CAPTURED: 9 Alpha Bad-Boys(185)

Riley had confronted Pearl, wanting her to tell Tina, but Pearl had been  adamant. "Your momma has caused enough pain and sorrow. Let your sister  have her dream for a little longer. She will find out eventually. I'm  just not ready for her to find out yet."

Riley had reluctantly agreed simply because it was Tina's twenty-second  birthday, and she didn't want her sister to remember finding out their  mother was dead on her special day. Tina had always been the more  sensitive of the two of them. Riley wasn't really sure who Tina took  after, but it was probably her dad. Riley had never found any  information on him or her own father. Riley knew she had Pearl's smart  mouth while Tina just became quieter when she was confronted. Riley  figured she took after her father in size. There was no doubt about  that. Tina was petite like Pearl and the pictures they had of their mom  when she was a little girl, and had their mom's straight, dark hair.

Tears poured down her cheeks as her iPhone finally cut off. She sniffed  and let them come; quiet sobs poured out of her as she thought of her  small family back home that she would more than likely never see again.  She figured she deserved a good cry every once in a while. No one could  blame her for that. She drew in a deep breath when she felt the bed she  was lying on suddenly sink down. The covers were pulled free from around  her head until she could feel the freezing air on her damp cheeks. She  looked up into dark, tawny eyes filled with concern.

"Can I hold you?" the deep voice asked quietly.

Riley's eyes filled with more tears, she bit her lip and nodded slowly.  She pulled the pile of blankets back so Vox's huge figure could crawl  under them with her. She waited as he pulled his boots and vest off. He  tossed them onto a nearby chair before he crawled under the covers with  her. She didn't care that she had promised herself that she would stay  away from his ornery ass. She didn't care about anything but feeling  safe, protected, and warm for a little while. She needed to be held and  he was offering. She would have been the biggest fool in every known  star system if she turned down a heater better than any electric  blanket, not to mention she was just feeling very fragile and lost right  now and needed something she could hold onto. She would kick his  stubborn butt out after she had a good night's sleep and was feeling  better.

Riley curled up as close as she could next to Vox's warm body without  actually pulling him on top of her. She let out a deep sigh of  contentment as he wrapped his strong arms around her waist, pulling her  even closer. Her head rested on his broad shoulder, and she rested her  hand over his heart.

Vox held her close. After a few minutes he noticed her breathing had  slowed down, and her body had melted against his as she slipped into a  deep sleep. A chuckle shook his body slightly. This was the last thing  he expected. Why he should be surprised or have expected anything less  was beyond him anymore. He had planned to claim his mate. He had  expected a fierce fight, followed by some new bruises, before he would  wrestle her down and make love to her so much she would have to concede  that she was his mate. Instead, he had entered the room she had claimed  only to hear her muffled sobs. They had broken through his fierce  determination and replaced it with something inside him he had never  experienced before-tenderness. When he had drawn the covers back and she  looked at him with her big, baby blue eyes shimmering with tears and  sadness, his heart had actually hurt. It had melted into a mushy puddle  when she gazed up at him with such heartfelt need when he had asked if  he could hold her. He bit back a silent groan as he felt her soft, plump  flesh melt against his body. Her hand moved up to curl in the hair at  the base of his neck just as she rolled over enough to bury her nose  contently against his chest, a soft snore escaping her. His body pulsed  for a moment before he felt it relax as his own tiredness overwhelmed  him. He turned his head so he could rub his cheek against her hair.         

     



 

It feels so good to hold her, he thought sleepily. I'm never going to sleep without her against me again.

Vox gave up on trying to stay awake. He would claim her when they were  both well rested. It would be more fun anyway. A smile curved his lips  as he realized this was the first time he had been able to hold her  without getting hurt. He was making progress after all.



The violent shudder of the freighter woke Vox before the sound of the  alarms did. He paused for just a moment before he jerked into a sitting  position and looked around in confusion for a moment. He ran his hand  through his hair as he felt the freighter groan again.

"Vox!" Titus's voice boomed out over the communications console. "Get  your ass up here! We're under attack by two fucking Marastin Dow pirate  ships! The shields are failing."

A soft moan sounded next to him, and a slender, pale arm reached out and  grabbed for the covers. "Tell them to come back later, I'm still  sleeping," Riley muttered before she rolled over, dragging the covers  over her head.

Vox's chuckle turned into a loud laugh as he surged to his feet. His  mate was not a morning person. He would have to let the fucking purple  pirates know that if he let any of them live. He pulled his boots and  vest on before he turned around to his mate who was snoring away under  the covers.

"Riley, you have to get up," Vox growled out as he felt another shudder  before the sounds of hooks scraping against metal resonated through the  freighter. Shit, they were about to be boarded. "Riley, get your ass up  now! We are under attack."

Riley jerked into a sitting position, fighting to drag the blankets off  her head and push her wild mass of curly hair out of her face. She  scowled deeply in irritation at Vox. She grabbed one of the blankets and  dragged it around her shoulders.

"Well, you are the stupid warriors! Go kick them off. I am not in the  mood to deal with anyone until after ten o'clock in the morning, a good  breakfast, and three pots of coffee. You go on, I'll follow in a bit,"  she said before she started to slide back down under the pile of  blankets again. "Besides, it's too damn cold to fight. Tell them the  heater is broken."

"Vox, we could really use your help," Adur barked out. "They have breached one of the lower levels that wasn't sealed off."

Vox let loose a long stream of curses. The damn purple bastards were  only a level below them. He had to get Riley out of there now! Those  bastards always killed anything that wasn't of value. If they saw Riley,  they would know she was very valuable. They would kill everyone else to  get to her.

Vox leaned over and ripped the pile of covers off Riley, flinging them  across the room with a flick of his wrist. His breath slammed out of  him, and his eyes widened as he gazed down at where she lay glaring up  at him. His throat worked up and down as he fought to get a sound pass  the lump in his throat. His eyes glazed as he took in her lush figure in  the sheer blue lacy cloth. The front had a deep V that went all the way  down to her softly rounded stomach. There were slits on each side that  parted, leaving her legs bare and only a narrow length of the fabric lay  between her legs. His eyes roamed her full figure, noting the darker  rose color of her nipples that poked up, lifting the sheer material and  leaving very little hidden from his view. He could see the slightly  darker patch of curls between her legs.

It was official. He was an idiot. He was the biggest, stupidest male in  all the known star systems. He had fallen into her bed, wrapped her in  his arms, and slept like a baby while she was wearing …  He swallowed  again as she rolled over onto her hands and knees in an effort to get  out of the bed. His cat went nuts. Before he even realized it, he was  draped over her back molding his groin to her ass and rubbing his  pulsing cock against the shadowed line while his hands kneaded her hips.  His loud purr rumbled through the room as he rubbed himself back and  forth against her.

"What in the hell?" Riley's voice faded as she looked over her shoulder  at Vox's glazed eyes. "What do you think you are doing?" she demanded  hoarsely as she felt his swollen cock pressing against her.

"Mine!" he purred in a deep, low voice.

The door opened behind them, and Lodar stuck his head into the room. His  eyes widened when he saw Riley pinned on her hands and knees with Vox's  hands glued to her hips. From where he was standing all he could see  was creamy flesh and a hint of sheer blue lace.

"Aw, gods, Riley," Lodar groaned out loud. "You are killing me! Vox, you  are going to have to wait. The Marastin Dow have broken through the  first door, and they are heading this way."

"Gods! She is gorgeous," Cross murmured in a low voice, peeking over  Lodar's shoulder with wide eyes at Riley's lush figure. He could feel  his dragon sitting up and taking notice. It was a good thing his symbiot  was back on Valdier with the Hive. If the damn thing reacted the way  the man and the dragon did, Vox might be in trouble.