Frowning, he stepped closer to her. Grasping her wrist, he lifted her arm, studying it, studying her hand. Flattening his own hand, he fit their palms and fingers together. Elise swallowed convulsively, feeling a flutter low in her belly. “I see a female made as I am. I see a female whose body fits mine so cunningly they could not help but be made for one another,” he said huskily.
The heat washed over her again. This time, however, Elise had time to realize that it was directly associated with his arousal. The very instant he became aroused, even slightly, her body reacted, even if he was yards from where she was standing. As crazy as it seemed, she realized it had to be the pheromones his body produced.
She couldn’t imagine why any race would need to produce such powerful pheromones only to attract a mate, but it very obviously wasn’t confined to attracting only females of their own kind.
It didn’t particularly help to know that. The reaction was nothing she could control. Worse, whether her conscious mind had accepted him or not, her body had. It sang every time he rang the bell.
She fought the onslaught of drugging passion anyway, pulling away, taking another step back.
She had a bad feeling that she could’ve felt that powerful pull if she’d been at the habitat and wondered idly if it would draw every female the way it had her. The idea wasn’t particularly pleasing. In fact, it was downright displeasing.
What was she thinking?
She shouldn’t care one way or the other.
She didn’t.
To her surprise, relief, and complete disappointment, the pheromones bombarding her with lust began to dissipate.
“You will grow accustomed,” he said tightly and with that, departed, locking the door behind him.
Elise wilted to the pallet, too weak kneed to stand.
Everything on her body was throbbing with unrequited lust.
“Damn it!”
When she’d recovered a little, she got off the pallet and began banging on the door again. “We can talk about this! We’re two rational human … uh … beings!”
No response.
“I’m not going anywhere with you, damn it!”
Still no response.
After a little while she heard movement below her and the animals began making more noise. Moving to the only porthole the cabin boasted, she plastered her face against it, peering down at the hull of the ship. After a few moments, a large hatch opened and a small herd of really strange looking animals emerged. Carrying some sort of device, Ja-rael emerged behind them. As two of the creatures broke from the pack and headed for the jungle, he fired it and a bolt of blue lightening arched from it. The ‘fingers’ dug into the ground to one side of the animals. Shrieking, they instantly changed direction, heading back toward the main group.
It took some maneuvering, but after a few minutes, he had the animals in a tight little wad, heading in the direction he wanted.
The creatures reminded her of a child’s rendering of an ostrich--boxy body, four legs, long, snake like neck and what appeared to be tiny wings. From her position, they seemed to have feathers, as well. She couldn’t tell much about the heads, but it didn’t look as if they had beaks. Birds with lips.
Really strange.
She wondered where he was going with them.
It didn’t matter. All that mattered was he was gone, and likely to be gone a while if he was, as she guessed, taking the animals to trade with the Torrines.
Moving away from the porthole, she began searching the room for something she might use to crack the lock on the door. In the process, she discovered he’d brought her food and water.
She knew the water was safe--was fairly certain, anyway. She wasn’t so sure about the food. He might have put something in it. Even if he hadn’t, she might find it totally disgusting--and for that matter it might not be something her physiology could handle.
It smelled pretty good, though, and she was starving. She’d been hungry when she left the habitat the day before and she hadn’t had anything since.
Grabbing the containers up, she moved to the bed and tried the meat-like substance. It was meat and it tasted wonderful. She ate it all and licked her fingers, but by the time she’d finished she was so full she felt like she was going to explode. She lay down, groaning, wondering if there’d been something wrong with the food after all.
The misery subsided after a little while and she realized she’d just eaten too much too fast. Climbing off the pallet, she moved to the door and examined the mechanism. It wasn’t an electronic lock. It was mechanical.
She turned the entire cabin upside down searching for something small enough to slide through the crack that would also be strong enough to manipulate the lock. She found the head, which was a great relief, but aside from that the only thing she discovered in the search was that, from the layer of dust that coated everything, Ja-rael obviously spent very little time in the cabin, and that the ship spent most of its time in dock. There were no personal belongings beyond a couple of robes and several more loincloths like the one he was wearing. The robes were lightweight and virtually sheer. Shrugging, Elise donned one. As little as it covered, she still felt better, somewhat protected, and it was too light to make much difference in the temperature comfort level, particularly inside the ship, which had some environmental control.
When the search turned up nothing suitable for trying to pick the lock, she examined the contents of the cabin for anything that she might use to force it, or pry the door open.
The pallet lay directly on the floor without any sort of frame. Aside from the pallet, there was only the one small table. She didn’t know what the table was made of, but it was either bolted to the floor, or it was the heaviest thing she’d ever tried to lift.
Tired from the effort, feeling anxious and vaguely hysterical, she flung herself down on the pallet, glaring at the door. Unfortunately, she didn’t have the power to burn a hole through it with her rage. Eventually, her emotional level dropped and she began to glance idly around the room again.
Her gaze lit on the containers he’d left and the utensils he’d given her to eat with.
“Moron!” she berated herself, jumping to her feet and grabbing up the blade.
She’d worked up a sweat by the time she managed to jimmy the lock, but triumph filled her. Without pause, she headed down the corridor. She’d already run past the gangplank before she realized she’d missed it. Backtracking, she studied the mechanism for several nerve wracking minutes and finally figured it out by trial and error. She’d been too preoccupied with the alien when he’d used it to retrieve the gangplank to remember what he’d done with any accuracy.
The moment the porthole opened and the plank began to descend she began scrambling down the gangplank. In her haste, she slid off the end, shredding the damned robe and landing on her ass in the gravelly soil. Hopping up at once, she glanced around and made for the woods as fast as she could.
She was shaking by the time she reached the cover of the forest. Instinct told her she should simply run without looking back, but she couldn’t resist the need to know whether he’d seen her escape.
She was sorry she’d spared the time because she caught a glimpse of movement at the edge of the field and she had a bad feeling it was Ja-rael and it wasn’t going to be many minutes before he discovered his ‘prize’ had escaped.
Chapter Seven
For possibly the first time in her life, Elise discovered that luck was on her side. It was a good thing, too, because common sense had abandoned her.
She was already headed in the right direction, though, and she had a fair head start. If her luck held, maybe she could reach the habitat before he discovered she was gone and ….
Maybe she could get far enough he wouldn’t think it was worth the risk?
It took every ounce of common sense she could muster to make herself jog instead of running as fast as she could. She knew, though, that the heat and humidity would strike her down if she tried
to run all out and she wouldn’t get far at all.
Fortunately, the path was well marked, fairly level and free of obstacles.
She’d made it all the way back to the creek when Ja-rael sprang out of the woods like a--like an enormous jungle cat. She screamed like a banshee when he leapt out at her, more because she was startled and actually thought it was some sort of man eater than because she realized it was him.
Fortunately, the adrenaline rush acted on her like a goose in the ass instead of draining every ounce of strength from her. She left the ground by a good two feet, and hit it again running, throwing up dirt, clods of grass, and pebbles.
She’d made it all the way around the little pool before he tackled her. The collision propelled them both into the stream and the chill of the water after the heat she’d generated took her breath. By the time she’d stopped coughing and sputtering, she was hanging limply over his shoulder and headed back the way she’d just run.
“Jesus fucking Christ! You scared the ever loving shit out of me!” she growled, bracing her hands on his back and rearing upwards.
“You ran,” he said in Torrine. “Why?”
Elise glared down at him, too angry for several moments to come up with the words she needed even to speak to him. “Put me down!” she demanded at last.
To her surprise, he complied immediately. Glaring at her, he shook his finger in her face, as if she was a child. “It is not safe for my lioness to go without escort.”
Elise felt her jaw drop. “You’re not serious!” she demanded indignantly.
His eyes narrowed. “You are mine now. I will keep you safe.”
Slapping his finger aside, she poked him in the chest with her finger. “I’m not yours, you big … overgrown … cat!”
He frowned suspiciously. “What is this word?”
Elise opened her mouth and then shut it again, deciding it might not be a good idea to teach him English. “Unimportant!” she said finally. “The important thing is, I’m not yours!”
His eyes narrowed. “You mated with me. You can not un-accept me now!” he growled.
“Oh yes I can!”
“Can not! It is law!”
Elise gaped at him. “Now wait just a damned minute! I’m not a Torrine and I don’t give a damn what your laws are! I’m going back to the habitat.”
Stepping away from him, she went around him and stalked toward the pool once more. He followed her. It was too much to hope he’d give up so easily.
“I have the bride price.”
“And that means exactly zero to me, buddy!”
“What is this speak you use? I do not understand,” he said, irritation in his voice.
“English.”
“An-leez?”
She didn’t bother trying to correct his pronunciation. “The language of my people. I told you, we aren’t the same. I’m not a … lioness, or a Torrine, or a Meeri. I’m from Earth and we speak English--uh --spoke English in my country there and we still speak it here because it’s our language.”
“You speak Torrine badly. I will teach you Meeri.”
Elise glared at him. “No you won’t, because you’re not going to be around to teach it to me. Go home!”
He said nothing for several moments, but he continued to keep step with her.
“Why are you following me?” Elise snapped.
“I must stay with my mate,” he said doggedly.
“I don’t want you!” Elise snapped in exasperation and then was instantly sorry.
Hurt flickered over his expression and then disappeared, replaced with determination. “This is untrue.”
“Don’t throw that up to me,” Elise snapped, embarrassed. “I couldn’t help it. It’s that … thing you have. I mean ….” She stopped blushing even harder. “I didn’t mean thing as in thing. I meant … Oh, to hell with it!”
“I will learn An-leez.”
In spite of all she could do, empathy began to seep through her. He was sweet--misguided--but sweet. “It won’t make a difference.”
“I will know what you say when you begin to shout and mutter in this strange speak.”
She gave him a look. So much for being anxious to please. When she glanced away from him, Elise discovered that she didn’t see anything that looked familiar. She stopped walking and looked around. “Where the hell am I?”
Ja-rael stopped as well, looking around. “In the forest.”
She gave him another drop dead look. “I know I’m in the damned forest, you ass!”
“What is azz?”
She could tell from his expression that he’d figured out it wasn’t a compliment. “You let me walk the wrong way,” she said accusingly.
“I only follow to protect.”
She could see he was trying very hard to hide his amusement. Despite everything, it charmed her, and then sent a jolting realization through her.
He was alien, but he was a being the same as she was, and most likely fully capable of understanding, and feeling, pretty much everything she experienced. She’d hurt his feelings with her childish outburst before. As difficult as she found it to believe that he’d no more than set eyes on her before he’d become enthralled with her, it was hard to dispute his behavior.
She couldn’t help but be warmed by the thought.
She dismissed it immediately.
Alien or not, he was damned attractive, but he was still alien. It was a shame, really, because there wasn’t a single male in the habitat that she found even vaguely interesting, but such was life. She was going to have to live with it and Ja-rael was going to have to live with it.
He’d be much better off with a female of his own kind. She just had to convince him she wasn’t his kind.
For an intelligent being, he was pretty damned hard headed, though.
“Your tribe is this way,” he said helpfully, pointing.
Elise studied him suspiciously for several moments, but once she’d examined the area of the forest he was pointing toward, she decided it did look familiar. Regardless, she was vaguely amazed when he led her directly to the habitat without any trouble at all.
She stopped at the edge of the fields. “Thanks! But I’m home now--and safe.”
He frowned. “I have come to make things right,” he said, his entire attitude uncompromising. “I will pay your bride price to your family, and then we must go. In another day, we will not be able to reach Meeri.”
Chapter Eight
Elise stared at Ja-rael speechlessly. Obviously, alien or not, he was as single minded as any human male it had ever been her misfortune to tangle with. Glancing around a little helplessly while she sought patience, Elise saw that their arrival had attracted the attention of her fellow Earthlings. Most of those in the vicinity were merely gaping at Ja-rael. A small knot, led by their exalted leader, Kenneth Smith, were approaching cautiously.
Plunking her hands on her hips, she glared at Kenneth as he spoke.
“Is he dangerous?”
A little surprised by the question, Elise turned and looked Ja-rael over from an entirely different perspective. He was every bit of six foot four if he was an inch and his entire body was taut and lean with muscle. She blinked, realizing she hadn’t actually considered him dangerous for even a moment--except for those moments when he’d leapt at her in the forest and she’d thought he was something else.
She frowned. “He seems very peaceful,” she said a little doubtfully.
The two men behind Kenneth seemed to relax fractionally.
“What happened?” Kenneth demanded, his tone and attitude abruptly more commanding.
Elise narrowed her eyes at him. “If any of you assholes had come to look for me, you might have found that out yesterday!”
Kenneth flushed. “We took a small party out when you didn’t come back. We found the basket. It looked like there’d been a struggle. We were afraid the habitat would be attacked. We withdrew for security purposes.” He paused. “It’s standard protocol.”
Kenneth gaped at him in outrage. “Do I look fucking old enough to be her father?”
“He doesn’t understand English,” Elise pointed out dryly.
“No!”
Ja-rael’s eyes narrowed at the curt response. “I would speak with her sire. I have business with him.”
“What the hell is he babbling about?”
Elise couldn’t prevent the blush that rose in her cheeks. “He thinks he can buy me for his … uh … mate. He wants to negotiate the bride price.”
Kenneth’s jaw sagged.
One of the men behind him, Sawyer, snickered. The other, Dickerson, reddened with anger. “Our women aren’t for sale!” he growled challengingly.
Ja-rael focused on Dickerson and his entire demeanor changed in the blink of an eye. Every muscle in his body tensed, as if he would spring at the slightest movement. His voice, when he spoke, emerged as a low, rumbling, very threatening growl. “She is mine. I have claimed her. I am willing to do the honorable thing because I will not have my mate disgraced, but any who challenge me will die.”
Every human within hearing range took a step back, including Elise. He caught her wrist and pulled her behind him.
Kenneth forced a sickly smile. “I think we just have a little misunderstanding here.” He slid a glance at Elise and spoke English out of the corner of his mouth. “Is he alone?”
Elise, peering around Ja-rael’s shoulder, merely stared at him. “Why?”
He bared his teeth in a parody of a smile. “Are … we … in … imminent … danger … of … an … attack?” he asked, enunciating each word slowly.
Elise felt a chill go through her, felt as if she’d suddenly found herself standing on a precipice with crumbling rock beneath her feet. They felt threatened and people were dangerous and unpredictable when they were threatened. She simply stared at him for several moments, knowing she had to somehow diffuse the situation, to make Kenneth and the others feel less threatened. At the same time, she wasn’t about to tell them that, so far as she knew, Ja-rael was alone. Their focus then would be on Ja-rael as the threat and they would see no reason not to make use of their overwhelming odds to handle the situation. “I don’t think so,” she finally responded cautiously. “There’s not an army of them waiting in the forest, if that’s what you’re asking. But … uh … he’s a chieftain of his people and I’m sure they wouldn’t take it well if he was attacked,” she added, lying baldly.
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