Alien Freak - Calista Skye Page 0,29

future is as uncertain as ever, of course. But I’m freer than… well, I don’t know if I really am. I feel freer than I have since before Earth was invaded. The future isn’t all fear and anxiety. It makes no sense, I know. I should be mad as hell at Zaroc for abducting me. And I’m sure I still am. But not right now.”

Turning the camera off, I put the phone back and adjust my position.

Zaroc. What goes on behind those blue eyes?

And inside those pants? It has to be something big. Something with a mind of its own, almost.

I tighten up as a wave of heat rolls down my spine and gathers at my center. That tongue, split and agile and impossibly soft against my mouth. Firm and incredibly alien. I can imagine it running up my thigh, finding a path along the soft, sensitive skin, aiming for—

I moan into the darkness, half hoping he’s got some kind of spy microphone in here so he can hear how much I need it. Because nothing else will do. He’s too attractive to ignore. And he’s saved my life a good few times by now.

I roll over and put my arm under my head.

Lusting after my abductor. That has to be a classic reaction for kidnapped girls. I’m not going to throw myself at him.

Can I really see him as a kidnapper now? Is that fair? He was willing to give himself up to capture and torture just so I could go home to Earth. That has to pretty much cancel out the abduction. He wasn’t kidding about that. He tried to make it right, at a cost that I can only imagine.

God, he is spectacularly sexy. And the fact that he has a vulnerability, that he can’t live without a fake grandmother around, just makes him that much better. It’s pretty weird, sure. But maybe it’s normal in space to carry your dead relatives around. Hey, he’s the last of his kind. He’s entitled to not feel totally alone.

I throw myself around on the mattress, furiously trying to find a position where I can sleep and not just lust.

- - -

The next morning I arrange the alien rags in a different way. Maybe I can claim that the scarecrow look is all the rage on Earth. I’m not that into fashion, but I think I’ve seen some shows where the runway models looked kind of raggedy. Heck, I can make up my own fashion.

I struggle to get the food dispenser to create a tea-like fluid, and I end up with something that looks enough like cocoa to almost enjoy.

In the control room, Zaroc is busy at a console. The swirling pattern outside is gone, replaced by the usual stars and darkness.

“Good morning,” I greet him and plop down in a seat. “Not in hyperspace anymore?”

“Not for a while,” Zaroc says without turning around. “We’ll go to Kur. I need fuel, and you need some kind of clothing.”

I can’t help but notice that he’s clearly wearing a new pair of pants today. They’re still black, but the pattern is different and it has shiny accents here and there. He was totally bullshitting me last night. But I don’t think I should comment on it, because I probably deserved it.

The not-cocoa is tepid and bland, but I don’t think I properly understand the dispenser. “I think I asked this before: who is Kur?”

Zaroc goes over to the controls, banks the ship to the left, and then nods out of the windshield. “That.”

“Oh.”

It’s a cylinder, metallic and glinting in the light from a sun I can’t see. I have no idea how big it is. For all I know, it could be the size of a cigarette hovering an inch from the glass. But I suspect it’s much bigger.

I take a guess. “A space station?”

“A space station,” Zaroc confirms. “The space station Kur. It’s the only one in this part of the galaxy. It’s not safe, but I have no choice. I need fuel for this pile of garbage.”

I stare out at the station. It’s slowly rotating, shining like a rod of silver. “Why is it not safe?”

“It’s on the border between two governments. They both want own to it, but are also afraid of damaging it. It attracts both low-level warfare and crime.”

“Will there be Gurandu?”

Zaroc goes back to the other console. “Hopefully not yet. But they’re bound to realize this is my destination.”

“So they will soon be here?”

“With great certainty.”

I