Choosing Riley: Sarafin Warriors Book 1 (5 page)

“Next!” Riley said as cheerfully as she could
this early in the morning. “Fred, would you be a dear and run this
back to our rooms? I’d hate to have to carry it all day.”

Fred reached out and gripped the bag. With a
muttered snort, he took off at a run. Riley couldn’t help but be
grudgingly surprised at how fast the little guy ran for having such
short legs. She looked at Vox, Lodar, and Tor.

“Well, go on,” she said. “We don’t have all
day!”

Lodar chuckled but turned and entered the
bathroom. Tor shook his head before following. Vox stared at Riley,
letting his eyes roam over the bright orange and blue top with the
number eighteen on the front. His gaze moved further down to her
blue jean clad legs before settling on her white and blue tennis
shoes.

“Why do you dress like that?” He asked
curiously. “You should be dressed like you were yesterday.”

Riley sighed heavily. “I am not about to ruin
my good clothes working in some nasty ass mine! These are much more
comfortable and will do just fine. Now, don’t you need to take care
of business?”

Vox frowned. “What business?”

“You know,” she said with a roll of her eyes.
“Whatever guys do in the morning. The three S’s.”

“The three S’s?” Vox asked confused. He was
focused on the shimmer of Riley’s lips as she pressed them
together.

“Yes! Shit, shower and shave,” she said
folding her arms across her chest. “Bob can watch me while you go
do your thing.”

Vox chuckled as her meaning sank in. “I have
never heard of that before. I will wait until Lodar and Tor have
returned before I go do my ‘thing’. You can always join me while I
do my business,” he suggested teasingly before he remembered to
glance at her hands to see if she had anything in them.

“I don’t think so,” she sniffed and shrugged
indignantly.

Vox took a step closer to her, forcing her
backwards several steps until she was pressed against the rock wall
behind her. Riley swallowed nervously. Her eyes darted looking for
any type of distraction she could use. She cursed the fact that she
had left her pepper spray under her pillow. She could never think
straight in the morning. If she could get her hands into her
handbag she could probably find something to use as a weapon. She
had everything but the kitchen sink in it. Hell, she even had
multiples of items like the Leatherman and Leatherman micro that
was in the bottom of the damn thing somewhere. One had scissors
while the other had pliers. She was always needing one or the
other. Right now, she could really use the knife on one of
them.

“What are you doing?” She asked breathlessly,
looking up into his determined eyes. “You need to just stay back!
Remember what happens when you get close to me. I don’t want to
have to hurt you again.”

Vox reached out and gripped her wrists in a
tight but tender hold. “Then, don’t,” he whispered huskily. “I plan
to kiss you, Riley St. Claire of Denver, Colorado. I plan to mark
you so that there can be no doubt that you belong to me. And
finally, I plan to claim you as my own.”

Riley shook her head and pressed back as far
as she could against the hard wall behind her. “No, I’ve seen what
happens in the movies. I don’t want you. I don’t….” her voice faded
as Vox covered her lips with his own in a tender, possessive
kiss.

His groan matched hers as he pressed deeper
when her lips opened under his. The gentle kiss he planned grew
heated as the touch and taste of her swept through him. He stepped
closer, raising her arms up over her head so that her plump breasts
were pressed against his chest. He deepened the kiss, pushing his
tongue through her glistening lips and running it along her smooth
teeth. He felt his cock jerk painfully in reaction to her taste.
His cat purred and rubbed up against his skin, wanting a chance to
rub up against his mate. He stepped closer, forcing her to open her
legs for him so he could slide between them and rub his swollen
cock against her. He placed both of her wrists together, holding
them in one large hand and stroked her with his free one. He ran
his fingers lightly over her cheek wanting to see if her skin felt
as smooth and silky as it looked. The soft touch shook him. He had
never felt this deep feeling of need, desire, and the overwhelming
urge to protect before.

He pulled back enough so he could look down
into her dazed eyes. “I claim you as my queen, Riley St. Claire,”
he muttered passionately.

Riley’s brain cleared as his words sunk in.
She began to struggle as she realized the perilous situation she
was in. She should never have let him close to her. He was an
alien. Aliens were bad. Aliens were always bad in the movies, well
most movies anyway. She also repeated her vow that she would not
say yes to any guy without a ring on her finger. She decided she
better clarify that. She would not say yes to any ‘human’ guy
without a ring on her finger and she would never say yes to an
alien.

Remember, Aliens. Remember, Predators.
Remember, Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Remember, Freddie,
Riley shook her head.
No, not Freddie. He was a human. Remember,
remember.....

“No, no, no, no, no!” She said forcefully,
focusing back on the alien holding her. “Let me go! I do not belong
to you. I do not want to be a queen. I do not want to be claimed. I
DO NOT WANT YOU!” She added forcefully. “Now let me go, damn it!
The only thing I want is to go home.”

“Vox, guards are approaching,” Lodar said
coming out of the bathroom.

Riley took advantage of his distraction to
twist free and duck under his arm. She moved rapidly to stand
behind Lodar. Vox twisted around and frowned at her in displeasure.
When he moved toward her again. She squeaked and pulled Tor, who
was walking out of the bathroom, in front of her as well. She stood
peeking out behind the two tall warriors, glaring at Vox.

“Go do your business so I can get something
to eat,” Riley snapped out from where she was hiding behind Tor and
Lodar. “And I’m warning you, if you try to touch me again I’ll pop
you on the nose!”

Vox muttered a curse, glaring at her in
frustration. He turned away in aggravation to take care of his
needs. He glanced down the corridor as several Antrox guards
marched down the corridor toward them and he knew he wouldn’t have
much time. His observation proved to be correct. When he left the
bathroom a few minutes later, ten guards holding stunning rods
stood at attention waiting for him. A shiver rippled down his
spine. From all the reports he had of the Antrox, this was an
unusual number for six prisoners. Since each prisoner, save the
females, wore an explosive shock collar to control them. The Antrox
normally only budgeted one guard for a group of twenty or more. If
the guard was threatened or attacked in any way, one push of a
button would kill any prisoner within 15 meters. Without the right
tools, if a prisoner tried to remove the collar, it would also
explode. Normally, the Antrox paired one male and one female. They
discarded the threat that the female would know how to help the
male escape. In their case, there were five males and one female.
If they could get their hands on the right tools, Vox knew Tor
could figure out how to dismantle the collars.

“Darling, I really am going to write a
scathing review for this establishment,” Riley was telling the lead
guard as he came out of the cleansing room. “Your wake up call is
far too early, your idea of bathroom accommodations is horrid, and
breakfast hasn’t even been mentioned! How do you expect my poor,
sweet, fragile mates to survive if you don’t feed them? I want the
name, number and address to your corporate headquarters. They are
going to hear from me! Why, look at my poor baby. Fred sweetheart,
are you okay? You are definitely looking a little green around the
gills,” Riley said, pulling the struggling Tiliqua closer to her
and petting one of his heads affectionately.

Vox grind his teeth together as he watched
her gently stroking Fred. “He is supposed to be that color and
Tiliqua’s don’t have gills,” he bit out, feeling jealous of the
attention she was giving the little two-headed reptilian Pactor
dung.

Riley rolled her eyes at Vox’s tone, put her
hand on her hip, and pointed an accusing finger at him. “You see
that?” She demanded of the lead guard. “He is just a grouchy bear!
He needs to be fed. How do you expect me to keep him happy if he is
hungry? I want a full breakfast immediately for my mates.”

Antrox 157 snarled at Riley. He had been sent
by 785. It was his job to guard the Sarafin royal and his men until
they received the credits promised for disposing of him. 157 had no
problems following orders from his superior but he was having
problems with dealing with the bossy female who had started in on
him the moment he had arrived. She was making all kinds of demands.
He had been shocked to find additional supplies had been given to
her yesterday by some of the newer guards. Unlike most Antrox, he
did not always follow the rules governed by his people. That was
why 785 gave him this position. It afforded him extra credits.

“Silence female,” 157 said coldly. “You will
keep your mates happy. I only have to keep one of them alive. If
you are not silent, I will feed one of your mates each hour to a
Pactor.”

“Well!” Riley growled back. “Somebody woke up
with a stick up their ass this morning. You touch one slimy little
green nail on one of my boys and I’ll rip it off and feed it to the
Pactor with the rest of you. No one messes with my boys but me, got
it?”

157 looked shocked for a moment before his
face became passive. He took a step closer to Riley, trying to
crowd her. “One more word and I’ll silence you.”

“I’d like to see you try, you overgrown piece
of cow paddy,” Riley snapped back in a temper.

Vox decided it would be in everyone’s best
interest if he silence his mate before she got them all killed. He
stepped up behind her as she opened her mouth to say something
else. Wrapping his large hands around her waist, he almost groaned
out loud at the feel of her soft curves under his palms. Instead,
he picked her up ignoring her squeal of indignation and turned
until she was in front of him with her back pressed against his
chest.

“I think we will survive without anything to
eat for a little longer,” he said quietly in her ear. “I would like
to keep us alive for a little longer, my fierce tiger. We do
appreciate your concern for us, though,” he added hastily when she
opened her mouth to protest.

“So help me, if that pile of walking sticks
pisses me off or messes with one of you I’ll plant my foot up his
ass so far it will be coming out of his mouth,” she growled,
throwing a heated look at the Antrox guard over her shoulder. “You
let me at him. I’ll show him one more word!”

Vox could hear Tor and Lodar fighting to hold
in their laughter as he fought to keep her from turning back and
attacking their guards. He shook his head in exasperation. He and
his men towered over the female, were known to be one of the
fiercest species in the ten known galaxies and she was ready to
kick the asses of their guards because they had not been fed when
she wanted them to be fed.

“Come, let us get to work so we can eat
soon,” Vox muttered.

*.*.*

Riley twisted her hair back up into the
ponytail where it had fallen loose again when she bent over to pick
up some of the rocks that the men were breaking through. All five
of the men had argued that she wasn’t supposed to work. She was
just supposed to sit and watch as they worked. Like she could just
sit around all day. She was already bored out of her mind. So, she
ignored all of them and did what she wanted, singing in an off key
the song from Snow White when the dwarfs were going off to work.
Fred had soon joined her, gathering the rocks alongside her and
muttering under his breath.

“So, how did you end up is this delightful
shit hole?” Riley asked as she dumped another pile of rocks into
the bins used to haul it out.

“My older brother sold me to a trader,” Fred
responded with a grunt as he pushed the large rock he was carrying
into the bin. “He did not want me in his way.”

Riley paused in horror. “Why would he think
you were in the way?” She asked as she walked back over to the ever
growing pile of rocks the men were creating. “Hell, even my sainted
sister wouldn’t sell me, no matter how much I piss her off, which
is about every time I open my mouth.”

“I am the second oldest. My older brother is
not good with our father’s business. I am very good and my father
decided I should take over instead of my older brother. He paid
credits to some traders to take me. Now, I will die here,” he said
disgruntledly.

Riley stopped from where she was lifting
another large rock. “Like hell you will! I’ll take care of you. You
are not going to die in this shit hole. We just have to escape,”
she responded confidently. “Do you know how to fly one of those
spaceships?”

“No,” Fred replied sadly before perking up.
“But the cat warriors know how. They are known for their fighting
skills and their warships are renowned for their speed.”

“Cat warriors?” Riley asked as she walked
back over and dumped the large rock in the bin with all the
others.

“Yes, your mate is their king. I have heard
about him. He is very scary. He kills those who defy him,” Fred
said struggling to lift a particularly large rock over the
side.

Riley frowned as she bent to help him.
Why
the hell did he call them the ‘cat’ warriors? She thought they were
called Sara-something.

She stretched once the rock was in and rubbed
her aching back. She was exhausted and they had only been at it for
about two hours. She really needed some coffee. A nice latte would
be fabulous right about now.