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“Rosie? Harlan’s mate?”
“Yes.” The pieces suddenly came together, and some of her tension disappeared. “Are you one of the soldiers they’re trying to help? Because I’m sorry, but this land isn’t available.”
His scowl deepened.
“I am a warrior, not a soldier, and I do not require anyone’s help. I am only here because my commander requested that I accompany him.”
She couldn’t help a nervous glance over her shoulder.
“He’s here too? Where?”
“He is here on the property, but he did not accompany me on this trip. We are alone.”
Was that intended as a threat? Her pulse started to race again as she realized how close they were in the empty house.
“W-why are you here?”
She couldn’t prevent the slight tremor in her voice but although his grim look remained he took another step back, his hands open at his sides.
“I mean you no harm, female,” he said gruffly. “I was sent to inspect the individual farms and see what was salvageable. Very little in this case.”
Irritation at his dismissive tone made her forget her fear.
“I disagree, but in any case, it’s not your concern. You should concentrate on the farms that don’t belong to anyone else.”
“You are intending to restore this farm? Do you have a mate?”
There was a curious intensity to the last question but she chose to ignore it, lifting her chin and glaring at him.
“No I don’t. And I don’t need one.”
Those amber eyes swept down over her body and she blushed, suddenly conscious of her attire - or lack of it. Hot from the long walk, she had stripped off her heavy dress, leaving her in her thin cotton camisole and knee length drawers. He studied her with what she was sure was appreciation, but then he scowled again.
“You are too small. You cannot do this on your own.”
“I can and I will. Now go do your inspection somewhere else. Go on, shoo.”
“Shoo?” he repeated, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes. It means leave, depart, go.”
He ignored her, looking at the kitchen door.
“What was the crash I heard?”
“It was nothing,” she said firmly. “Now, please go.”
“You are a poor liar, female.”
Without waiting for a response, he pushed open the door and stalked into the kitchen, his tail lashing behind him.A tail?Biting back another useless protest, she followed him.
‘It looks worse than it is,” she muttered as she followed his appalled gaze around the room.
The once pleasant kitchen was a disaster. The small vermin native to the planet had obviously found a way into the room, leaving piles of debris scattered across the floor. There was a dark stain beneath the sink from a long, slow leak and the pantry cabinet was now in pieces on the floor along with a pile of broken dishes.
“It looks as if you attempted to open the storage cupboard and pulled it down on top of you.” He was scowling again. “You could have been injured.”
“That’s not what happened.” Exactly. It had tipped to the side instead of on top of her. “And I’m not hurt so you see, everything is fine.”
