Choosing Riley

Chapter 4-1

Chapter Four

Riley turned around to stare at the strange creatures passing their small group in the long corridor. They had been woken up way too early for her. She was not much of a morning person. In fact, until she had a decent breakfast, several cups of coffee, and it was past ten in the morning, no one even bothered to talk to her.

To top it off, she had to make do with just a quick cloth bath to refresh herself. The “bathroom” was a large open area shared with other prisoners, male and female. Vox, Tor, and Lodar had stood guard in front of the door when Riley had refused to go in as long as there was anyone else in the room. Even Bob and Fred had lent a body to help cover the opening to give her privacy.

She had quickly done her business and cleaned up as best she could. She decided she’d better dress appropriately if she was going to be working in a mine. She wore a pair of her favorite faded jeans that had a hole in one of the knees, a soft, long-sleeved Denver Broncos jersey, and a pair of tennis shoes. She wasn’t about to ruin her designer boots working in the dusty mine.

She quickly piled her hair up into a messy but chic ponytail. She touched her lips with a bit of lip gloss before quickly tossing the items she had worn to sleep in into the carry-on she had. She slid her designer handbag over her shoulder and straightened her shoulders in determination. She was NOT going to be a big baby and cry because she wanted to go home. She was going to find a way to get back to Earth, even if she had to kill someone to do it.

“Next!” Riley said as cheerfully as she could this early in the morning. “Fred, would you be a dear and run this back to our rooms? I’d hate to have to carry it all day.”

Fred reached out and gripped the bag. With a muttered snort, he took off at a run. Riley couldn’t help but be grudgingly surprised at how fast the little guy ran for having such short legs. She looked at Vox, Lodar, and Tor.

“Well, go on,” she said. “We don’t have all day!”

Lodar chuckled, but turned and entered the bathroom. Tor shook his head before following. Vox stared at Riley, letting his eyes roam over the bright orange and blue top with the number eighteen on the front. His gaze moved further down to her blue jeans-clad legs before settling on her white-and-blue tennis shoes.

“Why do you dress like that?” he asked curiously. “You should be dressed like you were yesterday.”

Riley sighed heavily. “I am not about to ruin my good clothes working in some nasty-ass mine! These are much more comfortable and will do just fine. Now, don’t you need to take care of business?”

Vox frowned. “What business?”

“You know,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “Whatever guys do in the morning. The three S’s.”

“The three S’s?” Vox asked confused. He was focused on the shimmer of Riley’s lips as she pressed them together.

“Yes! s**t, shower, and shave,” she said, folding her arms across her chest. “Bob can watch me while you do your thing.”

Vox chuckled as her meaning sank in. “I have never heard of that before. I will wait until Lodar and Tor have returned before I go do my ‘thing.’ You can always join me while I do my business,” he suggested teasingly before he remembered to glance at her hands to see if she had anything in them.

“I don’t think so.” She sniffed and shrugged indignantly.

Vox took a step closer to her, forcing her backward several steps until she was pressed against the rock wall behind her. Riley swallowed nervously. Her eyes darted around, looking for any type of distraction she could use.

She cursed the fact that she had left her pepper spray under her pillow. She could never think straight in the morning. If she could get her hands into her handbag she could probably find something to use as a weapon. She had everything but the kitchen sink in it. Hell, she even had multiples of items like the Leatherman and Leatherman Micro that was in the bottom of the damn thing somewhere. One had scissors while the other had pliers. She was always needing one or the other. Right now, she could really use the knife on one of them.

“What are you doing?” she asked breathlessly, looking up into his determined eyes. “You need to just stay back! Remember what happens when you get too close to me. I don’t want to have to hurt you again.”

Vox reached out and gripped her wrists in a tight but tender hold. “Then, don’t,” he whispered huskily. “I plan to kiss you, Riley St. Claire of Denver, Colorado. I plan to mark you so that there can be no doubt that you belong to me. And finally, I plan to claim you as my own.”

Riley shook her head and pressed back as far as she could against the hard wall behind her. “No, I’ve seen what happens in the movies. I don’t want you. I don’t…” Her voice faded as Vox covered her lips with his own in a tender, possessive kiss.

His groan matched hers as he pressed deeper when her lips opened under his. The gentle kiss he planned grew heated as the touch and taste of her swept through him. He stepped closer, raising her arms up over her head so that her plump breasts were pressed against his chest.

He deepened the kiss, pushing his tongue through her glistening lips and running it along her smooth teeth. He felt his c**k jerk painfully in reaction to her taste. His cat purred and rubbed up against his skin, wanting a chance to rub up against his mate.

He stepped closer, forcing her to open her legs for him so he could slide between them and rub his swollen c**k against her. He placed both of her wrists together, holding them in one large hand and stroked her with his free one. He ran his fingers lightly over her cheek, wanting to see if her skin felt as smooth and silky as it looked. The soft touch shook him. He had never felt this deep feeling of need, desire, and the overwhelming urge to protect before.

He pulled back enough so he could look down into her dazed eyes. “I claim you as my queen, Riley St. Claire,” he muttered passionately.

Riley’s brain cleared as his words sunk in. She began to struggle as she realized the perilous situation she was in. She should never have let him close to her. He was an alien. Aliens were bad. Aliens were always bad in the movies, well, most movies anyway. She also repeated her vow that she would not say yes to any guy without a ring on her finger. She decided she’d better clarify that. She would not say yes to any human guy without a ring on her finger, and she would never say yes to an alien.

Remember Aliens. Remember Predators. Remember Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Remember Freddy. Riley shook her head. No, not Freddy. He was a human. Remember… remember…

“No, no, no, no, no!” she said forcefully, focusing back on the alien holding her. “Let me go! I do not belong to you. I do not want to be a queen. I do not want to be claimed. I do not want you!” she added forcefully. “Now let me go, damn it! The only thing I want is to go home.”

“Vox, guards are approaching,” Lodar said, coming out of the bathroom.

Riley took advantage of his distraction to twist free and duck under his arm. She moved rapidly to stand behind Lodar. Vox twisted around and frowned at her in displeasure. When he moved toward her again, she squeaked and pulled Tor, who was walking out of the bathroom, in front of her as well. She stood peeking out from behind the two tall warriors, glaring at Vox.

“Go do your business so I can get something to eat,” Riley snapped out from where she was hiding behind Tor and Lodar. “And I’m warning you, if you try to touch me again, I’ll pop you on the nose!”

Vox muttered a curse, glaring at her in frustration. He turned away in aggravation to take care of his needs. He glanced down the corridor as several Antrox guards marched down the corridor toward them, and he knew he wouldn’t have much time.

His observation proved to be correct. When he left the bathroom a few minutes later, ten guards holding stunning rods stood at attention waiting for him. A shiver rippled down his spine. From all the reports he had of the Antrox, this was an unusual number for six prisoners, since each prisoner, save the females, wore an explosive shock collar to control him.

The Antrox normally only budgeted one guard for a group of twenty or more. If the guard was threatened or attacked in any way, one push of a button would kill any prisoner within fifteen meters. Without the right tools, if a prisoner tried to remove the collar, it would also explode.

Normally, the Antrox paired one male and one female. They discarded the threat that the female would know how to help the male escape. In their case, there were five males and one female. If they could get their hands on the right tools, Vox knew Tor could figure out how to dismantle the collars.

“Darling, I really am going to write a scathing review for this establishment,” Riley was telling the lead guard as he came out of the cleansing room. “Your wake-up call is far too early, your idea of bathroom accommodations is horrid, and breakfast hasn’t even been mentioned! How do you expect my poor, sweet, fragile mates to survive if you don’t feed them? I want the name, number, and address to your corporate headquarters. They are going to hear from me! Why, look at my poor baby. Fred, sweetheart, are you okay? You are definitely looking a little green around the gills,” Riley said, pulling the struggling Tiliqua closer to her and petting one of his heads affectionately.

Vox ground his teeth together as he watched her gently stroking Fred. “He is supposed to be that color, and Tiliquas don’t have gills,” he bit out, feeling jealous of the attention she was giving the little two-headed reptilian pactor dung.

Riley rolled her eyes at Vox’s tone, put her hand on her hip, and pointed an accusing finger at him. “You see that?” she demanded of the lead guard. “He is just a grouchy bear! He needs to be fed. How do you expect me to keep him happy if he is hungry? I want a full breakfast immediately for my mates.”

Antrox 157 snarled at Riley. He had been sent by 785. It was his job to guard the Sarafin royal and his men until they received the credits promised for disposing of him. 157 had no problems following orders from his superior, but he was having problems with dealing with the bossy female who had started in on him the moment he had arrived.

She was making all kinds of demands. He had been shocked to find additional supplies had been given to her yesterday by some of the newer guards. Unlike most Antrox, he did not always follow the rules governed by his people. That was why 785 gave him this position. It afforded him extra credits.

“Silence female,” 157 said coldly. “You will keep your mates happy. I only have to keep one of them alive. If you are not silent, I will feed one of your mates each hour to a pactor.”

“Well!” Riley growled back. “Somebody woke up with a stick up their ass this morning. You touch one slimy little green nail on one of my boys, and I’ll rip it off and feed it to the pactor with the rest of you. No one messes with my boys but me, got it?”

157 looked shocked for a moment before his face became passive. He took a step closer to Riley, trying to crowd her. “One more word and I’ll silence you.”

“I’d like to see you try, you overgrown piece of cow paddy,” Riley snapped back in a temper.

Vox decided it would be in everyone’s best interest if he silenced his mate before she got them all killed. He stepped up behind her as she opened her mouth to say something else. Wrapping his large hands around her waist, he almost groaned out loud at the feel of her soft curves under his palms. Instead, he picked her up, ignoring her squeal of indignation, and turned until she was in front of him with her back pressed against his chest.

“I think we will survive without anything to eat for a little longer,” he said quietly in her ear. “I would like to keep us alive for a little longer, my fierce tiger. We do appreciate your concern for us, though,” he added hastily when she opened her mouth to protest.

“So help me, if that pile of walking sticks pisses me off or messes with one of you, I’ll plant my foot up his ass so far it will be coming out of his mouth,” she growled, throwing a heated look at the Antrox guard over her shoulder. “You let me at him. I’ll show him one more word!”

Vox could hear Tor and Lodar fighting to hold in their laughter as he fought to keep her from turning back and attacking their guards. He shook his head in exasperation. He and his men towered over the female, were known to be one of the fiercest species in the ten known galaxies, and she was ready to kick the asses of their guards because they had not been fed when she wanted them to be fed.

“Come, let us get to work so we can eat soon,” Vox muttered.