Page 210 of Galaxy Games Four-Book Box Set (Galaxy Games)

210

Badass

A ’Dar

After we slip into the armory, I soundlessly press Maya’s back to the door, indicating I want her to stay there, then I investigate every aisle of our weapons cache.

When it’s clear we’re alone in here, I beckon her to join me, then pull her against the back wall. This is the first moment since we left our cabin that we’ve had even a modicum of safety.

Tucking her against me, I inhale deeply, her scent calming and fortifying me. Instead of satiating my need for her, though, it sparks more urgency, causing me to lick her cheek, then slide my tongue down her neck to gently lap at the divot at the base of her throat.

“So beautiful, so delicate.”

It’s not lost on me that this is the exact spot I punctured with my knife when I killed the Anthen female.

“Precious. So precious to me, mate.”

It’s only after I’ve inhaled her scent and licked her skin that I can lift my head to look at her.

“Are you okay?” I ask as I lean my forehead to hers, unable to refrain from breathing her air.

“I’m more than okay,” she says. “I’m a badass, couldn’t you tell?”

My hands move almost of their own accord to slide from her shoulders to the globes of her ass.

“It seems to be a fine ass, not a bad one,” I say.

I’ve certainly crossed the line into insanity because instead of striding down the aisles of weapons, finding what we need, and planning our next strike, all my mind can think about is how it felt to plunge my cock into her slick, needy, welcoming core. What I learned about machta in school did not prepare me for this.

Maya tucks her head under my chin and takes a shaky breath. She wants to present a strong front, but that fight in the stairwell took its toll on her. After breathing in more of my scent, her little tongue laps at my neck.

I imagine she’s feeling the need for my blood, just as I need hers. Pulling her away from me, I inspect her eyes—still golden. We’ll be fine for a bit longer.

“Biological imperative,” she says, forgetting for a moment to keep her voice to a whisper. “Powerful.”

Warmth explodes in the center of my chest. My feelings for her are more than a biological imperative, but now is not the time to explore that.

I pull us back to the task. “I believe a darning will be the best weapon for you.” I take her hand and stride down the aisles, looking for it.

“I thought nothing worked because of the pulse.”

“This isn’t a laser. It doesn’t work on that type of power. It shoots flames.”

“Badass!” I don’t know how she does it, but even though she’s whispering, it’s a shout. “Maya gets to use a flamethrower! Wow! Didn’t Schwarzenegger use that in like every single one of his movies?”

Is she talking Earther? She’s making no sense. But she doesn’t seem as terrified as she had been. That’s a good thing.

Before I can hand it to her, she grabs it, feels the heft of it, and intuitively figures out how to hold it.

“I thought it would be bigger.” She shrugs. “How do I test it?”

I take her to the attached shooting range. The sound buffering is also fire retardant.

“Have fun,” I say, acutely aware that nothing has met that definition since I awakened from stasis. Might there be a day in the future when we find fun? Where we have time to explore each other in a way that doesn’t seem rushed? That isn’t fraught with fear of what the next moment might bring? I hope so.