The Nanny and the Alien Warrior by Honey Phillips

Chapter Five

Craxan rubbed his eyes wearily as he returned to his cabin. He had checked on Jed and found the other male was not only safely on board, but had managed to stretch their limited funds to acquire a surprising quantity of supplies. Since Jed’s shift wasn’t due to start for a few hours, they had gone to the ship’s exercise room to train. He had hoped that the exercise would relieve some of the lingering adrenaline from the encounter with the guards, not to mention his body’s uncontrollable reaction to the female now occupying their cabin.

Instead, he had spent the entire time fighting the urge to return to her. Visions of her sleeping in their bed—her bed—kept flashing through his head. He even made a mistake stupid enough to allow Jed to flip him. He wasn’t sure which of them was more surprised, but then he heard Merios laugh as he strolled into the room.

“My, my. You are destroying all my illusions. The Cire have such an impressive reputation as warriors, and yet you can be defeated by a drunken Skaal.” He gave Jed a derogatory glance. “And despite the touching stories of your race’s sole devotion to your Cire mates, you seem quite satisfied with another. Tell me, who is she?”

“None of your business,” he growled.

“Really? I find that even more intriguing.” The captain’s teeth flashed in what could not be called a smile. “But she will need to leave the cabin at some point—or are you going to keep her confined there for the entire trip?”

He didn’t bother answering, turning back to Jed. Spurred on by his frustration, he flipped the other male in three quick brutal moves.

The captain laughed again. “If you damage one of my crew members, there will be penalties.”

With that parting shot, he left and Craxan turned back to Jed, reaching down a hand to help the other male to his feet.

“I apologize. I know better than to let someone like Merios goad me.”

Jed grinned at him, seemingly unperturbed. “Females have that effect on a male.”

“She’s not my female,” he said, reminding himself as much as the other male, but the words felt wrong in his mouth.

“She is for the purposes of this trip,” Jed reminded him. He gave Craxan a disturbingly penetrating look, but didn’t add anything else. Instead, he walked to the edge of the mats and began toweling off. “I have to get ready for my shift. You should transfer the supplies to your own locker.”

“What about you?”

“For all his bluster, Merios feeds his crew extremely well. I’m fine.”

“I suspect this is not the type of job you had in mind when you sought to accompany me.”

Jed shrugged. “I needed a chance. This suits me well enough.” He shot a quick look at Craxan. “And Merios wouldn’t have hired me if he hadn’t known you were coming along.”

So the captain’s seeming reluctance had been an act. Somehow, he wasn’t surprised. His mention of Driguera had been a little too casual.

“Why is that?” he asked. “You have the skills to be more than just a low-level mechanic.”

“I was an engineer once.” The other male looked away, rubbing his towel back and forth over his bare arms. Just as Craxan had decided not to press the matter, Jed spoke again. “My father was a drinker. He gave me my first drink when I was five. By the time I made it to engineer, I was starting with ale in the morning and moving on to liquor by midday. I thought I had it under control, even when I needed a shot of something in my tea just to start the day. But then I made a mistake and people died.”

The other male’s face was haunted, staring back into the past, before he finally shook his head.

“Now I have a reputation. A bad one. You heard Merios—he still thinks I’m a drunk.”

“Are you?”

Jed looked him directly in the eye. “I haven’t touched a drop in four hundred and eighty-two days. But I will always be a drinker.”

Craxan nodded, then picked up his own towel.

“That’s it?” Jed asked, “No recriminations? No desire to disassociate yourself from me?”

“We all make mistakes.” If he hadn’t let his stupid sense of morality get the better of him, then he would have been there when those bastards came after Vanha.

Jed reached over and clasped his forearm. “I won’t let you down.”

“It is more important that you do not let yourself down.”

The other male dipped his head in acknowledgment, and they parted ways.

Craxan could no longer prevent himself from returning to the cabin. His tail twitched eagerly as he approached, but he resolved to keep it under control. He had no business touching a female who did not belong to him, even though she did not seem disturbed by his touch.

As soon as he opened the door, her scent surrounded him, thick in the humid air. She must have taken a shower, and the thought of her naked body combined with her delectable fragrance caused an immediate response from his cock. Apparently neither his tail nor his cock were inclined to obey his wishes.

Or his eyes, seeking her out immediately where she lay sprawled in slumber on the lower bunk. The overhead lights caught sparks of gold in her soft brown hair. One of the meager blankets was wrapped around her, but it had slipped down to expose the curve of a pale, fragile shoulder. The clothes she had been wearing were hanging on the wall, and he realized she must be naked beneath the thin cloth. His cock jerked again, and he decided that he had best return to the training room for more exercise.

“I remember you.” The soft little voice jerked him out of his abstraction, and he looked up to see two purple eyes sparkling at him from the upper bunk. Sultavi was awake.

“What do you remember?” he asked equally quietly, reluctant to awake his—the—sleeping female.

“You said you wouldn’t betray us.”

He nodded, his chest aching at the trust on the innocent little face. “I would never betray you.”

“Besu betrayed us. My father is dead.”

Or perhaps not so innocent.

“I am sorry about that.”

Her lips quivered. “I didn’t see Father much, but I miss him.”

“I missed my father as well after he died.”

How much he had missed the kind older male. Then Vanha had assumed the role. The two were very different, but he had loved them both. And lost them both. Never again, he reminded himself as his chest ached.

Sultavi nodded solemnly, then her expression changed and she gave him a beseeching look.

“I want to get down now. I’ve been waiting and waiting, but Miss Joanna won’t wake up.”

“I think she was very tired.” He started to lean over the bottom bunk to lift her down, and she launched herself at him. She didn’t seem to have any doubt that he would catch her. Two tiny arms curved around his neck as she hugged him, and his heart melted.

“I’m glad you came for us,” she whispered.

His tail automatically came up to pat her back. “I am too,” he agreed.

And he was, he realized. Protecting Joanna and Sultavi made him feel more complete than he had felt since Vanha died, like he had a family again.

No. He couldn’t go there. He couldn’t risk losing another family. He was here to do a job and then he would let them go.

“Now that you are awake, what do you want to do?” he asked, trying to distract himself, and then realized he had made a mistake. He had no idea what to do with a small child.

“I’m hungry,” she announced.

Shame immediately washed over him as he stared at her in appalled horror. Why had he not considered that? A child in his care should never go hungry.

“I will remedy that at once,” he promised, then realized that in his haste to return to the cabin, he had not brought any of the supplies with him. “Although I am afraid you will have to wait, just a very short time, while I obtain something for you to eat.”

Big eyes gave him a pitiful look. “I want to go with you.”

He started to refuse, then reconsidered. Now that they were in space, she should be free from her father’s enemies. And since he had already declared her as his child, it would only be natural that she should accompany him. The lockers were only one level below them, and they were unlikely to run into any members of the small crew. But just in case…

“If we should encounter anyone else, they will think that you are my child,” he warned her.

She giggled. “But you’re green.”

“That does not matter.”

Those big purple eyes studied his face. “They think you’re my father?”

“Yes.”

“Does that mean I have to call you Father?”

“Is that what you called your parent?” When she nodded, her eyes sorrowful, he considered the matter. “Then perhaps another name would be best. What do you think of Papa?”

She tilted her head, then gave a satisfied nod. “I like it. Does that mean I can call Miss Joanna ‘Mama?’”

He looked down at the sleeping female, remembering her fierce devotion to the child and her offer to sacrifice herself so that Sultavi could go free.

“You can ask her when she wakes up, but I think she would like that very much.”

“Okay, Papa.”

His chest ached at the words he had never thought to hear. But this was a job, he reminded himself, and right now, he needed to provide for his young… daughter.

“Now I will feed you,” he promised.

She gave an excited squeal, quickly hushed, and threw her arms around his neck again. He fought back a smile as he slipped out of the cabin and locked the door behind him.

Halfway down the corridor, the young Vaivan appeared, carrying a mop bucket. He flinched at the sight of Craxan and drew back against the wall to let him pass.

“Hello,” Sultavi said cheerfully. “I’m Sultavi, and this is my papa. Who are you?”

The young male shot a doubtful glance at Craxan and mumbled something unintelligible.

“I can’t hear you,” Sultavi said impatiently.

“I’m Yengik.” He kept his eyes downcast as he spoke.

“Hello, Yengik. My papa is taking me to get something to eat.”

“Oh.” Yengik looked even more hesitant, but pointed back the way they had come. “The galley is in that direction.”

“I have supplies in my locker,” he said firmly. He had no intention of associating with the rest of the crew any more than necessary.

“Oh.” The young male bent over and picked up the bucket again, and Craxan’s curiosity got the better of him.

“Do you not have cleaning bots on this ship?” he asked.

“Y… yes.” Yengik ducked his head. “But Captain Merios told me to do it this way after he found me working on a robobeast.”

“A robobeast? I love those!” Sultavi exclaimed.

A shy smile crossed the boy’s face. “You can have it when I’m finished. If it’s all right with your father,” he added quickly, his smile fading.

“Please, Papa,” Sultavi begged.

He was no match for two pairs of hopeful eyes. “Very well. Now you must be about your duties, and I must feed my child.”

Yengik immediately rushed off.

“I like him,” Sultavi announced.

“I do too.” Despite Yengik’s obvious shyness - no doubt worsened by the way Merios treated him. He seemed so young, and yet Craxan suspected that he was the same age Craxan had been when he had escaped his dying planet. Had he been as awkward and ungainly, he wondered.

They met no one else on the way to the storage lockers, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Sultavi chose a packet of sweet biscuits and nibbled on them happily while he gathered a selection to take back to Joanna.

“Do you have any juice?” Sultavi asked, her mouth full of biscuit.

“I am afraid not.”

“There is juice in the galley.” The mocking voice was unmistakable, and he turned around to see Merios lounging against the door frame.

“We have other beverages,” he said firmly.

“Indeed? But why deny the child?”

The captain strolled into the room, then bent down in front of Sultavi. Every muscle in Craxan’s body tensed, but he didn’t want to start a fight so close to the child.

“Hello, little one. What’s your name?” The captain’s voice was surprisingly soft.

“I’m Sultavi.” She smiled proudly. “And that’s my papa.”

“Indeed?” Merios raised a skeptical eyebrow, but didn’t contradict her. “Since your… father won’t get you any juice, how about a sweet?”

The captain showed her his empty palm, then closed his fist. When he opened it again, a collection of small sweets covered the dark fur. Sultavi’s eyes widened.

“How did you do that?”

“Magic,” Merios said lightly. “Especially for you.”

She reached out her hand, then stopped and looked up at him. “Can I have them, Papa?”

He couldn’t resist her hopeful expression. “Yes, but you must save them for later.”

“How very parental.” Merios rose to his feet, brushing away an imaginary speck of dust from his immaculate jacket. “I am almost convinced.”

Craxan gritted his teeth, refusing to respond.

“And your mate?” the captain continued.

“Mama’s asleep,” Sultavi volunteered. “We’re getting her breakfast.”

“Most… appetizing.” Merios cast a disparaging glance at the collection of dried foods. “Some of those will require heating. You may use the galley if you wish. I won’t even charge you for it.”

He wanted to throw the offer back in the other male’s face, but Merios was correct. Some of the items would be more palatable if heated.

“Perhaps,” he said grudgingly.

“Of course, the galley is Rissta’s domain,” Merios added thoughtfully.

Craxan frowned at him. Was that some kind of veiled threat?

The captain laughed at his expression and shook his head. “I will let you experience that pleasure for yourself.” He turned back to Sultavi, his expression softening. “Goodbye, little one.”

“I like him too,” Sultavi announced as the captain disappeared.

He wanted to object, but she smiled up at him so innocently that he didn’t have the heart.

“He seemed to like you too,” he said truthfully. “Now let us go and see if your mama is awake.”

As soon as he opened the cabin door, he knew he was in trouble. A wide awake and very angry female advanced on him.