by Pixie Moon
Heat fires across my cheeks. I must look like a starving animal. Girl, you are a starving animal, my logical side ruthlessly points out. Since the bitch is right, my proud side doesn’t say anything.
I swallow the food and give him a small smile. “Sorry about that.” I look down at the counter in front of him and frown when I don’t see a plate. “Aren’t you going to eat?”
“I ate earlier. Zaphinians only eat one meal a day.” He motions toward my plate. “Go on, keep eating. I know humans need to eat four to five times a day to be healthy.”
That’s right, he’s bought humans before. I look around the room half expecting five human females to appear. My gaze swings back to his. It’s harder this time. That’s not good.
He points a finger at my plate. “Eat.”
I frown at him and he growls at me. “Okay.” I pick up another slice of food and slowly put it into my mouth. Just because I’m hungry doesn’t mean I have to eat like a wild animal. After I finish the red food, he points at the muffin.
I break it in half and then sniff it. The muffin smells good, so I take a bite. A fruity taste floods my mouth. I chew it quickly and take another bite. Shit! I’m acting like a starving animal again. With more care, I take my next bite. This time I act as normal as I can. My stomach is starting to become happy. I eat the last bite and look up.
His teal and silver eyes shine with approval which makes my heart beat faster. The way I react to Din Zar is a little overwhelming. Maybe it’s because he’s an alien, my logical side says. I agree with her for a moment, then I remember not caring what the other aliens thought of me. Maybe it’s because he’s hot, my logical side adds. I have to admit that could be part of it. Him being nice to me doesn’t hurt either, it actually makes me respect him a little.
He puts another muffin on my plate and then gets two glasses and fills them with some kind of purple liquid he got from the cabinet. He sets a glass down near my plate and then drinks from his own glass.
A shrill sound comes from a band around his wrist. He pushes a button and starts talking to someone. As he steps away, I take a peek at his ass. Yep, it’s just as taut and powerful as I thought it would be. These beings are tall but well proportioned. I appreciate that as I stare at his butt.
He speaks so low that a can only make out a word or two. I don’t mind. For the first time in my life, I’m enjoying the view of a male’s firm body.
He suddenly turns around. Shit! My gaze darts to his. A knowing look gleams in his pretty eyes. Relief floods through me when he doesn’t say anything about catching me staring at him like he’s a birthday cake.
“I need to go to the club for just a few minutes. I’ll show you to your room and then you can come back in here and finish your snack.” He takes hold of my hand, watches me slide off the stool, and then leads me down a long corridor and into a room.
He flashes me a fanged smile. “You’re safe here, seema. When I come back we’ll talk. For now, I just want you to rest.”
My heart starts to beat faster as I watch him pivot on his heel and head for the door. As I stare after him, it dawns on me that I may not be the only person in the house. A shiver runs through me as I worry about what the person will think of me. How that person will react to me being here. Is the person kind or mean? Is it territorial?
I head out of the room to catch Din Zar. Before I make it to the living room, I hear the vehicle start up and drive away. Damn fast assed alien. I cautiously look around for anyone else who is in the house.
“Hello,” I call out. I stand still as I wait for an answer. When nobody responds, the breath I’ve been holding whooshes from my lungs. Maybe the others he’s brought here are away working or gathering food.
Needing to make sure I’m alone, I start walking around and peeking into all of the rooms. The first three rooms are bedrooms like the one he led me to. The next door I open reveals a bathroom. The huge tub has my jaw dropping, until I remember how tall zaphinians are, that is. For them this is a necessary size. The shower is pretty with patterned stone walls and the largest showerhead I’ve ever seen. Not that I’ve seen a lot of them but this one is four time the size of the largest one I have seen.
At least I now know where to go when the need to pee comes on. I cautiously move to the next room. It’s the one across from mine. I open the door and stare in stunned silence.
The bed looks like its fit for a king. The mattress is deep and the frame is massive and carved from wood. All of the furniture in here is magnificent. I take a deep breath and smell him. Unable to stop myself, I take a few more deep breaths. His scent calms me. The masculine aroma even feels good as it enters my lungs.
My gaze darts around the room again, there are two other doors in here. One opens into a closet. Like everything else in the room, it’s huge. I back out and go to the other door. This one leads to another bathroom. Since it’s in the master bedroom it’s even more opulent than the other one. The stonework in here is more detailed and absolutely beautiful. A few of the stones have been stained blue. They make the design pop. I touch the smooth stone countertop and shiver at the cool texture. So beautiful yet so cold. I hope Pretty Eyes doesn’t turn out to be like this stone.
Knowing I should move on, I leave his room. I’m surprised when a pang of sorrow pinches my heart. Get a grip, Hallie Mead. You probably don’t mean anything to him, my ugly logical side states. Painfully, I remember that he didn’t introduce me to his friends.
“Don’t get attached to him,” I whisper. My heart doesn’t like my words at all.
I remember his words on the platform from hell and my heart sinks. He bought me to be his sex-servant who also cleans his house and does who knows what else. There is no way he can care about me. A picture of him looking at me with kindness flashes to the forefront of my mind. Maybe it won’t be bad working for him.
The next room down turns out to be an office. Moving on, I check out the last room. The only furniture in the room is a carved wooden chest of drawers. I step inside, the floor has some type of cushioning on it. The room also smells interesting, in a good way. I wonder what he does in here.
Going back to the kitchen, I take a sip of the purple drink he poured me. It tastes good. I like the zing it has. A noise from somewhere in the house has me jumping and looking around. With all of these windows anyone could be watching me. My heart nearly leaps from my chest when a hissing sound comes from somewhere behind me.
Not waiting to be eaten up by a monster, I grab my muffin and slip it deep inside the sleeve of my bodysuit. The spooky sound has me running to the front door. I’d rather take my chances in the jungle than in here.
I look over my shoulder as I try to open it. I just know some big beast is about to come from the bowels of the house. When the door doesn’t budge, I frantically look at it. I press harder on the handle. Fuck! It won’t open. With my nerves screaming, I run to the backdoor and try it. Fuck! The son of a bitch won’t open.
That scary hissing sound floods my ears again. I freak and run down the hall and into one of the spare bedrooms. I faintly hear the hissing sound again. With my heart desperately trying to pound its way out of my ribcage, I run to the closet and leap inside.
I close the door and then pull a blanket over me. My hands are shaking like crazy and my heart is still using my ribcage as a punching bag. I make myself as small as I can and try to stop the quaking of my body. I close my eyes and focus. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
“Hide to stay alive,” I whisper in a tone so low I can’t hear it. I don’t need to hear the words, just lightly breathing them is enough for me.
CHAPTER
13
~ Zar ~
♥
The second I enter my home the foul scent of fear hits my vents and floods my lungs.
I automatically go on high alert. Scanning the room, I don’t see anything disturbed. The scent of fear is overpowering. I start walking through my home, my gaze sweeps th
e place. Nothing is amiss. I see my little seema’s cup on the counter. It’s standing tall. Not a drop has been spilled to indicate a struggle has happened.
What on Zaphin could have scared her so badly? I continue to look around as I follow the scent of fear. Nothing. No sign of any problems or threats. I stop for a second outside of her room and sniff. She’s not in her room. I take a deep breath and follow the trail.
The stench of fear is strong outside the guest bedroom. The door is cracked open. If I couldn’t smell her that would have given her away right there. She’s definitely not a stealthy warrior. I smile knowing if she had been she wouldn’t be here. I like her just the way she is.
What I don’t like is the scent of fear coming from her. I follow the offensive smell to the closet. Not knowing how she’ll react, I carefully open the door and look inside. I see her bundled on the floor with a blanket over her head. Aww, a touch of sympathy for her pinches my heart.
I’m about to step into the closet when I barely hear. “Hide to stay alive.” Her words turn that pinch into a painful ache. I shouldn’t be so attached to her but I am. I’ll worry about my feelings for my seema later. Right now I have to calm her.
Not wanting to arouse anymore fear in her, I quietly say, “Calm yourself, seema. You are not in danger.”
In a surprising move, she whips off the blanket and looks up at me and then at the open door. Faster than I would guess she could move, she leaps up and rushes to me. Alarm spikes my blood and puts me back in high alert mode. Is she planning on running away or attacking me? Whichever the case, I’ll handle it. No little thing like her is going to best me.
With trembling hands, she looks passed me and tries to tug me into the closet. Not wanting her to strain any muscles, I step fully into the closet. I watch fascinated as she quietly closes the door and then turns huge dark brown eyes on me.
Her gaze darts to the closed door and then back up at me. The scent of relief coming from her fills my lungs. I’m glad she’s already starting to trust me. To my utter surprise, she lunges forward and wraps her delicate arms around my waist. I immediately hug her and start caressing her back to stop her body from trembling.
The smell coming from her changes from relief to concern. “I’m so glad you’re okay. I was afraid the monster was going to get you. I tried to go outside but the doors were stuck. What are we going to do?”
Confusion has my brows drawing together and then worry hits me. I pull back and look her over. I don’t see any blood. If there had been any I would have smelled it when I walked into the house. I shouldn’t have even looked. She’s driving me crazy. Plus, she’s not making any sense.
She looks a little put out. Her gaze moves to the door and then back up at me before she whispers, “The monster, did you see it? How are we going to get passed it to leave the house?”
I’m surprised that I like her feisty side. Of course, I’ll never admit that to a seema. Gaining control of the situation, I grip her arms and ask, “What monster?”
Her brows draw together sharply. “Shh, we can’t let it know where we are.”
My fingers move over her arms to soothe her. My right hand encounters a soft lump. I’m sure that hadn’t been there before. I raise her arm and look at the spot. I touch it, the spot is soft. The scent of a muffin wafts to me. My heart twists in my chest and my stomach feels heavy.
My little seema is storing food for later. That’s just what a starving person would do. I’m gladder than ever that I brought her here. She needs me. Now that she’s mine, I’ll make sure she’s cared for, for life.
Her worried gaze looks from me to the door. “What are we going to do?” she whispers again.
“I didn’t see any monster, seema.” At her incredulous look, I almost laugh. To her, the situation is serious though, so I start digging to find out what’s happened while I was away. I use my dominant tone to get her full attention. “Tell me exactly what you saw.” She starts at my tone just the way I want her to.
“I was in the kitchen getting a drink when I heard a horrible hissing sound. I tried to leave the house, so I could hide in the jungle but the doors were stuck. I’m amazed you got in.” Her pretty brown gaze slides over me and then she shivers dramatically. “You’re lucky the monster didn’t get you. It sounded like it may have big teeth. Sharp ones too, I’d bet.”
From her scent I know she believes what she’s saying. Could the fruit or muffins I gave her have caused her to hallucinate? I kneel down so we’re eye to eye. “Did you see a monster?”
Tiny lines form between her brows. “No, but I heard it several times. It had to have seen me because it was hissing. Do you have any invisible hissing monsters on this planet?”
“No.” My mind races to solve this problem. Hissing sounds are what she heard. Nothing in my home hisses except me at times.
She lets out a harsh exhale and then her worried gaze jerks to the closet door.
Breathing! That’s it. “Have you heard the hissing recently?” I ask.
Small white teeth worry over her lip for a second. “No, do you think it left?” Hope fills her tone and lightens her eyes.
I barely hold back a laugh. In her current state, I don’t think she’d appreciate it. I look deeply into her eyes to make sure she understands me. “There is no monster, little seema. What you heard was the house adjusting the oxygen levels to supply the right amount for a human. All of our buildings have air systems that adjust to the beings that enter them.”
Her gaze shifts around the room and then down. I watch her small teeth come out and nibble on the edge of her lower lip. Embarrassment scents the closet as she realizes what’s happened.
The need to hug her washes over me. No seema has ever affected me this way before. It must be purely because she intrigues me. In time the feelings I have for her should lessen and become normal.
I take her by the hand and lead her out of the closet. I can’t help but notice the way she stiffens and looks around as we enter the bedroom. I like the fact that her natural instinct is to survive. Her small frame relaxes more and more as we get closer and closer to the living room. It’s obvious that she’s beginning to understand that there really is no monster.
I lead her to the couch and pull her into my lap as I sit down. She yelps and stiffens. Fear once again scents the air around her. I hate it but it’s time for her to learn her place in my world.
“Relax. I apologize for leaving you here alone. I should have let one of the others solve the problem. You are the first human I’ve brought home. I won’t leave you again until I believe you are ready to be here alone.” I remember the only two seemas I’ve ever brought home and realize how different she is.
Innocence emits from her. I remind myself that unlike the others she didn’t ask to be here. Only time will tell if she chooses to work at the club as the others did.
I rest my hand on her knee and resist the urge to caress her thigh. “It’s time for you to learn what is expected of you here on Zaphin. The majority of zaphinians are born dominant. That means we need submissive beings to dominate. You are my submissive. My name is Din Zar TocGar. You will call me Din or Din Zar whichever you prefer. Your position for the moment is that of a seema, which means you are here to take care of my house.”
I pause to let her absorb my words before continuing. She’s nervous but that’s to be expected. “I’ll teach you to cook zaphinian food and to clean this home. You are also going to be taking care of the plants here and sometimes at the club I’m part owner of. The plants are important, they help keep the air quality to a level that actually makes us all healthier. Humans benefit from the plants as much as any other beings. You will also be taking care of my sexual needs. Do you understand me so far?” I could smell her fear rise when I’d said she was to relieve me sexually. I’m guessing she’s never had a good lover or she’s very inexperienced. I can handle both problems.
“Yes,” her voice is low and hesitant.