Page 12 of The Alien Warrior's Vow

Sweat caused the hair on her temple to cling to her cheeks. A red flush spread beneath her skin. Lans was not sure if it stemmed from her annoyance or her exertion.

Either way, he did not care. “Again.”

“If I do this one more time, my arms will fall off. I’ve gotit.”

“Do you?”

“Look,” she turned to him fully and planted her hands on her hips, “I promised Sara I wouldn’t fight your instructions, but this is ridiculous. How does any of this matter when all we’re going to do is sneak past the barrier and let you guys in? It’s not like I need to fight with the guards.”

“You think it will be that easy?” He walked around her.

“If all goes to plan.”

“And if the plan goes up in flames?”

Her gaze followed him. “We can just blast them with our guns.”

“Very well.” He selected his laser gun from the table he’d dragged out and offered it to her.

Eema stared at it as if he offered her poison.

He shook it. “Do you remember what I taught you before?”

She jerked her chin down.

He doubted that she had forgotten. That was the first time he had trained her. During their mission to free Clavas, they had left Eema alone at the dwelling. She had taken to the gun training much faster than he’d anticipated. Something about her posture and confidence told him that she had handled a weapon before.

“Go ahead.” He spread his legs, squared his shoulders and lifted his chin. “Shoot me.”

If he had expected hesitation or concern for his well-being, Lans would have been sorely disappointed. As if she had been waiting for the opportunity all her life, Eema hefted the gun. It clanked loudly in her hands as she stared down the barrel and pointed it in his direction.

Lans burst into motion. In three steps, he grabbed the gun from Eema’s hands and pointed it upwards. A neon bullet sprayed the treetops. His eyes widened.

The seren would have actually shot me.

Annoyed by the thought, he put more force than necessary into his next move. Sweeping Eema’s legs from under her, he threw her to the ground and climbed on top of her body, pinning her in place. One hand pressed on her throat while the other dug into the dirt near her hip.

She glared up at him, her chest moving up and down as she sucked in deep breaths.

“You tried to kill me,” he said.

“Wasn’t that the lesson?”

Stubborn, infuriating female.

“Now, you have no gun and no zapten. What do you do?”

She grunted, trying to push herself up. He held her down firmly, not budging an inch. Lans was much bigger and heavier than her. He was being careful not to crush her, but he wanted to break that cockiness of hers and show her just how dire a situation she was about to face.

With her level of inexperience, arrogance would be fatal.

Eema let both hands flop on the ground. Groaning, she said. “Alright. I give up.”

“Is that so?” He eyed her with suspicion.

She pushed the tendrils of her long hair that clung to her face away with sweaty fingers. “Yup.”

“Hm.” Lans began to ease up.

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