Alien Insertion: An Alien Warrior Romance (The Tuorin Legacy Book 4) Read Online Free Page B

hands.
    “Jourdiiiiiiin!” Casin’s half yell half scream is one I’ll remember for the rest of my life. For however long that is. Please hold together, Helios .
    The hairs on my body are standing on end.
    When the viewscreen starts to spidercrack, I can’t even scream. My arms are shot, my fingers numb from the pressure.
    And then I feel it. A surge of power, and we start to rise. Another surge, and Casin pulls back on the handle, the muscles in his hands and arms shaking. I try to help, but I’m fairly useless. But I can see we’re slowly climbing upward toward the top of the ship.
    Another surge of power comes, and it’s sustained this time.
    “Thank the gods,” I say.
    Casin’s heartfelt curse makes me smile weakly.
    We’re alive. For the moment.
    Juordin sprints in moments later.
    He takes in our position, the cracked screen, and the cracks in the ceiling in a glance. “Fuck.”
    “Yeah, that’s been said already.” Casin’s voice is dry.
    “Are we out of the draft?”
    “It appears that way. I think we’re drifting along with the ship inside of it. How did you do that?”
    “I threw in the fuel reserves and amped up the engines to maximum power,” Juordin answers. “The end result is we’re alive, but I ended up cracking the engine case so we won’t be going back through the wormhole.”
    Casin opens his mouth, then closes it abruptly. His expression is a mix of sadness and resignation. Finally, he speaks. “I guess we’d better make this mission count.”
    Juordin nods. “Agreed.”
    Casin rises and Juordin takes the chair, punching some buttons on the console in front of him. A smaller screen pops up within the larger picture, showing a much more detailed view of the top of the craft.
    I peer over his shoulder. “How did you do that?”
    “A telescoping lens. It allows us to see things more closely.”
    “It’s amazing.”
    “There.” Casin points to a circular object. “That’s probably an opening to get inside.”
    Juordin pilots the craft and lands directly next to the circle.
    By this time, others have gathered on the bridge. We’re all quiet for a long moment.
    “How are we going to get in?” Redonim asks.
    “I guess we’d better put on some damn space suits and find out,” Corin answers.
    “Space suits?” I ask. “You have space suits?”
    Juordin’s lips quirk up at the corners. “This is a spaceship.” He points to the door. “Straight back to the cargo bay, in the wall to the right.” The men file out.
    I try to follow them, but he steps in front of me. The expression on his face is fierce. “Don’t even say it,” I warn.
    “You’re not coming with us,” he says flatly.
    “Don’t start this…” I warn him again.
    “This mission is extremely dangerous. I have no idea how long it will take us to find a console to insert the malworm, or how many cats we’re going to run into in the process. I can’t justify taking you.” In a flash, he pulls a pair of cuffs from behind his back, wrapping one around my hand and the other to the handle on the console. “I’m sorry, my little warrior, but this is little better than a suicide mission. The rest of us are doomed to die, but you still have a chance at life. I won’t take that from you. I can’t take that from you.”
    I’m in such shock that I can’t find my voice.
    He gives me one last, urgent kiss. “That’s in case I don’t come back.”
    “What?!” I screech. “You’re coming back! You let me out of these cuffs right now! You need me.” I’m pleading. I don’t want him to die.
    He presses a few buttons that bring up the telescoping view to the outside of the ship. “If you see any cats come out of that circular hole, I want you to press this yellow button. It will lift off the ship. Then press the green button here and it will start the autopilot to take you back to Lla’ei.”
    “Are you joking?”
    “No, I’m deadly serious.”
    “I’m not leaving you here. That would be a