MissionMenage (9 page)

“I know.” Raylee clung fiercely to him, pressing her curves
against his body armor, her arms around his neck.

He tilted her chin upward and covered her trembling lips
with his. They kissed. It was a long, lingering kiss, a kiss filling the empty
vacuum of space, a kiss conveying passion and tenderness and love. He curled
his fingers into her wild hair and he pushed his semi-hard cock into the hollow
between her thighs.

She exemplified all that he fought for and Raylee’s embrace
solidified Vegas’ resolve. He drew back, already switching into combat mode.
“Stay on the ship,” he ordered her one more time and he stepped down on the
rope ladder. It swayed in the vortex caused by the hovering ship, the back of
his legs thumping against the frame of the hatch. “No unnecessary risks.”

“You aren’t to take any unnecessary risks either.” Raylee
kneeled beside him, placing her smaller hands on his, her big brown eyes
shining with fear. “I can’t lose you, Vegas.”

“You won’t. Have faith in me, Raylee.” He squeezed her
fingers. “This is what I do and I’m damn good at it.” He gave her one last
cocky grin, her face lighting with a return smile, and he climbed down into the
mist.

Vegas gulped huge mouthfuls of the oxygen-rich air as he
moved, surrounded by a blanket of white, not able to see farther than the reach
of his arm. Birds called, warning others of his presence. Leaves rustled with
wild creatures and other possible threats. With his heart beating wildly, he
scurried down the ladder, his body a huge target suspended in the air, his
hands occupied by the descent and his vision impaired by the mist.

Finally, he spotted the dark green of the fertile land. Ship
had done his job well, the ladder ending two feet above a grassy clearing,
right between the concealing canopies of trees. Vegas leaped and his boots sank
deep into the moisture-soaked ground.

“Disembarkation complete.” Sexy’s slow voice made Vegas
jump. The android pushed aside the curtain of tall grass.

“Disembarkation complete,” Vegas agreed, looking up at the
sky. He saw nothing, Ship hidden by the low-hanging clouds. “Stay on Ship,
Raylee,” he murmured.

“Captain cannot hear you,” Sexy droned.

“I know that.” Vegas shook his head, pushing all thoughts of
his stubborn mate out of his mind. “Let’s do this.” He ran toward the rush of
running water, the thump of Sexy’s booted feet echoing behind him.

* * * * *

“Vegas, my bossy love.” Raylee peered out of the escape
hatch until he disappeared from view, his dark-clad form swallowed up by the
mist. “You can’t expect me to stay on Ship while you go off, save the world and
get yourself killed doing so.” She straightened, her spine rigid with
determination. “We’re a team and team members help each other out.”

“The operative has the useless companion android to assist
him, Captain.” Ship’s voice followed her as she rushed through the corridor.
“Leaving me is not recommended as the Lokan population is hostile to Federation
members and—”

“That is all the more reason to follow him.” Raylee darted
into the sleeping chamber she shared with Vegas, his musky, manly scent
permeating the space. “He’s a Federation agent and will be concentrating on his
mission, not the hostile natives.” She foraged through her cluttered closet.
“Ah hah.” Her fingers closed around her favorite bow, the grip covered with
slip-reducing chalk powder. “And you called this an ancient relic.”

“Of evolved civilizations,” Ship corrected. “Lokan is not
evolved and you may be successful at hitting stationary targets but warriors
are not stationary. Your skill level is inadequate for combat survival.”

“I’m skilled enough to cover his ass.” Raylee filled her
lightest quiver, made of thin, yet tough deer hide, with steel-tipped arrows.
“The future of the Federation is at stake, Ship.” She slung the quiver and her
bow over her shoulder.

“The Federation caused the death of my crew, Captain,” Ship
reminded her.

Raylee winced. “I caused…no…” She’d known the risks when she
exited the Federation shipping lanes. Her captain would have known also.
“Pirates caused their deaths, Ship.” She stood in front of the doors. They
didn’t open. “Ship?”

“I will not lose any more crew members, Captain.”

“Open the damn door.” She pressed the emergency release
button. Nothing happened. “Ship, if you trap me here, Vegas and Sexy will die.”

“I backed up the companion android before his departure. He
has a full set of parts in the closet.”

“And Vegas? Did you back up him also?” She frantically
pounded on the door. “He’ll die, Ship.” She smacked the metal with her palms,
her skin stinging with the impact. “The man I love will die.”

“You’ll be safe.”

“At what cost?” Raylee pried the panel off the wall with her
fingernails, exposing a circuit of wires. “A safe life without love, without
risk, isn’t worth living.” She pulled out a green wire. “I won’t go back to
simply existing. I can’t.” She touched the red wire and then changed her mind,
extracting the blue wire instead.

“I don’t recommend your course of action, Captain. Your
previous override attempt rendered us immobile for six days, seven hours,
thirty-two minutes, and five seconds.”

“Could you prevent the Balazoid from boarding us for six
days?” Raylee pulled out the red wire also.
Was it red or blue?
“I doubt
it, so we’ll all die and you’ll end up broken into parts for their mighty
warships.”

Air gusted through the vents. “I can’t protect you,
Captain.” The door slid open and Raylee breathed a sigh of relief. “The
energized core of Lokan prevents communication. I won’t know where you are or
if you require assistance,” Ship reminded her as she stomped toward the escape
hatch, the heels of her boots ringing on the wire-mesh corridor floor.

“I can protect myself and I’ll protect Vegas too.” Raylee
eyed the open hatch, her stomach swirling. “I can do this.”

“If you can locate him,” Ship muttered. “I can’t assist you
with directions, Captain.”

Shit.
She glanced at the viewscreen. “Find the river.
Follow the path. Trek north.” Raylee took a deep breath. “I can do this. I
won’t get lost.”

* * * * *

One hour later, Raylee was lost, or rather, she had been
lost, heading the wrong direction down the path. She’d rectified that error,
backtracking, and she hadn’t made another one or so she hoped. With her hands
on her hips, she arched her back, tilting her head upward to peruse the giant
dark-blue weeping willow. The map had shown a similar tree.
No, I’m not
lost. I know where I am…sort of.

She studied the position of the sun. Vegas should be heading
back the same way.
I’ll wait for him.
Raylee transferred her attention
to the path, optimism warming her already heated and wet body.

A twig snapped and she jumped. She looked around her, seeing
no one, but not fully trusting her eyes. Since arriving on the tropical planet,
she’d had the eerie feeling she’d been followed, and every sound in the noisy
rain forest was amplified by her fear.

Raylee ventured off the well-worn path and cautiously
concealed her form under the hanging blue branches of the massive tree.
Branches swayed and leaves fluttered, but there was no other movement. She
removed an arrow from her quiver and waited.

The rustling sound intensified, coming from her left, the
broad leaves hampering her view. She drew back the string of her bow, the
weight and feel of the weapon reassuring, and she aimed.

A huge blue centipede, the same shade as the tree and the
size of Vegas’ leg, crawled under the hanging branches. It raised its revolting
head, its feelers twitching.
Don’t come close. Don’t come close.
Raylee
dropped her arrow and edged backward, pressing her spine against the tree trunk
as the creature slinked toward her.
Don’t… Oh shit.
She wrinkled her
nose in disgust as the creature’s hundred tiny feet trailed over the toe of her
right boot.

It felt along the base of the tree.
Oh God. It isn’t
leaving.
The centipede twined around the trunk she was leaning against and
Raylee shuffled toward the path, remaining as still and as silent as she could
manage. The giant insect climbed over the bark, the sound of its many feet
against the wood echoed throughout the huge tree.

She looked upward and saw nothing, the blue of the centipede
blending into the color of the leaves. The noise of the tiny hairy feet
marching came from above her, to her right, to her left and all around her.
How
many centipedes are hidden in the tree?
Raylee shuddered. Something brushed
against her shoulders. She turned around, but that something was already gone.
Her hair was pulled. She swiped at it. A creepy sensation crawled across her
skin.

Enough.
Raylee broke through the blue branches. She
twisted around, dancing, fluffing her hair, looking for the God-awful
centipedes.

Distracted by the impending insect invasion, her capture
happened so quickly, she didn’t get one solid kick in. Her body was pinned
against hard muscle and her opening mouth was covered by firm, angry lips. A
musky, familiar scent teased her nostrils.
Vegas.
Raylee relaxed into
the kiss, dropping her bow to cling to him.

He was alive and healthy and he had found her. Flesh
pulverized flesh and the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth. He was
angry, his blue eyes as cold and hard as precious sapphires, and he poured that
anger into her body, his fingers digging into the curves of her ass, his mouth
forcing her head back.

Raylee suffered soundlessly through her punishment, the
pleasure-pain what she deserved for following him, for getting caught, for
loving such a dangerous man. She skimmed her hand along his side, searching for
the silver canister. Not finding it, she smiled against his lips.
Mission
completed.

“You shouldn’t be smiling, Raylee. I’m furious with you.”
Vegas pulled away to glare at her, his chest heaving, every inch of him
glorious angry male.

“I know.” She tried to look contrite, but her happiness at
seeing him couldn’t be contained, spilling over onto her throbbing lips.
He
lived! He was safe!

“You know. You
know
.” He glanced skyward at the
clouds hanging over them. “Come on.” He grabbed her hand, tugging her forward
with him. “I’ll beat your ass black and blue when we reach our ship.”

Her smile widened. “You said our ship. Our ship, yours and
mine, like we’re a team.” Raylee nearly skipped with excitement, her good mood
expanding exponentially. “Does that mean I’m an agent also?” She trailed Vegas
blindly, her boots making a juicy sucking sound, sinking into the
moisture-laden ground with each step. “Or was I always an agent and I just
didn’t know it? Is that why Sexy was given to me?”

“Shhh…” Vegas hushed her, looking behind them. There were
deep grooves between his serious blue eyes. His stride quickened until she
jogged to keep pace with him.

Raylee bit her bottom lip, her joy evaporating like the
mist. She glanced over her shoulder. Although she didn’t see anyone, her heart
pounded and her moistening palms slid in his grasp.

A high-pitched hum sliced through the air and a throwing
star embedded with a loud crack in the tree branch an inch above Vegas’ head.
“Run!” He yanked her arm, catapulting her body forward.

Shit.
Raylee sprang into action, running faster than
she had ever run before, the muscles in her legs stretching and burning with
the effort of climbing the hill, her breathing shallow and fast and painful.
Everything she had, she threw toward reaching the ship.
Reach Ship. Gotta
reach Ship.
That was her sole goal, her single thought.

Raylee ran full out for almost five minutes before realizing
that Vegas wasn’t behind her. She skidded to a stop, her knees shaking, and she
pivoted on her heels, forcing herself to remain upright, her head spinning.
“You said no unnecessary risks, Vegas,” she huffed. “You should follow your own
damn advice.”

She sprinted back down the sloping path. The clang of metal
against metal rang through the rain forest, the sound spurring her forward.
Vegas, that macho dumbass she loved and couldn’t live without, was facing one
of the scariest beings she had ever met. She reached for an arrow. He wouldn’t
face the Balazoid assassin alone.

Chapter Seven

Vegas ran behind Raylee, shielding her from the attacks with
his body until they reached the crest of the hill, placing her safely out of
range of the Balazoid’s throwing stars. He then stopped, turned and descended
to face the assassin.

He knew the odds of him surviving a confrontation with a Balazoid
assassin were low, but Raylee wouldn’t reach the safety of the ship otherwise,
the climb up the rope ladder making her a highly visible, helpless target.
Without hesitation, Vegas traded his life for hers, as living would be
meaningless without Raylee. She was his soul, his heart.

He dodged the sharp metal, feeling the breeze on his cheek.
Another star skimmed his arm, leaving a shallow razor-thin slice in his flesh.
Vegas ducked and rolled, eluding the stars flying fast and furiously around
him, the missiles singing through the air in a horizontal deluge of death.

Then as abruptly as it started, the barrage of metal ceased.
The attack wasn’t over. Vegas grimly braced himself. The assassin had run out
of the deadly projectiles, but he would have other weapons at his disposal.

The Balazoid approached, not bothering with concealment and
stealth. His eyes, burning red with the fervor of the upcoming fight, were
vivid in his ghostly pale face. He was dressed in protective leather, a pack
slung over one inhumanly broad shoulder.

“I’ve been looking for you, human.” The Balazoid’s voice
echoed as if bouncing off canyon walls. He threw his pack to the ground and
Sexy’s detached head rolled onto the flattened grass, his wires snapping blue
sparks, his eyes open and unblinking. “I trust you’re a greater warrior than
your machine.”