Read Online Lunar Lovers by Emma Abbiss - Free Book Online

Two fill the view screen. Its glittering rings revolved around
the docking axis. Her heart kicked in her chest with excitement. She’d only ever
docked in simulations, never a flip ship.
    She hailed the station and hit her mic. “Requesting
permission to dock.”
    “Permission granted. Proceed to space four-twenty.”
    With shaking hands, she gripped the controls and cautiously
guided the one-person ship to the narrow space that the station master had
indicated. The margin for error was next to nothing. The docking clamp opened
like a giant metal claw and locked the ship into place. The engines
automatically shut down, the song they hummed slowly fading to silence.
    She unfolded from the pilot seat with a prayer of thanks to
Faran, the bright god of safe travel. The view screen darkened, becoming a
mirror. She scowled at her disheveled reflection. But before she could smooth
her hands over the dress, the smart material the outfit was made of released
the wrinkles, making it appear crisp and clean, as if she’d just put it on
instead of slept in it.
    Too bad her hair couldn’t do the same thing.
    After gathering up her bedraggled hair, she twisted it into
a rope and knotted it at the base of her skull. The style may not have been in
fashion but at least she looked tidy.
    If only she could do something about the lost look in her
eyes.
    With a sigh, she hit the release and stepped out of the
small ship onto the dock, a lone traveler in a sea of pinprick stars and
predators. The feeling of déjà vu licked up her spine, making her shiver. Once
more she ducked her head and tried to blend as she left the docks for the ring.
    This time the revolution of the ring placed her in the
five-hundred circle, just where she needed to be—her first bit of good luck
in…she didn’t know how long. Sam’s green-blue eyes rose in her mind, reminding
her what it had felt like to be looked upon with love—damn lucky, that’s how
it’d felt.
    With a frustrated growl, she headed straight for the ship
repair shop…and tripped over the damn trash bot a second time once she neared
it. This time, however, she was quick to jump out of the way when the bot
sprayed acid at her.
    The stream of yellow liquid missed her by inches. More luck.
With a smug smile, she turned and slammed into a male who clamped his hands
around her upper arms and held her against him. He ducked his head and
whispered in her ear, “I knew you’d come back. Waited for you. Didn’t like the
plans that pretty boy had for you, did you?”
    Captain Grab-Ass.
    She jerked back, trying to break free. His fingers dug in
with bruising force as he lowered his mouth to the side of her neck and bit.
Hard.
    Achelle stomped on his foot and twisted, forcing him to loosen
his grip. The bot wasn’t the only one who knew a little self-defense. She
sucked in some air to scream for help. Captain Grab-Ass slapped one hand over
her mouth as he locked his other arm around her waist, pinning her arms down to
her sides. He pulled her into the ship repair shop.
    “Hey! No!” the same man who had yelled at her before about
tripping over the trash bot yelled at the captain. “You want to assault some
woman, do it somewhere else. Not in my establishment. Last thing I need is
station security finding an excuse to search my shop.”
    Achelle bit the soft cushion of the captain’s palm. He
jerked away from her mouth but before she could scream he wrapped his hand
around her neck, cutting off her air supply. Tears sprang in her eyes as she
struggled to take a breath. She thrashed in his arms, kicking his shins,
stomping on his feet. His dual grips on her throat and waist tightened,
squeezing the life out of her like a boidae snake kills its prey.
    Her vision blurred and dimmed. Her muscles weakened and
quieted. Her body slumped and collapsed.
    Her last thought was not of herself or the captain but of a
green-blue-eyed man who claimed her as his mortal mate.

Chapter Six
     
    The multitude of