Had Zar really mated with her because he cared about her or was there another reason?
Just then, Zar and the other Plutonians strode into the room. Simone’s fingers curled into fists. Her nostrils flared and her eyes locked on his.
Zar must have sensed her anger because he mumbled something to Sara’s mate, all while keeping his gaze on her.
“What did he say?” Simone hissed.
“He asked Korben for the translator implant,” Chozo interpreted, his eyes swelling with fright. “He says you both need to talk.”
Twenty-Four
Zar
Si-Moon bore the pain of the translator implant all while glaring at him. Lans, who administered the procedure, gave them both wary glances as he lifted his hands and stepped away.
“I have never seen a female take the pain without screaming,” Lans whispered to Tiegan.
Tiegan grunted in response.
Zar could have told Lans that his Si-Moon would not scream. The female was strong. She had not hesitated when they were locked in the Heronas dungeons. When the Rulari surrounded them, she did not hide. She burst out of the rock with her sword, intent on dropping bodies.
Neh.
His Si-Moon was no regular female.
She was set apart. Special. Perfectly suited for him.
And she was also furious.
Zar could see her frustration. Her dark brown eyes were narrowed to slits and she gritted her teeth, causing her jaw to clench with the movement. Brown fingers tightened on the arms of the chair and she ducked her chin, keeping her gaze low and fierce.
Zar wanted to scoop her into his arms and kiss that expression right off her face. He would lift her tunic, explore her heat and change that scowl into a moan of ecstasy.
If she would let him.
But right now, he sensed that not even his invasion would be able to curb her fire. Whatever he had done wrong, Zar knew that Si-Moon would make him pay for it. Without fail.
“You can get up now,” Sah-ah said, cooing softly to Si-Moon.
Korben’s mate seemed like a mother hen to the other females, despite the fact that she seemed to have lived around the same number of sun cycles as Si-Moon.
Si-Moon got up slowly and winced. Zar rushed to help her. Even if she was mad at him, he could not stand idly by while his mate suffered.
“Si-Moon, are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” she snapped.
Zar blinked, taken aback by her words and the startling heat inside them.
“What’s wrong? Is it still hurting?” Sah-ah frowned. “The pain usually goes away immediately.”
“I’m… it’s nothing. I’m just feeling dirty and drained. Is there any where I could clean up?”
“Of course.” Sah-ah hooked her arm in Si-Moon’s as if she would escort her there.
Zar stepped into their path.
Sah-ah let out a dainty little laugh. “Oh, right. Sorry. I’m sure you two have a lot to discuss.”
“No, we don’t,” Si-Moon growled.
Sah-ah flinched. “How about this? You can take her to the bathroom, Zar. Clean clothes are in a bag to the left. Ga Eun also gave me some shampoos and,” she touched one of the springy coils that sprouted from her head, “I think you’ll enjoy it.”
Korben met his eyes. “We will inspect the video while you are gone, Zar.” He glanced at Si-Moon and then stepped closer to him. “I understand that you and your mate have much to discuss, but we have a war on our hands. If you can make it quick, I would appreciate it.”
Zar dipped his chin.
Korben did the same.
When Zar turned, he saw that his mate was already stomping ahead of him. His long-legged strides ate up the distance between them and he caught her hand. “What is the matter, my heras?”
“Don’t call me that,” she fumed.
Zar’s eyes narrowed. “It is what you are.”
“No. What I am is nothing but a bargaining chip.”
He gritted his teeth. So Si-Moon had found out Korben’s true intentions with the humans?
Denizi.
“Si-Moon, this is our first time speaking. Must we fight?”
“I’m not fighting.” She strode into the wash and whirled on him. “Close the door.”
“If we are not fighting, then why must I close the door?” Zar asked.
“Because I’m about to a shower, your majesty. Unless you’d like it if I flashed your alien friends.”
Zar scowled immediately. Si-Moon’s soft curves and private places were his and his alone. He did not want to share.
With one flick of his wrists, Zar locked the door. His gaze slid up her body and lingered on her lips. His female had no right to look so lovely when upset. Si-Moon’s skin glowed in dark, golden hues. Deep eyes, glittering with anger, stood out against thick black lashes. Her slender, delicate fingers were balled into fists.
Si-Moon narrowed her eyes. “Don’t even think about touching me.”
“I was on mission.” Zar tried to explain calmly. “Clavas and the Healer’s life were in the balance, but handing you back to the Heronas was inconceivable so I—”
“So you what, Zar?” She stepped closer, looking as lethal as a lizera and as beautiful as a seren.
His heras thumped rapidly in his chest.
This is a trap.
“So you kissed me in the cave.”
“Si-Moon.”
“You threw me against the wall.”
“Neh.”
Her nostrils flared as she stepped even closer. “You mated me. You did it just so you didn’t have to hand me over to the Heronas. Just so you could give Korben a reason not to send me.”
“Yes, yes, I did.”
That decision had nearly cost him everything. Korben, Lans, Pin and Tiegan had already launched a rescue mission and reunited with Clavas by then, but Zar had not known that. The moment he chose Si-Moon, he had chosen to become a lone Plutonian again. He had decided to turn his back on his tribas for her.
Only her.
And now she resented him for it?
Si-Moon scoffed and folded her arms over her chest.
“Why does this anger you?” Zar stepped closer to her. His voice was low and as sharp as a whip. “I spared your life. I risked everything to mate you.”
“I didn’t ask.”
His eyes widened. “Female!”
“What? What do you want me to say, Zar? You weren’t honest! You deceived me.”
“I could not speak your language!” Irritation sharpened his words. Zar had never before lifted his voice at a female, but Si-Moon was driving him to the very edge of his patience. “How could I have explained such a complex topic to you?”
He lifted a hand to run it through his hair, but Si-Moon flinched. “What? Are you going to hit me?”
“Hit you? Si-Moon… what are you speaking of?”
“Are you going to hit me?” She bumped him with her chest. “Hit me!” Her voice climbed to a feverish pitch. “Go ahead and hit me! Prove to me just how you behave when you’re angry. Let me see it now so I can run away from you. So my heart can…” She choked as tears spilled from her eyes.
Zar was about to explode from frustration. Why was his mate acting in such a crazed fashion? What was wrong with her?
“Si-moon…”
She shook her head, turning away from him.
From a young age, Plutonians were taught the language of the female. What a female said from her mouth was only a cover for what she truly felt from her heart.
Instead of getting caught up in Si-Moon’s rage, Zar quieted himself and tried to interpret what she was saying from her heart.
Are you going to hit me?
Why would her first conclusion be that he would abuse her unless…
His eyes burst open and he stared down at her. Grabbing her hand, he held it tenderly and whispered, “Tell me.”
She glared at him. “What are you talking about?”
“Tell me who h
it you.” His voice trembled with barely restrained rage. “And I will end them.”
Si-Moon went completely still. Her bottom lip warbled, and her body deflated as if the life had drained out of her. Stumbling forward, she fell into his arms and began to sob.
Twenty-Five
Simone
She hadn’t cried in years. Not like this. Not with the sobs that wrenched out of her chest and the tears that nearly drowned her.
Simone didn’t allow herself the luxury of crying. No one pitied her and so she would not pity herself. But here, on this alien planet, with a beast who had tattoos, blue skin and a tail, she was just letting it flow.
Tell me who hit you.
How many times as a child had she longed for someone to ask her that? How many times had she stood, battered and bruised, in the bathroom, praying that a handsome prince would come storming through the door and save her?
But the prince never came.
It was always the evil giant. Always the heavy hand. Always pain and suffering.
Simone had no idea why she’d gotten so mad at Zar earlier.
No, wait.
She did.
Deep down, she was afraid. She cared about this alien too much. She cared to the point of blindness. Realizing how connected she was to him made her want to push him away. Made her want to test him to see if he would unleash that temper on her.
She wanted to know if she’d mated a man like her father.
The last thing Simone had expected was for a brute of an alien like Zar to see right through her. She’d wanted him to get angry. She’d wanted him to yell at her. Maybe even hit her.
So she could know.
She could know if she would be a whimpering fool like her younger self. Or if she would have the courage to fight.
You’re weak. You can never fight.
Simone closed her eyes to quiet that voice. That weakness was why she never allowed any man to get close to her. Simone was afraid that, one day, the guy she loved would hit her… and she would stay.
“Si-Moon,” Zar tenderly rubbed her back, “you do not have to speak of it now.”
She nodded.
Zar pushed her back a little and stared at her. His purple eyes were so intense that she felt his gaze caress her soul. A shudder worked its way over her body, and she wondered if he would mate with her again.
But he didn’t.
He simply held her. An alien so fierce shouldn’t be capable of an emotion that was so tender. And yet, as Zar’s fingers took her wrist and slipped her right arm out of her tunic, she saw the tenderness increase until it swept through her mind.
Zar slipped her other arm out of her tunic. Gently, almost like she was a baby, Zar pulled her tunic over her head. She stood naked in the bathroom, staring at him. The warmth of his body encompassed her and made tingles slide up her spine.
He would take her now.
Surely.
But he didn’t.
Zar led her to the shower stall and pressed a button. A strange puff of air blew from the nozzle. It wasn’t water and yet the air felt heavy as it landed on her skin.
Zar took one of Sara’s shampoos and handed it to her.
She accepted it. “You want me to…”
“Tell me how to use it.”
“What?” She stared at him in shock.
“What do you use this concoction for?”
“Um,” Simone chewed on her bottom lip, “I think it’s for your hair.”
He took the bottle back from her and started to pour a dollop in his hand.
Simone grabbed his wrist and stopped him. “I need to take my hair out of these cornrows so I can wash it.”
Strangely, the air-mist of the alien shower made her feel clean and fresh. She wanted the same thing for her hair. Anything to run from these powerful feelings Zar was stirring in her.
He nodded, staying back.
Simone almost wished he’d just throw her against the bathroom wall and fill her until she screamed. At least then, she could focus on the pleasure pumping through her veins and the burn of his beautiful body stretching hers.
Instead, he was treating her like a princess. She didn’t know what to do with herself as Zar gently scrubbed her skin and hair with Sara’s sweet-smelling wash.
After another puff of the cleansing shower, Zar led her out of the stall to a chair in the corner of the bathroom. He sat on top of it and set a cushion on the ground. “Sit.”
“Why?”
Zar just leveled her another dark look.
Simone gulped and sat between his legs. Again, the moment was so intimate. She was naked and wet, ready for more sexy encounters with the alien. And yet he was showing so much restraint. What was he trying to say to her? What was he trying to do to her?
“Zar…” She saw his excitement growing in his pants, but he did nothing to act upon it.
Simone wondered if she should crawl around and start something. If she told him to take off his pants and showed him just how skilled she was with her mouth, would that satisfy her? Would that fill up the hole in her chest that his tenderness had exposed like an open wound?
Simone climbed to her knees and leaned forward.
Zar stared at her. “Try to seduce me, my heras, and I will be distracted.”
“Distracted from what?” she asked, scrambling to hold on to her desire so she didn’t have to face these strong feelings. Licking her lips, she kept staring at his pants. “Take them off.”
Zar tilted her chin up and she saw that his pupils had dilated, overshadowing the purple of his eyes with black. He was struggling against the temptation, but he wanted her.
“Why are you fighting it?” she whispered.
“Because I can take your body any time.” He gently scraped his thumb over her bottom lip. “But right now, Si-Moon, I want your heras.”
She swallowed hard. “Zar.”
“Give me the parts of you that are broken and shattered.” He pulled his hand away. “Let me care for them, heal them and protect them.” His voice dropped lower. “Let me show you how much I value you, my mate.”
Simone turned quickly away before Zar could see the tears welling in her eyes again. Damn it. She wasn’t some pansy cry-baby. What on earth was wrong with her?
Digging her fingers into fists, Simone peeled away the layers of her soul until her heart was as exposed as her body.
“My mother remarried when I was young and the man I grew up with was the only ‘father’ I knew.” She shuddered. “But when my mother died, he started drinking a lot and he would come home sometimes… and he would hit me. For one dirty plate in the sink. For bad grades. For ‘having attitude’.”
Zar growled. “Is this despicable human male still alive?”
“No,” Simone whispered. “No, he’s not.”
“What happened?” Zar asked. She could feel his gaze heavy on her shoulders. Could feel his fingers pause in her hair.
Simone sucked in a deep breath. Memories flashed through her mind, tumbling one after the other. Her fingers shaking on the trigger. The weight of the cold steel in her palm. The creak of the front door as it opened. The thump of heavy, booted feet that marched closer. She remembered the buck of the weapon. The cries of pain. The blood that splattered all over the floor and kitchen table.
Unlocking these memories from the vault where she kept them was costing her. It was more than she had prepared to pay.
“Si-Moon,” Zar said gently. Urgently.
She blew a shaky breath through her mouth.
Coward.
Simone saw her younger self standing in that kitchen, afraid and alone, trying to be brave despite the fear that crippled her.
“Si-Moon,” Zar called again, his voice sounding panicked and far away.
Simone let the words burst free for the first time in her life. “I shot him.”
Twenty-Six
Zar
Si-Moon’s eyes had become distant and lonely. He struggled to reach her there. Strug
gled to tether her so she did not delve into that place of pain and bitterness alone.
Zar had not meant to push her right back into the arms of her darkness. His intentions were to bring light. To bring warmth. To give to her all the beautiful, sacred things she had given to him.
Si-Moon doubted his intentions toward her. She thought he had only mated her to save her from the fate Korben and the others had planned.
This was true.
He had not wanted this beautiful human to fall into the Heronas’s hands. From the moment he met her, Zar’s heras had opened up and taken her in. She had become someone he could not live without.
So how could she, for one moment, believe that he did not care for her? How could she doubt him?
Neh. Even if she knelt on the ground with eyes that begged to suckle and please him, Zar would hold his peace. Because he understood her language. Because he saw her heart. Because his fingers plunging in and out of her heat was not what his mate needed right now.
Zar wrapped his arms around Si-Moon. She was stiff in his embrace, and he held on even tighter until she responded. Her hands grazed his back and her head buried in his shoulder.
Zar wished he could do more for her. He sensed Si-Moon’s chaos and upheaval. He could do nothing but hold her, center her, until she could find her footing.
“I shot him in the leg,” she said quietly. “I didn’t have the courage to shoot him in the heart. It was what I planned. What I’d trained myself for. I spent hours at the arcade, playing that one gunfight game, practicing. I was supposed to kill him. But I didn’t. I didn’t have the guts.”
He soothed her back. “My heras, you only protected yourself.”
“No.” There was so much anger in her voice that his spine dagger itched to unleash, triggered by his mate’s agony. “No, it wasn’t about protection. I wanted him to bleed. I wanted my hand to be the one that ended him.”
She pulled back. Light bounced over her dark brown skin and in her beautiful eyes. Those eyes were the bottomless abyss in which Zar drowned.
“I understand that rage, Zar. And I see it amplified in you. That’s what scares me. Because shooting my father that day didn’t solve anything. He stopped hitting me, but I was always angry and afraid. I was so empty.” She touched his chest. “And the anger inside you, it crowds me. It reminds me of that pain.”
The Alien Warrior's Heart : A Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Plutonian Warriors Book 3) Page 12