Page 25 of The Stolen Tribute
I wasn’t sure why I did what I did next.
I stood up, grabbed him by his shirt, and kissed him.
Jaxir went tense for half a moment before wrapping his arms around my shoulders and pulling me closer. He kissed me back with the same desperate intensity, a feeling that I’d never felt before.
Then, I realized what I was doing and broke away from the kiss. My lips ached to touch him again. I looked away. “Oh, gosh, I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened there,” I admitted. My heart was pounding in my chest.
Jaxir’s face was dark from the black blood that had flooded his face and neck. “I’m flattered,” He said. “But right now is probably not the best time,” He added.
I went red with embarrassment.
“I’d love to pick up where we left off once we’re safe though,” He added.
“Safe?” I asked, looking up.
“I’d imagine that the trawler’s security system has picked up on our bio-signatures. I’d expect someone to arrive in less than ten seconds.”
Fear rushed through me, tightening in my chest. What were the chances that whoever owned this scrap trawler was friendly?
Jaxir held up both of his laser blasters just as the door to the interior of the ship cracked open.
A long tentacle-like arm lashed out.
“Fuck!” I screamed, stepping backward as Jaxir pushed me against the wall.
Jaxir handed me a laser blaster. “Any chance you know how to use one of these?” He asked.
I looked down at the chrome weapon. Did thousands of hours of first-person shooters count? “I’ll give it my best try,” I said, tightening my grip around the gun.
“Better than nothing,” Jaxir said. He sucked in a breath, ripped open the door, and fired.
