Page 41 of Rescuing Mara

CHAPTER26

Mara

O’Rec pulls me with him in such a rush that I stumble when we pass the broken door to Command. Lauren is already strapped in on the couch, and he all but pushes me next to her. His tail only lets me go when I’m fully strapped in.

I grab Lauren’s hand again, and we huddle together in silence when the men do their thing. The storm's pattern looks just like the previous one, which triggers me to pay extra attention. The howling of the storms gets louder and louder, and our vision is again entirely obscured by the soaring grains of sand. When I think the ship will blow, there’s a crashing sound outside, and we lose all power again. I start counting: one… two…

The emergency lights flicker to life, and basic power is restored just when my count hits 125. Lauren is shaking and has the tightest grip on my hand, but I don’t feel a thing. T’Rak is gritting his teeth and taking control, and D’Var is torn between caring for his mate and doing his job. O’Rec doesn’t seem bothered by it, and I feel a pang of sadness. This is not the time and place, but we really should talk about the bond. Lauren always talks about how she feels about D’Var and how easy their mental link has come to be.

‘Maybe you’re just not his mate,’a cruel voice in the back of my mind says. Unease creeps up when D’Var comes to collect Lauren and O’Rec finishes some last things. My hand sneaks into my pocket, and I fumble with the transmitter. Still there. I look up, and I see O’Rec looking at me. Shame creeps up, making me blush like crazy. He winks, misinterpreting my blush. I drop the transmitter like it’s burning, straighten my back, and unbuckle the straps.

“Need any help?” I ask when I reach him, lightly touching his shoulder.

“No,” he sighs. “Shields are holding but weakening. We should secure the things that are important so that, if another storm hits, we do not have to worry about losing our supplies.”

I nod. That’s an excellent idea. “Can we attach some of the crates to the bottom of the wall somehow? And put in the food, with blankets, then shut the lid close with something that won’t fly off easily?”

I see the gleam in his eyes as he figures it out. “We can do that!”

He gets the absent look in his eyes again, talking to his crew. He gets up, stretching his big body. “Lead the way.”

We walk towards the Mess Hall, which is nothing short of a mess - again. O’Rec goes to the cargo bay to look for crates we can use, while I sort the food into salvageable and not salvageable. I swipe all the clutter to one corner and straighten the chairs - again.

He steps in shortly to bring crates. He immediately returns with a metal crate containing tools. I sit down for a short break, admiring how his muscles bulge. When he’s done, five big crates are firmly attached to the wall. He stretches and wipes his brow. My mouth goes dry, and I lick my lips. He looks delicious.

He winks when he catches me staring, and again, I blush.

“Something wrong, my mate?” he snickers.

“Nothing.” But I still feel flustered, even more so when he walks towards me. He leans in, grabs me by the waist, and hoists me onto the table.

“I am glad you are okay,” he whispers, stepping between my legs and he cups my cheek. “I do not know what I would have done with myself if you were hurt. Seeing you hurt once nearly broke me.” He softly kisses my lips and then pulls back. “I do not want to live without you, my star. Never.”

A small whimper leaves my mouth, and I pull him in and kiss him back. Each kiss we share is even more passionate than the one before. We are getting the hang of this kissing. But this kiss is different. There’s a certain kind of desperation that clings to it because we both know we are in deep shit if we don’t figure out a way to get off this planet.

We break the kiss, and O’Rec touches his forehead to mine. “Stars, Marra, I need to go before I am tempted to ravish you on this table.”

I giggle. “Go.” I say, smiling. “Bring me some towels and lids with locks to safely store the food.” I bite my lip, seriousness creeping in. “I don’t think that was the last storm, O'Rec.”

He nods thoughtfully, all banter gone from his face. “We will know if the pattern repeats itself in a couple of hours.”

Lauren and D’Var walk in when he leaves the room. I hop off the table to hug Lauren.

“O’Rec is grabbing blankets to stuff the crates with, and we’ll put on a lid with a lock. If there’s another storm, the food won’t be thrown around the room again.”

“That is an awesome idea!” she says, eyes shining bright. “D’Var, can we also chain my plants to the wall?”

“Yes, I could try that. I could make that work,” he says.

Lauren beams at him, obviously conflicted about staying here with me and joining her mate in the cargo bay.

“Go,” I say with a smile. “O’Rec and I have got it in here. I’m thinking we will do all the rooms in a similar way? No use in clearing debris if it will be all over the place again in a couple of hours.”

Her eyes widen. “Do you think it will happen again?”

I shrug. I don’t want to cause her any panic, but I’m also not going to lie to her. “We have no idea of knowing what will happen yet, but it feels too coincidental to have almost the exact same storm hit us twice. I think we should be prepared. Better safe than sorry in this case.”

She nods. “You’re right, thank you.”

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