RavishedbyMoonbeam (9 page)

Damn it.
Danielle blinked back tears as she walked
with him to the corridor.
Soldiers don’t cry.
You didn’t cry during
Mom’s funeral. You won’t cry now. Krol needs you to be strong for him, to fight
for him
.

“I want the best damn Fixer on the spaceship,” she declared.
“Hell, on any surrounding spaceships. I—”

Big hands clamped down on her shoulders, holding her back.
“What the hell?” Danielle scowled up at Krol’s friend Miar. “Get your hands off
me.” She twisted but she couldn’t get free. “I have to go with my Krol. He
needs me.”

“You are my Danielle.” Miar stuck his chin ridge out
mulishly. “I will protect you.”

“I am
not
your Danielle.”
Relax, Officer Danielle.
This is Krol’s friend.
She took deep breaths, forcing herself to calm down.
Don’t kill him. He means well.
She tapped her fingers on the handle of
her space gun.

“Your buddy Krol said that because he thinks he’s dying, but
he isn’t dying.” Her voice broke.
He can’t. I won’t let him die.
I
won’t.
“He’s living for a long time, so release me or I’ll blast your ass
into outer space.”

Krol’s big boots disappeared from view and panic welled up
inside her. “Let me go!” She struggled, leaning toward the doorway.
If I
lose sight of him, he’ll die. He will.

“You are my Danielle,” Miar repeated, his voice cold and
stern and unfeeling.

“I am
not
your Danielle!” she yelled. “Ohhh…I don’t
have the patience for this.” She clenched her jaw to keep from screaming. “For
the last time, let me go. If you don’t, I’ll shoot your green-and-black ass,
and I mean it. I
will
shoot you.”

Miar said nothing. His grip on her shoulders tightened.

“Fine.” Danielle lowered her gun, aimed for his ridged
kneecap and then moved the muzzle slightly to the right. The warrior didn’t
release her and Krol was being taken God knows where, to get God knows what kind
of alien medical treatment. “We need a Fixer!” she shouted.

She pressed the trigger button.

It was a perfect shot, grazing the ridge and stripping off
skin, leaving the bone unharmed. Miar bellowed and bent over to clutch his
knee, his face contorting in pain.

“Sorry!” Danielle flung the apology over her shoulder as she
darted down the corridor, Puppy following her, his yips echoing her concern.
He
has to live. Krol has to live. He has to.
She caught up with the Fixers
conveying him. They turned their faces in her direction, their eyes widening.

“No, no stopping.” Danielle waved her gun. “Don’t worry
about the other warrior. Your priority is Krol, understand?” She glared at the
aliens. “You have to fix him. There is no other alternative.”

Chapter Five

Soldiers don’t cry. Damn it
. Danielle squeezed her
eyes shut, forcing her tears to subside.
Soldiers don’t cry.

It had been three days and she remained by Krol’s bed.
Needing to take action, any action, Danielle adjusted the muscle stimulators on
his arms for the tenth time that hour and tugged the thin sheet over his body.
Her alien lover lay scarily still except for the shallow dip of his chest as he
breathed.
He’ll get better.
She took his hand.
His palm is warmer,
isn’t it? It is. It has to be.

Puppy whined, the pitiful sound tugging at her already
strained heartstrings. His small body was draped over her left boot, his
stomach partially hiding the chew marks in the leather, and he stared up at her
with big brown eyes, as if asking when Krol, his master, would awaken.

“I don’t know, Puppy,” she whispered, unwilling to break the
eerie quiet. Even the machines attached to Krol made no noise, creating a
surreal dreamlike atmosphere. No, not dreamlike. She glanced at Krol.
Nightmare-like. “We have to be patient and let him heal. The Fixers tell me
it’s a wonder he’s alive.”

“It is not a wonder.”

Danielle straightened in her funky space chair as Krol’s
friend Miar stepped through the gap in the curtain barrier, his smooth gait
easing some of her guilt. They hadn’t spoken since she shot him in the knee.

“Warrior Krol Nowak is
Sila
’s best warrior.” The
alien didn’t meet her gaze. “And he is worthy of you, Warrior Danielle Nowak.”
Miar took a deep breath and released it. His ridges rattled. “I am not.”

“Geez, Louise.” She rolled her eyes at his dramatic
statement. “That wasn’t why I shot you. Here. Have a seat.” Danielle patted the
chair beside her. “And stop looming over me.”

Miar sat and the chair groaned a protest. Puppy growled at
him, baring his teeth. Miar growled a reply and Puppy backed up, positioning
his wiggling ass between Danielle’s legs.

“Are you done scaring my dog?” Danielle raised an eyebrow.
The big warrior simply shrugged. “Warrior Miar Whatever-Your-Last-Name-Is, you
seem like a great guy. You’re good-looking.” Miar’s face was achingly similar
to Krol’s, yet not as handsome or rugged or…God, no one compared to Krol.
“You’re the number two warrior. My Krol likes you.”

“I have a big
spicka
,” Miar added.

“Yes, you do.” Danielle shook her head.
Males and their
dicks.
“And it vibrates. That will help you with the ladies. Just not with
this lady.” She ignored the fear bubbling up within her, and she pushed
forward, needing to say the words out loud. “Your buddy Krol has my heart. I
love the big goof.”

Miar condensed his forehead ridges in the same manner Krol
did when he hadn’t a clue what she was talking about.

“When I look at my Krol, I feel heat here.” Danielle touched
her chest, her fingertips resting on her mother’s dog tags. “When he looks at
me, he feels the same heat.”

“You are damaged.” Miar’s eyes swirled with concern.

“It is a good damage, a happy damage.” She patted his arm,
trying to reassure him, and he flinched. “We call it love, and when you find
the woman you’re meant to be with, you’ll feel the same way, and you won’t want
anyone else, no matter what happens.”

“The human love emotion is not rational.” Miar pursed his
lips. “If Warrior Krol Nowak had been terminated, you would need protection.”

If Krol had died… He could still die.
Fear coursed
through her, and Danielle clenched her fists, fighting the urge to shoot, to
kill, to do something. “Don’t talk about my Krol being terminated, Miar.” She
extracted Krol’s first kill dagger from her leather warrior outfit and the
weight of the hilt eased some of her terror. “Or I’ll—”

“My Danielle,” Krol croaked, his voice hoarse. He turned his
head toward her, his eyes remaining closed.

“My Krol.” Danielle dropped the dagger. The blade stuck into
the metallic floor inches away from Puppy’s front paws. “You’re awake. Thank
God.” She stood over Krol and laid her palm on his cheek ridges.
No fever.
She sighed, relieved. “I’m here, my Krol.” She placed his large palm against
her face, his skin rough and warm and alive. “Your Danielle is here.”

“My Danielle.” The corners of his mouth lifted into a smile
and her lingering fears eased, leaving a bone-deep weariness in its wake.

So tired.
She yawned.
Must stay awake.

Danielle waited. Krol’s eyelids twitched, but he didn’t open
them. He didn’t speak. His jaw slackened. His mouth hung open, his breathing
deepening.

He slept.

Danielle crawled onto the bed with him and curled up next to
Krol’s massive form, careful not to touch his healing wound. Fabric swished and
she looked up. Miar had left, closing the cloth curtain behind him.

She’d forgotten about him. Danielle yawned again. All she
cared about was Krol. “My Krol.” She rested her head on his shoulder ridge and
laid her hand over his heart. His heartbeat was strong and even.
He’ll live.
The alien I love will live.

Tears welled in her eyes.
Soldiers don’t cry, Officer
Danielle.
But Danielle, the woman, was too tired to blink the tears away
and too emotionally drained to manage her overwhelming relief.
He’ll live.
The tears streamed down her cheeks and dripped off her chin, gathering in a
cathartic pool on Krol’s chest.

She closed her eyes and listened to him breathe. In, out,
in, out. “I love you, my Krol,” she whispered into his black-and-green skin.
His sanitized physique smelled of hard, wild male. “I didn’t choose
Sila
.
I chose you.”

* * * * *

I have to find her.
Krol ran through the forest,
deftly navigating the complex simulator program found in the
Silan
-based
training facilities, utilizing knowledge gained over years of mission delays.
His boots crunched on fallen pine needles. Branches smacked his chest and arms,
the pain authentic.
My Danielle needs my protection.

“
Jack pine,
Pinus banksiana
,” a female voice
announced as he passed a tree. “Pine-scented.” A gust of fragrance hit his
face. “Flammable. Fragile. Thrusts will damage…”

Krol ignored the educational commentary, searching the dense
undergrowth for his mate. He spotted her golden hair, shining like a beacon
through the moonlit trees. “My Danielle!” he bellowed. She didn’t stop, her
small naked form hurtling forward. Krol chased her, calling her name, but she
continued to flee him, her pale ass cheeks rippling with muscle, her hair
streaming out behind her.

Why is she running from me?
He roared with
aggravation.
I am her Krol.

She entered a clearing filled with tall grasses. An enormous
dark form stood at the edge of the space, his arms crossed, his feet braced
apart, his features shrouded in shadow. The images around them flickered yet
the male remained solid.
Real.
Krol tensed.
Threat.

His Danielle darted toward the figure and Krol sped after
her, determined to catch her. Although he was
Silan
and she was human,
he couldn’t decrease the distance between them. He pumped his arms. He breathed
heavily. His legs burned with effort. He was no closer to his
druzka
.

The dark male grew in size as they approached until his
obscured face towered above them. He was a mighty
Silan
warrior, his
biceps bulging, his body toned and heavily ridged, and Krol stepped back in
awe, reaching for a weapon. He had none, his leather garment bare of guns and
daggers.

“My Danielle,” the big warrior rumbled. He reached out with
his massive arms and pulled Krol’s
druzka
to him.

“No! She is my Danielle.” Krol stretched out his hands. His
palm slapped against an invisible barrier. He pushed. The solid wall of air
didn’t move. “My Danielle!” he yelled. The barrier expanded until it was all
around him, sealing him into a cube.

His Danielle acted as though she didn’t hear him or see him
or know he was there. “My warrior.” Her voice was filled with the warmth
normally reserved for Krol. “You will protect me.”

“I will protect you, my Danielle!” Krol pounded on the
barrier, the thumping echoing in his small chamber.

Her head didn’t turn and her expression didn’t change. His
Danielle pushed down the big warrior’s garment, freeing his huge
spicka
.
“You’re so big.” She wrapped her small, pale fingers around the black-and-green
vibrating shaft.

“My Danielle!” Krol yelled. She stroked the other warrior’s
spicka
and a pain split his chest in two. “You are
my
Danielle.”

As his Danielle touched the rival, Krol felt hands touching
his
spicka
also. He glanced down and saw no fingers wrapped around his
engorged shaft. He was alone, and trapped, forced to watch his female’s hand
fuck a more worthy warrior, a warrior who had protected her when he couldn’t.

His Danielle rubbed the warrior’s
spicka
up and down.
She moaned words of admiration, each love sound cutting Krol like a dagger.

The warrior didn’t respond. He folded his arms over his
abdomen, rested his fingers on his biceps and thrust his hips forward. He
didn’t touch her and he didn’t speak to her. He gave her no pleasure, expecting
her to service him as if she was a simulator female and not his Danielle.

Her movements became sharper and more desperate. Krol moaned
as the skin on his
spicka
was brutally tugged, the sting exquisite. The
warrior made no sound. Color flushed his Danielle’s cheeks and her eyes
shimmered with unshed tears, Krol feeling her pain as though it were his own.

“You are unworthy!” he shouted at the big warrior.

“I am the number one warrior,” Krol’s rival rumbled, his
face not visible.

“Warrior skills are not sufficient.” Krol pressed his
forehead ridges against the invisible barrier, the air cool on his heated skin.
“My Danielle deserves more.”

Warm, wet lips closed around his tip and Krol kicked out
with his feet.
Sladky matka.
She made him crazed with her touching. She—

The world darkened and she faded into nothing. “My
Danielle!” Panic engulfed him. “My Danielle!” He searched for her blindly,
reaching his hands into the blackness.

“Easy there, big boy.” His
druzka
’s teasing voice
orientated his emotions like a star in the night sky and he calmed. “Let me
take care of you.” Moist warmth covered his
spicka
.

My Danielle.
Krol opened his eyes and stared into a
bright light. He blinked. His visual system slowly adjusted and a dizzying
array of sensations hit him. His stomach throbbed with a dull pain. His
varles
were cupped with soft hands. A hot mouth sucked his
spicka
.

Krol lifted his head. An ache shot across his skull. He
winced as he peered along his body. Blonde hair pooled around his bare thighs.
The tendrils teased his skin. “My Danielle.” He didn’t recognize his voice.