“New Mexico.”
His head snapped my way, and he winced at the sudden movement. “New Mexico?”
“That’s where we camped, and that’s where Men of Earth are holed up.”
“Tell me how to get there. You’ve got five minutes.”
“Why only five minutes? The ride is longer than five minutes.”
“Because I need to sit in the back and meditate, slow down my blood flow. The downers are kicking in, and I’m gonna check out.”
“Oh no. Are you going to be all right?”
He smirked. “Funny you ask.”
I picked at my jeans. “I didn’t have a choice.”
“We always have choices. You chose your life over mine. It doesn’t bother me. It’s the way it should be.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Was it in the apple juice?”
I nodded.
He put a hand over mine. “Three minutes,” he said, then moved his hand over the buttons on the console. It lit up under his touch and showed a map of our country. “Where in New Mexico?” he asked.
“I don’t know where.”
“Try.”
“Okay. Okay.” I ran a hand through my hair. “Coastal.”
“New Mexico is landlocked.”
I blushed. “Um, sorry. Nearest community is Com Forty-four, about thirty miles out.”
“Great job.”
He punched something on the dashboard, then unsnapped his belt. One hand hooked behind my neck, and his mouth crashed over mine, his tongue seeking entrance. He didn’t ask if he could; he demanded. I opened my mouth and met his tongue with mine. He tasted of evergreen and dominance, and I relaxed into his hold just as he broke the kiss. Pale orange eyes locked with mine, “This is our family car. I’ve never driven a space anything before in my life. It’s on auto, best I could do. Try not to crash us.”
Then he shuffled to the back, sat down cross-legged with his hands resting on his knees.
The car dipped.
Oy! I unsnapped my seat belt and jumped into the driver seat. Not daring to look below me, I focused on the clear skies ahead. The car dipped again, then shook.
“Easy now,” came from the back.
“Oh my God, oh my, oh boy. You said it’s on autopilot.”
“Yes.”
“It’s not working.”
“It is working. There are clouds, and we’re bumping through them. It’s turbulence. Had I found my mate by normal means, we would have learned how to fly our car, but now, it is what it is. Good luck.”
I peeked behind me. “No, no, wait. I don’t know what I’m doing.”
Mayhem sighed. “I could meditate and awake in an hour, or I could sleep for three days.”
“Got it. I won’t bug you anymore.”
“Thank you.”
“Fuck you is more like it,” I mumbled.
“Superior hearing even from this vast distance of a couple of feet,” Mayhem said.
“You know what?”
“You’re still talking.”
“You can be such an ass.”
“I’m gonna love your ass soon, by the way. Try not to think about that while I sleep.”
An hour later, we cleared the clouds, and with nearly no traffic on the horizon, I leaned back and propped my left foot on the seat and rested an elbow on my knee. “Mayhem,” I whispered.
When he didn’t answer, I looked behind me. He still sat there, eyes closed and breathing deep. Hair curtained his face, and he appeared at peace. I’d had some time to explore the manual, and while this car didn’t have a steering wheel, it had a circular dashboard providing a view of the car and its surroundings. There were also arrows. I tapped the right arrow once.
The car tilted. Mayhem tipped over. I expected him to wake up, but he exhaled and continued in his meditation. He’d said one hour. Why wasn’t he waking up?
Another hour passed. At this point, I started chewing on my lip. “Mayhem,” I called out.
Nothing.
“Mayhem!”
“Shhh. Keep calm and drive.”
Great. Just Great.
Mayhem meditated for an additional hour. I tapped the console, bit my lip, panicked I’d have to land this thing in case the downers put Mayhem out of commission. “Mayhem?”
“Yes, dear.”
“Just checking up on you. Feeling better?”
“No. Come back here and make me better.”
I didn’t dare leave the driver’s seat, so I twisted. Mayhem stretched out over the backseat and propped his head on his hand. He lifted his leg and the kilt separated, showing me his strong thighs. Oh boy, but he was fine. He smiled, and I just noticed he had a dimple on his left cheek.
“We know Men of Earth are sending women to bed us and kill us. Some of those women are our mates. That’s the hardest part. I would have done what Lore had done. Gone into the house and tried to separate the couple so nobody ends up dead. By now, Lore has my entire tribe out looking for me. If they’re looking, it means beasts up on the ship over this place are active. If they see us, they’ll try to save me from myself.”