I glanced around at the freezing darkness, goosebumps rising on my skin as heat escaped into space. “You could have fooled me, Tyr.”
We are safe. Bound together. Tyr will not allow harm to come to Myra.
Worry clouded his words, but so did determination. He drew himself back, all four legs bracing, and I realized what he was doing just in time to scream as he leaped.
He wrapped around me like an armadillo, his segmented carapace forming an airtight ball with me at the center. Bruising pressure crushed the air from my lungs in the tiny space, but the vacuum didn’t reach me. It felt as though we floated across the void for an eternity, though it couldn’t have been longer than a few seconds before we hit something.
That had better be theJoy,I thought. If Tyr missed his mark, I’d be dead in minutes, if not sooner. My thoughts were already fuzzy, and my consciousness faded.
Airlock.His psychic voice sounded weaker too, though perhaps I imagined it.How open?
That question was easy, though the answer slipped from my mind as I tried to focus on it. As darkness gathered around my thoughts, I did my best to visualize the instructions as clearly as possible. All he needed to do was find the emergency release and pull it…
*
I woke, gasping and naked, cold hard decking painful under me and the harsh light demanding I cover my eyes. The air’s burned plastic smell, the unsteady artificial gravity, the flickering of the lights, all let me know I was aboardMyra’s Joy. That I’d been aboard a Tyradyn bioship seemed ludicrous. Like a dream, or a nightmare.
Wasn’t it more plausible that the malfunctioning airmaker had pumped some toxin into the air and I’d lain here, hallucinating? I groaned and struggled to open my eyes, hugging myself against the chill and wondering about oxygen deprivation.
Whether from the airmaker’s fuck up or an unprotected leap from ship to ship tucked into the hollow of a Tyradyn warrior’s body, my brain felt like someone had stuffed it with cotton. My body ached and tingled, bruised and satisfied, and as my mind cleared, I recognized the feeling. I’ddefinitelyhad sex.
Foggy memories insisted it had been with a six-limbed alien warrior. But common sense reminded me I’d shared my ship with two men. The thought was enough to make me sit bolt upright—sex with Volkov or Hess wasnotpart of the plan.
The cabin spun around me erratically as I looked for them. Instead, standing beside the airlock, I saw Tyr. My heart skipped a beat.
Somehow, it was real.Hewas real. Tyr stood there, unmoving, one pair of eyes open and watching me, the other two shut. Motionless, his carapace gleamed in the flickering light. He might have been a sculpture.
But as soon as I met his alien gaze, the multi-colored frills flicked open around his neck. His thoughts surrounded me, pressing gently against my own and filling me with warmth and love.
“What the hell am I going to do with you?” I asked, pulling myself to my feet. “Importing Tyradyn tech is illegal enough, now I’m coming back with a living Tyradyn warrior? Customs is going to pitch a fit, then throw the book at me.”
Despite my grumbling, I couldn’t keep the smile from my face. It was real.Hewas real.
I kill Customs.Tyr’s answer echoed in my skull, and I snorted a surprised laugh, though I wasn’t sure he was joking.Protect from anyone who throws things at you.
He came to me, limbs clicking on the metal deck as he moved with precision and lifted me in his arms. Tyr looked out of place in theJoy,his strange techno-organic carapace a wild contrast to the messy, worn-down old ship. But in another sense, he fit perfectly, as though he was the element I’d been missing to turnMyra’s Joyinto a true home.
“No killing law enforcement, Tyr,” I told him, throwing my arms around his neck and kissing him. In the bright electric light, his fanged mouth looked even more terrifying than before. But that sent a frisson of desire through me—I was safe, I knew I was safe, in his arms.
Maiming? Light mauling?I caught the amused tinge to his thoughts. Thank god, hewasjoking. Probably. I hoped so, anyway.They will not harm my Myra.
Okay, maybe not joking as much as I’d like. But we had weeks to sort out how to smuggle him past customs before theJoyreached settled space. Weeks to get to know each other and come up with a plan.
And we’d start planning as soon as I finished welcoming Tyr to his new home. I kissed him again, feeling his lust building as I cautiously stroked the frill around his neck. His tongue pressed against mine, his hands explored my naked body, and my brain shut up as he squeezed me to him. Desire sparked desire, the feedback loop leaving us both desperate for each other.
With the last of my willpower, I guided him toward my bed. It was no grove of black flowers, but we’d make do.
About Leslie Chase
I’m Leslie Chase, USA Today bestselling author of science fiction and paranormal romances. I love writing, especially writing sexy romance between sassy human women and their big, rough, alien warrior lovers!
Over the course of my life I’ve done a lot of things, from working with the elderly to studying sword fighting to teaching tai chi. And, always, reading reading reading!
When I’m not busy reading or writing, I’m busy thinking about what I’m going to write next or researching it – yes, damn it, looking at castles and swords and pictures of spaceships counts as research.
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