Allies (Warriors of Karal Book 5) Read Online Free PDF Page A

accelerating towards it. “Then we can go to my planet.”
    “What exactly is decon’?” she asked.
    “It is our way of protecting our planet. Everyone has to go through decon’ if they have been in contact with another planet or another alien.”
    “Does it hurt?” she asked, wondering why this had never been mentioned before.
    “No. It is quite safe, and quite necessary.”
    “That doesn’t mean I’m going to like it.” But she understood their need to protect their planet, and so she didn’t object.
    Until she found out she had to strip naked.
     

Chapter Six – Niko
     
    “You are joking?” she asked, folding her arms across her chest.
    “No.”
    “You expect me to strip naked in here? Where anyone who walks by can see me.”
    “Yes.”
    “You are out of your mind. What is this, some kind of cheap thrill for you and the rest of the crew on this tin can?”
    “I have no idea what a cheap thrill is.” He was puzzled by her response; he had expected her to be cooperative. Now this.
    “And what if I say no?”
    “Then we either wait until you change your mind, or I strip you by force,” he said matter-of-factly.
    “You wouldn’t dare.”
    “Yes, Petra, I would. You agreed to come here. As you said, no one forced you, and this is part of the deal.”
    She flattened her lips, but that didn’t make him want to kiss her any less. The way she talked to him, as if they were on the same level, amused him. He had always pictured humans as being some grateful little species only too willing to be compliant in return for being lifted from their dying planet. But Petra was all fire and heat, and that was exactly what was creeping through his body right now.
    They stared at each other, until finally, with a dramatic sigh, she turned from him and began undoing her shirt. He studied her back, feeling the anger rolling off her. It was strange that he could pick up on her emotions, considering she did not have colours flowing over her skin like a Karalian. But such was the depth of her emotions that she didn’t need those colours for him to be able to pick up exactly how she was feeling. And exactly what she was thinking.
    It made him feel ashamed to be standing here watching her. She honestly hated the idea of stripping naked in front of him, although it was something she would have to get used to. The thrill of seeing her with no clothes on passed, and he turned and walked to the control panel and programmed the decon’ cycle. “I’ve set it on a delay timer. It will begin in five minutes. You need to strip and sit in the chair. I will come back for you when it is time to leave.”
    And then he left her, shutting the door behind him and standing with his back to it, counting in his head as the five minutes ticked by, ensuring that nobody else who might walk by could stop and stare at his Earth female. Then he headed for the adjacent decon’ room, stripping quickly and sitting in the chair. As he lay back and let the decon’ cleanse his body of any bacteria or germs he may have picked up, his mind drifted to the woman in the room next to him. She was so different than he expected, more complex. For some reason, he had expected them to be simple beasts, but he suspected he got that very wrong.
    He had never been more eager for the decon’ to end, and as soon as it had, he got up from his chair, quickly dressed, and went back to Petra. Pressing the button on the outside of the decon’ room, he eagerly awaited the doors to slide open and stepped in to find her fully dressed and waiting for him.
    “Are you ready to leave?” he asked, trying to gauge what she was thinking, now that her emotions were under control, just as his colours were.
    “Yes. I am ready to leave; I can’t wait to see Karal.” Although she didn’t seem as happy as she was earlier. He wondered if these females held grudges, and she would try to make him pay for making her strip for the decon’. Niko nearly opened his mouth to