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It scares me how delicate her species is. Covered in the softest flesh imaginable, she lacks natural body armor. Her fingers are only tipped with blunt nails. She has no claws, fangs, or horns to protect herself, but I can be her shield. I will stand against anything that tries to harm her.
I should check on her. Make sure she hasn't woken up and is in need of water or food. On silent feet, I creep through the main living pod, drawn to the sleeping pod by an immeasurable desire to be near her.
I pause in the doorway before moving inside to stand next to the bed, my gaze hungrily consuming her sleeping figure. Mesmerizing. Her fragile beauty is what fascinates me the most.
Her lips are parted in her repose, two lush pillows beckoning me to taste her. I force myself to take a step back, not wanting to wake her, but wanting more than anything to press my lips against hers and drink in her sweetness.
We are strangers, yet every cell in my body screams that she is mine. Every part of me yearns to know more about her, to learn her secrets, her thoughts, and her desires. An invisible force draws me to her, uniting us in a deep, unexplainable connection.
Her sweet scent saturates the air, coating my scentiatry glands, engulfing my senses, permeating my being. I inhale as deeply as I can, wishing to stay in this peaceful moment forever. My lula is intoxicating, a drug that fills me with a warmth I have never felt before.
She stirs in her sleep, and I step away, afraid my presence has disturbed her healing rest. The medical cuff still blinks in multi-colors. Until the lights turn white, she needs to remain asleep.
I creep away and unroll my pallet on the floor where I have slept since bringing her here, making sure to lay where I can see the blinking lights of the medical cuff. With my sword clutched in one hand, if she wakes, she will feel comfort in knowing I am close by to keep her safe.
CHAPTERFOUR
Zoe
"Mordox,"I whisper his name as I wake from a heavy slumber.
His was the last face I saw before sleep pulled me under. Had it been a dream? Was he just a figment of my imagination? Or had the criminal Stacy warned us about really whisked me off to his wicker-ball house in the trees to heal me from an injury?
My eyes flutter open to a faint shuffling sound. Mordox's rugged face comes into view, all hard jawline, tousled hair, and hooded gaze as if freshly roused from sleep.
"Sorry," I breathe. "Did I wake you?"
He scratches his chest, stifling a yawn, and I feel bad for disturbing him.
"No," he lies. "I'm glad to see you're awake and the medical cuff has done its job."
The cuff enclosing my forearm has changed from its riotous show of multicolored lights to a solid, tranquil white. Mordox leans over to release my arm from the cuff, the ends of his hair brush my skin. Instinctively, my hand moves up to test its softness, and I find it as silky as I imagined.
The huge male goes still, and I realize what I've done, quickly withdrawing my hand. "Sorry. I should have asked first."
"You can touch me anytime you wish, lula." Mordox's expression softens as he removes the cuff from my arm.
His emerald gaze sparkles in the filtered light of the room, twinkling with something otherworldly that keeps me rooted to the spot, unable to move away from his presence. I should be terrified, cowering under the blanket or running away as fast as my legs can carry me, but something about him puts me at ease. I know he's a criminal, and yet he has done nothing but help me.
Mordox stands to his full height. He towers over me, and I can't help but feel small and vulnerable next to him, but at the same time, there's a strange sense of safety that comes with his nearness. As if nothing can harm me when I'm with him. That's a heady feeling I take a moment to absorb fully.
I've been in a state of constant fear ever since waking up, naked and chained on the red planet. So scared, I actually peed on myself. Not my most shining moment, but the piss-yellow alien who had bought me and the other girls was more than my feeble bravado could handle.
I rub my freed arm. "You never told me what that means. Lula."
"It's a tiny songbird native to my home world, Ziaria. Delicate and beautiful, but fierce when provoked. Just like you."
My entire body blooms with heat. "I'm not any of those things," I say shyly. "Timid and afraid maybe, but never fierce and definitely not beautiful."
"You don't give yourself enough credit."
"That's what my friend Darcy always says."
"Smart friend," he grins, then mumbles. "Smarter than Drax."
"Now that I'm all healed up, I'd like to return to them. My friends that is."
Mordox studies me a long moment. "You still need time to rest," his words are measured and deliberate. "Time to regain your strength. It's a long way to meet your friends. It won't do if you collapse halfway there."
