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Authors: Kaitlyn O'Connor
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with and might have difficulty focusing!
In any case, he decided dismissively, she had a mouth. If all else failed, there was that!
Not that he was going to be happy about that necessity, but his raid would not be in vain! He would not return from the death defying trek empty-handed.
Having settled that much in his mind, his thoughts returned to the puzzle of her origins and her potential as an asset.
The precise ‘where’, he realized, was not something he was likely to figure out with nothing to go on, but the ‘how’ of it was like a slap in the face or a douse of icy water—a stunning revelation that was made more shocking by the time it had taken him to arrive at it!
Her people must be builders of ships like his—capable of crossing the black sea of space!
Except theirs would not be technology rescued from rusting heaps of a bygone time! Theirs would—had to be—better, stronger, capable of more speed and distance!
He was discomfited by the fact that he had been so focused on his physical attraction to her that he had previously overlooked the importance of her as an asset.
But that hardly mattered when no one could be aware of it beyond him and he had realized it quickly enough to consider how best to handle his prize from what might possibly turn out to be the most important raid of his entire reign as Prince!
Chapter Five
The landing was far more horrific than the take off! Even without the porthole, she knew the moment they hit the atmosphere. The ship was buffeted by scary winds as soon as it dropped low enough and this was no gentler near the ground!
She thought they’d crashed when they landed with a scream of metal against metal and rock and a jolt hard enough to make her bite her tongue.
The barbarian Prince’s swift entrance seemed to support her worst fears and Noelle immediately threw off her safety harness with shaking hands and charged toward the door on rubbery legs.
He caught her and held her. “You cannot escape now!” he growled.
Noelle gaped at him. “We could if you’d move your ass!” she snapped. “It hasn’t exploded yet!”
It was his turn to gape at her in disbelief. He looked torn between outrage and amusement.
Thankfully, the amusement seemed to win out.
“ We have not crashed, you impudent little guztier ! We have landed on my world!”
Noelle wasn’t certain she believed him. There seemed to be an awful lot of screaming, cursing, and scrambling on the part of the other passengers to get out of the death trap—get off the ship.
“ Ok! Fine! You win! Can we discuss this a hundred yards or so from the ship?”
He shook his head, but he released her. Noelle took the opportunity to follow the last of the other passengers as fast as she could. She would’ve outstripped them except that they were blocking her path and wouldn’t let her get around them!
And the moment she reached the exit a gale force blast of frigid air slammed into her.
Of course even getting to the door had felt like crawling through a wind tunnel, but she’d had a lot of very large people in front of her to break the force of the wind. With everyone else now galloping down the gangplank toward a herd of …. Monsters milling about in a pen … she had an unrestricted view and the wind had no impediments to scouring the skin off her face, neck, and arms.
A heavy fur was tossed over her, momentarily blocking her view, and she nearly slipped and rolled down the gangplank. Fortunately, the same thoughtful person who’d dropped the blinding blanket over her, grabbed her as she pitched forward. This time, instead of tossing her across one shoulder, the barbarian Prince rolled her up in the fur and tucked her under one arm as if he was carrying a roll of carpet.
She had mixed feelings about the situation. The fur instantly blocked the bulk of the icy wind tearing at her, protecting her both from the cold and the sense of being sandblasted. It smelled a lot like the animal it had come off
In any case, he decided dismissively, she had a mouth. If all else failed, there was that!
Not that he was going to be happy about that necessity, but his raid would not be in vain! He would not return from the death defying trek empty-handed.
Having settled that much in his mind, his thoughts returned to the puzzle of her origins and her potential as an asset.
The precise ‘where’, he realized, was not something he was likely to figure out with nothing to go on, but the ‘how’ of it was like a slap in the face or a douse of icy water—a stunning revelation that was made more shocking by the time it had taken him to arrive at it!
Her people must be builders of ships like his—capable of crossing the black sea of space!
Except theirs would not be technology rescued from rusting heaps of a bygone time! Theirs would—had to be—better, stronger, capable of more speed and distance!
He was discomfited by the fact that he had been so focused on his physical attraction to her that he had previously overlooked the importance of her as an asset.
But that hardly mattered when no one could be aware of it beyond him and he had realized it quickly enough to consider how best to handle his prize from what might possibly turn out to be the most important raid of his entire reign as Prince!
Chapter Five
The landing was far more horrific than the take off! Even without the porthole, she knew the moment they hit the atmosphere. The ship was buffeted by scary winds as soon as it dropped low enough and this was no gentler near the ground!
She thought they’d crashed when they landed with a scream of metal against metal and rock and a jolt hard enough to make her bite her tongue.
The barbarian Prince’s swift entrance seemed to support her worst fears and Noelle immediately threw off her safety harness with shaking hands and charged toward the door on rubbery legs.
He caught her and held her. “You cannot escape now!” he growled.
Noelle gaped at him. “We could if you’d move your ass!” she snapped. “It hasn’t exploded yet!”
It was his turn to gape at her in disbelief. He looked torn between outrage and amusement.
Thankfully, the amusement seemed to win out.
“ We have not crashed, you impudent little guztier ! We have landed on my world!”
Noelle wasn’t certain she believed him. There seemed to be an awful lot of screaming, cursing, and scrambling on the part of the other passengers to get out of the death trap—get off the ship.
“ Ok! Fine! You win! Can we discuss this a hundred yards or so from the ship?”
He shook his head, but he released her. Noelle took the opportunity to follow the last of the other passengers as fast as she could. She would’ve outstripped them except that they were blocking her path and wouldn’t let her get around them!
And the moment she reached the exit a gale force blast of frigid air slammed into her.
Of course even getting to the door had felt like crawling through a wind tunnel, but she’d had a lot of very large people in front of her to break the force of the wind. With everyone else now galloping down the gangplank toward a herd of …. Monsters milling about in a pen … she had an unrestricted view and the wind had no impediments to scouring the skin off her face, neck, and arms.
A heavy fur was tossed over her, momentarily blocking her view, and she nearly slipped and rolled down the gangplank. Fortunately, the same thoughtful person who’d dropped the blinding blanket over her, grabbed her as she pitched forward. This time, instead of tossing her across one shoulder, the barbarian Prince rolled her up in the fur and tucked her under one arm as if he was carrying a roll of carpet.
She had mixed feelings about the situation. The fur instantly blocked the bulk of the icy wind tearing at her, protecting her both from the cold and the sense of being sandblasted. It smelled a lot like the animal it had come off
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