose what you want your profession to be and go to more schooling based around that.”
“You get to choose what you want to do?” Loc asked. He sounded like he was in awe.
“Yeah.” I did my salsa again. “Like I told you before. Dance is my passion. I had wanted to get into Julliard, but they are so selective, and they didn’t pick me. It’s a prestigious school so I made my own way.”
“They are fools for not taking you. I’ve seen the way you move,” Loc said, watching me as I changed it up and did a few more moves. “I like watching you dance.”
“I can tell.” I put my hand on his chest as I moved around him. “Is it typical for most aliens to go shirtless?” I asked as I dragged my hand along the plains of his muscles. I’d never seen Loc or the scurcain wearing shirts. I suppose the orion had. But then again, they didn’t have the muscles Loc did.
“It depends on the species. Shirts restrict my movements and bother my fins.” He showed me the back of his arm where his fins were.
I supposed that made sense. “I do kind of like seeing you shirtless,” I said with a grin. I ran my hand down his chest. His skin was smooth despite the scales. It was hard to describe. “Maybe in the evenings I could teach you how to dance.”
“I’m not sure I could ever move like you,” Loc said watching as I moved around him.
“There are plenty of dances for couples where you wouldn’t have to do too much. It could be like a date.” Did aliens date I wondered.
“I would very much like the chance to woo you properly. I’d take you to Haven. It is a free planet and has some of the best cuisine in the galaxy. One day.”
“I would like that. It sounds like it would be fun.” An idea came to me. “Maybe we could have a date later tonight. We could dim the lights in the dining hall and cook...something.” I laughed. I wasn’t much of a cook, and I would have no idea what to do with alien cuisine.
“We might have to leave the cooking to whatever the scurcain provide. I’ve never cooked. We always eat dehydrated meals when it was just the three of us on the Nightfall,” Loc said as he made a face.
“Well, we can do the best with what we have,” I said with a laugh.
“I’ll just be happy to be with you.” Loc kissed me. We lingered like that for a long few moments until we heard footsteps approaching.
I pulled away from Loc, gave him a longing look and then went to one of the panels where I tried to make myself look busy as Strix came in.
“How are the repairs coming?” Strix asked as he looked at us.
“We have gotten everything operational in here, but the life support system is going to need to be cleaned and some of the chips and controls on the bridge are damaged beyond repair,” Loc said. “This ship is in better shape than most of the others, but I don’t know that we are going to be able to get all the ships operational like you wanted.”
“We are going to have to try. I won’t leave any of our people here. It is only a matter of time before the orion find us. We need to be long gone before they reach this cavern,” Strix said.
“I think we should focus on this shift and the one Max and I have. We could start to ferry people somewhere else by weeks end.”
“No, we all go together,” Strix said with a growl. “I won’t leave over half of my people here with no escape should the orion show up.”
“There are plenty of planets,” Loc said with a sigh.
“The answer is no. Get all the ships operational, Loc.”
Loc slid the panel he was working on back into the wall. “I’ve done everything I can for the day here. I’ll see what else we can do on the other ships tomorrow. If nothing else, we will need to make a trip into the city for parts.”
“That is a last resort too,” Strix said with a shake of his head. “I do appreciate the work you are both doing, but I also hope you can see my point of view.”
“I do. I don’t want any of your people to be hurt, but I think you should consider what I am saying. We could start evacuations in another rotation,” Loc said as he tried to talk some sense into Strix.
I nodded in agreement but didn’t speak up. Loc’s idea was solid. It made the most sense. We’d be getting people out of harm’s way that way.
“The orion will see the ships coming and going. I’m not ready to risk it,” Strix said. “We continue as we are. My team has finished cleaning two other ships and they are ready for you to look over.”
“I’ll take a look at them in the morning,” Loc said.
“Very well. I’ll get another report from you tomorrow. Then maybe we can discuss alternative options,” Strix said.
Loc sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. He grumbled under his breath once Strix left the room.
“For what it’s worth, I think your idea makes the most sense,” I said once I was sure Strix was gone.
“He does bring up a good point about the activity, but I’m not sure we can stay here either,” Loc said. “It’s an argument for another day. Why don’t you go on ahead and get ready for our date and I’ll be there within the hour.”
I leaned in and gave him a kiss. “Sounds like a plan.”
***
I stared at myself in the mirror. The little black dress I wore was very form fitting and showed off my curves and boobs. I had a feeling Loc was going to like it. I’d given up and went ahead and raided the clothes in the jail room. I could only wear the same thing so many times before it started to fall apart. Working on ships was not good for clothes I’d learned.
I tried not to think about the woman who had worn this dress when she’d been abducted. It was definitely a date dress. Date. I couldn’t believe I was going on a date with an alien. It sounded funny when he’d already made love to me too many times to count.
It was nice that Loc wanted more. I wanted more too. The two of us had something. I was glad we could explore it.
I looked around the room. Everything looked good. I’d figured out how to dim the lights and had gotten some food from the scurcain meal and set it at the table. I just needed Loc.
He’d said about an hour. It had been a little over I thought.
Footsteps sounded down the hall and I took a seat at the table, my eyes on the door. Loc stepped in, his hair looked freshly washed and he’d put on a clean pair of what looked to be black leather pants. Damn those looked good on him.
He took a seat at the table and grinned at me. “This looks good.”
“I haven’t tried it yet.” The scurcain food was edible, but it wasn’t what I was used to. And I didn’t eat fancy. I liked pizza and beer and boxed mac and cheese.
“Like I said earlier, I’ll take you someplace nice. The first chance I get.”
“I know.” I smiled at him. I believed that he would follow through when we got an opportunity.
“If this was Earth, what would we be eating?” Loc asked.
“Oh god. That is a tough one,” I said with a laugh. I picked up a piece of food and popped it into my mouth. “If we are going fine dining a filet mignon with a fully loaded baked potato. If it’s causal pepperoni pizza.”
“Do you ever eat from the water?” Loc asked.
“I’ve had some fish,” I said. It was good but not something Doug liked so I never got to eat it. “Did you live on the water?” There was still quite a bit about him that I did not know. But with his fins and the scales I wondered if maybe he lived in the water at least some of the time.
“My home world that is all we would eat. Most of the planet was made up of water. There was very little life on the shores. My people can spend a great deal of time underwater without breathing. We did have houses that floated on the waves that we would sleep in,” Loc said as he ate some of his own food. “There is a creature, the zigni that was my mother’s favorite to cook. I haven’t had it since we were taken.”
“I’d like to try it sometime.” I reached across the table and touched his hand. “Have you been to your home since you were taken?”
Loc shook his head. “I didn’t know if I could go back. There is so much pain there. But maybe I should. I think I would like to show it to you. I had a lot of happy memories there.”
“I would love to go.” I did want to see where he’d grown up. “I’ve always enjoyed the water.”
Loc reached into his pants. “I have something for you.” He pulled out my phone and set it on the table. “I was able to get it to power on.”
“You were?” I asked my voice rising. I reached a shaking hand across the table and took it from him. Sure enough the light powered on, and Pete’s photo showed up. “Oh my God.” Tears formed in my eyes. I shot out of my chair and hurried around the table and hugged him “Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me.” Maybe he did. A stray tear slid down my cheek and I swiped it away. “This is truly the best present ever.”
“I’ve fixed the battery so it will self-charge now. It should never die again,” Loc said.
“You are amazing.” God he really was the best. I kissed him and then kind of fell into his lap. He pulled me close as he deepened the kiss. I moved so my leg went over him so I could straddle him.
I could feel him growing hard beneath me. I ground against him. The dress and pants doing little to separate us. Loc pulled back so he could pepper kisses down my neck. He slid one of the straps of my dress down to take my nipple in his mouth.
I arched against him. My hands went to his shoulders as I rotated my hips against his cock. I was already so hot and ready for him I didn’t think I’d make it to our room. I didn’t want to.
My hands grazed down his chest until I reached the waist of his pants. I pushed my hand between us and pumped him through his pants. Loc groaned against me and started nipping at my breast.
“We should move to the bedroom so I can properly love your body.”
I gripped him a little harder and then met his eyes. I shook my head. “I kind of like the idea of us doing it right here, right now.”
Loc sucked in a breath. His eyes lit up. He swallowed hard. “Are you sure?”
“God yes.” I shoved his pants down and hiked up my dress. I’d purposely forgone panties. I knew the night would end like this but hadn’t thought it’d be in the chair at the dining hall.
Loc’s cock popped out to greet me. Precum already dribbled from his head. I smeared it across the tip and then angled him at my entrance and slowly sank down.
I cried out as he filled me. He was so fucking thick, and I loved every inch of it. Loc’s hands went to my hips. Together we set a steady rhythm of him pumping up into me and me grinding against him.
He caught my lips and kissed me like there was no tomorrow. It only took a few moments before I was coming with his name on my lips.
We managed to finish our dinner before he had me on the counter next. I didn’t know what was happening between us, but I wanted to find out.
Chapter Fourteen
Loc
I made my way down the orion cruiser until I came to the main cavern where Max and a few other women were working near the springs that ran through the caves. Another ship was just off to the side and Strix and some of his men were in there.
We’d done a bit of work on our cruiser and were now focusing on the ones the scurcain had. It had been eight weeks according to Max. She kept tally marks on the wall in our bedroom. She said it was to keep time but was afraid that the rotations were longer here than they were on Earth. That more time might have passed than she thought. I feared the news I had would dampen her spirits.
“We have a problem,” I said as I scrubbed a hand over my face.
Max looked up from where she was cleaning sludge from one of the hydroponic tanks. “What’s wrong?”
Strix and another of his men left the bridge. I looked between Strix and Max and then said, “We don’t have the parts to get the ships operational. We are going to need to make a trip into the city.” I’d done everything I could think of to cannibalize one piece on one ship to save something on another, but I’d run out of resources. As it was there was our cruiser and one other that I felt confident could be operational soon. It wouldn’t be nearly enough to support all the people that needed to be relocated and Strix was refusing to do groups of evacuees to another planet.
The orion did fly overs every other rotation it seemed. There were ground troops all over. None of us had seen sunlight in weeks. Max looked pale but seemed okay. It was taking a toll on the scurcain. Their bright green skin had turned to a dull hue making them look sickly. The kids who used to spend the entire day playing and learning were growing sick. We had to do something. I hated seeing children suffer.
“We cannot risk a trip into the city. The guards are everywhere,” Strix said. “They have doubled their numbers. They know we are hiding, it’s a miracle we haven’t been found yet. We cannot risk it.”
It was a miracle. We were on borrowed time. In my opinion our luck would run out sooner than later.
