Page 35 of Alien Knight Teddy Bear Troubles

“No problem.” Her tone held no laughter. She was in warrior mode. Here was the trained fighter he’d seen glimpses of before and he realized he loved her even more. He loved her fierceness; her stubborn determination to protect the people she cared about. They were one and the same in that regard, and so he understood her. Trusted her.

If they died today, together, he would die content.

And if not? If by some miracle they survived? He would talk to her about a formal claiming. Perhaps, as he’d heard was now possible with human women, he could convince her to commit to a full yielding.

Yes. That was exactly what he would do. He wanted her. Not for today. Not for one battle. But for every day and every battle for the rest of his life.

Her hands moved over the controls with a deftness he respected. She was no innocent. She was hard and brave and selfless. A true warrior. And he would spend the rest of his life taking care of her, if she’d allow him.

And she definitely needed someone strong enough to tell her no. She looked pale and sickly. Her eyes had dark circles around them and her skin had a grayish pallor he did not approve of. What had she been doing since he’d held her against the wall of this very ship and taken her body? Made her cry out? Made her flush with pleasure and moan as she rode his hard--

“Pay attention. Enemy ship coming up at two o’clock.”

He smiled and let go of his worries. Now was not the time. “What is two o’clock?” He was not familiar with the term.

She sighed. “Ahead of us and slightly to your right.”

He looked down at the scanners and controls. Saw nothing.

“No, Taeger. It’s not on your sensors. You have to look with your own two eyes.”

What was she talking about? He looked at the video monitor, checked the screens, did a visual sweep and saw nothing but the black emptiness of space. “I see nothing.”

“Shit. I was afraid of that.” She reached out her hand and placed it on his. Skin to skin. The jolt of energy he felt from the touch threw him back in his seat.

What the fuck was that?

“Now can you see it?”

Taeger searched again. “No. Nothing.”

“Sorry.” Cassie apologized but did not let go of his hand. “I was trying something. Guess it’s not going to work.”

“Tell me what you see.” He believed her, even if he couldn’t see the ship. He knew the enemy was out there.

“I can see their ship.” She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and he saw her blatant need for him to believe her. He did. He dipped his chin to indicate she should continue. When she tried to pull her hand away from his, he flipped his hand so their palms touched and held on tight. Thankfully, she relented. Sending her away, sure he’d never see her again nearly killed him. Gutted him like nothing else had ever done. He wasn’t afraid to admit he needed the contact. The reminder that they were alive and together and strong. The reminder that she was his and he was hers and nothing would tear them apart.

“Where is it?”

She lifted their entwined hands to point at the visual monitor. Still, he saw nothing. “How did you send us coordinates for the other ship?”

“They were firing at me. I tracked the black beams back to point of origin and got a location. Tracked their heading and speed. It wasn’t precise, but it was the best I could do.”

Black beams?

“What are you talking about? What beams? What weapon is this?” Did the Dark Ones have a new weapon of which he was unaware ? He must see it for himself. Tell Falden and the others. This war between Lumeria and the Dark Ones was not over, it had merely been sleeping as his people scattered and hid.

She shrugged as if the answer was irrelevant. “I think they’re some kind of tracker that drains the ship’s power.”

His stomach twisted. He knew of what she spoke. There were many ships in the war that had simply…died. Drained of power without explanation. Once they were helpless, the ships were boarded and the people…taken.

He shuddered at memories he did not want. “Cassie, you can see these beams?”

“Yeah.” She pulled her hand from his to maneuver the ship into an unexpected roll. “Dodging about a dozen of them now. They know we’re out here. They can see us.”

He held onto the chair grips as she took the ship on a series of dives and turns. “Why would they not?”

The quick glance she shot at him made him worry.

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