Read Online Coletti Warlords: Reality Bites by Gail Koger - Free Book Online Page A

compartment. All passengers don emergency spacesuits.”
    “Spacesuits? Does this pile of junk have any?”
    “Look in the storage bin.”
    Duh. Talk about being a muzzy-brained idiot. Swinging my chair around, I pried the lid off. A lone spacesuit was stuffed inside. “Crap. There’s only one.”
    “Put it on,” Jaylan commanded. His attention never wavered from the console.
    “What about you?”
    “My battle suit will protect me.”
    “If you haven’t noticed, you’re still naked, sugar.” My gaze roved over his nicely muscled chest. All mine.
    Jaylan leaned over and planted a melt-your-panties kiss on my still-swollen mouth. “And you’re mine.”
    “Yeah, until death do us part. Which might be anytime now. If we survive this, I want to talk to Pops.”
    “Done.” Bending down, Jaylan picked up his battle suit and thrust his legs inside.
    He had one fine ass. Tight. Bitable.
    He shot me a heated glance as he pulled on his boots. “You can nibble on me anytime you want.”
    “Sweet-cheeks, you and chocolate are running neck and neck.”
    He strapped on his weapons belt. “Good to know.”
    The floor suddenly pitched against my feet. “Whoa!”
    The aft compartment door bulged outward, and the escaping air whistled loudly.
    “Gotta say, you really know how to show a girl a good time,” I babbled nervously.
    Snagging the spacesuit, Jaylan practically stuffed me in it and snapped the helmet over my head. “Strap in.”
    The suit shrank to fit me, and I shivered at the weird crawling sensation. “Yuck, the air in this thing smells like old gym socks.”
    “The alternative is suffocation.”
    “You left out my lungs exploding like an overinflated balloon.”
    “Sit down and strap in before the hull ruptures,” Jaylan growled.
    “Yes, sir.” I took a few tottering steps. “Jeez, have you ever tried walking in one of these? It’s like being sealed in plastic wrap.”
    “Sit your ass down. Now!”
    Someone was being a cranky butt. On the bright side, his grasp of English cuss words was improving. I looked around for my backpack and sighed in relief when I spotted it next to the storage bin. There was no way in hell I was leaving it behind. The pack had my chocolate and other goodies we would need to survive.
    I picked it up and frowned. Would it fit over the suit? Contorting like a gymnast, I managed to slide the straps over my shoulders, but the thick gloves made it almost impossible to fasten the clasp. My respect for astronauts rose. They always made it look so easy.
    The ship pitched radically.
    Staggering off balance, I slammed helmet-first into the console and landed at Jaylan’s feet.
    “You don’t need the damned backpack,” Jaylan snapped, putting me into the other chair.
    “Yes, I do. Attila the Hun has nothing on me if I don’t have my chocolate.”
    “Chocolate will be the death of you.”
    “No. Crashing this pile of junk will be the death of me.” I fumbled with the harness. Dammit! I couldn’t get it to latch. My gloves were too stiff.
    “We aren’t crashing.” Jaylan leaned over and fastened it.
    The shuttle’s metal wall groaned and popped ominously.
    “You sure about that?”
    The interior lights flickered and died. A loud click sounded, and a harsh glare filled the cabin, glazing everything with a cold, unearthly light.
    My insides were a tangled mess of raw nerves. “Is the ship going to blow?”
    “Given enough time, but we won’t die today. Gansu is inhabitable.”
    Gansu? Why did the planet sound so familiar? I sifted through the information Zarek had implanted, and groaned. One word described Gansu. Hostile. It seemed every living creature on the hellish world would try to eat you. The terrain was either boggy swamp or bone-dry desert.
    The swamp was full of all sorts of nasty critters and bloodsucking insects that could drain you dry in a matter of seconds. Darn, I only had one itty-bitty can of bug spray with me.
    The desert was populated with fun things