Rogue Alien's Escape: Alien Abduction Romance

Chapter Five

Her feet pounded against the hard dirt of the plains underfoot and Andie crossed the border out of the city before she realized it. Her skin tingled as it met air that suddenly seemed a bit colder and something unfurled in her chest as she breathed free air for the first time in six years. She was outside of the city. If she could get far enough away, the guards couldn't touch her, couldn't drag her back or put her down. There was nothing they could do to her!

And then the blasters started firing and she realized that she wasn't home free yet.

Andie picked up the pace, unsure of where she found the last bit of endurance, but she ran like all life on Earth depended on it. Her feet kicked up a cloud of dust in her wake, but she didn't care. Maybe it would do something to obscure her form, make her harder to shoot. She wasn't too worried about the guards—they too were forbidden from breaching the city boundaries. It was the drones that were sure to come soon that could do her in.

Something pounded beside her and for a moment she thought it was a drone's engine, but Xandr's purple form appeared beside her, running at her pace and subtly guiding her where he wanted her to go. This far out, it became clear that the plains weren't as flat as she'd been told. There were a few dips and ravines, breaks in the land that could keep them out of sight from anyone looking from the city, even if they'd do little to obscure them from drones with all of their sophisticated sensors.

The blasters stopped firing as she and Xandr made it out of range. It was a small comfort as Andie's lungs burned and every muscle ached. She couldn't run for much longer, she didn't have the endurance, but she couldn't take the time to tell that to Xandr either—she couldn't spare the breath.

He must have sensed it, though, since a minute later he took pity on her, finding one of those ravines and climbing down into it slowly. Andie almost tripped over her feet, but Xandr gripped her hips, his hot palms searing a mark against her flesh. She wanted to lean into him, wanted to rely on his strength, but she didn't think now was the time. Not when they were in the middle of running for their lives.

"The drones are going to be coming at any minute," she felt the need to point out as they hunkered down in the ravine. It came out in harsh gasps as she tried to catch her breath.

"I'm not worried about those," Xandr said, dismissing them with barely a thought.

"So you're just going to sit here until your ship comes for you? How are they even going to find you?" And why was she still waiting there with him? Andie didn't say that last part out loud, but now that she realized it, their deal was over. She was outside of the city, free of its influence, and she could find her own way home. She didn't know what else there was on the planet, but she was going to have to learn quick.

"We're going to sit here," Xandr corrected. "Unless you want to die in this desert. You got me out of the city, the least I can do is get you to a space station where you can catch a shuttle heading back home. Or..." He popped his head up over the top of the ravine and sank back down, letting the thought trail off.

"Or what?" He wanted to take her with him? Was this a trick? She'd be completely at his mercy on his ship, but it wasn't like she was in much of a position to argue.

Xandr looked over at her and offered a cocky grin. "Or you can join up with us. The company's a bit uncivilized, but the money's good." He stared at her so intently not saying something that Andie's skin prickled.

She wasn't imagining the gleam in his eye, wasn't creating a possibility out of thin air. There was nothing for her back in Ixilta, nothing but prison or death. But did she really want to sign on with a bunch of outlaws because she was hot for their leader? Oh God, that would be a stupid, reckless, impulsive decision.

"You don't have to decide now," Xandr conceded, settling back onto the ground.

"How are they going to find you—us? I don't see any beacon or anything." It would have been quite a trick to hide something like that for two months in prison, but if anyone was capable of it, it was Xandr.

"I'm the beacon," he said. "We all were injected with a tracking isotope before this job. It was too dangerous to break into the prison to retrieve me, but now that we're outside, my ship should be here at any moment."

A boom shook them and Andie startled. The drones?

But Xandr let out a whoop of laughter. "That's them! I'd recognize those engines anywhere. You ready?" His purple skin glowed in the bright sunlight and there was something irresistible about the smile on his face.

Stupid. Reckless. Impulsive.

"Let me check something first," Andie told him.

Xandr seemed confused, as if she might actually refuse to climb aboard his fast approaching ship. "What?"

She closed the distance and sealed her mouth over his, surprising him with a kiss strong enough to make him let out a shocked sound that quickly subsided into a pleasured purr. His lips opened under hers and she controlled the kiss, her tongue darting into his mouth and dancing with his, imprinting his taste on her mouth. His hands came around her, gripping her tight, setting her body on fire. If they hadn't been hidden in a ravine under immediate threat from drone fire and on a tight deadline of escape, she might have done more, might have peeled off his clothes and let her tongue trail down even further.

If she was going to be reckless, she might as well enjoy the ride.

But after a moment, Andie pulled back, her lips wet with his kiss. Xandr's own blue eyes seemed darker, his pupils huge, and he stared at her like he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing, but sure that he wanted more.

Andie licked her lips and tasted Xandr. She couldn't help but grin at the pleasant sensation that rocked through her body. Was more of that on order? "Yeah," she murmured, almost to herself. "I thought so." She'd wanted him from the moment he'd tried to take her captive, and she'd followed him because something inside of him called to her.

There was nothing waiting for her back on Earth, no family or friends to miss her. But this hulking purple alien beside her kissed like the devil and there was a promise of more in his eyes, if only she had a little faith that something between them—her a simple human and him an Oscavian outlaw—could blossom into a relationship fit for the galaxy. She'd need to have faith, and strength, and no fear whatsoever.

His ship cast them in shadow as it grew closer, descending rapidly to avoid any fire from the nearby city. The bay door was already opening before it stopped moving and Xandr had sprung up onto his feet in anticipation of their final run. He held out a hand to her. "Are you ready?"

Andie put her hand in his. "Hell yeah. Let's see where this thing takes us."

"Us?" His hand tightened around hers.

"You think I'm going to let this thing end after a kiss like that?" Andie wanted to laugh, her adrenaline surging with the danger on the horizon mixing with the constant lust she felt around Xandr.

"You're going to love it," he promised.

And you. Eventually. It was a hell of a thought, one that should have scared her. But Andie was grabbing her destiny by the horns and taking control of her life for once. She wasn't going to run away in fear, not when it was finally time to start living. She and Xandr sprinted for his ship and in a matter of seconds were on board, the bay doors closing behind them and the ship rocketing into space and taking them on their next adventure.

Xandr wrapped his arms around her and kissed her again as they broke atmo, and Andie melted into him, sure she was finally exactly where she was supposed to be.

***

Want to know what comes next for Andie and Xandr?

Rogue Alien's Woman is out now! Find out more at www.katerudolph.net.