She gave him a speculative glance from under his lashes, and he could swear he heard her thoughts.
“No, saachi,” he said firmly. “This is not a fit place for you. It is too dangerous.”
“Then teach me how to handle the danger.” She must have read the disapproval in his face because she hurried on. “Oh, not because I expect you to let me stay but because I don’t want to be afraid of everything.”
She had a valid argument. Not that he ever intended to let her run into danger, but he had enough experience to know that even the most careful guardians occasionally slipped up.
“And Aidon, no matter where I go, there’s going to be danger. I lived such a quiet life, a peaceful life, and I was snatched away from it while doing nothing more than gathering flowers. I know that nowhere is safe.”
Especially if you’re not there. The unspoken words hung in the air between them.
“Very well. I’ll do my best to teach you while you’re here.”
“Thank you.”
She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, the sweet temptation of her tongue arousing his need once more. Her eyes widened as she no doubt felt his cock hardening between them, but then her lids went heavy, and she gave him a smile worthy of the most experienced seductress.
“Perhaps we should start our lessons with how to seduce one’s enemy.”
“Your seduction efforts are only for me,” he growled immediately. Despite what he had just said about their lack of a future, he heard the possessive note in his voice and saw her recognize it as well. But she didn’t point out his absence of logic. Instead, she licked her lips and rubbed her hard, little nipples against his chest.
“Then teach me how to seduce you,” she whispered. But as his mouth covered hers once more, he already knew there was nothing she needed to learn. He was hers.
Chapter Nineteen
That evening, Hanna stood on the deck that reached out over the water and studied the river. The last rays of the setting sun lit the surface, and it sparkled as the water rippled and swirled beneath her, both beautiful and mysterious. Much like Aidon, she thought wryly. He had so many secrets, so many hidden danger zones beneath the surface. Not dangerous to her but to himself. As angry as he had been at his grandfather, she suspected that it was pain rather than rage driving his emotion. What had happened to him as a child?
Two firm hands circled her waist, and she smiled happily as she leaned back against the massive warmth of his body.
“Kitchen all clean?” she asked. After making them a delicious dinner over a wood fire stove, just like the one his grandfather used, he had insisted on cleaning up and sent her out on the balcony with a glass of wine.
“It doesn’t take long to load the dishwasher and wipe off the counter.” He sounded amused as he dipped his head to nibble on her neck.
Mmm, even when he wasn’t directly touching her bite mark, the feel of his mouth awoke her need for him. Why had he bitten her? she wondered for the hundredth time. He had made it clear that the mating bond was only between Pardorians, but he had still marked her as his. Was it because she had been the only female around and he’d been in need?
He must have felt her stiffen because he abandoned the tantalizing exploration of her neck.
“What is it, saachi?”
She wanted to ask him, but in the last moment, her courage deserted her, and she returned to her original thought.
“Why are you so angry at your grandfather?”
It was his turn to stiffen, but then he sighed and rested his head in her hair. “My mother was not Pardorian.”
What? A thousand questions ran through her mind, but she didn’t want to interrupt him, so she simply waited for him to continue.
“I told you that she died,” he said finally. “But that wasn’t the entire truth. She left when I was ten years old.”
This time she couldn’t help herself. “She left you? What kind of mother leaves her child?”
“I asked myself the same thing for a long time. It wasn’t until after I left Pardor that I decided to investigate.” His arms tightened around her. “I didn’t know she had been a spaceship pilot. I did know that she had landed here and apparently fell in love with my father. She moved to our village to be with him, but I don’t think she was ever truly happy. I remember so many nights when I would see her staring up at the stars. She knew every one of them. I think she just couldn’t take being grounded anymore, and when she decided I was old enough to take care of myself, she left.”
“Did you go looking for her?”
“I did, but she died in a revolution on Russalt, trying to fly refugees off the planet.”
“I’m so sorry.” She put her hands over his, holding him against her. Only the sounds of the river filled the air as they stood in silence. Eventually she asked, “What about your father?”
“He didn’t even last a year after she left. Which meant that I was left with my grandfather. I knew he never liked my mother, and I never thought he liked me.”
“I don’t believe that for a minute. You know that he comes to watch every time your ship sets down? Just so he can see you?”
His muscles turned to iron beneath her hands. “You must be mistaken.”
“That’s what he told me, and I believe him.”
“He was always so hard on me. I thought it was because I couldn’t shift, because I wasn’t a true Pardorian.”
“Do you remember what he said? That he wanted you to know that you were strong? I know he didn’t go about it the right way, but maybe he was trying to prove to you that you were as good as any other Pardorian.”
“I don’t know.” He sighed, and his muscles relaxed. “When I think back on that time, I just remember feeling angry and hurt all the time.”
“I don’t know about Pardor, but on Earth, that’s pretty common when you’re a teenager,” she said gently. “You feel like the whole world is against you.”
He gave a half laugh. “You make me sound very foolish.”
“Oh no.” She turned in his arms and reached up to cup his face. “Never foolish. It may not be uncommon to feel that way, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.”
“What about you, my ma—my saachi? Did you feel like that?”
Her heart thudded. He had been about to say “my mate,” she was sure of it. Maybe the bond between them was like his relationship with his grandfather—he just needed time to accept it. Ignoring the sudden swelling of hope, she smiled up at him.
“Of course I did. My aunt was a wonderful woman, and I never doubted that she loved me, but she was also very strict and very old-fashioned. I used to hide out in my room and listen to moody female singers and write depressing poetry.”
“I’m glad you eventually left your room. I’m sorry that you were taken from your home, but I’m not sorry that we met.”
“Neither am I.” Remembering the success of her earlier attempts at seduction, she ran a teasing finger down his chest and along the edge of his loincloth. The fact that his cock responded emboldened her. “You know what, I’ve never made love outside.”
Black flames danced in his eyes. “I believe we should remedy that situation.”
He started to spin her around, and as he did, her elbow caught her wine glass and sent it shooting over the rail and toward the river below. She looked on in shocked horror as a giant mouth emerged from the water to seize the glass. It disappeared into a huge cavity lined with teeth before the head submerged once more. It had happened so quickly, but she hadn’t even gotten a good look at the monster. All she had seen were those rows and rows of teeth.
“What was that?” she whispered.
“An akul.”
“It was so big. And it had so many teeth.”
“It’s the biggest predator in the water, or at least the largest found in fresh water. I keep trying to tell you that Pardor is—”
“Dangerous. I know.” She stared at the water below, dark now that the sun had d
ipped below the horizon, and shuddered.
“Perhaps we should leave our outdoor adventures for another time,” he suggested.
“I think that’s a good idea.”
“Don’t worry, saachi. I’m sure I can satisfy your desire for adventure from inside the house.” As he swept her up in his arms and carried her inside, she was quite sure that he could.
Once again, Aidon awoke as soon as the sun crept above the horizon. Today the light wasn’t blocked by leaves and shutters but flooded into his bedroom through the wide glass walls. Hanna was nestled against his chest, breathing softly, and he was filled with unexpected contentment. Normally he spent his time on Pardor pacing angrily at the necessity for his return or taking to the forest to practice his hunting skills. This morning he felt neither restless nor angry.
He breathed in Hanna’s lush scent and looked out over the river. An usan vine suddenly erupted from the water on the other shore, snatching up a small creature who had made the mistake of wandering into reach. The vine disappeared beneath the water, and the morning was quiet once more. This was Pardor, harsh and dangerous for the unwary, but it was the place where he had grown up, and for the first time since he’d left, he allowed himself to admit that perhaps it had not been all bad.
His conversation with his grandfather the previous morning played through his mind. For a brief moment, they had talked almost cordially as they’d discussed the village. He still couldn’t believe that his grandfather was no longer chief. For as long as he could remember, the old man had ruled the village with a firm hand. And Ralard as chief? Even though Aidon had called him an idiot, they had been friends once—they had gone on their first hunt together, and they had been allowed to spend their first night alone in the jungle together. Aidon’s inability to shift had finally forced a wedge between them. But how much of that had been his fault? he wondered for the first time. He had been so sensitive about what he saw as his failure that perhaps he had seen insult when none was intended.
“You look very serious.” Hanna’s soft voice interrupted his thoughts.
“I was just thinking about the past.”
“Bad thoughts?”
“New thoughts,” he said slowly.
“Do you want to talk about them?”
“No. I can think of far more interesting ways to occupy my time.” He bent his head and kissed her, delighting in her immediate response. This kissing was addictive. He loved the way she opened to him, loved the way her soft, little tongue played shyly with his, loved…
He froze. The mating bond had overwhelmed him—the heat and need driving him to claim her—but this was the first time he had truly realized how much more was involved than his instincts. He loved her. He loved her curious mind and her tempting body. He loved the way she changed color when she was embarrassed. He loved that even when she was afraid, she always found the courage to do what needed to be done.
She looked up at him, her face showing only concern—concern for him. He couldn’t tell her. His feelings made no difference. She still wouldn’t be safe on Pardor, and she was no more equipped for the life of an assassin than the delicate flower she resembled. He opened his mouth to change the subject, but instead, he found himself blurting out a version of the truth.
“I…care for you, Hanna.” He would have closed his eyes in despair, but he couldn’t tear them away from her face. Tears swam in those enormous blue eyes. “I don’t mean to upset you. I know it doesn’t change anything.”
“It changes everything.”
“No, saachi, it doesn’t. As soon as I can leave Pardor, I’m still going to take you to Sherae, where you’ll be safe.”
“But we’re not leaving yet?”
“No.”
“Then we’ll just have to take advantage of the time we have.” She reached up and stroked his face, the way she did so often. “I’m happy here with you, Aidon.”
The words settled over him like a healing rain. He could feel the warmth of them filling all the empty places in his heart. Unable to speak, all he could do was bend his head and kiss her, trying to show her with his mouth and with his hands how much he loved her.
The kiss grew increasingly frantic, and she was touching him just as eagerly. Her nipples were like tiny pebbles against his chest, and when he slipped his hand between her legs, she was wet and ready. He pulled back, intending to flip her over, but for the first time, she resisted.
“Why do you always do that? Take me from behind?”
“It is the way that is done.”
“It’s not the only way,” she said firmly even though her cheeks flushed with the words. “I want to look at you.”
Shocked and intrigued, he stopped trying to turn her over. She looked so tiny beneath him, but she smiled encouragingly, and he lifted her small hips over his thighs. Oh yes, he could see the advantages of this position. She was spread out before him, every inch of her perfect body open and accessible to him. He stroked his cock between her lower lips, coating it in her delicious wetness. She quivered at his touch, and despite his urge to enter her, he lingered, rubbing the swollen veins of his cock over the sensitive pearl at the top of her slit. In this position, he could also reach her breasts, and he lifted her upper body higher so that he could feast on each rosy bud.
Her body shuddered, and he knew that she was on the verge of climax, but he wanted to be inside her, wanted to feel her snug little channel pulsing deliciously around him. He probed gently at her entrance, so tight and hot, then pushed inside, slowly, so slowly, watching her face the entire time. Her eyes had fluttered closed, but they opened now, watching him, and the look on her face took his breath away.
“You know, saachi,” he said as he slowly withdrew, “I have the ability to transform specific parts of my body.”
“That’s nice,” she said absently, trying to lift her hips to follow him.
As he drove back inside, he transformed his cock to that of an Elginar and let it vibrate inside her.
Her eyes widened. “What are you doing?”
“Demonstrating the advantages of a Pardorian lover. Do you like that?”
He thrust slowly in and out of her as she arched her back. Soft pink spread down from her neck until even her breasts were flushed and glowing.
“Or perhaps you would prefer this?”
A Kaisarian cock had a furled tip that flowered within a female, opening inside her to stroke her innermost channel, and he used it now to add to the sensations inside her. She shuddered, and he moved his thumb to her swollen pearl, intending to bring her pleasure, but she put her hand over his as she looked up at him.
“I want you, just you. Please change back.”
He lost all control at her words, transforming back even as he began to plunge wildly. He heard her cry out his name, felt her convulsing around him, and he buried himself in her and exploded in an endless, heated rush. Her legs and arms clung to him as he dropped down over her, burying his head in her neck and drawing her just as close. When he finally raised his head, she was smiling at him.
“You see, other ways work just fine,” she said.
“It was very fine indeed,” he agreed, studying her face. “You did not enjoy the way I transformed my cock?”
She bit her lip. “They felt wonderful, but…”
“Go on.”
“They didn’t feel like you. And you’re the only one I really want, Aidon, just the way you are.”
His heart ached, full of the words he would not let himself say. All he could do was kiss her and once again, let his body speak for him.
Chapter Twenty
“What are we going to do today?” Hanna asked after they had eaten breakfast. “Is there anything you have to do while you’re on the planet?”
Aidon shook his head. “Normally I pace back and forth and curse my fate.”
“That doesn’t really sound like fun.”
“No, it doesn’t.” He smiled at her, looking surprisingly cheerful. Had she ever seen him l
ook so happy and relaxed before?
“And sometimes I go hunting, but I don’t believe you would enjoy that.”
“I’ll go if you want me to.” Her stomach churned at the thought, but she did her best to look enthusiastic.
“If you really want to know how to take care of yourself, it would be a good thing for you to learn,” he said gently. “But why don’t we start with something a little easier?”
She didn’t think she did a good job of hiding her sigh of relief because he grinned at her.
“I thought perhaps we could take some food and I would show you the waterfall.”
“Oh, a picnic. That sounds wonderful.”
“A pick nick?” he repeated. Apparently the word did not translate.
“It’s what you described. You take a blanket and a basket of food and go somewhere scenic.” She felt a smile curving her lips as she peeked at him from under her eyelashes. “Sometimes you fool around a little.”
“I am not a fool.” He looked almost offended.
“That’s not what I meant. It’s an expression that means you do some kissing and, um, maybe some other things.”
“In that case, I definitely approve of this pick nick. I will prepare.”
A short time later, he was leading her into the jungle. He had a cloth bag slung across his shoulder, and he still looked happy.
“You don’t really hate Pardor, do you?” she asked.
“I do not like the chains it has on me.”
“I understand how much you resent that. But right now, you seem happy to be here.”
“That is because you are with me.”
Her heart did a funny little skip, but she ignored it, determined to make him see her point.
“And I enjoy being here with you, but I’m not at home here the way that you are.” At least not yet.
“At home?” He looked almost shocked, but then his gaze drifted over the surrounding trees, and his nostrils flared. “It is very familiar to me.”
Hanna and the Hitman: A SciFi Alien Romance (Alien Abduction Book 8) Page 13