What about seduction?

She had said no, more than once, and claimed herself immune to his charms, but, after having observed her in a few different scenarios now, Vhyl had to wonder.

Perhaps she lied. Perhaps she did feel some of the same arousal as him but sought to deny it. A perverse characteristic of her kind perhaps.

Only one way to find out.

Since shed tucked her hands behind her back, she could do nothing to stop him when he invaded her s.p.a.ce with a few quick steps and wrapped his arms around her.

What are you doing?

Taking. Although he couldnt have said what exactly he took"advantage of the lips, which parted as she gasped, or the ornament he could feel clasped in her hands?

The kiss stole any thought but one. More.

The taste of her proved exotic. Intoxicating. He might not have much experience in lip meshing"most s.e.xbots didnt invite that kind of intimacy, and his bedmates often werent of the most pristine sort, so he tended to avoid such contact"but with Jilly?

Luscious Jilly not only made him crave a taste, he wanted more. He plundered her mouth, leaving no part of it untouched. He took advantage of her parted lips to glide his tongue in and engage in a wet duel with hers.

He kissed her deeply, pa.s.sionately, and hungrily, a male starving.

Despite her previous protests, Jilly did not fight him. On the contrary, her hands crept up his chest and draped around his neck, the warm metal of the artifact clasped in her fist pressed against him as she clung to them both.

To his delight, she didnt remain pa.s.sive in his arms. She was an active player in their embrace, greedily sucking at his lower lip when her tongue wasnt engaging his.

Her aggressive takeover of the kiss both shocked and delighted him.

A female wanting control of the tryst?

A first for him. While females often invited him to their bed, once there, he did all the work. Did it well, too. And he found his pleasure, just as he gave them pleasure.

But to have a female so fervently throw herself into a kiss? To have her press herself against him, her lush body molding to his, her panting hot breaths and racing heart an indication of her ardent desire?

Vhyl was well and truly intrigued"and immensely aroused.

His hands roamed her body, cupping the fullness of her bottom, squeezing, weighing. Their roundness would prove inviting when he took her from behind and pounded into her flesh, but only once he got rid of their latest round of visitors.

With a loud curse, he pulled from the kiss as a bright light shone through the window.

He wasnt alone in his disappointment.

Dammit. Theyre back already, she grumbled.

No. This company is worse than anything your government or planet could send against us.

What do you mean? she asked.

Her house began to shake.

What the h.e.l.l? Fear widened her gaze as her home trembled. From outside, he could hear the rumble of anti-impact thrusters as a vessel came in for a less-than-subtle landing.

We need to leave, he announced.

Why? Whos coming?

My enemy, was his ominous reply.

Chapter Five.

If ever the farm comes under attack, dont forget I keep extra shot gun sh.e.l.ls in the front hall candy bowl and a few spare guns in the trunk in the attic. " Grandmas philosophy on always being ready.

Lips tingling, pulse racing, Jilly initially thought the shaking under her feet was pa.s.sion induced, until his words penetrated.

What do you mean its your enemy?

However, Vile wasnt answering. Instead, he tugged her away from the window and twirled her so her back faced it. Just in time, too.

Gla.s.s shattered as a wave of force smashed into them. The impact sent her to her knees, and she grunted, mostly because a giant purple dude threw his body around hers, forming a protective coc.o.o.n. Good thing given the tinkling shower of shards that blasted past them.

When the house stopped moving and the only thing they could hear was the rumble of the alien craft outside, he rose and yanked her to her feet.

I can see why they outlawed that ancient thruster design, Vile complained.

While Jilly had emerged mostly unscathed, she noted her alien shield hadnt. Dark blood dripped from his left hand, and glints of gla.s.s sparkled in his hair. Youre worried about their engines? What about the damage? And I dont just mean to you.

The carnage around her"from the knocked over Christmas tree to the overturned furniture and shredded drapes"would have sent a normal woman fleeing in terror. It only served to p.i.s.s Jilly off.

As Vile, a hand in the middle of her back, propelled her from the destroyed living room to her kitchen, which had fared only slight better with its broken windows, Jilly uttered a nasty curse word.

Exactly how, he asked in a conversational tone, is encouraging my enemy to fornicate with thy mother an appropriate response to this situation?

It took her a moment to once again realize that modern slang wasnt part of his handy-dandy translation gadget. Think of the nastiest thing you can call a person. What I just said is the Earth equivalent, was her retort.

Noted. Even if I dont grasp it. Of more import than your odd Earth sayings, do you still have the artifact? he asked as he peered through a window into her backyard.

Surprisingly enough, she did, clenched in her fist. I do.

Excellent. In that case, we will vacate the premises while my enemy is disembarking. The gravity on your planet will give us somewhat of a lead. Do you have a terrain vehicle at your disposal or one nearby we can acquire?

No need to steal a car. My trucks parked out back by the barn. You can borrow it and run if you want, but Im not leaving. This was her land. If these s.p.a.ce invaders thought they could just bust up her farm, then they had another thing coming. Like h.e.l.l was she letting them get away with it.

Was facing down someone Vile recommended running from bright? Probably not, but Jilly had too much of her grandma in her to flee without a fight.

Jilly snagged her shotgun from the floor where it had been knocked over. She checked the chambers to ensure they were loaded. She also swapped her bunny slippers for the boots by her back door and shrugged on a coat. If she was going alien varmint hunting, then shed probably want to make sure she didnt lose any body parts to frostbite in the attempt.

Your weapon wont prove effective against the one coming, he informed her.

How can you know? Youve never seen me use it. It punched a decent sized hole.

Unless it spits high temperature flames or an extremely corrosive acid, then projectiles will just pa.s.s through its gelatinous ma.s.s.

Jelly? Your enemy is made of jelly? She tried to imagine what such a creature would look like as Vile dragged her out the back door.

He grabbed her free hand as he ran from the farmhouse, his long stride forcing her to huff and puff to keep up. The barn loomed in the distance, a ramshackle structure that hadnt seen use in at least a decade. Jilly kept waiting for a strong wind to blow it down.

Parked about a dozen feet from the barn doors was her vintage, 1980s Dodge Ram pickup truck. Diesel of course. It chugged, blew smoke, and was anything but discreet, yet it did the job getting her around. When it started.

Given her remote location, and the fact she kept hoping someone would steal it, she always left the keys in the ignition, which proved handy right about now given their need for a hasty getaway.

As Vile made a beeline for the drivers seat, she barked, I dont think so, purple dude.

I am a renowned combat fighter who has driven vehicles through some of the harshest conditions. Ill program our escape route.

Confident words, which he soon ate.

He slid into the drivers seat and stared at her dashboard in consternation. What the frukx is this archaic technology? There is a circle on your dash. Where is your control panel? Your keypad for programming coordinates?

Its called a steering wheel and if you dont know that this thing is driven by the pedals on the floor, then you need to move your a.s.s over.

To her surprise, he didnt argue. He slid over the bench seat to the pa.s.senger side. She hopped in, gun first, which he snagged from her and placed between his knees.

Jilly didnt waste time. She turned the key in the ignition and muttered her standard magical chant. Come on, baby. Start for me. Lets go. Mama needs to get her b.u.t.t moving.

What are you doing?

Praying to the G.o.ds of trucks and automobiles that my baby here, with over a million miles clocked and still ticking, most days, will start. She slapped the steering wheel and pumped the gas a few times to prime the carbureted engine. Come on, you big b.a.s.t.a.r.d. Start.

Chug. Chug. Rumble. Gasp. Choke.

Is that sound normal? he asked.

Depends on your definition of normal. My truck sometimes has a bit of a temper when it comes to starting.

This is not a good time for it to get angry. We need to get moving. Things are about to get hot.

Things are about to get slapped if they dont shut up and let a girl do what needs to be done, she muttered.

Duck!

Before she could ask why, he was shoving her head down, just in time, too, as a ma.s.sive explosion rocked her vehicle. Something hard hit the windshield, and when Vile allowed her to raise her head, she blinked at the smoldering shoe on her hood.

Thats my shoe. Which shed last seen in her bedroom closet on the second floor of her house.

Slowly her gaze rose, and in her side mirror, she caught sight of a red/orange flicker before the acrid stench of smoke hit her nose. She turned her head and gasped. My house!

More like her ruin.

Her home, the place she called her own"or would have until the bank took it away"no longer existed. A smoldering ruin sat in its place, the jagged remains made of century-plus old wood dancing with flames while black smoke billowed into the sky.

That b.a.s.t.a.r.d blew up my house! Shocked, she turned to Vile and yelled. This is your fault!

How is it my fault? I am sitting right beside you. You should be thanking me.

Thanking you for what?

If it werent for me, youd have been inside. And, he said with pursed lips as he perused her, you would have probably died given your fragile nature.

Oh, thats priceless, she snarled. Blame the victim. This happened because of you and that stupid artifact. Its your fault your jelly friend"

Enemy, he corrected.

"followed you here and destroyed my house.

He will also destroy us if you dont move this vehicle. If I am not mistaken, which I rarely am, Mo is approaching.

That claim managed to stem her tirade as she drew her gaze away from Vile and focused it outside. Sure enough, coming down the drive, waving tentacles, some of which held what she could only surmise were weapons, was an honest-to-goodness jellyfish on land.

Holy f.u.c.k. She breathed the expletive as she wrenched the key one last time and jammed her foot on the gas.

Chugga. Chugga. Vroom!

This time the engine caught and held, its noisy motor revving high. She took her foot off the brake, slammed the truck into first, and the truck lurched forward.

So did Viles head, but he managed to brace a hand on the dash and prevent a concussion.

You might want to buckle up, she advised, having already drawn her own seatbelt automatically upon getting in.

Being a male, he, of course, ignored her to instead point out the obvious. Youre heading right for him, Vile yelled over the rumble of the engine.

Yup. Forward was the only way out of her farm. The fields at their back only went for a few acres before the land dipped sharply into an impa.s.sable ravine.

Are you insane? Hes aiming his weapon at us. Youll get yourself killed.

Youll die, too, if you dont use that teeny tiny thing you call a gun to distract him.

Actually, my jumpsuit will protect me from most impact.

Stop being a smug jerk and shoot, she hollered as she floored the gas and weaved her way towards the tentacled shape, which had stopped moving and now appeared to be taking aim.

Bossy barbarian, he muttered. Despite his complaint, he took aim, and shot"right through her windshield.