Page 13 of Thruster (Hunted Relics #9)

I trace the pinged tech and tire tracks to an outpost in the forest, then send Holo a message with our location. Found him.

HoloFeatherLite: Understood. Cannot assist. See coordinates for available ship cave-hangar near camp. He can take a hit. Use the ship.

Hunkering down in the bushes, I watch and wait for signs of who and what else might be inside.

There are several Solcrue guard squads and officers. No one enters or leaves as I crouch in the bushes and peer into camp. A growl somewhere nearby catches my attention.

Swiveling quietly in the grass, I sneak toward the ship, watching my back, gun ready. It was easy to follow the tracks to the outpost, but I think something found my scent just as easy to follow.

Another growl, paired with scratching sounds, urges me into a sprint for the FeatherLite. A tree bends and waves not far to my right, then another, like something runs alongside me.

My heart keeps pace with my feet without pain, and I’m suddenly glad for the cybernetic parts.

Ahead of me, a huge mutant wolf with massive claws bounds into the opening between me and the ship. As I slow, trying to figure out what to do, a shadow bolts out of the trees to my left, claws extended and ready to shred me. I stumble back and move my right hand toward its chest, firing repeatedly. The animal lands limply on top of me, coating me with blood.

Afraid the other is just waiting for its turn, I free my gun from under the wolf and point it in the direction of the other creature. It charges at someone standing at the edge of the meadow. By the smoother skin of their face, I know the stranger isn't Solcrue, so I fire at the wolf until it staggers and drops.

Distant growls make me wrestle myself out from beneath the animal. When I’m on my feet again, I run for my ship. Whoever was watching me before is gone now.

I find a clean part of my uniform and wipe the scalding blood from my face. It sizzles on my armor, eating halfway through it before fizzling out.

After one more check of my surroundings to make sure I’m alone, I lower the ramp and climb inside, promptly closing it.

Lifting the ship, I switch on the shields and head for the outpost. Holo suggested I use the ship and just blow the base to smithereens.

“Thruster, do you copy?”

I don’t get a response.

“Thruster, do you copy? Shots inbound!”

I get as close as I can, then fire a warning shot. Hopefully, it gives Thruster enough time to figure out what's going on if he's awake and maybe wake him up if he's not. I suppose if he's built to endure so many engines' worth of heat, he can probably handle an explosion or ten.

Switching from the blazing bullets to the blasters, I punch holes in the outpost walls. They crumble, and I fear Thruster isn't able to escape on his own terms.

“Thruster, do you copy?”

“Copy! Climbing out now.”

I circle the outpost as someone with a rifle fires up at me. Tipping the ship, I let the bullets skip by under a wing and then race around until I see Thruster’s gold body in the sunlight.

I drop low. “Hurry!”

He runs toward me.

An enormous rifle breaks a window on the second floor.

"Come on!" I hover the ship's steps closer to him, look back, see him grab on, and then launch us into the sky. "Hope your grip is still strong!"

“Go!” Thruster shouts at me.

I bank hard and fast away from the outpost. A rocket lights up the cabin as it passes just behind Thruster, barely missing our tail.

He hikes up, throws himself in a seat, finds a port in the wall, and pulls out a cable, which he connects to his chest. Seams light up gold all over him. Then he tags the outpost with a missile, wiping it off of Ellipsis for good.

Once we’re out of range of the outpost, I head for the hangar Holo mentioned.

When Thruster’s luminosity steadies, he disconnects, gets up, and digs through cabinets. He pulls out a large set of cutters and snaps the cuffs and collar from his neck, then opens the ramp and drops them out the belly of the ship.

“Don’t you think we should go help them? Holo, Fury, and Coil?” I ask.

“No. I see you’re taking us to the available hangar. If that’s what Holo wanted you to do, then it’s best to do it. He sees things we don’t.”

“Literally?”

Thruster nods. “We’ll lay low for a few hours, until the search party gets turned around looking for us, then we’ll rejoin the fight.”

I take us down into the narrow channel between the trees and hover over the river until I see the hillside. “Where is it?”

Thruster points. “It’s shielded with chameleon skins.”

I ease us into the side of the mountain and watch as the rocks give way to a shadowed hangar. “Stars, I wish we had this cloaking capability in the asteroid belt. That would’ve saved a lot of lives.”

“I’m sure we can share some secrets if we all meet up again.”

“If?”

Thruster grimaces. “Hope is important, but we can’t disregard reality. We have a very big fight ahead of us if we hope to get free of this planet with anyone left.”

I set the ship down. Thruster unbuckles with me, then picks me up, and carries me into the back, to a small room with a single bed and a shower built into the side. “You are covered in blood.”

“Welvir, I think.”

His eyes widen. “So you are injured?”

“I don’t think so.”

“I better check. Their saliva can literally burn. It’s acidic.”

Thruster helps me out of my destroyed vest, then my harness and suit and encourages me into the stall. He switches on the water and washes my skin, but I don’t see what has him so concerned. His hands are warm and gentle around my curves, and he checks every single one.

“We should wash your clothes,” he whispers in my ear as his hands caress my breasts, gently massaging them as he timidly works my bra off my chest. His teeth nibble the rim of my ear as he pulls me back against his body.

Thruster’s viciously erect between my ass cheeks, but he doesn’t grind into me like I wish he would. Instead, he slides a hand down my navel and slips a finger over my clit and between my folds.

His other arm snakes around my belly, and Thruster hugs me with a restrained sob against my neck.

Bracing his head against mine, I nuzzle his cheek. "I'm here. You're here. Whatever else is going on, let it go."

Thruster only hugs me tighter, and I realize I’m what he was worried about letting go of. He kisses the base of my neck and seems to find peace.

His hands travel over my hips, drawing my panties down. Then he gets on his knees, turns me around, and guides me against him.

Thruster lays me back in the water, trails affectionate fingers down my stomach, and just stares at me for a moment like he can't believe I'm here, bared before him. Then he leans over me and kisses me with such passion that I know I’ve found the only one for me.

“I never got to tell you...”

“You hesitated.” I crane up and kiss him. “Don’t hesitate again.”

Thruster frantically tears himself out of his harness and suit. I get up to try and help, but he’s already down to his synthskin. He crashes into me, and presses me against the shower stall, an engine on his back kicking on. We levitate just to the point that our feet aren't on the floor, and then he grabs me by the hips and spreads my legs to him.

The tip of his shaft is hot and wet as he guides himself into me. His girth stretches me with glorious, feverish pulses that rumble to the drone of his engine. Thruster keeps my feet near his legs, and I sense it's for the best as the engine in his lower back pops with raging hot thrust.

It launches his hips into mine with an exquisite amount of force, the perfect hit that buries him to the max, just a little too fast for me to adjust. I strain to accept him, and a moan of erotic pleasure escapes me. I clench around him as he bump-thrusts into me again.

"That's it," he says gently, taking my hands in his, binding them into one of his, and holding them over my head. He keeps us aligned with his other hand as he pumps faster.

A scintillating high kicks in, sending my skin prickling and my nipples tightening as they scrape against his firm chest.

“You are so beautiful,” he says into my ear. Thruster kisses my neck, spares a moment between pumps to tenderly pinch and toy with my buds and then lick them in admiration like I’m a delicious treat. He reaches between us and finds my clit with his thumb, igniting a vicious need for him.

“Thank you for fighting for me. I’m glad you’re not hurt,” he utters.

“I’m starting to think—”

He thrusts into me again.

I gasp from the growing euphoria. “This was just a ploy to get my clothes off.”

Thruster laughs once through a bashful smile. “Am I that transparent?”

“I’m not complaining.” I kiss him and feel his cock flex inside of me. A titillating wave of ecstasy tenses my core. “Oh, Thruster—”

He gets the message and picks up his pace until his movements become indistinguishable from the sizzling pulses of my core. When Thruster releases his hot nectar into me, the high is so powerful that it makes me convulse in his arms. He fills me again, and a third time, before he eases his bonding of our bodies.

He collects me as his engine shuts off, and lays me back on the floor. Thruster kisses my lips, then withdraws as he trails his affection down my body to my nipples. He swirls his tongue around each, then the entire globe, and then moves further south.

As he dips a finger into my delicate flesh, he mutters something to himself that I can’t understand as my high climbs again. Thruster glides his hot wet tongue over my clit and licks my opening, uncaring of any evidence he was just inside me.

It doesn't take but a single plunge of his molten tongue as he licks me from the inside out to send me over the edge again. I clench around him and buck weakly, wishing he was inside me. "Please. I'm not ready to be without you."

Thruster shifts his muscled weight and buries himself in me again. His whole body shudders, and I feel another spurt of his heat fill me. His moan of pleasure makes me never want to let him go.

The shower sprays over his back. And as I descend from my climax, I notice the strange way it drips from his shoulder and side. “Thruster?”

He breathes deeply and looks at the bullet holes that have my attention. “Pain is normal. I just don’t have engines from my left side down. Everything else works fine.”

“We best get cleaned up so I can take a look. We need you in the sky.”

He squints at me with a grin. "As long as you need me.”

I kiss his chin. “I do. Pretty sure no one can compare to you. Now, let’s get you fixed up.”