by Sarah Marsh
He needed to push himself, and he flew faster than he’d ever had to, adrenaline moving through his blood. The need to protect his mate was strong in this environment, and the fact that Luca was looking after the human on his own would mean that he wouldn’t be shifting into the heartier form of his dragon—which made him more vulnerable than Baelion wanted to think about. It was far too dangerous to shift and leave Marisol’s side if they were attacked. One of them needed to stay in their human skin to keep close tabs on her.
This was not a one-dragon job.
* * * *
“You must be hungry by now. I need to find something for us to eat.” Luca was used to going long periods without stopping to eat, but he had to remember that Mari was much more delicate than he was. He needed to take care of her better. “But we need to move quickly to make certain we find shelter. The suns will only be up for a few more hours.”
“I am starving, now that you mention it,” she answered distractedly, trying to untangle the cub’s tiny nails from the material of her clothes. “What are we going to do with this little guy? We can’t just leave him if his mother is gone.”
Luca grabbed the cub by the scruff of his neck, and instantly its little paws went limp and he was able to help Mari free herself.
“You wish to keep him?” He was surprised at her question. Most people would be more concerned about their own well-being at this point in their circumstances, rather than that of an abandoned animal. She was a natural caregiver, and his dragon liked that very much, as well.
“Is he safe?” she asked, looking back at the cub. “I mean, he’s not going to go crazy and try to eat us or anything, is he?”
“Many races have domesticated gulas. Once they bond to a person, they are said to be quite fierce protectors.” Something rang a bell about a story he’d heard from his brother in reference to some of the other human females. “I believe that two of your kind have taken them as pets. I’ve heard that the female who mated the Zornan clan trusts her gula with her offspring.”
“Oh, that must be Sarah.” He could see her fear of the little beastie quickly fading as she reached out and took him back from Luca, cuddling the cub close. “Then they must be safe.
Luca gathered them both up once again in his arms and began a quick pace, stopping a couple of times to pick some fruit when they came across types that he recognized. It would be much easier for him to hunt some real sustenance once he had Mari safely stashed away and he could shift. She’d gathered the skirt of her robe to hold some of the fruit to take with them, and he couldn’t ignore how soft the skin of her bare legs felt against his arms.
Ever since the first rumors began to circulate about the human females who had been retrieved from the slave ship, Luca had been baffled as to why so many males seemed transfixed on them. Of course, the fact that they seemed to be able to easily crossbreed with many species was an obvious lure, but there were other ways to have offspring. He’d been shocked when he’d found out his own brother, Grae, and his mate, Ash, had bonded with a human female, as well. Scores of dragon females had pursued Grae relentlessly, but none had interested him.
Luca tried not to be jealous of his brother. After all, it was in a female dragon’s DNA to seek out the strongest and most attractive male to breed with. He couldn’t hate them because they saw his scarring and turned away like most everyone else did. It was one of the reasons he and Baelion had decided to live away from their home planet of Dali. What male wanted a daily reminder of their weakness in the expressions and pity of others?
Luca had seen several different expressions cross Marisol’s beautiful face since he’d met her, but pity and disgust had not been among them. There were even a few times when he’d sworn he’d seen the shadow of carnal interest light her eyes when she looked at him, but perhaps that was wishful thinking. One thing was for certain: now that he’d met Mari, he was beginning to see what all the fuss was about.
Finally, the heavy peat underneath his feet turned into rocks, and the jungle gave way to the base of the mountains. It was a relief that they’d made it. He estimated that they only had an hour or so until the suns went down, and they needed to find shelter as soon as possible. He’d been hearing the chatter of the smaller animals and the calls of the birds slowly recede as the afternoon went on. The prey was finding its evening shelter before the larger predators woke hungry for their evening meals.
“I think I see a cave up there.” Mari pointed toward a dark opening about fifty feet up the mountain.
“That looks like a good spot. There seems to be a reasonably clear path that will lead us there,” Luca agreed as he carefully navigated the overgrown ledge. “The resort would have created many shelters for overnight hunters all over the planet. Let’s hope this one was one of theirs. It may have some supplies that were left behind.”
“Resort?”
“Yes, Draxis is a designed planet. It was created to be a luxurious hunting retreat, boasting some of the finest and most challenging prey in all the galaxy.”
“Seriously? Well then, is that where we’re heading, to the resort? They must have shuttles there that can take me home.”
“We’ll be headed for the resort if Baelion didn’t secure a shuttle. But it will be a dangerous trip.”
“Why can’t we just figure out how to signal the resort so they can come and get us?”
He looked back at her, wondering how honest he should be. Luca didn’t want to frighten her any more than was necessary, but she needed to know the dangers here.
“There are no other people here on the surface. Draxis is now a level eight quarantined planet. That’s why we knew the pirates would not follow us here, and most likely why they had their station set up in orbit around the planet in the first place, as most would avoid the entire area.”
“What? What happened to all of the people?” she asked, and then her eyes went wide. “Quarantined? Are we going to get sick?”
“No.” He sighed, guessing he might as well tell her. “The people were killed and consumed by the bio-engineered animals that were created to be hunted. They overtook the resort less than a year after it opened, and once the Coalition found out that the animals had been enhanced, they decided to quarantine the planet instead of destroying them all.”
“…Eaten?”
Luca just nodded as she took in what he was saying.
“We just spent all day walking through the jungle.” He could see her breathing begin to increase. “We could have been killed!”
“That’s why we were the ones sent to retrieve you, Marisol. Baelion and I can protect you—never doubt that.”
She looked back up at him, and whatever she saw in his eyes must have reassured her, as she relaxed back into his arms.
The incline of the path was fairly abrupt, and some loose rubble made Luca cautious as he navigated his way. There were also some fairly sharp switchbacks, which he could only assume was to make it difficult for larger animals to use the trail. The ledge in front of the cave entrance was also only about six feet wide, which was great for keeping hunters safe—but unfortunately for them, it meant his dragon would be too large for him to be able to shift from the cave entrance.
“Is that a gate?” Mari peered at the metallic netting that was just inside the entrance. “I guess that’s a good thing, right? That we don’t have to worry about crashing in an already occupied cave?”
“It is indeed,” he answered, carefully setting Mari back down onto her feet as he undid the clasps that held the netting closed and stuck his head inside. Luca didn’t smell any animals, dead or alive, which was exactly what he had been hoping for. He could tell from the smooth walls that this was indeed a man-made shelter. He motioned for Marisol to go ahead of him, and then he shut the gate once more. The sun was setting and he didn’t want to risk anything catching their scent and following them into the cave.
A large fire pit lay in the center of the smooth stone floor, and directly above it was a vent for t
he smoke to escape, covered in the same metal mesh as the entrance.
“Don’t go near the walls yet. I’ll need to do a sweep for snakes and other smaller creatures that could have gone through the gate and vents.”
Mari had placed the squirming cub on the floor once they walked inside, but when he mentioned that there could still be a danger, she snatched him up to her chest and looked around ominously as if something was going to jump out at her, coming back over to his side. He almost chuckled to himself. What a deliciously contradictory female she was. Brave in the face of demented space pirates, yet the thought of an insect had her easing closer toward him, seeking protection.
His dragon preened at the fact that she recognized their superior skills. The beast had also been enjoying having her in his arms as he’d carried her all day—Luca needed to be careful or it would be getting territorial about her. Where the hell was Baelion when he needed him?
Chapter Thirteen
Mari peered into the dark corners of the cave, expecting some mutant spider to drop down at any second and kill them all. Jesus, why did he have to tell me that?
“Here, I’ll start a fire so you can see a bit better.” Luca approached the fire pit after grabbing some wood that already seemed to be piled against a wall.
Of course, Mari just assumed that he would rub two sticks together until he got a spark or something—she really wasn’t the camping type, as a soft bed and working bathroom had always been at the top of her vacation “must have” list. So when he arranged the wood and then leaned over to blow on it, she yelped when a stream of blue flame came out of his mouth to set the sticks ablaze.
“Holy shit!”
He just chuckled and looked up at her once the fire was steady. “Pretty handy, isn’t it?”
“Umm, yeah. You can say that again,” she mumbled as he got up and began to check the cave for creepy-crawlies. When he suddenly blew another stream of fire up into one of the back walls, she assumed that meant he’d found some. “So is that a shifter thing, the fire breathing?”
“Not specifically.” He looked at her curiously, a quirk to his lips. “It’s a dragon thing.”
Well duh, Marisol. Geez. Her cheeks reddened at his teasing. When he nearly smiled, he truly was a stunning man. She was almost afraid of what would happen if he actually did smile. God, would she just drop at his feet? Get ahold of yourself, Marisol. She was certain that all her friends back on Sirus would be laughing at her right about now. The untouchable Mari finally succumbing to a male’s charms. She’d been the only one out of them all who hadn’t sampled some of the finer delights of being housed in the same apartments as the Courtesan Guild students. But in truth, all of the men she’d met in their building had seemed like mere boys. Mari was the oldest out of all of the women who’d been abducted, and she’d be lying if she tried to deny it kept her apart in some ways from the others.
“Now that you and the cub are safe from all which slithers or crawls, I will leave you to warm yourself by the fire and I will go find us some dinner.” He started toward the door, then turned. “Oh, and if you need to relieve yourself, there’s a chamber at the back of the cave that you can use. Do not leave. It’s not safe.”
“Okay. Be careful.”
He nodded before closing the gate behind him, and she tried not to think about what would happen to her if, God forbid, Luca didn’t come back. She prayed that he was a good hunter. The noises coming from the now dark jungle had been getting louder and louder, and it was terrifying to think about what might be out there.
Mari sat by the fire. The cub rambunctiously explored their new space until finally, it must have gotten tired, as it climbed up into her lap and quickly fell asleep.
“I suppose you need a name.” She looked down at him, petting his soft fur as he purred in his sleep. “How about Tigger? That’s pretty cute.”
It felt like forever since Luca had left, but she knew it couldn’t have been more than an hour or two. Still, when she heard him opening the gate, she was so relieved—even if he did have a gross slab of something raw thrown over his massive shoulder.
“What is that?” she asked after he’d thrown a huge amount of wood onto the fire and set up some kind of spit to roast the meat. Mari could see it wasn’t red meat. It had the color of raw white fish, but the texture wasn’t something she could readily identify.
“It was a rather large lizard. It was really something to behold—I’ve never seen anything like it.” He almost seemed excited telling her. “Standing on two feet, three times the height of this cave. It was magnificent prey.”
The picture Mari put together in her head was making her almost sick to her stomach at the thought of Luca fighting this beast.
“You mean it was a dinosaur?” She knew her voice was a bit shrill perhaps, but she could barely believe it. “You killed a fucking dinosaur for dinner? How did you not get hurt, Luca?”
“I don’t know the name of the beast”—he pretty much rolled his eyes at her concern—“but as I told you, there aren’t many things that can pick a fight with a dragon and not become dinner.”
She tried not to be charmed by his wink after that ridiculous answer, but it was a losing battle. Especially when he stood and stretched in front of her, all that sweaty golden skin just glistening in the firelight.
“I’m going to go clean up. Make sure you turn the meat so it doesn’t burn.” He raised one eyebrow toward the fire pit—which now had a tiny cub trying to climb one of the legs of the cooking spit to get to the prize.
“Jesus, Tigger, you damned crazy little bastard!” She barely grabbed him in time before he edged closer to the fire and probably went up in a poof of singed fur, all for trying to steal his dinner.
She heard what sounded like rain coming from the wash area Luca had just disappeared into. All she could figure out back there was the sink and the toilet. If there was a shower of some sort, she would literally do anything it took to have one. The humid and sticky jungle had turned her into a hot mess.
“Umm, Luca, did you find a shower in there?” She’d crept back toward the washroom, carefully not peeping at him.
“Yes, there is a remedial shower, not the hot water of course. But if you would like some, I could go up top and heat the reservoir.”
“Oh my God, are you offering me a hot shower? Yes! Of course, I’d love one!”
She was still so excited about the concept of getting clean that she barely gasped out loud when Luca stepped naked from around the corner. Sweet baby Jesus, he was a work of art. From his dripping, long black hair that tousled loosely over the golden skin of his shoulders and chest, to those delectable tattoos that wound all around his torso, trailing down his muscled abs to the bounty below. Seeing those strips of golden skin surrounded by black tattoos made her just want to trace each and every one of them with her tongue. But my, oh my, when her eyes went lower and saw that those markings went all the way to the base of his cock, she couldn’t tear her gaze away. The artist clearly had a loving adoration for Luca’s beautiful cock, as it was framed perfectly. He was long and thick and extremely tempting.
He walked past her, close enough that she could feel the heat of his skin against her own, and she wondered if he did it just to tease her. He hung up what she could only assume to be his now wet, but clean, shorts to dry near the fire as he checked on and rotated the meat.
She walked back to the wash area and removed her makeshift dress. She could see where he must have been standing, and sure as shit, there it was, a little stone lever that when she pulled it down, the most beautiful rain shower hit her hair, making her moan at how good it felt over her skin.
“Would you like me to warm it up for you, Mari?” Luca’s voice rang out from around the corner.
“Nah, this is amazing as is.” She just stood there, letting it fall over her face, rinsing away the sweat and dirt that had seemed to cling to her in the dense heat of the jungle. Mari cracked one eye open and looked at the one piece of cl
othing she had, and yes, she desperately wanted to wash it. But there was no way in hell she was brave enough to just stroll out naked in front of a practical stranger, especially one who looked like Luca.
Besides, how did one sit buck-ass naked on the ground in front of a fire and look any kind of graceful? Mari was one hundred percent sure of two things. The first, that there was no way she’d be able to pull that off without looking ridiculous as she tried not to flash her bits all over the place. Second, she was certain that Luca would look completely amazing sitting there buck-ass naked.
Asshole.
Chapter Fourteen
Luca was trying like hell to not picture Mari naked in the shower. So much for the “shifter casual nudity” attitude. It had been difficult enough when he was naked to walk past her and control his raging hard-on so it didn’t jump right off his body and attack her—even if he had, perhaps, brushed up against her as he strolled by, just to get some of her scent on him. He also tried not to think too much about what that meant. That his dragon was clamoring for him to roll around in her scent. Claim her. She’s ours.
Baelion had been the only other being he’d ever reacted so strongly to. It was ludicrous to think a female as desirable as Marisol would ever lower herself to be with a shifter male who had been shunned by his own people.
No, he needed to get his lust under control. Not to mention the fact that he would never be with a female without Bae present; they were mated and had always only ever shared a female since they’d been together. Anything else would feel wrong—even if his dragon wasn’t thinking with his heart at the moment.