Their eyes clashed together as he said, “One thing you should know about me now, female, is that I am a very determined male. When I want something, I get it. If I have to claw my way up from the bottom, I will. I have before.”
Crystal shook her head. “Cruxan…”
“I will win you over. You aremine, as surely as I amyours. You may not realize that yet,” he said softly, “but you will.”
How did he make a threat sound so enticing?
“You can’t win me if I don’t want to be won,” she said, her tone edged. “And one thing you should know aboutmeis that I don’t like high-handed, overbearing, and arrogant men.”
Cruxan grinned, so suddenly and so brilliantly that she momentarily lost her train of thought.
“It is quite fortunate then that I am a warrior of Luxiria, not a man from Earth.”
She gaped at him.
Then, with his blue eyes shining, he purred, “And you may sharpen those little claws on me anytime you wish,luxiva. Not only do I welcome it…” Her breath hitched, her eyes widening, as he leaned close. “I like it.”
Her belly actually quivered at those words. She was surprised when she managed to hold back her whimper.
Then he pulled away. He looked up to the sky as she tried to focus, to pull her brain from the fog that had just invaded her mind.
When his eyes returned to her, he jerked his chin back towards the forest. “Krorataxis in that direction. Are you ready?”
Was she?
No. Hell no.
But she was a liar, backed into a corner.
So, she said, “Yes. I am.”
“Then we begin,” he said, though his eyes glowed as he said it.
Crystal had the impression that he wasn’t talking only about their travels.
Chapter Eleven
It felt strange, Crystal decided, to be in the wilderness of Luxiria. Not simply because it was an alien planet, an alienexperiencefor that matter, but simply because she wasoutside. Getting fresh air, moving her body, looking around at nature instead of staring down at her tablet, in their domed house.
She was tired. She was even a little winded and they’d only been walking on a flat surface for a couple hours now. It wasn’t like they were hiking up the mountain range, or heaven forbid,running.
It embarrassed her a little. Crystal had never been the athletic type. She’d never been the thin girl who played sports in school. She’d always been on the chubby side, though she’d lost a lot of weight when she’d been with Leo, a little of which she’d put back onafterLeo.
She hadn’t been to the gym in ages and for the last month—maybe even two or three months now, she couldn’t say for certain—she’d been, well,awayfrom Earth.
This was the most exercise she’d had in a long time and it embarrassed her that Cruxan could hear her ragged breaths. Especially considering he was obviously in the prime of his life and possibly the most physically fit being she’d ever seen.
The forest was huge, she quickly realized. After discovering that Cruxan’s hovercraft was gone, they’d backtracked to where they’d made camp the night before and went beyond it, following the curve of the mountains to their right, which towered overhead, blocking out the sunlight, creating a chill that was hard to shake.
She was grateful that he’d given her his shirt. It had been kind of him and truthfully, Crystal didn’t know how to deal with kind males.
They’d been walking in silence ever since they’d left Jaxor’an’s sandcraft, but Crystal’s stomach suddenly decided to break it, growling loudly.
Pressing a hand to her belly, she peeked a glance up at Cruxan, hoping he hadn’t heard it…before remembering that he probably would have heard it had she been a mile away.
Damn.
She hadn’t eaten since Jaxor’an had given them some dried meat the night before. But that had been all she’d eaten yesterday, just two dried strips before she couldn’t stomach his food anymore, nervous and scared about what he’d intended for them.
