Page 13 of His Human Runaway

“Sit down,” I tell them both. “I’ll explain everything.”

We take seats in front of the fireplace. I crack my jaw open and blast a streak of fire to start the ebony logs flickering. We recline and then I tell them what I know so far, which isn’t much. How I found Mica while checking the farthest fence line and rescued her from a locat attack. How she had suspicious bruises, but she doesn’t want to tell me anything about who she is running from. How she asked to work here, and I said yes.

Rake gives me a sharp look. “You want her as yours, don’t you?”

White smoke puffs from my nostrils, but I don’t bother with denial. “It doesn’t matter what I want. This is not how she feels. She wants only an employer-employee relationship and that she is to stay here temporarily and so nothing will happen between us. She is simply a female who is sheltering here temporarilywho I will protect for as long as she needs my help. But she will eventually leave and I will have to live with her decision.”

Sten shakes his head. “Well, this makes me feel better. You’re always the one females fell over my whole life and you’ve wanted nothing to do with any of them. It’s fitting that when you finally decide on a female you want to pleasure mate, you can’t have her.” He crosses his arms. “I like her already.”

Rake grins, which is unusual. “Maybe this means I can try to have her as mine, or maybe she’ll want Sten instead.”

Fire churns in my stomach and black smoke billows from my nostrils. “No. If she’s not mine, then she has none of us.” I clench my claws. “Do you understand?” I growl.

Their lips both twitch.

“Burl was right,” Sten laughs.

“He called it,” Rake nods.

And then I hear a noise. I turn and look up.

Mica stands on the balcony upstairs that overlooks the living area, smiling down at me. She lifts a delicate hand and gives me a wave of greeting. And I am stunned again by her beauty.

When I first met her, she was beautiful in a wild, primitive way, with bits of leaves and twigs stuck in her hair, dirt smeared everywhere and scary-looking wounds and bone breaks that tore at my heart, causing me to rush her to the med lab.

When I saw her in the bedroom earlier, I was stunned at her transformation. Her long human “hair” was sleek and clean, wearing clothes from my species that she’d found in the closet. And she stands in those same clothes, with the addition of those foot coverings that were fixed. I can’t help but admire her thick waist, the luscious curve of her chest and the beautiful golden glow of her skin. She lacks horns, tail and claws. And her inability to flash flame is a sad disability. But the novelty of the follicles that grow on her head and the glowing gold of her pigment more than make up for these failings.

Suddenly I can envision this as her home, that she is my mate and swollen with our offspring. Which makes me wonder if I want this female as more than a pleasure mate.

“Well,” Sten comments. “This is the first human I’ve seen in real life and even from this distance I understand why they are considered so attractive.”

“Yes,” Rake agrees, “but what is her personality like? What a being is like on the inside is what matters most.”

I wave, gesturing for Mica to come down and join us. She starts down the stairs, remaining perfectly balanced despite her lack of tail.

I nod. “I like her so far. She is stubborn yet kind. Burl already introduced her to everyone and they like her.”

“She’s been kind to the ranch hands so far?”

“Yes.” I nod.

“This is good.”

Rake gives me a questioning glance. “Does she like the domicile you created?”

I grin. “Yes, she does.” I stand and move forward to greet Mica at the base of the stairs. “Good evening, Mica. How do you feel?”

“Hi, Thorn,” she answers with genuine enthusiasm. “I feel so much better. I hope I didn’t sleep for too long. I see it’s dark outside. Oh, are these your brothers?”

This is the first time she’s said my first name and I like the sound of it on her lips “Don’t worry, you slept as long as you needed. And yes, these are my brothers. Yes, let me introduce you.”

It feels momentous, introducing her to my siblings. I look down and notice she feels the same. She’s biting at her lip with tiny, blunt teeth.

“Are you nervous?” I question.

“A little,” she admits. “I caught a peek of them both from upstairs and they are very intimidating.”

I take her hand and give it a squeeze and gently guide her forward.

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