Chapter Seventeen
Rykaur wanted to scoop Mary up, throw her over his shoulder, and take her back to his room. She had to be the most intriguing female he’d ever known.
She is a prostitute and a thief, his mind whispered, pulling him back to the reality of his situation. She sells her body to males for money.
Rykaur could never trust her, could never live life always wondering about every male she came in contact with. Always looking for a hidden meaning behind every word spoken to the opposite sex.
Why did it matter to him what she did with her body? He didn’t know. He only knew that it did.
Hurt drifted through her beautiful gray eyes, and Rykaur realized she’d read his thoughts. “Mary…”
He reached for her, but she quickly sidestepped his advances.
Clearing his throat, Rykaur pulled out a chair and offered it to her. He waited for her to sit and then took a seat next to her, his elbow brushing against the side of her breast.
Lust slammed into him as warmth radiated from her body and her incredible scent drifted up his nose. Blood rushed to his shaft, forming an erection that couldn’t have come at a worse time.
Mary seemed to read his inappropriate thoughts, if her body language was any indication.
She shifted in her seat and spoke in a faint voice. “I’m not a prostitute.”
It took Rykaur a second to realize she’d spoken the words rather than sent them through their connection.
“But I saw you go into the tents with different Marines, Mary. Mine included.”
Mary lifted her gaze and blinked up at him. “You can read my thoughts and emotions, Rykaur. You tell me… Am I lying?”
It was true. He hadn’t picked up on anything to do with other males in her memories, but he’d chalked it up to the overwhelming presence of her abuse. “We will talk about this later once we return to my apartment.”
She simply nodded, accepted the plate Gryke handed her, and sat with her elbows resting on the table.
Rykaur was more than aware of the defensive position. He’d done it himself on more than one occasion. She thought to keep him at arm’s length. And who could blame her? After everything she’d been through in her life, trust obviously hadn’t been a luxury.
A pair of feminine hands suddenly slammed down on the table on either side of Mary’s plate. “You might have everyone else fooled, little human, but not me.”
Rykaur was on his feet in an instant, his knife in hand and at the throat of the white-haired Bracadyte before she could gasp. “Back away slowly.”
Kaspyn carefully lifted her hands from the tabletop and inched back away from Mary. “You are making a mistake, warrior. You defend her because you have become smitten by her. You stink of her blood.”
Murmurs erupted throughout the room.
“If you come near Mary again, it will not be her blood that you smell. It will be your own. I will drown you in it.”
Rykaur eased his blade away from Kaspyn’s throat and slightly pushed her toward the wall. “I meant what I said.”
Kaspyn spun to face him, a look of rage on her face. “Bracadytes have resorted to harming their own to protect land walkers?”
“Not all land walkers,” Rykaur corrected, “only the ones that we care about.”
Speaking the words aloud triggered more sharp intakes of breath from the room’s occupants. Rykaur was more than a little stunned by his confession as well.
He quickly glanced down at Mary to find her staring up at him with a look of confusion on her face.
Melvin pushed away from the wall he’d been leaning against. “I suggest you go mingle with another crowd, blondie. Before ole Rykaur here puts you on your prissy little ass.”
“You think I fear Rykaur?” Kaspyn shot back, taking a step toward Melvin. “Unlike the land walkers, Bracadyte males do not harm their females.”
Melvin stared back at her from behind his mirrored Ray-Bans, the corner of his mouth lifting. “You’re not his female. Mary is.”
Rykaur’s stomach clenched at Melvin’s words, the truth in them resonating within him. He’d taken Mary’s blood without a second thought, damning the consequences of his actions and placing himself in a position of bonding. But mating? That was a different story.
Though he understood the difference between bonding with someone and mating them, he’d never imagined he’d do either one. Not since Kaura had broken his heart all those years before.
His gaze lifted to scan the room at large, searching for the one who’d hurt him in his youth. And there, standing in the back, her beautiful emerald gaze locked on him, stood Kaura.
Funny how Rykaur had once thought her the most alluring female he’d ever encountered. But looking at her now, her beauty paled in comparison to the fiery-haired human seated before him at the table.
Was he falling in love with the land walker Mary? He couldn’t be. He’d only known her for a few days. And yet every time they were in the same room together, his chest felt tight, his palms grew sweaty, and a near constant erection pulsed from behind his shorts.
Oh yeah, he silently admitted, shifting his attention away from Kaura. He was definitely developing feelings for Mary.