arms
locked around her possessively. The door was pushed shut behind them.
“What has been heard to help us?” Ral’s voice was low.
A man stood up. He nodded at Ral and then his eyes flashed
to Ariel. “We can trust her?”
“She is bound to me,” Ral growled. He sounded angry. “Do not
insult my woman.”
The man paled. “I meant no insult to your woman.” The man
lowered his eyes.
“Speak,” Ral sighed.
The man nodded, looking up again meeting Ral’s eyes. “They
are preparing one of the large ships. There is a large planet they are going to
visit for more workforces. Their plan is to house them inside the ship until
they can have us dig out more area for them to move down here with us.”
Ral grinned. “When?”
The man grinned back. “They leave tomorrow morning right at
first shift. It is perfect. The plan we overheard was that they will bring back
a few hundred workers they are plotting to steal.”
Ral’s grin faded. He eyed the men around him. “Our time has
come. This is it. Make all the arrangements and do it very quietly. Do not tell
the others what is to happen. We will surprise all. You all know what to do. We
will wake two hours earlier than first shift to prepare.” His gaze swung to the
man. “Is everything in place?”
“Yes.”
Ral chuckled. “We are so close.”
The men were all smiling. Ariel eyed each one of them. Why
they were so excited about new prisoners was beyond her. Maybe they hoped that
most of the prisoners would be women. Maybe they were just lonely and wanted
new faces. She held her silence until Ral returned them to their room. He shut
the door.
“Undress.” Hunger burned in his eyes.
She stripped. Ral suddenly grabbed her to lift her up his
body. Their eyes locked. They were almost nose to nose.
“If I take you facing me while I’m standing will you enjoy
it?”
“Yes.”
He growled softly at her. Ariel locked her legs around his
hips and wrapped her arms around his neck. Ral entered her in a heartbeat.
Ariel loved the feel of him stretching her. He moved, gripping her ass, and
slammed her up and down on him. Ariel threw her face into his shoulder moaning
loudly. She wasn’t sure what brought on Ral’s wild streak but she was enjoying
the hell out of it.
“Lord of the Moons,” she whispered after she came and Ral
exploded inside her hard enough for her to feel.
Ral chuckled. “Exactly. Lord of the Moons was that good.”
He eased out of her body and lowered her to the floor. He
kissed her before stepping away. “We need sleep.”
Ariel nodded and climbed into bed. She held up the blankets
for Ral. “Climb on in.”
He smiled and got in. He pulled her into his body until
Ariel’s face was on his chest. “I in love you, Ariel.”
She chuckled at his wording. “I’m in love with you too,
Ral.”
“I’m in love with you. Better?” He rubbed her back with his
fingers.
“Perfect,” she said honestly. Joy tore through her. Ral was
in love with her.
Chapter Five
“Wake.”
Ariel opened her eyes. “Damn you get up early. Did we sleep
long? How do you know what time it is?”
“I hear. We have patrols in the hallway that call out the
time. My hearing is keen. Get dressed fast. We must hurry. We have much to do,
Ariel.”
She got dressed. She saw Ral put on a shirt. She watched
him. “You’re wearing a shirt today?”
“Where we are going today is colder than down in the cavern
mines.”
“Okay.”
Ral grabbed the blanket from the bed. Ariel watched him dump
all of his clothes piled on the floor into the blanket. Something was
definitely up with Ral but he wasn’t telling her what was going on. He hefted
the bag of clothes over his shoulder and shoved open the door. He reached for
her hand.
“You stay by me. No matter what, you stay with me, Ariel.
You are bound to me. I am bound to you. We belong together.”
“I remember. I am to not leave your sight and I will stay
very close to you at all times.”
“Very