Chapter 3: Alexis & Drake

DRAKE

“Enough!” Drake put Alexis down. “Enough!”

The Rictorian stepped back with a sneer.

Drake pointed at the door leading into the shuttle. “You must go inside!”

“You can’t tell me what to do!”

“I thought you wanted to get away. I thought you wanted to go back home. Well, this might be your only chance.”

Drake glared at her, and she glared right back at him. She truly ~was~ wild. But where once it was endearing, now it was frustrating. Why was it so hard for her to see sense?

The Rictorian looked over her shoulder toward the shuttle door, then turned back with a scowl, lifting her chin. “I’m not a coward.”

Drake raised his eyebrows. “Excuse me?”

“You said you’re under attack by another kind of alien.”

“That’s right.” He paused. “They’re called the Wrilings, and they’re nothing like us. Like nothing you could possibly imagine.”

“I have a vivid imagination. My teachers always told me so.”

“Be that as it may, you must go. I know you’re brave, but you don’t have the strength to fight them. You’ll only get in the way. They’ll—they’ll eat you alive.”

“That’s what you think. I’m not going anywhere.” She folded her arms and glared up at him with her fiery dark eyes. “I like you too fucking much.”

“And whose fault is that?”

She scowled again, then looked toward the ladder. She tried to walk past him, but he stepped in front of her.

“I can fight.” She glared up at him. “I am ~not~ going to be like the others, hiding away like a…like a bunch of ~women~. I’m so much more! Outta the way!”

She tried to shove past him, but she was simply no match. Drake seized onto her arm. She seized onto his wrist, digging in her nails as she gritted her teeth. As though she could hurt him! Even in the middle of a crisis, Drake could feel the laughter bubbling up inside him.

Crazy laughter.

Sad laughter.

Stage 1—they were at stage 1 and could go no further. At each passing moment, it was becoming more and more difficult to deal with. He’d held himself together up until this point, but he couldn’t take it anymore.

Seizing her face, he pulled her close, kissing her hard on the mouth. For the first time since the alarm sounded, she was quiet.

For the first time, she was kissing him back, her little hands gripping tightly onto his wrists. In the right time and place, he would have melted into her. He would have held her and loved her and made her his.

Arching her over, he kissed her harder, knowing her, feeling her, absorbing her as much as he could. Even as his heart leapt, his stomach sank. He slowly backed her toward the door. She thrashed her head, trying to pull away.

“I know what you’re doing,” she gasped, her lovely dark eyes rolling in her head.

“I’m keeping you safe,” he said.

He slapped the button again, then twisted her around in his arms so her back was to his front. Pinning her arms, he prepared himself for a second attack by the Rictorians—but they held back.

“I’m sorry,” he told her as he shoved her into the room. By the time she’d turned and charged at him, the door was already shut.

Drake stared at the door to the little escape shuttle, panting, heart pounding. He could still feel her lips against his. He could still taste her tongue. With a yell, he slammed the side of his fist against the door. Then he started kicking it, over and over again.

He bent over his knees, gasping, his hand and foot throbbing. He could feel her standing there on the other side of the door. He could feel her own desperation mirroring his. Her desire. Her ~need~. His cock was like a rod. His balls felt swollen with blood. His heart wouldn’t stop pounding. Why did this have to happen now?

He could do it, he suddenly thought to himself. He could take her out and make love to her, right here in this little annex. It wouldn’t take long. Two more stages—and it would be done. The pain would be over.

He could imagine it. He’d press her up against the wall, her perfect backside in his hands, his mouth against hers, as he filled her up and connected with her. He could feel her clawing at his shoulders, her warm breath against his neck. He could see the ecstasy of her pleasure.

He thumped his fist against the door again, the searing pain helping to ease the agony in his pelvis. Then he turned and rushed up the ladder.

ALEXIS

Alexis threw herself at the door. “I can fight! You son of a bitch!”

Bending over her knees, she dropped her head with a grimace. She spat on the floor, then wiped her mouth. She then grabbed at the door handle and tried to pull it back with all her might. Her hands slipped, and she dropped to her butt with a yell.

“We’ve already tried that. It won’t work.”

Alexis turned to glare at the others. There were four of them: the redhead, the Mexican, the crippled girl, and the crazy Texan. Alexis scowled at them as she leapt to her feet. “So you’re just going to stand there. You—”

She stared.

The redhead lifted her chin and folded her arms. “That’s right. We had sex. We’re bonded. Have a problem with that?”

“You’re—you’re bonded?” Alexis wiped her mouth with the back of her shaking hand. She looked toward the Mexican, staring back into his yellow and brown eyes.

~We just completed stage 1. We’re partially attached now. You’ve got to get used to the feelings. You’ve got to get used to ~me~.~

He and the redhead glanced at each other in surprise, then back at Alexis.

“What’s wrong?” the Mexican said.

“Nothing,” she said quickly. She turned back to the door and tried the handle again. “I need to get off this ship.” She pulled and she pulled, then stopped at the sound of a loud clunk. She backed away with a start when the door started to open.

Alexis stared. It was the Asian woman. She was just standing there, her long dark hair flowing over her shoulders, a broad grin on her face.

Brenda cheered.

Juan laughed. “You sneak! I didn’t even see you get out.”

Alexis looked at the open door, then into the empty room beyond. The alien was gone. ~Drake~ was gone. But the way was open. It was ~open~. Alexis touched her mouth, remembering his kiss as the Mexican kissed the Asian on the cheek and the redhead gave her a swift hug.

Alexis’s feet were suddenly moving. Before she knew it, Alexis was embracing her too. A stunned hush fell upon the room.

Surprised and embarrassed, she jerked back and tried to hide her face behind her braids.

“Alexis?”

“Shut it,” Alexis snapped as she wiped her face. ~Stupid alien!~ “I don’t want to be stuck another moment on this stupid space bucket.”

She raced out of the door without looking back.

They were calling her name, but she was already at the top of the ladder. She glanced downward; they were making their way up. She could see the woman’s shining red hair.

Alexis didn’t wait. She raced on ahead.

“Wait! We have to be careful!” came Juan’s muffled voice as she turned a corner.

Alexis ignored them. She wasn’t being rational, she knew, but nothing about this was rational. She needed to see him. She needed to see him so desperately it was like a hook in her throat, pulling and yanking.

His arms, his hands, his backside, his goddamn dick—she wanted it all. So fucking ~badly~. Alexis had never wanted a man so desperately in all her life.

It was sickening.

It was ~making~ her sick. She paused briefly to heave, her hand shaking as she gripped the wall, but nothing came up.

It was only then that she noticed how quiet it was: no more alarm, no racing aliens and their thudding boots. She was alone. And it was dark—the lights dimmed.

It would have been chilling if her mind wasn’t reeling with thoughts of last night: the way he’d held her; the way he’d kissed her on the cheek as he rocked her in his lap while she cried. He’d taken her back to the hospital to get her broken fingers fixed after she’d punched the wall.

She was flexing them now without pain.

“I will never leave you,” he’d whispered in her ear.

She’d looked at him then, staring back into his astonishing yellow eyes—speechless, confused, overwhelmed—but entirely trusting.

He’d meant what he’d said—she felt it like a pang deep down in her guts. Inarguable. Undeniable.

And yet, what was he doing now?

Alexis grabbed onto her head. “Stop it!”

Then she was running again. The tears wicked away from her cheeks. She hadn’t cried this much since the day her father left. “Stupid alien!” ~What has he done to me?~

She skidded to a halt when she came upon a crossroad of corridors. Alexis spun around in a circle. Which one? She couldn’t remember! She should be smarter than this!

“Alexis!”

She turned to find the Mexican hurrying toward her.

“I don’t know which way he went,” Alexis panted.

She heard more footsteps as the redhead arrived. Brenda—that was her name. ~Brenda and Juan.~

Juan was staring at Alexis with his weird alien eyes. The redhead was panting as she bent over her knees, red-faced.

“Which way who went?” Juan said.

“Drake! My fucking alien.”

“~Your~ alien?” Juan raised his eyebrows. “I thought you wanted to go home.”

Before Alexis could answer, they all staggered as the floor rocked. The lights flickered, then turned on again.

“What the hell?”

Another shudder. This time it felt like the floor was moving. Juan fell to his knees with a cry. Brenda crashed into the wall.

Alexis crouched to the ground and kept low, one hand planted between her feet. The ship continued to shudder and shudder and shudder. The lights turned off, replaced with a flashing red light. There came a faint beeping noise.

The shuddering stopped. They all looked at each other.

Slowly, Brenda stood, her wide eyes darting between corridors. “They’re here,” she said ominously. “The Wrilings.”