AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Perhaps if you directed your shipoutof the line of fire?” he suggested.
This time she nearly backed intohisvessel. He burst out laughing. “Space has more than two directions, you know.”
“Please! You’re really not helping!”
“Apologies.” He launched off, drawing fire as his voice floated into her cabin with not a care in the world. “I need to take this ship in with the passengers. And I mean it about the outpost. I’ll make sure you get there, and you’ll receive payment.”
“What are you doing?” she cried. His ship had stalled in the darkness. “They’re gonna shoot at you!”
“I’m boarding our quarry.”
Moments later, he perched on the hood of his vessel. Hoping to get a better view, she leaned toward the monitor and stared. His spine resembled fiber-optic ribbons, running from his almost humanoid head to his lizard-like tail. A layer of dark armor covered the bulk of his body—as if he were merely a human wearing a lobster shell.
Despite the strange details, she found him undeniably masculine-looking.
He was also really fucking fast. She barely got half a second to ogle him before he was gone, breaking through the pirate ship’s window, disappearing into the chaos, and effectively giving meaning to the term, ‘bull in a china shop.’
He was utter, fucking chaos.
There was no way this ended well for her, especially if he came after her next. A pang of regret sat heavily in her as she forced her ship in the opposite direction and went flying off toward the sun. Trusting strangers in outer space was how you got yourself killed.
* * *
“Shit, shit shit shit—no you stupid ship. Not like this. You can’t do this to me.Please!”
It was hopeless. The Selkie ran out of fuel with a pitiful littleblurpthat sounded like her soul dying. Lucca was doomed to drift forever.
“You wanted to go to space so bad,” she could hear her ex-fiancé saying. “Who’s gonna dig you out when your dumb ass gets too close to a black hole? They don’t have Triple A in space.”
She didn’t know whether to cry out in relief or wet herself in terror when the red ship swooped down on top of her like a bird of prey. Her body settled for the worst of both options—she cried out at the same time she felt some pee releasing.
He immediately locked onto her comms.
“Ah, you thought you could escape my attention, little science ship.”
She was going to cry. She was really, really going to cry.
“Not to worry,” he carried on. “I’m very good at finding ships. And now I have yours.”
Before she could determine what to say to make him go away, she felt her ship give a dangerous lurch. Something latched onto the outside hull. Oh, good lord, he’d just picked her up like a toy in a claw machine.
She gave a helpless wail as the Selkie walls tumbled—the steady engine heartbeat thrown out of step, dishes rattling in the kitchen. In a matter of seconds, she was being carried off to the stars.
All because he’d simplyassumedhe could do this. He’d seen her sitting there like a thing he wanted, plucked her up, and taken her.
Presumptuous bastard.
She slammed the communication button. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
His warm reply came quickly. “Oh good, you’re still onboard.”
“I asked you a question!”
“I’m carrying you to an outpost. You’re welcome.”
“I—you—you didn’t ask!”
His ship kept carrying hers. Through the cameras, she noticed another ship behind him, being towed along via cable. Were pirates rattling around inside or had they been left so he could take their enclosure?
