Page 14 of The Alien Warrior's Mate

Her heart thundered, warning that they should get away from that storm before it descended. Blue had the same idea because he was gunning his dinosaur at a break-neck speed.

Even so, they weren’t moving fast enough. The storm chased them like a monster ready to tear her to pieces. A swirling vortex charged from the middle of the lightning strikes and acid rain splattered from it. The scent of sulfur mixed with death rose in the air. Animals screamed below, the kind of sound only rendered in nightmares and horror movies.

Her lips tightened and she leaned forward as if her body weight alone could prompt them to go faster. A low groan slipped past the alien’s lips. She looked over her shoulder and saw that the rain was singeing his skin. She hadn’t felt any of it as, again, he’d used himself as a shield to protect her from the elements.

Lightning struck, tangled webs of light snapping like a whip against the dinosaur. A prong of light struck the blue alien square on the shoulder and he grunted in pain. As he bowled over and clutched the burning skin, he lost control of their ride and they all went careening left.

Sara desperately steered the handlebars in front of her, righting the machine before it crashed into a tree. The blue alien took over again, but he had lost too much energy. His fingers slipped away from the controls and he slumped against her shoulder.

Sara took control of the handles again, but she had no idea where to go with the storm breathing down their necks. They needed to find shelterfastor they were both going to die, a reality that Sara refused to accept. She had so much she wanted to do. Pay off her student loans. Buy a toaster. Maybe go to Paris someday. They had to survive.

The blue alien gripped her tighter, his firm touch helping to steer the machine. Sara focused on the terrain below them. Darkness shrouded everything. Shadows thrown by the evil storm played tricks with her eyes.

Straining as hard as she could, Sara spotted a rocky enclave near a grove of yellow trees. Hurling a finger, she pointed. “There! What about there?”

Blue grunted low in his throat as if to say,I spotted it first.

She casted him a dull look. “Is this really the time to argue about who saw it first?”

Lightning lit up the air around them and burned with heat. Blue yanked the machine down to avoid getting shocked. Sara clung to his arms, wrapping her fingers over his so she could clamp onto the handles as the metal beast took a sharp nose-dive.

They crash-landed at the mouth of the cave. Sara scrambled off quickly and hovered close to the metal dinosaur as they waddled inside. The moment they were away from the acid rain and lightning, the dinosaur wrapped his arms around his knees. Gears and wheels started spinning and the clang of steel rang louder than the storm outside.

Metal plates folded in on itself until the dinosaur shifted into a compact square the size and depth of a large box. Blue gripped it by the handles and wheeled it deep into the cave.

Okay. I have to admit. That is too cool.

Another clap of thunder had Sara jumping out of her skin. Setting her awe aside, she surveyed their dank and pitch-black shelter. No way did she want to be stuck in here alone. Afraid that Blue would leave her if she didn’t keep up, she slipped her fingers around his hand.

Sure, she didn’t know him that well, but so far, he’d done a great job of keeping her alive. She’d bet on the fact that he would continue to do so.

They walked a little farther. When they’d gone as deep as they could, Blue stopped and dug into his pants pocket, producing a small box. He pressed his thumb against the device, and it activated, opening up with a whirr of unfolding metal and tiny gears.

A hiss spurted through the air and a spark of light appeared. Burning in front of her was a purple flame on top of the metal box. It was similar to a torch, only this light wasn’t so dense. It was almost… sheer.

Blue grunted and shoved the light at her. His eyebrow nubs quirked as he jutted his chin in her direction. She got the message and took the torch from him, bringing the flame close to her face and enjoying its warmth.

Blue wandered a few paces away and tapped his arm. Was he trying to awaken the hologram embedded in his skin? She followed him curiously, waiting to see if Emma would appear again.

Blue tapped his arm twice, but nothing happened. He mumbled a word harshly.

“Denizi,” she mumbled, echoing him.

He glanced up. If she wasn’t so tired, dazed and scared, she would have sworn that he smiled at her. Just a little. Blue broke their stare down and pulled out small box. This time, when he opened it, she was right over his shoulder and ready to spy. He palmed a pouch and she heard water sloshing around inside it.

“Dama,” he said.

Sara rejected his offering. No way was she about to get drugged. She never accepted drinks from strangers and that included aliens.

Annoyance crossed Blue’s face again, but he didn’t scold her. He brought the pouch to his lips and took a giant swig. At the sight of the water running down his chiseled cheeks, Sara’s throat grew parched. She hadn’t had any nourishment since waking up on that alien spaceship.

This time, when Blue offered the satchel to her, she took it. Carefully, Sara sniffed the water. It didn’t really have a smell. She stuck her tongue out and licked at it. Just that one drop made her thirsty for more.

Ah, screw it.

She had to trust this alien, or she might as well dance into the death rain and end it all now.

Tipping the pouch back, she drank thirstily. After she’d emptied every drop, Blue offered her a small fruit. It looked almost like a grape, but it had a seedy texture. This time, she snapped the food from his blue palm and shoved it into her mouth. It was sweet.

---