"Were you trying to escape?"
Ava blinked up at a bare-chested alien, his chest criss-crossed with shiny
gold straps, with some odd insignia on them, then at the man in the
green tunic, whom she recognized. They were standing on what
appeared to be the bridge of the spaceship.
"What do you care?" she said, not interested in what the aliens thought.
She was feeling more angry than brave just then.He stiffened at her response, apparently surprised, then focused on the
men beside her.
"She tried stealing one of our canvas modules," one explained, also in
English. "She actually had it set to launch when we stopped her."
The ebony eyes widened with surprise.
"Is this true?" he asked her, his expression one of amazement at her
audacity.
Ava shrugged. "So what if it is?"
The man frowned then and turned to peer up at the man sitting on the
command platform. All eyes turned in that direction as the man,
unnoticed by Ava until now, rose up from his seat and moved to join
them in the navigation area below. As he descended the curving metal
steps, Ava lifted her gaze to study him. Her jaw dropped, her breath
intaking sharply. Oh, my... He seemed like the other aliens she had met,
yet there was something different about him. The mere sight of him
and his air of authority evoked a sudden terror into her.
He was a large man, powerfully built, with broad shoulders and bulging
muscles. He towered an incredible height of at least seven feet or more
and was, without a doubt, the most arrestingly handsome man she had
ever seen. The fact that he was an alien was beside the point.
At first glance, she thought her heart had stopped beating for she had
never seen a man like this one. With his thick, raven-black hair reaching
just below his shoulders, she wondered at the power of him for he
exuded such an aura of magnetism that it made her tremble. She didn't
know if her fear related to her unexpected attraction to him or because
he was, in fact, the alien apparently in charge. If this man was to
determine her fate, she wondered if disrespecting his men had been theright thing to do. Still gaping up at him, she felt her legs unconsciously
buckling beneath her.
Apparently used to the female reaction to this particular man, the men
beside her immediately drew her upright again, much to her
embarrassment. Still, almost without volition, her gaze remained
riveted to the alien. Curious, as any female would be, she daringly
dropped her awed gaze along his lean torso, tightly clad in a black outfit.
He wore tall black boots and a shining silver belt about his trim waist.
She snapped her mouth shut then, aware of how she must appear to
him. Yet it was all she could do not to reach out a curious hand to that
great chest. Blushing at her unbidden thoughts as she observed him,
she quickly shifted her gaze to the floor, figuratively quaking now in her
boots. She cringed, swallowing nervously. Stepping back, she collided
with another alien standing like a brick wall behind her, to prevent her
from running.
"Were you trying to escape, Miss Brandon?" came the deep, resonant
voice of the man before her, traces of his alien origins evident.
Still unable to look at him, she muttered a soft reply, sounding even to
her own ears like an unruly child.
"So what if I was?" she stated, with blatant disregard for his station, then
wishing she hadn't.
When no reply was forthcoming, she slowly raised curious eyes to his,
not expecting the sudden jolt to her system upon meeting his gaze
directly. Eyes as black and penetrating as any black hole snagged her
attention. Her jaw dropped again as she stared at him. Faith, he was
gorgeous. More than any words could possibly describe.
"You wish to return home? To your own planet?"His words sank into her befuddled brain then, and she gave herself a
mental shake, aware that he had just confirmed she was no longer on
Earth.
"Home? Um...y-yes. I want to go home," she managed, her tone low
and uncertain. She noted the strange gleam in his eye as he considered
her request. At his slight nod, the men holding her released her arms.
He exited the stairs, then stepped off the dais where she stood, so as to
face her on more equal ground. Despite her five-foot-eight-inch frame,
he dwarfed her easily by comparison. "I'm sorry," the man said. "But
that is impossible." She blinked, not understanding.
"Then...why did you ask me if I...wanted to go home?"
His fine lips curled slightly, and a sudden, overwhelming desire to feel
them pressed against hers shocked her into true alertness. Where on
earth had that come from? she wondered with wideeyed shock. And
then, it was as if she had been sucker-punched in the gut, so strong were
the feelings that came flooding through her as she gaped at him.
"I just wanted to know how strong the desire was," he admitted, his
dark eyes gleaming as if he was aware of her thoughts toward him.
"Considering that you have nothing to return home to, Miss Brandon, I
cannot understand your wanting to return there." Anger rose unbidden
then as she eyed him.
"What do you care what I want or why I want it?" she said, blinking back
tears of outrage. "And how do you know my name? I never gave it to
you." She took a step forward, glaring up at him. Trembling, her fists
clenched in fury. "Are you the one who brought me here? Huh? Are
you?" Then, before anyone could stop her, she shot forward and
brought her hand fully across the alien's face, the force of the
unexpected attack jerking his shaggy head to the side, amid the startledgasps of all present. At this, the two escorts grabbed her and secured
her struggling form between them. "Let me go! Let me go!"
But they ignored her cries as the commander righted himself to face her.
Aghast at what she had done, Ava considered him with apprehension as
he lifted a hand to rub his sore cheek. Perhaps this time, they would kill
her as they had the orderlies.
But he merely stared at her, his expression guarded. She had, however,
heard the sharp gasp from his men at her action, as if striking this man
was the last thing they had ever expected her to do.
"Tythis," he said at last, a calmness in his demeanor that seemed to
surprise everyone. "Take her to a suspension chamber. For the
remainder of our voyage."
"Ziros?"
"Don't question me. Just do it."
The warrior clamped his mouth shut on his forthcoming response,
hesitating as if doubting the decision. He motioned his comrade to
release her.
"This way, please."
Ava stared at the alien commander, her heart sinking like a lead weight
in her chest as she studied his somber expression. His reaction was not
what she had expected, and the easy strength he had just demonstrated
was unsettling. Suddenly ashamed at her outburst and attack, she
dropped her gaze and followed the guard into the elevator, to face
whatever punishment she had brought upon herself. Terror was far too
mild a word to describe how she was feeling now"Feisty, that one," Paxis stated in their native tongue, when the two had
gone.
"It would seem so," the commander said, giving a secretive smile. "And
it's too bad she'll have to learn things the hard way. The last thing I ever
wanted to do was punish her."
"Well, she'll understand eventually."
"I hope so. But right now, I don't think she likes me very much."
"But why the suspension chamber, Ziros? Why not her quarters?"
The commander gazed at the large view screen, at the stars fleeting past
them. "We are nearing the void," he said. "I need everyone at their
posts so no problems occur. The girl would only cause more and
interfere with our efficiency."
"Of course," the physician agreed, nodding at this wisdom.
Sighing, the larger man returned to his seat on the command platform.
"Starting off to a bad relationship wasn't part of my initial plan, but I'll
just have to deal with the repercussions as they arise." He eased back
into his seat and rubbed his face again, aware now of what he was up
against.