thinking, I raise my gun, pointing it at his chest, my heart thudding in time with the ship’s alarm.
He stiffens slightly, but knits his eyebrows, as if to say Come now, you can’t be serious .
I don’t even bother giving him my badass face. I’m pretty sure my face is frozen into one singular expression: fear.
My arm’s tired holding the Derri (I’m so out of energy right now), so I pocket the decoder and hold it with both hands. He smiles like he’s indulging me.
“Status?” a deep voice comes over our earpieces, startling me.
Green Eyes looks at my earpiece, stares at my face intensely, then responds in a deep, slightly raspy, voice. “I’ve got the human . . . female. She’s on—”
There’s a long pause. I’m guessing ‘female’ got their attention. I’m also guessing he’s warned his leader than I’m on their com system. The rest of his speech was scrambled by the translator.
“On our way. Hold position,” says the voice.
Oh no.
Definitely not.
I can’t face any more than one of these guys at a time. The thought is unacceptable. I step back impulsively.
“Don’t move,” barks Green Eyes, loud and clear.
I stop. I wouldn’t have needed a universal translator to catch his intent.
Do something! If you let this go any further, you will never get off this ship .
“Please, let me go,” I say, stumbling over the words.
I realize how pathetic this sounds, but maybe Thell’eons are merciful? His mean expression remains unchanged. He does take the opportunity to size me up physically again. He starts near my hips and lingers very briefly on my breasts, before returning to my face.
Okay, so he’s probably not going to let me go. A sense of moral outrage mounts.
“Why did you bring me here?” I ask pointedly. Yes! They were the ones who translocated me! How dare they! Though, based on their surprised reaction, it’s possible they forgot about their own bloody auto-scanners.
I ask a second time, more forcefully taking a bold step forward. Either he’s ignoring me or doesn’t understand me, but he doesn’t tense at my attempt to move closer.
“Why am I here?” I ask with as much sincerity as I can muster. I hold his eyes for a moment, and then glance over his ripped arms, across his broad chest, and down his body, and then lower. Okay. I actually didn’t mean to look there , but my eyes kind of fell on it. I mean, really, they should wear looser pants.
Maybe I’m in a state of shock. Yes. Losing control of my senses or something. I glance at his eyes, totally embarrassed and, admittedly, slightly awed.
The effect that my once-over has on him is visceral. It’s like a wall comes down and he’s . . . receptive to my attention. He seems to preen a bit, standing taller if that were possible, though he does not drop his guard.
I’ve never had a man look at me quite the way he is in this moment, as though he’s main course and I can feel free to dine at my pleasure.
Um, maybe in a different life .
“Status,” comes through my earpiece, scaring me almost out of my skin. My stomach takes a dive.
“Holding,” says Green Eyes.
Do something! Maybe you can get close enough to disarm him?
I’ve inched within feet of him. But he’s still pointing his gun at me. It’s like a third eye, menacing and relentless. I try to ignore it but it’s impossible. I might pass out. It’s hard to keep my eyes focused. NO. You can do this .
I can’t believe I’m hesitating. The truth is I don’t think any H2H move will cut—
He steps right up to me and in one swift movement I could not have foreseen or prevented, he smashes my wrist hard with his hand, forcing me to let go of my Derri. My only powered weapon hits the ground with a clatter.
I’m focused on the searing pain in my hand, ow , fighting through it in order to anticipate his next move—to restrain me or kill me—when he grabs the back of my head with his free hand and yanks me near at my waist with his other hand,
He stiffens slightly, but knits his eyebrows, as if to say Come now, you can’t be serious .
I don’t even bother giving him my badass face. I’m pretty sure my face is frozen into one singular expression: fear.
My arm’s tired holding the Derri (I’m so out of energy right now), so I pocket the decoder and hold it with both hands. He smiles like he’s indulging me.
“Status?” a deep voice comes over our earpieces, startling me.
Green Eyes looks at my earpiece, stares at my face intensely, then responds in a deep, slightly raspy, voice. “I’ve got the human . . . female. She’s on—”
There’s a long pause. I’m guessing ‘female’ got their attention. I’m also guessing he’s warned his leader than I’m on their com system. The rest of his speech was scrambled by the translator.
“On our way. Hold position,” says the voice.
Oh no.
Definitely not.
I can’t face any more than one of these guys at a time. The thought is unacceptable. I step back impulsively.
“Don’t move,” barks Green Eyes, loud and clear.
I stop. I wouldn’t have needed a universal translator to catch his intent.
Do something! If you let this go any further, you will never get off this ship .
“Please, let me go,” I say, stumbling over the words.
I realize how pathetic this sounds, but maybe Thell’eons are merciful? His mean expression remains unchanged. He does take the opportunity to size me up physically again. He starts near my hips and lingers very briefly on my breasts, before returning to my face.
Okay, so he’s probably not going to let me go. A sense of moral outrage mounts.
“Why did you bring me here?” I ask pointedly. Yes! They were the ones who translocated me! How dare they! Though, based on their surprised reaction, it’s possible they forgot about their own bloody auto-scanners.
I ask a second time, more forcefully taking a bold step forward. Either he’s ignoring me or doesn’t understand me, but he doesn’t tense at my attempt to move closer.
“Why am I here?” I ask with as much sincerity as I can muster. I hold his eyes for a moment, and then glance over his ripped arms, across his broad chest, and down his body, and then lower. Okay. I actually didn’t mean to look there , but my eyes kind of fell on it. I mean, really, they should wear looser pants.
Maybe I’m in a state of shock. Yes. Losing control of my senses or something. I glance at his eyes, totally embarrassed and, admittedly, slightly awed.
The effect that my once-over has on him is visceral. It’s like a wall comes down and he’s . . . receptive to my attention. He seems to preen a bit, standing taller if that were possible, though he does not drop his guard.
I’ve never had a man look at me quite the way he is in this moment, as though he’s main course and I can feel free to dine at my pleasure.
Um, maybe in a different life .
“Status,” comes through my earpiece, scaring me almost out of my skin. My stomach takes a dive.
“Holding,” says Green Eyes.
Do something! Maybe you can get close enough to disarm him?
I’ve inched within feet of him. But he’s still pointing his gun at me. It’s like a third eye, menacing and relentless. I try to ignore it but it’s impossible. I might pass out. It’s hard to keep my eyes focused. NO. You can do this .
I can’t believe I’m hesitating. The truth is I don’t think any H2H move will cut—
He steps right up to me and in one swift movement I could not have foreseen or prevented, he smashes my wrist hard with his hand, forcing me to let go of my Derri. My only powered weapon hits the ground with a clatter.
I’m focused on the searing pain in my hand, ow , fighting through it in order to anticipate his next move—to restrain me or kill me—when he grabs the back of my head with his free hand and yanks me near at my waist with his other hand,
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