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Ezra
“You’re a man,” she says, but I don’t move.
“Did you get any in your mouth?” I ask her, ready to force her to puke if she’s ingested any of the most poisonous berries on the planet.
“What?”
“In your mouth, woman!” I practically scream, but I reel in the crazy. I can’t freak out on this stranger, even if she is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life.
“No!” She yells, but I grab her jaw and force her mouth open the way I would a small animal. She protests loudly and tries to fight me, but I’m much bigger and stronger than her. She doesn’t have a chance. I pin her down and manage to see inside of her mouth. Once I’m satisfied that there are no berries on her tongue or in her cheeks, I let go of her mouth and climb off of her. She jumps to her feet.
“All right, you’re safe,” I say, but I’m not prepared for the sharp slap across my face.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” She asks, rubbing her jaw. She glares at me like I’ve somehow betrayed her, like I’m a monster, like I’m a beast.
“Damn it, woman!” I rub my face. She’s a tiny, scrawny girl, but she can hit. Fuck, can she hit. “What was that for?”
Her jaw drops. “What do you mean, what was it for? It was for tackling me, pinning me down, and forcing my mouth open like I’m some sort of cat. I’m not a cat; I’m a girl, and I don’t appreciate being treated like that by some stranger.”
So that’s the way this is going to go, eh?
“Listen here, girl,” I growl through gritted teeth. I stand up tall, making sure I’m showing off my full height. I haven’t been around many humans. I certainly haven’t been around one who wasn’t afraid of me. This girl? She’s not afraid of me. It’s quite strange, really. “Those berries are the most poisonous food on the entire planet. If you eat one, you’ll be dead in minutes. Do you understand?”
She has no idea how close she just came to death. She has no idea that I just saved her damn life. How would she? This is the type of woman who comes from privilege, from wealth. She’s probably lived a sheltered life where the biggest problem she’s ever had to deal with was which color dress to wear.
“Fuck you,” she spits out. She turns around and starts marching off along the creek. She’s got flimsy shoes on and her shoulders will be covered with bug bites before the sun sets in a shirt like that, but somehow, all I can focus on is the curve of her ass in those tight pants.
“Shit,” I mumble under my breath as I watch her walk away. She’s angry and upset, but she still walks with a sway. She still walks with the confidence of a woman who is used to getting what she wants. She still walks like she wants a damn spanking, and fuck if I’m not the one who wants to give it to her.
I should let her go.
I should let this human wander off in the woods and get eaten. I should let her discover that the jungles of Sapphira are not a tourist destination. I should let her find out just how hard surviving really is.
There’s just one problem: I don’t want to.
I don’t want to let her go.
I don’t want her to get hurt.
I don’t want her to discover that the world is a dark and dangerous place.
I don’t want any of that.
This woman, this human, is delicate. She’s soft and sweet and adorable. There’s something about her that calls to me, that makes me curious. What the hell is she doing in the middle of the jungle without so much as a canteen? What is she doing without supplies, without proper shoes?
Where did she come from?
And why is she here?
I start walking after her, but don’t say anything. After a few minutes, she seems to notice I’m trailing her. She turns around and glares at me. Then she starts walking faster, but only slightly.
I keep up easily.
My legs are longer than hers, and stronger. I’ve been on Sapphira for years and if I had to guess, I’d say she’s from Mars or another modernized planet that doesn’t have jungles or wilderness like this. I’d guess she’s from a place where she stays mostly indoors, where she doesn’t have to work hard.
I’d say she’s from a place that doesn’t even know about Sapphira, if I had to guess.
I could be wrong, but I don’t think so. Years of hunting has made me observant. It’s made me cautious. It’s made me aware. If you’re going to hunt something, if you’re going to catch something, you have to stay ahead of the game. You have to be ready for anything and you have to be able to predict the movements of your prey.
