Fuuuuuuck!
Nia kicked out as she tried to claw forward, causing herself to stumble, and she lost her shoes in the process. But instead of releasing her, the henchman gripped her tighter and went down with her. He landed on his side with her gripped against him.
He was frickin’ strong. She could feel it in his hands.
The henchmen hadn’t felt so strong when they’d been carrying her earlier.
Maybe this was the Hulk of the clan that she hadn’t been introduced to till now. And what a moment to meet him.
Terror made her cry out as she tried to struggle from his grasp while the thought that she had nothing, no weapons, nothing, swam in her head.
As she strained against him, struggling to release herself, the only thing her hand landed on was one of her shoes.
Nia grasped the thing and spun in the alien’s hold, twisting enough that she was facing him.
They chose the wrong girl to mess with.
They really fucking did.
If they thought they were going to take her, use her, then sell her to the highest bidder, they had a big surprise coming.
Granted, they might actually achieve their goal. But she wasn’t going to go willingly.
She was going to fight.
Even if it meant using her fingers to claw their eyes out.
Gripping one end of her shoe, her wrist flicked with an accuracy that was passed down through generations.
The sound of the shoe making contact echoed in the room.
Nia didn’t stop. She didn’t wait.
Her wrist flicked again and her shoe landed in what she hoped was the henchman’s face.
But whatever she hit made a dull thud like she hit something solid…like metal.
The henchman made a strange sound but didn’t let her go. That didn’t deter her though.
It was her only weapon.
Her only chance.
She pummeled his face with her shoe as if she was slapping the devil out of him, even as she struggled to break free.
“Let—”
Slap.
“Me—”
Slap.
“Go—”
Slap.
“—you blasted fucking fiend!”
She was kicking, struggling like her life depended on it, but it seemed she was going nowhere.
He was too strong.
Strong and fucking unbothered.
He didn’t even grunt and Nia realized that somehow, in the process, she ended up fully on her back.
The henchman gripped her arms, holding them down.
“I’m not one of them, ta’ii.”
It was a rich, deep voice.
One that made her pause.
Well, he definitely didn’t sound like one of them, that was for sure.
They sounded neither male nor female, but he…he was definitely male.
His voice was a deep vibration that tickled her ears and made her hyperaware.
“I’m here to help you.”
What?
Some of the fight within her limbs died a little, but she wasn’t completely convinced.
She knew no one here, and none of the aliens on the ship were on her side. So who the hell was he?
“We have to be quick. There’s not much time to get you out of here.”
She didn’t dare to believe. After all, she couldn’t even see his face.
But it hit her then that he wasn’t trying to restrain her. He seemed to only be holding her down so she’d stop kicking.
He was certainly strong enough to lift her upright and force her to walk, but he wasn’t doing that.
“And what the phek did you hit me with?”
One strong arm reached up and touched her shoe.
His fingers brushed hers as he moved them over the shoe, and Nia jerked once more to release herself from his grasp.
“Your foot covering.” A rumble of a laugh vibrated against her belly. “You hit me with your foot covering?”
Apparently, she hadn’t hit him with it hard enough.
Nia jerked against him one more time, trying to wring her hands from his grasp.
“Don’t fight.,” he said. “I don’t want to hold you too hard and accidentally hurt you. I’m on your side.”
Nia stiffened again.
“I—Who are you?” She jerked her hand in his grasp once more. “And why should I believe you?”
There was a pause, and he made a sound she couldn’t put a meaning to.
“I can’t understand you,” he finally said. “Your language upload…I do not have it in my translator. But you can understand me, can’t you? Riv’s mate, La-rehn, could understand me.”
Nia’s eyes widened and she froze. He knew Lauren.
“Who are you?”
He didn’t answer.
Of course, he just told her he couldn’t understand her—not that she’d expected him to be able to. No one, bar five other beings (the one who had brought her to the Sanctuary included), could understand her on this planet.
The alien made another sound, and this time she was sure it was a groan.
“Not the best of ways to introduce myself to you…between your legs. A gentleman would have at least greeted you first.”
What?
Alarm went through her as she realized her cloak had ridden up in their scuffle.
And yes, indeed, he was settled between her bare legs.
Hudo III was warm. She hadn’t worn a separate outfit underneath the cloak for that reason. If she’d done that, she might have suffered from a heatstroke.
And now, she was almost naked underneath this…man.
The arm holding her shoe was pinned above her head and her other arm was pinned down flat.
Her free leg was bent and pressed against his side, and she realized that the hardness she felt on the inside of her thigh was the hard muscle of his.
Fuck, he was huge.
It was muffled, but it sounded like he chuckled and murmured something underneath his breath.
“But…I’m no gentleman.”
The words were a whisper, and if not for the sudden silence between them, she might have missed it.
Nia jerked against him. “If you’re on my side, mind letting me up?”
He must have understood her intent because his hold on hers slackened and he paused, she assumed, to judge her reaction to being released.
When she didn’t immediately scramble away from him, he released her fully and helped her to her feet.
Damn, she wished to God that she could see.
The smoke was still like a thick wall.
The hairs at the back of her neck were still standing on end. She wasn’t
