Page 5 of Touch the Stars (Ghara Empire #1)

Baatar.

I did it! I secured the future grand empress of the Gharan Empire!

And he had done so before the Bajiki Syndicate found her.

He gazed down at the stunningly beautiful and completely unconscious female pressed against his side.

Thanks to his quick reflexes, he had caught her before her body had fully collapsed.

Presenting her to the emperor and the Ancient Ones physically damaged would not be honorable or well received.

At least she was safe. The Nineteen were safe. Her own planet, too, was safe, but her people would not know that until the imperial envoy was sent to guide them through the assimilation process.

Whoever the great one chose to be the envoy would be fortunate. What an honor that would be. Perhaps the emperor would be open to recommendations. Ulaani would excel in such a role. His older sister was a proven warrior with a keen mind for achieving victory through words.

He pushed those thoughts away. Before an envoy was chosen or sent, he must complete his own mission. All that was left was to deliver the future empress to Ghara so the emperor could prepare her to assume her duties.

Easy.

“What the hell did you do to her?”

The alien words were instantly spun into Undetan by the translator attached to his earlobe. Ah, yes, the other human…a male, puny, and of no consequence.

“The grand empress’s welfare is no longer your concern.”

I am her defender now.

At least until he delivered her to Ghara.

The male tilted his head and yammered pointlessly at a small speaker-like device attached to his shoulder. Hardly anything to be concerned about.

What was concerning was how easily the empress-to-be had succumbed to unconsciousness from a single blanker beam. Blankers were designed to immobilize a subject, not render them senseless.

He moved his gaze to the device in his other hand.

The setting was at its lowest, yet he had barely caught her before she had crumpled to the metal surface of her wheeled transport.

Was she unhealthy? Surely the Ancient Ones would not have chosen her if she were weak, or ill.

Besides, she had exhibited a warrior’s fearlessness when she had confronted him moments ago, and although her curvy form was smaller than even the smallest Undetan female, it was sturdy, strong.

He hefted her negligible weight up and over his shoulder. A soft cloud of womanly scent invaded his senses. Blood rushed straight to his groin, and he barely managed to stifle the groan lodged in his chest. What a wholly improper reaction to the female who would soon be his empress!

Says the one who was almost too ensnared by her gaze to function.

It must have been her deep brown eyes—a nonexistent trait among the people of Undet—that had struck a chord deep within him and set the rhythm of his heart fluctuating wildly. What other explanation was there for his reaction?

None.

He turned away from the human male of no consequence who seemed to have abandoned his first device in favor of another more angular one. If it was the human equivalent of blankers, the male must know he was out of range.

“Put. Miss. Bergh. Down. Now .”

The inconsequential human male was speaking again. Miss Bergh must be the future empress’s name on her planet. Soon she would be known throughout the star system as Grand Empress of the Gharan Empire. The Great One. The—

A long, low growling sound came from the imperial belly. Of course! Lack of nourishment would explain her unusual weakness. That he could fix as soon as she was safely aboard, and the cruiser on course for Ghara.

Bang!

A loud sound resonated through the night air and something small impacted against his thigh with bruising force. He glanced down. Nothing seemed out of place except a small disk of metal in the sand next to his boot.

He raised his gaze to meet the male’s. A sharp, acrid odor tickled his nose and a wisp of smoke floated from the circular opening of the angular black object the male gripped. Some sort of weapon, then, not a blanker. It had a greater range than a blanker, too.

I must remember to include that in my mission report.

“Your clothes are bulletproof ?” The last word did not translate, but there was no mistaking the human’s tone of disbelief. The male raised the angular weapon higher. “Stay where you are!”

Such a ridiculous order, but as something must be done about him and his smelly weapon... He tightened his grip around the empress’s legs as he moved around her odd, wheeled transport.

The male took a step back. “I said, stay where—”

He raised his blanker, then gave the trigger a light squeeze. Light flashed from the device and the male froze mid-step, his dark face stuck in an expression of wide-eyed shock.

But he did not faint.

This one must be sufficiently nourished.

A grunt of satisfaction rumbled in his chest as he returned the blanker to its belt case. Then he turned and set a loping pace in the direction of the cruiser. As soon as he had the empress comfortably ensconced aboard, he would return to deal with the inconsequential human.

Moments later, he strode up the ramp of the ship, then through the wavering portion of its hull. He followed the main corridor toward the ship’s imperial quarters.

“Neltai.” A door-size rectangle of the cabin’s wall undulated, and he stepped through it into the room.

He took in the space with a sweep of his gaze.

Empty, white, and no furniture other than the bed.

Although, the equally spaced columns of blinking blue lights along one wall indicated the presence of built-in storage drawers.

The current grand emperor did seem to prefer the bare essentials in decorating.

Would his heir make different choices?

He transferred her weight to cradle her slack form in his arms. Given the bright colors of her clothing, the number of decorative pieces of ornament around her ears, and the delicate half-heart pendant around her neck, it was highly likely she would favor a more vibrant environment.

Reverence filled him as he gently lowered the future empress onto the huge bed.

Her golden hair spilled across the white pillow and partially obscured her pale, round face.

That would not do. He raised one hand and brushed it aside with gentle strokes.

It was as soft as a silver moth’s silk against his fingers.

Everything about her was the opposite of him.

Her hair and skin fair, not dark. Her eyes brown, not blue. She was unique, intriguing…ethereal.

And still not awake, thankfully. If she was, she would be demanding answers to the questions she had asked earlier. Along with new ones like why he dared touch her in such a familiar manner.

If only there was time to lie next to her soft body until she wakes—

He jerked his hand back, squeezed his eyes shut, then blinked them open. Why was he reacting in such an obscene manner? Such wayward feelings served no purpose other than to bring trouble. They must be banished.

Ghara awaited its next leader, and he stood here as his fingers twitched with the memory of her silky hair, well-formed thighs, and the firm globe of her bottom as he had carried her to the ship. Each cheek large enough to fill his hands. She had substance, and he liked substance.

“ Stop !”

He gave his head a sharp shake. Nothing mattered but his mission and restoring his family’s honor.

He gave the mattress a pressure test with his hands, adjusted it to a softer firmness for her comfort, then forced himself to turn away from the regal, golden-haired vision.

There was one more task to complete before departure: dealing with the inconsequential male still frozen on the strangely paved roadway.

There must be no witnesses.

Kaitlyn.

Weird images flashed through her mind. Sitting on the warm car hood…a sheriff’s deputy…a giant of a man striding out of the desert…a flash of bluish light...

Her body jerked awake and a gasp escaped her. Fuck. Had she slept through her alarm? What day was it? Goddamn, her bed had never felt so soft and comfortable.

She blinked up at the stark white ceiling once, twice, three times. Wait a minute… Who’d painted her Barely Lavender ceiling white? She darted her gaze around the room. More white?

“My Purple Poodle walls…” What the actual fuck?

And what’d happened to her eclectic collection of old, garage-sale bargain finds furniture? This was so not her bedroom.

“Where in the hell am I?” And what was that humming sound? White noise?

“ Apa? gra?a sam?a cy corga?a kasagān rava jhāta .” A woman’s voice spoke from…everywhere, it seemed.

“Eep!” She sat up, or tried to. A strap over her chest stopped her. “Who’s there? Where am I?”

“You are aboard the grand emperor’s Nebula-class cruiser.” The unseen woman spoke English now.

“The grand emperor of what ?” What the hell was going on?

Oh, wait! The Not Big Foot guy with the…ray gun thingy. He’d…he’d… shot her?

“Oh, for the love of God. You did not fucking abduct me.” But what else would explain the stark, furniture-less room and the evenly spaced blinking blue lights on the walls? She slapped one hand to her forehead. “Un-fucking-believable!”

If he thought for one second she was his little human sex slave, then he was in for a shock. No way would she cooperate with that little fantasy.

Wait a sec…

She raised her hand off her forehead and blinked at it, then moved her other hand up next to it.

Her hands weren’t strapped down? She drew her knees upward toward the ceiling, only to be stopped by something wrapped across her ankles.

So, the only things holding her to the bed were the straps across her chest, waist, and ankles, but not her hands.

“What a dumbass.” Must be his first abduction ever.

She lifted her head, and a wave of hypoglycemic-induced dizziness crashed over her.

Okaaay, let’s just lie back down for a moment .

Wasn’t it just stupid that one skipped meal could be what foiled her escape? For fuck’s sake, her freedom was at stake!

Steak. Saliva filled her mouth. A nice, juicy, medium-rare steak would be so good right about now. A low growl came from her stomach.

“Focus, Bergh.”

She ran her hands over the strap across her hips. No buckle, but there was something…a tab, maybe? She slowly raised her head again. Yes, a blinking blue tab. She grasped it and gave it a yank.

Click. Pop.

The strap retracted over the edge of the bed and disappeared. Jesus, that worked ? Okay, one down, two to go.

“Please remain strapped in for your safety.” The disembodied voice was back.

“My ass.” She repeated the process on the strap across her chest, then the one over her ankles.

Ah .

So much better. Now to get out of here. It was probably too much to hope that the door would automatically open for her. She scooched herself to the edge of the bed.

“Departure sequence initialized,” the voice intoned. “Please resecure straps immediately.”

“Fuck off. Wait… Did you say—” A downward tugging sensation similar to a high-rise express elevator rising pulled at her, sinking her ass into the mattress. “What’s happening?”

“Lift off from the planet’s surface confirmed.” The voice sounded way too happy about that. “Please resecure straps before we encounter the protective debris field of metal objects surrounding the planet.”

Debris field? What debris field?

The entire room dropped like a rollercoaster in freefall, and a screech escaped her. “What the actual fuck?”

She flipped onto her stomach, dug her fingers into the mattress as she full-body wriggled toward the center of the bed. The thin film of a blanket covering the bed bunched up under her with every side-to-side movement.

The room stabilized again. She paused her thrashing, raised her head, then let her gaze dart around. Nothing out of place, except her stomach, which threatened to expel all the nothingness that was in it.

She clenched her teeth together. “I hate rollercoasters.”

Which was weird, because the rest of her family had loved those nauseating, head-jerking, puke-inducing rides. Even Kris.

“Please elaborate.”

I’m starting to hate that voice, too.

“Elaborate what?”

“What is a rollercoaster?”

She lowered her head until her forehead touched a wadded bit of blanket. “Are we out of the debris field yet?”

“No.”

The room listed upward, slowly raising her head higher than her feet. “Ohhh, shiiiit…”

She clawed at the blanket and dug in with the toes of her sneakers against the slick material as the room passed a forty-five-degree angle and kept going.

If only she’d listened to that stupid voice and put the straps back on, she wouldn’t be sliding down the bed toward the wall that was now below her. Literally.

Abruptly, everything tilted in the other direction, and suddenly she was sliding face first across the bed toward the opposite wall.

“Who’s driving this thiiiing?”

“Warrior Baatar of Undet, in the service of the grand emperor.”

And that was helpful, how?

Another shift, this one to the right, body slammed her back-first into the headboard wall.

“Oomph!” Her breaths came in short puffs. “Is he crazy ?”

“Warrior Baatar is of sound mind.”

No. He is not.

“He drives like a maniac.” If the emperor dude was smart, he’d fire Butt-tar’s ass.

As if to prove her point, everything pivoted again, sending her back toward the first wall, feet first. Her body slid over the edge of the bed into midair and a scream ripped out of her.

Thud!

“OW!” The wall was a lot harder than the bed. “Fuck me.”

The room leveled out and gravity slid her down the wall to the floor. Should she stay on the floor like the panting mess she was, or make a run for the softness of the bed and try to get herself belted in again?

“Debris field cleared.” Again, that voice seemed too pleased.

A long groan rose up from some deep, unbruised part of her. “Thank, fuck. No more crazy driving.”

“Evasive maneuvers were necessary.”

“Pffft.” She pushed herself to sit upright, then leaned her back against the wall. “Easy to say went you weren’t the one getting bounced around like a marble in a paint can. Jesus, I’m gonna have more bruises than a bar fight.”

The voice didn’t respond, which was a good thing. The conversation was getting on her last nerve anyway. She clambered to her feet, took in a deep breath through her mouth, puffed her cheeks, then blew it out the same way.

“Prepare for an audience,” the voice announced.

What did that even mean? Oh. “You mean someone’s coming here? To this room?”

“Yes.”

Please let it be the emperor-dude, because she had a few things to say to him.

On second thoughts, if she was a sex slave, then the emperor must be in on her abduction. She needed a Plan B, fast.