The next time she woke up, Jakkar was gone and she immediately missed the warmth of his body. She dressed quickly and found Melia kneeling by the fire, with Teron sitting quietly by the door and watching her as usual. After a quick trip to the back cave, she crouched down by the fire, watching as Melia heated water in one of the metal containers they had brought from the ship before mixing it with one of the packets of dried food. Anna winced as she recognized the fishy oatmeal they had been served on the ship. Melia laughed at her look but passed her the bowl.
“It is not exciting but it is nutritionally complete. It will help balance out the other things we are trying,” she explained.
Anna pulled another face but ate obediently. Jakkar returned as she finished and she jumped up and rushed over to him, stopping in sudden embarrassment as she reached him. He didn’t hesitate but pulled her into his arms in a kiss that left her blushing and breathless. She snuggled against him and he smiled down at her, then scowled as he looked over her shoulder at Teron sitting against the wall. Pushing her gently to one side, he strode over and crouched in front of the other man.
“I have considered,” he said slowly. “Will you honor your sworn word?”
Teron nodded. Jakkar’s hand went to his knife and Anna caught her breath. He drew it out and the Ithyian paled but did not flinch.
“I do not trust you and you will still be chained at night. You will work hard.” His voice grew so cold that shivers ran up Anna’s spine. “And if you ever touch either of these women, you will wish for death.”
Teron nodded again. Jakkar extended his hand and drew the knife across his palm. He handed the knife to Teron and the man repeated the gesture, never looking away from Jakkar. Anna noticed in fascination that while Jakkar’s blood was as red as hers, the Ithyian’s was a deep purple. The men clasped hands and the blood mingled.
“Very well,” Jakkar ground out, pulling his hand away. “Do not make me regret this.”
He hesitated, then looked at the side cave containing Smerg. “And him?”
Teron frowned. “He is strong and a hard worker, but I would not trust him around the women. And he hates Sardorans.”
“Do you?” Jakkar actually sounded inquisitive and Teron flashed a quick grin before ducking his head submissively.
“I don’t hate anyone. I am too curious.”
Anna had a sudden memory of Teron tasting her fluids after Jakkar made her come on the ship and blushed. Fortunately, Jakkar did not look round and notice her confusion.
“Very well.” Jakkar released the chains.
Chapter Twelve
The next few days slipped quickly into a pattern. Jakkar often spent the morning hunting food. The largest animal they encountered was the gold-furred tree creature that Rantor had killed the first night but they were plentiful. In addition, he brought home any form of vegetation that registered as edible on the analyzer, although edible and tasty were very different. Anna occasionally went with him but hated to leave Melia alone for long. The Gliesh woman was still weak and disinclined to leave the cave for any length of time. Rantor hunted also, bringing home small flying creatures that were disturbingly unlike birds. The women experimented with various methods of cooking and storing the food and Teron hauled water and firewood and made himself surprisingly useful.
After the midday meal, Teron and a chained Smerg would accompany Jakkar outside to work on various projects. He had them move rocks into the cave to make a hearth and a primitive oven. They dug clay from a pit Jakkar discovered by the lake and Anna learned how to make practical, if somewhat misshapen, pots. Under careful supervision, the Ithyians also used Jakkar’s knife to cut lengths of wood. Jakkar showed them how to bind the wood with the silver leaved vines to make a basic table and chair frames which the women padded with moss. Jakkar and Teron built the chairs for Anna and Melia before each man made his own—although Anna wondered why Jakkar bothered since he usually ended up pulling her into his lap whenever he actually sat down. Not that she was complaining; he liked to hold her and she always felt warm and safe curled against his big body.
Smerg sneered at their efforts to improve their life and refused to do anything for himself unless he was forced. He seemed to get some type of dark satisfaction out of retreating into his alcove, alone and scowling. Other than his ceaseless muttering, the Ithyian was silent and outwardly docile, but Anna could see the hate in his eyes as he was taken into his cave and chained each night. Teron was still chained at night as well, but in the main cavern and he had made a moss pallet in his chosen spot by the cave entrance. Jakkar was still prickly about the Ithyian’s presence, but even he relented enough to spend an occasional evening playing a complicated strategy game with him once he created the required board and pieces.
Anna was constantly surprised by Jakkar’s ingenuity and she asked him about it late one afternoon as they lay by the bathing pool. She was sprawled on the warm rock, still breathless from her climax and he was nibbling at the soft skin under her ear while his big fingers played with her hair.
“How do you know these things?”
“What things?” His voice was muffled as his mouth trailed down her body, making little love bites on her breasts and soothing them with his tongue. “They are no longer the same color.”
“What?” His warm mouth was making it hard to concentrate on the conversation.
“Your breasts. They are no longer as white but more gold.”
She laughed. “It’s called a tan. It happens when you lay around naked in the sun.”
“Hmm. I like this tan. I should keep you naked more often.” His voice was a soft purr as he continued down her stomach, circling her belly button with his tongue and almost distracting her completely.
She pushed half-heartedly as his head. “You keep me naked often enough. I was asking how you know how to do all these things. How to keep us alive and make the cave a home.”
At that he raised his head, looking puzzled.
“I am a warrior.”
“And?” she prompted.
“I am trained to survive, to keep my people safe.”
“But all your technology…” She gestured vaguely. “Spaceships and analyzers and ray guns. We aren’t anywhere near that advanced on Earth, but very few people would know how to survive in the wilderness.”
He shrugged. “On Sardor, we build cities small and separate. We let the wild places remain and we go out into them to test ourselves. I have been going into the wilderness alone since I was a boy.”
Clearly losing interest, his mouth returned to her stomach and drifted slowly lower.
“I can find something to eat anywhere,” he teased, and then his tongue swept between her thighs and she forgot her questions in the ecstasy of his mouth.
That night, he brought in a pile of skins from the tree creatures and showed Anna and Melia how to soften them.
“Furs?” she questioned. Although the air cooled at night, as long as they were out of wind, the temperature around the lake was quite temperate.
“We don’t know where we are on this planet. The sun makes a high arc. That could mean that we are near the equator or that this is summer. We must prepare for a change of season.”
A change of season? The reality that they might be here for months, even years, sent goose bumps crawling up her arms. Anna suddenly realized that unconsciously she was still expecting that they would be rescued and she would find a way back to Earth. Preparing for a possible winter forced her to realize just how unlikely that was. She stared blindly into the fire, desolation washing over her as images of Earth filled her head and she finally accepted that it had been a foolish hope. Even if they were followed and rescued, she was never going back home. Fighting down tears, her fingers stroked the soft fur and she forced other images into her mind—cozy evenings by the fire, cozier nights snuggled into a pile of furs with Jakkar. The thought made her smile and by the time he looked back in her direction, she was calm once more.
The
next morning, Jakkar left early. With Rantor accompanying him, he intended to try climbing the cliff to survey the land there. He had made slow passionate love to her before he left and she had slept late, too lazy and satisfied to move. When she slipped into the main cave, Melia gave her a knowing smile but kept working on the furs. Teron sat across from Melia, watching as always, as he worked on his own share of the furs. Anna visited the back cave and then joined them at the table as Melia handed her a mug of cafir.
They were chatting idly when a snarl made them look up.
Smerg was standing at the cave entrance, the broken chain dangling from one wrist and a rock in his other hand.
Teron leapt to his feet, moving in front of Melia and holding out his hand soothingly. “Smerg, calm down.”
“Calm down?” he roared. “Easy to be calm when you’re out here sucking up to these aliens. I’ve been trapped in that stinking hole by myself this whole time. I didn’t see you trying to help me.”
“You could have been out here, too.” Teron’s voice was low and even and he took a cautious step toward Smerg, freezing as the other man raised the rock.
“I didn’t want to be out here with that damned Sardoran,” he sneered. “There’s only one thing here I want.”
Blood froze in Anna’s veins as he looked directly at her. Her pulse started thundering so hard in her ears that she could hardly hear.
“You can’t have her,” Teron warned. “The warrior will kill you.”
“First he’ll have to find me,” Smerg snarled, and lunged toward Anna. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion after that. Teron tried to throw himself in the way and Smerg smashed his head with the rock. Teron crumpled, crashing into Melia and throwing her and the chair to the floor in a tangle of bodies and wood. Smerg yanked Anna to her feet and she stumbled against him. Casting a quick look over to where Melia was scrabbling for the weapon they no longer kept quite so close, his hand clamped down on her arm in a painful grip and he hauled her out of the cave.
“Jakkar,” she screamed, praying that he had returned early and could hear her call for help. Ignoring her cries, Smerg dragged her down the hill, heading back to the valley floor, his grip bruising her arm. She tried to dig in her heels and fight back but he was brutally strong. Twice she fell to the ground, scraping her knees and elbows but he merely yanked her up and kept going. As they reached the desert floor, he swung to the right and led her on a torturous path along the base of the tree line. She realized that he was trying to confuse their track and fought harder, trying to scuff the moss enough to leave a trail. He snarled and threw her over his shoulder with frightening ease.
The hard joint dug into her soft belly and his hand gripped her ass cruelly, digging his thumb into the tender crevice. The position made her light-headed and his foul stench surrounded her. He finally stopped and dropped her to the ground. She hit with a thud but she scrabbled backwards as fast as she could, trying to ignore the pain flooding her joints. He grinned as he watched her but there was nothing amused about his look. She tried to move faster but a tree took her by surprise and she slammed her head against the rough bark. She cried out and Smerg’s grin widened.
The blow made her dizzy and her head was spinning as he advanced toward her. He opened his jumpsuit and stroked his erection as he came closer. The sight of the swollen red flesh made her nauseous.
“Now I will fuck you, human, every way I want. Damaging you doesn’t matter anymore.”
“It will matter to Jakkar,” she managed to whisper, and he snarled and slapped her face hard. Blood filled her mouth at the blow and she cried out again.
“He can’t save you,” Smerg threatened, and then he was on her. Rough hands tore at her clothes, and his nails bit into her skin as he ripped open her jumpsuit. She cried out and tried to fight but her throbbing head made it hard to coordinate her efforts and his weight suffocated her. One hand found her breast and he twisted it with cruel fingers. Tears streamed down her face and a whimper escaped her lips.
He laughed and twisted harder, his other hand forcing itself between her legs. She fought desperately as she felt his nails digging into her naked inner thigh and his inflamed flesh pressing against her leg as he forced her legs further apart.
And then his suffocating weight was gone and Jakkar was standing there. He was almost unrecognizable, his eyes pure white and his face a savage mask of fury as he ripped into the Ithyian’s neck with his bare teeth. Roaring his anger, he flung the smaller man to the ground and bent over him. She heard a terrible rending sound and saw Smerg’s head rolling across the clearing. Jakkar kicked the body aside and strode toward her, all enraged alien, covered with blood, and terrifying. Anna instinctively flinched away and her head struck the tree again. This time the blow sent her into oblivion.
Chapter Thirteen
The white battle haze was still pulsing in Jakkar’s vision as he reached for his woman. He clutched her to his chest, desperate to feel her heart beating and know that she still lived. Her pulse beat beneath his fingers and he buried his face in her neck, relief filling him, and finally his anger started to recede. As it did, he was horrified to find his fingers clutching her upper arms and undoubtedly bruising her soft flesh. He forced his fingers to relax and stood up, cradling her gently in his arms. Her jumpsuit was in tatters, but he tucked the remains around her and headed back to the cave.
As the adrenalin left his body, his head cleared and he remembered the fear and horror on her face. Something inside him began to hurt. Never had she looked at him like that, not even in the beginning when they were still new to each other. She had been frightened before but never terrified.
Guilt ripped through him. He had failed to protect her. That animal had put his filthy hands on her and hurt her. Rage started to build again as he remembered entering the clearing and seeing her small body fighting the Ithyian, blood smeared across her face and her hands flailing desperately against her attacker. He had not been soon enough to keep her from harm, but at least she lived. He sent a prayer of thanks to the Goddess that his chosen path up the cliff had ended in a blank wall and he had been forced to retreat. Arriving back at the cave, he had found Teron unconscious and Melia trying to crawl to the entrance. Her gasped words had sent him off on Smerg’s trail, leaving Rantor to guard the two.
He sent another fervent prayer of thanks to the Goddess that he had been able to track them so quickly. His little human had fought all the way and the signs were clear. Only the last part of their route had been obscured and by then he was close enough to hear the sounds of struggle and catch the scent of her fear. Again he looked down at the fragile bundle in his arms and his grip tightened.
By the time they reached the lake shore, she was starting to stir. He headed for the waterfall as she started to struggle against his grip. He tried to soothe her but as she opened her eyes and saw him, she struggled harder. Her rejection was like a knife blow to his chest, but he continued to murmur soothingly as he walked them both to the waterfall and straight under the falls. The cold water pounded down over them, washing away the blood and the stench of the Ithyian.
When they emerged from the water, she was shivering, but she had stopped trying to escape his arms. He hoped that was a good sign but she kept her eyes screwed shut and her body rigid as he returned them to the cave. Melia was shaky, but standing, and as soon as he reluctantly let Anna down, she flung herself into Melia’s arms, sobbing her heart out. Looking around the cave he saw that Teron was still unconscious but Melia had bandaged his head.
The sight of the Ithyian made the rage start to rise and he started for the unconscious man with a low growl. Anna cowered at the sound, and Melia spoke sharply.
“He tried to save both of us. He was injured trying to help. Leave him be.”
Anger still beating at him, he strode out of the cave and proceeded to vent his rage by chopping wood until his hands were raw. By the time the sun set, he was exhausted and calm.
When he returned to t
he cave, Anna was huddled by the fire, still wearing the tattered remains of her jumpsuit. Melia shook her head at his expression. “She won’t let me take it off.”
“Anna, we need to check and see how badly you were hurt.” He kept his voice soft but she flinched anyway.
“No.” Her voice was a mere thread.
Melia tried to reason with her but she kept shaking her head, saying no over and over again. He exchanged another glance with Melia. It had to be done and as much as he hated the terror in Anna’s eyes when she looked at him, he was going to have to be the one to do it. Teron had recovered consciousness and, with a jerk of his head, he sent the man outside. Melia brought in one of the white cloths, and touched Anna’s arm.
Despite her gentle touch, Anna pulled away.
“Anna, we are going to remove your jumpsuit. We are not going to hurt you. Melia is right here.” He tried to keep his voice low and soothing as Melia tried again. Anna pulled away once more and this time he reached out and clasped her shoulders. She immediately started to fight but her body was exhausted and after a brief struggle, she stood still, tears rolling down her cheeks as they removed her clothes.
Jakkar had to fight down the rage again at the damage to her pale body. Bruises covered her arms, breasts, and thighs and he winced as he recognized his own hand prints on her arms. Her lip was split and her mouth was swollen. Red scratches covered her breasts, and her knees and elbows were scraped raw, but she didn’t appear to be bleeding anywhere else. He nodded at Melia and she wrapped the blanket around Anna. Anna huddled against her and, after an unreadable look at Jakkar, Melia led Anna into her sleeping cave and settled her on the small mattress.
Anna and the Alien: A SciFi Alien Romance (Alien Abduction Book 1) Page 10