Page 6 of Crash Landed: The Daranthiki

Her scowl intensified as she slid at full speed around the corner. She couldn’t even ask the fucking AI since the droid had already disabled it.

“Fucking useless droids aren’t worth the scrap metal they’re made from.,” she grumbled as she sped up just as the engineering room came into view. Isn’t that what Greg had always bitched about when yet another one of their droids stopped working? “Of course I would get the one that can’t even alert me about the condition of the ship. It just ignores my questions and stomps off to continue stripping the ship.”

She wasn’t going to risk it. If the droid was malfunctioning, she was going to insist that they get the fuck out of there and get to the nearest space station. Screw whatever else it was required to pull from the ship. She wasn’t staying there a moment longer!

She burst into engineering but immediately stumbled to a halt, her eyes widening at the sight of the enormous engine dominating the room. The droid stood at one side, its hands moving at a swift pace that was difficult to track as it began pulling small components from the drive and stuck them into the sack that seemed to materialize from nowhere. Said sack was now slung across its chest and already bulging with all the tech the droid was shoving into it. It turned an ear toward her and glanced up expressionlessly, its eyes narrowing on her once again. If droids were capable of emotions, she would’ve sworn that it was glowering impatiently at her presence. She shook her head and gave a silent, mirthless snort. That was ridiculous.

Pulling her shoulders back confidently, she strode up behind the droid and stopped beside it. She frowned down at the mess of tubes, chips, and wires that were exposed as the droid methodically gutted the engine of its parts. Mercifully, nothing appeared to be going off, but the sight still made her distinctly uncomfortable.

She glanced over and up at the droid, suddenly aware of just how close it was. Her palms itched for some kind of weapon with which to protect herself—a blaster preferably, and one with enough kick to take off the droid’s head or any other body part, if necessary. She flattened her expression with the renowned McGillin poker face as she stared over at her “rescuer.”

What a joke.

She narrowed her eyes at it and jutted her chin out stubbornly. She was prepared to engage in battle to get the droid moving in the right direction. She knew it was looking at her from the corner of its eye, and she lifted her chin subtly. She jumped, however, when the droid tore out what looked to be a large section from the engine’s casing with a loud squeal of separating metal. A thick connector cable pulled free, and for a moment the lights flickered and noticeably dimmed.

The droid froze and stared up at the lights and then at the engine, its ears pricked on alert as the red glow of its eyes shifted and swirled with whatever internal calculations it was making.

Daisy chuckled uneasily, half-expecting the lights to die out completely.

“That thing must have one hell of a spark plug,” she joked lamely. “Now, seriously, it’s time to go. You will just have to chalk up whatever you didn’t get as a loss because we aren’t staying here a moment longer.”

The droid’s long ears flattened back, and its lip curled with clear disdain that made her heart thump uneasily as a shiver ran through her.

“You do not order me, female,” it hissed vehemently, as if it were the one at the end of its patience and not her.

“This is not right,” she mumbled to herself with unease. “You’re definitely malfunctioning. Droids do not talk that way.”

It spun on her, sticking the large component beneath its arm as its eyes narrowed in an unmistakably impatient glare. “I am not a droid, human. Now get out of my way and cease your noise so I can finish and be on my way.” With a final glare, it turned its broad, muscular back to her. The movement of the muscles as it worked was now noticeably far too organic to be that of a droid.

She froze, her blood chilling.

Not. A. Droid.

Fuck!

In a move of desperation, she rushed forward for the blaster on its hip, but her hand did not even skim the cool metal before the alien turned far too quickly and wrapped its hand around her wrist in a bruising grip.

A low, threatening growl filled the air, and Daisy paled at the maelstrom of red fire in its eyes. This was not going to end well.

Chapter 5

Zil glared down at the human. This was the second time it had attempted to pull a weapon on him. He could have easily killed it for such a maneuver, but oddly he didn’t want to. In fact, now that he was touching it, a hum lit through him, sending another bolt of awareness curling through his systems. His nostrils flared and his tongue flicked out to taste the air as he eased forward, drawing in the scent. He had avoided scenting the human out of habit, but now that he had her scent, he nearly groaned as he felt his cock tighten with interest. All the signs that he had missed earlier suddenly clarified in his mind.

A female! He had a human female in his hands!

The chances of finding a lone female of the human species were so rare that it was a miracle she had escaped the notice of the Valthaan, the pirates who terrorized this sector of space. An unprotected female, especially a species as exotic and rare as a human in these quadrants, would have been impossible for the Valthaan to ignore if they had found her. What if they returned, or something just as bad arrived, drawn to the sudden appearance of the beacon? A hot, aggressive sensation stirred in his belly, rising so vehemently that it surprised him.

It was clear that he could not, in good conscience—something which even he was mildly surprised to discover that he possessed—leave her alone on the ship with a beacon that could draw any kind of questionable rabble to the ship. A human male might be able to bargain labor for passage, but if anyone else discovered that she was female, she would disappear into one of the space stations, never to be heard of again. If she was not kept as a private pleasure slave by whoever found her.

They would not!

His teeth snapped together hard as a proprietorial urge sank its claws deep into him and had him dragging her against his body before he could stop himself. The full length of their bodies collided together, her body fitting too perfectly against his so that his cock was cradled against her soft belly. Her eyes widened with awareness and surprise as a conflicting rush of emotions flooded him. White-hot desire seared through him with alarming intensity—and then the sudden need to immediately put distance between them. He did not like the effect she had on him. In fact, in his position, his newly discovered compassion for her was both unexpected and annoying.

“Well, whatever you’re planning with me pinned like this, at least get on with it. If you are waiting for me to beg for my life, you are in for a long fucking wait,” she choked out in a direct challenge to him.

A low growl rumbled from him appreciatively. She was still afraid, but her words were bold and contained a ferocity that appealed to him whether he liked to acknowledge it or not. She did not know him, nor that his core systems programming prohibited the sort of thing he knew she was afraid of. Even if he had any desire in forcibly taking the female to slake the fire running through his veins, he could not. Yet, even not knowing those things, she stood defiantly against him.

She was... a little charming.