Chapter Sixteen
Her heart leapt with relief as the hum of the transporter finally began to die down. Despite her best efforts, she could not hold her breath the entire trip. She couldn’t even keep her eyes off him.
She could blame needing to breathe on her stupid lungs. But there wasn’t any excuse as to why she couldn’t stop watching him.
Rasha hadn’t made it easy for her to ignore him either. He had spent the ride with a stupid grin on his face and laughing at jokes that apparently only he knew the punch line to. “What did the Thorium worm say to the Islay bucolic?” When she stared at him blankly he replied, “That’s my tail, not yours!” He then slapped his leg and laughed so hard he began to choke.
She couldn’t take it anymore. His jokes—correction, bad jokes—and all the smiling and laughing put her on edge.
She fumbled with the release latch on her harness and scrambled from her seat to the door. She opened the hatch just as the transporter was coming to a rolling stop on plush green grass.
Without waiting for the transporter to stop completely, she stepped out and down, losing her footing.
“Shit,” was all she could get out as she tumbled to the grass, landing on her stomach. Catching her breath, she dug her fingers into the dirt underneath her. Her mind traveled to playgrounds and parks…and her dad.
Rasha’s strong hand wrapped around her arm and pulled her to her feet as though she weighed no more than a sack of potatoes. Righting her footing, Jess yanked her arm out of his grip.
“I believe you humans would say thank you.”
She tried not to look at him. “Thanks.”
Jesus, why is he so damn fine? The rays reflecting from the suns illuminated his skin. His normally golden tone appeared more radiant than before. His black hair, which he had pulled back in a ponytail, shined and his eyes…the amber in them twinkled and danced in the light.
When his perfect lips smirked and a fine black brow cocked in question, she tore her gaze away.
“Most would have waited for the transporter to make a complete stop before jumping from its doors.”
She brought her arm up to shield the brightness of the suns. “Yeah, well most haven’t been trapped in a transporter with a giant.”
“You could have hurt yourself.”
She smiled as brightly as she could. “It’ll take more than a tumble out of a cruising transporter to twist me up.”
He shook his head. “I actually don’t doubt it.” He started down a path made of stones. “Follow me, the shoreline is this way.”
“There was this time when we all had to rescue JB from a rogue brothel. They had him trapped there.”
“Who would willingly trap JB in a brothel? It seems as though it would be bad for business to have one person wearing out every female there.”
“That’s just it. He wasn’t fucking anyone. They had him drugged so he only thought he was but these succubus things were really siphoning his energy. We had to sneak in there and get him. Kyle, one of the crew, was almost killed.”
“It sounds very dangerous. Your captain should have never had you in such a situation.”
She snorted. “There was this other time when I had to infiltrate a luxury transport vessel. I planted explosives in the cargo area. It took longer than expected.” She pinched her fingers together. “I was this close to becoming space trash but the haul was worth it.”
“I don’t understand why you were put in harm’s way.”
She shrugged. “I had to pull my weight.”
He shook his head. “Dangerous, everything you’ve done before now was too dangerous. But I am glad you have come through the worst of it unscathed.”
She followed on his heels. “Well, I wouldn’t go so far as to say unscathed but I’ve survived.”
“Is that what you live for, Jess? To survive?”
“What else is there to live for?”
“A mate.”
Yeah right. Of course he would say something as corny as that.
He turned around to briefly stare at her. He started to say something but continued down the path.
As they progressed farther, the light dimmed as the overhanging trees blocked out more of the sky. The trees and bushes around them teemed with the sounds of alien wildlife. The shrieking of an unknown source brought her closer to his back, where she accidently trampled on his heels.
He stopped to give her an appraising look. “No need to fret. The predators do not show themselves until after the suns are no longer visible.”
Predators.
“I’m not fretting, I never fret.” She added the last part with a scowl. “You have weapons.” She indicated the blaster and jango he had strapped to his muscled body.
“And I have my blaster.” Just for added comfort she let her hand rest on the hilt of the weapon strapped to her thigh.
He let out a deep chuckle. “We’re prepared for battle.” He winked and continued down the path. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”
“Pft, I don’t need protecting.”
The loud shriek sounded again, this time closer than before, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She scanned the trees for its source.
His chuckles brought her attention back to him. “I think your sense of self-preservation has other ideas.”
She followed his gaze to where she had her fingers hooked into the back of his pants. She quickly pulled away. “Holy fuck,” she muttered. “Why are we in a fuckin’ jungle anyway? I didn’t know Sonis even had one. I thought we were going to the ocean.”
He started down the winding path again. “This hardly constitutes a jungle. The jungles on Ahbakalan, now those are jungles.” He tilted his head in thought. “I think I’ll take you there one day.”
She screwed her face into a frown. “Why in hell would I want to go there?” Especially since she was just getting used to Laconia and now Sonis. Another new planet? No.
He held a low-hanging branch out of the way. “Because you’ll be with me,” he said, as if that was all she needed to hear.
Whatever.
“Since this is the only real water source on the moon, vegetation grows abundant here,” he explained.
The path widened as they reached the opening. Finally she stood once again under the sun’s blaring heat. Beautiful blue waves beat against the shoreline. A breeze whipped across her body.
The view almost reminded her of home, a perfect picture of a beautiful California shoreline. That is, if you took away the two suns high in an orange sky and the dusky-brown planet looming there as well.
She closed her eyes to block out the visual and inhaled deeply. It wasn’t salt in the air she smelled but…she didn’t mind the alien scent at all.
It was perfect.
“And you said the Zarcarians have been here?”
“Of course.”
“They’re fools for not jumping on this. I would love to build a house here.” She opened her eyes and walked forward. She stopped just where the water met the tips of her shoes and receded again. What she really wanted to do was slip them off and immerse her bare feet in the water.
“They are a very quiet species. Their concern is not with the location.”
Jess gave a long, sweeping glance of the ocean and the land it breached against. “Rescind your offer.”
“What? Why would we do that? What about your plan of cutting the price to make the offer more appealing to them?”
She laughed. “That was before I saw this place. They are playing you and Taio for fools.” When Rasha bristled and puffed out his chest, she added, “Look at this place, Rasha. You’re practically giving this land away. I haven’t been to as many worlds as you have but I can spot a prime location just like anyone else. They want this land. They’re just trying to swindle more out of the deal.”
He cradled his chin in his hand and stroked his jaw. “We always thought this was prime land but they’ve always turned us down.”
“They’re using the oldest trick in the world—well, universe, I guess now. They’re working off your desperation to open Sonis to settlers. Forget what I said earlier. Rescind the offer and I bet they’ll come knocking down your doors to make a deal.”
“I think you’re right.” Rasha checked his timepiece. “We have some time before we’re due for the conference call.” He kicked off his boots. “We’ll connect with Taio first and see what his thoughts are.”
She raised a brow. “What are you doing?”
“Going for a swim. The water will help cool us down.”
“But Taio…”
“We’ll be done in plenty enough time for the conference call.”
“Wait a minute. Did you say us and we?” Alarmed, she backed away from the water’s edge. “I’m not going in there.”
“We won’t go out very far. The hygi won’t be able to reach us in the shallow waters anyway.”
Her eyes snapped to the water. With each rolling wave she feared an unknown monster would wash up on shore to eat her and Rasha. “Hygi? Wh…what’s that?”
Something large with scaly green skin, sharp teeth, claws and gills popped in her head.
He peeled off his shirt. “We’ll stay in the shallow end so there’s nothing for you to worry about.”
No, it would have gills and lungs, so it could crawl on land after her, which was exactly why she should worry about it.
He pushed his pants down his narrow hips.
Abruptly, she turned away. “Stop. Don’t do that.”
“You’ve seen me naked before,” he said in a voice so deep, fine prickles crept over her skin.
“That doesn’t mean I want to again.”
But I do, she inwardly groaned.
“That remains to be seen. But as long as you’re going to stay here, watch my belongings. Make sure the printa beasts don’t get a hold of them.”
“Pr…printa beasts?”
“They’re not as dangerous as they appear. But you will want to use your blaster and shoot them right between their red eyes. That’s the only sure way to kill them.”
Her mouth dropped as she scanned the trees outlining the sandy beach. The hoots and hollers of the unknown animals seemed to grow louder. More menacing.
She listened as his footsteps faded away.
“Don’t stray too far,” he said.
Half turning, she watched in horror as he sauntered butt-naked in the water.
He’s leaving me alone.
Shrieks sounded from the trees. Her heart leapt in her chest. She didn’t waste any time as she kicked off her shoes. “The hell he is.”
She pulled her shirt over her head and threw it in the same pile as his clothes. As the shrieking began again, she peeled down her pants. Finally free of them, she threw them and ran into the cool water.
He laughed. “I thought you’d see things my way.”
She would kill him. “I’m not scared!”
He waded in water up to his shoulders. His hair was free and flowing around him.
He was beautiful. Which didn’t help matters at all, since she really wanted to drown him.
“Join me. Come out a little farther,” he coaxed. His voice sounded husky and low. Just as she imagined a spider’s would sound to a fly.
“I’m fine where I am,” she yelled back to him.
The hygi and Rasha were both the same right about now. Both were too dangerous for her to be around. For added measure she dug her toes into the muddy bottom of the ocean’s floor. Her body swayed in time with the waves.
“Then I’ll come to you.” He kicked off and swam closer to her. He rode the waves gracefully.
She used a hand to splash water in his direction. “Stop! Stay where you are. I don’t want you to come any closer.”
“Why not? There’s such a wonderful prize where you are.” His gaze fell on her breasts.
“Stop looking at me!” She crouched so only her head showed above the water’s surface.
As he drew closer, she splashed harder. Instead of being angry, he laughed and splashed back.
“I’m a warrior. A little water won’t keep me at bay.”
And he was right. In front of her, he stood. The water made an obscene line at his waistline. Fat droplets trickled down the muscles of his chest and arms.
Suddenly her lips were too dry. She licked them as she watched water drip from his hair to his shoulders. The long lashes surrounding his smoldering eyes were thick and darkened by wetness.
She inwardly groaned. Don’t look at him. She lowered her gaze.
Why in the hell did she do that?
I’m done.
A drop of water made a slow path down his abdomen and into his hair.
Followed by another.
She gave in to the urge to lean forward and flick a drop with her tongue. He hissed as she followed the path of another drop down his stomach. Her taste buds erupted with pleasure. He groaned as her lips pressed against his stomach.
She inhaled deeply. She could get used to his scent. It made her muscles relax and her body tingle from head to toe. Why had she tried to avoid him? She couldn’t remember.
She kissed him.