Tribe Protector

by Stacy Jones

  Adopting her best expression of disapproval, when all she really wanted to do was laugh, Lily cocked an eyebrow at him. Snatching his tail back, he covered his mouth with an upper hand under the pretense of wiping his lips, trying to hide his smile as he gazed at the walls of the hut like they were the most interesting things he’d ever seen.

  Smooth, Tor, real smooth.

  Snorting at his terrible attempt of appearing innocent, she shook her head and closed the remaining distance between her and her clothes. Just as she was sitting, she felt something tickle the crease between her ass cheek and thigh.

  Yelping at the unexpected sensation, she tucked her hips and fell forward, landing in a sprawl on the pile of clothes. A rumble of amusement started up behind her, telling her exactly what kind of creature had just tickled her.

  “Sneak!” she huffed as she pushed herself back upright.

  Balling up her cardigan, she threw it at Tor’s laughing face, snickering when it made contact and wrapped around his head. She could hear his alarmed mumbling under the fabric as he tried to claw it off with little success. The arms had somehow managed to knot up behind him, making removal difficult.

  Frrar, after reaching over to flick Tor on his cloth-covered ear, began rumbling as well, his dark eyes glittering with mirth while Arruk just blinked at them all and smirked, clearly still mostly asleep.

  When Tor finally peeled it from his face, he gasped at the air dramatically, eyes wide as he clutched at his chest. He acted as if he had just escaped the clutches of an anaconda instead of a nearly threadbare cardigan. She would almost have believed his theatrics… if she hadn’t caught him staring at her out of the corner of his eye and seen the badly suppressed smile curling his lips.

  Shaking her head at his antics, she laughed, happy he had managed to lessen the tension lingering in the air from worried thoughts. Taking the sweater from him, she turned back to her clothes and wiggled into her panties before standing. Leaving off her cami, she held her cardigan by the sleeves and wrapped it around her like a strapless dress, crisscrossing the sleeves in front of her before knotting them at her back.

  After tucking the cardigan into place, she used her vine strap as a belt around her waist to secure the flaps so they couldn’t come open and her boobs wouldn’t pop out, then wrapped her feet and pulled on her boots. Once she’d finished dressing, Arruk crooked a long finger at her, calling her to him so he could brush and braid her hair.

  Sighing at how good it felt when he played with her hair, she closed her eyes and relaxed back against him, smiling when he wrapped his tail around her waist so he was touching as much of her as possible. He began purring, a deep bass sound that vibrated into her at every point of contact between their bodies.

  She loved moments like this, where Arruk’s quiet, steady presence surrounded her, and she felt safe and loved in his embrace. He never failed to soothe her, regardless of what dangers and uncertainties awaited them outside. He always knew just what she needed and she loved him for it.

  Arruk was the most observant and attentive person she’d ever met, alien or otherwise. She caught him watching her all the time, as if, even after the months they’d been together, she was still the single most fascinating thing in his world, and he was endlessly entranced with discovering every hidden piece of her. The way he looked at her made her heart beat faster, made her feel giddy and breathless, yet serene at the same time.

  She knew she was still caught up in the rush of new love, but she had a feeling Arruk would always be able to make her feel that way. Lily could see herself in twenty years, living like a native, naked in the forest, swinging from the vines like Jane, and Arruk would still be able to make her breathless with the weight of his penetrating stare.

  When she felt him finish braiding her hair, she tipped to the side in his hold, trusting him to catch her before she hit the nest. His purr changed in pitch to one of amusement as he hooked his arms under her and picked her up, cradling her against his chest. He lifted her higher, until they were almost nose to nose, then held her there, his eyes locked onto hers.

  Her breath hitched and her smile grew. Arruk didn’t hide anything from her, fearlessly letting the depths of his feelings show in his bright eyes; his unconditional love, his quiet obsession, and his unwavering devotion.

  “Mehashk, mek faerrska, ” he rumbled before pressing his mouth to hers.

  Moaning, she slid her tongue past his lips to stroke his, deepening their kiss before catching his full lower lip between her teeth and biting him gently.

  When they broke apart, he dipped his head to nuzzle his face into her neck, rubbing his velvety skin against her before nipping the tender flesh there just hard enough to make her shiver and goosebumps to cascade down her arms.

  With a last peck on the tip of her nose, he stood with her then set her on her feet. Frrar and Tor, when she glanced over at them, were talking quietly. Their voices were too low for her to hear, but something about their body language gave her the impression they were conspiring.

  What are they up to?

  When she looked up at Arruk, she could tell by the position of his ears that he could hear them perfectly well. Before she could open her mouth to ask what they were talking about, they stood and Frrar moved to her, pulling her into a hug and bending to steal a kiss, effectively distracting her.

  He kissed her hard and fast, leaving her a bit dazed when he pulled away and bent to grab his vine strap and spear. He dropped one more kiss on top of her head before walking to the entrance of their hut.

  She watched Frrar lift the curtain of leaves acting as a door and step through. He looked back, giving her a reassuring smile before letting them fall shut behind him .

  Lily tried to silence the voice in the back of her mind, telling her he wouldn’t return with good news. She decided to think positive thoughts and turned to Tor and Arruk. She clapped her hands together to try and break the heavy silence, but just made them all jump with the abrupt sound. Tor pulled a what the hell face, reaching up to rub his ears while Arruk cringed.

  Wincing, she mouthed an apology before asking, “So, what do we do now?”

  They glanced at each other then back to her, suspiciously knowing smirks crossing their faces in tandem.

  “You see,” Tor purred.

  A rruk was nervous. He had heard Frrar’s words to Tor before Frrar left to speak to the Tribe Mother. Frrar thought Lily and Drrak needed more time together and, while Arruk agreed with him, he felt both anxious and hesitant about seeing them interact.

  He would know, as he always did, what their thoughts were by observing their expressions and actions toward one another.

  He did not want Drrak to hold himself back because of fear of rejection, and he did not want Lily to close her heart to the scarred male. But, he was afraid that was exactly what he would see.

  He was fighting the urge to tell her of Drrak’s good qualities in an effort to convince her to accept him into her harem, but he knew that wouldn’t help. She needed to discover who Drrak was for herself.

  He wanted so badly for her to open her heart to his twin, but didn’t know if either of them could or would overcome their reservations before Frrar felt the need to bring her other males.

  She was not like other Pashas; she would not Choose a male based only on how good a caretaker he was or how adept a protector. Drrak was both of those things, but Arruk knew his Lily well enough to know she would only Choose a male that called to her heart.

  It was because he knew that about her that Arruk also believed Frrar would not have success in bringing her other males. It was not that he thought the males would not come—he had seen the glances the Unchosen had stolen of his Lily and had very clearly read their curiosity and excitement at the prospect of a new Pasha to woo—but that she was not capable of picking one at random from the crowd. Frrar knew this as well. He was letting fear cloud his senses. Learning of the new danger in the forest, and the missing Pasha, would only make Frrar more
unreasonable. Arruk was not looking forward to Lily’s reaction when she discovered what Frrar was up to.

  Arruk feared Frrar’s actions would cause Lily to close her mind to all thought of Choosing a new mate, and any hope he had of his twin joining them would be taken from him.

  Lily had no idea where they were going and fought the urge to pout like a child in Tor’s arms as he swung them to who knew where. After a quick pit stop to the forest floor to empty their bladders, Tor picked her up, leapt back into the trees, and began swinging in the opposite direction of both the tribe and their hut with Arruk right behind them. Hoping they were going to find the cub, she’d questioned them. Both refused to tell her anything, saying only that she would see when they got there.

  Grumbling under her breath about her genuine dislike of surprises, she craned her head around in an effort to see where they were headed, as if she would be able to distinguish one tree from another or deduce their destination based on the pattern of leaves.

  Oh yes, this particular leaf, that looks exactly like every other leaf, tells me we’re headed toward that one tree with the black bark. Ugh.

  Even her previously impeccable sense of direction was useless on the alien planet. Who knew if the sun rose in the west and set in the east or where the poles were located?

  Tor better not be taking me to some kind of naked hazing ritual to welcome the earthling. Knowing his mom, it would include something horrible. Where the hell is Frrar when I need someone to be the voice of reason?

  After another few minutes of travel Tor landed on a small, open-air nest and set her on her feet.

  Glancing around, trying to understand why her guys felt the need to bring her here, she noticed the nest was bare-bones, to say the least.

  The other day, on their way to The Circle, she’d seen the homes of the tribe. They weren’t all constructed the same, but what they all had in common was the feeling of being lived in; that they were homes. There were belongings—tools, baskets, little toy-like objects she assumed were for the children to play with, and food stores.

  Here, there was almost nothing.

  She would have thought Tor and Arruk brought her to an abandoned nest if she hadn’t spotted a small pile of… things.

  Leaving her guys where they were standing, she walked slowly toward the pile, dazzled by the treasures she’d found. Crouching, she gently fingered the small litter of random objects.

  Closest to her was a large, multifaceted rock that looked like an uncut gem of some kind, at least the size of her fist, that caught and reflected the sun’s rays in a rainbow of stunning color. When she lifted it, it was heavier than she expected. Cupping both hands under it, she realized it felt warm in her hands, as if it was emitting its own heat, and she could’ve sworn she felt it vibrate slightly.

  “Wow,” she breathed, bringing it close to her face, twisting it this way and that to see all the colors it reflected.

  Setting it carefully back on the leaves, she eyed what else was in the pile. Next was a small stone knife, made of the same black and gold rock as the one Frrar made her when they’d first met, but this one was almost solid gold. It glittered and shone but still looked durable and sharp as a razor. It was small, an almost perfect match in size to the one tied to her vine strap; much too small for the large hands of the shevari.

  Maybe it’s for carving little things?

  Shrugging slightly, she set it back down. Reaching for what she thought was just a heap of bedding material laid carelessly over the mound, she picked it up and realized the feathery leaves were delicately attached by a length of vine, almost as if they had been sewn. Stretching it out, she saw that it looked like a skirt. The srrk leaves were uniform in length; about ten inches long, and there was an extra length of vine on either side, she assumed to tie it together.

  What the hell? These people don’t wear clothes. I would have noticed if someone was covering their junk instead of letting everything flap around in the breeze.

  Frowning, she set the skirt to the side. Movement caught her eye, and she realized the skirt had been hiding something.

  Tucked near the tree trunk, she assumed so the wind didn’t catch it and take it away, was the bloom of one of the flying flowers from the field where they’d met Drrak.

  It was just as beautiful as she remembered; the large, frilled petals the brightest neon purple she’d ever seen. She watched as the thick red stamen lifted skyward and moved lazily in the air in response to being uncovered.

  It was tucked into the hollowed-out shell of one of the coconut-like fruits. When she lifted it out slightly, intending to hold it, she saw that roots had sprouted from the base of the bloom. The little red tentacle-like feelers were crawling slowly around the inside of the coconut as if looking for something to latch onto.

  Before she could stop it, one stretched out and coiled around her pointer finger. Torn between awe and wariness at the alienness of a flower wrapping its tentacles around her finger, she gently extracted her digit.

  Creepy. Beautiful, but definitely creepy.

  Carefully setting the flower in the shell back against the trunk, she continued searching through the pile. A thud sounded behind her just as she was reaching to pick up a fruit she hadn’t seen before.

  Glancing over her shoulder when the sound was followed by the platform lightly shaking, she saw Drrak standing at the edge, staring at her.

  I f Drrak’s sudden appearance on the nest wasn’t enough to make her heart skip a beat, the expression on his face definitely was.

  He looked almost frozen with… shock? Alarm? She wasn’t sure exactly.

  He didn’t look angry, but the fact that he’d caught her rifling though his things was enough to make her feel extremely uncomfortable.

  Standing quickly, she opened her mouth to apologize… but closed it with a snap when she saw his expression change to one of disconcertment.

  His eyes flicked from her, to the pile, and back again, the skin over his pronounced brow bone wrinkled, as if he was trying to figure out why she’d stopped going through his things.

  Looking back at the pile, as if something in it would explain Drrak’s bizarre behavior, her eyes caught again on both the beautiful, alien flower and the uncut gem. Her fingers twitched, wanting to touch them both. Grams used to call her her little magpie because of her habit of collecting and hoarding pretty things as a child. What her Grams didn’t know was that she’d never gotten past that compulsion, it had just become a private habit as she got older.

  Facing Drrak again, she saw he was looking at her fingers before his eyes lifted to scan her face again. Something about either her grabby hands, or what she was sure was an avaricious expression, seemed to please him because his scarred lips curled just slightly in unmistakable pride and satisfaction.

  What is with this guy? Are his reactions ever going to make any sense?

  Still smiling, he took his stare off of her and closed the distance between him and the collection… which me ant he closed the distance between himself and her as well.

  Oddly, it didn’t occur to Lily to move out of his way. She stood there, vaguely feeling the need to apologize but frozen by unbearable curiosity, wanting to see what the enigmatic male was going to do.

  He came to a halt about six inches from her, standing in front and a bit to the side, too close for human standards of personal space, and still she didn’t move back. She watched, eyes wide with interest, as he lifted one of the pouches tied to his vine and dug through it with what seemed like purposefully casual nonchalance.

  Biting her tongue to hold back the demand he hurry up and show her what treasure he’d found, she stretched up, trying to see inside the small sack.

  Flicking a half-hearted look of censure up at his face when he rumbled deeply in laughter in response to her impatience, she glanced back down at his hand in time to see him pull out another gem.

  “Oooh ,” she breathed, her hand lifting of its own accord to reach out and touch the shiny r
ock .

  He held it aloft for her, letting her reverently pet the surface with her fingertips. It was slightly smaller than the rainbow gem in the pile and a brilliant blue, the uneven surface seeming to almost glow with the vibrance of the color.

  From the corner of her eye, she saw Arruk and Tor move closer until she was surrounded by giant naked aliens, all of them gazing at the beautiful rock Drrak had found.

  Dropping her hand when Tor reached out to touch it, she tilted her head to look up at Drrak, listening as Arruk praised him on such a good find, and Tor oohed and ahhed over it just as she had.

  She opened her mouth, intending to ask him where he’d found it, but his direct stare stole the words from her tongue, leaving her gaping at him.

  I think I forgot how handsome he is… which is stupid because he looks like Arruk and I know he’s sexy as sin.

  After a moment, when she just blinked and didn’t say anything, he spoke.

  “Shh sehr tuuk ?” he growled slowly, speaking each word clearly as he asked if she liked it .

  Lily thought she saw doubt flash in his eyes as he waited for her to respond. Wondering if finding gems was something their people took seriously and that was why he was nervous, she nodded wordlessly, wanting to put him at ease but also being completely honest in her appreciation of his find. At her answer, his smile grew into a grin.

  “Shhk ,” he declared.

  Her mouth dropped open when he announced it was hers, her eyes going impossibly wide.

  Politeness decreed she should decline a gift that would be considered ridiculously extravagant on Earth… but that was not at all what she did. Instead, she squeaked like an overexcited mouse, snatched it from his hand, and brought it to her chest to cradle it like a greedy little leprechaun with a pot of gold.