Alien Salvation (9 page)

“That good.”

Bacoj repeated the falsehood she’d fed
him. As Lindsey figured, Blockhead’s group didn’t buy
it.

“Lies!” he shouted, walloping the side
of the shuttle with his baseball bat for good measure. “Give us
what we want or we’ll take it!”

Lindsey rolled her eyes. “It’s a waste
of breath, but tell them this is the last warning. If they don’t
leave, do the stun thing. But no killing, right?”

Bacoj touched her face as if to comfort
her. “No kill. Enough that already.” He turned back to the panel
and savagely pressed the button to communicate. “Last warning.
Leave or we will defend ourselves.”

“Get ‘em, boys!” Blockhead shouted in
response.

Like a bunch of Neanderthals, the mob
pounded the sides of the shuttle with their bats. The violence in
their faces gave Lindsey pause, but it still was a struggle to not
snicker at the sight. All they lacked were animal skins to make
them revert to caveman status. Homo sapiens had fallen far
indeed.

Shaking his head, Bacoj punched a green
button. A low hum filled the air, and half the assailants dropped
to the blond sand. Blockhead was one of the stricken to Lindsey’s
immense satisfaction. The effect on the rest was immediate. Arms
dropped to the attackers’ sides, and they stepped back, gaping at
their inert companions.

“Leave or more fall,” Bacoj commanded
the Earthers.

Many dropped their bats in their haste
to drag the unconscious away. They struggled mightily to get away
from the shuttle, but within half a minute, the crowd was
gone.

Bacoj gave Lindsey a worried glance,
clearly concerned with how she felt about seeing her people beaten
back so decisively.

“Serves the buggers right,” she said,
patting his muscled shoulder. “They finally got some of what they
deserved.”

All three aliens relaxed. Bacoj’s grin
was particularly bright. “Gratitude, Lindsey. You help
much.”

Despite his lightened demeanor,
Japohn’s voice was steel. “They watch us now. Move Lindsey parents
here. Keep family safe.”

Bacoj’s grin faded, and an attitude of
firm command settled over him. “I agree.” He gripped Lindsey’s
upper arm, letting her feel his strength. “No vote again.
Apology.”

She pressed her lips tight against the
argument that rose in her throat. It rankled to give up so much
control to the aliens, but Lindsey had to agree with their
assessment of the situation. “I guess it’s for the best,” she
conceded.

Chapter Five

Two hours after scaring off the
bat-wielding Earthers, Bacoj tapped a backup power cell into one of
the undamaged slots of the regenerator and nodded to Lindsey. “Hold
here.”

The pretty Earther stretched up to
press the fingertips of both hands to the end of the cell as he
raised an adhering tool to bind the two pieces together
permanently. She eyed the thin needle end of the device
suspiciously. “Don’t fry my fingers with that thing.”

Bacoj was his most reassuring. “I swear
no harm. Tool no hot.”

She chuckled, a rich throaty sound that
sent a thrill down his spine. “That was a joke, Bacoj. I know you
won’t hurt me.”

He grinned down at her, glad to hear
she trusted him. He wondered if she would ever join a clan. Okay,
he was wondering if she’d consider joining his clan. The more Bacoj
was around her, the more attractive he found Lindsey. “No hurt,
much pleasure,” he said, wishing he could speak her language
better. He’d like to tell her exactly how he’d pleasure
her.

Lindsey ran her gaze over his body,
letting him know he didn’t have to speak Earther to get his point
across. “Naughty boy, fix this tub, would you?”

“Good job, you reward?”

She reddened, but the smile she gave
him was pure heat. “Big reward if you hurry up before my arms fall
off from fatigue.”

He nodded and hastened with the repair.
Seeing Lindsey stretched up like that gave him an excellent image
of how she’d look suspended naked in the air with a pair of hover
cuffs around her wrists. He wondered how she felt about being bound
helpless for sex. With her need to control it might take some
convincing. Of course, having her cuffed and struggling against him
while he took what he wanted had its possibilities too…

“Release Lindsey,” he said, turning the
adherer off. She let her arms flop to her sides, shaking the
tension out. “Vax, start shuttle!” Bacoj called.

The engine chopped to life, the
ratcheting sound making him wince. But it quickly smoothed out,
almost regaining its normal purr. Bacoj felt a rush of pride at his
repair job. The trip to the search party would take a ridiculously
long time to complete, but at least they wouldn’t be walking and
swimming the whole way.

“Is it working right?” Lindsey
asked.

“Good for leave.” He tried to make her
understand how their journey would go, gesturing as he spoke.
“Small trip day, recharge night. Three days.”

She nodded. “Hippity hoppity to the
search party then.”

Bacoj wasn’t sure what she meant, but
she seemed satisfied with his explanation. “We tell parents. Leave
at Japohn return.”

Her face tightened for an instant, and
she looked towards the buildings in the direction the Nobek had
gone in an hour ago. “You shouldn’t have let him take off like
that. Too many things could go wrong.”

Bacoj was surprised to see her obvious
worry for Japohn. Could she care so much for a man she’d just met?
Hope flared bright in his heart. He tried to keep his expression
noncommittal. “Food containment fail. More food need.”

“I realize that, but if Blockhead’s
group is watching us they could take him down. Even he’s not strong
enough to fight off thirty people, which is about how many is in
that gang.”

His inability to control his Nobek
clanmate made Bacoj’s stomach clench. “Japohn stubborn. Insist his
way.”

“But isn’t the Dramok in charge of the
clan?”

Bacoj drew a deep breath. He gave
Lindsey a shamefaced smile. “Japohn older. Much experience with
hostile situation. Know more me.”

Lindsey narrowed her eyes at him. “He
may have experience, but he should use it to advise, not run all
over you. You’re not stupid, Bacoj. Man up and put him in his
place.”

She rose up on her tiptoes and planted
a kiss on his lips. Despite his surprise at the unexpected
affection, Bacoj quickly wrapped his arms around her tiny frame,
pulling her close. Feeling her against his body made his senses
come alive, and as he tasted the velvet sweetness of her mouth, he
wondered once more if Lindsey would perhaps honor his clan by
joining them. Having her warm his bed for the rest of their lives
was a tantalizing prospect. Certainly Vax and Japohn wouldn’t
object to such a delightful opportunity.

As the kiss broke she smiled up at him.
The question was trembling on his lips when her gaze diverted over
his shoulder. Relief suffused her face. “Here comes tall, dark and
overwhelming now.”

Bacoj looked to see Japohn crossing the
street, returning empty handed but safe. The moment broken, Lindsey
slid from his arms and called to the Nobek.

“No luck, huh?”

He shrugged, the thunderous look on his
face easing as he looked at her. “Apology, Matara. I fail. No find
you food.” Japohn’s voice was heavy with regret.

“We’ve got the emergency rations. I’m
just glad you’re back safe.” She turned to Bacoj. “Should we
prepare my parents now?”

He nodded. It was time to
go.

* * * *

Lindsey entered the sleeping room as
her parents put their few belongings in the drawers the clan had
emptied for their use. She smiled to see her mother looking perky
and her father not quite so drawn as he had before. A full meal in
their stomachs had made a big difference. And a dose of the
Kalquorian’s pain inhibitor had taken most of the strain from
Aaron’s face. She could have wept to see him looking more like his
old self.

Swallowing the rush of emotion she
said, “Good, you’re almost finished. The boys are locking down for
takeoff.”

Tara smiled up at Aaron. “See if you
can help the Kalquorians. Lindsey and I will put the rest
away.”

He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
“All right.”

The instant her father left the room
and the door shut behind him, Lindsey folded her arms over her
chest. “Okay, you’ve got me alone. What’s on your mind?”

Tara showed no signs of embarrassment
that Lindsey had detected her subterfuge. And she wasted no time in
getting right to the point. “They’re good men. Are you going to
join their clan?”

Lindsey’s mouth dropped open in shock.
Her mother had always been able to read her like a book, but it
disconcerted her nonetheless to be so obvious. Wondering what Tara
thought she ventured, “Three men to one woman. It’s kind of
unsavory, don’t you think?”

The elder woman loaded the last of
their items in the drawer and tapped it as Vax had shown her. It
slid closed to blend seamlessly into the wall. “You’re thinking in
terms of Earth’s old regime. The ones who held us in fear are dead.
We cannot be punished for following our true beliefs
anymore.”

“Since when do we believe in group
sex?” Lindsey snorted.

“You know what I mean.” Tara’s tone was
mild. Lindsey had always envied her unflappable demeanor. She’d
never heard her mother raise her voice. Tara had a knack for
calming everyone around her. Even Jessica’s fiery temper stayed
soothed in their mother’s presence.

“
So you think it’s okay for
a woman to be intimate with three men at a time? Wow, Mom. That’s
nonjudgmental even for you.”

“What is there to judge? We’re going to
Kalquor where it’s necessary for their species’ survival, perhaps
even ours at this point. And if it’s enjoyable, what’s the
harm?”

“Our beliefs warn against excessive
lust.”

“Is it only lust that made you have
intimacies with them?”

Lindsey was startled anew. Her face
warmed as she realized her mother knew she’d already had sex with
the Kalquorians. Was there nothing she could keep secret from the
woman?

Thirty years old, and Lindsey still
couldn’t get away with anything as far as Tara was concerned. She
knew she sounded like a child caught with her hand in the cookie
jar, but she couldn’t keep the grudging guilt from her tone. “The
first time was to bargain for food.”

“So you have been with them more than
once.” Tara kept her voice and expression carefully bland. “Are you
still bartering for their help?”

Lindsey met her gaze, summoning every
bit of dignity she could muster. Which wasn’t much. “No, now I’m
having relations with them for pleasure. I like sex. A
lot.”

Let Mom chew on that.

But Tara refused to be shocked. She was
dogged in her questioning. “Do you like them beyond what they do
for you sexually?”

Lindsey threw her arms in the air,
frustration and embarrassment making her groan. “Mom, this is so
uncomfortable! I don’t want to discuss it with you.”

“I won’t have you giving yourself to
men just to put food in my stomach, Lindsey Noelle
McInness.”

The sudden tears standing in Tara’s
eyes made Lindsey regret her moment of anger. It was guilt driving
her mother’s interrogation, not disapproval. Lindsey wrapped her
arms around the smaller woman. “They don’t require I have sex with
them to help us. Apart from the first encounter they haven’t
demanded a thing from me, and even then it was me who offered. Like
you said, they seem to be good people.”

She stepped back, resting her hands on
Tara’s thin shoulders. “I wouldn’t be attracted to them sexually if
I didn’t like them.”

Tara blinked back the tears. A knowing
smile teased her lips. “Are you sure it’s just liking?”

“
Jeez, Mom. One of your
daughters is already married off to a Kalquorian clan. Are you in
such a big hurry to unload both of us?”

Tara’s eyes were filled with wisdom
that Lindsey didn’t want to see. It irked her that her mother
always seemed to know what was going on in her head before she did.
“You light up in their presence, and they in yours. It’s
infatuation on both sides, at the very least. If they make you
happy, why are you acting ashamed?”

“I just met them! How can you be so
accepting that I’m having sex with three men who are absolute
strangers to me?”

But it wasn’t the attraction and desire
the aliens had wakened that bothered Lindsey. Nor even her eager
plunge into all things carnal with men she knew almost nothing
about. It was that damnable fear of getting caught, of being
punished to the point of death that brought terror of her actions
to the fore. Even having been surrounded all her life by the
unconditional love and acceptance of her family couldn’t dispel the
certainty that authority was looking over her shoulder, ready to
condemn and kill.

“It’s hard, Mom. I still think about
being dragged to a work camp. About being beaten, branded, tortured
and executed. We’ve been judged every day of our lives.” Lindsey
took a deep breath. “I’m also not sure Dad will understand. He had
a hard time wrapping his head around Jessica joining the
Kalquorians.”