“They were mated for eighty years, a long time in those days, before our medical advances. He was a gardener, growing plants for use in our medicines. She was a soldier. At the time, Clecania was at war with the Tagion species. During a particularly brutal battle, she was injured and had to be hospitalized. He saw her while delivering plants and recognized her as a potential mate. She recognized him as well but didn’t want to abandon her fellow soldiers, so she refused to be near him, knowing if she was, her mating marks would appear, and she’d never want to leave.”
“You can choose like that?” Alice asked, enthralled.
Luka shrugged. “It’s been known to happen. Mating is an instinct, but we still are who we are. We still have goals and ambitions.”
“What happened next?”
“She returned to the front lines. He stayed in Sauven, another city near here. He couldn’t communicate with her often, but he’d sneak into her home to feel close to her. Every time he did, he’d bring a flower or plant.” The corner of his mouth lifted in a small smile. “She said when she finally returned home, she felt like she’d walked into a forest.”
Alice’s chest swelled and her throat grew tight. Luka had given her plants every day too. She took a few calming breaths, and something he’d said jumped out at her. “She said it was like a forest? Was this paper written by her?” Alice reached out to gently graze the yellowed page with her hand.
He gave her a lopsided smile then pointed to the man in the picture. “His name was Atheon.” His finger moved to the woman. “And her name was Illukia.” Raising his eyebrows at Alice, he added, “I was named after her.”
Alice gasped, glancing from Luka to the picture. “Those are your ancestors?”
“My grandparents. I never met them, but my father told us endless stories about them when we were children.” He grinned back toward the picture.
Out of all the pictures on the wall, how had she found the one connected to him? Unsettled, Alice asked, “What happened to them?”
He exhaled slowly. “They were happy and mated for eighty years, but then the plague swept through. Like many females, she was taken.”
Her head snapped back toward the elated, loving gaze of Luka’s grandfather. Tears sprang to Alice’s eyes. How devastated must he have been?
Luka glanced toward her, then did a double-take. He grabbed her gently by the shoulders, twisting her body to face him.
Along with all of her other weaknesses, Alice was also a crier. Movies, shows, Hallmark cards. Give her a sappy commercial, and watch her start to well up. She kept her head turned, eyes focused on the picture, not wanting Luka to see how silly she was being.
Turning her face toward him with a soft hand on her cheek, he gazed down at her, worry in his expression. “They spent a happy lifetime together. That’s more than any Clecanian alive today can say.”
She nodded, tears running down her cheeks. “That’s really sw—sweet,” she said, her voice breaking.
Luka grinned down at her again, the corner of his eyes crinkling, then pulled her into a hug. “You feel everything so deeply, don’t you? That’s wonderful.”
Alice stood stiffly for a moment, emotion still clogging her throat. When he tucked her head under his chin and began petting her hair, she relaxed, pressing her cheek into his chest. A low purr emanated from him, soothing her frayed nerves.
She hadn’t prepared for this caring, sweet side of Luka, and she didn’t quite know how to handle her feelings. He hadn’t laughed or mocked her show of emotion, and he hadn’t clammed up or become uncomfortable, either. He acted exactly the way she wished people would act with her, and that scared the ever-loving shit out of her.
Pulling away, she wiped at her eyes. With a deep inhale, she glanced up at him, trying to be stern. “We need to talk about some things.”
“Okay.” He absently ran his hands up and down her arms, and she regretted that she’d need to put an end to the affectionate gesture.
“If you want to keep seeing me, you’re going to have to follow some rules. I want to get to know you, and you’re making that very difficult for me.” When he made to argue, she held up a finger, quelling him. “One, no more touching me.” She glanced pointedly at his hands.
The motion of his hands stopped on her shoulders, and his contented smile morphed into a frown. She felt his fingers briefly squeeze before he removed his hands, as though he’d had an internal battle to do as she’d asked and almost lost.
Emboldened, she continued, “And two, no more watching me. I mean it. No more.”
His brows drew together and he clenched his fists at his sides, but said nothing.
Her gaze hopped around the room nervously while she waited for his response.
Finally, he stepped back, crossing his arms over his chest. “I can’t do both,” he said simply.
“What?”
“No touching and no watching? I can’t do both.” He shook his head. “It’s an instinct, and what you may not understand is that it’s painful to ignore.” He gestured toward his grandparent’s photo again. “That’s why she didn’t allow their mating to go further before leaving. After the marks appear, it physically aches to be away from you. The feeling lessens when I’m near you and when I’m touching you. So…I can manage one of your requests but not both.”
Alice stood with her mouth hanging slightly open. She hadn’t expected a negotiation. Realistically, she’d expected him to ignore her rules entirely and do whatever he wanted. That’s what she was used to from other men, but Vanessa was right—he was different and this situation was different. Her brows drew together. She didn’t want to cause him pain.
What did she care more about? His watching had been unsettling at first but now oddly made her feel safe. Touching her was dangerous, though. He knew exactly how to make her resolve weaken, and she couldn’t have that. Maybe there was a third option.
“Okay,” she said slowly. “You can’t watch me from the woods, but you can come visit me once a week, and you can touch me, but only in the places I say are okay. Everything else is a red zone.”
He raised his brows expectantly, waiting for her to continue.
“You can touch my arms and hands.”
“And your back and face. Also, I want to visit you every other day,” he argued.
Face equals lips. One kiss, and she’d be begging him to touch her everywhere. Can’t have that, she thought quickly.
“Just my back. No face. Every three days. Final offer.”
“Fine,” he grunted.
Instinctively, she stretched out her hand, then recalled Clecanians didn’t shake hands.
Before she could lower it again, Luka snatched it, gently massaging it in his hands. Stepping closer to her, voice as smooth as silk, he said, “You are more than welcome to touch me anywhere you want.” Bringing her upturned hand to his mouth, he slowly kissed her wrist, her pulse jumping at his touch.
Her sex clenched. I’ve made a terrible mistake.
Chapter 17
What had she gotten herself into? Shortly after their negotiation, Luka had announced that if she wanted to go to the reserve before dark, they’d need to leave soon.
He’d been touching her arms and hands nonstop since then.
Arms and hands. That’s a safe bet. How sexual could holding hands be? Idiot. When it came to Luka, Alice apparently felt every brush of his hand was sexual.
They rode in silence for a while. Luka seemed lost in thought, and Alice was clenching her entire body, forcing herself not to lean into his touch.
Her hand rested, upturned, on his thigh, almost close enough to his shaft to make her pull away. He gently traced the lines of her palm and the soft padding of her fingers. His other hand circled her wrist firmly. The combination of the soft, gentle caresses and the possessive, tight grip was driving her crazy.
She knew he could smell her arousal. He’d been able to identify it through the thick underwear she’d worn before; now that she was without,
she could only imagine how easily he understood what he was doing to her. It felt like manipulation, and having been manipulated so often in the past, Alice loathed it.
When he brought her hand up to his mouth for yet another torturous kiss, she pulled away. His hold on her wrist tightened and he studied her. “You said I could touch your hand.”
Tugging again, she snapped, “Yes, but I didn’t say you could attach yourself permanently to it. You’re rubbing it too much. The skin is getting raw.”
Releasing her, he chuckled. “Why do you lie when you know I can scent how you’re really feeling?”
Heat bloomed on her cheeks, and she petulantly crossed her arms, angling away from him. “Why do you keep trying to turn me on when you know I don’t want you to?”
“I’m assuming you aren’t presenting your back because you’d like me to rub your shoulders, but I think it’d help you relax.”
A backrub sounded wonderful. Just a small one wouldn’t hu— No. Bad Alice! She crossed to the cruiser bench opposite and sat facing Luka, out of reach.
He leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees, and studied her again as though calculating what his next move should be. Finally, he said, “Come back, Alice. I won’t touch you anymore.”
A small smile tugged at her lips and washed away her annoyance. She felt a familiar warmth spread through her, making her chest tighten. “You used to say that to me, you know. At the outpost.” She imitated his deep baritone and repeated, “Come back, Alice.”
Luka raised his brows. “Did you listen then?” he asked with a teasing smile.
Despite herself, she chuckled, but then her smile faded and she tried to really look at him, past the charm he was trying to wear like a mask. “Do you honestly not remember anything?”
He glanced away and hiked his shoulders. “I remember a little. More and more every day.”
“I’m sorry for what he did to you,” she whispered.
“I’m not,” Luka said seriously. His eyes rose to meet hers again. “If he hadn’t, you would’ve been put in a cell like the others and may have never escaped. Because you did, we have a lead on finding the other outposts, and I found you.” He peered at her with brows drawn. “I don’t know if you can understand the lengths a Clecanian would go to, to recognize their mate. I’d do it again if I had to.”
Alice didn’t know what to say, so she just held his stare, seeing the truth of his words reflected in his eyes.
The intense silence was broken when the cruiser gently lurched, alerting them they’d arrived. Luka hunched and retrieved a large bag from the ground. While his back was turned, Alice took a few calming breaths and tried to slow her hammering heart.
He’d do it again? For me?
The hiss of the vehicle door sliding open preceded a rush of warm air. Inhaling, she picked up a familiar scent. Not quite pine, but…it smelled like Luka. How often does he come here?
When she emerged from the cruiser, a sprawling forest greeted her. As she looked closer, she found that “forest” wasn’t quite right. Luka hefted his large bag, wrapped his hand around hers, and guided her into the tree line.
The foliage here was a verdant green. Not as cool and deep as a typical forest. More vibrant and rich, like she imagined a jungle would be. The ground was covered in large fallen leaves and neon-green moss. Her eyes wide, she tried to take in every detail as Luka pulled her along.
The setting was familiar yet eerily different. The texture of the tree trunks was similar to the trees on Earth, but the color varied from trunk to trunk. While many were the typical hues of brown found on most trees, others were assorted shades of teal swirled with light brown. She also spotted a few farther into the forest that had shades of pink, yellow, and blue.
Animals and insects remained hidden in the dense foliage, but their calls echoed around her in an otherworldly chorus. Calls she would’ve normally associated with an amphibian were loud. Much too loud. Birdsong rang out from all around her, and when she raised her eyes, she could see bright flashes of color racing across the treetops.
The damp, heavy scent of the forest lessened slightly, and she lowered her gaze to find they were approaching a wide, glittering stream.
Releasing her hand, Luka crossed to an enormous ancient tree at least a hundred feet tall. Its gnarled roots weaved in and out of the ground, creating dark holes for all manner of creatures to hide.
Without warning, he reached into one of those black pits. Alice covered her mouth, her skin crawling to think what might be lurking in there. He shot her a lopsided grin over his shoulder. “Scared for me?”
Alice pursed her lips and lowered her hands. “The fear you’re smelling is from possibly witnessing a grown man get his hand bitten off because he was dumb enough to reach into a random hole in the woods.”
He gave a chuckle and continued rooting around in the depths of the tree. A small squeak sounded before he withdrew his hand, now holding a small furry animal.
“What are you doing! Put it back,” she cried, running over. What was he thinking, tearing an animal out of its home like that?
He sat on the ground, placing the small creature on his lap. To Alice’s surprise, it didn’t try to bolt as soon as he let it go. “Calm down, female. This guarsil needs medication.”
“What?” she said softly, kneeling down to study the creature.
The guarsil, as he called it, was the size and color of a pomegranate, its round body covered with dark red, wiry hair. As Luka reached into his bag and retrieved a small green tablet, the guarsil snuggled into his lap, trying to burrow between his legs.
“Its mother left recently, but he hasn’t moved out of the nest like his brothers and sisters. A few days ago, when I checked on him, I noticed he had a bit of a cold.”
“A cold? You’re treating him for a cold?”
He held the green pellet out to the animal, and Alice watched as long arms she’d thought were cute little hands shot out from its round center to snatch the tablet. “Guarsils are pack animals, and they’re endangered. I know where his nestmates have moved to, but if he doesn’t get better soon, I won’t be able to return him to their pack. A cold won’t kill him, but being alone when he gets better will.”
Alice watched as the tiny animal nibbled the edges of the green object. Its small, sharp teeth attacked it the way a human would corn on the cob. “It’s kind of cute.” She smiled.
Luka gave a humorless laugh. “Cute now, but in about two months when it reaches maturity, it’ll be vicious. Their small size is deceptive. Animals will come by sniffling around a waiting guarsil, thinking it’s a fallen wanget fruit. When they get close enough, all the pack members attack. They’ve brought down animals a hundred times their size.”
Like some kind of terrifying out-of-water piranha. Alice leaned away from the creature and glanced around.
“Don’t worry. I won’t let anything get you,” Luka said, smirking up at her under dark brows.
The retort that bubbled up evaporated on her tongue. He would protect her. She felt it. No man from her past had ever made her feel quite as safe as Luka did.
Unaware of her open regard toward him, he dropped the squirming guarsil back into the roots of the tree.
“Why are you trying to help it?” Alice asked, recalling that healing animals was her passion, not his.
He shrugged. “Because I’m here all the time and I can.”
She held his stare. Would all Clecanian men go out of their way to help an unlikeable, vicious animal? She thought not.
“How often do you come here?”
“Before you?” he began, peering at her meaningfully. “Every day or every other day. As often as I can. Sometimes other researchers schedule work, which means I’m not able to visit.”
Ignoring his first comment, she asked, “What kind of research are you doing out here? I thought your field was Clecanian reproduction?”
He surveyed the area with a lopsided grin. “I study the mating habits of dif
ferent animals to see whether there are any noticeable patterns in their rate of reproduction and their mating practices. Do their bodies produce more of a certain chemical while in heat that could be harnessed and used in Clecanians? Does the time of year or their diet result in more or less births? That type of thing. Mostly I just come and watch. I don’t know exactly what I’m looking for, but the interesting ways in which they couple helps me brainstorm.”
“What kinds of interesting ways do they couple?” she asked curiously. Some creatures on Earth were known to mate in odd ways. Would they be similar here?
“Well…” He pointed to the water. “There are certain types of suu who are hermaphroditic. When they choose to mate, they’ll attempt to stab each other with their reproductive organs and inject the other with their seed. They sometimes die from the wounds sustained.”
“I think that’s very similar to slugs on Earth.” She laughed, recalling the first animal science class she’d taken after a year of uninteresting general ed courses. “I don’t know how slug mating habits could help your research, though.”
With another slanted smile, he hiked his shoulders. “If you look hard enough, you can always find similarities that could lead to some useful piece of information. Hermaphrodites are rare among Clecanians, but battles for dominance aren’t unheard of. The Rotun in the East wrestle to decide who their spouses will be. Whoever wins becomes the lead of the marriage and makes the majority of decisions with input from their partner.”
She eyed his large frame, glad she hadn’t been taken to a Rotun city. There’d be no question about who’d win in a wrestling match between her and Luka. “Seems like the men would have an unfair advantage.”
He hissed a laugh through his teeth. “You haven’t seen a Rotun female. They may not be as big, but they’re strong and are trained to be excellent wrestlers.” Squinting into the sky, he said, “Let’s go. I thought we could take a walk and see what we can see. I’ll tell you what I can about the animals if we spot any.”
Freeing Luka: The Clecanian Series Book 2 Page 19