Free Proposition by Unknown Page B

talk or something while I was out?”
    He shrugged. “Or something.”
    Keirah probed Krig’s forehead, using a cloth to wipe up the blood. The wound wasn’t deep, thank goodness, but she was sure he’d have one heck of a headache when he woke up.
    Krig moaned, and his eyes fluttered open.
    “You’re awake,” she said surprised.
    He sat up and grimaced as he probed the area with a fingertip. “Alphan males heal quickly, although it still hurts like a bitch.”
    Suddenly the pod shifted, and he caught her as she was knocked off her feet. Geoff grabbed her arm to help steady her.
    “We should strap in,” Krig said. “If this pod gets swept away we could be in for a disastrous tumble.”
    “Right,” Geoff muttered as he helped Keirah to a chair. Before he strapped in, however, he grabbed hold of Krig’s arm. “Thank you. You probably saved my life.”
    “I did save your life,” Krig agreed.
    “Why? If you’d let me die, you could’ve had her all to yourself.”
    “She would’ve mourned you, and I’m not very good at comfort.” He shrugged. “As much as I hate to admit it, there are things you can give her that I can’t.”
    He and Geoff stared at one another and then Geoff nodded, and it seemed to Keirah something monumental had just transpired. She could feel the shift between them, although she wasn’t quite sure what that shift was.
    “Hello,” Keirah said. “I’m right here.”
    The pod shifted again, this time sliding further. Geoff sat down, and all three buckled their safety harnesses, and as soon as they were secure the pod rolled. Keirah screamed as they were turned into a giant pinball game, hitting rocks and trees as the heavy rain water washed them down the hill. And just when she thought she was going to throw up, they stopped. They were sideways, but they stopped.
    “Holy shit!” Geoff muttered. “Everyone all right?”
    “Yes,” Krig replied.
    “Just ducky,” she muttered.
    Krig reached over the console and hit a few buttons and then banged heavily on it. “Damn. We lost all power. We’ll wait this out and then have to do another perimeter sweep to see where the hell we are.”
    He put a hand to his head, scowling.
    “You need to rest.”
    “I’m fine.”
    “No, you’re not,” she argued. “Just shut up and let’s get you comfortable. There’s nothing to do but wait out the rain anyway.”
    It was a point he couldn’t much argue with. They broke the bunks down and rearranged them on the floor, and Krig lay down. Although he closed his eyes, Keirah knew he wasn’t asleep, but she took the time anyway to study him. She still felt guilty over kissing him, over wanting him, but she couldn’t help her attraction. She’d never felt like this over anyone else, and she certainly didn’t feel like this over any other Alphan male.
    “Hey,” Geoff shook her sometime later. She blinked and realized she must have dozed off. He stood over her, dressed, although his clothes were beyond wrinkled. “The rain stopped, so I’m going to have a look around.”
    “No, it’s too dangerous. We don’t know where that landslide took us.”
    “I’ll be fine,” he assured her. “I have my blaster plus … I’ll probably just stay outside the door. I think it’s time, Keirah.”
    “Time? For what?”
    He nodded toward Krig, who still lay on the rearranged bunk. “It’s time you mated with him.”
    “Geoff! We’re in a life pod on a freaking weird moon and you want me to have sex with him?”
    He took hold of her shoulders in a gentle, yet firm, grip and looked deep into her eyes. “Anything could happen on this moon, as we’ve learned, so we need to make sure you belong with him in every way. He and I … we’ve come to understand one another.”
    “That’s wonderful,” she muttered. “Super. Go team us.”
    He frowned at her before bending down and kissing her forehead. She closed her eyes and leaned into his body. God, she loved him. How could she do this? What if