Page 47 of The Stolen Tribute
Just as we were stepping into the airlock, a deafening roar echoed in the chamber.
Dal. He stood in the doorway, bloody and bruised, breathing hard. “You’re not getting away!” He shouted, raising a laser blaster with his good arm.
I didn’t stop to think. I fired my own blaster back at him, hitting him right between the eyes. His body fell backward, silent, and smoking from the heat of the laser.
Kylie gasped.
“Come on, let’s go,” I said.
***
I held Kylie tightly against me. We were inside the maintenance pod, sitting in silence as the tiny craft flew back to my ship. The extra weight of another person made it slower than usual. We had to sit facing each other, with her on my lap.
Kylie kept her head on my chest, pressing against me to avoid hitting any of the controls.
I thought I would feel remorse for what I’d done. When I closed my eyes, the sight of Dal’s body didn’t haunt me. I did what I had to do. He would have killed us both if I let him live.
The pod joined back up with my starship without incident. It was the first time something had gone right in a while. The door hissed open, and we could breathe again, peeling off each other and stretching our cramped muscles.
Grook met us in the dock. He was a massive alien with hard turquoise-colored skin and a square jaw. “You made it!” He said. “For a while there, I thought you guys were dead,” He added.
“Thanks for your confidence,” I said, rolling my eyes.
Grook began looking over the maintenance pod. “You better not have gotten a single scratch on my girl,” He rumbled. As the only one with engineering know-how, Grook took care of almost everything on our ship.
“She’s fine,” I said with a laugh.
Kylie smiled gently, strangely quiet.
“You ok?” I asked.
“Tired,” She admitted.
“Come with me,” I said.
I took Kylie to my living quarters on the upper deck, letting the rest of the crew know not to disturb us. Finally, we had time together where we weren’t running for our lives or worried about getting killed.
My quarters, technically what would be the captain’s room, was a large single room with a sitting area, table, and comfortable bed. A line of porthole windows gave a view of space outside, and a large screen could be used to see what was going on in the control bridge even when I wasn’t there. It was incredibly luxurious for a starship this size.
Kylie sucked in a breath. “Wow,” She said.
I guided her to the bed and helped her strip off the dusty, bloody flight suit that she wore.
She slipped into bed, wearing only panties and let out a long sigh. She stretched and nuzzled against the soft silver sheets.
Seeing her writhe with the simple pleasure made my cock stiffen. I wanted her now. Despite my exhaustion, I wanted to take her and make her mine.
Removing my own dirty clothes, I moved in beside her, planting a kiss on her jawline. “Kylie,” I said. “I can’t hold back these feelings anymore. I’ve known since the first time I saw you, but I couldn’t even admit it to myself.”
“What’s that?” Kylie asked, resting her head against my chest and snuggling into the crook of my arm.
“You’re the one for me. My sworn mate,” I said. “No matter how hard I resist, I know it’s true.”
“Your mate?” She repeated.
“I want to be with you forever, if you will have me,” I said.
Kylie smiled and hummed to herself, closing her eyes and resting against me. “You want me to stay with you in space?” She asked, her words became muddled together as she slipped off to sleep. “Maybe that’s what I needed all along. To be yours.”
