Alien Insertion: An Alien Warrior Romance (The Tuorin Legacy Book 4) (2 page)

Three hours later, Juordin has used a healing bunk one last time and we’re on his spaceship,
Helios,
again. He looks better after using the bunk, more energetic. And his sexy smile from the captain’s chair makes me weak in the knees. I rub the tingling skin on my stomach.

I hope we can use autopilot on this trip. Soon.

But this time, however, we’re not alone. There are also six warriors and four scientists on board. With four rooms and a small, enclosed loft, space is rather tight. But we’ve split Juordin’s small ship into two rooms for the scientists, two rooms for the warriors, and Juordin and I have taken the upper loft. There is still the small bridge, the cargo bay, and the medical room, so while the ship is tight, there is still space to move around.

Juordin is busy speaking to the warriors, so I head to the room where Redonim is conferring with his two female scientists, preparing for our attack on the Ardaks. I don’t want to disturb them, but I want to understand our plan better. Alien technology or not, I want to be able to picture exactly how we plan to infect the aliens with the malworm.

I find the three of them leaning over a pile of smooth rectangular objects.

“What do we do with this?” I ask Redonim, gently picking up a small smooth rectangular metal object.

He jumps a little, clearly wanting to take it back. “Be careful with that. It’s our little present for those damned cats.”

“What does it do?”

“It destroys the programming of any Ardak device we insert it into so it won’t work anymore.”

I frown at the object in my hands.
I think I understand.
“How can this little thing do that?”

He takes the object from me and presses a button. “See these two long prongs?”

I nod.

“If you insert these into one of the alien exoskeletons, it will destroy the programming.”

“Where do you put it?”

“Every device is different. On the exoskeletons, it’s at the base of the tail. On the landers, it’s on the steering console.”

I look at the entire box of objects. “Why do you have so many of them?”

“Well, the malworm will only spread and destroy the programming of other devices it is directly connected to. So we’ll probably need multiple attacks at several places to do any real damage. We’re hoping to use the landers they left behind.”

I shiver. “Why?”

”Well, we know the exoskeletons communicate between themselves and the landers. But a lander would probably communicate with other landers, or even the larger Ardak spaceships. Because they have a connection to each other, the malworm should spread from wherever we upload it to the others in the vicinity, destroying their programming as it spreads. That’s how it worked in the lab with the exoskeletons, anyway.”

I feel an unexpected wave of relief. I’d seen their landers. We could get to one of those, I was sure. But still… even if we could, that hardly meant victory. It might spread to the Ardak ships, but…

“What if it doesn’t?” I ask, setting the object down with deliberate care.

Redonim shrugs. “It has to.”

“So, there’s no plan B?”

He frowns. “Plan B? I think we’re happy just to finally have a plan A.”

I’m surprised he doesn’t seem to care about a backup plan. Something can always go wrong. “You’re always one step away from disaster,” my father would say. “Always have a secondary strategy in case the first fails.”

I almost start to argue with him, but stop myself.
Let them concentrate on plan A. We need the best first plan possible.

They start talking among themselves again, so I exit their room and go down the hall to Solim’s room. He’s humming softly to himself, his striking white hair falling forward to conceal his face. His gray shirt is covered in stains, one side tucked in and one hanging out.

Solim looks up as I enter. “I want to thank you for inviting me,” he says formally, shaking my hand.

I smile despite the nervous energy pumping through my veins. The others might think this old man was two steps from crazy, but I know a genius when I see one.

“No, thank you for coming...”

“Yes, but, without you…” Solim’s words trail off for a moment. “I—I don’t think I’d be here.”

I tilt my head. “Think nothing of it.”

He nods and touches the blinking panel in front of him. “I’ve been thinking about what you said about a plant cure. I did some research…there’s some very old stuff from the time when we first made vids. I plan to research as much as I can on this trip. I truly believe that somewhere in these vids we could find the answers we’re looking for.”

His enthusiasm gives me hope.
A plan B.
“Let me know if I can assist you.”

He hums for a moment, staring at the blinking lights as if I hadn’t spoken, but then abruptly stops.

Solim shakes his head. “You have no idea how incredible it is to meet someone who has actually used plant cures. And you’re right here to question!”

His childlike enthusiasm is contagious, and I smile at him. “Ask me anything you want, I’m at your disposal.”

He nods and turns back to his work. I turn away, feeling a rush of satisfaction.
The malworm may destroy the Ardaks, but now we might also have some hope of finding a cure.

I see one of the blond warriors—Juordin’s cousin—entering a room at the end of the hall. Never one to be shy, I follow him. The door to the room is open, and he looks up when I enter. I can see he has a bunch of strange devices. “What are you doing?”

“Making sure these explosives work. We want to use them to destroy the leftover toxin distributors on your world once we’ve killed the cats.” He pauses and his glowing green gaze pierces mine. “And I’m very interested in who you are.”

“I’m Ande’ie.” I hold out my hand to shake.

Unexpectedly, he takes my hand and kisses it. “And I’m Corin.”

At first I’m taken aback. But then he waggles his eyebrows and I realize he’s only teasing. He’s not as outspoken as his brother, but has the same sense of humor.
Just as I thought. Breaking hearts with every breath.
“I’m Juordin’s…mate.”
Let’s just make that clear from the beginning.

“Yes, you are.” He eyes me up and down. “Juordin’s done well for himself.”

I think of Juordin’s purple eyes, his hard kisses, and soft touches. His valor. “So have I.”

“That you have,” he agrees, turning serious. “My cousin is a good man. He’s always been the honorable one. The one to do his duty when the rest of us wanted to play. He’ll care for you well.”

“As I will care for him.” My voice is strong and certain. I’m not a weak female who needs a warrior to take care of her. I’ve been raised to care for myself.

Corin’s eyebrows lift slightly, but he says nothing.

I look at the devices in his hands. “I’ve seen explosives before, but they were nothing like these.”

“You’re from Lla’ei, right?” he questions.

At my answering nod, he continues. “Your explosive technology isn’t as advanced as these. Yet. But they are based upon the same principles.”

“I see. I believe you were talking about toxin distributors? What are those?”

His eyes go back to the explosives. “The things that throw the red toxin up into the sky.”

“Oh. But I thought Juordin said you couldn’t blow them up, or more dust would come out.”

“Well, the toxin has already been thrown into the air. We just don’t want to leave their devices behind. The technology is too advanced for your people…it might be used unwisely.”

Shouldn’t it be our choice? I’ll have to speak to Juordin about it.
“Well, if you’re going to use those on my planet, maybe I should know how they work.”

He laughs. “Yes, Princess.”

Corin begins to show me, and I ask hundreds of questions about how they work.

Sometime later, he sits back, his eyebrows knitted. “You know, you picked this up far too quickly. I’m not sure Juordin would be happy about me showing you how to make explosives.”

I shake my head. “He hasn’t been worried about me learning new things. He’s only worried about me actually fighting the cats.”

His brows rose. “I would be, too, if you were my mate.”

I allow my lips to quirk up into a smile. Many of the women on my world can fight just as well as the men. They would eat these warriors for breakfast. “I’ll have to introduce you to Serendipit’ie sometime.”

His green eyes take on a gleam. “Is she single?”

“Yes. She is.”
And she’s going to lead you on a merry chase.

Corin stands, picking up the explosives and putting them in a box.

“Where are you taking those?”

“Follow me.” We head into a tiny room filled with cabinets along one wall, next to the cargo bay. He opens one of the cabinets and places the box inside.

“What’s this?” I ask, pointing at a square glass panel in the other wall.

“Oh that. That’s a different kind of explosive device. One the ship would use to self-destruct.” He opens the door carefully. “It might be small, but this bomb is the most powerful one we’ve created as a people. It’s meant to be used when the ship self-destructs, and it will take out any enemy ships in the area, as well.”

I reach for it, but he stops me.

“Don’t touch it, but you can see that the wiring on the right is pretty much the same as the ones we were just looking it. It’s only the inside that’s different.”

“What different about it?”

“This one is macronuclear.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means it could explode a small planet.”

“You carry something like
that
on your ships?”

He shrugs. “Well, you never know what you’re going to run into when traveling in space. Who knows? If I ran into one of the big Ardak ships, I’d probably consider it.”

I wake up, my heart pounding. I was back in the caves, but this time, my swords were missing. And Juordin lays at my feet, dead, the toxin indicator on his shoulder still in the red.

The bed is empty, but I know where he is. I find him in the captain’s chair, staring out at the stars in the distance. I want to touch him. I yearn for him. His tongue in my mouth, his hands on my body.

I put my hands on his shoulders, finding them tense. Years of training and fighting has taught me how to soothe tense or injured muscles, so I begin to rub them. “You should come to bed, my warrior.”

“I don’t feel much like sleeping.”

“Neither do I.”

His purple gaze meets mine and he turns to face me, his hands running up the backs of my thighs under my skirt. “You want me?”

I nod. Just his gaze makes me feel hot, but now it’s something…more. I burn for him. This morning I saw that the skin on my stomach and chest has started to redden slightly—early signs of mating marks. But they don’t make me nervous. They make me want him more.

He takes my hand, leading me out of the bridge, to the stairs at the end of the hall, and up the ladder to our loft. We climb the metal steps in silence, and he shuts the secret door in the floor behind us. He turns to me, wrapping his arms around my lower back.

I kiss him, long and slow, running my fingers through his long, wavy hair. I love how his brown-and-gold hair contrasts with mine. It’s fire, wood and coal. A tiger’s eye and obsidian. I push him back on the bed, climbing over him. I deepen the kiss, rubbing his tongue with mine, rubbing against him.

His hands cup my hips, run up my back, down over the curves of my ass to my thighs. I wiggle as he smooths up my skirt and runs his hands lightly over my panties. When he strokes me through the thin material, I shiver. He rubs a smooth circle around it and I press back into his hand.

He teases me over the top of my panties for a few endless moments, and when his fingers finally slide beneath the fabric I cry out against his mouth. My skin is becoming more sensitive, enhanced by the now-familiar burn I feel after kissing him.

I move down his body, undoing his leather pants, opening them to find him within. I close my fingers around his thick length, loving the way it jumps in my hand. His hands go up to his head and he hides his face as I tease him, groaning.

I lean down, kissing the tip of him, then letting my lips slide down slowly over him, exploring with my lips and tongue. His hips jut up toward me, and I look up to see his hands fisting on his forehead. I slide upward, and when I slide down the next time with suction, his hands fly to my head. “Stop, Ande. I can’t take it.”

He comes up swiftly, rolling me over on the bed, slipping his pants all the way off. Lying beside me, he runs his fingers through my hair, stroking my cheek for a moment. “You are so beautiful. You make me burn.”

“I think it’s your saliva…the mating thing,” I whisper.

“That mating thing only happens with you, my love,’’ he whispers back. He unlaces my corset, his fingers reverent. Raising my undershirt, he helps me remove it, then takes a nipple into his mouth.

I arch my back, crying out as a wave of heat rips through me. My core grows hotter. Wetter.

I’m on fire. I burn. Only for him. His mouth on my skin. His hard body above me. His purple gaze on my face.

It’s just the saliva,
a cynical voice whispers in the back of my mind.
You haven’t known each other long enough.

But searching my heart, I don’t think it is. With everything in me, I believe that he loves me.

His hand draws lazy circles on my stomach. The roughness of his fingers over the sensitive skin where my mating marks will be makes my muscles jump and goose bumps rise on my skin.

His lips go between my breasts, kissing, licking over the swells of my breasts, suckling on my nipples, until my chest is hot and I’m tossing my head back and forth. My legs scissor and my inner muscles clench the emptiness inside, begging for him.

His questing fingers move downward, unlacing my skirt and drawing it down my legs. My panties follow, then his hand slides back up to the inside of my thigh and covers my mound. He rubs my nub with the pad of his thumb and I can feel myself opening, inviting him in. Then he puts two long fingers inside me, sending streaks of fire through me as he begins to pump them slowly, his gaze intense as he watches my face.

“Please,” I whisper, “I want you inside me.”

He doesn’t make me wait, but comes over me, and I widen my legs to make room for him. He kisses the insides of my bent knees, his long hair cascading around us as he lowers onto his elbows, unerringly finding my entrance.

We both gasp as he enters slowly, easing his way with a few short, slow thrusts that go ever deeper.

My hips rise to meet his, our thrusts matching in pace. I pull him lower and my lips caress his neck, suckling on his earlobe, loving how he shivers.

My pleasure rises with each fiery stroke, and before long he’s groaning. His thrusts become uncontrolled, taking me higher and higher. I’m whimpering, straining, trying to go faster, but at the same time trying to control it.

But I can’t! He takes me over into a spiraling whirl of flashing lights behind my eyes.

He’s only a few thrusts behind me, shuddering above me, moaning. He rolls to the side, his arms curling around me. “I love you, Ande,” he says softly into my hair.

My eyes fill with tears, and I nod into his shoulder.

Because I realize that this time, his tattoo has stayed in the red.