Did he have a family? Friends waiting for him? Wasn’t Christmas about giving?
“Why don’t you stay with me until the teleportal opens and you can go home? I'm sure I can dig up something for you to wear. You can’t stay out here.”
Oh, sure. Invite the big alien home. That sounds like a good idea.
I squashed the little voice inside that told me to call the authorities. What would I say, anyway? There’s a naked alien that came through a stone circle? Yeah, right. As if they’d believe me.
And if they did believe me, what would happen to him?
Nothing good, that’s for sure. I knew he wouldn’t hurt me. Quite the opposite. He could have thrown me over his shoulder and carried me off if he really wanted to. But I suspected he was lost.
Maybe we all were a little lost at this time of year.
“Thank you. I will accept your offer.” His brows knitted, as if surprised at the offer for help.
I pointed with my hand across the other side of the stone circle. “My cottage is just across the field. There’s a back gate.”
He began walking, his arms tightening around me, one around the back of my shoulders and one underneath my thighs. I looped my arms around his neck and closed my eyes briefly, listening to the crunch of his footsteps in the snow.
CHAPTER FOUR
Jon
Ilooked down at the woman in my arms. She was a little odd-looking, not a hint of purple to her skin or hair, nor a tail—unless it was a very short one—but there was something appealing about her. And that was before I smelled her delicious scent.
One tiny whiff of her intoxicating aroma, and it was as if I had been struck by lightning. My whole body felt awake at a cellular level, tuned to her every need. Her every desire.
The mating instincts of the Gnaggarrian male were thought to be a myth, long lost in the depths of the genetic manipulation of our species. But the way I was salivating, wanting to put my tongue to her neck and taste her skin, and aching to bite her to mark my claim…
Get a hold of yourself!
And how did my translation matrix understand her language? The small device was implanted in my brain,allowing me to speak and understand the common languages of the Gnaggarrian Empire.
But this planet wasn’t part of the Gnaggarrian Empire.
I shot a look at the night sky that I could see through the parting clouds. The constellations were unfamiliar, the single moon odd.
No, this planet was unknown to me. But how did I know her language? It made no sense.
“There,” she said in the soft voice that set my blood singing. She pointed toward a small stone building at the end of a row of similar dwellings. “There’s a back gate we can go through.”
I scanned the dark windows of the other dwellings. No lights were visible, and the night was quiet. We would not be seen.
I approached the back gate and pushed it open with my foot, turning sideways to carry her through the entrance to the small courtyard. A stone path led to a door between garden beds that were covered in snow.
At her insistence, I placed her gently back on her feet in front of the door to her abode, though I made sure she kept her weight off her damaged ankle. I fought to keep my breathing under control, stiffening as I pulled back from her.
Don’t scent her again and definitely don’t lick her like a crazed lunatic. And no biting!
She muttered something under her breath as she fished around inside the bag that hung from her shoulder, and then with a flourish she pulled a set of jangling metal keys on a ring. She flicked through them with practiced ease, obviously finding the one she was after she slid it into a hole near the door’s handle, turning and opening the entry to her abode.
“Fascinating.” I had heard of such things, but only seen them in a museum I had been fortunate to visit as a child. Even the most lowly of Gnaggarrians had scanner pads to unlock doors.
She pushed open the door with one hand and made a move as if to hop forward.
Oh no, little one. Not while I'm here to help.
I swung her into my arms again, stepping over the threshold and turning to shut the door with one of my feet. It was warmer in here than outside. I hesitated, stooping to prevent my head from hitting the ceiling in the darkened hallway.
