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She looked around the crowded room, scanning the various alien faces for the blue-skinned man who had questioned her. She didn't see him at first, all the people in the room making it difficult to spot just one person.
Then, a small group of aliens with shimmering diamond crests on the tops of their heads moved around each other, and she caught sight of him in a gap between someone's elbow and another person's back. He was talking with Tiir, the Latharian they had encountered when they first arrived at the station.
"There." She pointed discreetly. "Behind the aliens with the diamond head crests. He's talking to Tiir."
He followed her gesture, his expression growing thunderous as he spotted the blue-skinned alien.
"We're leaving," he said, half-rising from his seat and grabbing her upper arm to haul her with him. "Now."
* * *
Sadie blinked in surprise but thankfully didn't argue as Vaarn hurried her out of the conference room. A few Utrexians glared at him as he bumped into them, but he ignored them as he pivoted, keeping her smaller form concealed in front of him as he herded her to the door.
"What’s going on?" she asked breathlessly as they reached the relative quiet of the corridor. "What's wrong? Is it because of the blue guy?"
"That blue guy was a Liis," he bit out, keeping his pace up as he led her back through the maze-like corridors toward the docking arm and their ship. “A pirate.”
Her eyes widened in alarm. "A pirate? You mean like the ones you warned me about earlier?"
He gave a short nod. "Yes. If he's taken an interest in you, then it's not good. We need to get you away from here. Quickly."
He sped up, all but dragging her down the corridor, her petite hand clasped in his much larger one. In the distance, shouts and the sound of booted feet grew louder. He slid to a stop in the middle of the corridor, his head tilted as he listened out.
"What is it?" She drew closer to his side, and he wrapped an arm around her, keeping his weapon hand free.
"Pirates." He turned his head. The sounds of searching came from the left. "We need to move."
They set off again, Sadie running to keep up with him. Her face was drawn with fear and her breath came in hard pants, but he couldn’t let her slow down. They had to reach the ship before the pirates locked down the docking arm. If they captured Sadie, then she would become another slave sold at auction, or worse… shared among the pirates.
Vaarn gritted his teeth. He would protect her, whatever the price. Even if he had to use his own body as a shield. He clenched his fist, the blood surging through his veins.
If it was a fight they wanted, then it was a fight they were going to get. Taking on a Latharian warrior, even a lone one, was no mean feat. He hoped they'd come prepared because if they tried to get to his female…
His lip curled back from his teeth. He would paint these corridors in blood before he allowed them to take her from him.
But, sometimes winning wasn't about fighting. Spotting a supply closet, he shoved her inside the cramped space and crowded in behind her. Their bodies pressed together in the dark, ragged breaths rasping in the close silence as her soft curves melted against the hard, muscled planes of his warrior's body. Their fingers were still entwined, and her pulse fluttered like a bird's. He leaned down to breathe in her delicate scent, using it to help calm and ground him for what was to come.
She trembled against him.
"What if they find us?" Her voice was so low he barely heard her.
"They won't," he said, reaching up to stroke her hair in reassurance. "I give you my word, no harm will come to you."
His eyes had adjusted to the near darkness of the closet, and he could just make out her features as she lifted her gaze to his. Her eyes were wide with fear, but also trust. In him. His protective instincts flared a light-year wide. No matter what, this female would not suffer at the Liis' hands. Not while there was still breath left in his body.
The shouts grew louder, and the deck under their feet vibrated as what felt like a whole battalion of pirates stormed past their cramped hiding place. He tensed, his muscles coiled and ready. They were outnumbered, he knew that, but he didn't care.
Before he could react, or do anything stupid like leap out of hiding and take the pirates on, she rose up on her toes and kissed him. Hard. For a moment, everything else fell away, leaving just the two of them. Her lips were soft, the pressure of her tiny frame against his telling him she needed this. Needed him.
He growled in the back of his throat, a primal sound that echoed through the small space of their hiding place. The danger outside faded away as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer. His lips met hers with a fierce intensity, and for once, he didn't hold back.
He'd always been careful with her, aware of the fragility that lurked beneath her fierce exterior, and restrained himself. She wasn't his… not yet, he couldn't… shouldn't cut loose with her. But the moment her lips met his, he couldn't help himself. He needed her. He needed to feel her warmth and her softness. So he kissed her with all the pent-up longing that had been building inside him since they'd first met on that grubby street on Earth when she'd run toward their combat group with her sick child in her arms, begging them to save her sister.
This moment wasn't about Earth, though, or Devan Station… not about the Mate Program or even the pirates hunting them down. All that mattered was her, the way she felt pressed against him, and the feeling of her lips beneath his. He slid a hand into her hair, tightening his grip to pull her head back to give him better access. Her little hands smoothed over his chest, sliding beneath his jacket and her shy explorations sent a bolt of heat straight to his cock.
He pulled her closer, his free hand sliding to the back of her hips to yank her up against him. She gasped, the tiny sound feeding his male ego, as he pressed hard and heavy against the softness of her belly. He slid his tongue into her mouth, plundering the softness he found there and growling as she surrendered to him.
When he broke the kiss, they were both breathing raggedly. Leaning down, he pressed his forehead against hers.
