Page 35 of Victoria's Discovery

“Damn, y’all are pretty.”

Swallowing hard, she went back to staring at Thorn’s abs, having completely forgotten what she was going to say.

Well, she started off staring at his abs.

Her gaze may or may not have repeatedly dropped to eye the bulge in his loincloth. Honestly, it was right there. She didn’t think anyone would’ve been able to resist, not with the way it bounced up against the material with every jolt and jounce of the vehicle.

Plus side, it helped take her mind off the unnervingly bumpy ride and the worrying impression that whoever was driving them didn’t know what the hell they were doing.

Chapter 19

Everybody in the vehicle, including Victoria, the critter, and all three guys, groaned with relief when they touched down. The moment the plank lowered, everyone stumbled off in a rush, more than a few looking close to emptying their stomachs, or whatever version of a stomach they had.

Holding back until the mad dash was over, she slumped against the wall and pressed a hand to her middle. “Ugh, whoever piloted this thing is a terrible driver. It was bucking around like a pissed-off bronco.”

When everyone else had gotten off, the guys guided her down the ramp. Peering from between their bodies to get a look at their destination, Victoria’s gaze immediately caught on a shockingly attractive alien guy with horns giving their group a sympathetic grimace before he said something in a half-disapproving, half-amused voice to the demon-man who she now realized was the terrible driver.

The demon frowned, casting a glance over the crowd before he waved a dismissive hand and said something that sounded a hell of a lot like the alien version of, ‘meh, they lived, didn’t they?’

The hot, horny guy shook his head and chuckled wryly as he guided his group of newly freed aliens to an elevator.

“Should’ve gotten onthatguy’s flying bus. His group doesn’t look traumatized like they just barely survived a nightmare roller coaster,” she grumbled, still feeling a little woozy.

Prying Vi’kail’s pet off the top of her head, where he was still holding on for dear life like a freaked out, invisible, living hat, she winced when he didn’t immediately let go of her curls, his little claws locked in a vice grip.

“Come on, little buddy. It’s okay, now,” she whispered.

Sighing with relief when he finally let go, she cradled him to her chest with one hand, stroking a fingertip over what she thought was the top of his head while he chittered angrily, and rubbed her stinging scalp with the other.

* * *

When a ding soundeda couple of minutes later, signaling the elevator’s return, the demon ushered them on, then quickly off again, as soon as the doors opened, gesturing for them to join the large crowd of people gathered in the middle of some kind of hotel lobby.

More people arrived every few minutes, adding to the assembly, until it began to feel dangerously cramped. The guys maintained their protective circle around her, so she was safe from the occasional bump and shove, but she heard more than a few yelps of pain from people who didn’t have a buffer of muscle to protect them.

As ten minutes, then twenty, then what had to be at least an hour passed, the tension mounted more and more until it was so thick it felt tangible. People were scared and the wait wasn’t doing anything to calm them down. It didn’t help that they were all gathered together in what even Victoria was beginning to think of as fish in a barrel.

If she was wrong about the woman in the aisle, and this wasn’t a welcoming committee, the way they were clustered would make it really easy to gun them all down in one fell swoop.

As soon as she thought that, she recalled the weapons strapped to the demon and the horny guy. She may not be predisposed to assessing weaponry, but she had a great memory and, unless she just hadn’t recognized whatever passed for guns on this planet, they hadn’t been carrying any.

Hopefully, that meant they weren’t about to face a firing squad and the wait was just them trying to transport everyone from the spaceship to here. Besides, she didn’t think Vi’kail or the giants would just placidly follow if they thought they were being led into danger.

Glancing up at them, she found all three alertly scanning their surroundings, but they didn’t strike her as being worried. Watchful and a little suspicious but not overly concerned.

Feeling better at seeing them calm, she went back to listening to the collective voice of the crowd. Unfortunately, it didn’t sound anywhere near as calm as her guys looked.

She caught what sounded like questions being hurled at the people watching them. When they didn’t respond, those questions turned into mutters before they grew into the occasional angry shout. Within a matter of seconds, those shouts set off others until everyone was yelling.

That’s when the pushing started.

Reacting quickly to the rise in aggression, the guys turned outward so they could watch the people around them and closed ranks even farther until she could barely breathe with how close they were standing.

Just then, a feminine voice rose above the din, screaming hysterically. That hysteria was catching. It flowed over the crowd, sparking like a match in a powder keg.

Victoria thought she caught Spar’s voice yelling something. Whatever she’d said, it only seemed to set the screamer off more, which set the crowd off more.

Then, the crack of a slap followed by a split second of silence. Victoria immediately stiffened, knowing instinctively that silence wasn’t a good thing.

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