"His shop is the third building on the main street," she told him softly.
"Aren't you going to come with me?"
Zsilvia shook her head.
"They don't need me there," she replied.
George reached down and took her hand.
"Maybe I do."
Zsilvia looked into his eyes and felt the rush of protective need flow over her again. His grip tightened on her hand and the warmth that had spread through her disappeared as fear replaced it. Memories crashed behind her eyes and she felt her heart constrict painfully. Suddenly she couldn't breathe.
Pulling her hand out of his, Zsilvia yanked open the door and ran out of the house, needing to be alone, yet knowing that she could never be alone with him again.
(To be continued in Part VI…)
Book 6
Chapter One
Zsilvia took another small step backward into the corner of Ciyrs' shop, pressing herself to the wall in an effort to get as far back from the human women and George as she possibly could while still not making it obvious what she was doing. She didn't want to be close enough to the human man who she could not resist to start up the intense, overwhelming feelings again, but she also didn't want to make it obvious that she was trying to stay away from him. She didn't want to offend him, but perhaps even more, she didn't want to start up the questions that were bound to begin if the women noticed that she was doing everything she could to avoid spending any time alone with George. It would have struck them as strange that she was putting so much effort into making sure that they were never alone in the room together and that she kept enough physical distance between them.
George was Zsilvia's responsibility. The king himself had tasked her with being his guard and protector as soon as he arrived, and that meant that it was her duty as a Denynso to make sure that the man was safe, comfortable, and grew accustomed to the compound that would be his home for as long as he stayed on the planet. It was not her choice. Creia had originally selected Zuri to take on the position, but she had withdrawn. Though she told the king it was because she did not want to offend her mate by spending that much time alone with another man as it would require to be his protector and escort, especially considering Ero was away from the compound with the other men on their quest around the planet. Zsilvia knew that this was not the true motivation that kept Zuri from wanting the responsibility.
Zuri, like the other human women, was distrustful of George from the time that he arrived on the planet. When Creia told them that another professor was coming from Earth to Uoria to be a part of the university exchange program that had also brought Zuri, Leia, and Samira to the compound, the women had been baffled. They knew that the purpose of the exchange program was to allow people from the university on Earth to come to Uoria and educate the Denynso on the ways of the Earth and the humans that lived there, with the expectation that eventually representatives from the Denynso would also make their way to Earth in order to teach students about Uoria and their kind. They had not expected, however, for another professor to show up so quickly. Though the king himself had assured them that he had received the communication from the university announcing the arrival of the new professor, the women remained wary. The betrayal by the human woman who had been their flight attendant on the shuttle that had aided the Klimnu and put their entire compound at risk had made them nervous and distrustful. They were even having a difficult time trusting Loralia, the woman who came from the mirrored realm beneath the compound and who had been doing everything that she could to help them since she had arrived.
The distrust had only seemed to increase when the shuttle arrived a day early and the professor who stepped out was not one of the female professors who had worked with Zuri at the university, but a middle-aged man. He was stunningly beautiful, unlike any man that Zsilvia had ever seen, and with a voice that held an accent so unusual and hypnotic she felt like she could never stop listening to him speak and she would be perfectly happy. Though Zuri was familiar with him from the university, she was still completely reluctant to take on the position as his guard and Creia had handed it off to Zsilvia.
Even before she had taken on this role, however, she had been so overwhelmed with her reaction to him that she could barely contain herself. In truth, she had not contained herself, which is where the issues truly began and why she was doing everything she could to avoid being in close contact with him now, just as she had been for the three days since he had arrived. She had kept up with her responsibilities, making sure that she accompanied him to the meeting hall for meals, showing him where all of the women lived with their mates, and answering his questions about the compound. Whenever she was with him, however, she made sure that at least one of the other women was there as well so that she didn't have the opportunity to give into lust and step so close to him again.
She had nearly given into him the first night that he had arrived. Just moments after Creia had given her responsibility over George, she had escorted him to his house, struggling even then with the feelings that were building inside her. From the first moment that she saw him, those first few seconds when he stepped out of the shuttle and looked down at her from the platform, she knew that he was destined to be her mate. She could feel the need for him coursing through her body, and by the time they had stepped into his house, she was nearly breathless with her desire.
He had seemed to feel the same way, his luscious, intoxicating voice deeper and more sultry when he asked her what she had meant when she spoke of the human women and their Denynso mates. She had explained it to him as carefully as she could, telling him that the Denynso wait their entire lives to find that person who is destined for them and then once they complete their bond, they are inextricably linked to one another for the rest of their lives. She had been cautious, however, to only hint at what the bonding entailed. She knew that he understood completely, however, and in that moment he seemed fully and totally ready to take her into his arms and fulfill all of the yearnings that she was feeling for him.
Zsilvia had been nearly overcome by him, allowing him to take off his shirt and place her hands against the warm, chiseled muscles of his chest and run them through the thick, coarse hair that was so incredibly different than anything that she had ever seen. He was unlike any man she had ever seen or ever known. Where the Denynso men were towering and sleek, George was only slightly taller than Zsilvia and made thicker than the warriors, the almost primal nature of his body only accented by the hair that covered him from his chest down into the waistband of his pants.
She had not stopped with the exploration of his chest and the hypnotic, knee-weakening hair. Instead, she had given in to her curiosity, her need to discover him fully, and took his length into her hand, nurturing him with her touch. The feeling of his surging erection against her palm hand only fueled her forward and she had stepped into his arms, not moving away when he began to release the ties on her clothing. This was something that she had never felt, and something that she thought that she was never going to feel. Well beyond the age that most Denynso were when they found their mates, Zsilvia had resigned herself to being one of those who was destined to live out her life belonging to no one, and having no one belong to her.
She had accepted that, almost welcomed it, and when Zuri's voice broke through the delirium that was pressing Zsilvia forward and compelled George to reach out his hand and grab onto Zsilvia, she remembered instantly and painfully why. It had been many years since she had felt the touch of a man, and after that moment she had thought that she would never want to feel it again. What she had told George was absolutely the truth. The Denynso were a people who had one intended mate who they sought out for their entire lives. They knew immediately when they met that mate because of the intense, nearly overwhelming reaction of their minds and their bodies. The only way to soothe that burning within them was to complete the bond with their mate, linking them and ensuring that they would remain together for the res
t of their lives. It was a beautiful and meaningful experience that was highly romanticized among the warriors and women alike.
What she had not told them, however, was that the bond with their intended mates was not always the only sexual experience that the Denynso had. The men very often gave in to their cravings well before meeting their mate with any Denynso woman who would submit to them, and while the men were known to be tender and loving to their mates, such was not the case with their lovers. They rarely forced themselves on women who expressly refused them, but those who were willing to accept them could expect nothing less than the intensity and ferocity that the warriors showed on the battlefield. Thinking of nothing but their own satisfaction, the men would appease themselves, and then move on, almost never even thinking twice about the women that they left in their wake.
It was one of these men, a man that now did not even remember her name, who had frightened Zsilvia into rejecting even the most innocent of interactions from the men. She had given into him, desperate for the validation and attention that it would provide her, and he left her nearly dead and feeling like her soul had been torn from her body.
A change had seemed to come over the warriors in the years since then. Zsilvia was more than ten years older than most of the young warriors, and even that one decade seemed to separate them more than she would have imagined. Though they were still far from gentle and courteous, the younger warriors did not show the same level of intensity and aggression with the women before their mates as the warriors of her youth had. Instead, most of them just ignored the women, channeling all of their energies and desires into the violence that they executed in their battles.
George's hand wrapped around her arm, however, had immediately brought Zsilvia back to that horrifying night, and to the moment when she agreed that she would never allow another man near her. She remember in that moment that George was human, not Denynso, which meant that he did not feel the compulsion and immediate, undeniable attraction and sexual need her kind did for their intended mate. That meant that he was not feeling the need to bond their souls, but simply the need to soothe his body. It was far too frightening a reality for her to embrace. As much as she wanted to touch him, breathe him in, and let him carry her away into another existence with him, her mind would always get in the way of what her heart was telling her. Her fear would always supersede anything else that she was feeling, and she would never be able to move past it. Everything within her was gone and though the moment she breathed in the scent of George and touched his skin she could feel her soul feeling her again, she couldn't let herself trust, even for a moment, that it would be any different with him and that she wouldn't be crushed yet again.
Chapter Two
Zsilvia slipped out of the door to Ciyrs' shop and out into the cool night, taking a deep breath of the air that seemed thinner, sweeter, and fresher than the air inside the small building, but that didn't hold the intoxicating scent of George. She filled her lungs again, trying to cleanse them of his smell so that she could breathe without the overwhelming need coming over her. Her body was aching for George's touch and her skin burned as she knew it would, but she couldn't let herself stay close to him.
He had been engaged in a deep conversation with Zuri over something that he had found in one of the healer's many books, and she had taken the opportunity to walk away without him noticing. The other women were beginning to drift out of the shop as well, agreeing that they should get some sleep before getting started again early in the morning. They had been working almost non-stop for four days since the men had reached out to them from their quest, trying to find something, anything that would help them to solve the confounding issue of the locked settlement. It was pure desperation, the frantic efforts that came from knowing that if they didn't figure out a way to release them from their binds very soon, the Covra, the fearsome but mysterious enemies that had put them into their frozen state, would return and they would be lost. George had earned his way into the trust of the women by offering his knowledge and his ideas to helping them, and he stood right beside them as Eden, Elianna, Zuri, and Samira, with the help of Leia and Loralia, scoured through every bit of information that they could find in hopes that something would make sense and they would be able to help the warriors, their mates among them, find a solution.
Zsilvia continued away from the building, leaving behind the glow that poured out of the windows of the shop from the rows of candles along the walls for the darkness that existed further down the street. They likely wouldn't even notice that she was gone. It wasn't like they needed her help anyway. She had contributed nothing in the days since George's arrival had necessitated her be a part, passive and silent though she may be, of the frantic search. She wasn't a scientist like Eden, a professor like Zuri, or a brilliant student like Elianna or Samira. She felt no reason to pay attention to what was happening in their tense, fast-paced conversations or to even contemplate ideas. It would only get in their way and slow down any progress that they might be making.
"Zsilvia?"
Eden's voice stopped Zsilvia's progress and her head fell back momentarily as she bemoaned getting caught in her attempt to get away from the situation and the conversation that she knew awaited her. She turned around and faced Eden, who came toward her gradually, her speed slowed by her round belly. Zsilvia stared at that belly now, for the first time feeling jealous about the baby Eden cradled within it. That child represented so much more than just the beginning of a new generation for the tribe, the first Denynso born in more than a decade. It was a living, growing blend of Eden and Pyra, a precious symbol that Zsilvia finally felt like she was beginning to understand and at that same time was mourning that she could never understand it completely.
Before now, children existed in her mind merely as biological products of their parents. She had only ever experienced the demanding sexual drive of the Denynso men and each child that she saw seemed to be just a reminder of that faceless pressure. Now she looked at the precious swell of Eden's body and felt a pang deep within her. Eden was literally holding a piece of her mate within her, cradling that treasure against her heartbeat and nourishing it with the flow of her own blood. She was more connected to Pyra through that child than Zsilvia could ever have imagined being connected to someone, and yet now all she could think about was how desperately she wished that she could have that kind of link with George.
"You know that George is still back there," Eden said.
It was not a question, but a demand. Eden pushed this information at her, forcing Zsilvia to acknowledge it and giving an unspoken command for a response. It seemed that even through her efforts to remain as subtle as possible, Zsilvia had not been able to get past Eden.
"I know. He seemed to be in a pretty deep conversation with Zuri, though, and I'm really tired so I figured that I would just go ahead and go. He's been back and forth from Ciyrs' shop enough times that he can find his way back to his cabin on his own, I'm sure, and even if he can't, Zuri will probably walk with him anyway."
"Zuri is not his guard and protector. That is your job."
Zsilvia felt herself stiffen slightly.
"I am well aware of that, Eden."
"So it is your responsibility to make sure that he is safe and that he gets familiar with the compound. You are supposed to stay with him at all times unless he is in his home. Creia gave you that responsibility personally."
"Creia gave it to Zuri first."
"Yes, he did, Zsilvia, but as you know Zuri asked that he remove her from that role out of respect for Ero. She didn't think that it would be appropriate for her to be in that sort of a relationship with another man, particularly one who she is already familiar with because of their time working together at the university, when Ero is away from the compound."
"Why would it matter if she was spending time with another man? If Zuri and Ero are truly mates, he should know that no other man would ever interest her and she wouldn't stray from
him. Is he concerned that he perhaps picked the wrong woman?"
Eden looked shocked and dismayed by Zsilvia's bold statement.
"Ero is Denynso, but Zuri isn't. That means that she doesn't have the same bonding connection that the Denynso do. She loves Ero, but human women do not react to their mates the same way and do not automatically mate for life. It is very lucky that she was able to make the telepathic link with him."
"So he is concerned."
"It is not about Zuri, it is about Ero. She is showing her respect to her mate by not spending extensive amounts of time alone with another man. She understands that human relationships are different from those in the Denynso and she wants to show Ero as much devotion and commitment as she can by not doing anything that would even begin to look like she could be venturing too close to a personal relationship with someone other than Ero, especially when he is not around."
"I don't understand why it would make a difference. Pyra has been guard and protector for plenty of people, and he continued to play that role for women even after you came along."
"Pyra is the leader of the warriors and it is his traditional station to be escort for new visitors to the planet. He did fulfill that role, but he has not been guard and protector for anyone after me. He has always had other, unmated warriors take over that responsibility for him. Even if he didn't, I was always on the compound. It's different."
"How is it different? Just because you were somewhere on the compound and Ero is off on some foolish quest with the other warriors there is a difference in the amount of time that one mate spends with someone who is not the other mate?"
"Zuri would not want Ero to hear that she was spending a lot of time with another man, particularly a human man with whom she has a lot in common and a professional history, when he was not around and possibly feel like she was doing something disrespectful or dishonest. That is why she asked to be removed from the position and why Creia gave it to you."
Alien Romance Box Set: Uoria Mates II Complete Series (Books 1 - 10): A Sci-fi Alien Warrior Invasion Abduction Romance Page 23