Page 16 of Warrior Enchanted

“If my stupid com still worked, we would have called Kitan and he’d have flown the shuttle right up to this branch.” I tried to envision that, getting chills thinking about having to step off something solid high up in the air and onto a floating thing handled by a pilot. What if he crashed that thing into the tree? We had a good view all around us but there were still a lot of tree with branches and leaves sticking out all around.

Maybe walking all that way wasn’t such a hardship. I’d be alone with Jakar, in a forest that didn’t seem nearly so bad with him at my side. He had tons of supplies with him, including clean clothes for me, for which I’d be eternally grateful. I was starting to realize that I had no clue what I wanted. I just knew that I didn’t like the idea of staying on Rakex. The aliens on this planet were all complete strangers and I didn’t really get along with any of the other human rescues. None of them had to fight for survival, not even Katja and her brother.

Previously, I hadn’t liked staying on the Vagabond either. I’d felt a little threatened by witnessing all those cute half-alien/half-human couples. Thinking the silly goof standing at my side was a creep who just chased anything in a skirt didn’t help either. That had made me hurt more, made me want to escape. Hearing him say that he’d only been interested in me, that had eased something painful inside of me. It was exactly what a player, a flirt, might say just to get their way; I knew the type only too well. With Jakar, it was hard not to believe that he was sincere. There was just something so open and earnest about him.

It should have shocked me more that I felt that way, that I, Meena the pragmatic, had been jealous. The rules were different out here, though. The girls talked about their men as if they were simply meant to be, sounding besotted, utterly in love. They called them their mates as if that was somehow different, more than being married. Even Abigail, who was much more like me in temperament than any of the others, pragmatic, no nonsense. She’d also been ‘mated’ the longest, going on nearly a year, she said. She didn’t appear to be out of the honeymoon phase yet. None of them did.

Tilting my chin, I looked up at Jakar to study the contours of his face. Yeah, maybe I should just stay on the Vagabond, with my misunderstanding with this dude cleared up… Maybe I should try to make that work. Hah, if my mother could hear my thoughts right now, she’d tell me to get on with it and make her pretty four-armed grandbabies. No doubt about it. The thought made me happier than I thought it would, mostly because I was thinking of my mom without feeling that overwhelming sense of grief this time. I wasn’t drowning anymore.

His stubble had grown a little thicker and he was definitely starting to look like a rakish pirate. If he wore a white blouse with those puffy sleeves, he’d be like the alien version of one of those historic romance novels my sister devoured. I grinned just imagining it. Yeah, a bit of a breeze like this set his black curls gently swaying in the wind. Perfect.

Yellow eyes crinkled at the corners and I just knew that he was smiling at me without actually turning to face me. He probably liked that I was staring and I should look away before he got any more outrageous ideas.

“Hey, there’s a hollow in the tree up there. Why don’t I scout it out? We could probably make a comfortable nest in there and rest up for the day.” He pointed with a hand as he spoke and my stomach clenched with desire. I was instantly imagining a nest of blankets in a cozy little nook, Jakar spread out on them, completely naked. Woah, maybe it was my brain that was getting the outrageous ideas.

To cover for that, I pointed back at the city, or at least the vague white shimmer we thought was the city. “Shouldn’t we climb down and start heading that way? Aren’t your friends anxiously waiting for your safe return?”

He grinned and flexed an arm to display some of his bulging muscles, laughter painting his face, and his spots a bright yellow. “They know I am fine. I am in my element in the trees here, haven’t you noticed?” I had noticed that, duh. It was a little hard to miss, especially after that Tarzan stunt with the vine. Just thinking back on it made my stomach drop all over again. That had been terrifying and he’d laughed like a maniac the entire time.

I poked his side. “Fine, we stay and rest. But I want to do at least a little walking on the way back, okay? I happen to like walking from time to time.” I wasn’t sure if my leg muscles would make it if I had to cling to him all freaking day. That was something I’d rather find out while not vertical.

Oh boy, my mind was totally in the gutter all of a sudden. What was happening? I thought that after what I’d been through, it wouldn’t be for a long while yet until I was ready for that kind of thing. My body seemed to be on board though, was I really ready? Was I that attracted to this weirdo?

“Sure,” he grinned, and a dimple popped in one of his cheeks that just about made me melt. Yeah, I guess I was. Crazy, absolutely crazy, but maybe it was time to just roll with this. I couldn’t keep on fighting everything that would grind me down and I didn’t want that.

“You can walk a little,” he added, and then he had me up in his arms, the lower set, bridal style. I couldn’t help it. I laughed, and I felt light as a feather and miraculously unafraid that he’d drop me. He waggled his dark eyebrows at me, emphasizing the joke, his pretty eyes sparkling at me with unfettered joy. It was easy to lift along on that feeling, to join him in being happy, and I basked in it, letting it carry away some of the baggage I’d been carrying.

“Okay, Tarzan, take me to that nest. I’m ready,” I said, smiling so widely that my cheeks ached. Jakar was probably a little younger than me and his positive, always cheerful attitude would make you think he’d never seen any hardship. I hated it, and it made me feel more accepted, to know that he’d gone through stuff too, even if he hadn’t talked about it. The fine little scars that circled his neck said it all. Jakar would understand my wounds, and maybe, maybe, I could understand his.

For now, I was happy to put all that bad stuff, all the nightmares locked in my head aside so that I could enjoy this moment with him. It didn’t take him long to make sure the hollow up in the tree he’d seen was empty and safe. Took him even less time to gather our supplies so he could make us the ‘nest’ he’d promised. Then I was whisked away, safely tucked against his chest until I could crawl through the narrow opening and inside. I was immensely happy to have something like walls around me again.

“This is gorgeous,” I gasped out as I sat up on my knees in the center of the hollow. The tree was so big that this was probably just a small portion carved out of its side. Yet the space was big enough for the two of us to stretch out in, even if it was only tall enough for us to sit, not stand. Jakar had covered the bottom of the semi-flat inside with all the soft blankets he had with him, and then he’d hung several small lanterns to light up the space, making it a cozy little hideaway. It was actually really romantic and as my hand stroked along the blankets next to my hip, I knew what we were going to be doing soon. My stomach heated in anticipation and my heart rate started to speed up.

Jakar hadn’t entered yet, letting me admire his handiwork first while he clung like a squirrel to the outside of the tree. Sharp, clawed fingers dug into the thick bark on the outside, allowed him to hang there without any obvious handholds. “You like it?” he asked eagerly. When I nodded, he beamed a huge smile, but it faltered a moment later, his eyes dropping away from my face.

“My friends say I am too pushy, and that I should give you space…” His eyes met mine and darted away while my heart started to feel heavy again. “So, this is your space, and when you feel like it, you can invite me in. If not, I’ll sleep out on the branch. That’s fine, I’d happily do that for you. First though, I’ll gather us something nice to eat. I’ll be right back.”

Chapter 12

Meena

He was gone before I could say anything, leaving me with a tangled mess of feelings. So despite the advice, he’d still left me gifts, and he’d still followed me into the woods to rescue me. He was doing his level best not to pressure me, even though it felt like he was completely infatuated with me. Was he feeling some kind of mating urge toward me? Was that what this was? I really needed to ask him. I didn’t want to lead him on and I really hadn’t made up my mind yet about what I wanted my future to be like. Just probably not Rakex, that I was sure of.

I still didn’t know what to do when he came back with a leave folded like a pouch, filled to the brim with more nuts and berries. He was also carrying something strung from some kind of vine over one shoulder. A closer look told me it was a small animal he had probably hunted. Thankfully, he skinned it out on the branch where I didn’t have to see or smell it.

For an alien from an advanced society, he had tons of survival skills for out in the wild. It was extremely attractive to know he could take such good care of me out here. Though he cooked the meat on a little portable gadget he pulled from his bag instead of making fire with a pair of twigs or something. I supposed an actual fire up in a tree wasn’t the brightest idea. When the food was ready, he sat cross-legged in the ‘nest’ across from me while we ate.

Since it had been weighing on my mind as soon as the thought popped into my brain, I just blurted it out. “Jakar, you don’t think I’m like your mate or anything, do you?” I honestly didn’t know if I wanted him to say yes or no. I held my breath while I waited for him to answer me. Did I want to be his mate? Did it make me feel safer out in this alien universe to know a man like him was a place, a person to rely on? Or was it going to make me feel trapped, feel like I had no choice?

His eyes went wide, his spots turning from yellow to orange. For a moment, I fully expected him to bolt straight from the tree, his arms shifting out, muscles going tight. Then he sighed and started to nod. “Yes, my mate. I know you are. I knew it the moment our eyes met—”

I tried to figure out how that made me feel but I had no freaking clue at all. Then he was rushing on, words tumbling from his mouth like a waterfall. “I know humans don’t have mates. I know you don’t experience it the way a Pretorian like me does. And I know you need time. I just wanted the chance to get to know you. I wanted to stay on Rakex with you but Ziame said I shouldn’t, that you should have time to settle here first before I courted you! We were going to come back in a few months but then you got stolen and well… I’m definitely not leaving now.”

The last words were said firmly, and then he shut his mouth abruptly and crossed all four of his arms over his chest and gave me what could only be described as a defiant look. Determined, that’s what he was, to stay here on Rakex and protect me. To keep me safe but give me space.

“I don’t want to stay on Rakex,” I said to him because that’s the one thing I did know for sure right now. I shuddered just thinking about it. I didn’t think I’d ever feel completely safe again in a big city or crowd, where I could be snatched up at any moment. Living on a ship seemed like a much safer bet right now.

His shoulders dropped. “You mean that? Does that mean staying on the Vagabond with me?” he uttered his question with such a hopeful puppy dog look that I found myself grinning and nodding. How could anyone say no to this man? With his eyes all huge, and that sexy dimple, and rakish look? It still seemed a little overwhelming to realize that this four-armed dude wanted to be my alien forever boyfriend, but I was already not hating the idea.