Page 8 of Lashe

I stood there, frozen. Her body pressed against mine. The side of her face resting on my chest. Soft arms holding me. Slowly, as if controlled by a force other than me, my arms camearound her. Holding her in return. My mind was a frantic mess. I could not allow her skin to touch mine. The full body suits we wore prevented that, but if she were to just move her arms up and touch my neck…

I struggled to think with the scent of her hair in my nostrils, the feel of her warm body, the beat of her heart against my ribs. Undoubtedly my skin was a shocking color. My emotions were untamable. Hunger ran hot. Need and desire reminded me that this was my female.

My body shuddered. I could feel my cock harden. I needed to end this embrace. Instantly. My hands closed on her waist and set her back. The sudden break of contact felt like a cold blast. Every fiber of my being wanted to yank her against me again. Crush my mouth to hers. Tell her how much she meant to me.

“Enough,” I said tightly. “Go off to sleep now. I will see you later.” I turned away for self-preservation.

“Okay,” she said in a small voice. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“You didn’t,” I said. “This has been a difficult experience for both of us.” I glanced back over my shoulder. “You could never make me uncomfortable, Ambassador.”

“If I hear that word one more time, I’m going to scream.”

“Ambassador? But that is your title.”

“I know, but…” She made a sound of annoyance. “Look. Call me Anna. I’m not an ambassador out here. You’re not my employee. We’re in this together. We’re going to get out of here together, too.”

I inclined my head. “Very well, Anna.”

She reached out again and held my forearm. What was it with this female and her desire for touch? She couldn’t know the effect it had on me. The heat that shot through my veins with even this little contact. “Thank you.”

“You’ve nothing to thank me for. We are not out of danger yet.”

She smiled up at me with those dazzling eyes. “No, but we will be. I have faith in you, Lashe.”

She squeezed my arm, then dropped her hand and turned and went into her private quarters, closing the door behind her, thankfully.

I have faith in you.Her words were almost too much to take. I wasn’t entirely sure that her trust and faith were well placed. All I could say for sure was that I would do everything in my power, move the universe itself, to get her to safety. Even if it killed me, Anna would live.

CHAPTER 5

Anna

It wasn’t a bad dream. It wasn’t a nightmare. But for that split second when I woke up, I thought it was. I was tucked in my comfortable bed in my quarters. Snuggled under blankets, I felt the shuttle’s gentle humming vibration. The general warmth was comforting and familiar, but reality sank in fast enough. I rose and washed, then took a deep breath and opened the door of my room to see what we were up against.

The sight outside through the viewport was bleak and dark. There was little light out here, so far from any stars, and most of it came from the shuttle’s exterior lights. The rocky surface was full of crags and crystalized rock formations. A layer of sand covered the depressions of the surface.

Lashe was at the operator’s station, as I expected. His hair was mussed. His skin was a dour shade of gray. I took the seat beside him and looked over the flat panel screen. It was a mess of ominous blinking red lights. “How bad?”

He shook his head. “That irradiated dust got into every system. We were lucky to have found a place to set down because navigation was starting to fail.”

I took a deep breath. “Can it be fixed?”

His mouth tightened. “I can repair some of it, but I am not a ship technician, nor do I have all the tools necessary for a complete repair.”

“What about the communication system?” I asked. “Can we send a distress signal?”

“That is my top priority. I have Stelis analyzing the damage to that system and calculating a way to repair it. She’s downloaded the entire ship’s technical schematics to her database.” He flashed a grin. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m beginning to like her.”

“I can hear you, Lashe,” said Stelis in a slightly affronted tone.

This was the first time I’d heard the transport operator say anything like a personal opinion. He was usually so formal and proper that his offhanded comment about Stelis took me by surprise. “I didn’t know you disliked her.”

He shrugged. “My apologies. I overstepped.”

Okay, this had to stop. I put a hand on his arm and felt the muscles beneath jump and go tense. For some reason, I liked touching him. Maybe it was reassuring, considering he was the only other living thing out here in the middle of space. Maybe, I just liked touching him. “Lashe, look. What I said last night was true. Drop the formal routine, and talk like a normal person with me, please. I don’t need another Stelis out here, I need…”

He looked up, eyes narrow and sharp. “What do you need, Anna?”

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