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The top of the shirt parted, falling open enough that, with his height, he’d get a pretty good cleavage shot. Oh, yeah—his eyes dipped down. I had to stop myself from pulling my arms inward to make my breasts look even better.
His comp beeped, and he jerked his hand away from me and spun around. “We need to get going.”
I stripped off his shirt. “Where are we headed?”
“We have an hour’s hike down the mountain to another flat area where my friend’s going to pick us up in our shuttle.”
I pulled on my clothes, moving quickly as he’d asked. “I’m dressed now.”
When he turned around, I handed him his shirt, and he pulled it on. It was still warm from my body heat, and knowing the fabric that had touched my skin all night now wrapped his felt intimate as hell.
I took care of business hidden behind a rock and washed my hands and face in the pond.
Raxnor dismantled the tent, filled the cans with water, and set out the last of the protein bars.
“Lila,” I called, “come and eat breakfast.”
“No. Hunting good here!”
“Lila says she can hunt here, but it’s clear she couldn’t back in the jungle.”
“Her purple fur really stood out from the jungle’s orange and green.” He pointed to where she crouched, her gaze laser focused on another small lizard. “Here it’s a lot closer to the pink of the moss. In fact, if we remained in this location for long, she could probably decimate the local populations of small reptiles. They’re not used to facing a predator of her ability.”
As if to punctuate his words, Lila’s haunches rose, and she danced from one back paw to the other. Then she pounced, her body leaping through the air in an arc. Her paws smashed the lizard to the ground, and she bit down with a chomp. She raised her head to meet my eyes.“See! Crunchy!”
“Go you!” I waved a fist in the air, then turned so I wouldn’t have to watch her eat.Dios mío, I’m being such a hypocrite. I eat meat!Hell, back on Earth, meat had been a treat, something we could only afford for special occasions. People always assumed we got carne asada or something like that. But the family favorite had actually been pepperoni pizza. I’d gobbled down every slice and wanted more.
Yet it still felt different when Lila ate something that had been alive only moments before.
“Eat,” Raxnor growled, pressing a protein bar into my hand.
Only once I’d torn open the wrapper and taken my first bite did he start eating his. From some guys, this kind of protectiveness would have felt… condescending. But from him, it felt protective, caring, and yet another way he made me feel safe.
Raxnor inhaled his bar with a quickness that spoke of hunger, and I suddenly realized he’d been eating only one bar for every meal, just like me. Which didn’t make sense. Sure, he was alien, but science was science. He was almost twice my size and all muscle—he should have been eating lots more calories.
I picked up the extra bar he’d set aside for my pet and shoved it into his hand. “Here. Lila’s got her lizards.”
“Me good hunter!”
“Are you certain you—”
“Nope! All full.” I patted my tummy, then leveled a finger at him. “So it’s your turn to do whatIsay and eat.” The protectiveness thing was great, but he deserved to have someone looking out for him, too.
The corners of his lips twitched, and he took the bar, devouring it in three big bites before pushing to his feet. “Let’s go.”
Raxnor led the way out of the glen, setting off down a narrow trail that curved along the mountain’s flank.
I paused at the entrance, looking back into the magical area made by the waterfall. Its beauty struck me all over again. I’d grown up in a world of concrete, glass, and steel. Almost nothing of nature had been left by the time I’d left Earth. The few small parks had all been owned by the ridiculously wealthy. Even the jungle around the lizards’ house had been a treat.
But nothing would ever top this place.
“Raxnor!”
He turned.
“Does your phone thing take photos?”
He nodded.
