Lost Among the Stars (Sky Riders) (6 page)

“I think I will go fix us something to eat then you will rest,” he announced and left the room.

He was fuming! His damn dragon had a crush on his mate. His mate! By the gods, he was jealous!

Chapter 6

Maggie’s hand skimmed over the tiny horns on top of the dragon sitting in her lap, but her eyes were glued to the man storming out of the room. He stirred something in her that she couldn’t understand. Each time she had seen him, he had managed to anger her and at the same time, ache for him. It had felt so natural to be in his arms as he carried her to his quarters, even if she did put up a halfhearted fight!

Something wanted her to reach out and caress his stubbly cheek as he stared at her with those beautiful violet eyes. She had never seen anyone with those color eyes. What would their child look like with her blue eyes and his violet ones?
Whoa! What the hell, Maggie! You’ve only known the man a day and you’re thinking about having a kid with him? Get a grip!

She continued to stare at the empty door way Etor passed through and disappeared. It wasn’t until she felt her hand being nudged that she came out of her daydream.

“You must like to be rubbed,” she asked Etor’s dragon.

In response, Rhaegos lowered his head so she could rub his long neck.

“Umm…Rhaegos? If you can understand me, may I touch your scales on your back?” She pulled her hand away and waited. The reply she received not only surprised her but delighted her. Rhaegos puffed out a small circle of smoke then laid down. “You can really understand me, can’t you?” Again a puff of smoke rose up from the dragon’s nostrils.

She was in the process of running her hand up and down the dragon’s back when Etor returned with a tray of food. She eyed him suspiciously as he sat down next to her again and placed the tray on a square, marble coffee table.

“I’m not much of a cook, so I don’t know how good this will taste.” He handed her a yellow bowl with what looked like soup in it. It was a bright orange liquid with chunks of something brown floating alongside smaller pieces of what looked like vegetables.

She toyed with the spoon he provided and was a bit hesitate to try it. The aroma coming from the bowl made her stomach growl with anticipation of receiving food for the first time in a long time.

“I promise I didn’t poison it if that’s what you are thinking,” he said before he took a big spoonful of the soup.

“What is it though? I mean…it smells good but nothing looks familiar.” She watched him as he ate another bite.

“It’s called pilon soup. A Pilon is a feathered bird native to my planet. They are in great abundance and reproduce at a very rapid rate. Take a bite and see if you like it.”

He was watching her as she debated. What did she have to lose? He wouldn’t have saved
her if he had plans on killing her would he? She let out a sigh then dipped the spoon into the bowl.  The liquid was still too hot, so she had to blow on it then tentatively touched her tongue to the soup. It was cool enough to eat. The rich, smooth flavor slid down her throat and hit her stomach. She closed her eyes in pleasure as the warmth of the soup seemed to course through her veins.

“Oh my God, it’
s delicious!” This time she didn’t wait for the soup to cool. She shoveled her meal into her mouth like it was her last until she heard that deep laughter filling her ears.

“Little one, you need to slow down! I have plenty more. Yo
u need to take it slow or you’ll make yourself sick. It’s been a long time since your stomach had any food it and needs time to readjust.”

The heat of her blush covered her face and neck.
God, she was acting like pig!
“Sorry,” she mumbled.

The rest of their meal was spent in silence. The clanking of the spoons on the metal bowls was the only sound that filled the room. Rhaegos had even fallen asleep in her lap and was quietly blowing smoke out of his nostrils. When she had her fill she handed the bowl back to Etor and leaned back on the sofa.

“I’m stuffed. Thank you.” She gave him a smile. As he smiled back at her, the same urge to reach out and touch him hit her. Her fingers twitched as she consciously had to keep her hand to herself.

His eyes roamed up and down her barely clad body. The heat of his gaze made her nipples harden as a bolt of electricity shot straight down to her core. What was wrong with her? She had never acted like this before in her life, not even with Mark. Doing the dirty with Mark had become more
of a chore than a pleasure. She even started going out of her way to avoid having sex with him. The last two months before she had run off Mark hadn’t even tried to have sex with her, which was fine with her.

“I think you need to rest. Medic Jonik will be by later this evening to check on you and I don’t want him to think I have been keeping you from your rest.” He stood up then bent down to pick her up.

“What are you doing?” she squealed. She threw her arm around his neck to hang on while Rhaegos took off flying by the sudden movement.

He walked with her to a closed door she hadn’t noticed before. It slid right open as he neared it then slid shut again behind him. “I am putting you to bed. That’s what I am doing.”

The bedroom was very impressive, even more so than the living room. A bed that had to be the size of two king-sized beds, was sitting against a wall of windows that looked out into space. Covering the bed was a gray and white comforter that had intricate geometrical designs embroidered on it. Matching pillows lined the metal headboard that allowed one to see through the bars and out the window while lying on the bed.

It was even cooler in the room but it felt wonderful on her still heated skin. She wished she had something better to sleep in than a hospital gown. She had gone to the convention
center with nothing more than her purse. She didn’t want to give Mark any clue she had taken off until it was too late for him to do anything about it.

He surprised her with how gentle he could be with her for such a large man. Usually, men his size were often clumsy and unsure of their movements. But there was nothing unsure of Commander Etor. There was an air about him that demanded respect and admiration. His movements were fluid and gentle in everything she had seen him do so far. She wondered how those large hands would feel on her body as he made love to her.

Crap there I go again! Snap out of it, girlfriend!

He placed her on the bed then helped her get under the thick cover. “I want you to stay in this bed until I return.
Do not try to get up on your own. If you need assistance or something happens call out for Rhaegos and he will inform me.” He pulled the comforter up then gently rubbed the back of his fingers down her cheek. “I need to go check on the ship and take care of some duties. I’ll be gone for a few hours, so just rest.”

The smile he gave her stopped her heart for a moment. No man had ever looked at her the way he did. She was so used to Mark’s scowls and bad moods that a man genuinely smiling at her didn’t feel quite right.

“Can Rhaegos come in here with me?” she asked.

The smile faded for the briefest second then returned. “I think that would be a good idea. That way Rhaegos will know if you have a problem. Rhaegos!” he shouted.

Seconds later the door slid open and in walked Rhaegos. He had shifted back to the size he was supposed to be at while on board the ship.

“Can you stay in here with Maggie while I return to my duties? I would feel better if she had you in here.”

Of course. I will watch over her with my life.
Rhaegos jumped up onto the bed, circled around a couple of times then plopped down with a loud sigh and puff of smoke.

“Thank you my old friend,” he said. “I’ll be back when I can.”

As soon as he left the room, it became oddly quiet. Rhaegos immediately fell asleep next to her curled in a tight ball. With some difficulty, she turned onto her side. The room curved somewhat so she was able to look out the window at the stars twinkling back at her.

She began to think back as her mind tried to replay the recent events in her life. How had she become lost among the stars? How had her life taken such a drastic turn of events?
Not only was she lost in space, most of the women she had travelled with were dead, her ex-boyfriend probably still wanted to kill her, and she now had a humongous man from an alien planet claiming she was his mate! Could things get any worse? What would her dead parents think?

Her eyes grew heavy. Sleep was calling for her and she didn’t have the energy to fight it off. 

******

He left her sleeping in his bed after he checked on her twice. He needed to return to the bridge but he couldn’t take his mind off of Maggie. The ship was headed home and would arrive on Qetera in four days. For the time being, his duties would keep him from spending a lot of time with his new mate but it was unavoidable. The ship still needed to be run and orders needed to be issued and he couldn’t neglect his duties or the lives of the hundreds of others on the ship.

As he stepped onto the bridge all eyes turned to him. News sure did travel fast on board his ship! Some of his crew was smiling at him while others cast their eyes down when he caught them staring at him.

“Alright, alright. Let’s get this ship on a course set for home. It’s been too long since we were home and I am sure everyone needs break.” He walked to the center of the bridge where his Commander’s chair stood. Countless hours he spent sitting in the chair but now he was too anxious to even sit.

“Open up a secured line to my brother, Kharis.” He waited for the connection to be made. The viewing screen came to life with static then a clear picture of his brother popped up. “Kharis, it is good to see you.”

“Ah, brother. You’ve been gone far too long. When are you returning to Qetera?” Kharis, the second son of Folmar, addressed his oldest brother with respect, only because Etor was on duty on the warship. Other than that, he would have been drilling his brother about where he had been.

“I’ve set a course for home and should arrive within the next four days.”

“Good, it’s about time. How is the mission going? Anything unusual?” Kharis asked, not expecting to hear anything out of the ordinary.

“Something very unusual happened
, but I don’t want to speak about it on here. It’s too easy for someone to intercept the transmission.”

“I understand. Any sign of Lephusans? They’ve been quiet for a while now,” Kharis changed the subject. He knew Etor would fill him in once he returned to Qetera.

Etor folded his arms across his chest. “No, nothing. Quite unusual for them. What I have to tell you might change that though.”

“Really? Now you’ve peaked my interest. I’ll meet you at you
r home when you arrive.”

“Okay, see you then. Commander out.” The transmission was cut off as the screen went black.

Etor sat down in his chair after the call to his brother. He wanted to run through a system check to make sure everything was in tiptop condition. The last thing he needed was engine problems.

“Vigo, start a system check, please.”

The young Qeteran did as he was ordered. The rest of the room worked in silence or talked quietly among themselves as they waited for the check to complete. It normally took about fifteen minutes for the entire system to check out. They were about half way through when the security alarm was set off.

“Commander, there is a transmission coming in. I’m unsure of where it has originated though. Would you like to put it on the screen?” Vigo asked.

“Put it on the screen,” Etor said.

The screen was filled with static as they waited for the picture to come through. When it did it was still fuzzy and out of focus but there was no mistaking who was on the other end of that transmission.

The Lephus leader stood facing the camera with his face scrunched up. His pasty looking skin made him look sickly along with his pink eyes. Etor’s hands clenched into fists when he looked at the man who was responsible for the deaths of forty-six females and who could have possibly had Maggie if their transport hadn’t been struck by the asteroid.

“I am Lephus Leader
Ruehar. A transport headed for my planet has gone missing. I am offering a reward to the one who finds the transport or knows the whereabouts of it. The transport was due to arrive on Lephus six months ago and has not been heard from. If, by chance, my property has been stolen by space pirates or some other band of thieves, know that I will find out and will hunt you down. The cargo was very precious to me and I will stop at nothing to retain it.”

Ruehar’s image was cut off as the transmission stopped. Etor was furious. How could Ruehar be so bold to send out a transmission like that? The fool would have every bounty hunter and space junkie scouring the universe until something was found out about his missing transport. He did notice though, the leader didn’t mention where the transport had come from which would have given the leader so
me very unwanted attention.

“Was that the entire transmission?” he asked Vigo.

“I believe so, Sir. There’s nothing else coming in behind it,” Vigo said as he worked on the disappearing signal.

This was not good. He knew Ruehar’s reputation and how the man hand
led things when he didn’t get his way. It was one of the reasons the Lephusans were banned from most planets in the Yahiri galaxy and its neighboring galaxy, Epsilon. Ruehar ruled his planet with an iron fist and didn’t tolerate any disobedience. Ruehar was personally responsible for the last two wars between Qetera and Lephus because the man was so greedy. Ruehar had been systematically taking over weaker planets in the nearby by galaxies. He would take any females of breeding age prisoner and have the rest of the planets inhabitants slaughtered.