A particularly deep breath made her shudder, and he looked again at her face. She was lovely, sweet, and gentle. She had surely saved his life. But if it was necessary, he would not hesitate to take hers.
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Chapter Five
Mieli tried not to despair, but she was out of ideas. She was out of food, and without traveling farther on foot, she wouldn't be able to provide more. That wasn't such a hardship, but she would have to leave the man alone overnight, and she had no way to tell him she would be back.
Crouched low beside him, she touched his shoulder. He was already awake, and she'd known that. He still hadn't begun to open his eyes; although the swelling was mostly gone, the bruising still discolored and distorted his face.
"I know you don't understand, but I must go.” She hesitantly stroked his shoulder. “I will be back, I promise."
Before she could worry anymore, she rose and stepped out of the shelter. She had a lot of walking to do. Outside in the clear light of morning, she headed east, toward the river. At first she walked in the path cleared by the crash, but at last she entered the forest proper and began the more difficult hiking.
Familiar with this walk since she'd started it many times only to turn back at midday, she was confident in her direction. Her certain steps allowed her mind to wander. Truly, her thoughts turned more and more to the soldier.
He had never yet spoken a word to her. Aside from some mumbling in his sleep, he made no sounds at all. Added to the fact that he'd yet to open his eyes, she had begun to wonder if her efforts were in vain. While his body was clearly healing, unseen damage might have ended his life more effectively than death.
Brain injuries were hard to understand in her people; she had no hope of diagnosing one in this stranger. Even if by some miracle the ships came back for him now, weeks later, she was sure they would find little to recommend in her healing skills. The worst of it was, she really did want him to be well. Mieli had to admit that after the days she'd spent caring for him, she could not wish otherwise. Honesty forced her to also confess how much of that desire stemmed from concern for her own well-being.
If she healed him, and he woke, he might still lead her out of the forest and into a new life. If he never woke, was never healed, that wouldn't happen. It was a sobering thought, and one that was on her mind more often than not. Kyre and his bunch were long gone, and she wouldn't seek them out regardless. She absolutely had to have someone on her side who had some power in this new order. How many more opportunities were going to fall out of the sky?
JAI DIDN'T WAIT long after the healer left. He might not know her language, but the meaning had been clear. She was leaving. From the tone of her voice, and the way she'd stroked his shoulder, it had been difficult for her. Whatever the reason, she would not be back today. Maybe not ever.
He had carefully exercised his returning strength every day in his moments of privacy. His wounds had knitted, although reluctantly, and he'd been able to lift and flex his arms and legs regularly and even stand. Today, certain in his solitude, he cautiously ventured outside the remains of his ship.
For the first time, he got a good look at the destruction he'd left in the wake of the crash. The fire had been brief and intense, a flash, really. He had reason to be thankful that it was such a wet forest, for the fire had not been able to spread and burn him alive while he lay injured and helpless in the wreckage. His little native would have been lucky to salvage anything of him aside from his indestructible bones.
At the thought of her, Jai flexed his hands. During the last week, he had been hard pressed to maintain the facade of his infirmity. He had been dangerously close to taking control of the situation several times but refrained. Until he could be sure his strength had returned, and he was unwilling to tip his hand.
Now, in the light of morning, with his legs beneath him and his body aching but responding to his commands, he thought that time might have arrived There was not a moment to be wasted if he meant to discover the person behind his crash.
He looked down his body and surveyed the long, jagged scars that would remind him of this forever. The woman had done a good job, and though his body had healed rapidly after its slow start, his wounds were still a gruesome sight. He'd never had any particular vanity about his looks, but it made him wonder how badly his face had fared.
Even as the thought crossed his mind, Jai scowled. There was no reason to be concerned with his appearance, and that he was could only be attributed to one thing.
The healer.
She was on his mind too much. He'd resigned himself to being attracted to her because she was undeniably more beautiful than any woman he would ever know. Plans for revenge had taken a backseat lately to lurid images of him and the little healer. Her soft hands and tender touches had led him into fantasies about having her attention on other parts of his anatomy. She had slept next to him every night; it was impossible not to think about pinning her down and having her.
The only difficulty for Jai was that he couldn't picture it clearly. Somehow, the idea of them locked together in combat-challenge would not form. Each time he tried to envision their coupling, it was always her on top. That wasn't something he had ever done before, with any woman.
In the War Tribe, the sort of female Jai had been with before were of the warrior class. Women who were hard and fought like men. Sexual gratification came one of two ways: combat-challenge another warrior or take what you wanted on the field of battle. Sex was only to debase the other person and satisfy your body's needs.
He'd heard it was different for the nonmilitary classes and especially among the upper class. This was the first time in his life he had ever wondered what that difference might be. Maybe he would find out. If she came back, he would likely have to kill her, but he might satisfy his curiosity first. A beauty like her would never be at his mercy again.
MIELI SLEPT IN the shelter of a great bayn tree that night and woke at dawn with a hopeful heart. She had set her traps in the early evening, and in the bright early-morning glow, she was anxious to see what they had caught.
Two hours later she was ready to return to the shelter. She had enough fresh meat to feed the two of them for three days. If by then he was still unresponsive, she would have to make the decision to either make another overnight journey or leave him behind.
As much as she wanted him to heal, she was gaining nothing by stubbornly staying at his side while he made no improvement. The longer she waited, the less likely that she would be able to catch up to Kyre and the others. While she didn't particularly miss them, she also didn't want to spend the rest of her life in this forest alone.
On the long hike back to the crash site, Mieli mentally prepared herself to make the decision. By nightfall she had reached the edge of camp. She was also no closer to knowing what she would do. She dropped her pack and the fresh, prepared game at the fire circle.
She shrugged out of her woven jacket and started to climb into the tented ship only to draw up short at the edge. He was gone.
Mieli turned quickly and tried to look around the camp, but she couldn't see beyond the clearing. Concern warred with despair. Someone could have taken him against his will, but she doubted that. He had left and taken with him her chance at getting a new life. Either his people had finally come for him, or he had left on his own. It didn't matter. She was alone again, with no plan and no course of action.
With a heavy heart, much changed from how she'd woken that morning, Mieli started the fire. The game from her hunt would have to be cooked and cured, but she had no appetite. She realized it was unlikely anyone had come for him after so much time. Clearly, he'd been well enough to get up and walk, so he must have been recovered for some time. He'd just been waiting for his chance to get away.
There was a painful place in her chest where the sobs seemed lodged. Was it stupid to feel abandoned by someone she didn't even know? She had cared for him and nursed him, and he'd deliberately
hidden his recovery from her. Mieli resisted the urge to throw herself to the ground in another crying fit, but silent tears coursed her cheeks as she worked.
FROM THE EDGE of camp, Jai watched her sleep. He'd been observing her since she'd returned. Her reason for leaving was clear to him now. There was no game in the immediate vicinity, and from the amount of fresh meat she returned with, he could only guess it was because of the crash. His stomach ached from hunger. She had left food for him inside the ship, but it had not been enough to last all day.
The time she spent away had been a blessing for him. In her absence, he had an opportunity to explore the wreckage thoroughly. A rare moment of good luck came when Jai had found the small stimulator from the medical box in the debris. There had been a full charge on it, and it had only taken half that amount to fully heal his wounds. Except for the scarring that had already occurred, he was completely restored.
He approached her sleeping form quietly. Luckily she'd saved his boots, and he'd donned the uniform clothes she had washed and mended. They were a sorry sight but all he had. When he was standing over her, he knelt down beside her pallet.
The change in perspective was striking. The delicacy of her body was a stark contrast to his brutish size. For the first time, he reached out to her and placed his open palm against the curve of her hip. As lightly as possible, he ran the broad plane of his hand over her rib cage, the swell of her breast, and then up her neck to cup her cheek.
His palm spanned from her jaw to the crown of her head. Jai was a little awed at the feelings stirred inside of him. Feelings so unfamiliar he wasn't altogether certain of their meaning. He was certain he wanted her, but the urge to dominate and subdue was missing. His desire was tinged by tenderness, and the need to have her touch him as if she wanted him too. First things first, though. Hunger was more pressing right now that his lust for the healer.
After eating a portion of the cooked meat, Jai returned to the sleeping woman. With one hard hand he brushed the hair from her face.
"Wake up, little healer. Wake up."
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Chapter Six
Mieli dreamed she was back in the ship, sleeping beside her patient. He was mumbling in his sleep again but much more distinctly this time. And he was touching her face—
"Bre naid, sen tai. Bre naid.” The words were getting louder, and Mieli opened her eyes. In that place between sleep and wakefulness, she just looked. He was so different in this dream. Instead of the battered countenance she'd become accustomed to, he was well. There were no bruises or scrapes to mar his features. She could see clearly now the sharp angles and hard lines of his face. His eyes were icy blue, so pale they were almost white, and a terribly fierce contrast to the deep brown hue of his skin.
Since it was a dream Mieli reached out to touch him. He'd stopped speaking, but he was still cupping her cheek. Her hand wouldn't reach that far, so she trailed her fingers across his chest, drowsily entranced by how large and developed his body was. Even in the clothes she'd mended, he was a striking figure. His height was not diminished by his posture, and with his back to the fire, the width of his shoulders was pronounced. So massive and... Wait...
Mieli snatched her hand back, and her eyes opened wide. This wasn't a dream. He was really here, completely healed by some miracle, and watching her with frightening intensity.
"How—how did you...” Her voice trailed off into a whimper as those ruthless eyes dropped to her body.
The hand at her face followed his gaze, and she flinched when he started to unfasten the buttons on her shift. She had considered this, had accepted it as a possibility and been willing to pay the price. A woman's body was just one more commodity in the world, and she had tried to mentally prepare herself to barter with it as such. She had given herself to men before, for reasons like romance and desire. Self-preservation was no less compelling a reason than those.
Mieli held still while he methodically stripped the garments from her and left her cold and naked in the low light cast by the fire.
She had never been with someone like this. Her previous lovers had all held her affections before they held her body. To submit, with a man who was her enemy and a stranger, was almost unbearable. Uppermost in her mind, though, was her hope. She had survived the war, and she would survive this.
JAI HAD KNOWN she would be beautiful, but the body he found beneath her clothing was the stuff of smut. Pictures that men passed around, images of women so perfect, so lovely, that they couldn't possibly be real. Like those images, her breasts were round and high, full and lush even though she lay on her back. And her waist was so narrow he could span it with his hand. At the thought he did, satisfied to see he was right.
Under his palm he could feel the tension in her stomach. He looked into her eyes. The dim glow of the fire wasn't enough to see their color, and his night vision did not do them justice. They seemed dark, and there was fear there. For some reason that disturbed him. In his fantasies, she had been hungry for him, her body over his. He wanted that, but he wasn't sure he knew how to accomplish it.
Jai couldn't wait anymore. He stood and began to remove his clothes.
MIELI WATCHED HIM rise and shed his uniform. When he was naked, the flickering light cast his body into sharp relief. It was remarkable how quickly and thoroughly he'd healed, and she wondered how it had happened. Then her attention went to the jutting erection between his legs. In caring for him, she had seen it in repose and thought it oddly shaped. In his excitement, it was almost frightening.
Her medical training had exposed her to a wide range of bodies among her people. This man was in some ways dissimilar, strikingly so. His shaft was not unusual, but it was oversize, thickest at the head, and tapering slightly to the base. In addition to being larger than those of any man she'd ever seen, his muscles were much more developed.
Before she could think about trying to run, he moved again. His hands settled on her knees and pulled them apart so he could kneel between them. Mieli closed her eyes and turned her head when he came down over her. His forearm rested alongside her head, and she felt his other hand reach down and fit his cock to the entrance of her body.
The size of him was terrifying. He was a monster in the darkness, menacing and sinister in his silence. More than anything, she wanted him to see her as a person, not an object for his lust. Mieli marshaled her will, turned to face him again, and brought her arms up to his shoulders. Unable to pull him down, she fitted herself instead into the crook of his neck.
He stilled. The blunt head of his cock was hard against her tender flesh, but it wasn't pressing painfully into her unprepared body anymore. Mieli was relieved. She hoped he was remembering how she'd cared for him, and might be reluctant now to cause her pain. After a moment he pulled away, and her hold on him was broken. He knelt for a time, looking down at her from inscrutable eyes.
Mieli was ready, she really was, but her emotions were suddenly out of control. She longed to cover herself, to run and hide, and to curl up and cry. Torn between them all, she just lay and let him look. A single tear did manage to escape and run down her temple.
JAI DIDN'T KNOW what stopped him exactly, but the feel of her arms around him had an unexpected result. Never in his entire life had he felt a woman's arms around him. Truth be told, he'd never thought about it before. And never had he imagined what it would feel like to be embraced.
Her expression seemed reluctant, but her body curved gently toward his, and her actions seemed accepting. It was unnerving because there was no reason for her to trust him, even less for her to be willing to lie with him. Jai looked down at her, so small and defenseless.
Before he could change his mind again, Jai flipped her over onto her stomach. She didn't resist, but her hands gripped the pallet tightly. Her face was turned to the right, and by her profile he could see her eyes were closed. He used one hand to brace himself over her and the other to lift her hips into his. His cock pressed urgently forward into
the soft skin of her cunt. With a groan of relief, he burrowed the head of his shaft into her flesh, thrusting and retreating in short jabs that worked him deeper and deeper into her tight heat.
MIELI THOUGHT MAYBE he'd changed his mind, but after a moment's silence, his face hardened. Before she could so much as make a sound, he gripped her hips and turned her easily onto her stomach. She closed her eyes and grasped the blanket beneath her. He came down over her, and she felt his hand beneath her, lifting her up.
She was not really wet enough when he began to work the bulbous head into her. His hand supported her hips, so she tried to relax and spread her legs in an attempt to ease the awful pressure. The thickness was nearly unbearable, and Mieli's every nerve ending blazed a message of discomfort to her brain.
After long minutes of tireless hammering, he was buried as deeply as her body would allow. How much of his shaft remained she couldn't tell, but the length inside her was scorching hot and so hard it felt inhuman. Her inner flesh was stretched almost to the point of pain.
Mieli was thankful at least that she had responded enough to ease his way, becoming wet and slick. Going through the motions of acceptance had helped her body remember what it was to have a lover after so long without. Above her he changed position slightly to hold her more securely. The hand he had on her abdomen slid lower, pressing against the top of her sex. The unexpected stimulation wrung a sound of surprise from her.
He must have noticed, because he stilled, then stopped. Mieli gasped again, this time in relief as he pulled his cock from her pussy and turned her over with a hand on her shoulder.
Unsure what had caused the change, she held still. He seemed to be debating something. Then he moved forward between her parted legs. His hands slid beneath her thighs and lifted, angling her up while he bore down with his hips. Again he pushed the thick head of his cock into her. This time it was easier because she was wet and ready for him, and she only writhed a little from the intrusion.
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