Page 10 of The Alien Warrior's Vow

“Whatisit with you and Lans?” Sara threw her hands up.

“Don’t look at me like I’m the crazy one for not trusting these guys just because you fell in love with one.”

“Look,” Sara pinched between her brows, “I’m not saying you have to fall in love with Lans. Hell, you don’t even have to like him.” She stepped forward. “But you need to listen to him.”

Rebellion flared in Emma’s heart.

She opened her mouth.

Sara lifted a slender hand, cutting her off. “You want to join us on this mission, you play nice with your teacher. Lans has been fighting for centuries. Every move he teaches you is a move that could keep you alive. We don’t have time for you two to be fighting and not training.”

“It’s not like I intentionally fight with him. We rub each other the wrong way,” Emma grumbled.

“Then start rubbing each other therightway.”

A vision of Lans dropping to his knees and slipping his fingers down her thighs slid through her mind.

Emma bit down hard on her bottom lip as electricity skittered through her veins.

Sara smirked. “Where did your mind go?”

“Nowhere.”

A knowing look crossed Sara’s expression but, before the other woman could speak, the door breezed open. Kia and Simone strode through. Both women wore an outfit similar to hers except theirs had a metal bracelet on both wrists with a blinking light protruding from the top.

Emma jutted her chin at the device. “You and your mate celebrating your three-day anniversary?”

“No.” Kia lifted both hands, flashing her bracelets. “They’re supposed to help us control the zaptens.”

“I thought you could control them with your minds?”

“Yeah, but there’s a whole lot of things they can do that we’re not even aware of yet. This will help to access those commands more easily,” Simone said. She scooped up her thick hair and pulled it into a messy bun at the top of her head. “Are you going to use Lans’s zapten?”

Emma shrugged. “I’m not sure it will like me.”

“There’s only one way to find out.”

Emma nervously played with a lock of her hair. “We should go. There’s no time to waste as our lovely leader just pointed out.”

“Emma…” Sara sighed.

She backed up to the door. “I know. I know. I’ll be on my best behavior.”

The room was silent.

Emma could feel the gazes of the other women heavy on her, but she didn’t look back.

They all thought she was closed off, rude and jaded.

And they were right. She was all those things.

If they’d ever met on earth, Emma doubted any of those women would try so hard to be her friend. Being stuck on an alien planet with little human contact meant that they didn’t really have a choice but to put up with her.

Emma stomped into the sunshine and fell into the shadow cast by the giant zaptens. They’d moved from the cabin where Lans had originally taken her and now they were in a more mountainous area that seemed closer to the sky.

Her heart thumping in anticipation, Emma stared at Lans’s zapten. It was huge, hulking and scary-looking, just like its owner. Even if she didn’tknowit was his, she would have guessed that by the scowl on its metallic face and its dark, imposing eyes.

“Hey there, big fella.” She inched closer to the zapten. It’s gears made a clicking sound as it tilted its head and stared at her.