Tamed By the Alien Pirate by Celia Kyle Page 0,11

only wanted to strut around and look tough.”

Suddenly, Thrase freezes on her tracks.

She turns around slowly, looks at me for a second, and then sighs heavily. She looks disappointed, although I can’t tell why.

“You just don’t get it. Do you?” she asks me, and I just blink at her. I’m so damn confused right now. What in the galaxy am I not getting? “Kintar wasn’t the one looking to bolster his ego. You were, Zander. He came to offer his help, and you immediately puffed out your chest and put on a show of strength. I mean, was that macho bullshit really necessary?”

I open my mouth to protest, but then close it shut. Thrase isn’t wrong. I did get defensive when Kintar started riling me up. Even though I didn’t do it on purpose, part of me knows that I wanted to impress her. I wasn’t going to let someone like Kintar make a fool out of me in front of her. Well, I guess my on-the-fly plan backfired.

“Look,” Thrase continues, realizing she has left me at a loss for words. “You don’t need to impress me, alright? Your work ethic and your intelligence have already done that. I don’t need you to act like a chest-thumping primate in order for me to like you.”

My breath catches in my throat.

Did I hear it right?

“Wait, you like me?”

She opens her mouth to reply, but no words come out. Instead, her eyes widen suddenly, and her gaze flies over my shoulder and at something behind me. When I turn around to see what she’s looking at, all I see are the two Vakutan from before rushing down the alleyway.

I try to reach for my pistol, but they’re already too close. Before I can do a damn thing about it, the Vakutan with the cyber hand holds his gun and shoots, hitting me straight in the chest. For a moment, I think I’m done for, but then feel a powerful surge of electricity running through my body. The bastard didn’t shoot to kill. Instead, he used the paralyzer mode in his gun to knock me out.

I’ll only be paralyzed for about two minutes, but that means I won’t be able to protect Thrase. Whatever happens next, she’ll have to handle it on her own. Unless, of course, I can somehow force myself out of this paralysis.

Shit, these are going to be two long minutes.

Chapter Six

Thrase

“Don’t come any closer, or I’ll shoot.”

Bold words considering I’ve yet to even draw my weapon. Back pedaling on instinct from the two massively muscled, ridge-faced warriors, my hand fumbles for the handle but I can’t quite seem to grasp with my trembling fingers.

The one with a scar down his cheek sneers, his lips curling back from row upon row of razor-sharp teeth.

“Shoot me with what? You’re too much of a coward to even draw your weapon.”

His fellow with a cyber hand chuckles as he runs his bleary-eyed gaze up and down my body in a way that gives me chills for all the wrong reasons.

“I’d say this human is built more for love than war.”

I finally manage to draw my weapon, and point it at cyber hand since he’s moved in closer.

“That’s far enough.”

They pause in their advance, eyes growing narrow and crafty. Scar face peers intently at my weapon and then lowers his own, laughing derisively.

“She hasn’t even got the safety turned off. She’s not shooting a damn thing.”

I lift the barrel of the gun away from him in a panic, checking to see how I can turn the safety off. That’s when his arm darts out faster than a striking serpent and knocks the pistol right out of my grip.

“Ha. That model doesn’t even have a safety, stupid shortspan. It’s called the Gunslinger’s special for a reason.”

Now I’m in a real panic. Miss smartest woman in the room disarmed by a simple trick. I can’t see beyond their hulking forms, so I don’t even know if Zander is still alive. Even if he is, he apparently isn’t in any shape to offer assistance.

They continue moving in on me, sheathing their weapons. They probably figure they don’t need them for an unarmed human woman half their size. I hate the fact they’re probably right about that.

What would Varia do in this situation? Probably pick up that beer bottle and bust it over one of their ridged heads. But I can’t bring myself to do anything beyond walking backward.

“Help. Somebody help…”

The Vakutans laugh, and add their own cries