Rescuing Ash

Chapter Eleven

Sadie woke up to a stiff neck. Thankful she was able to sleep despite the fact that she was in Ash’s room. Nothing made sense in her head. The images of the previous...day...night...she wasn’t sure, had plagued her when she was in her room. It sent her into an anxiety attack and yet, after her pleasant visit with Doc, she’d opted to come in to Ash’s room and sleep in the chair. With a newly non-sleep deprived head, she replayed her thoughts and scenes that had plagued her. The sight of Ash’s massive body standing so close to her most sensitive area. The smell of her own blood drying to her face. The aching pain in her head and the tight restraints she fought against. The cold barrel of the blaster and the sinister laughing from behind her. Terror crept through her blood again awash with hate.

That was it.

It wasn’t fear of Ash. It was most definitely fear of the General. How she’d managed to confuse the fear was beyond her. Even her subconscious knew that Ash had been the one to protect her in that awful cell. She supposed that even deliriously tired, she’d wandered to Ash for safety. He was her rock now. She’d been her own rock for more than a year. Though, the hardest of it all was cooped up on that orbiting prison. Losing her mother had been so extremely difficult but she’d been prepared for her death. Being locked in a dark room that was barely large enough to be considered a medium sized closet and subjected to mental warfare was something she’d never prepared for. It was something she had to do completely alone with no help what-so-ever. Sadie had managed it. She fought back in her own way, keeping herself sane in the process.

But now, now she had the breathing room to relax a little. Sure, there was the problematic information that the Trevorian’s wanted human women as breeding cows. That was harsh. She needed to re-evaluate what Ash had told her. If the Trevorian males treat their women as well as Ash made it sound, there would be human women lining up. There were so many woman on Sonar 7 that had lives they didn’t want to keep on living. Maybe they would want to be a part of something like the Trevorians? Would that be so wrong? She was certainly thankful that Ash had rescued her from a death trap when he so easily could have left her and headed toward Earth.

Now she had room to breath. Another rock to lean on, if she’d just let herself take a break. Exhaustion had taken the decision away from her by wandering into his room and sleeping in his chair. That was the first sign that she needed to allow someone else to shoulder the burden for a little while. It sounded so much more selfish in her head than it probably was in actuality. If Ash minded...he would have told her, right?

Sadie lifted her head and looked over at his bed. It was empty. As she sat up, a second blanket slid from her body. The scent on the blanket wasn’t like the one around her shoulders. It smelled warm. Masculine. Sadie pressed her nose to it and recognized it as Ash’s scent. His whole room smelled that way. It made her stomach tighten in a way she hadn’t felt in a very long time. Taking a second look at his bed showed it free of the blanket that had been covering him when she came in.

It was absolutely astounding that he could have placed the blanket on her and left the room without waking her up. For the past year, her brain had learned not to enter too deep a sleep because she’d be rudely awakened by a shrieking alarm and numerous armed guards. Something as simple as boots walking past her door would wake her. Or even a cough down the hall. The only other time she would have managed to sleep through someone moving around would be if she’d been drugged and she felt good. No one had harmed her since she’d been brought on the ship. That knowledge made her feel like she could relax. The fog had lifted from her brain and she hoped that spending some time with Doc might prove fruitful today. He’d given her a tablet to work with. The technology was a bit more advanced than what she’d had on Sonar 7 but there were things that her tablet could do that theirs couldn’t. Doc had spent an hour showing her how to operate the thing. Much to Sadie’s shock, the words on the screen were in English. The translator implanted in her impacted her visual field which was absolutely mind blowing.