CAPTURED: 9 Alpha Bad-Boys(187)

It's official, Riley thought as she leaned forward, tilting her head to  the side as she fell into the shimmering yellow depths. I've lost the  last of my sanity if I think a cat thinks I'm desirable.

Her pulse jerked as the huge head lowered to rub its muzzle against her  leg. She reached out her hand and gently touched the thick fur. She bit  her bottom lip to keep the smile from showing when she felt the massive  chest rumble with a purr.

Leaning forward, she couldn't help but whisper in its twitching ear. "You are pretty cute for being a big hairball."

The huge cat jerked its head up and shook it back and forth as if  denying it was merely "cute." Vox's eyes narrowed dangerously before he  let his long sandpaper tongue stretch out and run the length of Riley's  cheek, drawing a startled shriek from her. His lips pulled back, showing  his long fangs as he reacted to her outrage.

"Vox, here they come," Tor called out, looking down the corridor as Marastin Dow poured from the upper and lower levels.

Bob turned a pale green as he watched what looked like hundreds but was  more than likely fifty or more of the beings converge on the bridge. "I  will protect Riley with my life," he stammered out.

"Let's give them hell, boys!" Riley said with false bravado as she stood  up to look down the corridor at the mass of purple flesh rushing for  them. She let out a squeal when Vox moved back over and pushed her back  down into her seat forcefully.

"You will not move!" he snapped out.

"Will you quit changing back and forth!" Riley snapped back, startled.  "First you are a man, then you are a cat, then you are a man, then you  are a cat. Now you are a man again! Do you have a frigging personality  disorder or what?"

Vox opened his mouth to snap back a reply, but he never got a chance  before the first group burst through the door. He turned, raising his  laser sword, and rushed forward with Banu, Tor, Lodar, Adur, and Titus  right beside him. An emergency hatch near the far wall blew upward with  enough force the lid sealing it flew through the air, barely missing  Fred who had been standing to the right of it. The fact he was so short  was probably the only thing that kept him from being killed. Even so, he  fell backward. His hands shook as he fired on the purple male coming up  through the hole.

"Fred, look out!" Riley cried out as another male popped up behind the one Fred shot.

Riley didn't think twice, she lifted the laser pistol in her hand,  flipped the activation button, and shot, hitting the male between the  eyes. She stood up to go help Fred when Vox turned with a loud roar. She  froze when she saw his face twist in a savage rage.

"Riley! Sit your big ass down in that chair and don't move, or so help  me I'm going to smack it," Vox roared out over the noise of battle.

Riley fell back into the chair in shock and disbelief. He had done it  again! He had told her she had a big ass. Tears of anger and hurt pooled  in her eyes before she settled to burning fury. That was it. His ass  was toast as far as she was concerned. He had told her she had a big ass  at least three times if not more. She knew her ass was big, but there  was no need for him to rub it in her face every chance he got. Not only  that, he had said it so everyone, friend and enemy, could hear. So help  her, she was going to shoot his hairy alien ass the first chance she  got. Let him see what it felt like to be on the wrong side of Ms. Riley  St. Claire! She would show him.

Riley turned in her chair and crossed her arms, refusing to watch what  happened. She would shoot anyone who came near her, and if the battle  ended badly-well, she would figure out what to do then. She stared down  at all the glowing lights on the panel in front of her. She started when  she saw one suddenly light up. Reaching to push it, her mouth dropped  open when a deep, sexy male voice came over the line.

"This is the Horizon-do you need assistance?" the deep voice asked as soon as the communications link button was pushed.

Riley glanced behind her at the mayhem of bodies flying through the air.  Luckily, it looked like the only ones doing the flying, or falling,  appeared to be purple. She shrugged her shoulders and turned back to the  console panel. It looked like the guys had things under control, at  least for now.

"I'm sorry we can't come to the phone right now, but if you would like  to leave your name and number after the beep we'll be happy to return  your call as soon as possible. BEEP." Riley replied.

Vox's head turned when he heard Riley's husky voice talking to someone  on the communications console. With his luck, she was probably having a  conversation with the Marastin Dow letting them know that they were  vastly outnumbered. His gaze turned to a female Marastin Dow as she  slipped past Fred, who was battling two of the damn creatures. He pulled  a knife from the chest of one of the dead warriors and threw it,  striking the female in the chest.         

     



 

"Riley, who in the gods are you talking to now? You are just supposed to  sit there! You aren't supposed to be touching anything," Vox roared out  as he swung his fist and connected with the jaw of another male.

"It's someone called the Horizon," Riley replied with a wave of her hand.

"Who in the hell is Horizon?" Vox asked as he sliced through the stomach  of another male. Guall's balls, how many more were there going to be?  They were having trouble moving around the bodies piling up.

"How the bloody hell am I supposed to know who the hell the Horizon is?  You just ordered me to sit here and not move, damn it!" she yelled back.

"Well, stop pushing buttons! The last time you did that you blew up the  asteroid we were on, and we ended up on this piece of dragon dung!" Vox  huffed out as he ducked when a blade flew at him.

"Well, if you don't want me pushing the fucking buttons, then don't put  me where I can reach them!" Riley said, turning around and glaring at  Vox before she stuck her tongue out at him for added measure.

Laughter sounded from the console behind her reminding Riley that she  had never cut the transmission. "I repeat, this is … " the deeply amused  voice started to say.

"I know who in the fucking hell you are," Riley bit out in frustration.  "I heard you the first time. We are just a little busy at the moment,  and there's a big pussy pissing me off right now. Will you just leave a  frigging message, and I'll have him call you after I declaw his ornery  ass?" Riley said before she cursed in rage as Vox sliced through the  throat of one of the purple guys who was just a few feet from her. It  was so close, blood flew through the air, almost getting on her handbag.  "Vox, I swear you need to be neutered! If you get blood on my handbag  I'll do it with the first dull knife I can find. Do you have any idea  how much I paid for that damn thing?" She had almost forgiven him for  ruining her ultra-expensive jacket, but she would never forgive him if  he ruined her handbag. She had paid almost three hundred dollars for it  just days before she moved to New Mexico.

Perfect, now the big hairball has shifted into his kitty cat again,  Riley thought, peeved. She was about to make another derisive comment  when she saw a huge purple guy trying to sneak up on Bob through the  hatch in the floor. She twirled around to line up a shot, but Bob was in  the way.

"Bob! Look out behind you, sweetie. There's another ugly purple guy  coming up through the hatch." She turned to see who could help him since  that guy appeared to be twice the size of the others. "Fred, be a  sweetheart and give Bob a hand." She cursed when she saw that Fred had a  deep cut on the brow of his right head. "Lodar, baby, I think Fred  might have a little cut on one of his heads. There is blood all down the  side of it. When you get a chance, can you look at him?" Riley called  out to Lodar who was fighting two others on the far side of the bridge.  "Tor, darling, why can't you just zap their asses out into space? I  thought you knew how to do things like that," Riley called out, pushing a  wave of hair back when it fell into her eyes as she swung back and  forth in the chair. She swiveled back around when she heard Lodar's  muffled voice. "What did you say, Lodar? I couldn't hear you because a  certain hairball was making too much noise when you spoke," Riley  replied, ignoring Vox's loud roar at her criticism of him. "Oh yes,  dear, I'll tell Fred you'll see him as soon as you finish fighting," she  replied before swiveling again so she could locate Fred in all the  chaos going on. "Fred, honey, Lodar is busy, but he'll see you as soon  as he is done killing the bad guys," Riley called out cheerfully. It  looked like there were fewer purple people eaters than there had been  just minutes earlier. Her cheerful mood evaporated when Vox sliced his  claws across the back of one of the purple bad guys. Blood flew through  the air again, this time landing in a splattering along her thick, green  skirt. Dark stains appeared, and Riley shuddered in horror. "Vox, damn  it, you are totally on my shit list! You got blood on my skirt, you  jerk! Go kill someone on the other side of the room. I can shoot the  bastards near me! I don't need your help!" she yelled angrily as she  reached into her purse to get a Tide pen out to see if she could get rid  of the blood before it stained her skirt. It was the only heavy one she  had with her. All the others were too thin to wear since the guys  didn't believe in turning on a damn heater.